Assassins deals, contract assassins, home inspectors! Call them what you want, but the most important thing you can know is to call WHO. But how do we know who is calling, and how do we evaluate their experience?
Home inspectors are simply the eyes and ears of the house in question. This is an objective voice at home. The internal inspectors' mantra should be "if the house could say what he would say." It is very important that the inspector can speak in such a way that the understanding is understandable for the buyer, but has the depth of technical language for detailed repair using the terminology common to bidding.
Choosing the right home inspector is much more difficult than choosing a home. A clear and critical approach to choosing an inspector is important in order to be happy over time with your chosen home.
My friend in construction
It seems that everyone knows someone who “works in construction”, and from these relationships there arises the general desire of some buyers to save a fee for a professional inspection if they inspect a friend or family member.
At first blush, it looks like the perfect solution. A friend or family member is a known and trusted person. In the mind of the buyer there is no doubt that the loyalty and intentions of this person are above reproach. And then, of course, there is the problem of saving the inspection fee.
These friend attributes are important. Ideally, everything except the problem would be found in any professional home inspector. The difficulty arises in three main areas; objectivity, creditworthiness and special knowledge.
Let's first consider the issue of specific inspection knowledge. Although it may be that a friend has no equal in his particular area of construction, it rarely happens that he is able to fully inspect the house, i. E. As an interaction of dozens of complex and interconnected systems. Most knowledgeable heating and air conditioning contractors may know almost nothing about roofs.
However, even more common than the lack of a broad knowledge base is the lack of any knowledge that may be useful during a home inspection.
More than once, when a “friend in construction” was asked a question about construction experience or knowledge, it turns out that this actual experience was something other than optimal. Does this “experience” usually boil down to something like the fact that he loads trucks into a hardware store to earn money for beer during the spring break at 74? Even with the best of intentions, this is strictly the knowledge needed to guide a friend or family member through what is most likely the largest financial decision of their life.
Objectivity of my desire
By the very nature of friends and family members, they are not objective. They have great compassion for the buyer, as well as great fear that some kind of harm, whether physical or financial, may come to this buyer. Worst of all, fear in the depths of the “friend in construction” head is that their experience is not enough to offer opinions.
This leads to the situation taking the path to an even less desirable situation. We have a nervous or anxious buyer who is advised to be a nervous and anxious person who works well outside his area of expertise. But now they are linked to the recognition that they are lost and frightened. This is bad for anyone in a transaction — buyer, seller, or agent!
Trust and trust
Moving on, we come to the question of trust. I have watched thousands of transactions, and it seems to me that sellers are incredulous. Rather, they, of course, when it comes to the problem of imperfections in their homes.
What happens if any stroke of luck, a “friend in construction” actually performs a home inspection in an excellent manner and actually reveals all the flaws of the house in a clear and concise manner? It is still likely that the seller will doubt that the results are fair and objective due to the relationship between the buyer and the “inspector”.
This inherent distrust most often leads to the fact that a professional inspector is called upon to confirm or refute the comments of a “friend.” Who pays the bill for this extra occupation, and what to do with conflicting observations only adds another layer of pain and confusion in the transaction, which is already bleeding to death.
Who is hiring?
Keep life simple! Always hire professional, qualified ASHI home inspectors. You can be sure that ASHI internal inspectors adhere to a strict code of ethics, well-defined standards of practice and have passed the most demanding requirements for certification of membership in the country.
And if there is a personal connection with the home inspector, be REALY to reveal this to all interested parties. Most people will not object to disclosure, but let the discovery be made after fact and trust, as well as the transaction may disappear forever.
