As a wholesaler and a realtor who works with out of state buyers that often times buy properties sight unseen, I think home inspections need to be looked at.
Many times the buyer wants to have the property manager or the contractor take a FREE looksie around the house. Sure this saves the buyer $300 to $400 in up front fees, but this could cost you $1000’s later on.
1) Having the contractor do the inspection – think about it - the contractor wants to repair the house and the more repairs he puts down the more money he makes.
I used to work for a company that listed for banks and they always had the company I worked for do the bid on what needed to be done clean out wise, yard mowing wise, etc. As long as the bill came to less than $500, it was paid no questions asked and no proof that the work needed to be done – so suprise – every house needed at least $500 in clean out & yard mowings, event the pristine homes that were perfectly clean and trimmed.
On the other hand, let’s think about having the property manager look at the property. That’s someone like me – I am a realtor and unlike many realtors, I know quite a bit about what’s what on a house, but I would in no way pretend that I am a home inspector and would know all the little things that need to be checked.
Then think about it – our contractor was asked to look at a property for a buyer. So that’s what he did – 5 minute walk through – and on the surface, the house looked great. He did not check for termites, look in anywhere for leaks, did not inspect the roof, or the mechanicals, he did a FREE 5 minute walk through and on the surface, everything did look good.
His comment was, now if they want to pay me for my time, I would do a full inspection with write up. And a full inspection would take 2-3 hours, not 5 minutes.
So please – out of state investor, hire a home inspector – or define with your person “taking a look” what they are doing. You may find that “taking a look” for free is worth exactly what you paid for it – NOTHING.
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