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Who Attends a Home Inspection


We rarely think of them that way, but modern homes are marvels of engineering and construction. Unless you have a background in construction-related trade, you probably lack the expertise needed to extensively inspect a home and should consider hiring the best home inspection San Diego can provide. Unfortunately, what people who strive to avoid common home inspection errors rarely consider is the question of who attends a home inspection and how long a home inspection takes.

Selling or buying a house safely requires thorough understanding of its many elements and how they pertain to you. Should the seller be there? What about the real estate agent? What if the buyer is unable to attend? Can the buyer’s family members be there? Isn’t picking the right home inspector and looking at their home inspection report later enough to ensure everything is done correctly?

Buyers should decide who attends a home inspection

Real estate agents are normally the ones who coordinate home inspections. However, since it’s usually the buyer who hires a home inspector, circumstances often override the real estate agent’s preferences. Furthermore, at the end of the day, a buyer is a potential customer, and a customer is always right.

Buyers should be allowed to bring friends, relatives, or their buying agent along for the inspection. This is fully within their rights because, after all, they’re considering a large investment that will have massive potential effects on their life. Needless to say, any seller or real estate agent who attempts to limit the number of people a buyer can bring with them for the inspection is highly suspect and should be seen as a red flag.

What if a buyer can’t be there?

Sometimes a buyer is unable to attend the inspection or even send somebody in their place. This may be due to work obligations, living too far away, or having some other issue that prevents them from traveling. In this case, the person who attends a home inspection in their stead will probably be their buying agent.

In certain situations, the buyer’s agent will deliberately advise the buyer against attending the inspection and appoint himself or herself as an intermediary. Any agent who suggest such an arrangement clearly isn’t acting in the best interest of his or her client, and should be avoided.

What about sellers?

While buyers can’t prevent the sellers from being present during the inspection, it’s rarely advisable. Best case scenario, the buyer will be unable to relax and have a private conversation with the inspector and/or other people they brought along while the seller is there. Worst case scenario, a seller who attends a home inspection will keep engaging the buyer in conversation or shadowing the inspector every step of the way. Emotional exchanges between sellers and buyers have stopped many home buying deals in their tracks.

Professional, affordable, and reliable home inspections

Here at Inspection Company Inc., it is our mission to provide you with the best price for your home inspection. We go out of our way to inform each client about every detail of the sale or purchase they’re making in order to help them reach the best possible decision. Call us today, and take full advantage of our InterNACHI certified professional home inspectors.