Today I walked away from an inspection
The house was so bad falling down
Filthy inside and out
Is this good or am I just being paranoid
My opinion would have been burn it down
Have pictures?
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I would have inspected it and given them a report that may help the buyers to not only realize they will be starring in “The Money Pit II” but also to help them to get out of the contract if they choose.
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Ditto. I’d do the same. I may just flub it a bit, like if there was a crawlspace, take a picture from the door and not go in.
Maybe set a limit? Hit 75 defects and call it a day? My max found has been in the 40s and that house was close to a tear down but I muddled through it.
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Did you discuss the Scope of the inspection and set your Clients expectations prior to the inspection taking place?
I have performed many inspections for investors that have no real concerns with the home itself, as they intended to do a ‘full gut rehab’ or ‘Raze and rebuild’, and was only buying it for the property itself if the home was too costly to rehab.
Unless requested by the client to discontinue the inspection, I do my best and issue a proper report.
That’s what Professionals do!
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Agree with this.
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Did the buyer ask you to walk away? If no, then you failed the buyer that paid you for a service.
The buyer could see how filthy it was before they offered so there is a reason that they did so. It’s all they can afford. The home has some kind of significance to the family. They plan on a complete renovation. Maybe they are like Forest where he bought Jenny’s childhood home so he could demolish it. That thing didn’t even have windows!
Most experienced inspectors have inspected a hoarder or meth house. Throw on PPE and get to it.
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I did an inspection of a 1900 house that had a long list of major structural issues. I would have town it down. The buyer was looking for exactly this type house to remodel. They have done this before and enjoy renewing old homes. My report was being used to help them prioritize and organize their restoration work. I charged accordingly. Everyone was happy, including me.
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As others have stated, what were the expectations of the client? Lot of factors should be considered before just walking away.
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The worst one last year. It was a nightmare.
Out of state offer sight unseen… … …
The last pic was the water bucket filled to the rim with poop.
I went in & got it done.
The report has approx $80-100K in repairs.
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Owner died there, then was vacant with squatters.
My assistant ran out gagging from the odor & bucket full of… … …
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The OP appears to be in Texas. He can certainly do this if he has a valid safety reaon not to or if conditions would not allow him to enter.
Again being from Texas he can do this but all required reporting items must be inspected unless there is a valid reason not to.
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Be careful how you handle these situations. You are aware according to our SOP you can do this but you still must document it and issue a report unless you have a signed agreement from the client not to. As stated by others the buyer probably already knows of the general condition and may have had a reason to still have it inspected. Maybe they were going to use your report to beat down the sale price?
Never walk away from an inspection without the client’s approval and proof of that approval. I have been in homes like that and if the client wants to continue there are ways not to waste your time by trying to perform every activity we are required to. One obvious one is aggregation of issues found. Take plenty of pictures for your records, throw a couple of the worst in the report and just state it is occurring everywhere/all locations/all of the same item/etc.
Also just to keep out of these situations or at least plan for them including a higher fee always check the MLS or other listings, google maps, etc., for the place to be inspected. If this house was that bad it would have showed itself that way. Only takes a few minutes to do this.
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I would want to get paid if I drove there, and since you obviously agreed to do the inspection or you wouldn’t have went there, personally I would have Inspected the home, however my report would have been simplified, if a home has lots of major issue’s. I would not have spent a lot of time on small issues, like appliances. Broken window seals ect. Just concentrate on major issues. Your role is to inspect the home, not to make a decision for them.
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Terry, don’t let these responses scare you away. Although all the statements are all on the same page. I also agree with them.
Your opinion on the condition of the property dosen’t count. You are there to express the condition of the property to your client so he can decide. You do your inspection, no matter the condition and report and get paid and move on.
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One way to handle this would be to contact the client.
Tell them you cannot enter the home safely due to structural and environmental hazards, and you will be proceeding with the inspection to document what you can. This is mostly a courtesy call intended to manage expectations. (don’t forget to disclaim all limitations in the report)
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I recently had a client that was purchasing their first home. Im in Florida so I usually ask the age of the roof. She said it was replaced in 2008. I get to the inspection and yes the front face of the roof was replaced in 2008 but the rear slope was 35 years old and was visibly so from the ground. I called my client as I like to get to Inspections early, to give her the heads up as it was going to need a new roof and she believed it had some life left. I didnt want to continue if that was going to be a deal breaker. She was fine and said lets go ahead. Communication is key. That was the first half roof replacement I have ever seen. It was also a roof over. They negotiated a new roof out of the deal. There were plenty of other issues, but I guess they are giving grants to first time home buyers now. They could aford to fix it.
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This is not against you Justin because I do not have insight to your relationship with your client.
But rather for others to consider. I would be cautious about halting or calling clients about “possible” deal breakers. Negotiating repairs or even a new roof covering is par for the course. I would let the buyer and seller hash that out.
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Absolutely! I recently inspected a home with a wood foundation that was improperly built and was out of plumb. Major structural failure, but repairable. The client was there, and their first reaction was, “no deal”. They also brought along a trusted carpenter. He said, “This can be fixed.” I agreed, telling the seller, “Someone is going to have to repair this. Do you like this home? Do you want to be that someone who has to fix this?” Except for this major issue, this was a very nice home.
They currently are in negotiations and have not walked yet. There is a buyer for every home!
That said, I did have a buyer present at an inspection who decided issues at the property were too much. They terminated the inspection and cancelled the offer.
You never know. It’s not the job of the inspector to make that decision for the buyer. Finish the inspection, finish the report, and let the buyer have time to make a decision that is good for them.
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