Bernard Laffer

When purchasing a home it is absolutely imperative that you do inspections. In my 15 years of working as a Realtor I have assembled a list of inspectors that can provide an honest and thorough assessment of the condition of a home..On several occasions I have been faced with wild animals living in a crawl space or attic. I once had to arrange to have a family of 40 pound raccoons removed from the crawl space of a home  in Moraga.I brought in a licensed wild life expert, who removed the animals and released them in an area a distance away.  He then provided a detailed plan for  animal proof the home..  I have worked with many excellent inspectors and have grown to appreciate their efforts and experience. I have also had to deal with inspectors who create problems , making vague or ambiguous references to conditions existing in a home without taking the trouble to specify exactly what a home buyer or seller is facing. Many times this is done to protect the inspector from potential lawsuits. Unfortunately this type of reporting tends to intimidate a potential buyer because they believe that the home is  a facing problems that do not really exist. In addition some inspectors will report a condition and provide an inflated estimate for correcting it.  Unfortunately when an inspector sites a problem and provides an inflated estimate for correcting it the inexperienced home buyer takes this literally . Home inspectors provide a valuable service that is an essential part of the home buying process. Finding and maintaining a relationship with a series  honest , sincere and capable inspectors is essential for any realtor.