Home Inspector Problem NF

[smally21]

my sisters home inspection stated the air conditioner worked but was older and would need replacement. i went to check it out there was no power to the unit, just a rusty old wire cut about 3 feet short of the unit obviously hadnt worked in years. inspector said must hve been cut since his inspection and, of course, he assumes no liablity for anything that happens.

fortunately there is now a fairly comprehensive certification process thru community colleges for these guys of course that doesn't mean the guy you hire is certified or will take the time req'd. i find it hard to beleive how many of these guys aren't builders or tradesman.

IF THERE IS NO LIABLITY ON THESE GUYS THEN THERE IS NO REASON FOR THEM TO A GOOD JOB. IF THEY DONT DO A GOOD JOB THEN THERE IS NO POINT IN HAVING THE INSPECTION!!!!

 

What a shame just another layer added to the already overcomplicated, bloated real estate, banking process.

Edited December 14, 2010 by smally21

[aplumma]

IF the rules are the same up North as they are down here the home inspector is not liable for his omissions/oversights in a report. He can be held accountable for incorrect statements though but it takes a trip thru the court system to get justice. Most are not pursued unless it is a structural issue that will make the house unlivable or other big ticket items. You should take Roy up on his generous offer and send the report to him for review by a professional.I am sorry to hear that this has happened. I have always wondered how Home Inspectors can obtain more knowledge in the fields of building than the people who work it every day.

 

 

Art

[Guest ThisPlaceSucks]

home inspectors are not liable, especially for appliance related problems. how old was the furnace? they only have a life of 20-25 years, and it's something the home buyer should be asking.

 

holmes on homes has a book on home inspections, and that's what i used when i just bought my home. it was very thorough and even gave me some leverage in the bargaining stage because I was able to point out concerns to the real estate agent.

[JohnF]

Where's JohnF when you need him?

 

You called?

 

Home inspectors have been around for a long time but for the most part they used to be real pros like Carson & Dunlap in Toronto. If our buyers weren't willing to pay the relatively high fees the pros commanded then we suggested that a reputable contractor might be a satisfactory substitute. Of late though it's turned into a kind of cottage industry for folks looking for a new income source and perhaps with a construction related background. I've seen house painters, computer repairmen, real estate salespeople and kids just out of school jump on the bandwagon. Some were better than others. Many bought credibility by operating under a franchise name but I've found that for the most part the colour of their sign has little to do with the quality of the work.

 

For my own part when our son was buying his first house he asked if he should get a home inspection. I told him not to waste his money, that we could do as well ourselves. Of the 4 houses he's bought so far there have been no nasty surprises. That being said I may be a tad more qualified than the average person with the experience I've had with house problems with many many buyers over my 35 years in the business and more recently my son has learned a lot himself with the extensive renovating he's done to each of his properties. The average person is probably not qualified to recognize problems and potential problems with structures.

 

As has been said already most home inspectors today include a disclaimer which on the surface gets them off the hook for errors and omissions (screwups and missed problems) but no amount of disclaiming can save them from gross negligence. Unfortunately I've heard that some simply have no kind of insurance for this kind of problem. Of course pursuing them for anything means lawyers and courts and that scares most folks away. The other thing they do is often refuse to even look at appliances including furnaces so they can't be held responsible. Some even refuse to look at electrical systems and limit their inspection to structural issues only. Read the fine print in the contract you sign.

 

Within their industry there's a move to raise the bar for members (inspectors) but who knows how long that will take or if they'll succeed at all? A client of my son's pays a particular inspector (4 times now in as many years) to drive 60 kms to do their inspections and pays him a premium price as well. I had a good talk with him one day and was impressed with his ethics and high standards. He's one of the members pushing for a raised bar for home inspectors. Of course this is like a lot of service businesses - raise the training standards and up goes the cost of the service. Consumers are determined to get a bargain on everything so naturally they're attracted to the lowest priced service providers which means they'll be getting the lowest quality inspector in most cases. Hopefully one day soon there will be a higher training standard and expectation of competence from the inspectors with a regulated licensing system like that for the insurance and real estate industries. It isn't a perfect solution but it's a start towards consumer protection. Yes, it raises the cost to the consumer but as long as it remains an optional service each has the right to decide for themselves. There has been over the years talk of making a home inspection a requirement for each residential property sale, not unlike the recent brouhaha over a mandatory Energy Audit, but so far that hasn't happened. Cudoes to the regulators for recognizing that it's easy for them to pass consumer protection regs but the attendant costs are often too much of a burden to the average consumer.

 

So, what did I just say here? Essentially the value of the home inspector is a crap shoot. Some are better than others. If you are determined to get an inspection done then ask around amongst your friends for references and recommendations. For major home systems like furnaces and electrical I would still rely on professionals for an inspection. My advice is to not rely on recommendatons from realtors. We get too many boxes of chocolates and pretty plants dropped off at our offices not to have certain inspectors on our minds. Personally I refuse to recommend a home inspector. At best I'll give a list of a number in the area and suggest that they check out a few of them quickly before they choose one. Of course, certain names will never appear on my lists. What I've noticed lately is that some home inspectors are now adding other billable services to their repertoire like Energy Audits and mold testing. They do their inspection, mention mold or energy conservation issues and then offer their other services for an additional fee. I object to using one paid service to promote others but that's their own little ethical dilemma to ponder.

 

Sorry I don't have a cut and dried answer but there isn't one. If you want a quality inspection then be prepared to pay for it. Otherwise it's a matter of whether or not you're lucky enough to get one of the new crop of home inspectors who's actually competent. Even then don't expect him/her to cover all the bases or to offer good E&O insurance without a disclaimer for a number of items.

 

That's my 2 cents worth.

JF

[NAW]

I bought my house a few years back after it passed the home inspection with flying colors.

 

A month or two later, I get a letter in the mail from the city telling there's an outstanding building permit for my back deck, which never passed the final inspection. Turns out it's the longest outstanding building permit for a deck in the history of the city of Barrie.. When I started looking into the building codes, it was obvious that the deck was not built to code.

 

The home inspector passed it with flying colors.. I called the home inspector, and told him I need to drop $2500 to rebuild my entire deck, he said the best he could to was reimburse me the cost of the home inspection. I called him a week later to get some money out of him, and he totally blew me off..

 

You can't trust anyone anymore.

[bucont]

I think one of the biggest misconception is that John Q Public has, is that they expect a home inspector is a certified Engineer and the report is as such as well. They are not and if anyone thinks for $300 or even $500 your are going to get a certified engineers report on your home you are sadly mistaken.

 

As far as an open building permit on the deck is concerned, I think you have case on the previous owner not the home inspector. The home inspector does not check to ensure that all is to code or with the town to see if anything is outstanding. In fact I think it is the lawyer that should be checking title, survey and other open issues with the town such as open building permits. The lawyer should have caught this and should help you out for free.

 

I had a storm sewer issue on a home we bought, the previous owner cut corners when they connected and our lawyer went to town on them. Took them two years to pay us, but they paid us.

 

The problem with the industry is there is no requirements in Ontario to certified these folks. Today you can work on the line at Ford motor company, tomorrow they close the factory and you are a home inspector. No training, no certification or insurance required, just hang the shingle so to speak.

[torco]

I ended up getting a decent inspection from the guy who was recommended by realtor. Now he was a little more expensive and I my realtor is a good honest guy and this was the guy he uses, 2 years in and no surprises.

 

Now that said knowing these guys can be a crapshoot, I followed him around during his inspection, hammered away at him with questions as we went.

 

I also did my own inspection with my father in-law who although is not a trades person has seen quite a bit over the years.

 

Other things included was that form 220 mentioned above. Plus the home I bought only had a furnace a few years old.

 

I had a friend who got a poor inspection and has water leakage problem in the basement. I believe he is now legalling going after the seller because they blatantly left out the water leakage issues.

 

Anyways good luck, It seems these stories are becoming more frequent.

[Billy Bob]

Wow, they need to re-access the need and qualification of your home inspections process in Ontario.....our's is probably just as bad but I really can't say as I never used one.

 

GOOD LUCK and Merry Christmas,

 

Bob

[Dutch]

Sorry about your troubles.

 

The inspector should have provided a written report of their findings. At the very least, he should have tested the furnace to ensure it was in working order.

 

If you read the report carefully, there are terms and conditions that basically say they can't be held liable for anything. Even if they do find a deficiency, they usually reccommend you to hire an expert to come look into it.

 

If there is a provincial association, perhaps you can complain about the inspector's work, bt I doubt anything would come of it with respect to compensation.

 

You may want to talk to your lawyer about whether something can be done with the previous owner, but this is not a home inspector issue.

 

If the furnace was shot, was it not cold in there when you went through the house?

 

Edit - Just went back and re-read your OP. Is it the breaker/bare wire that is leading the furnace to not work or is it the furnace itself? The guy from the gas company is trying to sell a new furnace, hence the comment that the inspector had no clue what was going on. Sounds like the furnace was working, then quit recently, leading to a service call. The technician wanted to sell a funance, so blamed the problem on the inspector being incompetant. What leads the service guy to say it is shot - due to the wiring?

 

All a HI is required to do is make sure things are working, he probably turned on the furnace and it turned on, so he is done there. He also noted the breaker issue, it is not his responsibility to determine what the problem causes, just that there's a problem.

 

Sounds like the guy did the bare minimum, which sucks, but I don't think you can go back on him for anything unfortunately.

Edited December 15, 2010 by Dutch