mdrealestateblog.com

I just recently listed and sold a listing agent's dream townhouse here in Crofton, MD. New roof, new HVAC, new HWH, new windows, great condition. Could use some updating but one of those listings where all the heavy lifting was already done. The home inspection should be a snap.

Kind of surprised when the home inspection called out the 6 month old hot water heater. Seems like the plumber neglected a few critical components required in 2009. No water shutoff valve and no gas shutoff valve. The home inspector was right of course. Since it was recently replaced, the installer was required to bring it up to code for 2009, not when the townhouse was originally built.

A call to the plumber elicited this response; "we can come out to do the necessary repairs. Our charge is $75/hour." To say that that response elicited a bit of anger by the seller is an understatement. A quick call to the County showed that they never pulled a permit to do the work.

Armed with that information, the second response by the plumber was a bit different. "No charge for the repair, we'll be out tomorrow at 1 PM, is that OK? A homeowner not getting a permit for work gets a slap on the wrist from the County, and maybe a fine. A licensed professional puts themselves, and their license, at greater risk.

That shortcut by the original installer cost them an additional four hours to make the necessary repairs. As agents, we're frequently tempted to take shortcuts during the course of a real estate transaction.

Agents should resist taking any shortcuts,
they rarely pay off, and can cause serious trouble.

It's your license and your livelihood. Don't put
either at risk by taking inappropriate shortcuts.

If you're SEARCHING for a home anywhere in Maryland, click here to view ALL ACTIVE LISTINGS.

Richard Iarossi, REALTOR®
Long and Foster® Real Estate, Inc.
Crofton, MD 21114

410-451-6255 Office
443-995-9595 Cell
Web: http://www.RichSellsHomes.com
eMail: Rich@RichSellsHomes.com

Annapolis MD Real Estate Specialist
Bowie MD Real Estate Specialist
Crofton MD Real Estate Specialist

©2009 - RichSellsHomes, All Rights Reserved

The mail just keeps coming. Soliciting business by snail mail is a tried and true method, even if the take rate is pretty low. 

I recently received a mail solicitation from a home inspection company (name withheld), touting their unique business concept for conducting a home inspection. They inspect homes using a team of inspectors.

The literature didn't say how many. Whether it was two or three or ten, it didn't really specify. Looking at their website didn't provide any additional information.

I'm guessing it was closer to two because they did say that they can conduct inspections in half the time of a traditional home inspection.

I've never felt that cutting the time of home inspections in half was high on my buyer's list of what a home inspector should be doing.

As an agent, I've been to a lot of home inspections but never one where there was more than one inspector working. On occassion, an inspector would bring an apprentice, but they were never off in different parts of the house doing their own thing.

A second benefit somewhat alluded to in the letter, was that their inspectors have expertise in different areas of home inspection. I guess this makes sense, but the home inspectors I've always recommended have always been able to inspect the entire home. I know there are specialists in many areas like mold, septic, termite, etc., but I don't think they were talking about them when referring to team inspections.

Is there really a benefit to using a home inspection company that operates in teams, or is it just a marketing niche and a way to try to break out of the pack from your competition?

Richard Iarossi, REALTOR®
Long and Foster® Real Estate, Inc.
Crofton, MD 21114
410-451-6255 Office
443-995-9595 Cell
Web: http://www.RichSellsHomes.com
eMail: Rich@RichSellsHomes.com

Annapolis MD Real Estate Specialist
Bowie MD Real Estate Specialist
Crofton MD Real Estate Specialist

©2009 - RichSellsHomes, All Rights Reserved

Just like all REALTORS® are not created equal, in my experience, neither are home inspectors, lenders, title comanies, and the list goes on and on.  I'm certainly going to show my bias here, but I prefer to recommend home inspectors from their own, or small companies.  Why, because when I make a recommendation to my buyers, I want to know who is going to show up.  With large companies I don't always get that luxury, and its cost me some serious buyer dissatisfaction in the past.

Here is what do I look for in a home inspector:

• Local knowledge and experience.  I prefer someone with local experience about the types of the homes in the area, and the types of systems he/she will be inspecting.  For example, some of the homes in this area have aluminum wiring.  I understand the concerns, but it shouldn't automatically fail a home inspection because of aluminum wiring.  I've seen out of area inspectors go nuts and almost squash a transaction because of the way they acted about aluminum wiring, even though it was installed correctly.  You don't want me to hear you tell my buyers you wouldn't own a home with aluminum wiring.  I do expect you to educate them on legitimate concerns. 
  
• With all due respect, keeping your opinions to yourself is important to me.  I may not be your client but I may be the reason my clients call you in the first place.  My buyers don't need to know whether you like or dislike any particular system in the house they're buying...they need to know whether it's working properly.  It's OK if you don't like heat pumps, you're not buying the house.  I'm absolutely OK if you beat up the house with quantifiable data, subjective opinions are off the table.
  
• Tools of the trade.  Can you do a moisture test if its suspected?  Do you have a moisture meter to provide quantifiable results, instead of opinion?  I'm assuming that you all have ladders and flashlights, etc.  I let in a home inspector once when I was representing a seller who didn't have a ladder.  Never even went up into the attic.  I can't imagine what the buyers were paying for with that report. 
• I use my home inspector because he can calm down the fears of buyers, and instruct them on what is and what isn't important.  I'm sure you'll agree that there are some ugly things uncovered during a home inspection, but not all of them are important.  Buyers, especially first time home buyers, need to know the difference between what they should consider importand and not.
  
• Don't expect me to point out things you should be doing, or seeing.  Some real estate agents have been sued in the past because they tried to be too helpful during the home inspection.  I'm the REALTOR®, you're the home inspector. 
  
• Safety first, but do you walk the roof or just look through binoculars.  Can someone who looks at a roof through binoculars from the street, do the same job as an inspector who walks the roof?  I have my own opinion on that as well.
  
• Comprehensive reports with pictures.  Me, and my buyers don't need the report at the end of a two hour inspection, but we would like it within 24 hours.  Rushing out a report at the end of an inspection may not be in your best interest.
  
• Home inspection report that is specific.  Again, I'll show my bias here...I hate those check off forms.  I prefer a comprehensive narrative.
  
• Buffet menu of other available inspections.  If you suspect mold, can you do a mold test on site and send the results to a lab?  How about radon?  Termites?  I'm not interested in recommending someone who can't do a complete job in one scheduled visit.  
  
• I'll never ask you whether you would buy the house, that's not a fair question.  I do expect that the report will be definitive enough so that the buyer can make that decision.
• Ethical, this is not a discretionary item.
• Licensed, insured, and ASHI or NAHI Certified.

This isn't a very big list here.  I'm sure you have other items that you like to see your home inspector do.

I'm not interested in the little give aways of the business, pens and stuff like that.  I'm interested in protecting buyer clients by providing them with the appropriate information so that they can determine whether to proceed with buying the house, or not.

Agents get solicited for business, from a whole host of service providers, all the time.  Breaking through to get on the recommended call list for an agent is pretty tough.  I take the recommendations of other agents pretty seriously.  Most agents are trained to ask their clients for referrals.  I know its not quite the same, but do Home Inspectors ask agents for referrals to other agents?  In ten years, I've never had one home inspector ask me to recommend him/her to another agent.  If you don't ask for referrals, you could be losing a good source of future business.

Richard Iarossi
Long and Foster® Real Estate, Inc.
Crofton, MD 21114
410-451-6255 Office
443-995-9595 Cell
Web:  http://www.RichSellsHomes.com
eMail: Rich@RichSellsHomes.com