Can my agent pay the home inspector a referral fee?

Q: Can my agent pay the home inspector a referral fee?

No. 19 NYCRR 197-4.7 prohibits a New York home inspector from paying or receiving referral fees in connection with a home inspection, and from accepting compensation that depends on the findings of the inspection or on the sale going through. The point of the rule is whose side the inspector is on. Nobody in the transaction has bought a softer report, and Lou does not quote the repairs he finds either, so there is no incentive pointing the other way.

No. 19 NYCRR 197-4.7 prohibits a New York home inspector from paying or receiving referral fees in connection with a home inspection, and from accepting compensation that depends on the findings of the inspection or on the sale going through.

The point of the rule is whose side the inspector is on. Nobody in the transaction has bought a softer report, and Lou does not quote the repairs he finds either, so there is no incentive pointing the other way.

A domestic water heater with a vertical red marker line on the report photograph. — Lou reports what he finds. He does not quote the repair, and nobody pays him to soften it.

A real photograph from one of Lou’s own inspections, chosen because it shows a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.

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What New York requires · Selling instead of buying? · About Lou

Can my agent pay the home inspector a referral fee?

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