10/27/2026
A Little Story Time… 🏡
Just because you’re buying a house doesn’t mean it’s yours yet.
A while back, I showed up to a home inspection that turned into one of the most awkward situations I’ve experienced as a home inspector.
Now, we generally ask buyers to limit who attends an inspection. We also discourage bringing contractors to general home inspections. New construction is a little different, but for a typical home purchase, there’s a time and place for all of that.
Well, apparently nobody got that memo. 😂
I pull up to the house, and there’s the buyer, his wife, their three kids, structural engineers, landscapers, and a handful of other people.
We’re talking about eight adults and three kids.
Now, here’s where things get interesting.
The seller still lived in this house. He worked from home, collected fine art, and had expensive glass sculptures and collectibles throughout the property.
As I’m walking toward the house, the seller comes outside, and he is absolutely furious.
And after hearing him out, I couldn’t really blame him.
He agreed to have his house inspected. What he didn’t agree to was having a bunch of contractors come through to discuss renovations, additions, and give estimates on what everything would cost.
His concern was that if the buyers didn’t like those estimates, they might decide to walk away from the purchase. And in his eyes, that wasn’t what he had agreed to when he approved the inspection.
On top of that, he now had three young children coming into a house full of expensive, breakable things.
And listen, I have kids. Kids are going to be kids. They’re curious, they want to explore, and sitting quietly in a stranger’s house for four hours isn’t exactly their idea of a good time.
But home inspections aren’t necessarily safe places for children, either. We’ve got electrical panels open, crawl space hatches removed, ladders set up, and equipment being used throughout the property.
So now I’ve got an angry seller, uncomfortable buyers, confused contractors, three kids caught in the middle, and I’m standing there just trying to figure out how I’m going to inspect this house.
I call the buyer’s agent. No answer.
I call the listing agent. No answer.
Wonderful. 😂
Eventually, we get things sorted out. The contractors leave, the kids leave, and we’re down to just me and the buyer.
Problem solved, right?
Not quite.
Turns out the buyer had a construction background himself and wanted to do some investigating of his own.
He starts walking around taking measurements, using different tools, and checking things throughout the house.
Normally, I have no problem with buyers wanting to learn more about a property. In fact, I encourage it.
But here’s the issue.
The seller had already made it very clear that he wasn’t comfortable with people walking around his occupied home unattended.
And I understood that.
Think about it. If I’m outside inspecting the roof, siding, or foundation, and the buyer is inside walking through your bedrooms, opening doors, and looking around, that’s someone you don’t know wandering through your personal space.
I’m not suggesting anybody has bad intentions. But that doesn’t mean a homeowner should automatically feel comfortable with it.
That’s also why I always encourage buyers to have their real estate agent present if they’re going to be walking through the property during an inspection.
So now, instead of completing the inspection I was there to perform, I’m having to stop what I’m doing and follow the buyer around while he completes his own evaluation.
And the whole situation just became unnecessarily complicated.
Here’s the thing.
I absolutely believe buyers should have every opportunity to understand what they’re purchasing.
Want a structural engineer to evaluate something? Great.
Want estimates for renovations? Absolutely.
Want to bring your family through and figure out where the furniture is going to go? I get it.
But those are things that should be coordinated with your real estate agent and scheduled appropriately, rather than turning a home inspection into an open house.
And I think that’s where people sometimes lose perspective.
When you’re buying a house, you’re making one of the biggest purchases of your life. But when someone is selling their house, they’re also allowing strangers into one of the most personal places in their life.
It’s where they sleep, raise their families, keep their belongings, and live their everyday lives.
And while that house might become yours in a few weeks, right now, it’s still theirs.
I think both sides deserve a little understanding.
Because at the end of the day, buying a house is a business transaction.
But until the keys change hands, it’s still somebody’s home.
And that’s your little story time for today. 🏡
