Andy who?!
When we were brand new real estate investors, it took trial and error to find the right group of rehab specialists to help us. The first “electrician” we were referred to wasn't even licensed yet but we didn't realize this until later; he paid a company under the table to have them pull a permit for him, and he didn't do a very good job. Our first indication that something was wrong should have been when the inspector blinked at us and said: “Andy who?”
When it finally became obvious things had gone south, we switched contractors and had the second guy fix all of the problems. The reinspection went smoothly, and the inspector was all smiles since he was very familiar with this new contractor and his excellent reputation. In a bit of a huff I asked the inspector why he couldn't simply give us a referral for one of the good electricians, why did we have to learn the hard way?
His response was to shrug his shoulders helplessly and inform us that that would have been viewed as “collusion” and an unfair advantage, and I reluctantly had to agree with his point of view. So if you're new in the business and an inspector innocently blinks and says: “Andy who?”, this is building inspector code-speak for: “if I were you, I'd turn and run the other way. And I certainly hope you haven't paid him yet!”
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