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by Wally Conway,
Host
of the Home and Garden Show on WOKV
It is the now the norm that a homebuyer will have their prospective
home inspected. That is a good thing! What has not yet become the
norm is for the agent to be present at the inspection in its entirety.
Now, I know some will say that it is the job of the inspector to
care to and comfort the homebuyer during the inspection, and I certainly
agree. But the additional care and comfort that your homebuyer feels
with you as their real estate agent also present is the stuff that
life-long referrals are made of!
The agent has several extremely important duties to perform at
this critical time. If these essential duties are recognized, embraced,
and performed well, the agent will be rewarded with more deals closed,
reduced liability, and a near all-referral business.
 The
first great responsibility of the agent at the home inspection
is to do a proper and professional introduction of the homebuyer
to the home inspector. You must realize that most homebuyers have
either not purchased a home before, have not purchased a home recently,
or have not purchased a similar home in the area. They are, despite
any attempt at a poker face, scared!
This fear of the process is made worse when the buyer needs to
go to a strange place, their wannabe home, and meet a strange person,
their inspector, then go about making one of life's hardest and
most expensive decisions. This fear can be greatly reduced when
the agent introduces the home inspector as an experienced and familiar
professional who can be trusted to guide them though the scary parts
to a clear and simple understanding of the home under consideration.
The next great contribution of the agent to the home inspection
process is to open the door! Few home inspectors can legally obtain
access to the home to be inspected, and often I question the motives
of those who do have independent access. On the flip side, the inspection
never goes well if the entire inspection is conducted from the outside
looking in.
During the body of the inspection, there is no special item of
significance for the agent. Some seem to enjoy measuring and decorating,
others use the time for administrative or phone contact time. What
is important is that you are available for the buyer when emotional
need or question arises.
On more than one occasion, I have watched a buyer's concern turn
to comfort when an unknown was make simple for the buyer by the
agent. On one beautiful day not long ago, I came down my ladder
to deliver the news to the anxious buyer that their roof was in
need of immediate replacement. The buyer was nearly in tears, but
she got real happy real fast when the agent explained that the purchase
and sales contract stipulated that the seller would replace the
roof. Had the agent not been there, the buyer would have been a
wreck during the rest of the inspection and quite possibly would
have walked away from a home and deal that was ultimately good for
them.
The last and final role of the agent at the home inspection
is to sit in on and participate in the inspection wrap up and report
review. During this period, the inspector will go over every detail
of the inspection report with the buyer line by line.
If the buyer has any questions about a particular system or defect,
the inspector can go with the buyer and agent directly to that item
in the home. The inspector can then point out, describe, or demonstrate.
This is exactly what needs to be done for a full and complete understanding
of the thought and it's impact on the real estate contract. This
is where the agent comes in!
With the agent observing and participating in this process, many
good things happen. The agent has total clarity on every element
of the report and any issues that may require attention. The agent
can explain if any repair money is available in the real estate
contract. There is never any confusion on which item, which section,
or how many of a particular problem exists. Inspector, buyer, and
agent see and hear exactly the same thing. Each can tell if the
other has any point in contention or confusion.
If you looking for a great way to spend quality time with your
buyers, be in the best position to manage the information from the
inspection, and greatly reduce the likeliness for the homebuyer
blaming you for the risks of home ownership, plan on us spending
time together at your next home inspection. And, it's even OK to
do your nails!
Copyright © Florida HomePro, Inc. and Wallace
J. Conway. All rights in all media reserved.
About the Author: Wally Conway is your weekly Host of the Home
and Garden Show on WOKV, and author of the book "Secrets of the Happy
Home Inspector", available at GoHomePro.com.
Wally's expertise and experience has been sought after by HGTV's "House
Detective", DIY Network's "Finders Fixers", the National Association
of REALTORS®, newspapers, and corporations. As a speaker, writer, and instructor,
Wally blends the right amount of up-to-date information with just the right
amount of humor, insight, motivation, and real-world application. Visit WallyConway.com
for more information!
Reproduction of this article: Permission is granted to use this article
in any media provided that the article is reproduced in its entirety as shown
above, with the authors resource box/bio included including links to http://www.gohomepro.com
and http://www.wallyconway.com
as the original publisher.
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