Western NY Home Inspector John Villella, of All Pro Home Inspection, addresses the “Uncle John” Syndrome and why homebuyer’s commonly make this mistake.

Ok, you’re buying a home and you want to have an inspection, but you don’t believe you need a professional home inspector to complete this for you because Uncle John used to be a contractor and can look at the property for you.  Sound familiar?  We can replace the word “John” with any other, but I love to call this the Uncle John Syndrome.  I can see it now - what’s wrong with Uncle John he’s a good guy, he worked in construction and he knows what’s best for me.   Might all be true, but good old Uncle John can not complete an unbiased inspection for you for a number of reasons and that’s bad for the buyer, seller and real estate professionals. 

First, he’s usually is caught in the excitement of the purchase and can be over protective or just blind to issues – is he unrealistic regarding the condition of the home because he doesn’t understand the inspection process, or is he just happy to see you finally find that home of your dreams and doesn’t gets caught in the excitement and is blinded by the emotion?  Let’s be real, is he really trained to complete inspections – probably not?  In many cases, sellers will not recognize what good old Uncle John’s found during his review of the home.  I know that the new contracts being used by Realtors in our market actually has a question that states to the buyer some thing as follows – Do you plan on having a home inspection completed by a Licensed NYS Home Inspector?  Unless Uncle John fits into that category the seller will most likely tell you what you can do with his findings.  Uncle John will end up costing you additional money because if something truly needed to be repaired or replaced it wouldn’t matter to the seller and you just lost your leverage in the process.   

There is only one recommendation I can make and that is to hire the correct professional home inspector and pay for that service; it’s the best money you’ll spend in the entire buying process.

ü  A 200% Satisfaction Guarantee

ü  Customized Computerized Home Inspection Report for YOUR Home that is

ü  Printed Onsite which includes

ü  a General Summary of Repairs By Components and

ü  a Color Photo Journal of the Home

ü  PLUS a Copy is Emailed to You and Your Agent Immediately from the Inspection

ü  And much more…