Any advise on best place for buyers to obtain a warrantee?
From real estate salesmen. Not home inspectors.
agreed i never use the “w” word. i dont say it i dont insinuate it, if a client asks me about waranties, i basicaly tell him not my department.
Homegauge has a really good one that is offered independantly. The inspector is not involved.
My suggestion has nothing at all to do with endangering one’s relationship with the used house salesman who might own him.
Home inspectors who offer warranties invite accountability for the furure performance of the home which is something that they cannot legitimately do.
Home warranties are not a tool to be used by an objective home inspector but, instead, are a tool to entice a buyer to feel safer in purchasing a home. In that regard, the used house salesman who profits from the sale should offer the warranty. The inspector, on the other hand, should take great care to ensure that his client fully understands that his role is NOT to provide a warranty or guarantee … but to simply provide a description of the conditions of the home on the day he observed them, instead.
The inspector should limit his offering to a complete, accurate and unbiased description of the home.
I would not expect one who profits from the sale of warranties to agree with me on this point such as yourself, Nathan, so we don’t really need to engage in a urinating olympics over this. I simply wanted to clarify that my advice has nothing at all to do with coitus interruptus between a sales agent and their favorite home inspector, as you suggested.
Agreed James.
Nathan, I dont think realtors will ever get involved in warranty stuff, because too many of them are not out to provide superior service, just out to sell more houses, and spend the minimum amount of time on each houese closing. Unless it somehow puts money in their pocket.
If we (HI’s) have anything to do with the home sale, or conditions other than on the day of the inspection, it will alter our mindset and compromise our judjement, compromising our reporting, we are human too. If all that is flawed, why inspect, just give the buyer and realtor flashlight and clip board and let them go.
Some people just can’t wrap their head around some things.
I have no reason to doubt this.
Your relationship with used house salesmen makes sense. Your product is designed to be used by them to entice and encourage buyers to feel more comfortable in purchasing a house, with the idea (sometimes false) that they will have coverage for items that fail.
You have explained to your home inspector clients that you are a licensed used house salesman yourself, haven’t you?
Wise inspectors keep you and your product at arms length. Let you and your fellow agents pass them on to home buyers who need the extra incentive to buy the house.
I always thought the recent RESPA rules keep Realtors and Brokers from getting fees for selling warranties?
Would your “$100 or more a plate” qualify as a kickback, like the one named in this lawsuit and judgment against a home warranty provider?
Again, home inspectors need to keep away from this kind of stuff. Keep it over in the used house selling arena.
I offered a warranty for a few years. They were nothing but a headache. Customers putting in claims on every little thing and expecting to get full value on a ten year old item.
Since January I stopped offering a warranty and have not heard from one customer. Before my phone was ringing with questions about, is this covered, or is that covered, and claims. No more warranties, no more headaches.
Any home inspector who offers a Warranty will in time, wish he wasn’t born, or had a job at a Circle-K.
I have never offered any type of warranty, but I know quite a few inspectors who have, which no longer offer anything but inspections, if their still in business, many are not.
Just reading this message board for the last nine years I’ve yet to find anyone who has offered warranties for an extended period of time (over one year) who is very satisfied with his business decision.
I was talking to Jim, Nathan
I been in business since 1984, I’ve seen thousands of inspectors come, and thousands of inspectors go, the smart ones who don’t offer warranties are the ones doing very well in this business (still).
Even if I wanted to offer warranty’s, and I don’t, I would be blackballed as every single REA here depends upon selling the 20/10 home warranty. Nathan, you should market the REA’s here rather than the HI’s.
Personally, I love the fact that the REA sells the warranty. Reason, if the AC or the oven goes out after my inspection, who does the HO call - the home warranty first. If they are not happy, they then call the REA to ***** about the warranty company and the REA gets mad at the warranty company and nobody ever thinks to call the HI.
I love home warranties as long as the REA sells it!