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Find and understand
emotional issue and you can keep any deal together. This thought applies no matter if your role is buyer, seller, agent, or inspector. Ultimately, you must seek to understand why people feel as they feel in order to fully comprehend what they really mean in what they are saying.
Not long ago, I inspected a home for an electrical engineer, a very bright and successful individual. The home had a beautiful swimming pool in backyard. Our intrepid engineer had out his digital tape measure and was measuring distance between each electrical receptacle along rear exterior of home. He would measure, then ponder, measure more, and then ponder more.
Finally, he approached real estate agent and me announcing that there was an unsafe condition relating to unequal distance between electrical outlets. He then spouted large quantities of electrical engineer babble and finished with, "I'd be shocked if this were not a code violation". I wanted to respond with "No sir, code is intended to prevent you from being shocked", but decided that "hmmmm" was a better response.
After much debate and some real listening, man's issue had nothing to do with electrical engineering or National Electric Code. In his mind, he had perfect place for his lounge chair, but there was not a receptacle adjacent to that location for him to plug his radio into! He was laying logic, however flawed, on us in order to justify his demand that a new receptacle be added.
Listen to logic, hear emotion!
Copyright © Florida HomePro, Inc. and Wallace J. Conway. All rights in all media reserved.
Wally Conway is President of Florida HomePro Inspections, and has recently written a book entitled "Secrets of the Happy Home Inspector", available at GoHomePro.com. As a speaker, writer, and instructor, Wally blends the right amount of up-to-date information with just the right amount of humor, insight, motivation, and real-world application. Visit WallyConway.com for more information!
