The seller has accepted your clients' offer and now, with your help, your clients must choose a home inspector. Should you steer them toward the inspector who writes the softest reports? Should you steer them toward the inspector who pays to be on your office's preferred vendor list? Should you help them find the cheapest inspector? The answers to these questions are of course No, No, and Hell, no.

You have a fiduciary duty to your client and, therefore, must recommend the very best inspectors. If you recommend a patty-cake inspector, an inspector who indirectly pays for your recommendation, or a cheap inspector, you violate your fiduciary duty to your client.

The National Association of REALTORs defines your duties in their Code of Ethics. Article 1 requires you to protect and promote your clients' interests. Article 6 requires you to disclose any financial benefit you may receive from recommending related real estate services (this also includes any benefit to your broker).

Because most real estate agents get paid only if the real estate transaction successfully takes place, your personal interests and your fiduciary duties already conflict. Don't make your situation any worse. The best way to avoid negligent referral claims, to operate ethically, and to fulfill your fiduciary duty is to help your client find an inspector based solely on merit. And although no real estate agent can guarantee the thoroughness of any particular inspector, there is a strong correlation between an inspector's fees and his/her competence (in other words, you get what you pay for). Helping your client find a cheap inspector for the purchase of their lifetime is a violation of your fiduciary duty. When in doubt, shop price, and seek out the most expensive inspectors for your clients.

Feel free to download this page of tips in a printer-friendly PDF format. Realtors can reproduce it and
make it part of your real estate information packet.

Childproofing Your Home: 12 Safety Devices to Protect Your Children

by Joe Ferry, Esquire and Nick Gromicko, InterNACHI Founder

1. Insist that your client hire a professional home inspector to inspect the property, and strongly recommend that the inspection also include ancillary inspections for the presence of wood-destroying insects, and such harmful pathogens as mold and radon.
2. Take the time to manage your clients’ expectations of what can reasonably be discovered by a limited visual inspection of a property that is full of furniture, carpets and stored items that further physically limit the scope of an already limited inspection.
3. Be sure to carry your own Professional Liability Insurance to protect yourself from allegations that you should have independently verified that the property was defect-free.
4. Review the inspector’s Pre-Inspection Agreement to make sure that it contains a Notice Clause that requires the buyers to notify the inspector within no more than 14 days of the discovery of any defect for which they believe he is responsible.
5. Avoid conflicts of interest.  Never recommend an inspector who participates in preferred vendor schemes.  All major inspector associations prohibit participation in such undue praise-purchasing schemes.  You have a fiduciary duty to recommend the very best inspectors based solely on merit, not money.  And it goes without saying that you should never recommend any inspector with whom you have a close personal or blood relationship.
6. Recommend the high-value inspector, not the low-price inspector.  Good inspectors charge accordingly.  Trying to save your client $100 on an inspection could cost them $10,000.
7. Only recommend inspectors who adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, such as members of InterNACHI.
8. Always attend the home inspection.  Many real estate agents have been advised never to attend a home inspection, allegedly by real estate attorneys.  Agents who say that they have received such advice are never able to articulate its rationale.  You are not any less likely to be named in a suit by hiding during the inspection, and the reasons for attending the inspection are quite compelling.  First, your presence is a clear indication of your professionalism and concern for your client’s interests, two factors well-known to engender referrals.  Secondly, it affords a very cogent opportunity to refocus your client’s attention to the limited nature of the inspection.  For example, you could note the numerous obstacles, such as furniture, carpets and appliances, that can obviously inhibit the inspector’s ability to see certain areas of the home.  Finally, should this transaction come to grief, your interests are usually perfectly aligned with the inspector’s, and your recollection of such limiting factors would provide powerful corroboration of the exonerating reasons that a defect was not discovered during the inspection.

When you are in the inspection process of your home buying transaction, there are several items that need to be done before the inspection. In this article I am going to list and explain these items for a seller, buyer, and real estate agent. With this information you will be more prepared for your home inspection, thereby helping the inspector perform a more thorough and complete home inspection.

Home Sellers

Let’s start off with the sellers’ inspection. Many homeowners today are having their homes inspected before they are put on the market. This is a very savvy marketing tool to help your home sell quicker and more profitably. For your home inspector to do the best job possible, he or she will need several things to be done before they arrive to check the house over.

• If it happens to be winter and you are in a cold climate zone, please make sure the driveway is clear of ice and snow. An inspector cannot see through this stuff, thereby limiting the inspection.
• Please make sure that all utilities to the home are in operation mode. Inspectors do not light pilot lights, turn on water mains, or main panel breakers. If these are not in regular operating mode, the inspection will be limited and less beneficial to you.
• Make sure attic access is not obstructed in any way. You inspector will need to get in here to check insulation, roof sheathing, trusses, etc.
• I realize that if you are selling, you will be packing. However, please make the inspector will be able access windows, doors, electrical outlets and be able to see the walls and foundation.

Home Buyers

Now, if you are a buyer, your list will be a little shorter. But, it is still just as important to do your homework. You are paying for the inspection, so stay on top of everything.

• Once you call the inspector and set a date and time, call your real estate agent and verify this time. Some inspectors do this for you and some don’t. If this is a vacant foreclosure or bank owned property, find out who you need to contact in order to get ALL utilities turned on and into normal operation mode. Again, inspectors will not turn these items on for you at the time of the inspection. If they are not on, they will be disclaimed as not inspected.
• If you are having any specialty testing like lead, mold, water, septic, or pool done try to do these on the same day if the house is occupied. Sellers will thank you for not making too many trips and inconveniencing them.

Real Estate Agents

Now let’s focus on what the real estate agent needs to do before each home inspection. Some buyers may not realize what these people do for you.

• If the inspector has not verified the appointment before 3:00 the day before the inspection, call to verify.
• Help the buyer with getting utilities and the like into normal operating mode. This will allow a more thorough inspection and speed up the sale. It will work out better for you.
• If you will not be attending the inspection, please let the inspector know how to gain access.
• If there are going to be items not operating please call the client and explain this to them, so they may decide whether or not to reschedule the inspection. Most inspectors do not come back a second time for zero fee. Your buyer will be liable for this return fee, and probably upset about it.

I hope everyone can take something from this list and use it. I really do feel bad sometimes when the inspection is limited due to a lack of communication between all parties involved. If any of you have items that you feel should be on this list, please feel free to let me know. I am always willing to listen and learn how others operate.

• Lead is a toxic metal that was once commonly used in the manufacture of household paint and plumbing fixtures, and as an additive to gasoline. While it has long been prohibited in new construction, lead-based paint and plumbing that weren't removed may present a significant health hazard. Homes constructed prior to 1978 may contain lead paint, which can be ingested by small children or contaminate surrounding soil and vegetable gardens. It is easily identifiable by its alligator-like flaking pattern. Lead pipes, too, were used in homes up until the late 1940s, and they may allow lead to leach into drinking water. They can be identified by their dull gray color and the ease by which they can be scratched by keys or coins.
• Asbestos insulation, which can increase the chances of developing lung cancer and mesothelioma, was used in homes between 1930 and 1950. Asbestos insulation should be left undisturbed until it can be removed by a qualified professional, as its fibers can be inhaled when they are airborne, creating a significant health hazard.
• Older homes were not constructed to meet modern energy efficiency requirements. They may suffer thermal losses from single-pane windows, insufficient or compressed insulation, leaking ductwork, and inefficient heaters and other appliances. It should be noted, however, that older homes better capitalize on natural sources of lighting, heating and ventilation through the use of design features such as exterior shutters, shade trees, and thick, heat-retaining masonry walls.
• Buried oil tanks were often abandoned and forgotten after homes switched to newer fuel sources. Today, these tanks pose a safety hazard to homeowners and their neighbors, as their contents may leak into surrounding soil. Disposal guidelines vary and may call for removal of the tank or filling it with sand or gravel. Soil testing may be required to investigate whether an abandoned fuel tank has leaked underground.
• Obsolete electrical components pose a fire and safety hazard, such as:
  • aluminum wiring. From about 1965 to 1973, single-strand aluminum wiring was sometimes used in place of copper branch-circuit wiring in residential electrical systems due to the escalating price of copper. After a decade of use by homeowners and electricians, weaknesses were discovered in the metal, which led to its disuse as a branch wiring material. Although properly maintained aluminum wiring is acceptable, aluminum will generally become defective faster than copper due to certain qualities inherent in the metal. It can be identified by its color or the labels “CO/ALR,” “aluminum” and “AL”;
  • knob-and-tube (K&T) wiring.  This was an early standardized method of electrical wiring in buildings from about 1880 to the 1940s. While codes do not require its removal, K&T wiring often suffers from unsafe modifications, old age, overheating, and lack of a ground wire. It can be identified by its characteristic porcelain insulating tubes;
  • a lack of ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs). Homes built before the 1970s may not have been equipped with GFCI protection, which guards against overloads, short circuits and ground faults; and
  • a lack of grounded receptacles, which provide a safe path to ground for stray electrical current. Most major appliances, such as stoves, refrigerators and computers, have three-prong plugs and require three-slot or grounded receptacles. Homes in the U.S. built before 1962 were not constructed with three-slot receptacles.
• Wells, cesspools and septic tanks were commonly used before homes and buildings were connected to public sewer and water systems. If they were abandoned and not removed, these elements pose hazards related to their deterioration and collapse.
• Radon is a naturally occurring gas that has been identified as the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. It usually enters the home through cracks in the foundation, a common problem found in vintage construction. Radon cannot be seen, smelled or tasted, so concerned homeowners should consult with their InterNACHI inspector about radon testing during their next scheduled inspection.

A good home inspector provides you with a guide that allows you to make an informed decision regarding whether or not you should purchase the home. The home inspection report also gives you bargaining power if you need it.

Home inspectors expect questions to be asked during home inspections. If you ask a home inspector a question, hear the answer and nod your head up and down the home inspector is likely to feel your question was answered. If you do not understand the answer a home inspector gives you then tell the inspector. A good Home Inspector should have no problem at all explaining things more than once and in different ways until the buyers understand.

Ask the home inspector about any of your concerns. Every buyer is different and your inspector will have a hard time identifying what you are concerned about if you don’t communicate your concerns and ask questions. Do not bother asking the inspector if you should buy the home, if the home is right for you, if the price is right, who has to fix what and so on. Home inspectors can answer your questions about most issues however the above questions are outside of the field of expertise of most home inspectors.

Feel free to question the home inspector about the drainage around the exterior of the home, if there is a basement ask how to help keep your basement dryer, how to prolong the useful life of the roofing and if there are problems with the roofing and or siding. Home inspectors answer those questions all the time and can provide useful tips.

While outside ask the home inspector if there are any signs of improperly abandoned oil tanks, if there are the home inspector can advise you and your attorney how to proceed.

Home inspectors can tell you how many amps the electrical service is, the service voltage, if there is room to expand within the electric panel, if amateurs have caused problems with the wiring and if the wiring appears to be safe. If the home is older make sure you ask the inspector if aluminum wiring or knob and tube wiring exists, both are potential fire hazards and may make it difficult to get home owner's insurance.

When the home inspector is inspecting the plumbing system ask if the sewer clean out cap is newer. If it is suspect problems with the sewer pipe may exist and budget for replacement. Ask the inspector how old the plumbing supply, waste and vent pipes are. If the pipes are old replacement may be necessary sooner than you would like.

Heating systems must be inspected and you are entitled to be told how the heating system works. If you do not know the parts on the boiler or furnace now is the time to find out. Ask the home inspector questions about what part does what and why they are there. Every home inspector I know is anxious to teach you everything he or she knows. If the inspector does not know the names of the parts on the equipment you should be concerned.

Many buyers have questions to ask home inspectors about the structure of the home. Keep in mind home inspectors cannot see into or through walls. Home inspectors can see what they can see and make a few educated guesses. Home inspectors are likely to miss hidden damages from insects, rot, water and construction defects unless obvious symptoms exist. Home inspectors who provide an answer of "I do not know" when asked the question are there hidden damages are not being evasive they are being honest.