Inspector Says He Know Our Dirty Little Secrets

[hausdok]

It's always fun to read home inspector punditry.

Check it out!

[Richard Moore]

The dirty little secret of home inspection is that most home inspectors do not want to find anything wrong with the house.

Ummm…that would be me! I don’t feel the need to prove how studley an inspector I am and I don’t go into a home wanting to find 50 things wrong just to boost my ego. My clients have fallen in love with their new prospective home and if it turns out that there are only a few, relatively minor items, then I’m happy for them (not the agent).

What I do want is to find all the things that ARE wrong with the house.

Most inspectors get almost all of their work from real estate agents, so they have an incentive not to find any problem that might jeopardize the deal.

Ohhh! That’s what he meant. Presumably Mr. Petrie has done his homework and performed a scientific survey that found over 50% of inspectors fall into that category. Or maybe he was too busy arranging the “special -- expensive – insuranceâ€

[kurt]

Oh, the pain, the pain.....

I guess I'm going to have to get my CO monitor back out of it's cobweb covered case, and check the "exhaust" of the furnace. That way, folks will know what to think of me.

I also gotta get me some of that extra special expensive insurance that sez I'm allowed to use a ladder.

OTOH, Mr. Petrie seemed like he means well. Can't complain about anyone pullling the cover off the RLH's (realtor's little helpers).

[Richard Moore]

Originally posted by kurt

...

OTOH, Mr. Petrie seemed like he means well. Can't complain about anyone pullling the cover off the RLH's (realtor's little helpers).

Had he said "some" and not "most" I'd agree with you, but this seems like no more than self promotion through unfounded negative generalization to me.

Here's the thing...There are probably enough HIs to fairly represent a cross section of society. I just can't believe a majority of people in this country, and therefore HIs, are unscrupulous bastards. Yes, there are some, too many, bad apples in this profession, but I'll hold onto my perhaps naive belief that most of my colleagues wouldn't screw their client no matter where the referrals come from. That has certainly been my impression of almost all here and at other forums as well as the few HIs I've met personally.

I'm just generally against generalizations, especially when someone uses them to "prove" their own superiority.

[Eric B]

"Had he said "some" and not "most" I'd agree with you, but this seems like no more than self promotion through unfounded negative generalization to me."

Richard, I agree. To broadly cast a shadow on a majority of inspectors is a disservice to our industry and a slap in the face to many of us. While it may cause people to be more cautious of who they hire, it also can create a need for damage control for many good inspectors.

[kurt]

Well, I don't know, but if you guys say so, OK, I guess. My take is most HI's are pretty lame. All one has to do is go to a pro society chapter meeting to feel the pain.

I can still remember the horror of attending the ASHI Chapter Leadership Day a couple years back, w/the vast majority of attendee's thinking it was a great idea to have us standing outside Home Depot's wearing orange aprons and handing out brochures preaching the benefits of an ASHI inspection (yes, it's true. all part of the branding debacle.)

Intent is hard to prove. Unscrupulous? Maybe. Incompetent? Probably.

I'd feel reasonably confident saying most HI's don't want to find defects for any number of reasons, not just wanting to avoid pissing off the realtor. How else would one explain not doing all the things we should be doing? (like, going on roofs, maybe? We're the only group involved in roofing inspection that argue it's not necessary to get up there to see what's going on. Why?)

Was the guy pushing himself up by breaking others down? Sure he was, sort of. Gee whiz, I've never said I was better than the other guy, have I?

Imagining this is a disservice to the profession is a little over the top for me. He's telling the truth, w/his personal bias, near as I can tell. It's an embarassing profession to be involved in right now. Maybe in the future too.

[Chad Fabry]

Well, I don't know, but if you guys say so, OK, I guess. My take is most HI's are pretty lame. All one has to do is go to a pro society chapter meeting to feel the pain.

Amen