Home Inspector Problem NF

[Dara]

last month my daughter was looking to buy a house. She picked one out and the bank said she had to have a home inspection done to get a mortgage.

 

Well, she got the home inspection done and it noted very little wrong with the place, so she bought it and moved in 2 weeks ago.

 

I went to help her move in.

 

The home inspector had noted that in the panel there was a breaker not properly covered.

I looked at it and thought...hmmm, this is weird. The breaker was too small for the hole that was opened in the panel for it. It was a 30 amp breaker. What would she need a 30 amp breaker for. It was shut off and this was moving day so i just left it. Walking in the back door from the garage I noticed a thick wire. It came out of metalic sheath from inside the wall and then ran down the door frame. There was a big chunk of black insulation cut out and the copper was showing. I'm thinking hmmmmlooks like the wire that would be hooked to the 30 amp breaker. Wonder why its bare and the home inspector didn't note it.

 

Jump ahead to today and I get a phone call from her saying her furnace isn't working.

I told her, call a gas company and get it checked out.

The guy says, the furnace is shot and there is no way the home inspector shouldn't have picked this out.

 

I asked her how old the furnace was and she said the home inspector said he couldn't get the panel off to check the year on it.

 

So, she is without a furnace...this is in North Bay right now and its -20C

The gas company gave her 4 electric heaters and said if she gets the furnace from them there will be no charge for the service call.

I told her to tell them that she wants to keep the old furnace. I want to look at it and to hold it as evidence for any future problems. Either the gas guy is not being right, or the home inspector is a flake.

 

Question is, what responsibility do home inspectors have for actually inspecting

[Jigger]

Tough luck Dara. If the inspector signed off on it, hes on the hook. Don't know exactly who you'd get ahold of at this time, some of the more knowledgeable contractors around here may have an answer for you.

[Joey]

Call a lawyer, tomorrow morning!!

 

That's my suggestion. I don't really know what obligations an inspector has, but I would assume that should have been checked.

 

Joey

[solopaddler]

I may be corrected on this but I don't think the inspector is liable for anything.

 

They're one of my biggest pet peeves next to telemarketers and idiot drivers in this province.

 

3 times I've paid for one and 3 times they were useless idiots.

 

The guy who "inspected" my house this past July looked like Willie Aames from 8 Is Enough, and about 16 yrs old. (Yeah I know I'm aging myself )

 

Absolute complete waste of money.

[Dara]

Thats what I always figured too solo. She wouldn't have gotten one except the bank made her.

I would have made the trip and inspected it myself otherwise.

[Dara]

My nephew got stuck a couple years ago as well. He got a home inspection.

The basement leaked. The owners knew it leaked but said nothing. When he got a home inspection supposedly that lets the owner off the hook and puts it on the inspector, except the inspector is not liable.

 

Who makes these laws anyway

[ketchenany]

Solo, if these people are so incompetent that why is this service needed?

Just to please the Banks!

 

I'm on my 4th house and never had one done, yes minor problems do happen. (My last one had a dog/cat with fleas that were never present on visits and nearly killed our kid's cat after we moved in; cost a few $000 to get it cleaned – next time I buy a house I'll require a pet disclosure) but like a furnace not working; give yourself a shake.

 

Believe me if I was following him around, I'd turn it on myself and wait for the heat/air . . .

[Guest gbfisher]

Home inspectors.... Biggest farce going if you ask me. If the inspector has zero responsibility, ask the bank to cover the cost.

 

Gas companies have a trick where they say yer furnace is no good. They then tell you that they have to turn off your gas and leave you helpless until you get them to install a new furnace.

Their excuse is usually a cracked heat exchanger and that it's leaking Co2 into your house when it runs. If it's a fairly new furnace it has a co2 sensor and will shut itself down...

Call another heating company to do the work.

[pidge]

I install furnaces and I've never met an inspector with a gas license or one that was held accountable for furnace mess ups. Good luck to her, she'll make it thru.

[solopaddler]

My nephew got stuck a couple years ago as well. He got a home inspection.

The basement leaked. The owners knew it leaked but said nothing. When he got a home inspection supposedly that lets the owner off the hook and puts it on the inspector, except the inspector is not liable.

 

Who makes these laws anyway

 

Again I could be wrong here, but the only way the previous owner isn't liable is if your offer was condition free.

[Dara]

Too many crooks in the world for my liking

[mercman]

i would speak to your bank also.these guys are signing off on the banks investment also.They use the inspection to justify lending the money to pruchase the house.You have nothing to lose and maybe they might be interested in knowing how inaccurate these `professionals` really are.

[mercman]

Again I could be wrong here, but the only way the previous owner isn't liable is if your offer was condition free.

 

 

Good point.The previous owner was most definately aware of the condition of the furnace and unless it was an as is purchase he will have to pay for at least part of the cost.I think you have 90 days.

[solopaddler]

Where's JohnF when you need him?

[Roy]

One of my sons is an architect. He spends 2 or 3 days a week in court as he's an ombudsman for this kind of thing defending people who have been burned by home "inspectors". Let me know if I can help you. I'm sure he can do it really quick. Send me a PM.

[HTHM]

http://www.singleton.com/en/Publications/Claim_Against_Home_Inspector_Succeeds.aspx

[farsider]

This is what I have never understood...If the Banks require one -- why wouldn't they want an Inspection system with Standards, or Liability?

As it stands now it is a total waste.

 

I have seen it from both sides: where an Inspector missed something obvious on a friends purchase.

also, when my sister was selling her place, one deal fell through because of a negative inspection where the inspector (who just so happens to teach "home inspection" at a Community college)speculated and made stuff up and was blatantly wrong. There was nothing she could do. No one to confront or challenge the assessment because the Inspector and his company was the property of the buyer.

 

The illusion of "Buy with confidence".

 

Cheers,

Mark

[Old Man]

The home inspection industry is full of con artists. Unfortunately there's no regulation in that industry and to take legal action usually would end up costing more than it would be worth. When buying a home, the better thing to do, is to have the previous owners sign a disclosure statement which is a legal document and gives you stronger legal recourse if there are any pre-existing problems. Still not ideal, but better and cheaper than trusting some crooked home inspector.

[Twocoda]

The best inspector is a home builder...if the inspector put on his paper that he wasnt able to open the furnace for what ever reason ...im thinking this will clear his liability as he was unable to inspect it so it would have been up to you to bring in a heating contractor for inspection....( very few of these inspectors have a clue as to what a house even looks like)

 

I am not a home inspector but i have done inspections on the behalf of buyers(friends free of charge) when the vendors were the ones providing the inspection papers...needless to say ...the inspectors are liable to the person that pays them...so if your daughter is the one that payed for the inspection ...she may have legal recourse....you might want to discover why the inspector couldnt open the furnace..apparently it wasnt a problem for the Gas company...(makes you wonder if an inspector should carry a screw driver)

 

you might want to see if the exposed wire was in his findings in his report because from the sounds of it ( if i read your explanation correctly) ....the wire doesnt meet ESA code ...

 

Im sure there will be a few gas guys jump on this thread with their beliefs of the products they are installing and selling ...incase the unit has to be exchanged

 

Best bang for the buck in my mind is Keeprite or Tappan ..very good reliable units with great warranties

 

If the gas company shut off the gas then he would have deemed the furnace condemned with writing on the unit and his gas number...along with the problems of the unit ...

 

Sorry your daughter is going through this ...purchasing a home is supposed to be one of the happiest times of a persons life...

 

a proper home inspection should take roughly 6-8 hours for a small to mid sized house

Edited December 14, 2010 by Twocoda

[Dara]

Thanks guys. i just wish it wasn't so far away. It makes it hard to deal with. Dead of winter and no furnace doesn't help either

[strik]

Hello i wish you the best and hope someone will help you out

Im a carpenter and was told i was not able to inspect my sisters house for her i was told i have to be a "Quallified Inspector" this is what the bank told her ... After her Quallified inspector went throught the house we went into ithe house with her agent. I aslo had a electircal friend with me we found 7 code infraction with the new addation alone not to even go on about the other things we found with the house the new addation was just 5 months old and not one perment was pulled. The inspector did notice it need new door and a roof and some parging should be fixed he estamited it repairs being around 1 to3 thousand i could not even understand this even at my cost shingles were 21 something, thats not including ice and water, tar paper, flashing ect ect ect... to top it all off she was charged around 460 for nothing. When she tryed to get something back she was told a inspection is JUST a opion..

Something does not seem right with the system

[DRIFTER_016]

Sounds like she needs a Holmes inspection!!!

He despises these useless contractors and inspectors.

[cram]

Dara -- i don't know the details, but when we had our home inspector (who as far as i can tell did an excellent job) he said that if we find anything in the next year that he didn't catch to call him and he'll check it out. He even volunteered that he (or his insurance company more likely) is on the hook if something happens in the next year (i think, not positive on timeline).

[fish_fishburn]

Unfortunately Dara, a home inspection is more for piece of mind then anything. I don't think that there are any minimal requirements as far as training goes to become a home inspector in Ontario. You basically need a ladder and a flashlight and a bit of knowlwdge of the components in a home and your good to go. A home inspection is not a warranty and will be stated in the report. In my area they run 3 or 4 hundred dollars and take an average of 2 to 3 hrs to complete. Now when buying a resale home a more important document to ask for is a Seller Property Information Statement (form 220). This document is filled out buy the seller when he lists the home and is available to any buyer when requested or inquiring about the property. This form is not mandatory either but we use them regularily in the area that I work in. It has all the general questions about the property as well as any enviromental, improvements and structural. They are basically answered yes, no, unknown, or non applicable. Now if a seller blatantly lies about some questions on the S.P.I.S. and problems occur down the roads, you have a much better chance getting compensation from the seller, when you take him to court. When representing buyers it is one of the first things I ask for when we find a home that they are interested in. Some of the answers to the questions on this form will have me investigate more in depth to prevent these unplesant situations for my buyer after posession takes place. Personally I would rather have a furnace and a electrical inspection done buy a certified tradesperson in that field. They at least have a provincial license and will be held accountable. Just remember when buying a resale home, BUYER BEWARE. Hope this helps.

[pikehunter]

I may be corrected on this but I don't think the inspector is liable for anything.

 

Also my understanding. I put no faith in theses guys. Went into a house in N. Oakville several years ago, the woman said that her living room wndow glass was fogged up in between the glass. Pull up in front of this large brick home, first think I do is look at the windows from the car while I'm pulling up as always to see what's happening. The living room window's soldier brick sill is laying crumbled in the garden.

 

I go in and pull back the curtains and there is literaly no drywall beneath the window! The studs, insulation is moldy. "Miss, you have a little more than a sealed unit failure, the entire window and wall is shot, and this has been going on for a lot longer than a few weeks."

 

She says that they just bought the house a couple of months ago. So I ask why didn't they see this then? I mean the sill is laying in your garden, which BTW was nothing but a dirt patch with a tiny shriveled evergreen to one side. Her answer was they had trusted the home inspector's report and there was not a word about that in it.

 

When I told her to sue him the answer was the fine print stated that they were not responsible for errors, they had no recourse.

 

Ever since I have had no trust.