I was planning on doing an inspection for a friend buying his first house this weekend. His realtor told him that he couldn’t use me because I wasn’t a member of the Saskatchewan Realtor’s Association. First he said it was a liability thing. Then he said its because he can’t be there to let me in and I don’t have access to the EKeys. Then he gave my friend the name of a local inspector and told him to use them instead. ( I don’t live in the city the inspection was taking place in if that matters) My question is how shady/lazy does this realtor sounds to all of you AND I looked into it and I can be a member of the association and get access to EKeys for $650 annually plus fees (?) Is this a thing we are expected to do? I just lost this inspection, I don’t want this to continue to happen!
Sounds like your friends realtor doesn’t want to do their job.
That happens a lot, Joel.
You either join the local Realtor Association and get an E-Key or are at the mercy of the used house salesman…sorry to say.
So have you done this Larry? Do a lot of realtors ask you if you do? I had another realtor ask me if I had E-Keys. I said no and she said ok. Im booked to do that inspection Friday morning. So i’m not losing an inspection every time. But I am open to paying the fee. honestly it seems lazy on the part of the realtor but that’s beside the point.
I am retired now, Joel. But when I was active I had an E-Key ALL the time.
Seriously, it was worth it to me not to have to depend on a used house salesman. LOL
Hey Joel, here in my are it’s very common. Most inspections I do actually require the Supra key. But up to now I haven’t lost any because of the fact that I don’t have one, all the realtors that usually recommend me are more than willing to go open up and leave, if they can’t make it they get the selling agent to open up for me.
I pay the fee for Ekey access. its worth the convenience for me. I dont have to worry about chasing keys down and returning them. I also attend all of the association meetings since i have affiliate member status. The realtors are used to seeing me there and it gives me a chance to stay updated on their issues and concerns. The other home inspectors in the area attend also and i enjoy seeing them.
Agents will only recommend home inspectors in their association. Agents are the laziest people on earth they don’t want to open the door for you. A supra key is a very good investment, it will get you more work for the cost of one inspection.
The E Key is worth it’s weight in gold. Like others have said, you’re no longer at the mercy of the agent. Plus, if you do any radon testing, it makes placing and retrieving your samples a breeze. The best money I’ve spent thus far
I demand that the realtor representing the buyer be present to open the door for us, I have been an inspector for more than 15 years and it has always worked for me.
Same here. If the realtor can’t make it I have them text me a one day code to get in.
btw, I will only do this on vacant houses. If it is occupied, the agent must be there.
In my state the realtors are the only ones that can open the E box.
Thank You everyone for your input and feed back. I have decided that it’s worth the money and will be joining the local provincial association. Turns out there are a couple other inspectors in my area that have it so part of it is staying competitive and the other half is ease of scheduling like lots of you have pointed out. Thanks again and good luck out there!