There's lots of criteria for picking home inspectors. Real Living has advice for picking home inspectors, including use someone who is a member of ASHI. On my MaureenMcCabe.com website* I have some Columbus home inspection companies featured and Real Living's home inspection advice on how to choose a home inspector. I also have ASHI and NAHI (professional inspection organizations) links on my website.
There's nothing on my website about size of body parts. There is no mention of shoulders large or small, six pack abs....
I like my buyers to choose a home inspector based on who will do the best job for them and the house they are buying. I may suggest a particular company and even a particular inspector because of past experiences.
It can be a good thing when a contract falls through. A column in In Contract Magazine (published by the Columbus Board of REALTORS® by Columbus Ohio real estate attorney and CBR (Columbus Board of REALTORS®) purchase contract guru James Zeitsman advises real estate agents:
"Of course, the report is only as good as the person doing the inspection. The inspector needs to be qualified and experienced. Look for professional association memberships. Talk to other agents and brokers to get referrals. The best inspector is not necessarily the one that never finds a problem so all of the deals close."
Nothing about small shoulders, long ladders, x-ray vision.....
I was out to breakfast in the Polaris area Sunday when I saw a home inspector many of my clients use. Seeing his great shoulders made me think fondly of one of his co-workers, the inspector with the small shoulders. Read more of "I like home inspectors with small shoulders" on ColumbusBestBlog.com
Stay tuned.... next week I'm writing "I like mortgage lenders with big feet."
EDIT December 2011 - although the link should forward to me* it is forwarding to the Real Living HER site, which offers to find you a real estate agent. My site is MaureenMcCabe.com (no link) I think perhaps I need to just spend a whole day and "un" link all old links even those that might now seem to link correctly. The information on my site about home inspectors is NOT there anymore either due to updating of the sites.
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This post provided by Maureen McCabe of Real Living HER
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I'd like to tell you I grabbed my camera and grabbed my man...but I bought that photo from Crystal Graphics.
I bought the image to use to illustrate a blog about short sales...because an expert (on Active Rain) used the term workout program for short sales, a term I had never heard before.
I just made up the big feet thing... any ideas?
Maureen, the only idea I had was tied in to the only thing I've ever heard about big feet, and it has nothing to do with finances. Soooo, that being said, I will have to say, "No. I'm sorry. I don't have any ideas. I was hoping you did, though."
Too bad about the picture. lol
we'll see if I can figure something out re: feet. If not I was just being funny....
I wrote the blog on my WordPress blog a few days ago and it has been picked up on some home inspection sites so I am getting some traffic from it.
Congratulations on the extra traffic. Nice! It really is a good article. Glad it's getting noticed.
Small shoulders indeed. And coveralls. The last thing I need on a home inspection of a house on a crawl space is a home inspector in a shirt and tie.
you know what they say about men with big feet...................they wear big shoes!
Building inspectors are not regulated in Florida and it makes for really horrible experiences. I try to have our customers pick inspectors that have experience in the building industry or at least a building degree of some sort (structural engineers, building contractors, etc). The stories I have about inspectors here are funny or make you want to cry.
I was thinking of women lenders with big feet... of course they wear big shoes...
We do not have state licensing of inspectors yet. I like the engineers personally, some agents don't, some buyers don't see the value. We have one real popular local inspector who was trained as an architect. One of my favorite inspectors who got out of the business went to OSU for architecture but never got a degree, was a builder for years. He stopped inspecting a few years back, I don't think he liked talking to people.
I went to see if any of the Ohio Inspectors had an update on where licensing stands in Ohio and Mark Rowe in Lancaster (SE of Columbus ) has info on the licensing bill I know I blogged about licensing once long ago and did some research. I could not believe how many years you could go back and there were proposals to license home inspectors and it has not happened.
Well ... the inspector I usually recommend wears coveralls for the crawl spaces plus the booties in the home and he has LOTS of tools but he doesn't look like your photo!
You know, if the inspectors looked like your photo, maybe we'd suggest that Peg Rittenour change her legal stance that agents shouldn't attend inspections!
Edited: just noticed this was sent to Localism!!!
Maureen...Now that is some inspector..even if ya paid for him.
Maureen...I'm afraid my mind went right to where Maggies did on the big feet comment!
I look for two attributes in a Home Inspector...knowledge, and the ability to present it to the customer without freeking them out!
Monka: He is a fine looking specimen.
Lea::Some agents attend inspections here some don't. I was present at this inspection,... got to see him shimmy into a crawl space. This was not a crawl space you access from inside the house, this was get down on your belly and slide under a house built in the 1800's.
I got into a conversation re: attending inspections on Real Talk as a newbie and learned just not to talk about that. Unless you want a provacative post with lots of controrversy... hint hint I don't want to try it... but if you want some conversation on a blog.
Joan: I am surpised how good the engineers at the two companies I really like are at talking to people, There are times you want the buyer to be freaked and run. The house where the inspector with the small shoulders shimmied into the crawl space the buyers ran because of the basement and the roof. Of course the fact that it stormed and we got to see the basement fill up with water and rain come in through the roof (walk up attic) really helped.
Yup...that would do it for me too!
I have a showing in a house with basement "issues"this afternoon...and it's raining! Oh well!!