Home Inspector Sues Agent for Calling Him ‘Total Idiot’
A Lincoln, Neb., area housing inspector says he resents being described as a “total idiot” in an e-mail that was reportedly sent to more than 400 real estate agents, and he’s suing a real estate agent and her company for the name-calling.
According to the lawsuit, home inspector Matthew Steinhausen alleges that real estate agent Shelly Nitz was asked for feedback from agents at her company, Wood Bros. Realty and HomeServices of Nebraska, about Steinhausen.
In response, Steinhausen says in court documents that Nitz responded in an e-mail to the 400 or so agents: "He did an inspection in Seward for the agent that sold one of my listings. I will never let him near one of my listings ever again. Total idiot."
In the defamation lawsuit, Steinhausen says the comment has greatly hurt his business and has resulted in more than $50,000 in damages.
"When I lose work because of a falsehood e-mailed en masse accusing me of being an idiot, it's infuriating," Steinhausen told the Lincoln Journal Star. Steinhausen told the Lincoln Journal Star that he felt Nitz was upset over an August 2008 inspection he did of one of her listings that she may have felt was overly critical.
Nitz and HomeServices have declined to comment publicly on the lawsuit.
Comment
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Comment by Frank Vigliotti, PA on February 3, 2012 at 9:42pm
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Defaming ones character doesn't work. Don't do it. Go to the person and take it up with them, discuss it with them, but don't send your grievance to 400 agents and hurt this persons business. We are all in this together, we will have differences, let's not take it to this level.
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Comment by cynthia rule on January 23, 2012 at 3:51pm -
She probaby did it without even thinking. He may have sited something that was incorrect and she knew this. She was relaying that in her opinion he did not know his job and obviously in a poor way. I have seen inspections in several areas that were not accurate and this is where you get a second opinion as a possible problem. Some companies believe the sellers, buyers and agent are naive and do not know and will just have the work done so that everyone is happy. Find professionals you like to work with that other agents have recommended.
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Comment by Anita McEvoy on January 22, 2012 at 10:00pm -
To Bill Tickle, You made a good point. Most of the boundary lines in the city are easy to locate but I have been selling real estate for many years and have hunted down survey pins in the brush and cactus many times to save the seller the cost of producing a survey. In Pima County we generally go downtown and can get whatever paperwork and maps we need and then go with those charts. Maybe there is just not enough call for surveyors?
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Comment by Bill Tickle on January 21, 2012 at 2:34pm
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I'm a foreigner and occassional visitor to the US but it seems incredible to me that in a country where so many things (including being an estate agent) requires a qualification and test of knowledge and competence a surveyor doesn'! This is technical work and consequently I would have put it at the top of the list for professional/competence assessment.
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Comment by James Burkett on January 21, 2012 at 10:11am
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As a new agent and a FHA Certified residential appraiser for over 11 years I have come to realize that everyone has their own opinion on any particular property. The home inspectors’ job is to inspect the house and make recommendation to the buyer on what should be repaired, weather the seller and buyer can agree is up to them. I have seen home inspection reports where there were items noted that were ridiculous but I kept my opinion to myself. To publicly slander someone in an email shows this agents level of professionalism and I’m wondering if she was working with a buyer on this house if she would have been so critical or if she would have pushed for all the repairs to be made?
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Comment by Trevor Dean on January 19, 2012 at 3:02pm -
A lot of home inspectors leave much to be desired. In the area where I work they don't even need a license. this means that I could be a home inspector and charge for the work. A scary thought. I would be an idiot to do such a thing, which is why I also don't build houses, drive school buses or give legal adivice. I am not trained for these jobs even though I might THINK that I can do them!
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Comment by Anita McEvoy on January 19, 2012 at 1:48pm
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If the inspector was not working for her but for the buyer she was probably afraid that his findings would kill her deal. Some inspectors are a bit too picky but she should not have put her feelings in writing. It would be interesting to see what she didn't like about his report.
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Comment by Ernesto Robali on January 19, 2012 at 1:46pm -
We are always meeting people with different thinking than our own, for the same reason we must give respect to others before asking to be respected. An statement like "total idiot" shows how immature the person making such comment is, it also shows complete lack of professionalism in her real estate business. My suggestion to every R.E. agent is to get more education related to this business, there are some great courses offered by NAR, your State and Local R.E. Association or Board, and all of them (courses) combined will have a much lower price than the cost of these "two words" in such comment.
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Knowing what we know about the American diposition to sue for anything I am amazed that anyone would use a word like "idiot". Even if he is! She could have said it all apart from the "total idiot" bit.
It is however a pity that we have to pussyfoot around but that is the world we live in!
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