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Need help understanding why buyer's home inspector was so nit-picky

9,123 Views | 26 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by PhatMack19
HouAg84
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Selling my house in Houston and went under contract on 12/20 with 10-day option period. I understand it's holiday season, but my agent didn't receive the inspection report from buyer's agent until 3pm on Dec 30 or 2 hours before expiration of the option period. This forced us to offer an extension on the option period to Jan 4th.

The inspection report was ticky-tacky, nit-picky, whatever you want to call it. For example, the roof was deficient because it needed to be cleaned. The roof was replaced in Oct 2015 and was very evident so why "fail" the roof just because there was an accumulation of leaves in some areas?

Also, the inspector pointed out the HVAC vents/registers were installed on the wrong side of the bedrooms!!

I could go on and on, but was the inspector being too picky or am I just too sensitive??
DFWag84
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that's nit picky about the leaves

T&Ps if the lender or borrower decides they want the returns and registers moved. Might be a deal killer due to expense, I bet they try to bluff you with an allowance for that expense.

SteveBott
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AG
You are being sensitive. HI are always picky. And quality of work is subjective. The buyer has two buckets. First is what to negotiate and second is the ticky tacky stuff to ignore.

Wait to see what's in the first bucket and go from there.
ATM9000
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AG
Leaves aren't necessarily picky depending on how many are on there. Leaves tend to retain more water on your roof and leaves shingles more prone to rot and leaks. If I were an inspector, I'd probably tend to call a roof deficient if it weren't clean to inspect as a precaution.
SteveBott
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84 the lender will never see the report if the loan officer is even half qualified. The buyer could use the report to negotiate but that part of the report id tell them to pound sand.

As for leaves, easy fix. 250? Again I'd tell the buyer the next good storm solves the problem
DFWag84
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even on a VA loan?
SteveBott
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84 got me stumped. I rarely do VA. Last one was probably 4 years ago. I would say VA is a small percentage of the market and doubt this guy has one, but who knows. In 14 years with a few VAs I never submitted an inspection
jja79
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Inspection is for the buyer only. Lender, regardless of loan program, doesn't see it.
powerbiscuit
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Their job it to point out every flaw so the buyer has the best information possible in order to make informed decisions.

It's my understanding that it doesn't matter on a VA loan, and it doesn't on a FHA loan. The appraisal goes to the lender and will identify what needs to be repaired/corrected.

The inspection only goes to the buyer.
East Dallas Ag
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Who cares what the inspector has in his report, what matters is what are the buyers asking for?
SteveBott
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PB my understanding as well
ToddyHill
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AG
Let me preface by stating my wife is a Realtor and we live in Tennessee. From time to time I hear the good, the bad, and the ugly pertaining to inspection reports.

Leaves on the roof and in the gutters generally get written into an inspection report. When we were selling our last two homes (one in Tennessee, one in Texas), we made sure the gutters were clean and that any leaves that had accumulated on the roof were removed.

Also, if the buyers opt to walk, and you now know why (based on the inspection report), then you'll have to disclose those 'defects' to the next seller. That may not be the case in Texas but it is that way in Tennessee. For that reason, it is sometimes best when the seller does not see the report.

Hope you two can come to an agreement that results in a sale.

The Fife
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I believe that's how it's done in TX. There were several houses I looked at where the previous inspection report was sitting on the countertop along with the disclosure statement.
Absolute
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Inspector here. Will try to provide a bit of perspective. Please try not to hate us, we are just doing our job. Holding the report till the last hour is a realtor or buyer thing, not the inspector. TREC mandates that the report be delivered to the client in 3 days maximum. Most inspectors deliver within 24 hours, I generally do that evening.

First, keep in mind that inspectors have to follow a standard of practice mandated by TREC, in Texas. Unfortunately, a lot of the standards leave a lot of latitude and effectively say "if the is something wrong with system X, report it as deficient.." But wrong is not always specified. Which leaves it to the individual inspector's subjective opinion. Unfortunately, in our litigious society, it is generally thought better to be safe than sorry, as you never know what a client might decide is a big deal to them.

Second, we do not pass or fail things. The TREC mandated report format is limited and inflexible. If any issue is observed with a system, that system has to be marked deficient. Deficient does not mean the system as a whole necessarily failed (though it can.) But that something that needs attention was observed. Your roof situation is a great example. I call out excessive leaf and tree debris build up as well. It is a maintenance item. It is generally easily fixed, and, yes, it can lead to leaks in a worst case. So in your situation I would have the comment (which tends to be black and white - excessive leaves and/or tree debris build up observed. Maintenance/Cleaning needed to remove.) The roof covering category now has to be marked deficient. When going over it with the buyer, I would explain to them that the roof is new, in good condition with no major problems (presumably), but that minor maintenance is needed now, and will be an ongoing maintenance item in the future for them.

As unlikely as a leak might be, as an inspector, we have to deal with the possible worst case situation and the fact that contractors love to throw us under the bus for some reason. That if it isn't noted and a leak develops, the client calls out a roofer and instead of the roofer telling the client that the leaves are a maintenance item and caused the leak, not his work, he will also give them a scapegoat. "I cannot believe that your home inspector did not call that out for you. He really should have. Blah blah blah." Then the inspector gets a nasty call. Better to note the minor concern and hope to educate the client.

Finally, as stated in other replies, as the seller you don't really care about everything in the report, just what the buyer asks for you to address/repair/pay. Most agents will create an addendum of the specific items that the buyer wants to ask to have repaired. They will usually only send over the whole report if things have become chippy as a professional courtesy because of the disclosure thing. But in this market (in DFW at least) there are so many newbies in real estate that you never know.

Ultimately, the buyer gets to decide what they ask for. I have had buyers fixate on items that I thought were pretty minor or unreasonable to ask for. Often their Agent would try to discourage them in my presence. But if they stand firm, the agent will ask. Then you get to decide what you will do and what you won't. I wouldn't sweat it too much. If all they ask about is little easy stuff, do it and move on. Though from your post, it seems like maybe they sent over the whole report and said fix everything. Again, sometimes buyers want that.

PS. The HVAC register thing IS stupid. Totally disagree with him calling that out. Would be interesting to see what his rationale might be. There are several school of thought as to what is right on that. But they are mostly subjective opinions. I would personally say forget it, if that came up on the request.

You should just look at the list unemotionally, many sellers are surprised and offended by what ends up on the report, and either agree to repair, offer a cash amount instead, or edit the list and counter. It is just part of the negotiations. From the buyer's perspective, it never hurts to ask.
histag10
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I find that a lot of first time buyers, and occasionally sellers, fail to differentiate between the inspection and the appraisal and the purpose they serve. The inspection is for the buyer, the appraisal is for their lender. To me, the inspection is nothing more than a negotiating tool, and items on it do not have to be 100% fixed for the sale to go through (unless specified on the appraisal).
The Original AG 76
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ToddyHill said:

Let me preface by stating my wife is a Realtor and we live in Tennessee. From time to time I hear the good, the bad, and the ugly pertaining to inspection reports.

Leaves on the roof and in the gutters generally get written into an inspection report. When we were selling our last two homes (one in Tennessee, one in Texas), we made sure the gutters were clean and that any leaves that had accumulated on the roof were removed.

Also, if the buyers opt to walk, and you now know why (based on the inspection report), then you'll have to disclose those 'defects' to the next seller. That may not be the case in Texas but it is that way in Tennessee. For that reason, it is sometimes best when the seller does not see the report.

Hope you two can come to an agreement that results in a sale.


This is why we have always ORDERED our realtor to under no circumstances accept ANY TREC inspection report. Have the buyers write up whatever they like on a piece of paper whatever BUT NO TREC report. If there is something totally incorrect or wrong code or stupidity like the registers thing you will HAVE to " report " these as known defects with an explanation as to why they really are NOT..etc.. In a competitive market this can be a deal maker or deal breaker.
Example: We had a lot of issues in unincorporated Harris County where lazy TREC inspectors used City Of Houston codes and wrote pages and pages. CoH codes do not apply in unincorporated county but they still wrote stuff up. The poor sellers who took possession of the buyers report then had to add all of those so-called findings to their disclosure list along with explanations about the codes used by builders in Texas , Harris County and CoH. Scared off buyers and caused a lot of grief.
powerbiscuit
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If it isn't code and incorrect, why even acknowledge it?
The Original AG 76
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powerbiscuit said:

If it isn't code and incorrect, why even acknowledge it?
the way a real estate lawyer explained it to me a few years ago was that the disclosure law has been interpreted to say that since a TREC report written by a licensed inspector is a legal document admissible and all....once received it has to be part of the full sellers " known defect" disclosure document. The remedy for lazy or just plain incorrect findings by the licensed inspector is to add explanations basically saying that the stuff listed is BS and ..

During the phony mold scare scam a few years ago false findings of mold by licensed yet unqualified inspectors caused a lot of havoc for some of my realtor friends. Even with accurate lab reports refuting the inspector that were added to the disclosures a lot of buyers were scared away from a lot of good homes.
Keep it safe ..NEVER accept the TREC report.
HouAg84
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thanks all.. especially RE-related experts. Having "other side of the coin" perspectives is good. Re receipt of the report, it was clear that the buyer had the report for at least 1 day before the end of the option period. The Realtor was in San Diego (for holidays, presumably) so that added to delay in getting their wishlist and the report.

The buyer did submit a "want list" which included some of what I were nit-picky. I countered with my "would do list" and they countered. In the end, I offered another grand towards closing and they took it. The appraisal will be the next hurdle.
SteveBott
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So I was correct. You were being too sensitive. Well too caught up in the transaction details. Houses are emotional for both buyer and seller. To us they are just transactions. Sounds like the deal flowed exactly like 95% of my deals.

Offer.inspection. Counter. Another counter. Deal.

Best of luck.
SteveBott
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Oh and I rarely have to deal with a low appraisal when two qualified realtors negotiate the price. They both know the comps the appraiser will use.
Absolute
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Glad it worked out. Hard not to be emotional about your house. The inspection basically compares your house to perfect. Few houses do well in that situation. But in real life things are rarely perfect.
HomeFinderCody
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AG
Having two qualified Realtors involved in the transaction happens too rarely. Way too many people in my business that shouldn't be. I tell my selling clients that I want them to have ONE worry in the process -- the appraisal.....because my goal is to sell higher than we should.
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GtownRAB
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Depends also if you are in a sellers or buyers market.

Last house I sold was in a sellers market and we had multiple offers. House was in great shape. After the inspection, buyers requested a laundry list of items they wanted, none of which were actual issues with the house. They also expected us to leave the fridge.

Basically laughed at their list, said it had nothing to do with what inspections are for or actual concerns with the house. Told their realtor they could accept it as is or pull their offer. Ended up they were bluffing to try to get extras, deal went through as originally agreed.

Also sold a house in a buyers market, we bent over backwards to do all the stupid crap the inspector pointed out so the deal would go through.
94chem
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Quote:

This is why we have always ORDERED our realtor to under no circumstances accept ANY TREC inspection report.
Ha - our buyer's agent copied and pasted every word, verbatim, from the report and gave it to us. She didn't even know what most of the stuff was.
SoTheySay
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S
Regardless of whether or not you as a seller want to see the inspection report, if it arrives in our inbox, it has been received.

It frustrates me beyond belief and I very rarely send a report. If an agent asks for something within the report I will send only that page. Sending the report, IMO, is a lazy *******-ish move.
PhatMack19
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jja79 said:

Inspection is for the buyer only. Lender, regardless of loan program, doesn't see it.
We have a local appraiser that requires a copy of the inspection report, then copies it basically verbatim on his lender required repairs. Luckily most lenders have taken him off of their list, because he is terrible.

He is one of the few VA appraisers in my area which sucks for veterans. Many realtors either advise their clients not to take VA loans or deny him access to the property.
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