Realtors/DIYers - Electrical service compliance in Cton (Charleston: insurance, mortgage)

[cittyguy]

I'm trying to close on an older house in Charleston. The home has a 100 amp service that appears sufficient to run the existing appliances in the house. Nevertheless, my home inspector said I would likely be forced to upgrade to 150 amp service prior to closing to bring the house up to code. I don't yet have a copy of the building/electrical code for Charleston so I can't verify this. Does anybody have a code book handy? My inspector seemed like a respectable chap and thorough but I hope he's wrong on this call.

During the haggling phase of the purchase, the seller stipulated they would perform no repairs on the house. I was okay with that because I didn't see anything wrong with the house that I wasn't prepared to either live with or fix myself after taking ownership of the house. Also, I knew that I could walk away from the deal if the inspector found a zombie hangout in the crawlspace. Upgrading the power is above my paygrade, however, and, even if my mortgage company permits me to allocate funds for the upgrade as a stipulation in getting the mortgage, I don't want to pay anybody to upgrade the power until I determine what other upgrades I want to do (i.e, I expect I will upgrade the siding and re-roof the home within two years. The former may very well require that I manipulate the electrical service running to the house again so I'll be paying 2x to have folks dithering about with the wires). I like the house and think it has great potential. Do I just bite the bullet and line up contractors to do the upgrade to please the mortgage folks or can I make an appeal to some arcane, and seemingly sensible, grandfather clause that says if 100 amp service is sufficient for the buyer then let the buyer have 100 amp service?

Thanks.

[OleTomCat]

I would ask the inspector to show you the code requirements or call the county building inspectors (Electrical) and ask them about it.

[cittyguy]

Thanks for the suggestion OTC. My inspector didn't seem to like me asking any questions of him so I'm assembling a list of questions to ask the folks at the planning dept. Acquiring a code book seems like a sensible thing to do also since I like to do-it-myself whenever a project, and the city, permits.

[OleTomCat]

I am an electrician (industrial) and have not heard of what he is saying, but I do not have alot of residential experience.

The local inspectors should be able to answer them for you.

[fqtravlr]

Keep in mind that a Home Inspector is NOT a Building Inspector. He can't mandate changes be made. He can make judgement calls on what he thinks is wrong, but its still his opinion. I had one Home Inspector hired by a potential buyer come intomy house and declare the supporting piers were crumbling, based on the mortar cracks he could see from the garage exterior (the garage has no piers, hello). Had another home inspector recommend a foundation repair company be brought in to look a house my wife was selling due to sheetrock tape coming loose around the ceiling. The guy foundation guy came in and spent about 2 minutes opening a closing all the interior doors, said the home inspector was an indiot, and walked out.
Check with the County.

[USCJoe]

Some further advise/recommendation. When hiring a home inspector, in my opinion it would be prudent to insure that he/she carries an "errors and omissions" insurance policy. I would also suggest that they be a member of the "American Society of Home Inspectors(ASHI). With regards to code violations pointed out by an inspector. It is possible that the law has changed, but it is my understanding that under Section 40-59-290 of the South Carolina Inspectors Licensing Law "When an inspection report includes a deficiency that is alleged to be a building codes violation, the inspector is responsible for determining the construction dates and building codes in effect at the time of construction and must conduct the inspection using the building codes in effect at the time.

Originally Posted by fqtravlr

Keep in mind that a Home Inspector is NOT a Building Inspector. He can't mandate changes be made. He can make judgement calls on what he thinks is wrong, but its still his opinion. I had one Home Inspector hired by a potential buyer come intomy house and declare the supporting piers were crumbling, based on the mortar cracks he could see from the garage exterior (the garage has no piers, hello). Had another home inspector recommend a foundation repair company be brought in to look a house my wife was selling due to sheetrock tape coming loose around the ceiling. The guy foundation guy came in and spent about 2 minutes opening a closing all the interior doors, said the home inspector was an indiot, and walked out.
Check with the County.

[cittyguy]

Thank you for your input. As per city building inspector, 100 amp service is fine for old construction. If I start making upgrades to the electrical system in the house that would normally require a permit, then I'll likely need to upgrade the service as well but not until then.

Again, thanks.