Should home inspectors recommend other professionals?

Many years ago, one of the home inspectors in my company met with an electrician to discuss having him teach at an upcoming home inspector meeting. The electrician expressed some hesitation about teaching a class for home inspectors because he was under the impression that home inspectors aren’t allowed to give referrals. Some cantankerous old home inspector told him home inspectors either can’t or won’t refer other professionals—who knows why?

I couldn’t disagree more. Fortunately, most home inspectors I know take the opposite approach when referring other professionals. We go out of our way to get acquainted with knowledgeable professionals in different types of trades and are happy to refer them. If I’m calling out a bad electrical panel for replacement, I don’t want my clients to talk to one of the few electricians in the Twin Cities who still takes the archaic stance that FPE Stab-Lok panels aren’t a hazard.  And I don’t want my clients to get price gouged on a water heater replacement. And I don’t want some roofing contractor to talk them into a new roof for non-existent hail damage.

I want my clients to deal with professionals who will take good care of them, only sell them what they need, and charge them a reasonable fee for their services.

I also appreciate having these types of relationships with trade professionals because I like having people I can call for advice when I need it. It’s a reciprocal relationship; I send the contractor business, and they give me advice and take good care of my clients. It’s the same type of relationship I believe most home inspectors have with real estate agents. We take good care of the home buyers that real estate agents send to us, and those agents frequently reach out to us for advice.

I’ve never subscribed to the cynical view that all home inspector / real estate agent relationships are crooked. There are surely a few out there, but that doesn’t make up most of these relationships.

Do I take on liability for giving referrals? Heck no. When I give referrals to people I know and trust, these referrals don’t come with any strings attached. I don’t guarantee the quality of work. I simply say, “Here’s someone I know and trust.”  If my clients get bad service from someone I’ve recommended, they’ll probably let me know about it. At that point, I’d have to re-evaluate that particular relationship.

I don’t give out three names. Many real estate agents like to give their clients three names of home inspection companies because someone told them this would reduce or eliminate liability for a bad referral. I don’t subscribe to that advice when giving out referrals. If I know a great contractor, I give out their name and tell my clients to call them. I might give out a few other names as backup, just in case the first one is too busy; not because I’m trying to eliminate liability on my end. A referral is simply a referral.

If you’re a good contractor looking for more work, I recommend contacting your local home inspection groups and offering to teach continuing education classes. We’re always looking for good professionals to teach classes to keep us up-to-date on the latest industry requirements and trends, and most of us appreciate having high-quality professionals to refer business to. Just be sure you’re also a good teacher and can put together a decent slide deck; if you can’t do those things, it’ll probably be a waste of time.