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  1. #1
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    Default Realtors discouraging clients from attending

    I went on a road trip with two friends of mine who are realtors. They are both doing other things now, but we got into a discussion about clients attending their inspections.

    I was surprised when they both said that they do NOT want their home buyers to be at the inspection and tell them that they dont need to be there because they will have a report to read after and thats all they will need.

    I asked why, they said this " Because anything the inspector says to a client becomes a liability."
    I attempted to explain why it actually lowers the inspectors chances of getting sued. But I think they were talking about the realtor getting sued.
    My explination did not change their view of the subject. The subject changed to navigation to our next destination, so I was left wondering about it, this goes against everything I have learned.

    What do you think and how would an inspector change this strange point of view in the mind of a realtor?

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    Last edited by Elizabeth Chambers; 05-28-2018 at 06:04 PM.
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  2. #2
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    Default Re: Realtors discouraging clients from attending

    Quote Originally Posted by Elizabeth Chambers View Post
    What do you think and how would an inspector change this strange point of view in the mind of a realtor?
    While it sounds jaded, after awhile you stop trying to save the world from itself.

    They will believe whatever they want, no matter what you may think. Other than advising my client what their options are, I can't control what an agent says/thinks/does etc.

    Dom.


  3. #3
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    Default Re: Realtors discouraging clients from attending

    Quote Originally Posted by Elizabeth Chambers View Post
    I went on a road trip with two friends of mine who are realtors. They are both doing other things now, but we got into a discussion about clients attending their inspections.
    I was surprised when they both said that they do NOT want their home buyers to be at the inspection and tell them that they dont need to be there because they will have a report to read after and thats all they will need.
    I asked why, they said this " Because anything the inspector says to a client becomes a liability."
    I attempted to explain why it actually lowers the inspectors chances of getting sued. But I think they were talking about the realtor getting sued.
    My explination did not change their view of the subject. The subject changed to navigation to our next destination, so I was left wondering about it, this goes against everything I have learned.
    What do you think and how would an inspector change this strange point of view in the mind of a realtor?
    Hi Eliz,

    Around here, the attitude is pretty much the opposite from what you described. The reports are dry and can be scary. So, most agents prefer to have the client in attendance in order to be able to ask questions and get a clear picture about the conditions.

    Plus, generally, buyers spend just a few minutes in the house before making an offer and this gives them a chance to get a feel for the home and neighborhood. I have seen a few people walk from the purchase because of things they noticed when they were there. For example, a couple of folks cancelled because of incessant barking dogs.

    As far as changing the mind of a realtor, I don't have any suggestions. My confirmation email states that I recommend the buyer attend the inspection. I can only hope the client takes my advice.

    Department of Redundancy Department
    Supreme Emperor of Hyperbole
    http://www.FullCircleInspect.com/

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Realtors discouraging clients from attending

    Not really a thing around here that I am aware of. Agents typically recommend buyers be present. Now whether an agent recommends a good inspector or an el cheapo checkbox idiot is another story. We still have a lot of guys around here doing reports that are barely decipherable let alone actually effectively communicate conditions of a home.
    My guess is the liability factor for your agents relates more to the sales aspect of the deal. If the client isn't there they won't hear anything scary and the agent and diffuse anything scary in the report.
    Hiring an inspector is like hiring many other licensed professionals. You hire a doctor to tell you whether that pain in your gut is because of the lousy fast food you keep eating or a serious problem. You hire a lawyer to explain what your position is. You hire an inspector you educate you about how feasible a particular deal is for you or not. is the house in great shape and therefore as feasible for the buyer to purchase as they think; or does the house need some major capital investment and therefore not as feasible for that buyer as they thought it was. Just like a doctor, lawyer or your mechanic, we provide the relevant information and the buyer has to put on their big boy pants and make a decision.
    As far as changing a agents mind, waste of time. As far as educating individual agents so they have a more realistic understanding, baby steps little by little and some will learn.

    www.aic-chicago.com
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  5. #5
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    Spring City/Surrounding Philadelphia area
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    Default Re: Realtors discouraging clients from attending

    I encourage my clients to attend the inspection but I do enjoy the inspections where no client is present. Just makes for a more efficient inspection free of distractions.

    "It takes a big man to cry. It takes an even bigger man to laugh at that man". - Jack Handey

  6. #6

    Default Re: Realtors discouraging clients from attending

    In an article we wrote quite recently about working with realtors, we conducted several interviews with agents and did quite a bit of research on studies, realtor forums, articles, etc. In everything we reviewed, we didn't hear anything like what your realtor-friends said.

    Maybe it's because we're in the insurance industry, but the argument that a client's presence increases liability raises questions for us. What do they mean by that? If they're using the word "liability" in the way we're used to, then we can say pretty confidently that having clients present during a home inspection doesn't increase the likelihood of them later suing the home inspector. (There is a theory that it, in fact, decreases the likelihood of claims, but we don't have a good way of collecting data to support that theory just yet.)

    What they may mean is that it increases the likelihood of the sale falling through, perhaps because the clients have a greater understanding of the inspection findings or because the inspector is "an alarmist." The latter you can change by communicating your findings more effectively. And the former is just the nature of home inspections: Based on inspection findings, clients might decide to pass on the property.

    Further, most if not all of the realtors we interviewed said they like having their clients at the inspection. In fact, one realtor said that, when home inspectors prohibit clients from or don't invite clients to the inspection, it raises a red flag. She wonders what they're hiding and why they don't want to communicate the findings to the client on-site. Thus, I think that the realtors you spoke to are likely exceptions to the rule that have received misinformation or were trained by the rare deal-killer types.

    If you want to read more about what the realtors we interviewed said they look for in their realtor-inspector relationships, you can read the full article here.

    The realtors we interviewed also contributed to an article we did on communication, which talks a lot about good delivery/not being an alarmist. You can read that article here.

    Hope that helps!

    Stephanie Jaynes
    Marketing Director
    InspectorPro Insurance
    We Protect. You Inspect.
    www.inspectorproinsurance.com

  7. #7
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    California
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    Default Re: Realtors discouraging clients from attending

    Thank you all for your perspectives. Those links did help, thank you Jaynes. I am going to ask them to explain their reasoning on this when the opportunity presents itself again.


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