"I'm going to blacklist you, and I'm going to file a complaint with your Association."
If you're competent and honest Inspector, you've heard this threat many times from Realtors. Some will try to carry it through, but some are just blowing off steam. Now, if I marketed to Realtors and relied on them for 70% of my inspections, (an average published by ASHI a few years ago) that could be a scary threat. He's saying "I have power over you and I can hurt your business". Where does he get this idea? Well, he is approached regularly by Inspectors like you looking for him to channel work in your direction. If he can scare you, he can control you. My response was "That's why I don't market to Realtors, Gary. You can't threaten me."
I was pretty naive when I came into this industry over 16 years ago. I believed that my role was to deliver to my client as much information about the house they were purchasing as my training and experience would allow. That hasn't changed! I also believed that Realtors understood that role and would appreciate having this information to better advise their clients. What a Rube!
I was enlightened early in my career, by a Broker. My role was not to find and report on deficiencies. It was to reassure the buyer that this was the house for them. For my transgression, I was blacklisted in two small town offices. In both cases Realtors were told in the regular meeting, that any means was to be used to prevent me from doing inspections. My business suffered, but I convinced myself that this was an exception and carried on marketing to Realtors. For three years I stumbled along gaining and losing Realtors as my main source of business. I then realized that I was never going to make Realtors happy, that this was not the exception, but the rule. I stopped marketing or even caring about the Realtor, and focused only on what was best for my client. I did run across a small number of Realtors who liked what I did for my (and their) clients. There are exceptions to every rule. Today I make a good living inspecting, depending on the market, of course.
To the new inspectors among us I want to say "Be careful". I know you're going to go out and market to Realtors, because let's face it, Realtors have a much greater capacity to generate referrals for you than clients do. But if you do what they want you to do, you're going to get sued, and rightly so. Tell them to "Go Fish" and take the hit. As one new Inspector told me recently "The best way to cover your ass is to do a damn good job."
If a Realtor asks you for some of your cards before the Inspection or shortly after the Inspection begins, that's a bribe. They are trying to sway the inspection. They have no idea how good an Inspector you are until you present your report. If they want cards the next time they run into you, that's different. If the first sale died because of your inspection, that's a compliment from a good Realtor. If you ever feel threatened by a Realtor, you'll know you're in it up to your knees, and it's going to be a bear to dig yourself out. It is your responsibility to your client to resist this pressure.
The face of Realtors is changing. Over the past few years I've been noticing that there are more and more Realtors who are thinking long term. The immediate sale is no longer more important than their long term reputation. I imagine the internet has something to do with that. There are still plenty of the old style Realtors around, but the professionalism displayed by some of the new Realtors gives me hope.
Mike Lancop, RHI High River, Alberta
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