I meant Ron obviously.

Ron my apologies on the name thing… you may not remember this but I said a wrong name that day in my office too. Maybe I said Norm?

I think it may be a “Cheers” thing… not that you look like Norm on Cheers, or are anything like him but something about your ad campaign (and this may be going back to the 90’s…) and the “Basement Doctor” makes me think of Cheers, where everybody knows your name… I think you have done a great job of getting everyone in Central Ohio to know to call you.

Gosh sorry you felt like I was trying to start a fight with you by mentioning the one experience I had with your company. I did not have your employees name to give to you at the time.

The one experience I had with your company there was the home seller, the home buyer, and the other real estate agent there to witness the employee from your company try to sell a job that was not necessary. Luckily a local contractor quoted the job at a price the seller could NOT afford but had to do because the buyer’s home inspector who was an engineer specified the repair to be made to the crawl space. She had to do it to get the home sold.

Again I said: “If I had to use someone I would use a company like Norms. I would still be wary of the “inspectors” selling a job.”

My old office leaked at least once after the repair… I know. I doubt Real Living HER was paying for a lifetime warranty though either. I moved up to the second floor. Much more dry.

“She told the sellers to “beautify” by painting the walls with drylock, laying fresh carpet and stacking all their boxes against the wall in question disguising the issue for the home inspector.”

The fact that the real estate agent told the sellers to “beautify” is documented? It was proved that the real estate agent orchestrated it? That it was not the sellers who made decisions to “beautify” the basment. You got restitution from E&O? As I understood it E&O does NOT covers me for Errors and Omissions if I break laws???

It was not the sellers intention to disguise and “beautify” the basement? It was the real estate agents?

“(Unless of course you believe the Home Inspector was responsible to move all the boxes). ”

No home inspectors do not remove boxes. Any buyer who would expect them to do so is unreasonable. Did you consider writing a clause in the contract that the boxes in the basement be removed for the inspection? How did the wall look at your preclosing walk through? Of course if you did not take possession at closing you would still see boxes along a wall.

I have met Jim Grove! J&J? An experience with a home seller being quoted an astronomical dollar figure for a repair by a salesman (they call them inspectors) with JD was because of confusion between J&J and JD. Both gave quotes for the work. Jim Groves and his crew did the job, that the buyers home inspector (engineer) requested.

CM wrote:
“I would be interested to know how many realtors out there see markings of water intrusion in basement walls and suggest this. ”

I’d assume a very tiny number. We hear from the buyers (some buyers) years later, they have called a water proofing company for a quote and been given a crazy number… and now they believe the seller (or the listing agent?) deceived them…

I am sorry to hear of your unforutunate experience. I do think your experience is outside of the ordinary.

What is unfortunate is that realtors who know issues with homes don’t educate sellers on proper disclosure. The fear of losing “the deal” causes them to create a negative aura throughout your industry.

Further the black mark your industry receives because of consumers who refuse to accept advice about doing the right thing. What a fight a realtor must have on their hands to get the sale.
That being said, realtors who perform as the one who listed this home deserve to have consumers seek restitution from their E&O insurance.

All it takes is doing the right thing.

I notice internet searches that ended up here for the terms: “the basement doctor costs” and “cost of j&d basement systems waterproofing.” IMHO not J&D but all basement contractors will charge you as much as they can get away with so talk to more than one contractor.

I think having a home inspector inspect the basement first is a good idea… then when the basement contractors “inspector” (that’s what some call their sales people) start selling a job for thousands of dollars and start using scare tactics, you will not be intimidated.