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We had hired a home inspector when we bought a brand new home in Cary.
I was surprised when all he did during inspection was to praise the builder and how well-built new homes are etc. As a first time buyer I did not have much idea if something is considered an issue unless it is too obvious. Fast forward two years, we are selling the house and the buyer's home inspector listed some items to be fixed those have existed since we bought the house. I never thought those item to be an issue but this inspector seem to know what he is talking about.
What really puzzles me is that why didn't my home inspector report those items as problems when he inspected home. All these issues were existing at that time too. I don't want to go on record and say he was "tipped" by the builder but I cannot rule that possibility out based on his behavior during inspection and his report which missed all issues existed that time.
I did some more research on the internet and stumbled upon couple of articles explaining how home inspection industry works or doesn't work. The whole thing is not really beneficial to sellers or buyers.
If we cannot trust home inspectors, where should non-handy type home buyers look for consultation before buying home? Some suggest hiring structural engineers for inspection but I have not tried any yet.
Last edited by RedZin; 04-25-2015 at 02:12 PM..
Reason: Edited to remove URL that was completely irrelevant and elements that come across as consumer complaints.
We had hired a home inspector when we bought a brand new home in Cary.
I was surprised when all he did during inspection was to praise the builder and how well-built new homes are etc. As a first time buyer I did not have much idea if something is considered an issue unless it is too obvious. Fast forward two years, we are selling the house and the buyer's home inspector listed some items to be fixed those have existed since we bought the house. I never thought those item to be an issue but this inspector seem to know what he is talking about.
What really puzzles me is that why didn't my home inspector report those items as problems when he inspected home. All these issues were existing at that time too. I don't want to go on record and say he was "tipped" by the builder but I cannot rule that possibility out based on his behavior during inspection and his report which missed all issues existed that time.
I did some more research on the internet and stumbled upon couple of articles explaining how home inspection industry works or doesn't work. The whole thing is not really beneficial to sellers or buyers.
If we cannot trust home inspectors, where should non-handy type home buyers look for consultation before buying home? Some suggest hiring structural engineers for inspection but I have not tried any yet.
You seem to be moving to a pretty substantial conclusion based on your experience, which must be frustrating of course.
Have you talked with the initial inspector to see if they noticed these defects and if so, why they did not consider them defects? It would be interesting to compare the photos in the two reports to see if they show similar or different conditions.
If you're not satisfied, I believe there is a licensing board in NC for inspectors and you could raise it with them. The real key, I would assume (note: assumption) is if the first inspector noticed issues but not consider them material, and it turned out those were in fact issues he should have noted.
(Alternatively, the buyer's inspector could be overplaying issues. We had an inspector review a house we bought in foreclosure; for some of the problems, we had a hard time finding a contractor who considered them actually worth repairing, arguing that inspectors were too conservative.)
Last edited by RedZin; 04-25-2015 at 02:13 PM..
Reason: Edited because quoted post was edited.
You seem to be moving to a pretty substantial conclusion based on your experience, which must be frustrating of course.
Have you talked with the initial inspector to see if they noticed these defects and if so, why they did not consider them defects? It would be interesting to compare the photos in the two reports to see if they show similar or different conditions.
If you're not satisfied, I believe there is a licensing board in NC for inspectors and you could raise it with them. The real key, I would assume (note: assumption) is if the first inspector noticed issues but not consider them material, and it turned out those were in fact issues he should have noted.
(Alternatively, the buyer's inspector could be overplaying issues. We had an inspector review a house we bought in foreclosure; for some of the problems, we had a hard time finding a contractor who considered them actually worth repairing, arguing that inspectors were too conservative.)
Is it a norm for home inspectors to take pictures of all areas? Original inspector's report had couple of pictures with negligible issues he had mentioned like debris left in attic. He definitely did not mention issues reported buy this fresh inspection but I am sure they existed back then. I will reach out to original inspector but am almost sure that he will not admit existence of these issues when he inspected.
It is unfortunate that there were oversights, and I also have issues with inspectors "selling" the house to my clients. That is not their job.
However, your "evidence" cited in your OP indicates that you have also been duped in your research:
All three "dirty little secrets" are just garden variety flat out lies.
Non-negotiable and inarguable. Flat out lies. That has been the case for that blog for over 5 years. Lie for money.
Note that that blog is monetized. The liar profits every time someone clicks on one of the ads, and probably can get more money for every "impression." And the lies play well, despite having been thoroughly debunked regularly by responsible and non-anonymous people.
Most agents will no longer use an inspector who doesn't give the client a thorough report. I have a list of inspectors that I would strongly recommend my clients not use, for various issues of character and ineptitude.
Home inspectors in NC cannot give an estimate unless requested, and then they will responsibly defer to your chosen contractor who will take the time to properly quote the issues.
You do have recourse. It may be limited, but it is recourse.
Q: What the heck does a crooked NYC building inspection scandal have to do with buying a house from a low end builder in North Carolina?
A: Zip. Nothing.
It is unfortunate that there were oversights, and I also have issues with inspectors "selling" the house to my clients. That is not their job.
However, your "evidence" cited in your OP indicates that you have also been duped in your research:
All three "dirty little secrets" are just garden variety flat out lies.
Non-negotiable and inarguable. Flat out lies. That has been the case for that blog for over 5 years. Lie for money.
Note that that blog is monetized. The liar profits every time someone clicks on one of the ads, and probably can get more money for every "impression." And the lies play well, despite having been thoroughly debunked regularly by responsible and non-anonymous people.
Most agents will no longer use an inspector who doesn't give the client a thorough report. I have a list of inspectors that I would strongly recommend my clients not use, for various issues of character and ineptitude.
Home inspectors in NC cannot give an estimate unless requested, and then they will responsibly defer to your chosen contractor who will take the time to properly quote the issues.
You do have recourse. It may be limited, but it is recourse.
Q: What the heck does a crooked NYC building inspection scandal have to do with buying a house from a low end builder in North Carolina?
A: Zip. Nothing.
Thank you for correcting and providing details on each bullet point. On #3, what recourse is available to buyers in NC.
I still have not concluded that original home inspector did not have good intentions or he was tipped by builder. So not sure if I need to take route of recourse.
The biggest problem is the whole thing is very subjective...
Did you contact the inspector in question? In my opinion it would seem unreasonable to "bad mouth" him unless you have contacted him to discuss the issues. There are certainly differences between inspectors as well as what people consider to be defects. However, as a builder that has seen a large number of reports (100's), I will state that many inspectors are hell bent on putting items on the report that are not permitted to be in the summary. The state is very clear about what is and is permitted but they keep doing it.
How do you know that the buyer's Home Inspector is correct? Because he "seems" to know what he is talking about?
By the way, who wrote the artlce you linked----an expert? Hire a contractor? In some cases that may be a good approach but I can assure you that there are plenty of shoddy contractors that don't know one end from the other. I know because over the years I've fired quite a few of them.
Over the last 20 years I've never seen or heard of an inspector taking a bribe. Why? Because there is significant liabilty in being an inspector. Note that that article talks about NY-that is a whole different world!
The second article is irrelevant to NC. I read through the "dirty little secrets", which the first 2 were irrelevant. There is no conspiracy among agents to whitewash inspection issues.
Have you asked your original inspector about these problems? Whats the total cost of the problems? And does your pulte warranty cover them?
For Dirty Little Secret 1, never ever use an inspector your realtor recommends. Choose them yourself. This should be common sense. If a realtor ever tries to steer you toward using one of their inspectors, run far and fast because they are a crook.
Regarding Dirty Little Secret 2, this is true but it is not the inspector's job to estimate costs, and to suggest it should be is absurd.
About Dirty Little Secret 3, this is true but it does not mean there is no value in the service. A few hundred bucks is not a lot of money to gain an extra level of confidence that you're not buying a money pit. A well-chosen inspector can save you a lot of money, and often the seller paid pre-closing repairs you receive as a result of his findings will more than pay for the inspection fee.
Lastly, as you learned you should be VERY cautious of recommendations you receive on this forum. Certain cities on this forum have developed a bit of a fiefdom and/or good ole boy network where folks are friends and recommend people they know based on friendship rather than professional competence. I also have seen cases of "sockpuppeting" take place on forums like this, where a poster recommends their own business under the radar of terms of service by using a proxy account.
Services like AngiesList place a much greater level of unbiased accountability on service providers and give you a voice if things go wrong.
For Dirty Little Secret 1, never ever use an inspector your realtor recommends. Choose them yourself. This should be common sense. If a realtor ever tries to steer you toward using one of their inspectors, run far and fast because they are a crook.
Regarding Dirty Little Secret 2, this is true but it is not the inspector's job to estimate costs, and to suggest it should be is absurd.
About Dirty Little Secret 3, this is true but it does not mean there is no value in the service. A few hundred bucks is not a lot of money to gain an extra level of confidence that you're not buying a money pit. A well-chosen inspector can save you a lot of money, and often the seller paid pre-closing repairs you receive as a result of his findings will more than pay for the inspection fee.
Lastly, as you learned you should be VERY cautious of recommendations you receive on this forum. Certain cities on this forum have developed a bit of a fiefdom and/or good ole boy network where folks are friends and recommend people they know based on friendship rather than professional competence. I also have seen cases of "sockpuppeting" take place on forums like this, where a poster recommends their own business under the radar of terms of service by using a proxy account.
Services like AngiesList place a much greater level of unbiased accountability on service providers and give you a voice if things go wrong.
1. So I should always recommend the full list of incompetents I know, including those who are highly rated on Angie's List, so my clients will take your banal suggestion and avoid them and hopefully stumble into someone competent.
That seems a little bit of an odd and indirect approach to protect someone from your inadequate advice.
Why not just work with the good ones, whose work I have seen, instead of playing games?
What other for-profit and pop culture service like Angie do you recommend?
Thank you for correcting and providing details on each bullet point. On #3, what recourse is available to buyers in NC.
I still have not concluded that original home inspector did not have good intentions or he was tipped by builder. So not sure if I need to take route of recourse.
The biggest problem is the whole thing is very subjective...
There is a licensing board who will listen to you if the inspector is unresponsive.
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