SNations Posted July 28, 2014 Report Share Posted July 28, 2014 Every client is looking for something different from their home inspection. Some want a thorough inspection so they can negotiate. Some want not just a thorough inspection to find problems but they want to learn about the house too. So they want to know what's right and to understand how things work. Those are the clients I like best. Some clients consider a home inspection to be just something they have to do, almost like paying a tax. So they just try to find the cheapest inspection they can, and seem to pay little attention to the results short of almost literally "Will it fall down?". Those are the worst clients, but since they're shopping primarily by price I avoid most of them. Everyone has their own motivation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted July 28, 2014 Report Share Posted July 28, 2014 I still get some fair number of clients that don't know what to expect or what to do with the information once received. A constant I've observed.....no one gives a shit about the long list of safety items that is now (more or less) required by our various State and professional society SOP's. If all the trades were wonderful and as skilled as a few tradesfolk imagine themselves to be, then every last one of us would be out of a job. Personally, I walk in wondering what I'm going to find and walk out wondering what I missed.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted July 28, 2014 Report Share Posted July 28, 2014 Personally, I walk in wondering what I'm going to find and walk out wondering what I missed.... I like that. I would also like to add that I admire Peter responding and not going off the deep end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedy Petey Posted July 28, 2014 Report Share Posted July 28, 2014 If all the trades were wonderful and as skilled as a few tradesfolk imagine themselves to be, then every last one of us would be out of a job. I have to say, most of the crap I see is either from handyman type "contractors" or downright horrible DIY stuff. Just like you guys, anyone with any amount of self respect and professional pride would not do anything that was at the very least not to code. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted July 28, 2014 Report Share Posted July 28, 2014 I like that. I would also like to add that I admire Peter responding and not going off the deep end. Yeah, I liked when I heard it a very long time ago. It's honest. Some fellow who came before and whose name I've forgotten had it right. Agreed on the deep end. We got a lot of deep ended-ness amongst the brethren. It gets tedious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palmettoinspect Posted July 29, 2014 Report Share Posted July 29, 2014 Personally, I walk in wondering what I'm going to find and walk out wondering what I missed.... It feels good to hear you say that you worry too! The worry of missing something is always on my mind. I've come to get use to it and use it as motivation. Although, thinking back over the last 9 years, there's only a hand full of times I've been called back and two or three I can actually think of I truly missed. It's a constant thing on your mind for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denray Posted August 6, 2014 Report Share Posted August 6, 2014 I want to offer Marc and Kibble a free raft trip out here on the west coast to help with their anger issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plummen Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 All that effort to do it wrong when a single pole switch would have worked. [^][^][^][^] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plummen Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 Of course, home inspectors don't make the call about what does and doesn't hold up a house sale. I only mention this because many electricians seem to think that we do. Oh please!You know for fact that buyers use your reports for extortion, plain and simple. I've been saying it for years now: Home inspectors used to have a definite purpose for safety and finding high $$ future problems for potential buyers. Now your sole purpose is to get a lower price for buyers, simple as that. All the stupid things listed, and all the bigger things missed I see are proof of this. I know this seems like a flame, but I am just calling it like I see it, on a regular basis. [:-thumbu] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plummen Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 Of course, home inspectors don't make the call about what does and doesn't hold up a house sale. I only mention this because many electricians seem to think that we do. Oh please!You know for fact that buyers use your reports for extortion, plain and simple. I've been saying it for years now: Home inspectors used to have a definite purpose for safety and finding high $$ future problems for potential buyers. Now your sole purpose is to get a lower price for buyers, simple as that. All the stupid things listed, and all the bigger things missed I see are proof of this. I know this seems like a flame, but I am just calling it like I see it, on a regular basis. So, is this promulgation based on any type of valid research or is it based solely on your own handful of experiences in your pathetic little world. I come across the same thing in my pathetic little world,of course since Ive been retired a few years now doing little jobs to entertain myself my world isn't quite so pathetic as you may think.Ive said this before and Ill say it again.When I was still working full time as a contractor I was required to have a master plumbers license for each town I worked in and a bond registered with every town I worked in.Same thing with my electrical contractors license except I had to have a license in each state we did work in and had to have a bond registered with every city I did work in. To be a city inspector around here you need to hold a journeymans license in what ever trade it is youre inspecting. To be a home inspector in the state of Nebraska requires a pickup truck,a ladder and some business cards and forms with boxes to check off from office depot or vista print. If I had a dollar for every obvious code violation Ive had to trip over to find my way to the little obscure thing the home inspector found Id be living on a beach some place typing this.[:-yawn][] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plummen Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 If all the trades were wonderful and as skilled as a few tradesfolk imagine themselves to be, then every last one of us would be out of a job. I have to say, most of the crap I see is either from handyman type "contractors" or downright horrible DIY stuff. Just like you guys, anyone with any amount of self respect and professional pride would not do anything that was at the very least not to code. [:-thumbu] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plummen Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 Check the exteriors forum[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtblum Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 If I had a dollar for every obvious code violation Ive had to trip over to find my way to the little obscure thing the home inspector found Id be living on a beach some place typing this. That's why, when I find that obscure item you speak of, my report says to have an electrician correct this, and anything they feel, also needs correction. That doesn't mean I'm ignoring anything, being lazy,or missed it. I've usually found plenty enough to bring you in. Your turn. I'm not there to find everything for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Port Posted August 11, 2014 Report Share Posted August 11, 2014 And I am not there to do an inspection on the property that someone has already paid for. The HO is not going to pay for another one and if I did they would wonder why they paid for the first one when I come up with all the things that were missed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Davenport Posted August 12, 2014 Report Share Posted August 12, 2014 And I am not there to do an inspection on the property that someone has already paid for. The HO is not going to pay for another one and if I did they would wonder why they paid for the first one when I come up with all the things that were missed. [:-thumbu] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aschauer82 Posted September 1, 2014 Report Share Posted September 1, 2014 I am still new to being a home inspector. That being said I see that I provide a very valuable to the customer. If it is for the buyer of a home I point out items can cast a lot of money to fix, small maintenance things that need attention to maintain the home. I get a lot of new home buyers who might not much home building. So I let them know what I see with my training and experience in the construction field. I do not thing having knowledge about one of the biggest purchases of someone life is extortion. What I give is a unbiased opinion of the home. A list of observations and facts. I love my work and take great pride in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted September 1, 2014 Report Share Posted September 1, 2014 Welcome to the profession, and to TIJ. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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