I think you’re right to not look to a realtor to refer you to an inspector, we let a realtor make the referral when we moved to the area 15 years ago and deeply regretted it -- he missed a lot. When we went to purchase an investment property a few years ago we Googled and found an inspector on our own -- not only because of our past experience, but also because we wanted someone who had a good understanding of antique homes (house was built in 1880). The one we ended up choosing had a good website, was responsive to our e-mails, and he had also served as president of the regional chapter of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI New England Chapter). He turned out to be great. Not only was he very thorough, but he provided a report with pictures within a day. He was not cheap, but in both home purchases (we used him again a couple years later) he saved us many times over the cost of hiring him by catching issues that helped us negotiate a better price, and/or fixes before closing. Definitely do your own search, and set the bar high -- a good inspector is well worth their fee.

And I think I have an additional wrinkle with finding an inspector. It's a timber frame home and I think I need someone with that particular expertise, along with a general inspection. Looking online I've not found anyone in my area but I've contact a couple companies I know of who might know who does have that expertise. This is the house that's been on the market for five years and I'm wondering if that has anything to do with the type of construction. If you google it you find all kinds of horror stories but as far as I could tell they were all in the UK, not the US.

And I will add that we've known our realtor for almost 20 years, having purchased another home through him. I do somewhat trust him but I don't trust any realtor to really be looking out for my best interests.

We used an inspector who was also licensed as a PE, Professional Engineer. We got his name from a friend that was an Engineer and had taken some continuing education classes taught by the inspector. There certainly can be a conflict of interest when a realtor recommends a home inspector. As a starting point, I would look for an inspector that is also a PE.

We (in TX) aren't allowed to tell our buyers who to use. We give them a list of the licensed inspectors in our city. And we can't get kickbacks or referral fees. I've had agents ask who I recommend, and I will give them the list and tell them who I wouldn't use, just because I have seen them do inspections and miss major items. There is also one inspector here, that I use for the houses my husband and I buy, that is picky to the extreme. Many agents here remove his name from their lists because he scares off first time buyers that are expecting houses to be perfect. Even new homes will have items that get written up. He'll write things like " the walls aren't straight". Well, most house's walls aren't, especially in older homes. But first time buyers want that corrected. Not gonna happen. Or he'll write up a water heater for not having a drip pan, although, when it was built/installed, it wasn't required. Then the first time buyer wants someone to spend 500.00 to remove a water heater and put in a 25.00 drip pan...also not going to happen. The realtors that don't want him used aren't hiding things...they just want a write up that is accurate but not ridiculous. If someone asks who I use I tell then, and explain that he is very picky, and sometimes to the point of being ridiculous.

Inspectors inspect what they see on that day. People seem to expect inspectors to be able to see behind walls, or think the inspector was bad if the roof starts leaking a year after they bought the house, yet they haven't ever sealed it. There are good/bad inspectors, but I guarantee that realtors want good inspectors too. I want my clients to have a home they will be happy with.

The realtors I've used have always seen the inspection as a way to knock money off the price to fix stuff...but I look for such realtors.

Home inspectors imo are not very useful. They have a ton of rules they follow to protect themselves which limits what they will do. For example most will never open anything screwed shut. Like just taking an outlet cover off to see what kind of wiring was used and if the connection look right. Many won't go into attics beyond popping their head thru an access door. I do my own inspection but for others you might consider a good handyman. Day in and day out they fix the kinds of things you should be concerned about. But they won't write nice long detailed reports that say nothing so you'd have to be there with them so you can hear what they have to say and they can point to issues. For the big stuff, like a roof, structural that the handyman says might be a problem you can then get a specialist to tell you real costs of repair. Those are even generally free.

It depends on the kind of buyer you are. Many people don't really want to hear anything bad and like just getting a long detailed report saying everything is fine. Of course they're also the ones who get super mad later when problems appear.

I got a recommendation from a contractor I know and love who does stellar work. He has never steered me wrong on a referral. The guy he referred me to has actual construction experience which seems like a plus.

And more good news - our realtor does know a timber frame builder who he will talk to about taking a look at the construction of the house. Everything is coming along - hopefully we can strike a deal with the sellers next week.

Is your realtor in cahoots with that builder? JK

You never know.....

Good point Sushipup... The OP is so sure that we agents and our inspectors have developed a master plan of deception and cover up, yet she still will accept a referral for the timber frame builder.

OP, what do you mean by "in cahootz"? Or is that just some fancy catch phrase that sounds cute, but really means nothing and has no reference to reality?

I'm a Realtor and I always give three recommendations to my buyers - all based on recommendations from people who have had experience with them. But I also point out which one I used for my two properties as my personal recommendation.

One buyer used the cut-rate guy he found on the internet that could do all the inspections for less (home, roof, seawall, pool, etc). Yeah, that worked out well. No mention of the cracked window that I could see from my front yard (two houses away on my side of that house). Inspection report so disjointed that I could barely understand it. Pictures at the end vice integrated in the report so you had to scroll up and down and up to see the problem in the corresponding picture.

OP, what do you mean by "in cahootz"? Or is that just some fancy catch
phrase that sounds cute, but really means nothing and has no reference
to reality?

I imagine that they think that a realtor may recommend an inspector that either gives a big kick back or glosses over problems so that the sale is more likely to occur as opposed to an inspector that does their job well.

While that may happen with some less reputable realtors, I'd think that a realtor that is working for you actually wants to help you. If I didn't trust my realtor, I wouldn't be using them in the first place.

No offense to realtors - I just have a healthy degree of skepticism about any commissioned sales person. I have known my realtor a long time and have purchased homes through him in the past. I have a high degree of confidence in him but know that no one has the same level of concern about my best interests as I do. I also think that consciously or not, if a realtor refers business to you (as an inspector) and you have a good relationship, your work could be biased in favor of that person and their interests. I just want to make sure I get someone as qualified and unbiased as possible.

"work could be biased in favor of that person and their interests"

A reputable realtor's best interests are in disclosing as much as possible to avoid a future problem. Better to know now rather than face a lawsuit later.

True for the realtor and even more true for the inspector who deos this to support his family. How many inspectors would actually not disclose major items just to be "in cahoots" with the agent? Sooner than later, both would be out of business.

Your scenario just does not make business sense.

Greg's point is what any reader should take away from this thread... don't use an agent that you and your gut do not trust.

Now, if you think your realtor is in cahoots with your inspector, why would you trust your realtor in the first place?

You gotta love when people think agents are in "cahoots" with the inspector, the appraiser, the atty, the title company, just so everybody can make a sale. I recommend people that I use for my own transactions. When I buy a house, I use the same inspector that I recommend. I use the same atty, that I recommend. WHY??? Because they do a good job! Thats it! I have had clients over the years that felt the same way as the OP, sometimes it works out well, sometimes, they get an inspector that feels the need to justify his existence. One inspector made mountains out of mole hills, IMO, for job security. If that buyer didnt buy that house, "because he did such a good job with the inspection", they paid for a 2nd inspection on another. Worked out well for him and there there is no verification! I've also seen inspectors (not my recommendation), that won't take pictures, because they say its against the law to take photos of someone elses property, and "how would I feel, if someone came in and started taking pictures of my stuff?" (Well honestly, if you are doing your job, you are not taking pictures "of their stuff", you are taking pictures of the mechanicals in their house so you can reference your points! People have to remember that real estate is not a one transaction business. Its a referral business. No one is going to get rich off of selling one house. If you are happy, you refer your realtor to your friends, relatives and even when you sell and buy again. Referring ANYONE to get the one sale thru is a sure fire way to end a realtors business.

We used a home inspector that I found online under home inspectors. He was a certified home inspector in our state. I did not realize how good he was until after he inspected the home we were going to purchase and I received a 30+ page book with pictures of all the areas he inspected. He knew all the building codes in the area. He had 10 recommendations to be fixed before we bought the house. We were surprised at all the items he found since the house was only 2 years old. Some of these had to do with water drainage near the house, a slight repair on the septic and a better slab for the air conditioner. The seller fixed all of these items. We had a friend who used a realtor suggested inspector and he missed an appliance that did not work and ceiling fans that were broken. We felt lucky to find this quality of a an inspector. We are going to use this inspector during our build as a double check that things are done properly along the way.

I would think that a realtor in order to help avoid the appearance of a conflict, would at least offer up a list of qualified inspectors for the would be buyer to select from.

SaltiDawg, in my area, it is customary to offer three inspectors, three attys, etc. If I feel like the people are untrusting, I do exactly that. IF I feel like they trust my recommendations and just want who is best, I offer who I personally use myself.

In our case, we went with the realtor recommendation. I think he did a good job overall, but he did miss some little things that we had to go back and fix that he should have caught. We asked about one particular issue and were told it was nothing of concern. I do not think he lied, just had a limited knowledge base to work from. Inspectors are trained for certain things. Fast forward, and that issue we asked about is being pushed by a law firm to create multiple waves of lawsuits against the builder for inappropriate concrete preparation and inferior materials in our neighborhood. Not wanting to blindly trust a lawyer's office (seemed like they had something to sell), we did some digging to find someone licensed in the state as a certified structural engineer. He was great, and we now have the peace of mind that our issues can be fixed at some expense, but not enough to be worth joining a lawsuit. I wish we would have hired him in addition to an inspector at the outset. I didn't realize the limitations of general home inspections until we had an issue that made us look further. Someone mentioned hiring someone with a PE designation. Just make sure if you do so, you look carefully at their background. We specifically sought out a structural engineer to assess any areas of concern related to the lawsuit. . My husband is an engineer and he pointed out that it wouldn't be hard for him to attain a P.E. designation, but that doesn't mean he has in-depth knowledge of house structures. I am not sure what the PE process requires test-wise, so I can't say for sure, but it may be something to consider, as well.

In the end we had a contractor of our choosing look at the place from an overall structural perspective and will use an inspector recommended by our realtor.