HI Articles on realtor.com

[tim5055]

A few articles on realtor.com

Why I Fell in Love With My Home Inspector?and How You Can, Too

How a Bad Home Inspector Can Jeopardize a Sale

Watch Out for These Red Flags When Buying a Home

[kurt]

The first one is OK. There was actually one excellent piece of advice in it; ask a potential HI how many they do in a day. If it's more than one, or at most a couple, they're probably not doing the job.

The other two....blather.

I think I'm getting old; this is all kinda surreal. When I started, it was all about keeping the inspector out, or minimizing in any way possible anything I might have to say. I recall a realtor literally stabbing his index finger in my chest telling me the business didn't need "my kind". I'd have to explain to people why they wanted a home inspection, then sell them again that I was the guy to do it.

It's kinda cool how we've become legit.

[Marc]

Yeah, only the first one is decent. Interesting that all three came from the same source. They don't seem to screen anything, just cover their eyes and print.

Marc

[Erby]

Wouldn't be so bad if she had a clue what she was talking about!

"Anne Miller lives in Brooklyn and writes content for the Web. Her interests include real estate and international news."

[Tom Breslawski]

"You get what you pay for, so don?t try to economize on a home inspection."

The one decent piece of advice in that article.

[gtblum]

I think I'm getting old; this is all kinda surreal. When I started, it was all about keeping the inspector out, or minimizing in any way possible anything I might have to say. I recall a realtor literally stabbing his index finger in my chest telling me the business didn't need "my kind". I'd have to explain to people why they wanted a home inspection, then sell them again that I was the guy to do it.

It's kinda cool how we've become legit.

Don't worry, Kurt. It's still the same as it ever was, around here. Maybe worse.

[kurt]

It always seems the worst right before it gets better.

In my 'hood, young people rule. They get it. None of them knows squat about houses except they can see the whole realtor transactional paradigm for what it is; they get it.

It'll change everywhere. Took 30 years here.

[Erby]

What is that they say about bad publicity being better than no publicity.

Even the bad articles make people aware of home inspectors and our value to the transaction.

[gtblum]

Tomorrow night, I'll have the opportunity to enlighten about 30 or so, during my segment of a first time buyers program I participate with.

They strongly advise their students to NOT take a referral for an inspector from an agent, and to find their own. I found that out from a former student who told me about it when I asked where she found me. I always ask.

From there, I contacted the administrators, had a sit down, and I'm on the rotating schedule.

My first class was in March. When I got to how you find and hire an inspector, I mentioned they likely would never hear my name from an agent.

When I started to explain why, I did a little eggshell walk until I caught the administrator giving me the green light with a nod of her head. Once she did, I opened up both barrels and watched everyone in that room "get it".

There wasn't a single student nodding off during that lesson.

I can't wait for tomorrow. If I can get to 30 more, I'll feel like I made a small difference. Educating the public is the only way things will ever change. Sometimes, chipping away at a big rock makes more sense than using dynamite.

It sure as hell won't change by trying to convince the doughnut delivery boys.

[Marc]

Administrators stay out of the room when I present. I have free reign for 90 minutes.

I've come to notice that certain comments of mine to the class regarding agent COIs are often followed by several pairs of big round eyes from the audience. You see, admin always schedules my presentation on the heels of an agent's presentation.

The agent has usually exited the building before I begin.

Last class had a lady interpreting into Spanish for a young couple in the back of the class. Noticed frequent bursts of facial emotions from her during the class. Didn't know until the class was over that the interpreter lady was also the couple's agent! Oops!

I'll be talking to admin next time about audio/video recording parts of the session (from the back of the class). It's raw footage for a string of website videos I endeavor to make.

Marc

[gtblum]

That was way too much fun!

"If you were buying a used car, and you wanted to have a mechanic check it out before you committed, would you take a referral for a mechanic from the car salesman?"

Everyone in the room said, Nooooo!

"Then, why would you take a referral for an inspector from a used house salesman?"

The light bulbs went on! They got it. That was all it took.

After that, the administrator jumped in with me, and we exposed the class to every dirty agent trick we could think of.

Oh,I forgot. There was also some time spent on the inspection process.

[kurt]

That was my process 25 years ago. Good job.

It'll change everywhere because not everybody is stupid, and at base, real estate sales is about keeping people stupid and unaware. Give folks the tip off, they get it.

[Inspectorjoe]

The tide is turning, albeit slowly. Last week I did an inspection for a single mother. The listing price of the house was about 1/4 of the average around here. It had LOTS of problems. The woman's agent told her the house looked pretty good and she didn't really need an inspection, but reluctantly gave her a list of "three good inspectors". Luckily, the woman decided to research inspectors on the internet and found me.

I have nothing against agent referrals - in fact, a lot of my business stems from them. But I do nothing to get them, other than doing the best job I can for the buyer. I don't solicit agents. And it certainly goes against Business 101, but I don't even formally thank them. I may thank them if I'm communicating with them for another reason, but that's it. I spend 0 dollars on Christmas cards.

On the other hand, we all know there's a whole industry out there based on instructing inspectors how to prostrate themselves before their exalted agents. I have a Facebook friend that has a novel approach to this. After every inspection, he makes up an elaborate meme based on that agent and posts it on his FB page. I cringe every time I see it. Here's a recent one, along with its caption:

"Money flows where Betsy goes.

Thanks to Betsy Lxxxxxx and Dxxxx Ixxxxx Real Estate for the recommendation!"

Click to Enlarge

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The signature on the bills is a nice touch!

Click to Enlarge

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[Jim Katen]

That's truly repellent.

[Jim Katen]

How about this one, that used to be the preface to every home inspection report prepared by a not-to-be-named franchise. Talk about fluffers:

* * * A REAL ESTATE AGENT * * *

The responsibilities and efforts of a Realtor go far beyond the obvious tasks of writing advertisements, holding open houses, showing properties, and preparing contracts. In fact, everyday Realtors are helping people like yourself to achieve the ultimate dream of owning their own home.

The professional services of a Realtor include: a) absolute fidelity towards protecting and promoting the interests of their clients; b) shielding the public against fraud and misrepresentation; c) keeping informed of laws and regulations affecting the real estate industry; and d) keeping current on all the financing alternatives that might best serve the needs of sellers and buyers.

A Realtor does all this and much more in order to promote a successful business transaction and one which is smooth and headache-free for you. A Realtor invests countless hours behind the scenes, coordinating details with XXXX home inspectors and a host of other people, many of whom you never see, to help your transaction run smoothly. A Realtor has worked very hard to help you in this transaction by maintaining the standards of an industry professional.

Please remember the professional Realtor who has assisted you in this transaction when it comes time for you, or someone you know, to sell or purchase a home.

( cutouts here for the realtor to insert business card )

[Inspectorjoe]

Jaw-dropping:

https://www.facebook.com/KeithStewartHo ... n/timeline

[kurt]

wow.....

MVR collector cards. On plaques. Too valuable to trade.

[Marc]

Shameful miscreant.

Marc

[Mike Lamb]

I have one deeply disturbed RE agent who has referred me 4 or 5 times a yr. for the last 10+ yrs. That's decent income.

I now have a stable of about 7 or 8 who have referred me at least twice a yr. for the last few yrs.

I love all the agents who refer me. They are the hardest working people in show business.

[Marc]

I've no problem accepting a job referred to me by an agent but I don't dare solicit them and strongly discourage home buyers from depending on agents for an inspector referral.

Marc

[kurt]

I have one deeply disturbed RE agent who has referred me 4 or 5 times a yr. for the last 10+ yrs. That's decent income.

I now have a stable of about 7 or 8 who have referred me at least twice a yr. for the last few yrs.

I love all the agents who refer me. They are the hardest working people in show business.

Same here. There's a few that have kept up with me for years and I really like them. They're small players in a big market that have maintained their souls impeccably.

[gtblum]

They are the hardest working people in show business.

Not even close!

Car salesmen are in a league so far above real estate agents, it's an insult to the car people for me to make this comparison.

The training and money available for training alone, goes way beyond comparison.

There's always someone looking over their shoulder waiting to hang them.

There's five of the same model with the same package, and same color within driving distance of the other, at any given time. They say, they have 48 hrs to close a deal from the time a customer sets foot on the lot, or lose them.

They know what they're selling. They know the packages, they deal with the service, body shop, and parts department.

The sales department generates the most revenue for a dealership, and profits the least of all departments.

There's nothing to lie about. It's all a click away.

They claim, 96% don't make it through the first year, and a similar number fail before the second year.

You want to know where they end up? In furniture stores, making cold calls to get old ladies to invest in the stock market, or selling real estate.

I know better. I got out of the trades in my late 20s and sold cars for 11 years, until I got burnt out of it.

Most agents don't have a clue about sales. Most have the negotiating skills of a 4 year old in a shopping cart.

They also don't have a clue about what we do. No respect for a profession charged with the responsibility of a knowledge base that would have them sucking their thumbs in the fetal position, if they tried to comprehend a tenth of it.

Then, we have guys like this clown in Joe's post. There's plenty more where he came from on a FB page supposedly for inspectors, that Joe already walked away from. No shame with these guy$.

They even had a broker laying down the law about what ancillary services he expected inspectors to provide, and made it clear that when inspectors hadn't complied, "they went away."

I'm still waiting for him to answer my question about whether he might offer some guidelines about the verbiage he preferred in a report, or the proper way for an inspector to conduct themselves with a client, to avoid the wrath of the hand that feeds them.

Not one inspector on that page had the balls to back me up.

This forum has spoiled me. The talent here is unmatched. You guys should stay away from that page. There's a handful of smart guys there, and a whole lot of "other." If your head doesn't explode from the stupidity and ass kissing, you'll get sucked into wasting precious time from your life, eating these guys alive.