If was hired by the seller to do a pre-sale inspection, 4-6 months earlier; then I was hired by the buyers to inspect; Do I or my company have a duty to disclose that the same inspector has previously inspected the property. Not disclosure of the report - that’s confidential, but I work for a mid size firm - should they assign someone else? Avoid the appearence of influence peddling…
Thank you all for your input. I agree, objectivity is never a bad thing. No one can come back on you if you have objectively stated that you might have done inspection there before, but are committed to an independent analysis.
Terry, do you work in a state where the liability is on you as the licensed inspector and not your company? I’d tell your company to assign it to someone else because (it’s obvious) you’re not comfortable doing it, and probably for good reason because you may be responsible for any blowback and not your company. If you found something new, the seller would hang you for it. I’d say this company doesn’t care much about you.
At one point I worked for a Connecticut inspection company that cavalierly did this sort of thing all the time, including assigning CT licensed inspectors to do inspections in NY and Rhode Island. They might get a slap on the wrist if caught while the inspector would lose his license. To make matters worse, this company pitched agents at office presentations by telling them they were the company’s clients while buyers were merely their customers. Of course this is a distinction without a difference, but agents got the message loud and clear.