Can a Home Inspector in Sacramento Make Repairs?

Your real estate agent knows the best Sacramento home inspectors

When it comes to finding a home inspector in Sacramento, usually a buyer’s best bet is to use the recommendation from her Sacramento Realtor. You might wonder if there is a conflict of interest but there is not. Agents want their buyers to receive the most accurate assessment of the home they are buying. It relieves much liability on the agent’s part and the end result is an informed buyer. Although, if you’re looking for a conflict of interest, let’s talk about whether a home inspector in Sacramento can make repairs for the defects noted in the report.

Because there are no licensing requirements for a home inspector in Sacramento, it could happen. In fact, I’ve seen companies decide to jump on the all-inclusive bandwagon when it comes to home inspections. They want to provide pest inspections, roof inspections, sewer inspections, along with their home inspections to best monotize the opportunity at hand — which has always seemed like a bad idea to this Sacramento Realtor.

I prefer to refer specialists and not opportunists to my clients. Those companies sell the service as a one-call-does-it-all, perhaps to attract lazy agents who don’t want to be bothered with scheduling multiple specialists to inspect the home on different days and times. It would not surprise me to learn that some of those one-call-does-it-all home inspectors also have their fingers in a contracting company, what any reputable home inspector in Sacramento would call unethical. I don’t know of any national home inspector association that promotes the notion of allowing inspectors to make repairs.

Not only do the national home inspection trade associations frown on a home inspector making repairs, they don’t want a home inspector even handing out a quote for a repair cost. No verbal estimates of repairs. Because a home inspector does not make repairs.

Now, pest companies, on the other hand, conduct their own inspections and then generally hire third-party contractors to do the dry-rot work. It’s allowed in California. I suspect they reason this conflict is OK because this way they can assure the work is done correctly. I won’t say there are not times when a seller’s contractor and the pest inspector do not see eye-to-eye. The pest company I refer to sellers, the inspector does not do any of the repairs, although he could; he’s just a pest inspector. That’s his specialty.

Buyers would fare far better to make certain the home inspector they are hiring is competent, since anybody can say they are a home inspector in California and call out as suspect any home inspector in Sacramento who would quote estimates for repairs or, god forbid, offer to make the repairs. It’s unlikely to happen. Most home inspectors pride themselves on providing an adequate discovery for the buyer. Don’t hire a bad home inspector. Further, bear in mind all purchase contracts in California are AS IS contracts, and the seller is not required to make any repairs.

If you would like to work a well known team in Sacramento, please call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. We are happy to assist with selling or buying a home.