Organizing a professional home inspection is an important part of any new home purchase. During this process, real estate agents can help point their clients in the right direction, and reveal the true value of the home the client is interested in purchasing. This is exactly why our team at Pro Inspect Solutions provides inspection support for real estate agents.

The problem is, not all real estate agents have access to high-quality home inspection services. Many will simply suggest the first company that pops up on an internet search, or a family friend who they exclusively work with despite their professional shortcomings. Choosing the wrong home inspector can lead to misinformation that affects the client’s offer amount, buying decision, and safety inside the home.

There are, however, many positive aspects of choosing a professional who has been vetted by someone who works in the world of real estate. Ultimately, it is up to the homebuyer to choose whether or not they go with their real estate agent’s suggestion for a home inspection company. Our team is here to make the decision a little bit easier by providing a list of pros and cons.

Choosing a Real Estate Agent Recommended Home Inspector: Pros & Cons

Pro: they have prior experience with the home inspector

The consequences of choosing the wrong home inspector are difficult to detect until you have already purchased the home and begin to notice problems that were not communicated to you during the inspection. By relying on the recommendation of someone who has worked with the home inspector multiple times before, you should be able to find out if previous clients ran into any unexpected problems after purchasing their property. This is something you can not guarantee on your own unless you have worked with a home inspector in the past.

Con: they may recommend the service for the wrong reasons

The priority of your real estate agent should, of course, be to find you the perfect home, at the right price. However, this is not always the case when it comes to home inspections. Many real estate agents view the home inspection process as a tedious task that they prefer to get out of the way as quickly as possible so that they can move forward with a sale. For this reason, an agent may opt for a service that offers inspection support for real estate agents based on a quick turnaround time instead of a high-quality examination.

Pro: they have worked with a variety of home inspectors

Most real estate agents have experience working with many different home inspectors depending on the neighborhood where the property is located, and which company has availability at that time. This is a major advantage to the homebuyer who may not have ever worked with a home inspector before. Real estate agents are better able to compare services between several different companies in the area. Therefore, as long as your agent is assessing services based on the right criteria, they should be able to give you a good idea of the best option near you.

Con: they may lose contact with clients over time

The reality is, no one can better examine the quality of a home inspection than the people who proceed to live in that home for years to come. While many real estate agents maintain a dialogue with their past clients, some do not. As a result, your real estate agent may not hear about it if unexpected problems arise that should have been flagged by the home inspector. Therefore, even if your real estate agent has your best interest in mind, they may not realize the damage that their home inspection service of choice has done to homeowners in the past.

Pro: they know what to look for in a good inspector

If you are new to the home inspection process, you may not know exactly what criteria is best to use when selecting a service. Although real estate agents are not trained in home inspections, they may be more well-versed in the equipment that is used, and the expectations of the home inspector than someone who has never interacted with a professional inspector before. For example, your real estate agent may be able to tell you whether or not a home inspector has the proper licensing and insurance to protect the home they are working on.

Con: they may have received a referral from another agent

Part of presenting oneself as a reliable real estate agent is having access to all of the resources that homebuyers need throughout the buying process. If a new real estate agent who has not previously worked with many home inspectors cannot provide a recommendation, they may look to their fellow real estate agents for suggestions. This additional line of separation between the buyer and the home inspector makes it even more difficult to judge their aptitude.

Overall, it is always best to do your own research before trusting a specific home inspection service with your property examination. We suggest asking your real estate agent how much experience they have with the particular company, why they recommend them, and where you can find reviews from other clients. For a thorough real estate inspection in Orlando, contact our team today.