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THE SELLER
And the Home Inspection
By working with the seller during the home inspection process, you
can help to provide a very positive real estate experience
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The
answer depends on the condition of
the home and the maintenance of its major components.
Advise your home sellers that disclosure laws
and customary real estate practices vary.
Regardless of what the inspection may
reveal, it is always best to allow the inspector
to do his job quickly and efficiently, with a minimum of
problems. To
assure a smooth and successful inspection,
the seller may wish to follow these
tips:
1. Leave the Premises – Real estate agents should volunteer
to "show" the home
to the inspector, allowing the owner to go elsewhere. The
agent is familiar with both the house and the process, so he
is able to act as the owner’s
representative. 2.
Be Courteous – The home inspector is not the seller’s
enemy. He does not intend
to find fault with every aspect of
a home. Instead, his role is to offer the
buyer a fair assessment of the home.
He should be treated as a professional.
Don’t keep him waiting on
your doorstep. If access to the home
is not possible at the scheduled time,
be sure to call and reschedule – don’t
make the inspector take the trip to a house for nothing. Allow
at least two
hours for the inspection.
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3. Don’t
Argue During the Inspection – Inspectors
don’t appreciate being followed
around by argumentative sellers
or agents. The time to explain and
negotiate will come after the inspection
report is written and received.
4. Don’t Make Statements Beyond Your Knowledge
– This isn’t the time for guesswork.
If a seller doesn’t know
when an appliance was installed
or how many layers of shingles
are on the roof, admit it.
The same caution about misrepresentation applies to questions
concerning remodeling
permits, square
footage of the home,
or any other question
that may come up.
5. Allow Access to All Living Areas – It’s the
inspector’s job to look over all aspects
of the home. A seller should be advised to allow the inspector
to do this job. After all,
if access to an area is
blocked, it will be noted in the home
inspection report and will surely
be looked upon with suspicion by
the potential buyer.
6. Make Agreed-Upon Repairs Promptly –
The buyer may ask the inspector to approve
any repairs completed as a result of the inspection. The
sooner these repairs are
made, the sooner this contingency
will be met –
and the home inspector’s
job will be completed.
Delaying the repairs
until the last minute will
not stop the buyer
from having the areas
re-inspected. However,
it could delay the closing
of escrow. |
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From the desk of . . .
Arthur S. Lazerow
An Alban Update
Saturday
night, January 16 was our company’s
holiday dinner party. We returned to
Mealy’s in New Market, Maryland, since their
private dining room can hold our thirty some
employees and spouses. Great food and an
upbeat attitude produced a terrific evening.
More than anything else, it is
the quality of our
people that makes Alban Home Inspection Service such a superb
service company. So it
is with great pleasure that I can announce two new inspectors
joining George Ash,
Rudy Rudacil, Roberto Montiel, Russ Narkie,
Lee Eyler and me.
Rodney Shull is heading our northern Virginia
office. Living in Orleans, Virginia with
his wife Donna, Rod had 22 years of construction
experience, from the classroom at
Massanhutten Votech to full charge residential
construction superintendent, before
joining Alban. He is a fully trained home
inspector, participating in ASHI, and has
enjoyed is initial work with Alban clients.
Marty Blackwood, living in Olney with his wife Cathy, is a licensed
architect with twenty-five
years experience in design and construction
management for real estate developers.
He has already passed the national
home inspection examinations and will
soon qualify for his national ASHI accreditation.
Marty adds to Alban another layer
of technical competence and professional education, all of which
will greatly benefit
our clients and their Realtors.
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