You Want to Split That?

The primary purpose of a home inspection is to discover things in the house that need repair. Sometimes the repair is needed immediately. The thing to keep in mind is that the inspector discovered the problem; he didn't create it. (Unless he stepped through the ceiling, and then he created the problem and is obligated to fix it - which is why Mark will not step off the service boards in the attic.)

Last week Mark found what he initially thought was a leaking water heater. The homeowner called a plumber immediately. When Mark returned to the property to retrieve a level measure he'd left behind, the plumber was just leaving. It turns out it wasn't the water heater at all, but a broken pipe in the wall behind the water heater.

So we were really surprised when we got a message from the buyer's agent. It seems that the buyer's agent had paid close to $450 for the repair because it "seemed like the right thing to do". (Why would that seem like the right thing to do?) And he wanted to maintain "goodwill". (Whose goodwill? The seller's? This woman let the inspector, the buyers and the agent into her home and didn't disclose that her son had the flu until they were leaving. She interfered with the inspection more than once. She wrangled the money for the repair of a "pre-existing condition" out of the buyer's agent.  No amount of money could buy this woman's goodwill.)  Now he wanted us to reimburse him for half of it. (We had a bit of a chuckle.)

It was a broken pipe in the wall. The inspector detected the leak. He did not cause it. Neither the inspector, nor the buyer's agent was responsible to fix it. Paying for it was the agent's choice. And while he wanted us to pay half the cost of a repair, he never once offered to split his commission with us. Now, does that seem fair?


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