You should know: your choice of an inspector is your private business, agents shouldn’t be asking and they sure as heck can’t demand to know. It’s probably not in your best interest for either agent to contact your inspector with a little pregame pep talk.

Basically home buyers are swimming in shark infested waters believing that the people who come to their aid have their best interests in mind. As nice as sales people are, there are various unspoken relationships between all the players. Your relationship with an agent is transitory, the agent’s relationship in the market is a constant- that includes: home inspectors, other agents, brokerages, insurance, banks, lawyers and notaries. Agents and brokerages surround themselves with team players, they simply have no time for people who are not with the program. Home inspectors who have not drunk the Kool-Aid are excluded from agent referrals and even blackballed.

Buying a Home in British Columbia: A Consumer Protection Guide (PDF)
This guide is designed to provide practical information to help consumers in British Columbia make informed decisions about their home purchases. Published by the Homeowner Protection Office, a Branch of BC Housing.

Summary Report on Home Inspector Licensing Consultation (PDF)
This report comes from the BC Office of Housing and Construction Standards. Survey results indicate that the most common method of finding a home inspector (by over 60 percent of respondents) was a referral from their real estate agent. However, some of these referrals may not serve the public interest because of the realtor’s financial interest in having the sale proceed (even if they provide three or more options as required by the Real Estate Council). Similarly, home inspectors report that building strong relationships with realtors is critical for them to secure business.”