Who's the best inspector in the Houston area

[Chad Fabry]

My cousin is buying a house in the Houston area. Any suggestions?

[Marc]

I checked out ten of them by reviewing their sample report. None were any good.

Marc

[ghentjr]

My cousin is buying a house in the Houston area. Any suggestions?

Round trip airfare.

[Les]

John, Chad should not fly because of his condition. However, you and I could go for a small fee and expenses!

[Tom Raymond]

Chad should arrange an ITA style supervised inspection and get a dozen or so of us there to pick the place apart.

I've never been to Texas.

[hausdok]

You guys don't want to go to Texas. If you perform an inspection there you have to do it to the Texas SOP which includes their dinked-up six page inspection report and doofus stuff like testing the oven with a thermometer.

It's what you get when a state allows real estate agents to ramrod the program. [:-banghea

[Nolan Kienitz]

Chad,

I'd drive down, but the mileage and such would likely be more than the inspection fee!

If they choose a P&B home I can't help out there either as I stopped doing those about 3 years ago.

Yes, Mike H. ... I have to test those ovens for 350-degrees +/- 25.

And ... the inspection form is likely going to get changed again in the next month or so as the TREC board wants some more verbiage that puts us inspectors under the microscope even more.

[Chad Fabry]

The TREC form makes all you Texas inspectors look like stooges. It's awful.

[Nolan Kienitz]

The TREC form makes all you Texas inspectors look like stooges. It's awful.

Can't and won't argue that any day of the week.

As noted ... it is what happens when your license is controlled by the TREC board that is made up of Realtors and Brokers.

My $0.02 is that we are simply targets in the RE transaction in Texas. Agents love and tend to pick "their" agents for the typical drive-by inspection. Same as what goes on everywhere, but over the past couple of years it has been multiplying in spades down here. Just sucks!!

I'm sort of in a "winding down" mode when it comes to doing inspections. In other words, I'm very selective in which ones I agree to do. The litigious world we live in is alive and well and I'm just a tad tired of it.

I could go on and on, but would rather sit at a table with y'all and have some Shiner Bock while going "on and on".

[kurt]

Is it still (or, was it ever) possible to do the TREC, and attach one's own supplementary form? I seem to recall people doing the TREC report with an addendum of a real report.

[inspector57]

Other than the order and preliminary check boxes, you can add and include anything that you want in the Texas report.

You might not like the order but it is no problem to create a good report.

It is just grouped by system.

Anyone not doing a good inspection and providing a good report is just not trying.

My only gripe with the state, other than they keep changing the form is: No amount of regulation will make a drive by inspector do a good job.

I've been doing this for almost twenty years and they just keep piling on more regulations without making any real changes to benefit consumers.

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him think!

[Nolan Kienitz]

Is it still (or, was it ever) possible to do the TREC, and attach one's own supplementary form? I seem to recall people doing the TREC report with an addendum of a real report.

Yes, that does pass muster with TREC. There are a few HIs who operate in that manner. Will just have to see how it unfolds over time as there is a new crop of legal folks at TREC and it certainly seems there is a somewhat different view being taken when a complaint lands on their desk.

What has been interesting over the past two months is HIs being fined or having a reprimand letter put in their file with a complaint from "sellers". Seems like there are more of those than from buyers. I certainly don't have precise statistics, but just looking at the list of disciplinary actions each month or two.

[Nolan Kienitz]

Other than the order and preliminary check boxes, you can add and include anything that you want in the Texas report.

You might not like the order but it is no problem to create a good report.

It is just grouped by system.

Anyone not doing a good inspection and providing a good report is just not trying.

My only gripe with the state, other than they keep changing the form is: No amount of regulation will make a drive by inspector do a good job.

I've been doing this for almost twenty years and they just keep piling on more regulations without making any real changes to benefit consumers.

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him think!

JL is also spot on. The shape, layout of a template does not make any difference. Some states have such and some don't and those that don't use virtually whatever they want to use.

Actually, I happen to like the template in that it provides some semblance of common order. Also covers (in a broad sense) everything necessary.

We can dig to whatever detail/level we want and put same in the report. The TREC SOP is simply a "minimum" ... now, how many HIs go beyond the minimum is always the question. Those who generate 4-6 HIs per day and/or are in and out of a 4Ks.f. home in 1-1/2 hours are certainly no doing their clients any favors. (My $0.02).

And, we have many of such HIs roaming about, but honestly not much different than a lot of businesses where folks do what they can for the shorter path to completion. It is what it is !!

[Chad Fabry]

Thanks for the help, I gave my cousin the names of a few inspectors after I reviewed their sample reports.