When we decided to buy our current home it was obvious it was a fixer upper.
The seller was a real estate agent so we figured he would lie to us about everything.
Worse—he probably knew any decent inspectors in the area—an obvious potential conflict of interest from our point of view.
So—we hired an inspector from fifty miles away—way out of market.
We told the inspector we believed the seller was going to lie about everything and we asked him to inspect everything with a fine tooth comb. He agreed and got on his Columbo big boy pants for the task—you could tell he was enjoying it.
He wrote a very detailed and specific report outlining dozens of things that needed to be fixed.
We bought the house (for a good price) and then made every single repair on his list.
He nailed it—missed nothing.
We have lived in the house for more than two decades—no surprises.
“So—we hired an inspector from fifty miles away—way out of market.”
Smart move. Agents use ‘inspectors’ that support and not torpedo sales. Never use an agent’s recommendation. Never.
Inspectors, too, are never held accountable. They have contracts that simply stipulate “I find what I can, but buyer beware of anything else.”
Besides, a home inspector’s license is not much more than a Saturday afternoon affair. They are not experts in home construction in any way. My dumb little sister got her inspector’s license and she knows nothing of home construction.