I had a home inspection the other day where the buyer and agent were planning to show up near the end of the inspection, 4:00 PM. As planned, they came just before the good part; the 130 degree attic inspection.

Before I went into the inferno, I mentioned that the house was also hot because there was no thermostat. When I returned to the kitchen area, the buyer asked me if we could touch some of the wires together that were protruding from the wall and make the unit work. Although my mind was thinking idiot, I calmly explained there are least four wires and I had no idea which wires controlled which functions.

He next wanted to go get a thermostat and install it so I could check the air conditioning. Of course, all of this is complicated by the fact that the ten day inspection period ends the next day. I could have worked the inspection into my schedule days before this, but this was the day the client wanted.

My first thought was; you want me to stand around here for a half hour while you accomplish this. But, the next more important thought is who is liable if he does this and screws it up. My impatiens must have shown, because he acknowledged that I was finished and he would get a thermostat later, install it, and get an AC knowledgeable friend to check it the next day.

Early the next morning, I get an e-mail from the agent saying he is just letting me know that the client was disappointed that I didn’t call him immediately when I noticed there was no thermostat. If they had known ahead of time, they would have had plenty of time to pick one up, install it, and allow me the opportunity to do a complete inspection.

Now the client will need to have an AC person come and inspect the unit once the thermostat is installed. The agent finished with saying that this made him look bad to his client and I should keep this in mind for future inspections.

After coming down off the ceiling, I returned an e-mail apologizing for any inconvenience of not keeping him posted on the inspection results during the inspection and offered to go back to the house and check the AC once a thermostat was installed.

Have I lost this agent because I didn’t know his expectations? Time will tell. I normally call agents immediately when I find utilities off at the property, but I didn’t elevate a missing thermostat to that level especially in a foreclosed house.

It is important that we know the expectations of our clients and those that recommend us to clients. Having knowledge of those expectations is difficult to obtain.

However, as members of AZ ASHI we have the advantage of gaining this knowledge through shared experiences. And the larger the knowledge base the better it is for all of the members.

I hope all of you will continue to support and recruit new members for AZ ASHI.

By: Neil Brogren, Immediate Past President AZ ASHI