Seller calls me blind...

So a realtor recently shows me an email from a seller on a house I did for her client. The long and short of the matter is that the seller claims that I called out plumbing leaks that did not exist. These photos are the leaks I called out in the crawlspace, which were also in my inspection report. The seller claims that the plumber, who had left stickers in the crawlspace when I did the inspection, did not find any leaks. Hmm…either the plumber is blind, the seller is lying, or the plumber is covering his mistake. My client believed me. I don’t guess I will be hearing from this realtor anytime soon.

Good job! Your client would make a better referral source anyway.

Just explain to the agent that the photos support your assertion and attest to the accuracy of your report. You stand behind your report, as written. They need a different plumber.

The agent is in the middle. They will typically go with whomever is most credible. There is no reason for them not to use you in the future, so long as you are professional in your demeanor, communicate well and accurately report defects and deficiencies in theirs and your client’s prospective homes. Your findings protect their interests in addition to the client’s.

Instead of thinking that way, which is the way that my employees were inclined to think, I took an opposite approach. A week after contact, I would send an $20 discount check via snail mail. Then, after escrow closed, I would send another $20 discount check in a CONGRATULATIONS! card. It was amazing to my employees how those Realtors kept referring their Clients to us. It wasn’t to me. QM is what I called it, Quality Marketing.

Pretty simple - have that plumber put his statements in writing on his company’s letterhead with applicable license #.
FWIW, for leaks I take multiple/close up pics and/or videos. I also include a moisture meter pic when applicable. In other words, I make it extremely difficult for anyone to say something is “not there.”

Russel; Please clarify that you sent the check to the buyer.

Tradesmen aren’t the be all and end all.

I did an inspection with a flat roof recently and called out the flashing installed on top of the roofing at the rear where it drains into the gutter.
They’d smeared some tar on it but of course that seam had opened up.

So the realtor asks for a licensed roofer to take a look and the idiot roofer says it’s fine.
Even the realtor can clearly see the issue.

It’s important to read all words. Not a check. A “$20 discount check.” In other words, a discount coupon made to look like an ordinary check. Sent to Realtor. I sent discount coupons to Realtors to give to their Clients for all 15 years of my home inspection career.