Bad home inspector (Paducah, Murray: foreclosure, houses, buying)

[InertiaDriven]

Moved to Murray, KY a few months ago.. had a bad experience with a home inspector. Is this the correct forum to warn potential home-buyers for the Western KY area?


Just curious, thanks in advance

[Oldhag1]

Originally Posted by InertiaDriven

Moved to Murray, KY a few months ago.. had a bad experience with a home inspector. Is this the correct forum to warn potential home-buyers for the Western KY area?


Just curious, thanks in advance

Absolutely NOT. We do not allow consumer complaints, you will need to find a different venue. You are allowed to describe the event but you can not name the person, their business, or give “hints” that identify them in any manner.

[Oldhag1]

I’m sorry you had a bad home inspector, we have had mixed experiences with home inspectors ourselves. It is aggravating that they aren’t held accountable. They really do need to start regulating them, including licensing exams. That, however, will result in higher fees, which people won’t appreciate.

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by InertiaDriven

Moved to Murray, KY a few months ago.. had a bad experience with a home inspector. Is this the correct forum to warn potential home-buyers for the Western KY area?


Just curious, thanks in advance

please by all means share the experience details of course sans the Inspector's name.

[InertiaDriven]

OK, completely understandable. I looked for Angie's List first, and no luck for this area. I just thought about myself in my own shoes before the process of buying the home, where I would liked to have found some information beforehand. Our realtor seemed good, and recommended the inspector (with two others), so we trusted the recommendation.

We lived out of state (6 hour drive away) when he inspected the home, and I was working, so could not be here during the inspection. The agreement had all kinds of disclaimers in it, and said the report would not be available until full payment (which was sent to us late even after we paid), but I still trusted our realtor would not make a bad recommendation. This is the 3rd time I have gone through this process, so this requirement not unusual.

He was $50 higher than the other two realtors, because he said he does a thorough termite inspection in addition. I thought a "one-stop-shop" would be quicker and easier, rather than hiring a termite company.

Long story short (or longer), he allegedly had the flu and a computer crash during the time of the inspection, which slowed the whole process. So immediately I was getting the sense that he was not doing a thorough job. Yet I received neither the "flu" or "computer crash" discount, ha ha. He also didn't inspect the roof because it rained the day before, even though he said he would inspect the roof carefully as if it were his home. There were several other disclaimers as to why he didn't check several things throughout the house.

Bottom line, we found out within a mere few weeks, he missed termite tunnels and damage, which would have resulted in the government (foreclosure home) paying for the $1100 termite treatment, according to our realtor. We paid that out of pocket.

He missed an entire room of outlets (4) not working, which would have resulted in some money knocked off (we were successful in doing so with other issues with the house, even with Fannie Mae). Also found the roof has a leak.

It was odd, some things reported were very precise, (almost overly picky or not really necessary), yet missed some obvious problems. Made several comments in the report that honestly looked like they were copy/pasted from other reports. I can't prove that, it is hard to explain.

I would almost advise people to do the following when purchasing a home (anywhere really, but especially moving to Murray or even Paducah areas):
--Hire pest control specialist to do the termite inspection separately. Found out that Servall would have done it for $75, which would have saved me $1100 overall after they found the fairly obvious signs of termites.

--Hire separate specialists to inspect the house-- electrician, plumber, septic, even a roof guy. Then do internet research and inspect the rest yourself. Will probably cost a little more, but will probably get a better job done.

At least I plan to do this next time I move again, which I hope is never, hah. Thanks for letting me vent.

[greglovesoldtrucks]

Sorry to read about your bad home purchasing /inspector experience. My wife and I have purchased 5 houses have sold 4 over the passed 27 years, and each time we used a realtor.

In my location, we asked the realtors if they knew a home inspector. Everyone of them told us they were not allowed to recommend a HI, but were allowed to give a huge list of them to pick from.

And realtors we found out are just like any other trades people out here working. Some are great, some not so great. Most are honest, and some may not be. JMO

[CortezC]

Complain on Yelp.

[Mr. In-Between]

I hate to hear that happened to you, but get used to it. I don't know where you moved from, but that sort of thing isn't uncommon here. I lived in 5 other states before moving here, and sloppy, incompetent, apathetic contractors and home professionals are more common here than anywhere else I've lived. We have 3 properties, and it's a constant struggle trying to find people who care enough about their work to actually do what they said they'd do. They're not as likely to be held accountable here as many other places, and they learn that over time. Good luck to you!

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by InertiaDriven

OK, completely understandable. I looked for Angie's List first, and no luck for this area. I just thought about myself in my own shoes before the process of buying the home, where I would liked to have found some information beforehand. Our realtor seemed good, and recommended the inspector (with two others), so we trusted the recommendation.

We lived out of state (6 hour drive away) when he inspected the home, and I was working, so could not be here during the inspection. The agreement had all kinds of disclaimers in it, and said the report would not be available until full payment (which was sent to us late even after we paid), but I still trusted our realtor would not make a bad recommendation. This is the 3rd time I have gone through this process, so this requirement not unusual.

He was $50 higher than the other two realtors, because he said he does a thorough termite inspection in addition. I thought a "one-stop-shop" would be quicker and easier, rather than hiring a termite company.

Long story short (or longer), he allegedly had the flu and a computer crash during the time of the inspection, which slowed the whole process. So immediately I was getting the sense that he was not doing a thorough job. Yet I received neither the "flu" or "computer crash" discount, ha ha. He also didn't inspect the roof because it rained the day before, even though he said he would inspect the roof carefully as if it were his home. There were several other disclaimers as to why he didn't check several things throughout the house.

Bottom line, we found out within a mere few weeks, he missed termite tunnels and damage, which would have resulted in the government (foreclosure home) paying for the $1100 termite treatment, according to our realtor. We paid that out of pocket.

He missed an entire room of outlets (4) not working, which would have resulted in some money knocked off (we were successful in doing so with other issues with the house, even with Fannie Mae). Also found the roof has a leak.

It was odd, some things reported were very precise, (almost overly picky or not really necessary), yet missed some obvious problems. Made several comments in the report that honestly looked like they were copy/pasted from other reports. I can't prove that, it is hard to explain.

I would almost advise people to do the following when purchasing a home (anywhere really, but especially moving to Murray or even Paducah areas):
--Hire pest control specialist to do the termite inspection separately. Found out that Servall would have done it for $75, which would have saved me $1100 overall after they found the fairly obvious signs of termites.

--Hire separate specialists to inspect the house-- electrician, plumber, septic, even a roof guy. Then do internet research and inspect the rest yourself. Will probably cost a little more, but will probably get a better job done.

At least I plan to do this next time I move again, which I hope is never, hah. Thanks for letting me vent.

Unfortunately that seems to be happening all to often these days. I've seen reports that have had way more disclaimer language than any real meat and potatoes. I've seen plenty of reports where their pictures of one supposed item and yet the same picture displayed significant issues that are not reported on. Many Inspectors will perform "Random Sampling" of homes for common items rather than checking all accessible of that item (Re your outlet issue).



As for the "copy/pasted" that is common as well. All of us Inspectors have basic verbiage for an issue but the good Inspectors will massage that verbiage to fit a particular house. The rest just drop in "fast phrases" that are so generic they could fit any house.


The "computer crash" comment leads me to believe you had an Inspector trying to perform on site report generation. With on site reporting you get that very generic phrase wording. Also many, many Inspectors will pass over issues that they don't even have a very generic phrase for. That allows them to move quickly to the next inspection and with the disclaimers and limit of liability they protect themselves beyond the fee you paid them. On site reporting is highly praised by these type Inspectors.


As for the termite issues and missed during the termite inspection I always advise people never use the Home Inspector for the termite inspection unless they also own a licensed pest control business. Honest pest control companies will try to make it right if they err since they know their license and their livelihood from the pest business is on the line. The Home Inspector with the pest inspection and no pest control company they own has little to lose and most State pest control laws are on their side to begin with.


You can attempt to hire individual licensed specialists to inspect the home (i.e. electrician, plumber, etc.) but there are to many disadvantages to that and you still need to spend all the time vetting them typically even more than finding a good Home Inspector. A good Home Inspector could have helped you prevent from having those experiences. No matter where you get your Home Inspector reference from make sure you vet them and chances are high you might avoid the bad ones.

[InertiaDriven]

Sorry for the delayed response, thank you for the comments. All have been very informative.. Live and learn!