Preliminary Buyer Walk -Throughs
What Home Inspectors Need to Know

While mortgage rates sit at historic lows, not all bodes well for house hunters. Potential buyers nationwide face low
housing inventory and subsequently high prices, leaving many to wonder how they’ll ever secure their dream homes.
And, eager to avoid bidding wars with other hopefuls, buyers’ real estate agents suggest that their clients pursue an
unconventional time and money-saver: preliminary buyer walk-throughs.
Also known as consultation inspections, buyer consultations or walk-and-talk inspections, preliminary buyer
walk-throughs are not home inspections. Rather, they are 30-minute meetings in which an inspector traverses the
property with the potential buyers and calls out visible potential defects with a cursory glance. Because inspectors
typically do not provide a report,and there isn’t enough time to provide a thorough evaluation, consumers who opt for
preliminary buyer walk-throughs must rely on the information the inspector is able to verbally relay during the
consultation. By getting a walk-through instead of a home inspection, potential buyers hope to make offers
non-contingent on an inspection that will win them the deal.
But are preliminary buyer walk-throughs good for consumers? How about for inspectors? And what liability do home
inspectors assume when they act as consultants? In this article, we aim to answer these questions.
Walk-Throughs and Consumers
Most home inspectors agree that preliminary buyer walk-throughs are not in consumers’ best
interests—particularly when they replace home inspections.
Dave Taurinskas, owner of Reassurance Home Inspection in Minnesota, is an ardent advocate for ceasing consultations
nationwide. Taurinskas has spoken to independent arbitrators, real estate agents and recent homebuyers regarding the
disadvantages of walk-and-talks. His argument: Many potential homebuyers believe that a walk-through will warn them
of any defects that plague the property when it is unlikely that an inspector will be able to discover and disclose
many significant defects in such a short survey. As a result, consumers may unknowingly purchase houses with major
deficiencies, only to discover them after moving in.
“A walk-through consultation is not a home inspection, and it is not a substitute for a home inspection,” said Bruce
Barker, 2021 President of ASHI and owner of Dream Home Consultants, LLC, in North Carolina. “Homebuyers should
understand that, when they waive the home inspection, they assume the risk of incurring significant costs to repair
defects that might have been discovered during a home inspection.”
Dave Klutch of Harmony Home Inspections, Inc. in Minnesota, agrees, stating that preliminary buyer walk-throughs are
“watered-down inspection[s]” that serve real estate agents—not buyers.
Consultations and Inspectors
Many of the home inspectors who perform walk-and-talk inspections do so to maintain relationships with agents. If
they were to turn down a consultation, they fear their referring agents might give the job and future inspections to
someone else.
However, not all real estate agents view walk-throughs the same way. In fact, Taurinskas knows a real estate agent
who stopped using a home inspector because they did perform a consultation for a client instead of a home inspection.
So, depending on the agent and your relationship, it can work both ways.
Furthermore, some home inspectors have concerns over whether buyer consultations damage the inspection industry at
large. Because there is no state or association standard of practice that officially establishes the scope and
limitation of the service, and because the findings are so limited, some inspectors suggest that consultation
inspections devalue the inspection profession.
“[Preliminary buyer walk-throughs] desecrate our industry that we spent so much time developing over decades to be a
respected part of the real estate process,” Taurinskas said.
Offering Alternatives
For inspectors unwilling to or uninterested in performing walk-and-talk inspections, there are alternatives. Klutch’s
solution for agents and consumers pressed for time: pre-listing inspections.
Pre-listing inspections are full home inspections that inspectors perform for sellers prior to listing properties for
sale. (Hence the term “pre-listing.”) By getting an inspection before potential buyers even see the house, sellers
hope to fix or disclose defects ahead of time, thus increasing the likelihood of a faster, more profitable sale.
“[Sellers] can throw [the pre-listing inspection report] on [their] dining room table,” Klutch said. “It shows full
disclosure. It reduces real estate agents haggling over price. Everyone wins.”
A word of caution from the InspectorPro claims team: Pre-listing inspections can be dangerous to home inspectors. If
you perform a pre-listing inspection and know (or reasonably believe) that a third party—like a potential
homebuyer—may rely on your findings, you may have a legal duty to that third party. To circumvent that
liability, talk to your insurance company and your attorney about the protections available in your pre-inspection
agreement.
Alternatively, Taurinskas recommends that buyers offer a small amount of earnest money, like $1,000, and get a full
home inspection with the promise to not make any demands based on the findings. Should the property fare well, the
buyers can move forward with the purchase. Should the inspection discover excessive defects, they lose the $1,000 and
the inspection fee, but get to walk away.
“Why would a seller balk at having a full inspection if no demands are going to be made from that inspection?”
Taurinskas said. “[The potential buyers] don’t have to give a reason to back out of the house, [so they don’t have to
give an additional disclosure statement]… [Instead,] the seller gets to keep the $1,000…and put the house back on
the market.”
Limiting Liability
At the time of publication, both ASHI and InspectorPro Insurance neither endorse nor discourage preliminary buyer
walk-throughs. Based on InspectorPro’s claims data, it appears that such consultations do not present a significant
risk to inspectors. However, should you choose to perform preliminary buyer walk-throughs, the following actions
could limit your liability:
- Determine if there are regulations in your state.
While ASHI and InspectorPro remain neutral regarding walkthrough consultations, your state might have a stronger
opinion. Before setting out to perform preliminary walk-throughs, verify whether any state regulations apply. - Obtain a signed agreement.
As with all the services you provide, to qualify for insurance coverage, you need an agreement signed prior to
entering the property. However, your contract for preliminary buyer walkthroughs should be different from your
standard pre-inspection agreement. This contract should explain the limited scope of your consultation and
underscore that it isn’t a home inspection and is, therefore, not in compliance with any state or association
standards of practice.
Unlike a full home inspection, it may be appropriate to have one agreement for multiple consultations should the
consultations be on the same day and for the same client. If you perform walk-and-talks for multiple clients or
over multiple days, you must have separate agreements.
Unsure of how to draft an agreement for your preliminary buyer walk-throughs? In addition to consulting a local
attorney, review your insurance policy’s requirements for inspection contracts. Also, ask your broker if your
insurance provider has any sample agreements for preliminary buyer walk-throughs available. - Do not provide a written report.
When performing a preliminary buyer consultation, never provide a written report. Doing so could give the
impression that your clients should rely on the walk-through as they would an inspection. By sticking to just your
verbal comments, you limit the risk of consumers conflating walk-throughs with true home inspections. - Recommend a full inspection.
In your preliminary buyer consultation’s agreement—and at every other opportunity you get—recommend
that, should your clients’ offer be accepted, they have a full residential home inspection performed.
Recommending an inspection does three things:
- Reminds consumers that consultations are not home inspections
- Protects potential homebuyers from purchasing homes with devastating defects that aren’t possible to uncover
during a walk-through - Safeguards your business should a consultation client try to claim that you are responsible for issues they
uncovered at the property based on your limited walk-through
“I would be reluctant to perform a walk-through consultation if I knew it was a substitute for a full home
inspection,” Barker said. “In my opinion, for my company, it is not worth the potential of a dissatisfied client.”
Note that if you provide a full inspection after a consultation inspection, you will need to obtain a separate
agreement—signed prior to each service—for both.
Providing the education so that potential homebuyers understand the scope and value of a full home inspection
protects both your clients and your business.
Conclusion
Should your business provide preliminary buyer walk-throughs? Or should it oppose them? As a home inspector, it’s up
to your individual discretion. Having read the insights and cautionary notes presented in this article, we hope that
your choice is a more informed one.
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