Thread: Can you Word the Report like this

Had an agent just get off the phone with me.

I did an inspection this morning early and just emailed everyone the report.

The house has some foundation movement and many other issues.

Now get this, the agent is telling me that the poor buyer can't get a loan on the home if the foundation has problems, or if the roof is leaking.

The agent ask if I could word my report that the foundation "may" need to have some repairs "at a latter date" or in the future.

She wants me to take off the report all of my findings except the foundation and the roof so that the mortgage company will give her this loan.

This pizzes me off to no end. Think of calling the board and turning her arse in for such behaviour.

She is telling me that the buyer has sold her home and now has no where to go if she doesn't get this home.

I told her she might have to check in to a Holiday Inn Express till she can find the right home then. She tells me I'm a cruel person. Can you believe that?

rick

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Good for you Rick! Have you worked with this agent before? Nice of her to try and put all the liability on your shoulders.

Cheers,

Rick, you cruel cruel man!

Sketchy bunch, some of these realtors.
She's blatantly compromized the RE boards ethical standards.
The report has been sent. How do you amend it backwards? You can't or you look like a flake or a goof, right?
I could see her loading you with that pressure before hand, but not after its all said and done.
Feel for you pal......
Rick Souter

Just got off the phone again with her.

She is now telling me that thanks to me her client won't be able to get the house.

(Where is that deal killer hat?)

I told her she knew the foundation was questionable because the client brought it up when she booked the call with us.

Now the agent is asking if I'll reimburse the buyers credit card the 525. since this is putting a strain on her.

She having heart palpitations she's telling me.

rick

Originally Posted by Rick Hurst

...She is telling me that the buyer has sold her home and now has no where to go if she doesn't get this home.

Did you ask the realtor if she had a guest room?

Originally Posted by Rick Hurst

...Just got off the phone again with her...

Good. Now you can call the authorities. What a jerk.

It will happen to all home inspectors if they stay in business long enough. It is sad that the commissions drive the ethics of some real estate agents. It is this type of thing that gives the real estate profession the apperance of being one door up from a carnival side show.

I think that I would have to draft a letter of the conversations and send it to the agents broker. It might not do anything but it might make you feel better.

Don't know if you have the patience or the will to engage with her Rick, but the realtor in question should be appraised of where she has erred, the position she has put you in and for her to know the potential personal consequences of such behavior. It should be made clear to her that she has crossed professional boundaries and that she risks her career if she doesn't wake up. After all, home inspectors aren't the only professionals in real estate business who can be flagged.
Again, if the riot act can be explained to her (and she listens) maybe something positive can come out of it for both of you.

Or you could just kill her....but killing isn't nice....and not very professional behavior either.

Rick Souter

Rick
That agent is a bottom feeder and in the famous words of Lawrence of Arabia, "NO PRISNORS!" Yep, I agree, I’d send a cover letter describing what went down to her broker and the local RE board. She needs to be working at Wallmarts. (as a janitoress)

A realtor like that needs to look for another line of work. You didn't make the roof leak and you didn't cause the foundation issues. If anything Rick, maybe you are saving the buyer from a financial headache.

She is now telling me that thanks to me her client won't be able to get the house.

"Well maybe you should get off your can, stop wasting time talking to me, and go find your client another $#%^&* house."

Sounds like that realtor already has her commission spent and is now wondering how she's gonna pay for her premature purchase.

Rick,

I tend to do most of my correspondence with email and will often follow-up a phone call with email in order to have documentation. If it were me, I would email the agent summarizing her request and my response along with my reasoning. I would sympathize with the buyer's predicament, but would emphasize that I was more concerned about the eventual costs to the buyer (safety, etc.) involved with the condition of the foundation. And then cc the buyer. I would also save a copy of the email and any responses. This will give the buyer knowledge about her agent.

In our profession RE agents like Rick's in the case he shared on this thread firmly believe we are all deal breakers. However, the smart ones, not a majority I'm afraid, do not and when they get a report like Rick's just say, "let's go find another house." This is the attitude I normally got from the "heavy hitters" I worked with. When I got the call that my report cost the agent a sale I always replied, "Nah, it was the conditions of the home that cost you a sale, but tell me, did you lose your client and if not aren't you out looking for something in better condition then that last one?"
The bright ones get it, the dummies never will!

The vast majority of agents that I work with seem to be truly interested in representing their client. While they are not particularly excited about losing an escrow, they are generally philosophical about it when it happens.

My feeling is that the local HI community has done a very good job of educating and working with the RE community in a cooperative environment. We respect each others' knowledge and expertise, and stay out of areas where we are ignorant.

Just tell her to finance the house for her client. Then, when she goes to foreclose in a couple of years, she will have a nice house with a bad foundation that she can't sell. I would tell her that I am not willing to sell out my integrity and lie for her. I would tell her my report stands and recommend she get another inspector in there if she wants a different report.

Of course you could just credit the report to the buyer. But don't forget to get the real estate agent's credit card number so that you can debit hers!

I had a similar thing happen to me a few months ago but it was the potential buyer who wanted me to change my wording. There were cracks like I've never seen on an inspection yet they still wanted this house but the bank wouldn't give them the loan. The seller kept trying to convince me to change what I reported on but no way was I about to budge.

About a month later my client calls me back to schedule an inspection on a different home, which was nicer all the way around. As it turns out they took my advice and had a SE come out who estimated the repairs to be between 15 and 20k. Needless to say in the end they were glad the other deal didn't work out. Just goes to show how "caught up in the moment" buyers can get.

Now if it had it been an agent who made that request.... : /

I love it!!!! Agents want to put all the liability on the inspectors shoulders just to get the commission. In the end it would be your arse but she would be free and clear of any liability and she would have her commission check to spend. You, on the other hand, will be in court trying to explain to the judge why you missed all the major defects of the home.

I cant believe you wouldnt agree to that. Its what we like to call a "win-win" situation.....for the agent, that is!

Originally Posted by Rick Hurst

Had an agent just get off the phone with me.

I did an inspection this morning early and just emailed everyone the report.

The house has some foundation movement and many other issues.

Now get this, the agent is telling me that the poor buyer can't get a loan on the home if the foundation has problems, or if the roof is leaking.

The agent ask if I could word my report that the foundation "may" need to have some repairs "at a latter date" or in the future.

She wants me to take off the report all of my findings except the foundation and the roof so that the mortgage company will give her this loan.

This pizzes me off to no end. Think of calling the board and turning her arse in for such behaviour.

She is telling me that the buyer has sold her home and now has no where to go if she doesn't get this home.

No doubt she will be petitioning her legislative representative to tighten up the home inspection laws to prevent home inspectors from creating homeless buyers. /Sarcasm-Off