Question:
Should the agents be “present” during an inspection?
Answer:
RECO requires at least one registrant to be in attendance for home inspections (unless the Seller agrees, otherwise).
For TREB members, the Buyer’s representative has to be there.
It is extremely UNWISE for the Seller to be there. They might say something and it counts against them because it’s after the agreement. It’s only statements that they make before the agreement which are excluded.
Acting for a Seller, I often prefer to be present to see how serious the list of complaints might be. Once they are on paper in the Report they often appear to be a lot worse, and, of course, that was the intention. I would always be in another room and out of the way.
When it comes to the Buyer’s representative, I would follow closely since I really want to know how serious the issues may happen to be. It can be dangerous for the Inspector and Buyer to be there alone. Let’s keep things in perspective: after all the furnace is 25 years old, but it works.
Brian Madigan LL.B., Broker