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I just purchased a older home, 60+ years old. It was advertised with a new roof. It has new shingles, but the support wood is rotted. Home inspection never caught it. The county/city the home is located in, requires four inspections. The roof received one inspection (THE FINAL INSPECTION). The inspections paper work even states that the other inspections where not performed due to roof being complete. Once I noticed the rotted wood I requested the paper work.
I have been advised to look into a real estate attorney.
Yes, the inspector missed a major issue with the 100 year old house I just bought. I am annoyed, but I am just going to get it fixed. I don't want anymore hassles. This has been frustrating enough. I will fix it, and move on. No attorney required.
You probably have zero recourse against the inspector. Their contracts typically state that you agree to mediation in lieu of lawsuits AND that you are limited to a refund of the inspection price paid.
Yeah, I learned that the hard way too. The first guy failed to find totally rotten sub-floors that we ended up pulling out with our bare hands (under the shower was so bad, someone could have fallen through). The second guy failed to look in the return air vent and find the 4 INCHES of crud lining the entire thing, which basically ruined the life of the central A/C and duct system.
Generally inspectors will not take things apart. They do not have permission from the owners to take prybars in, unscrew things, etc. The get to see what they see.
My buyers inspector basically couldn't find anything wrong with my house because as far as I know there isn't anything wrong with it. So he said the shower fixture was 25 years old because that was the age of the shower, but he didn't seem to notice that it was actually only 2 weeks old. He made up a whole series of little dumb things that weren't wrong at all.
Inspectors are what-you-see-is-what-you-get people. The will look in the attic but they won't walk between rafters where they could slip and fall through the floor. The won't go into inaccessible places, or into scary places where there might be snakes. If there are signs of age or wear they will see it. If there are no such visible signs, then they won't see it. The will not take walls off looking for underlying problems, and they don't have x-ray vision or extra-sensory perception.
Part of their problem is that they are paid to find things wrong. If the sellers have not put off any maintenance, and have renovated the whole house, they are still paid to find things wrong. That's when things can get kinda weird.
But the fact that you use the term "support wood," which really tells me nothing about what you're looking at (I assume it's either the roof decking or the rafters/trusses), suggests that you're not real familiar with building materials or home construction. And that fact makes me wonder if maybe you're seeing some lumber that is stained from old water damage that is may be structurally okay but just assuming that it is rotten.
Again, I'm not saying that I necessarily think this is the case, but I've seen it happen many times before. If you know it's rotten because you've climbed up in the attic and pulled chunks of it off with your fingers, carry on.
Location: When you take flak it means you are on target
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As an investor I will no longer buy homes built before 1978 due to the EPA lead issues. Too much hassle. If your home inspector missed major issues you may hae action against them, if they have insurance but probably not.
You really have to KNOW what you are buying. Real estate is worse than buying a used car.
Personally I do not use "home inspectors." "I'm" a home inspector, been building for 40 years. What I do if I have any questions is bring in contractors. I bring in a roofer, plumber, electrician, HVAC as needed.
But the fact that you use the term "support wood," which really tells me nothing about what you're looking at (I assume it's either the roof decking or the rafters/trusses), suggests that you're not real familiar with building materials or home construction. And that fact makes me wonder if maybe you're seeing some lumber that is stained from old water damage that is may be structurally okay but just assuming that it is rotten.
Again, I'm not saying that I necessarily think this is the case, but I've seen it happen many times before. If you know it's rotten because you've climbed up in the attic and pulled chunks of it off with your fingers, carry on.
They are common rafters. You are correct on my knowledge of home construction. 17 yrs and still learning. The wood is not stained, rotten! I can remove wood with my fingers, No need to pull!
Most of my problem is on the exterior, soffit area.
My last two purchases were new and the two before that were less the 10 years old. Personally, I shy away from homes over 25 years old.
I like the older Florida homes!
It has pride and value behind it to me!
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