A real estate agent contacts my company and schedule a home inspection on behalf of his client. After the appointment is confirmed agent discloses that the house may have an issue with the electrical panel but asks that the home inspector does not disclose the issue to client because buyer is scared and already having 2ndthoughts. He insists that this is not a big deal because the buyer’s cousin is an electrician and can have it fixed later on. He also offers to continue to use my services if I am willing to help him secure this deal.
I inform the agent that such arrangement cannot be done, that this is a clear violation of the code of ethics that I abide by, and that in fact it violates several items of the InterNachi code of Ethics:
- it is dishonesty that discredits our industry;
- it is corruption as and I would be accepting compensation from someone with an interest in the outcome of the deal;
- I violates my obligation to act in the interest of the client (buyer)
- By acting in the manner requested, I would also violate my obligation to conduct an inspection according to InterNachi standards of practice.