Real-estate agent and home inspector face off

[Roy D. Cooke, Sr]

http://www.straight.com/article-346109/vancouver/realtors-and-inspectors-face-over-home-purchases

Real-estate agent and home inspector face off over home purchase

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5-wdm6CP3c


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By Carlito Pablo, September 15, 2010
Ed Witzke noted a lot of crappy stuff about the house on Rutledge Street in Victoria in his inspection. But what he observed about the washroom was particularly striking.
“A big fat fellow like myself only gets 1/2 bum on toilet seat,” the Vancouver-based home inspector wrote in his report to his client.
To illustrate his point that it was difficult to sit on the main-floor toilet because it was too close to a wall, Witzke even drew an image of an individual on the throne. A large portion of the person’s bottom was hanging off the seat.
As well, Witzke reported to Rajan Reddy, the prospective Victoria home buyer who hired him, that the “acoustics in [the] bathroom is very poor—you can hear all body noises.”
The purchase didn’t go through, and Reddy’s realtor, Gord Hoshal, felt that Witzke was full of crap.
On July 7 of this year, Hoshal filed a complaint against Witzke—a UBC-trained architect with more than four decades of experience as a home inspector—with the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of B.C., accusing him of being unprofessional.
But Reddy is pleased with the service rendered by Witzke.
“He showed me all that crap and, basically, I feel that if Ed [Witzke] okayed the house, the sale would have gone through and I would have ended up with a piece of crap,” Reddy told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview from Victoria.
In his report to Reddy, Witzke stated that the property is “all bulldozer ready”.
Reddy says he’ll hire Witzke the next time he looks at a property.
“It had a suite downstairs, and there was a beam missing,” he said of the house he hired Witzke to inspect. “It looked like there was some water damage downstairs. The plumbing was in bad shape.”
Reddy said that Hoshal has been his realtor for some time. “He sold me my first house 10 years ago,” the Victoria resident noted.
Hoshal declined to talk about his complaint when reached by the Straight.
But in his complaint addressed to ASTTBC registrar John Shortreid, Hoshal said about Witzke: “After going on his website I found many things stated that lead me to believe he is somewhat jaded for whatever reason towards my profession and indeed a troubled soul, but that is no excuse for his lack of professionalism.”
Hoshal has it right about Witzke’s feelings toward realtors.
According to Witzke, many realtors want to control the home-inspection process so that sales go through swiftly and they can get their commissions. He claimed that realtors usually recommend to buyers inspectors they’ve had “luck” with in previous transactions.
“The more thorough the report is, the more they may have to reveal to the next prospective party buying the place, or the more they now have to work because they have to go back to the other realtor and back to the owner and say, ‘Look, these things were discovered,’” Witzke told the Straight in a phone interview.
He noted that many realtors prefer a “checklist inspector”—one who doesn’t look closely at a property except to make sure that it has a roof, doors, and windows.
“For, I don’t know, $350 or whatever, the client gets a three-ring binder, a nice glossy three-ring binder saying that everything is okay, and once they move in, then I get the phone calls saying, ‘Guess what? This whole inspection process seems to be a fraud,’” Witzke said.
In response to Hoshal’s complaint, Witzke wrote Shortreid on August 13. He noted that the case isn’t about a client who wasn’t happy with his services. According to the home inspector, it’s about “a realtor who lost a sale”.
As ASTTBC registrar, Shortreid acts as the prosecutor of complaints filed with the regulatory body.
In a phone interview with the Straight, Shortreid explained that a practice review panel makes recommendations to a member who’s facing a complaint. He said that if those recommendations are accepted by the member, the matter is deemed closed and is not subject to a disciplinary hearing.
Shortreid wasn’t able to say when the complaint against Witzke will be resolved.
Witzke has been through this before. According to him, Hoshal’s complaint is the fourth filed by a realtor against him. He said that except for one that has been resolved in his favour, the complaints are still pending decision.


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glen p robbins Wed, 2010-09-15 12:46
Rating: +7
15 votes
A Robbins government would put Civilian Oversight over all realtors and other professional organizations in British Columbia. Agree Disagree


Stephen Wed, 2010-09-15 13:20
Rating: +11
13 votes
This is an important issue. I wonder if we're closer to getting mandatory certification of home inspectors. The Straight ran a piece on this 2-1/2 years ago:

http://www.straight.com/article-131213/new-rules-for-home-inspectors Agree Disagree


Bob Hetzel Wed, 2010-09-15 16:51
Rating: +35
35 votes
I agree with the home inspector-the client got honest, good advice and the real estate agent is pissed off over a lost sale. Agree Disagree


Free to vote. Wed, 2010-09-15 18:43
Rating: +22
22 votes
If a Home Inspector misses something or misleads his client the homeowner, it is the Home Inspector that gets sued not the Realtor. Agree Disagree


Daniel Rogers Wed, 2010-09-15 20:02
Rating: +29
29 votes
Hmmm..client is happy with inspector. Inspector saved client from purchasing a money pit. Inspector works for the client and did a successful job. It seems to me an investigation should be brought against the real estate agent for trying to bambozzle the buyer just for a commission check. It all seems bass akwards to me. Agree Disagree


glen p robbins Wed, 2010-09-15 20:44
Rating: +7
7 votes
It is ironic that the BC Real Estate Council is supporting the HST when our information out this week will show that the Referendum will produce a reduction in 2 billion in home sales over the next year until the vote.

Our data will show that Delaney's overall theory is accurate.

The real estate agents should spend more attention to the fools running their politics and less time shaking people down on bad sales. Agree Disagree


Jay W. Wed, 2010-09-15 21:00
Rating: +6
6 votes
I used a home inspector with the house I am in now- he may have missed one thing, really did his job. Made the seller kind of mad- as they were trying to do a quick flip and ended up selling for less than they wanted Agree Disagree


echo Wed, 2010-09-15 21:18
Rating: +22
22 votes
LOVE this home inspector Agree Disagree


Sean Wiens Thu, 2010-09-16 09:19
Rating: +7
7 votes
Just a short note to Stephen - The home inspection industry is now licensed. This came into place in February of 2009. See http://www.consumerprotectionbc.ca/index.php/consumers-home-inspections Agree Disagree


Sean Wiens Thu, 2010-09-16 09:21
Rating: +15
15 votes
Ed is a fellow 'independent inspector' (http://www.independentinspectors.org/) and while I may use different language to identify a defect than Ed, the base point is that he and the rest of the independent inspectors put the buyer first in the process and do everything possible to ensure the client is informed on ALL of the defects large and small whether they represent a financial or a safety liability. I personally do not 'pass or fail' a home. I put the cards on the table, put them into perspective, and then let the client decide what they are comfortable with and answer any questions they may have to help in that decision.

Sean Wiens
SENWI House Inspections Agree Disagree


Sean Wiens Thu, 2010-09-16 09:22
Rating: +11
11 votes
It is important for the consumer to realize that there is a lot of difference between the 'product' that inspectors provide and that you typically get what you pay for and therefore may not want to shop by price alone. There is a large spread between the amount of time the majority of inspectors spend on site compared to some of us who provide a higher standard. There is a big difference in usability, readability, and overall usefulness between those that provide pre-printed checklist reports provided on site and those of us that go the extra mile and provide a custom written narrative report with annotated photos. In the latter, there is no non-relevant boilerplate test to wade through to get to the bits that tell you about the home YOU are buying.

Sean Wiens
SENWI House Inspections Agree Disagree


Sean Wiens Thu, 2010-09-16 09:23
Rating: +13
13 votes
Lastly - it is important to understand the conflict of interest that exists between home inspectors and agents. The Realtor is trying to sell a home. The inspectors is supposed to be helping the buyer decide if this home should be purchased. The VAST majority of inspectors get the majority of their work from agent referrals. The agent will typically recommend to their clients 3 to 7 inspector's that the agent has worked with before and found to be 'safe'. This means that the inspector agrees to get in and out of the home in the usually 1-3 hours, will not be overly alarming (in the agents view) on the report, will identify the home in the best light possible, will provide the completed report on site to the buyer (or agent) at the end of the inspection (pretty well guarantees it has to be a checklist format). You often end up with this level of service with these fast and furious inspections http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2010/grow_op_cover_up/main.html.

Providing a quality report takes time. Time on site and time back in the office. It requires more than a cursory observation of the dwelling. It requires analysis, something you cannot do if you are flying through the dwelling while filling in a short checklist. Many of the inspectors on the independent side have literally been blackballed because they take too long in the home, do not provide the finished report till the second or third day, do not try to 'sell' the home in our report wording. There has been documented cases where the agent has interfered with the client's choice of an inspector (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5-wdm6CP3c). Even the licensing legislation stated that ' licensee must not have a conflict of interest in relation to a home inspection that results in a material gain to the licensee' This would seem to ban the acceptance of Realtor referrals and the CPBC site states in response to a question regarding accepting Realtor Referrals:

"Consumers pay for a service and this service should not be compromised or influenced by another person with an interest in the property. Realtors should provide potential home buyers with the website or telephone number of Consumer Protection BC or one of the acceptable associations or authorities that have contact information for licensees or members." Yet this is largely being ignored in the industry and not policed/enforced in any way.

Who would you rather have working for you. An independent inspector is your best chance at an impartial and thorough understanding of the dwelling you are thinking of making your home. Your best chance of being truly informed when you are making, probably the biggest purchasing decision of your life.

Sean Wiens
SENWI House Inspections Agree Disagree


Ted Gilmour Thu, 2010-09-16 09:30
Rating: +20
22 votes
I’m a Vancouver inspector who is also blackballed by agents. It’s so easy for agents to steer their home buying customers to their favourite inspectors or to deflect them away from inspectors who may threaten the sale.
When approx 99% of all the North American Inspectors are dependent on agent referrals, I think the public would be happy to have one inspector who is dependent on satisfied client referrals, not necessarily satisfied agents.
So far in the glaring light of public opinion the agent appears to be the snake oil salesman. Inspectors like Ed quietly do their job for their client, it’s unfortunate that here again this agent cannot rest until he see this obstacle to his, as usual- unchallenged livelihood brought before an ASTTBC inquisition on fabricated allegations.
Agents routinely try to control inspectors either by direct interference or by their referral preferences. Inspection time and cost determine inspectors attractiveness as well as a skilfully vague reporting system. I used to see/hear agents claim “THEIR” inspector can do the job and produce a report in under 2hrs and for only $200. They used to promote getting the inspection over with as soon as possible to clear the way to completing the sale as a good thing. They may promote the inspection as a simple formality to dispense with.
As has been already stated; the client was happy with Ed’s work. Isn’t that what it’s all about.

Ted Gilmour
Agree Disagree


Past Customer Thu, 2010-09-16 11:07
Rating: +2
2 votes
I've used Ed before. He is very good. However, he is very emotional (passionate about his job), and he will easily scare off those inexperienced with homes and construction. You just have to be able to isolate the facts and make an informed decision. He is quite full of drama. I remember him making remarks (opnions/slander/stereotypes) about certain trades, etc -- I agree that is unprofessional. However, his work is very good. At the end of the day he said my house was crap because it was built by a certain type of people. However, I still bought it, and have had no problems for over 15 years. It has since then doubled in value. Agree Disagree

[Mike G. Howard, CMI]

the property is “all bulldozer ready”.

I gotta remember that one! Too funny.

[ADAM HANNAN]

Thanks for sharing the story Roy. After reading the story, I don't believe that this inspector behaved in a way that is appropriate or representative of our industry. Though the client appeared to be happy with the results, the inspector could have communicated his results in a more professional manner. I don't think that using phrases in his report like “A big fat fellow like myself only gets 1/2 bum on toilet seat" helps with the public perception that anyone can become an inspector. If you read the full story, you get the impression that the inspector has a chip on his shoulder.
Adam

[Roy D. Cooke, Sr]

Originally Posted by ahannan

Thanks for sharing the story Roy. After reading the story, I don't believe that this inspector behaved in a way that is appropriate or representative of our industry. Though the client appeared to be happy with the results, the inspector could have communicated his results in a more professional manner. I don't think that using phrases in his report like “A big fat fellow like myself only gets 1/2 bum on toilet seat" helps with the public perception that anyone can become an inspector. If you read the full story, you get the impression that the inspector has a chip on his shoulder.
Adam

My inspections are educational and humorous .
Most people never forget me.
I am extremely careful what I write just the facts and what remedial action that needs to be taken .

Remember write hard talk soft ,miss nothing

[mnahrgang]

Originally Posted by rcooke

...
Remember write hard talk soft ,miss nothing

Absolutely.

[Fritz Kamprath]

Originally Posted by rcooke

My inspections are educational and humorous .
Most people never forget me.
I am extremely careful what I write just the facts and what remedial action that needs to be taken .

Remember write hard talk soft ,miss nothing

/agreed