A while back I had the opportunity to appear on Real Estate In The Lowcounty on local WHHI TV. The topic was (appropriately enough), What Is a Home Inspector?. Hope this helps answering that question
Real Estate in the Lowcountry WHHI TV
The buyer’s home inspection report should never be a surprise to the homeowner or their Realtor. Horizon Home Inspectors wants to put the power of information where it belongs – in the hands of the LISTING AGENT.
Why do Realtors allow homes to go on the market without knowing everything there is to know about the property? Worse, what right do they have to complain to the home inspector when he/she finds issues in the property previously unknown to the Listing Agent or even the seller? In today's litigious, frenetic real estate environment, "we've always done it this way" doesn't cut it anymore.
Indisputable facts about selling real estate:
Have you ever been surprised about what your seller didn’t know (or didn’t tell you) about their home before putting it it on the market?
The side with the most information – first – has the upper hand in the negotiation. The side that gets surprised is at a disadvantage - and its not the Inspector's fault!
What you don’t know will cost more later.
The Solution
As the Listing Agent you have the opportunity to provide a home inspection to your client as part of your service preparing you both before the buyer's inspector tells you later.
The benefits toe Pre-Listing Home Inspection:
And we are in this together - when you provide a Pre-Listing Home Inspection from Horizon Home Inspectors as part of your service to your client you pay nothing until closing or 90 days from the date of the inspection, whichever is first.
Get all the details by CONTACTING us now.
Many who have purchased a new home assume they won't have any problems because after all, its a new house, Right? In reality, that's not how it always turns out. Whether your home is high end custom or from a production builder, the quality of construction in this area varies wildly. Add supply shortages and workforce scarcity to the mix and its no surprise that your dream home doesn't live up to its billing.
Home inspections of new construction are highly advisable in order to catch as many of the glitches before closing, but what are the options for the homeowner who didn't know or was talked out of inspecting their new construction home?
The Builder's Warranty is your last chance to get the attention of the builder. The Horizon Home Inspectors 1-Year Warranty Inspection is the tool to restore the dream to your dream home.
Click the CONTACT above and connect with us today. We'll reach out to answer your questions or to get you scheduled at once! Feel free to TEXT us NOW at 843-338-4281!
In our last episode, The Deal Killer, we discussed the hurt feelings caused by the home inspection process. After 20 years in the home inspection industry I am always surprised by what homeowners don't know about their own homes. Listing your house for sale in ignorance of the condition of the house is a recipe for a train wreck.
In a recent email I received a link to a YouTube video featuring Sheri Nixon of Keller Williams Realty, a respected member of the island real estate community for a couple decades. In her regular appearance on Real Estate in the Lowcountry on WHHI TV, Sheri discussed the robust nature of the current real estate market. Early in the interview the host asked a specific question about issues that might disrupt the transaction. "Well, definitely inspections...", Sheri offers. She then discusses the complexity of today's inspection process and what home owners/sellers can do to prepare the property (and their own hearts) for the arrival of the home inspector.
The resulting dialogue is the best four minutes of conversation on this subject I have ever observed. Sheri has been involved in hundreds of transactions over the years and therefore hundreds of home inspections. She speaks clearly and concisely to the issues that will arise in an inspection and what the homeowner can do to eliminate, what many consider to be "nit-picky" issues, like dead bulbs, leaks in the crawlspace and other issues like HVAC and plumbing.
This video should be MANDATORY for every homeowner going under contract. Regardless of whether your house is on the market, your assignment is linked here.
The home inspection is an examination of the overall condition of real property. Its very name, “inspection”, implies its more than just a casual glance. Those who hire home inspectors are expecting a comprehensive examination of the condition of the property to enable them to make informed decisions about buying or selling property. When you get one shot at an inspection you don't hire the lowest bidder or the "easy inspector"? The cheap inspection ultimately leaves someone holding the bag with undiscovered issues, but when a qualified experienced inspector goes deep, some refer to that inspector as a “deal killer”.
A qualified, experienced, professional inspector will discover previously unknown issues in a property - expect that. That does not make the inspector responsible for the impact on the negotiation. Inspectors don’t kill deals – defects unknown to the homeowner or their Realtor is what kills deals. Properties listed without prior knowledge of their true condition is what kills deals. Incomplete, inaccurate, misrepresented details on disclosure forms is what kills deals.
In the age of Facebook it’s easy to express frustration or hurt feelings by calling names like kids on a playground, rather than accept the fact the home inspector is doing exactly what they are trained and commissioned to do. I am a qualified, experienced, professional and Certified Master inspector, so when anyone accuses me of being the deal killer I ask one question, “if YOU were the client, which one thing in the inspection report would you be content to leave out”. Ends conversations fast.
Don’t shoot the messenger.
I am always inspired when I listen to Simon Sinek. In a recent meeting with his team he expresses some key concepts about the the state of business in this new world - this isn't new, the world has stopped before and companies who do not adapt will perish. Sinek says, "companies with an infinite mindset are in reinvention mode; companies with a FINITE mindset are in survival mode".
THE 1% RULE When you consider the life cycle of every component of a house, a reasonable annual estimate of the cost of normal maintenance is 1% of the value of the house. One year you may replace the furnace; a few years down the road you may re-surface the roof. Throw in the odd unexpected repair in between and you average 1% per year. It’s incredible but this rule is not far off, both for very expensive and very inexpensive houses. |
NORMAL MAINTENANCE If you strip away the cosmetics, a house is made up of the structure, roof, exterior envelope and the “systems” of the house. The “systems” are things like heating, plumbing, electrical and cooling. All components and systems eventually wear out. Fortunately, they don’t all wear out at the same time. Different components have different life cycles. Houses tend to settle into what you might call a “normal maintenance pattern”. |
WHAT’S THE MESSAGE HERE? A homebuyer should arrive at the home inspection with realistic expectations. If you are buying a 12-15 year old home, let’s face it, you may need a new roof covering. If you are buying a 60 year old home, you may have to update some plumbing. Don’t let this scare you away from a perfectly good home. |
HOW LONG DOES IT LAST? Want a a short list of typical life cycles of the most common components of the home? Contact us at Horizon Home Inspectors by email at taylor@horizonhomeinspectors.com and request a FREE copy of our Life Cycles and Costs report. |
Horizon Home Inspectors is looking for licensed, qualified candidates to join our growing home inspector staff. We want to meet your favorite, local inspector and invite them to join our growing team.
Why would an independent inspector would want to join our team? Horizon Home Inspectors provides
and
all at no cost to the inspector.
Help us gear up to better serve you!