No rubber stamp here! Tomacor helps to get buyer’s credits
We recently retained Tomacor for an inspection of a condo unit that we have under contract. During our initial phone consultation, I told Tom that we were looking for someone to do a thorough vetting of the property- not merely rubber stamp a deal so that the closing could proceed quickly. Knowing Tom’s reputation among Chicago’s real estate professionals, I was somewhat apprehensive about what kind of response we would receive if the seller’s agent found out that he would be handling the inspection.
As it turned out, the sellers did not overtly object or put up any underhanded roadblocks to his inspection, but they (and even our agent on the buyer side) were clearly and visibly annoyed when he showed up on the premises. Suddenly, both agents had countless appointments to make and pressured us to wrap up the inspection ASAP. The seller’s agent also informed us at the inspection that we wouldn’t have access to the common areas of the building for purposes of inspection. Tom forcefully rebuffed them on both counts. He reasonably explained that, as potential owners in this building, we had a right and obligation to know the status and condition of the common areas, as any major work on them would impact us in the form of either increased monthly association fees or special assessments down the line. The agents were of little help, but Tom eventually found a way for us to get access to the roof and common areas before the inspection was over.
I was impressed by Tom’s thoroughness, dedication, and enthusiasm for his profession. His approach is inclusive and professorial – during the three hour inspection, he walked me through all of the major systems, explaining their functions and what kind of work or maintenance they may require in the future. The experience was educational, and I learned a lot about what it means to be a responsible stakeholder in the homebuying process.
While Tom’s inspection did not reveal any glaring problems, he did find a number of issues that we decided to address in the negotiations. All items from the inspection are highlighted (with budgeted repair amounts) in a 2″ binder that you receive at the end of the inspection. Following the inspection, Tom spent an hour with me at a coffee shop (away from the agents!) giving a detailed recap of the issues and emphasized which ones he thought were the most critical.
As I said before, there were not any major issues that arose from his inspection, but we were able to get a pretty significant buyer’s credit at closing for the repairs that did need to be made- and the credit more than covered the cost of Tom’s services, so we did well.
Tom is a class act among his profession, and I endorse him with the utmost sincerity and enthusiasm.