I just lost a job from a realtor who requires repair estimates on the report. She’s got people who will do this. It’s not allowed by INACHI or ASHI SOP. How are they getting away with this?
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I had realtors that wanted that years ago, but a normal estimate is rarely in line with what the contractor quotes when he shows up on site. Once the contractors see the “For Sale” sign or realize they are dealing with a REA, the prices they quote go up dramatically. They know the home owner is under a time crunch and charge for a rush job.
Also, those agents are the LAZIEST of the group so I just stayed away from them.
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Like most states you are allowed to exceed the SOP. Neither ASHI or INACHI have a legal jurisdiction. Compliance with either is voluntary.
Don’t rely on agents for work. They are fickle and unreliable. Reach out to the client and explain the potential inaccuracy of any estimate made by someone who is not in that line of work. I wouldn’t want my grocer estimating my roof repairs.
It is the buyers choice to select the Home Inspector. Many buyers will understand the conflict of interest and problem when it is explained to them.
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Thanks for the input. Bottom line is insurance company won’t cover any problem with estimates. Seems a big risk for client and me. Don’t know how they get away with it.
PAUL CUMMINS
No Surprises Home Inspection NOVA-DC, LLC
703-472-9020
NO PERFECT HOUSES, ONLY PERFECT HOMES
why would you need it to. The repair estimate is outside the Home inspection. An ancillary service if you will. It could cause a lawsuit, but a properly crafted contract is their best protection.
Still doesn’t provide a service for the client, the estimate is for the Realtor to make their job easier. I would let the client know exactly who this benefits.
Always take what realtors say with a grain of salt. It’s easy for her to say that other inspectors do this or do that, but quoting repair costs in a report is pretty rare. Try prying at that statement a little and you might find that she only “heard” that other inspectors do you it, or the guy who did retired years ago along with his clipboard and paper checklists.
I think it’s worth asking straight out who they’re using who quotes pricing (or whatever else an agent is asking for). Tell her you “I don’t do that now but would like to look into it.” Make it sound like you’re trying to stay on top of trends on the market. Asking questions almost never hurts.
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I’ve been asked for estimates in the past but simply share that I would be doing them a disservice by providing them a nunber as that’s not my expertise. I’d hate to provide them a nunber regarding a repair that I’m not performing and then an actual repair contractor come in (that’s actually performing the work) and their quote is much higher than mine.
I’d personally stay out of the quoting business and focus on the inspection business.
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I completely agree.
That’s a good way to end up with a PO’d client.
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Her business is built like a house of cards and eager to fail because her qualifying prerequisite is self serving.
That said, there are 3rd party businesses that can handle repair estimates. There may be some merit to using a 3rd party because it could distance you from the mostly useless estimates.
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I’m in the same boat as most of you — I don’t want to touch repair estimates for liability reasons. That’s why I’ve been looking into independent services that interpret inspection reports and generate localized repair ranges automatically.
A few of these systems are starting to use AI to read the report text, pull regional cost data, and even organize the items by category (roofing, electrical, etc.) so clients can see what’s high-priority without us assigning numbers ourselves.
It still keeps the inspector out of the ‘quoting’ business but gives buyers and agents the context they keep asking for. Seems like that might be the best middle ground.
It can be the best middle ground and somewhat make all happy. However for privacy and liability reasons I would just offer the client a link where they, or their Real Estate Salesperson, can upload the report and run the estimate of course with a proper disclaimer from you. That should provide what they want and keep you out of the picture.
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That’s the way I would do it, too.
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That’s a great point, Emmanuel, I completely agree about keeping it separate from the inspection process itself.
From what I’ve seen, the smarter platforms are already doing it that way — you simply share a generic upload link, and the client (or their agent) handles everything directly. The inspector never touches pricing or personal data.
The AI just reads the report text and returns a summary of estimated ranges by trade, so it’s purely informational. That separation seems to cover both the liability and privacy sides while still giving clients what they want.
I’m curious how clients would respond if we offered that as an optional resource instead of bundling it with the inspection, might be a nice add-on without complicating our workflow.