I heard an interesting story yesterday from a home inspector that works in the Washtenaw County area.
It was about one of those enlightening moments in his career and it happened ten or twelve years ago.
He was at an inspection and he was talking to the home buyer about radon and how it was a suspected carcinogen an how it was prevalent in the area. He also recommended that the buyer have a radon test done on the home.
Later that day after the buyer had left the nice real estate agent came up to him and said something along the lines of: "If you ever mention radon to a home buyer again I'll have to stop using you."
That was such a clear instruction, and so anti-buyer, that it made a huge impact on him. At that point he knew he either had to get under the thumb of the real estate industry or build his own referral base totally outside of the REALTOR organization. He chose the latter and he is still in business today.
And, our office is one of the only real estate companies in the market that actively uses this guy.
If you are looking to buy a home and you want a real estate company that will always be on your side, in your corner, and looking out for you, call us.
734-662-6240
Jon Boyd Broker/Manager
The Home Buyer's Agent of Ann Arbor, Inc.
1908 W. Stadium Blvd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
We serve the Ann Arbor - Brighton - Plymouth - Novi - Canton - Ypsilanti areas in Southeastern Michigan.
And we can guarantee that you will never be stuck with designated agency, dual agency, or non-agency.
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Hard to believe an agent would make a statement like that today. Although there are a few agents that always seem to know how to put their foot in their mouth.
Bill,
Maybe things are different in your market, but here there are still agents who have that attitude. How else would you explain the preferrence for "quick and easy" home inspections that we see from many agents?
Just last month I had an agent express surprise that a home inspection would take more than about 90 minutes on a thirty year old 2,000 square foot 3/2.1 condo. The inspector we used was there for at least twice that long because he was focused on the buyer, not on making a real estate agent happy.
I guess I should post a few more inspection stories.
Thanks for visiting!
Anyone that would make a statement like clearly is putting money first. People are first. Money will follow.
I would have right there at that moment in time, told that agent "That is fine, I help you out and I won't do an inspection for you again. If that is how you protect your buyers, I don't want to be associated with you."
Mark & George,
Thanks for stopping by and adding your thoughts.
There is certainly an interesting dynamic between real estate agents and home inspectors.