Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The rules and Standards of Practice (SOP) for licensed Professional Inspectors in Texas can be found here TREC - Rules Governing Inspectors . These will describe what is to be inspected and reported on. I will reference them below in blue under your comments. I'll also add additional comments and questions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by loves2read
In DFW TX area
home is close to 30 yrs old
had extensive renno done 4 yrs ago but HVAC is 8 yrs, roof about that old, windows are original except for 2 replaced 4 yrs ago...
If the home is 30 years old and the HVAC was replaced 8 years ago why did the HVAC company not properly relevel it (see your comment below about its condition)?
inspection report came back with some issues that just seem specious
said there were two leaks -- one under kitchen sink, one under master bath sink--
went to house--could find no leak under kitchen sink, did find leak under master sink that my husband probably caused by not tightening a connection enough when he was doing make ready--so we are happy to fix that...
Active leak reporting of plumbing is covered under Subsection 535.231(a)(2)(A). Interestingly enough the SOP has no specific requirements for reporting water damage to vanity cabinets or other cabinets unless the Inspector determines it is active leaking even though the plumbing is not currently displaying a leak. Of course the SOP are the minimum requirements and the Inspector can exceed those at any time. Did the inspection report specifically state that there were active leaks or signs of previous leakage? If the Inspector did not see active leaking did the Inspector explain what they saw and how they determined it was active if it was active? If the leaking was significant enough that it damaged the vanity, beyond simple staining, then the Inspector should be advising their client of this even though the SOP does not require it. It is a simple fix for anyone who knows how to use power tools but many people are not confident enough themselves to perform the work. It then can cost the buyer additional money they might not have been expecting. It is up to the buyer at that point to determine what they want to do.
the inspector cited the gutters for having leaves in them--
we cleaned the gutters ourselves about 3 weeks ago before putting house up for sale--and that was less than a month ago...
It's Fall in my area--there are 3 pecan trees on the lot close to house and couple of other trees plus trees in neighborhood...they are losing their leaves...
there are going to be leaves in the gutter every day until spring...
This is covered under Subsection 535.228(c)(4). Gutters with debris in them can cause clogging and water back-up. Backed up water can overflow the gutter to the ground below, behind the gutter and constantly wet fascia boards, or if significantly clogged can even constantly wet shingle edges and potentially back-up under the shingles. Unfortunately as pointed out already this is the time of year that gutters have to be closely watched for this problem until the trees shed all their leaves.
He said that 3 windows don't open...
we know that all windows do because they were opened and cleaned before house went into MLS they might be difficult to open, I grant you...
This is covered under Subsection 535.228(k)(E)(v). A window should open without force beyond what is normal. Without being there, or seeing the report, I would fully expect that the Inspector made a very prudent choice not to attempt excessive force just to see if the window would open. Most likely the Inspector already experienced other windows and used them to gauge what force might be necessary to open the remaining windows and these three required force beyond the normal. It is easy to damage a window frame by trying to force it open and the Inspector is not required to, and should not, attempt to force a window open.
I noticed in a later post you stated:
"Normally sticking windows are red flag for foundation shifting----but this inspector cleared the foundation as having no problems...
just surprising that he didn't suggest that MIGHT be a problem..."
Obviously the Inspector found no supporting indications of foundation movement and made an acceptable judgment that the windows were a problem unto themselves.
another item was that the concrete pad the outside AC unit sits on is not level--
if so it wasn't level since the house was built...
This is covered under Subsection 535.230(b)(2)(K). Many newer compressors can handle unlevel conditions. However the SOP does not discriminate between an unlevel condenser unit that is functioning and one that is not functioning. The age or installation date of the pad is not a consideration in this requirement as per the SOP.
he said he couldn't check the electrical vent fans in attic to see if they were operational-- wrong--you can use ladder and check both of them because the electricians that installed them did just that when they came back to adjust the temp level they were set to come on at
This is covered under 3 Subsections the first being 535.228(h)(2). Under this subsection the Inspector is not actually even required to operate a powered ventilator and only required to visually inspect it for issues. Of course if the ventilator is readily accessible and can be operated it is a very good thing if the Inspector tests it. Just the powered ventilator alone retail cost can be from $100 - $250 and that does not include labor. Under Subsection 535.227(a)(1)(F) is the definition of "Accessible" with (F) designating when a ladder must be used. Although the definition is not completely clear a Request For Interpretation had already been submitted to TREC and TREC has determined that with regard to that part and the attic a ladder is only required to be used for accessing an attic space that has no other access method and not necessarily using a ladder inside of the attic space. In Subsection 535.227(a)(1)(A) the Inspector also has, and rightly so, the latitude to determine if attempting any part of an inspection is a hazard to do and can disclaim that. Since we were not there and do not know where your ventilators were we would not even be able to determine if they were even above a safely constructed, and clear access platform where a ladder could be used even if the Inspector chose to carry one up into the attic.
so I don't really trust some of the items he listed as problems
The buyer works for local mortgage company. I think it is likely she might have personal relationship with this inspector and he might have gone out of his way to find items to object to that she can use to negotiate better price...
What you have listed here is covered as required reporting under the State mandated SOP. Since we don't know what else might be in the report we can not provide any type of real response to this. It is unfortunate though that way to many Inspectors in Texas do not perform thorough inspections. A real and thorough inspection will exceed the very minimal SOP we are required to follow and Inspectors are free to exceed it at any time. As a seller I can understand your frustrations with what might possibly have been a thorough inspection. But in reality a thorough inspection actually works to the benefit of everyone. For the buyer they know what they are about to buy. As a seller you might encounter the demanding buyer but I would expect that most buyers actually ignore a large part of a thorough report anyhow. As a result of that you as the seller again benefit later if a buyer were to have remorse since it was their choice to ignore what was in the report. If the Inspector and both Agents are performing their functions properly they too have nothing to worry about.
The buyer did not use her realtor (who is her mother) to submit this info--
she sent copy of the full inspection report to our realtor with no $$ value for remediation
just something like "hope the sellers will work with me on these"
She has done things like that before--not going through her realtor but directly as a buyer to our realtor...
we are not inclined to give up any more since we think we gave enough already---
Can we respond asking HER to set a monetary value on repairs...
there is nothing on this list (except the non-opening windows) that is really an operational issue
and I think we can get the windows open, take photos, and show her they are functional...
The windows were noted in the report and I see in a later post you are having a window specialist come out to review them. It is just better to have the issue repaired and demonstrate their operation (or have the buyer demonstrate it themselves with their Agent is even better). If they are actually not repaired and you report them as repaired to the buyer you need to take into consideration the buyer's final walk through if they have one. Last thing you want is to hit the closing table just to have an angry buyer, and possibly one that already is having remorse for the items they ignored in the report?
our realtor has been in meeting all morning so we haven't had chance to talk to her about this
As Inspectors there are many conditions we are required to call out as deficient that even we might not agree with. It is very beneficial for sellers to become familiar with the SOP to prepare for their buyer's inspection. You can either clear many items beforehand or at least be ready for them if the buyer comes back for concessions.
Me thinks loves2read is SPOT ON that this "insider" is using their "connections" to get some "scare the bejeepers out of the seller" type inspector to knock thousands off that the sharpie seller will just use to buy a new big screen TV and live happily ever after in their "bargain" home without doing anything to remedy these bogus items.
How can you call them bogus if you have not seen the actual report or the actual conditions at the home? Yes there are some Inspectors that probably are akin to "Chicken Little" but what has been provided here is all within the requirements of the Texas mandated Standards of Practice (SOP) for licensed Inspectors. There have been no other large list of problems provided to suggest that the Inspector did anything more than the minimum required by the SOP. It is a simple thing, the Inspector follows the rules and reports these things or they don't and risk losing their license!
I suspect her MOM is probably too ethical a real estate agent to condone this sort of chicanery.
We know nothing of the Agent to determine what "chicanery" they are or are not capable of. I suspect that possibly Mom just doesn't know what is occurring. Quite frankly many of these cases become relatives (in this case Mother and Daughter) who can't communicate and potentially the Daughter does not want friction and thinks she can do the job better. Unfortunately there is an old saying that the best way to lose a friend (or relative) is to do business with them. Again we have no idea of the entire scenario/situation and can only surmise these things.
An 8 yr old HVAC is still WELL WITHIN acceptable life span of even "el cheapo" stuff, assuming this was a quality name brand system probably last much longer. If buyer does not agree TELL EM TO POUND SAND!
Other than an unlevel condenser pad I did not see any mention of any other HVAC faults in the description above. Also to many people are hung up on "life span" and "life expectancy" charts and figures. If a system was properly designed, properly installed, and properly maintained the only lifespan or expectancy factor is how long replacement parts are available and if a repair is less economical than a replacement. I've seen 30+ year old HVAC systems just kicking tail and functioning like new because they met the three criteria listed. On the other hand I myself had a high end system, from a very large and reputable manufacturer, that met the second two criteria but was apparently poorly designed. It failed in less than 8 years and the repair costs were 3/4 the cost of an entire system replacement. Needless to say I replaced everything as repairing it only subjected us to another potential design flaw and failure.
An 8 yr old roof is still WELL WITHIN acceptable life span of even "el cheap" stuff, assuming this was a quality re-roof will probably last much longer. If buyer does not agree TELL EM TO POUND SAND!
Again I see nothing in the original post about any roof problems.
Send this "report" back the seller with some comps -- assuming you have farily priced your home and accepted an offer that reflects the current condition of your home relative to other that are available maybe her MOM can talk sense into daughter. (If you are in rude mood send of photo of you from behind with a caption like "If you don't want the house AS IS you can kiss the picture. It is a good value and we ain't gonna bend over for you...")
OTOH if these piddling little things are such you can make some concession on price and still make out well compared to recent sales maybe you can afford to just say "you want $1000 bucks toward your new TV, have it..." to get to closing. How are homes selling in your area? Are you priced fairly, have you had other offers?
Don't let emotions of a silly potential buyer obscure reality -- you want to get this sold!
Again we do not know the full contents of the report and what all was found. I am certainly not defending the buyer from trying an end-around on her Mother the Agent but there are no rules or laws that state a buyer can not contact the seller directly. Obviously it might not be the best course of action but it doesn't necessarily make the buyer "silly". As for an emotional buyer very, very few people can make a very, very large purchase without using some emotion! I would even expect that an emotionless buyer would be a real tough client for an Agent to begin with? No offense to Agents but an obvious sales tactic is to work with the good emotions of a buyer to help sell them the home. It is a basic sales principle. On the other side of the spectrum is the overly emotional buyer that is also a tough client for an Agent.
I have placed some comments above in blue. I understand you are trying to support the OP but maybe your a little off in this post?
Loves2... our market is fairly hot still, how long have you been on the market ? If it's a short time, just tell her you'll give her $300-500 to cover any repairs and she can get it all fixed later.
Like others have stated the buyer didn't actually ask you for anything "yet" I would wait until the demands are made properly before responding then do so by showing the work like the leaks and gutters have been taken care of. I don't think you need to be alarmed that she might be trying to back out of the deal since besides the cracked concrete there really is nothing major on the list.
You guys are forgetting that the inspector is paid to inspect the house. To show that he is looking at everything he feels like he needs to make at least minimal comments even on a nicely maintained house. If there were major problems he would not have even listed these that the OP references. If it was me I might just offer $200 back to the buyer in lieu of performing any 'repairs'.
You guys are forgetting that the inspector is paid to inspect the house. To show that he is looking at everything he feels like he needs to make at least minimal comments even on a nicely maintained house. If there were major problems he would not have even listed these that the OP references. If it was me I might just offer $200 back to the buyer in lieu of performing any 'repairs'.
The inspector doesn't feel like they need to make minimal comments if there are none. It is their job to point out everything. There is no such thing as a perfect house. Not even new construction is perfect. And yes an ethical inspector would have listed these items as well as any major things that came up.
Our realtor send a second email with the items that the buyer wants addressed that are on the inspector's list of items to be addressed...
I didn't see that initially...
When we bought home in FL this past spring, we had list of items the inspection came up with and two of them had to be repaired before we could get insurance...not that they were so bad but FL insurance is just so screwed up that they have homeowners needing insurance over the proverbial barrel...
and because it was a Relo sale none of the repairs were going to be negotiated with the relo company--which we knew going in...
so we paid for the two mandatory items prior to closing to ensure we could get insurance...
and then spent more money after closing upgrading other electrical items...
My realtor said it was actually better that the buyer did not say give me 3K to address these issues because buyers usually over estimate the cost of repairing some things...
We took out a home warranty when we signed with our realtor so some of the HVAC problems if there are any real problems should be covered under that as well as recalibrating the oven, which he said did not heat at correct temp...
we just have to pay a $60 service call for each repair guy...
We are having a window guy come out tomorrow and have to call a roofer about a vent/stack duct that is too close to the roof...our realtor said that is a very common issue even in newer homes...I guess because the roof goes up before some of those vent stacks are added...
anyway I guess I have calmed down
I take stuff like this too emotional...
my husband is more professional because he does so much negotiating in his job...
Are you saying the buyer has listed/requested that specific things be corrected?
If so then it is up to you to decide if you do them and/or counter.
Things are moving along. All is normal.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
