I decided to write about “Doing Damage During the Home Inspection: It’s Your Job”. The article is very informative, and eye-opening. During some of my “shadow inspections”, the inspector has broken a few items which clearly were in rough shape to begin with. The inspector noted the issues on the report, and the client was happy. The seller, not so much. Either way, the client was happy the issue was found prior to purchasing the house, saving them a major headache in the near future. I’d much rather break something now, than have an angry client (who otherwise was extremely happy with my inspection), call me with all kinds of threats.
If the buyer isn’t available to sign the contract for the inspection the agent authority to sign the contract should provide the proper document indication they were grant the authority and the inspector should include this documentation in the report.
Lets say a real estate agent meets me at the property to let me in before the client arrives and tells me that gfcis are more or less just for looks,there is power to them but do not trip properly so if I could just not report that part he/she will guarantee me more inspections in the future. I would explain I am not allowed to do that and would test them and report the defect as if we had not had that conversation
Unsigned inspection agreement… I read that article and found out that you possibly are allowed to get paid for the service provided even if the client did not sign it provided the client paid you for your service and received the report but is always better to have your agreement signed first and bad to give them the agreement and have them sign it after the fact.
It is the inspectors responsibility to get written authorization for the inspector agreement. The inspector should make sure the realtor has authorization to sign for there client. If the realtor was authorized they should add authorized agent under there name. The inspect should also ask for a copy of the authorized agent agreement.
I inspected a home that was in need of a roof replacement (30+ years old,missing/broken/warped shingles, 3+ layers, rotted plywood, missing flashings, etc.) and I wrote it up as such. The client called me saying that his realtor told him “there was nothing to worry about, she spoke with the seller and the seller will fix (himself) the issues in the report related to the roof.” He wanted to know if this was good enough.
I responded:
Insist the work be performed by a reputable, licensed roofing contractor and any necessary permits be issued. If the contractor disagrees with my opinion that the roof needs to be replaced, then ask for a warranty/certification. Show him the report so he is fully aware of the defects. If you are not comfortable, ask for a second opinion from another licensed roofing contractor. Feel free to call me with any questions.
This resulted in multiple roofing contractors looking at the roof and agreeing it was more practical to perform a complete re-roof then to repair all the defects. The client informed me later that the seller gave him a $10,000 credit towards the roof at closing.
An inspector may have a relationship with a real estate professional who provides the inspector with work by passing out their I information to home buyers. This real estate professional may be in need of money and pressure the home inspector to overlook details in the inspection that may cause the buyers to back out of the purchase. There is only one clear option in this situation. The inspector must accurately repot on the conditions of the home free of bias or influence.
One tip to avoid legal trouble that I found especially interesting is taking photos of the water meter before, during, and after an inspection. This is a clever way to prove that the inspector has n to caused any water leaks and that no significant leaks are present during the time of the inspection. I think photos of any potential issue in general are an excellent way for an inspector to protect their business from liability.
I learned that marketing yourself as an “expert” increases your liability as you will be held to a higher standard. A lawyer will show that you marketed yourself as an “expert” to attain a client. The client chose you because they felt that you were above standard. You failed to perform above the standard and are now liable.
As the homeowner was leaving he confronted me and asked for me to let him know if there was any major issues before reporting it to the buyer. I instructed the seller that I was hired by the buyer and I only report my findings to him or her as I am bound by contract to do so. Seller did appear to be somewhat upset. At this point the seller left with no further issue.
A home inspector should never operate as a sole proprietor or partner, LLC is preferred. Clients will sue for many different reasons. Paying a settlement can be better than paying a lawyer. Use caution signs to keep people away from ladders and open crawl space openings during the inspection. Use the InterNACHI pre-inspection agreement to set clients expectations on the scope of the inspection. Follow InterNACHI SOP.
A HVAC company offers a $500 referral fee for successful sales to prospective clients. Rather than excepting a referral fee you tell the contractor that you will put his name forward with other reputable contractors for the sake of goodwill.
A realtor who had hired me for several inspections one day asked me to inspect a home he was having trouble selling. It had number of structural problems that had scared off previous buyers. If I could produce a favorable inspection report he could sell the house to some foreign buyers sight unseen. I declined the job stating that it would be dishonest and it violated my code of ethics and my general duty to the public.
As long as we follow the guild lines set by internachi, follow the state and local guidelines and provide the required documents before the inspection this should reduce the risk. If and when we violate these guidelines is when we run the risk of lawsuits.
Read the article about signatories and who’s responsible for contracts. When in doubt always try and get your client to sign directly or online via electronic signature, fax or email consent. However, if you cant get client direct signatories check to see if the agent is “authorized” and, if so get a copy of s/he’s authority. Have them sign on behalf of the client as the “Authorized Agent” if possible, but if not, the courts due carry some weight in real estate transactions where certain duties are germaine to the course of action. This is called implied or apparent authority and it carries weight with the courts should a client renege on their contractual obligation.
You find yourself in a situation with the seller of the home. They ask that you do not disclose any information regarding a minor leak you found on the roof that is leaking into the attic. It has not yet penetrated through the ceiling and has a fairly new roof. The home seller is trying to avoid a costly repair. As a Truthful and honorable inspector of the COE and SOP practices, I am required to disclose all of my findings during my inspection. Therefore, I do not withhold any information from any person within the contract.
As an Inspector, what happens if you miss something? We all have to understand that at some point you might miss something during your inspection. If you happen to miss something sometimes it is better to admit your mistake, find a solution and get on with it. It is always best to provide you client with all of InterNACHI’s documents and contracts regarding Standards of Practice and Systems Excluded. This is to make sure your client understands what is involved in a general home inspection.
I recently read about a large Real Estate office that had a list of home inspectors that their agents were to allowed to use. The problem is, home inspectors had to pay the agency $300 a year to be on this list. This would be considered a conflict of interest for home inspectors because it could be perceived that the home inspector was paying the agents to use their inspection services instead of inspectors who did not pay to be on the list. Our job as home inspectors is to remain objective in identifying any home defects. We certain do not want to give our clients any reason to believe that we are “in the pockets” of real estate agents.
It is imperative to have a contract signed by the client before conducting the inspection. This contract with inform the client what is included in the Standard of Practice. It will also inform the client of the legal issues that go along with home inspections.
As an InterNachi Certified home inspector the code of ethics requires that we keep the clients best interest in mind . Therefore any suggestion that a known deficiency should be minimized or not reported at all would obviously violate the code.