NBC news story about InterNACHI's fight against preferred vendor lists.

I agree with Mike Auger. As a former top-producing agent, I need to be able to recommend the very best inspectors (based solely on merit) to my clients… and I do.

Preferred vendor lists represent the opposite of this practice and instead promote inspectors who simply pay my broker/owner.

Linus …

Funny.

Yes, trust me, that’s what they all say Nick. :wink:

And I hope you don’t think John & Jane Doe Home Buyer can’t do the research & a find a competent inspector themselves.

As I already stated, many REAs are working in the buyers best interest, but many aren’t.

The bottom line is, any defect the Inspector finds, means a potentially smaller pay check for the Realtor - That in itself is a direct conflict of interest between the HI and the REA.

Pretty simple…

I think it would be greater fun to sting a lead broker who is violating the Do Not Call Registry, don’t you think?

I did an inspection for a repeat customer yesterday. The first one fell through because of a mold issue. This one may fall through also due to mold and other small issues. How do I report this so that I don’t “blow it out of proportion” and upset their realtor again?

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100% agree with you, Kevin. I’ve found the 80/20 rule applies, with the latter # being the REA representing buyer’s best interests.

This is a public thread so you don’t mind me quoting and citing you in my blog right?

I don’t. I’m just being nice.

Kevin, what you claim is not true for the top-producing agents like I was. My real estate business was making me millions of dollars. Do you really think I want my client base being tricked into buying homes with defects that the inspector I recommended failed (intentionally) to report. C’mon. Like I want my buyers to move into a house and start complaining and filing suits? That’s exactly what I’m trying to avoid. Keep it real.

Agents live and die by their client’s referrals.

Let’s take a house that sells for 200,000k

The sellers commission is 6%. Half of that goes to the buyers agent broker.

The broker gives about 70-100% of that to the buyers agent with 80 being an average amount.

The buyers agent commission will be around $4800.

The inspector finds 10,000 worth of major defects and the seller agrees to lower the price by 10,000 which lowers the commission to 4560.

Kevin hates Realtors so much, and has such a horrible opinion of them that he believes there are Realtors out there that want their clients to not know about 10,000 dollars worth of damage so they can make an extra $240.

I’m going to run with that.

I’ll tell you a funny story. When I was selling real estate back on the Main Line, the homes were huge, expensive, old, and often had slate roofs. The inspectors I recommended were awesome, but weren’t slate roof experts. Whenever I had buyers of a home with a slate roof, I’d secretly call the local roof company and schedule a roofer who specializes in slate to come over about an hour into the home inspection. My buyers would be perplexed when the roofer arrived with his big ladders. They’d ask me what was going on. I’d tell them:

“This is a big, old house that you’re buying. After you move in, you’re going to find things you aren’t happy with that the inspector didn’t notice. You are going to call me and complain. But when that call comes, I’ll know it’s something minor and not a roof that needs to be replaced. I’ll know that because I hired a slate roofing company with my own money to look at the roof for you.”

Now I can’t reveal how embarrassingly inexpensive it was to have that roofing company drop by, but I will say it was pocket change.

Anyway, it worked. I never got any complaint calls (even when my clients moved in and discovered a defect). What I did get are calls from people referred to me by my previous clients.

Agents build their referral business by finding the best professionals to help them protect their clients. And you don’t find those professionals on a preferred vendor list which is nothing more than a list of paid advertisers.

And it’s just not who is on the list that is the problem… it’s who is MISSING from the list that is just as much of an issue. If the best inspectors refuse to pay to be on that list, the consumer is not only steered toward the bozo paid advertiser… but also steered AWAY from the best inspectors in town.

What part isn’t true Nick,

The part about every defect the inspector finds may potentially cost the REA money, and therefore a conflict of interest exists between the HI & REA?

or

The part where I stated, “many REAs are working in the buyers best interest, but many aren’t”.?

All REAs are not top producers. 10% of all REAs do 90% of all of the RE business. So you statements hold true with “most” top REAs, it doesn’t hole true for much of the other 90% who come and go with the wind.

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You need to rephrase that Juan. I never said that and it is a flat out lie.

Are you now a liar Juan?

Lol…