I like home inspectors with small shoulders
Monday, April 23rd, 2007
I was at Scramblers at Polaris for breakfast yesterday and saw a home inspector I know and like. The one thing I don’t like about him is he has big shoulders.
In an article in In Contract Magazine about home inspections James Zeitsman a Columbus attorney writing to REALTORS® wrote:
“Of course, the report is only as good as the person doing the inspection. The inspector needs to be qualified and experienced. Look for professional association memberships. Talk to other agents and brokers to get referrals. The best inspector is not necessarily the one that never finds a problem so all of the deals close.”
Zeitsman missed small shoulders…in his list of what to look for in a good inspector. Small shoulders is one thing I like in a home inspector. I had a deal fall through (not close, thank goodness!) a few years back because of an excellent inspector with small shoulders.
A few weeks later when a house in Worthington came back on the market and another client needed a home inspector we asked for the engineer with the small shoulders (I know his name ) because of a concern with a small opening to a crawl space… the inspector with the small shoulders was tied up (could it be demand created by small shoulders?)
Both inspectors work for the same organization, they are members of a professional organization, they are both engineers… only difference is in the shoulders.
The inspector I saw yesterday did the inspection for my other clients… I thought of him as rather compact but when he arrived that day, I noticed he’s built!
He did a great inspection I am sure but he could not go into the crawl space. Drat!
If their shoulders are small home inspectors will fit into crawl spaces and other tight spots that other inspectors won’t fit into. Do all home inspectors go into crawl spaces, attics? Not if they can’t fit. It would become a problem if home inspectors became lodged in small places.
In Real Living’s advice on finding a good inspector….they say:
And if the inspection unearths catastrophic problems that can’t be resolved to your satisfaction, Real Living’s purchase agreement protects your interests.
As Zeitsman said: “The best inspector is not necessarily the one that never finds a problem so all of the deals close.” Lots of good advice about the home inspection process from Real Living but no mention of small shoulders….
I have a list of home inspection companies on my website
