Turn them in, or look the other way?

I’m inspecting a house Friday, and obtained a copy of an inspection report done in 2016 by a company whose name I will withhold. To put it mildly, I was appalled. The inspection form consisted of a list of boilerplate deficiencies with checkboxes next to them. No narrative whatsoever. Photos thrown in batches with no captions or context. The people don’t even know how to spell “breaker” for Pete’s sake. Absolutely the most worthless report I have ever laid eyes on, and as a former Realtor, I have seen quite few.

Standard TREC format is nowhere to be seen. Absolutely none of the preamble required. Deficiencies not separated into the 6 main categories (done by room). Not defined as to I, NI, NP, D. No mention of static water pressure, and who knows what else.

I wish I could post it, but I would have to go through 23 pages to redact the company and property info.

This is one of those bottom feeding $225/inspection outfits, but that’s really not the issue. An inspection like this is worthless, and it galls me that folks operate like this while the rest of us pay attention to the laws of the state.

I’m tempted just to print this out and mail it to TREC and let them sort it out. What say you, gents?

So send it to TREC. If they think there are issues, they can deal with it according to their regulations. TREC may or may not do anything. Screw that “we are one big brotherhood” sentimentality. Bad inspectors should be turned in and run out of business. They taint the whole industry.

William I would not mail it away We have many who start this industry regularly and most fail .
Its always been this way ,Not worth the effort , My opinion … Roy

Texas administrative code wants you to.

I’m less cut and dried…

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TREC will not accept it and/or not act on it unless it is accompanied by a formal written complaint. TREC does not want to do any work regardless of what our rules say we must do.

You are free to send it my way for entertainment purposes. I’ll add it to my pile of trash reports I have from consumers who get ripped off by these idiots!

I’ll echo what Manny said. I have a stack of reports I’ve accumulated in my 16+ years of inspections.

I’ve tried to deal with TREC Legal to get flagrant violators on their radar, but they never accepted anything I offered. There used to be an attorney at TREC who was great to work with and she helped out, but she has long since moved on.

There used to be a very good contact on the IAC who had connections with TREC Legal, but he has also long since left that IAC slot.

It is very sad and one can only wonder what the client thinks of such a report and even the buyer’s agent.

What hurts is that many of the bad reports I’ve collected have come from some long-term inspectors. That is just sad and stupid as one would think they would have some clue of the basic requirements.

Thanks for the responses. I don’t like what Manny and Nolan are saying, but they know much better than I.

It galls me to think that good inspectors doing a good job can have their careers derailed for minor infringements just because some client with a grudge took action, while people like this can flagrantly violate the laws that are put in place to protect the consumer, and do so with impunity.

I may send it in for my own satisfaction, if nothing else.

Send it in for educational purposes on how the system works. Let us know how it progresses.

Yes it is a pathetic situation when the members of a profession have their hands tied to prevent them from policing their own! I can certainly understand TREC not wanting to waste time handling petty complaints from Inspectors with agendas to do nothing more than increase their business by forcing another Inspector out. However if you can provide TREC with concrete proof of a serious infraction I do not see why an Inspector should have to file a formal complaint.

As for Nolan’s comment “many of the bad reports I’ve collected have come from some long-term inspectors” many of the reports I have are from long term Inspectors. However they know how to game the system some with help from others responsible for looking out for the consumer.

If the report is as bad as you say you need to turn it into TREC using their protocol for filing a complaint they will act on it. They are preaching they want the customer protected. You will file the complaint on the TREC for a complaint and keep copies of everything. I did it once on a lot lesser thing and they kept me up to date. He led his way out but he finally went out of business

TREC NEEDS to get rid of the ridiculous requirement to file a formal “complaint” so Inspectors can better police their own. It’s not a complaint it is a “report”. An Inspector should be able to simply send TREC the information and the Inspector is now no longer a part of the issue as TREC then should do their job of investigating it.

In a way I can understand why they don’t. Too many people out there would just use it as a way to harass the competition.

If the “competition” is failing to follow the requirements to the detriment of consumers then would it matter how or why they were reported? Wrong is wrong no matter what after all it’s about consumer protection!

If a single Inspector was to become a problem and/or file BS “reports” to TREC I am quite sure TREC can put an immediate stop to any future BS reports from that Inspector!

Manny I agree there should be a complaint form for the public and a report form for inspectors. I believe inspectors don’t act on violations they know about for the simple reason his name is sent to the violator. If TREC is truly out for the customer they will act on this report

There is also a second problem we face that the rules/laws are very conflicted with and that is client privacy. When we encounter a client or a consumer just seeking our assistance to a problem Inspector do we act and report the Inspector’s egregious actions or do we respect the privacy of the client or consumer when they say they do not want our communications to go any further? If we do not respect their privacy request we are violating that law/rule. If we do not report the egregious actions of an Inspector we are violating that law/rule.

By allowing an Inspector to just send the material in without any further or initial formal involvement by the Inspector then it becomes a confidential report. TREC is then free to act or do nothing but the Inspector has performed his function of consumer protection and is not targeted by anyone.

Anonymous complaint systems are always abused and turn regulators into Nazis. If a report bothers you that much then nut up and sign the complaint form.

I’ve seen reports that are not as good as mine and I’ve seen reports that are better than mine. I handle it this way, “I do my best to care for my client and my business. I learn from others to improve myself. I have not the time or patience for a nanny state”. It is fair you know that I endorse significant deregulation of home inspection in Texas after spending 33 years of my life working with TREC on these matters. I spent the last two days driving to Austin and meeting for hours with high-level legislators about home inspection. Our problems do not come from someone writing a crappy report.

I have found compliance issues and notified the inspector in a friendly reminder way. “Hey XYZ, I saw your inspection report. You might check the XYZ on the report. It might not be current. Not complaining. Best regards.”

In today’s world, the buyer is no longer naive. They need to learn to take care of themselves. A person who does not check their boat for leaks before paddling off to sea deserves to swim back to shore.

John Cahill

*Regretfully, I was once a stupid high-level rule maker. Thankfully I learned I only need to make rules for myself. Life is much more peaceful.
*

Answers and thoughts above.

Ignore it and move on.
Don’t waste your time.

This IS a waste of time. Found this posted on internet somewhere. I love this thing.
At least he noted the garage is “free of trash/debris” & all the closets have closet rods.

Well, what do you expect for $499.00? :shock: :roll: :stuck_out_tongue:

The PDF report looks very similar to a code based minimum property standards inspection. Several cities in North Texas have similar basic templates.