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Home Inspector Ruins my Sellers' AC Unit

Another incident where a Home Inspector freaked people out, but this time it was not only the buyer, but also my sellers!!

I had an inspection on one of my listings a couple of days ago, and the Dallas area is actually seeing "Fall-type weather". This means, it's in the low 70's by about 3pm, but in the high 50's and 60's throughout most of the day.

Most inspectors will NOT turn on the AC unit at a house unless the temperature is above 65 degrees. Some say Texas law is 60 degrees so they go by that number. Either way, it cannot be "cold" when testing the AC unit or you'll freeze the entire unit. Something about freon and freezing the coils. I'm not exactly sure of the process since I'm not an HVAC person, but I know it's bad to turn it on when it's too cold.

This inspection started at 7:30am Tuesday morning. It did not reach above 60 degrees until about 1pm that day. I know this because it was just slightly warmer when I walked the dog at 2pm and it was 63 degrees at that time.

When my seller gets home at 12:30pm, the inspector informs her that her coils are frozen and he takes her to the unit to show her. She freaks out! I call the inspector that evening to ask why he turned on the AC when it was so cold this morning. He said he didn't turn it on until after 1pm when it was warmer. I told him what my seller said, and he stumbled over his words and reiterated that it was after 1pm. Yes, this inspector was actually at the house for over 7 hours, running an inspection on a 1700 sqft house. Ridiculous!! Me thinks he's an idiot!

Anyway, the buyer hired him, not me...

I call the sellers that evening and let them know what the inspector said. I also told them to write down everything they recalled about that afternoon with the most exact times so if the unit is now broken, we can go after the inspector to replace/repair it.

Bottomline, if it's too cold to run certain equipment, DON'T TURN IT ON!! I don't care if it's a first time home buyer and he can't wait until next Spring to know if it's working or not. It shouldn't be my seller's problem that you opted for a morning inspection instead of an afternoon one when it would be warmer!

Needless to say, my sellers turned the AC on yesterday afternoon, and it looks like the inspector ruined the unit, and they are having to call an HVAC technician to come out and figure things out. That could be a very costly lesson for that Home Inspector!!

Posted by Donna Harris, REALTOR® & ASP - Hill Country Austin Lakeway Homes on 10/25/2007 04:36 PM

Comments (11)

hvac, seller, buyer, ac unit, home inspector, home inspection

Originally posted at: Austin TX Real Estate - Hill Country Austin Lakeway Homes for Sale: Home Inspector Ruins my Sellers' AC Unit

11 Comments on Home Inspector Ruins my Sellers' AC Unit

OCT

2007

I've always understood that the home inspector is only liable for up to the amount he charged. Good luck.

Barbara, Thank you for your comment. However, I don't see how that's correct since the inspector doesn't charge the seller anything. The inspection is paid for by the buyer, and the inspector is also liable for any damage he does to the house which is part of his insurance he has to run his business.

Lord...where did this guy come from...? I have had bad home inspectors...but that really takes the cake..

The simple answer is that the inspector appears liable for the damage (and should have known better) and is the one who should pay. Unless you're looking at several thousand dollars, it's probably a matter for small claims court IF he doesn't step up and resolve the matter.

When evaluating lititgation, you have to consider cost (financial and emotional) and also keep in mind that people lie (I know...surprising, isn't it). Keep in mind that trials are not about "truth" necessarily. Trials are about proof...and that is not always the same as "truth". You gave your client great advice on the note taking! That's the one most often ignored piece of advice I give!

We turn air conditioners on and off in all kinds of weather up here in Canada and never experience seldom problems. If the unit is left to run for any lenght of time, the coils may freeze, however leaving the unit off until the ice melts usually fixes the problem.

Now it is possible all our units have safety controls that protect the compressor should the coils freeze up (a low pressure cut off switch or something similar) whereas yours don't.

In WA, the buyer's agent is supposed to be present at all inspections, according to our MLS rules. In this case, not only would the inspector be held responsible, but so would the biuyer's agent. Is there a similar law or rule in Texas?

Marlene Scheffer, Realty Station, Bremerton, Kitsap, WA

Konnie, This inspector did the buyer's two brothers' inspections earlier in the year, so the buyer decided to use him too. I hope he didn't take 7 hours at the other inspections also. That's ridiculous!

Jason, I agree. Small claims court is only about $50 to file, so it'll be worth it if it's more than a couple of hundred dollars.

Jeff, Yes, the units are probably different since we live in very different climates. There are emergency shutoffs on the outside of the house for each unit, but not what you described as a safety control.

Marlene, No, the buyer's agents are not required to be present. That's the point of the Home Inspectors being licensed by the state. They have Supra access to each house and they are liable. Plus, I don't see how they could hold the agent liable in WA if the Inspector turned on the AC. When agents do go to inspections around here, we're told to keep our mouths shut and let them do their job.

Donna, we have it in our purchase agreements now that the buyer and/or inspector is responsible for any damage done by the home inspector. I had something like this happen when a home inspector unplugged the sump pump on a home..you guess it..it rained. You're doing the right thing with having your seller document everything.

Kris, Yikes! However, I don't think that would fly down here. The contract is between buyer and seller, and when you bring in a third party, it usually gets thrown out of court because you can't put a third party into a contract between buyer and seller. If I was a regular buyer, I would never agree to being responsible for what an inspector did at a house because I wouldn't know what was right and what was wrong, as I would expect the inspector to know how to do his job.

OCT

2007

Donna

Not to defend the inspector in any way. But there are parts of this story that don't make sense.

It is true that turning on the unit when it is too cool can possibly damage the pump. This is due to a lack of sufficient oil viscosity. This is probably unlikely at temperatures hovering around the 60's, the recommendations from the experts have a little bit of a buffer.

I am not certain that a damaged pump will cause frost on the coils. That usually indicates to me that the unit has insufficient refrigerant. Any AC unit can develop a leak and loose some refrigerant which would not have necessarily been caused by an inspector.

An additional question would be, is this unit integral with the heating system? (Is it a heat pump style unit?) These units can be ran at lower temperatures because they have a device that heats the pump. I have seen these heating devices fail, and the entire unit frosted over like and igloo, yet the repairs never required an entirely new unit.

I have also seen AC units runs during optimum operating conditions, that also iced up, again due to a lack of refrigerant. This can be easily diagnosed, repaired, and refrigerant added.

I would hold judgement against the inspector until diagnosis has been performed by a certified HVAC contractor. They are the only ones qualified to determine the defect and repairs needed.

I hope the home inspector will pitch-in and pay-up. Doing the right thing will gain the goodwill of his client, the seller plus repeat business!

During a wintertime inspection, I Had a home inspector who turn off several circuit breakers in a weekend home that had electric heat. He missed turning them back on. Of course, the place froze up, but fortunately it was discovered in time by the owner. The cost to repair the few cracked pipe connections was less than $300. It could have been thousands. Turned out, before I knew the full cost to repair, that this inspector did not carry any liability insurance! Also he claimed it was not his fault and would not pay for this, but he was the last one alone in the home for over a week. My liability insurance would not cover the incident either because it was not my fault. I assured my seller that the problem would be taken care by me if the inspector did not pay. The good will of taking care of this problem, resulted in 2 additional sales with that seller. I now want proof of liability insurance if I have not worked with them in the past or don't know.

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