International Association of Certified Home Inspectors

Russell J. Hensel · #1 2/6/11, 3:50 PM

Well some of you are going to happy this happened to me!

As I was doing a pool inspection on a pool that was constructed about 8 weeks ago, I was walking on the pool coping and fell in! It was funny as hell as my clients see me in their pool with all my clothes on getting the coping from the bottom of the pool. They were from Germany and spoke no English, but by their facial expressions I could see they thought I was an EXCELLENT inspector, looking at their pool from the inside, out!

After explaining it to them, their faces were in shock and they felt bad for me and I told them, if something like this were to happen, I wish it on myself BEFORE the purchase rather than on them AFTER the purchase.

After this and about 100 other things came up on this newly remodeled flip foreclosure with its improper electrical and Polybutylene piping, the decided not to buy. So guess what happens now...

Listing agent refuses to give the buyer their $5,000 deposit back until a repair estimate on the pool can be obtained because they are responsible for any damage caused by the inspector per the contract.

So they call me FREAKING out and want me to help and well they want me to pay for the damages!

I call the listing agent who is so damn mad she cannot talk straight, she wants my insurance carriers phone number and my policy number. I told her that this is no big deal at all and I will gladly give her my insurance information and then I begin to give it to her, and then stop mid sentence. I then inform her if she could call her client, because it is the exact thing my lawyer was asking from the present owner. We need their insurance information to make a claim on the injuries I had gotten while performing ordinary work on a faulty pool and sustaining injuries that could hinder my work performance in the future.

She told me I could not do this, its illegal. I then told her that is one of the purposes of Homeowners insurance. She hung up, 10 minutes later the buyers agent called asking me how I go the money released so quickly and without a fuss and an apology. I just told her I have my ways of convincing people on doing the right thing..

Think fast and use thier own game against them...