A woman called looking for a price for an inspection in Sayreville NJ. After we spoke and before I hung up I asked (like I do all callers) “how did you find me”?
She said “my mom is a realtor and was at an inspection with you a while ago”. She told me to call you.
So, the mom has been a realtor for a while. She saw how I inspected. Never give me a referral. But, I’m thorough enough to do a good job for her family.
What do you think of this?
This is a common situation for me.
When I get a referral from a Realtor from out of my area, (often), it is usually for a Realtors family member, or for the Realtor themself, (either Residential or Commercial, usually commercial).
I have to chuckle over this, as I once asked a Realtor “Why” from out of my area ‘only’? She confided in me she couldn’t take the chance on their “Regular” Inspector finding out she hired someone else within the area!! LOL!
Can’t make this chit up!!
I would take it as a compliment. I work with a realtor that only refers me out when the inspection contingency is waived.
I agree with Richard.
Complement. Read no more into it.
Wait for the next call…
I do not care how, or why, a prospective client calls. I always try to do my best while booking, answering questions, while smiling and being happy when doing so. Damn it fun.
You loose some, you gain others. Welcome to the service industry.
Hope that helps.
Same as Jeffrey with additions. The only referrals from RE Salespeople I get are for their homes, family member homes, good friends home’s, and when they have a client they can not control and do not want them to buy a POS as they know they’ll never hear the end of it, or the house they want the buyer to buy. Once the client walks on the home I never get another call for the next inspection since the Salesperson then pushes their “preferred Inspector”.
Other than those conditions above the vast majority of RE Salespeople referrals I hear about come with many horror stories about the inspection. I’ve been called in after other Inspectors to “re-accomplish” an inspection as a result.
Sounds like you did a good job. I had an agent go around her office telling everyone not to use “Lon. He’s a deal killer.” And then called me to inspect her son’s house, which I happily did.
Gotta say that rarely happens to me and never with agents that know me well. But then those agents want the best for their clients.
Worth repeating. Don’t try too hard to decipher the behind-the-scenes reasons why a client is calling. There is probably info you are not privy to.
Do the job, do it well, move on to the next one. 
They must grow a different breed of RE Salespeople in your neck of the woods.
I recently inspected a flipper special that my clients smartly walked away from when it became clear that many costly short-cuts had been taken. The house interior looked clean and new, for the most part, but there were major issues. We all know the horror stories. I later heard from the buyer’s agent that the listing agent was very upset that the buyers hadn’t employed her preferred inspector, even before I did the inspection. I suspect she knew there were issues, otherwise, why would she be upset? So, reading between the lines, the listing agent was confident that “her” inspector was going to produce a report that was less revealing perhaps? I certainly hope that was not the case.
Over time I have realized very clearly - there are 2 types of agents:
1 - They care about the commission more than the client
2 - They care about the client more than the commission
I tend to get much more referral wise from number 2 - however…
In a city near me, there is a very specific agent that is the queen of that city and likely does 20 or so transactions with her team per month. However, she will use me on larger homes, and all of the time when it is friends or family. She has blatantly told me that I am too thorough for her day to day jobs…It is a sad reality of greed versus good, but I just do my jam, and try not to judge too much! I do tend to pick on her “selling” homes a bit more than needed, but that is just so she remembers that I am thorough!~
She has her go to inspectors that give fluff inspections so she can get the sale, possibly at the cost of her clients, and you the real home inspector that gives a thorough report the one a real home buyer would want.
Hope this helps you know what type of realtor you’re dealing with.
It’s a common question for those tracking their marketing efforts ($$) or trying to understand their referral sources better.
I have this exact scenario happen a few times a year, but I get many more from REAs who are acting as dual agents, I’m guessing to reduce liability. Funny thing, I never seem to hear from them when they’re just the buyers agent.
But that’s perfectly fine with me, I’ll inspect all the REAs relatives houses. 
I get the same scenario with builder reps frequently. They tell homeowners “that guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about”, yada yada yada, then when one of their friends or family need an inspection my phone rings.