Inspection agreements

[Justin A. Murcia]

Hi,
My name is Justin, and I am starting a new home inspection business. I had a question about the inspection agreement and was hoping someone could help me out. If you have your client sign the inspection agreement, Is there any thing else that should go in the reports (report template) to cover yourself from legal action? I have looked at several other companies' sample reports and have noticed exclusions in each section of the report (plumbing, electrical, exterior, etc). I have also noticed descriptions at the header of the reports such as; scope of inspection, use of reports, report definitions, inspection agreement explanation, client advice, non-code compliant, permits, environmental, walk through, and pictures. My question is, is any of this necessary or does the inspection agreement cover everything? Does the inspection agreement lack certain subjects or areas that are open to a possible lawsuit? Can anyone help me out?
Thank you, Justin Murcia
justin@inspectahome.net

[Stephen W. Stanczyk]

Justin, please go to your profile and put in your location. Different states have different laws and you may get some better answers.

[Robert Ernst]

I use a version of the Nachi agreement. It didn't totally meet the requirements that my insurance company. That's who you want to check with. I would have insurance before I did anything. Most report software has some disclosures in them. They protect you and should be used. The disclaimers let people know what to expect. Sometimes you have to add some to the report. Let's say for example when you can't inspect something in the Standards of Practice your using. You put it in your report. For example if you can't inspect the roof due to snow.

[Nick Gromicko]

http://www.nachi.org/avoiding-lawsuits.htm

[Dale Duffy]

Use what YOUR E&O Carrier wants in the Agreement..nothing else....

If you want a copy of mine, send an email to inspect.arizona@gmail dot Com.

I'll forward you mine, fine tuned by RiskPro, their also highly recommended for your Insurance needs.

[Bob Elliott]

I use the NACHI home inspection agreement .

Get a Lawyer to do one for you is recommended but if it does not hold up in court can you sue the Lawyer?.....yeah right
If you trust contractors to build a home right you can trust the Lawyer.LOL

Do as you feel right but remember to communicate well with each and every client.
Actually doing your best and following your local laws will do more to protect you than anything else.

Businesses with the world best disclaimers drawn up by he worlds best Lawyers can still be made to appear in court to fight the most frivolous lawsuit is what I have learned here.
Your side or theirs Lawyers suck and are leeches that see $$$ before morals.Just keep it from going so far that a contract wording is all that protects your assets.

[Nick Gromicko]

Getting your own attorney to create one for you is nutty. We spent 1/2 a million dollars over 20 years developing our legal documents and some local attorney is going to jump in, spend 4 hours (and charge you for 6 hours) to create something from scratch? Wack.

www.nachi.org/documents.htm

[Robert Ernst]

Nick, I agree the Nachi one is good and no need to pay a Lawyer. It's a good place to start but the insurance company has the final say. Allen Ins. made me add an arbitration clause to it.

[Nick Gromicko]

If you want a local attorney to look at it and modify, do that, but let him/her start with InterNACHI's as a baseline (don't reinvent the wheel).

If he/her wants to make a drastic change or suggests deleting something, have him/her call me on my cell: (720) 272 8578 and I'll help him/her understand the thinking behind anything he/she is puzzled by.

I can also explain (here) every semicolon in any of our documents if you have a question about anything.

[Nick Gromicko]

Our in-house council, Mark Cohen, actually thinks. As do our Joe Ferry and Jeff Cohen. This is rare. Most attorneys (IMHO) are not much more than paralegal managers.

[KEVIN WOOD]

You are fried in the head if you are using anything else!
No lawyer has more knowledge than Nachi on Home Inspection Agreements.

[nkrzemien1]

Get a Lawyer to do one for you is recommended but if it does not hold up in court can you sue the Lawyer?.....yeah right

Lawyers also have a responsibility to their client. Like any other profession, if a lawyer is grossly negligent when working for you they are liable to be sued for damages. I've had to consult one time with a lawyer about suing another lawyer. The way I understand it, that is a specialized line of practice just like any other....

[Justin A. Murcia]

I just wanted to say thank you very much to everyone that replied to my email. I will be checking with my insurance company and my report software to make sure that i have done everything that I can.
Thanks again evryone,
Justin

[Nick Gromicko]

Also: http://www.nachi.org/onlineagreement.htm