Home Warranties and Inspections - How many people should buyers bring to a private inspection?

I'm the seller of a house and the buyers just completed their private inspection tonight. I returned home early and went to the neighbors house as to not interrupt their inspection. To my surprise their were literately 9 cars and 10 people in my house including the Realtor, inspector and the couple buying the home. I have no idea who the other people were. I assume friends and family but it seemed excessive. I called my Realtor extremely upset as to why all these "extra" people were in my house. She wasn't concerned and said she didn't know what protocol was exactly as to how many people were appropriate at an inspection. Am I out of line being upset with all these extra people wandering around during the inspection? Shouldn't the seller have advised me as to who all these other people were prior to the inspection?

It's not mandatory that a buyer be present at an inspection, but it is recommended that the buyer be so that he can follow along with the inspector to examine potential problem areas and ask questions. Agents typically attend the inspection. Seller does not have to be present, but many do so they, too, can learn of problems that may have to be corrected before closing.

It sounds likes the extra people who attended were friends and family of the buyers getting an early tour of the buyer's new home. A savvy realtor should know the protocol. Surely introductions were made per social protocol and the realtor knew who the people were. Of course, the realtor is not upset. She is looking forward to the commission.

It's water under the bridge. Be grateful your house is almost sold in a time where the housing market is down in many areas of the country. Next time be present at the inspection and make it clear to the agent that you expect only the buyers and their agent, if any, and the inspector present. There is no way an agent can successfully keep her eyes on 9 or 10 people touring your home while she is suppose to be accompanying the buyers and the inspector. An inspection is not an opportunity for buyers to provide family and friends with a pre-openhouse party. An inspection's purpose is for buyer and seller to learn about the condition of the home and any potential problems before closing.

Thanks for your input. The only Realtor that was at the inspection was the buyers. I was strongly discouraged from attending although I advised my own agent I would be there if either herself or the buyers agent did not attend. Of course my Realtor said (looking for the commision as you say) that it happens all the time that only the buyer and inspectors attend without any Realtor present.
It was my agent, that did not attend, who stated she did not know the "protocol". It's a shame to lose confidence in your own Realtor this close to a sale but thats what has happened.
Thanks again for your insight.

The rest of the transaction will likely go smoothly. Let's cross our fingers that nothing was found to be seriously wrong during the inspection. Hopefully, the buyers will not return until the final walk through.

You have a right to be upset, and I would let the Realtor, and her/hsi broker know about it.

I am always present when an inspector is going through a house I'm selling, and I absolutely would not allow third parties to be there. Here's why.

The inspector is (supposedly) a professional (see next paragraph) hired to render his professional opinion. Having a bunch of amateurs there is like having family in the operating room during an inspection. Everyone thinks they're an expert; "this (supposed problem) is just like my uncle Jimbo's house" (except it really isn't anything like it) and he ended up paying big bucks to get it fixed.

Having this bunch of morons wandering around, spouting off their opinions is like getting financial, medical or legal advice from your waitress. It's worth about what you pay for it, because it's an uninformed opinion.

If you're there at the inspection you can kindly tell the "friends and family" that they are more than welcome to come at an appropriate time, but this ain't it. If they insist, send them ALL away, including the inspector.

On one house that I sold the inspector showed up and I swear he couldn't have been less knowledgeable about construction or any systems on a house.

1. I showed him where the main water line came into the house and he wrote it as a problem because it came through the slab instead of on the outside of an exterior wall.

2. He didn't know what a hot water circulator was and wrote it up as being something wrong.

3. He didn't know what ridge and soffit vents were (this was in '03 so it's not like they were brand new) and wrote up the roof as having a defective ridge cap.

4. While trying to access the control for the sprinkler system (this was after he told me he would not be checking it) he starting tossing stuff out of the way and bounced an (fortunately empty) plastic trash can off the side of my wife's 2 month old Lexus. I had told him I'd park both cars on the street but he said to leave them in the garage.

I could go on, but you get the idea.

Frank

We had two people inspecting, the well test guy, the septic inspector, our realtor, and a couple friends to help us look for/at any problems that popped up - seven or eight people in all. The seller was present but stayed out of the way in case any problems arose.

As the seller I would also want to be present. When we sold our last house the inspector was a moron and said all this stuff was wrong - we had documentation to prove HE was wrong, but boy I would have wanted to quash those rumors of "tens of thousands of dollars in problems" immediately! My dog would have made a more accurate inspection report...

Interesting perspectives. I think a lot has to do with what is the norm in your area of the country. Here in PA for example, it is normal for the seller NOT to be present for the inspection.

As an inspector, I have had many sellers sit over my shoulder offering to "help" explain items that I call out as issues. Sometimes they offer some good insights. Sometimes they are simply full of it. And sometimes they are just simply curious and don't have much more to offer than "it was like that when I moved in."

In any case, it depends on the tests and inspections being performed, but I have seen at least 10 people on site at once: Myself (the home inspector), a septic inspector, a termite inspector, a chimney sweep, a radon tech, a guy testing for lead paint, the client, his wife and her dad, and their Realtor.

Granted, it was a bigger home, and some of those people were only there for a short period of time, but it was quite a zoo. In the end, though, each was there for a legitimate reason, and it prevented the need for multiple inspections on multiple dates.

Friends and such are not appropriate, but I can see where there may be a call for more people than you might otherwise thinnk would be there.