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Why Sacramento Home Inspectors Note Petty Items in Reports
Sacramento home inspectors go out of their way to find defects, big and small.
When Sacramento home inspectors note petty items in reports, it is not their fault. The purpose of the inspection is thoroughness. They are also not trying to upset home sellers, but they often do. I don’t know why they can’t send home inspectors to an English class to learn ways to present findings in an easy-to-understand manner. Some just grunt and don’t write any words. They instead check boxes. The horrible boxes are always a scary red, too. Meant to instill fear in the heart of any buyer reading it.
The fact is Sacramento home inspectors are looking for a defect or something unusual to describe. In part, because that’s their freakin’ job. Also, in part, because if they don’t find something wrong, it’s bad. It’s bad because the buyer will think she a) wasted her money or b) the inspector isn’t doing a good job.
So, they try to be very thorough. If the only thing Sacramento home inspectors can find is a burned out lightbulb, that’s what he or she will report. Maybe a crack in the sidewalk. If they can’t figure out why the furnace won’t turn on, they will recommend further investigation. Sometimes, a home inspector recommends further investigation for, say, a gas fireplace, when there is nothing wrong. The problem is all inspectors don’t necessarily know how every gas fireplace works. Why should they? It’s not their house.
I actually don’t understand why most home buyers hire a home inspector to look at visible things they can see with their own eyes. One would think buyers would be more concerned about hiring a roof inspector to check out the roof, an HVAC specialist, a plumber, and maybe an electrician to check out the house wiring. Those people are specialists, not to mention, ahem, licensed.
Sacramento home inspectors are not licensed as a requirement. There is no licensing division for home inspections. There is little reason to get upset when an inspector reports minor issues. Rejoice. Nothing serious is wrong. It’s just a disclosure. Not a death sentence.
But most buyers don’t want to pay the big bucks and they’d rather pay some rogue general home inspector they found online to inspect what is about to become the biggest investment of their life. At the very least, a buyer should get a good referral from his or her agent.
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.
Do You Know Where to Find a Sacramento Home Inspector?
Your real estate agent knows the best Sacramento home inspectors
Finding a home inspector can be a daunting task for a first-time home buyer in Sacramento. On the one hand, buyers sometimes want more control over a transaction and wonder if the agent’s home inspector is qualified or if he’s getting paid under the table to keep his or her lips zipped about problems, which is completely impossible. Just does not happen. Ever. Not among professional and ethical agents.
On the other hand, the buyer is paying for the home inspector so the buyer wants to hire the best. How do you find the best Sacramento home inspector? For starters, most agents genuinely want their buyers to receive the most complete home inspection possible if, for no other reason, that it lessens an agent’s liability in the transaction, but primarily because they would like the buyer to be informed. You can find a home inspector from your agent.
There are enough things for buyers to freak out over. Buyers freak out whether the drywall was imported from China; yet, I haven’t heard of one single instance in Sacramento where drywall was used from China. They freak out whether there are harmful chemicals used in refinishing wood floors when they aren’t about to lick the floors or eat off them. They freak out about whether the home is built over a sinkhole, yet those types of problems are generally in the foothills, not Sacramento. They especially freak out over asbestos and mold, yet many older homes have traces of asbestos and mold. If there is something weird making the news, they freak out. Human nature.
We specialize in buyer freak outs. We help buyers find a Sacramento home inspector who won’t perpetuate freak outs but will educate.
When I work with buyers, they get a list of experienced and vetted home inspectors from us. They can choose from a guy with 25 years of experience as a home builder, or another home inspector who is an expert witness for the court and prepares his reports (expensive) by long-hand, or another who has been at it for 15 years and has a good bedside manner with buyers. All three are excellent communicators and can explain to a home buyer what their report means. Buyers don’t have any idea. Some inspectors will label a negative a RED FLAG and others will say it needs to be replaced immediately, while another might downplay the importance of a repair item, which can confuse buyers.
The guys who tell a buyer to demand repairs will find their names on an agent’s bad list because that is not within the scope of a home inspector. An inspector is expected to disclose defects. Not to perform the job of a real estate agent. It’s a fine line to walk, keeping a buyer informed yet calm. The home inspectors who get called back again and again do just that.
