No, no, no. The seller should not be present for the inspection. And I have never had the seller present at the inspection until recently. I was surprised to find him there and when I saw that he was not leaving, I stepped outside and called his agent and was told that they couldn't ask him to leave. Oh, he was very nice, very charming, very engaging, very helpful. But he didn't need to be there.
Having the seller present inhibits communication between the inspector and the buyer. This is frustrating for the buyer and probably for the inspector as well. When the inspection was complete the seller was the first to pipe up and ask how it went. The inspector said something neutral that I feel was interpreted by the seller that no problems were found. And of course there were problems which were laid out in the report the buyer and I received later that evening by email.
The buyer pays for the inspection. The buyer should be able to meet with the inspector and freely discuss the house without thinking about hurting the seller's feelings or worse, getting into an argument over the condition of the home. In the future I will emphasize to the seller's agent that we need to inspect the home without the seller being present.
Go away, Mr. Seller!
You're right Shirley. If the seller wants to be party to an inspection, they should pay for their own before the listing hits MLS! I push hard for that with my sellers so that they can make any essential repairs up front and make the report available to buyers as part of full disclosure.
Sorry to hear you had to deal with this uncomfortable situation!
Shirley: I just wrote a blog on another site indicating to get a Pre-List inspection so you can get any items repaired before you put the home on the market. That way ... No Surprises and will help the sale go forward without having to wait for repairs.
I have had a few seller's that would stay for the inspection and they would follow me around foot to foot. It is difficuolt enough to try and concentrate and does make it more difficult when the seller is present. I agree...go to the Home Depot and come back later.
I have heard some funny stories about sellers insisting on being present.
Realtors..... control your sellers!!!!
I once had a seller call and ask where the inspection report was and demand his copy, if you can believe that. He actually thought he had some right to the buyer's inspection report b/c it was his house. It's funny now but I was a bit irritated at the time b/c these seller's were acting like they were being taken advantage of by everyone, (even by me and I was their agent) Even threatened to sue at one point b/c of a small delay in closing. Some clients are just not worth the pain. These were actually a referral b/c they were employed by my boyfriend so I just jokingly tell my boyfriend I plan to pre-screen is referrals from now on.
Sorry for the added story, your post just reminded me of this particular transaction, I almost forgot about that. LOL.
I think it depends on the seller. Since the buyer owns the report and doesn't have to provide a copy to the sellers, but they expect the seller to make repairs, and some inspectors are unreliable, it can be helpful to have the seller there.
Bobby, I agree that the seller should get a pre listing inspection. If there are any problems, they can be corrected before the house goes on MLS.
Carl, I will check out your blog on the subject. Pre-emptive action is better than reacting later.
Tom, good motto: Realtors control your sellers. I will remember that for future use!
Tiffany, Thanks for sharing the story. For some people, it's all about them.
Lisa, I think it is always good for the seller to leave. The inspector doesn't need the unnecessary distraction of the seller being present. Most buyers are willing to share the inspection report, especially if there are problems that need to be addressed. Thanks for sharing your viewpoint.
Shirley, I read your title and thought "no,no,no!" and saw you opened with the same. The question is how to tactfully ask the seller to leave. Also, should the seller's agent be present at the inspection? No, no no.
Shirley - Agreed and agreed. I was happy to see that you were not advocating that the seller be present. Carl summed it up nicely above.