Reading Home Inspection Reports - InspectionNews

Victor DaGraca · #1 (**permalink**) 05-22-2007, 02:10 PM

I ran across this today, and thought that this Real Estate agent was being helpful with her input.
What say you?

Tips on Reading Home Inspection Reports â€“ Century 21 Barefoot Realty â€“ Inspection Tips

After I posted this, I went back to her site and was amazed at a link at the bottom of the page.
Check it out.......

Why you should order a home inspection before buying or selling â€“ Century 21 Barefoot Realty â€“ Why Get An Inspection?

Jerry Peck · #2 (**permalink**) 05-22-2007, 05:46 PM

"What say you?"

She's new. Give her time.

Richard Rushing · #3 (**permalink**) 05-22-2007, 08:01 PM

Now, I may get busted across the chops here... but whatever.

There are a few really good people in the real estate business that are professional and actually give a sheeiit about how they conduct their business. Do those folks (realtors) want to close every deal... you bet. The difference in some of the good vs the bad is very slim. The good realize that closing every deal is just not reality, while the bad think closing every deal is a must.

The successful ones, vs the unsuccessful ones, are those who know how to structure and write an ammendment to the contract for the buyer vs one who thinks an ammendment is something that the seller doesen't want to have presented to them and writes it accordingly. Or, they will intentionally under-value the need of a repair item due to lack of education, experience or... they simply are not looking out for the best interest of their client vs what they want... and that is to close the deal.

Hell, *Sales* is a tough business. You have a product to sell, a company that expects results and a household to look after.... No sales, no dog-food for Fido. This is a real cunumdrum for new realtors just breaking into the business. The *good* established professionals are those who do not put their commisson first and actually take on the attitude of, "It doesen't matter, if this home is not right or has some issues that can't be worked out, then we'll just find one that is."

I heard the above statement recently and it gave me goose bumps. Pretty refreshing.... make my head snap around when I heard it to see who said it.

The way I look at it is this; the real estate business is not too much different from the would-be, get-rich-quick inspectors. There are always those who want to do the least amount of work for alot of money.

I think it was Scott P who posted (probably 3-4 years ago) that it's 10% of the realtor community who sell 90% of the properties and it's the remaining 90% vying for the remaining 10%. I'd bet that's pretty accurate. I'd also bet that of that top 10%, the top 10% of those foks are the ones who subscribe to the attitude of... "It doesen't matter, if this home is not right or has some issues that can't be worked out, then we'll just find one that is."

Good to hear and good to find, but they are out there. Probably 1%'ers.

Rich

Thom Walker · #4 (**permalink**) 05-22-2007, 08:38 PM

There are some really good Realtors out there. At times when the market is slow, they really stand out.

Bruce Breedlove · #5 (**permalink**) 05-22-2007, 09:36 PM

Home inspectors (myself included) are prone to a bit of hyperbole every now and then when we talk about how bad and unethical Realtors are. We know that not ALL Realtors are bad and unethical. It's those pesky 99 out of 100 that make the other 1% look bad.

Jerry Peck · #6 (**permalink**) 05-22-2007, 09:41 PM

Years ago, I received many referrals from a real estate agent who was out to help her clients - sale of no sale.

In fact, she (with my help) talked most of them out of buying something they really wanted, simply because 'it was a POS', or maybe just needed a lot of work.

Her attitude was 'I'm making a friend', not 'this is my client'. Those 'friends' served her well for many years with their referrals and repeat business, then she retired.

Yes, there are some, very few though.

After she retired, I found a couple of agents who felt the same way ... until they lost the 4th house due to inspections, then it was 'Weeeellll, this one is not sooooo baaaaddd, is it?'

The first agent, she did not care if she showed them 10 homes and I 'killed' all of them - she knew 'the right house for them' was out there ... some place ... and it was just a matter of time before she found it - and she would find it ... eventually.

Did she make a ton of money? No. Did she make a lot of new friends? You bet. Was she happy doing it that way? Absolutely.

Jerry McCarthy · #7 (**permalink**) 05-23-2007, 08:31 AM

This is the part of that agent’s advertisement about home inspections that caught my eye; “will reveal any hidden problems with the home so that they may be addressed BEFORE the deal is closed.”
Ahhhh, I don’t think that statement is entirely realistic? As far as good agents, those that had the best interests of their clients, I was lucky in doing inspections for a nice group of them. Funny, but they where generally the top producers for whatever office they represented. Strange how sometimes integrity is actually rewarded?

Gunnar Alquist · #8 (**permalink**) 05-23-2007, 03:29 PM

I don't know if it is a California thing, or if I am just lucky. Maybe Jerry Mc, Russel, Joe or any of the other CA inspectors can chime in on their experiences with agents. I read a lot of negative comments on this board about real estate agents in other parts of the country. The vast majority of agents that I end up working with are genuinely interested in doing a good job for their clients. They do not gloss over or try to minimize my statements. Most will ask specific and probing questions as to how something might be corrected and if it can be corrected in a cost effective way. They want the buyer to be aware of the problems and to understand their significance. Around here, nearly every home needs some corrective work and it all comes down to one basic thing. Money. Is the seller willing to reduce the price and/or make the corrections or is the buyer willing to accept an imperfect house and pay for the corrections themselves?

I know that many of the local inspectors (including myself) have worked to educate the agents as to what the benefits of inspections are to their clients as well as themselves. Needless to say, a big incentive is that an inspection helps to insulate the agent from litigation when a problem or defect is found after closing. However locally, the agents have turned the inspection process into a positive thing, echoing our request that the client be present for, and a part of, the inspection.

Jerry McCarthy · #9 (**permalink**) 05-23-2007, 06:18 PM

I agree with you Gunner in that I worked with some real pros who contributed to my success. I didn’t discover who they where overnight, but after years of culling out the morons I finally wound up with very competent agents who not only understood the value of a thorough inspection , but the demeanor and professionalism of the inspector performing it. Generally speaking my experiences where positive in the real estate world and much of the resistance to what we did was back in the 80s and early 90s and mainly due to ignorance. I have never been one to rant about idiot self serving agents, but hey, we got enough of those in the home inspection industry. The old saying that water seeks its own level holds true here as well as anywhere else. (I’m not referring to manometers)

Richard Rushing · #10 (**permalink**) 05-23-2007, 09:18 PM

Then... there have been realtors who were so bad that when they ask me for a card at the end of the inspection, I only offered up, "I didn't have any on me and *MIGHT* have some in my truck-- I'll check later"

Then, when I'm done with my client, I pack'em up and go down the road... no card to the sleeping jerk who only woke her big-arse up by snoring too loud.

That actually happened.

No way do I want that person giving my card out to a potential client and have my name associated with them. No thanks...

Rich