The day after a Home Inspection – For a Realtor it could be the best of times, or the worst of times.
As a realtor, this can be the most anxiety filled day you could have. The deal is momentarily out of your control and in the hands of someone who you don’t know. Buyers expectations, Inspectors pet peeves, home condition and time pressure come together to stew up lots of surprises. As an Inspector, I’ve been thinking on how to remove, or at least greatly reduce, the anxiety realtors feel when the buyer calls in an inspector.
From the day our business opened, our vision has always been to bring value to buyers and agents by providing a suite of support services to facilitate the home sale. We use the word “facilitate” to define our role: to bring expertise, to ease anxiety, to expedite the process, to simplify issues, to clarify. We want to walk that talk.
I’ve performed many realtors requested “second opinion inspections” over the years. Except for some mold issues, I’ve found the home inspections are accurate and define the defect observed. These second inspections are usually Realtor driven last ditch efforts to get a transaction that has gone off the rails back on track.
I’ve come to realize the only way to remove the anxiety and lessen the unknown is to make inspection part of the process earlier. The only way to achieve this is through education.
To that end, we continually encourage buyers to retain a home inspector when they are in search mode. We think buyers should discuss with the home inspector what they are looking for, the time frame, ask questions and send him (or her) pictures of things they see as they tour properties. An experienced Home Inspector is a great resource to have on board during a home search, essentially their own consultant for things that need explanation or want an opinion on. If a home inspector is too busy to spend a little time offering help, or can’t answer the questions they need answered, then a home shopper has plenty of time to “interview” other inspectors before the final decision is made and they become a home buyer.
As realtors, you work for a client with only the possibility of eventually being compensated by getting them the home they want. Shouldn’t home inspectors follow the same practice?
Getting the home inspector on board earlier in the process gives everyone the opportunity to discuss and become comfortable with the process, set expectations, and understand the capabilities the inspector can bring to the job.
Haven Environmental uses the tag line “Look to us to be your trusted advisors”. We mean it.
