Home Inspector may have botched my deal! Have to be #$% kidding

Home Inspector may have botched my deal! Have to be #$% kidding

Investor · Salt Lake City, UT · Member since 2016 · 60 posts · 10 votes

Looking at a duplex and have the offer in and accepted. Met the inspector at the house and he went over the report with me and then proceeded to talk with me about his experience investing in that area as well as his experience as a property manager in the area. He confirmed my suspicion that the rents on the house were very low and recommended I raise them by 50%. Awesome! All sounded great and I thought I had found a great inspector to use.

My agent sent over the fix-it requests we had and the owner/agent agreed to fix them, BUT then went on to say how basically that if everything didn't go well with this purchase and she had an out, she'll take it. This is based on her having a conversation with the inspector I hired who told her the same thing about rents. She has been a very absentee landlord and doesn't know the area so she had no idea her rents were so low. She'll keep the house and raise the rents if she gets the opportunity to get out of the sales contract!

Who the hell does this inspector think he works for!?!?!?

I just sent him a friendly email to remind him and told him I expected at least a full refund if this deal falls through now. We've lost power to any negotiation on this deal %&(&#$!

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Randallstown, MD · Member since 2016 · 12 posts · 8 votes
9y

The inspector has no business discussing ANYTHING about the property with the seller or sellers agent. Definitely crossed the line. 

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  • Randallstown, MD · Member since 2016 · 12 posts · 8 votes
    9y

    The inspector has no business discussing ANYTHING about the property with the seller or sellers agent. Definitely crossed the line. 

  • Rental Property Investor · Temecula, CA · Member since 2016 · 151 posts · 63 votes
    9y
    Ben, Bob ^ is correct. This is a clear violation of the ethics code inspectors are required to abide by. To be honest, this may be worth a call/letter to your local board. At most, that letter should be a reason to receive a full refund on this inspection. Very sorry to hear about this. But it also goes to show, have your research and your numbers completely solid from the most conservative point of you before closing on the property. Hope it all works out for you.
  • Attorney · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2008 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    I own an inspecting company in Florida so I can't honestly say I know Utah's laws or even that it is a specifically defined ethics violation there, but:  1.  it is pretty stupid to unnecessarily piss off a client and 2. it is pretty stupid to give advice beyond the scope of your license and create unnecessary, uncompensated liability.....  This guy potentially could be completely wrong on rents, which unnecessarily brings into question the rest of his report.

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