I'm sure we all have a few phrases that we hear on a regular basis that make us cringe. Here are a few of mine (all of which I recently heard in one day).
If you took your dog to the vet for an annual checkup, would you confidently tell the veterinarian that they won't find anything wrong with your dog?
If you hired a heating contractor to come out for an annual furnace check-up, would you confidently tell them they won't find anything wrong with your furnace?
I just don't get it.
You'd think that this would be a rhetorical question, but most homeowners genuinely want me to answer this question. Here are a a few answers that I always want to say, but never do:
You hired a lazy inspector.
You hired the cheapest inspector you could find.
Your real estate agent picked an inspector that wouldn't 'blow the deal'.
If you go to a hair salon and you get a free fanny pack with your haircut, do you expect it to be a great hair cut?
Some of the most confusing (and worst) home inspection reports that I've seen have been accompanied by colorful three-ring binders. Here at Structure Tech, we stopped giving out three-ring binders about eight years ago. That's when we started focusing more time and effort in to really writing our reports - not checking boxes.
Confident Real Estate Agent: "You won't find anything wrong with this house."
If you brought your infant to the doctor for their one month checkup, would you confidently tell the pediatrician that they won't find anything wrong with your child?If you took your dog to the vet for an annual checkup, would you confidently tell the veterinarian that they won't find anything wrong with your dog?
If you hired a heating contractor to come out for an annual furnace check-up, would you confidently tell them they won't find anything wrong with your furnace?
I just don't get it.
Homeowner: "Why didn't the other inspector find that?"
Of course, I always answer I don't know.You'd think that this would be a rhetorical question, but most homeowners genuinely want me to answer this question. Here are a a few answers that I always want to say, but never do:
You hired a lazy inspector.
You hired the cheapest inspector you could find.
Your real estate agent picked an inspector that wouldn't 'blow the deal'.
Same homeowner as above: "I thought the other inspector did a good job... I mean, they gave me a nice three-ring binder and everything."
If you go to a restaurant and you get a free toy with your meal, do you expect it to be a good meal?If you go to a hair salon and you get a free fanny pack with your haircut, do you expect it to be a great hair cut?
Some of the most confusing (and worst) home inspection reports that I've seen have been accompanied by colorful three-ring binders. Here at Structure Tech, we stopped giving out three-ring binders about eight years ago. That's when we started focusing more time and effort in to really writing our reports - not checking boxes.Homeowner: "I had the gas company out, and they couldn't find any problems."
My suggestion is usually to hire a licensed contractor. The gas company does not send out licensed contractors, and I'm no longer surprised when they don't identify very real gas leaks. For more info on this topic, click any of the links below.- Gas Leak Video
- Why Can't The Gas Company Find These Gas Leaks?
- Furnace Certifications Might Be Useless (don't call the gas company for this).
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