Something that I emphasize quite heavily in the Law and Disorder seminar is the importance of adhering to whatever Standard of Practice you happen to be following when you are conducting your inspection.

I get a lot of mail from home inspectors offering their services, should the need ever arise, as expert witnesses in negligence cases against home inspectors. Fortunately, I never have a need for their expertise because the home inspection claims that I get asked to squash almost all go away secondary to a compellingly written…

A couple of years ago, Lady Agag (my lovely wife) and I were invited to a cocktail party that was being held at a restaurant in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia. The restaurant was actually closed that evening to all but those who had been invited to the party. The hosts of the party…

I am starting to see a disturbing number of home inspection claims brought against home inspectors by non-client home sellers who are blaming home inspectors for the failure of their clients to follow through on the Agreement of Sale as a consequence of the inspector’s findings. I am hoping that this trend is secondary to…

Many of the home inspectors who attend my home inspector training with the Law and Disorder Seminar are shocked, shocked to hear me say that their corporate entities, be they Subchapter S or Limited Liability Corporations, do not insulate them from personal liability for conducting a negligent home inspection. For my part, I am shocked,…

One of the tools and techniques that I teach in my home inspector training with the Law and Disorder seminar, and that I encourage home inspectors to incorporate into their practice, is the appropriate use of the disclaimer. While home inspectors and other real estate professionals know that there are many, many issues implicated in…

A question that comes up frequently at the Law and Disorder seminar is whether or not it is a good idea for home inspectors to take photos during the inspection. When I first started getting this question, I could not imagine any reason why anyone would ask that question. It turned out that a lot…

I am continuously astonished at the willingness of home inspectors to issue refunds to clients for the slightest home inspection claim that they make. Since these complaints virtually never have any validity, you do not have to be Buckminster Fuller to conclude that refunding fees to every unhappy client is a bad business model. And…

I recently gave the home inspector training Law and Disorder seminar at the NACHI Wisconsin state chapter’s fall gathering. In the weeks following, a number of the inspectors who had attended the seminar contacted me to review their pre-inspection agreements. A few of these agreements included a clause that required that all disputes that arose…