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This is the third time I heard of a bad inspector recommended by a real estate agent. When buying a home, you really have to be your own advocate and do the research to find the best people to evaluate your home.
for my first house i naively asked my real estate person to recommend an inspector. she said according to state rules she is not allowed to give recommendations.
Most inspectors, in my experience, are nice guys that segued being a handyman into being a home inspector. They have no true structural/construction knowledge. They run all the taps, run the appliances, stick a kleenex to the exhaust fan to see if it's working, etc.
I suggest to my clients that they hire a licensed contractor or at the very least a licensed plumber and electrician to do a high risk inspection. Who cares if they DW is a little noisy? I want to know is the electrical safe? Are the shut off valves in operating condition? Is that back room up to code - permitted or not?
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So, there you have my opinion on that subject! Next house, hire professionals in whatever area you're concerned about to give you useful information.
Handyman who took a certification course has been our experience as well. One "inspector" missed that the heating vents under the house were disconnected at several joints. How does that happen?
I would not recommend relying on them for accurate information about foundations, electrical, or plumbing issues.
They accepted my offer and the purchase was in process when I found this out. I was able to get all my earnest money back because they did not disclose the problem.
Never use an inspector even suggested by the realtor. Do the footwork and get your own or just skip it. Also be there and tail the guy. Look over the place ahead of time and get a list of concerns, and get in writing, from the inspector, his obligation to check those things out. OK, so I went through four inspectors before I found one that agreed to that - but so what. I paid no more than the usual fee, and got an inspection - not some cutesy BS generated on a fancy colorful computer program. Turns out my concerns were unfounded, but at least I knew that with confidence before I closed the deal.
Also, make sure the sellers are out of the house during the inspection. I'll never forget the "cute" little old Jewish lady who claimed she couldn't leave - had no place to go for two hours [nonsense] - and monopolized the inspection process with jabbering as she attempted to cover up a Jerry built electrical code violation - partly by rigging a curtain such that she claimed it couldn't open (it did the week before). Later in the inspection, with her out of the room I got behind that curtain and lo and behold a segment of Romex running partly out of the wall above the window. Needless to say, I bagged that sale. Heaven knows what else she was hiding. I walked. Dishonest old bag.
If the inspector fails to discover an important material defect that later affects the dwelling he may be liable for damages that result from his negligence.
I can tell you I sued my home inspector after he missed about $7k in obvious problems. We get into court and as he was being questioned he stated "well, you only paid $475 for the inspection" to which I replied "so, if I had paid $575 I'd have gotten a good inspection?"
I knew he'd lost when I watched the bailiff roll his eyes and the judge about jumped out of his chair he was so angry.
He lost badly, got a scolding from the judge who also told him to fix his contract. The judge said that a contract that states "inspector not responsible for anything more than the fee paid" flies in the face of justice and is NOT legal or right.
But you never actually had the foundation inspected so how do you know this house had foundation issues? And if it had where did 50k come from? Did you pull that number out of thin air?
But you never actually had the foundation inspected so how do you know this house had foundation issues? And if it had where did 50k come from? Did you pull that number out of thin air?
And you didn't actually buy it.
There was no point in having the foundation inspected when both men told me that was a bad area. I saw myself the sheet of plastic directing the water into a pipe below and into a sump pump. I wanted to get out of the deal as quickly as possible and wasting time getting foundation inspection reports done was an unnecessary waste of time and money. If I had dragged things out it might have jeopardized my chances of getting a refund. I also had access to the Army Core of Engineers report which specifically showed the problem areas and that house was right in the middle of it. I decided the best thing was not to buy that house and the potential problems that came with it. My worst case scenario was losing my deposit since there was no way I was going to buy that house.
As far as the $50k it was just a number I was using to make a point. It was how much someone could potentially be out if you deducted the cost of the inspection from the remediation cost of anything, not just a foundation.
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