I had an amusing incident with a buyer client during his condominium home inspection not too long ago. At the time it was a pretty troubling situation causing him much concern but we laugh about it now, especially since he chose not to buy the unit and instead he ultimately found a fantastic single family home that better suits his lifestyle.
As a buyer agent, I am expected to be knowledgeable in many areas, a generalist of sorts who knows when to defer to the expertise of others who comprise the team that provides inspections, advice and legal opinion to a home buyer.
I often am asked to recommend home inspectors and am glad that I brought along one of the most thorough inspectors to see this condo my client was considering buying in a triple decker condo conversion.
The cosmetic portion of the renovation appeared fine to our eyes and the offer to purchase went in with the standard inspection contingency. When we were with the list agent and the home inspector in the basement taking a look at the older mechanicals and in particular the older steam boiler, we questioned a stain and pooled water around the boiler equipment which was described to have been fully repaired already and “not to worry”.
Although it was still warm outside, the inspector insisted we test the system. As the list agent turned the system on, within minutes the boiler proceeded to dump water on the feet of the embarrassed agent. It was a classic moment.
