Call from agent

Did an inspection for a repeat client that is in the military and agent calls me questioning a few items I noted,

One was a small leak at the bath tub and another was a gas space heater in garage. He stated that the owner and himself ran the water and all they could see is an old stain and that this heater is fine.

I am like it leaked when I was there and no the heater is not fine. You can see the drywall turning brown. I mean geez you can see the water in the picture!!

He also stated I should be taking some future notes and I quickly looked at the report and pics and stated did my client receive documentation from qualified professionals as I recommended? I then stated he should take some notes.

He seemed like an OK agent and he was not being argumentative, but I stand on my report and recommendations

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Why is it a surprise when agents complain about reports they don’t like?

Any issue that threatens their commission is guaranteed to get their back up. As far as I can tell without exception.

Stand by your report and don’t be surprised when you get no more referrals from this typical representative of the species, used house salespersosn

Just by looking at the pictures it seems that you did a good job and “called out” two items that needed to be addressed.

When ever the buyers agent calls me to “discuss” a report I always send them this.
Home Inspector Code of Ethics

The International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI) promotes a high standard of professionalism, business ethics and inspection procedures. InterNACHI members subscribe to the following Code of Ethics in the course of their business.

  1. Duty to the Public[LIST=1]
  2. The InterNACHI member shall abide by the Code of Ethics and substantially follow the InterNACHI Standards of Practice.
    You did that.
  3. The InterNACHI member shall not engage in any practices that could be damaging to the public or bring discredit to the home inspection industry.
    If you have not identified a potential fire hazard, and leaking pipes you would not have done your job and you would have brought “discredit to the home inspection industry”
  4. The InterNACHI member shall be fair, honest, impartial, and act in good faith in dealing with the public.
    What I have seen in the photographs you are honest, impartial, and acted in good faith.

[/LIST]7. The InterNACHI member shall not communicate any information about an inspection to anyone except the client without the prior written consent of the client, except where it may affect the safety of others or violates a law or statute.

[FONT=Arial][size=3]Like you I always take a lot of pictures. [/size][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial][size=3]When the evidence is as clear as you have depicted… 99% of the time my clients tell me not to bother talking *to the sellers real estate agent *because my client is aware of the fact that “they are just trying to sell the house and protect their commission.”

Keep up the good work! :wink:

[/size][/FONT]

What did he mean by you should take some future notes?

Good call David.
That unit is way to close to the ceiling and dangerous.
I used that type of heater for years inside Mortar shacks in the field during the winters.
Installed identical unit in my own garage back in the ice storm of 98, and had to shut it down, my boy and wife were getting sick from the LPG smell alone.
They are not designed for interior use, they use about a min. of 7" water column and 1/2psig and the flame burns on a ceramic emitter.

They should be mouted at 30 degrees and away from combustibles as shown in the link.
One can argue again on the drywall as being combustible, but the paper will sure burn.

Basically, they radiate the heat and warm the objects in lieu of the air surroundings.
You might find this link helpful.

Radiant Heater

:):smiley:

I never gave him time to explain, I started to get defensive.
He was going to tell me how to do my job.

Marcel provided a good link.

Does this unit look like it is installed 14-inches away from the drywall?

You might have a Safety Issue / Fire Hazard" on your hands.
http://www.nachi.org/forum/attachments/f11/34694d1265145780-call-agent-153310-004-small-.jpg

I have found that some agents take the report and the buyer and return to the property to “go over the report”. This is all done without anyone there to repair anything. I am guessing it is an effort to wear out the buyer so their repair list is not as long.

Marcel

Thanks for the link.

Guys, thanks for the responses.

Forgot to mention that Mr. Heater is made by ENERCO which is the brand in the picture David. :slight_smile:

Of course it is. I’ve heard from clients where the agent works to explain how my findings and my opinion on the seriousness of an issue is alarmist. That is until thee client has to fork over for the repairs after closing. And finds my alarmist opinion was exactly correct.

Did you put your hands on the “leak”? Sometimes PVC or ABS glue can fool you. It may have dripped onto the insulation. The glue can closely resemble a leak. Always good to touch it. Seems a little funny to me that the leak hasn’t caused more damage. Just a thought.

My first thought when I saw the picture was it looks like glue.

It was slowly dripping when I was inspecting the area, but the glue is a good observation. I will keep that in mind for future inspections.