No SupraKey, No Referrals

[David A. Andersen]

I feel bad for all of you who are held responsible for gaining access to a house you have to inspect. The less responsibility I have, the better off it becomes for me. It gives me time to think or relax (at times) during my busy days.

Same here!
In 11 years I can not remember a single time where the agent "stood me up" for more than just a few moments. I generally get started on the exterior "after ringing the door bell" till the Realtor arrives. Often when they say they will be 15 min late, I don't have all of my tools out of the truck yet!

I get asked if I have a key on occasion. It has never made a difference to my getting the job.

I think this says a lot about the professionalism of Realtors in certain markets.

[Russel Ray]

Originally Posted by dandersen

I think this says a lot about the professionalism of Realtors in certain markets.

However, it might also say a lot about the liability of Realtors in certain markets, as well as how hot the market currently is. A couple of years ago when listings had 20 offers on them before they even hit the MLS, Realtors came to the inspection, opened the door, went off to show other properties to other Clients, and came back at the end of the inspection. Now they are coming and staying for the whole inspection.

[Larry D. Kage]

Typically, my supra sits in it's cradle on my desk but just today two more calls warranted a look at it to make sure it was updated for use and low an behold I was able to say "okay, no problem" twice to the "it's on a supra" statement.

[lcapaul]

Late or no show Realtors can be handled by including working in your contract that in the event the inspector cannot access the Home or that such access has been delayed beyond a reasonable time (to you), then the inspection must be rescheduled and an appropiate fee will be charged, or that a portion of the scheduled Inspection fee must be paid if the Inspection is canceled and not rescheduled. Quite often the Realtor will pay that cost for the client in order to keep the client and the sale.

The same goes for when I show up and there is no electricity, water, or gas on at the home, I'll inspect, with appropriate disclaimers, if the clients/realtor wants me to postpone until the sevices are turned on, then they pay for me showing up both times, or for showing up for the first scheduled, I require a 24 hour cancelation notice also......This is why I really like NACHI's new "MY Agreement" service, I can have a signed contract before I go to the site, mutch better than a FAX.

The Realtor makes a lot more money off the sale than I do off the Inspection, the Realtor is also working under a 10 day time constraint, sometimes a 1 or 2 day because of their incompetence, the pressure is on them to get the inspection done, why would I want to do any part of thier job? No Key for Me!

[John McKenna]

Here in rural east Texas, most Realtors are still tying the door knob
shut with barb wire and rope. No supra key needed round these
parts partner.

[dblanchard]

If you don’t have the electronic key you wouldn’t believe how convenient a key makes life. I’m also a state licensed real estate broker and state certified general appraiser. With the key, its help yourself. REO’S typically have combo boxes. If you are a member of the multi-listing service and you find a combo box (and the combination is not on the listing, you can call the listing realtor and get it over the phone) like this morning. Another nice thing about being a member of the MLS, you can click on attached photos and usually see the interior of every room, click on attached documents and print off the property disclosures the seller is required to fill out at the time of listing, and do a history search on your subject. You will be surprised to learn that when the subject was listed with Number 1 Realty, the seller discloses the basement leaks and the sewer backs up on occasion. Then the listing expires, and the seller re-lists with Number 2 Realty and there is no mention of the prior problems. There are a lot of other things also available. You can pull a flood map and see if the subject is in a flood plain or setting on top of or near a toxic waste dump. You can pull the county assessors PRC card and get the date the dwelling first appeared on the tax rolls and what add-ons have been made and the year of the add-ons, plus detailed information about the subject the assessor has in code on the card. Gathering all of this data only takes a few minutes and eliminates a lot of surprises if you have the time. When I’m talking to a realtor about scheduling the appointment, and they discover they don’t have to meet me there, it’s like they have been born again.

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

SupraKey? Never seen one.

[Russel Ray]

Originally Posted by kshepard

SupraKey? Never seen one.

That's okay. They are sooooooooo yesterday.

[cduphily]

Inspectors in Pike/Wayne County, PA have to be ASHI or NAHI

I inquired about their affiliate membership a while back, I was told it was "preferred" that inspectors be ASHI or NAHI members. I've called them 4 times in 3 months before I gave up.

http://www.pare.org/res_buildinginsp.htm

scroll to the very bottom of their page.

[Karl E. Gerhauser]

I'm with AZ, check into getting one(here they are called D-keys). Only licensed realtors are allowed to have them in OR.

[nwagner]

Originally Posted by cduphily

Inspectors in Pike/Wayne County, PA have to be ASHI or NAHI

I inquired about their affiliate membership a while back, I was told it was "preferred" that inspectors be ASHI or NAHI members. I've called them 4 times in 3 months before I gave up.

http://www.pare.org/res_buildinginsp.htm

scroll to the very bottom of their page.

It is quite disturbing that one must be a member of an organization with a harmful conflict of interest in the outcome of our inspections to have a business tool. It is even more disturbing when they abuse such power by mandating such unneccesary requirements as being a member of an organization that has a history of coziness with their membership. I'm sorry, the SupraKey program should either be strictly for realtors or it should be ran by a truly neutral party.

[Ashli Norton]

I do REO's and we dont have that issue, the issue we do have is when we do cash for keys, and they take their time to arrive, AND when you need them to arrive to do the property sign off, they typically take their time for that to.

with the realtors we work with, they just leave the key (which i dont know is the smartest thing to say on the internet, lol)

some even still use the ocn lockboxes

[tdemers]

I see some of you guys calling the agents lazy for not letting you in but it is a courtesy that they open up for us. It is not required of them to let anyone in. They can say call the owner and make your plans with them which means eveings or weekend inpections. So I am greatful they let me in and save me the cost of a key.

[rwand1]

In my area, the purchasers agent, or licenced assistant or listing agent must be present during the course of the inspection. To many complaints from vendors, leaving house unattended during inspections.

I have to agree with the way its done in my area, no need to deal with lock boxes and fees, and who is beholden to who, fwiw.

[Vince Santos]

Originally Posted by clederhaus

went to do an inspection an hour away once. The buyers and I stood there for an hour waiting for the realtor to show. He finally call my cell and said he was having car problems and was stuck on the road side and could not get there. I noticed that the number on my caller ID was his office phone. The buyers walked because he would not give us the lock combination and wanted to do the inspection the next day. I sent a bill to the branch manager with a letter explaining what went on. He made the realtor pay my bill out of his pocket. I found out he had done this a few time before because he does not like to go out in below zero weather. He just likes to make his clients stand out in it.
He no longer works for that company.

I'm surprised you got paid for that. The branch manager did the right thing and getting rid of that agent was a no brainer.

As for the SupraKey. I have not had a problem yet with getting in a home and much of the time the agent provides me with the lockbox number if they can't attend the inspection. I don't enter a home by myself though and wait for my client to arrive just in case "something comes up missing."