Fact or Fiction, the Tale of a Renovation

The real estate market the last few years has been, at least in my area, inundated with houses that have been bought at a low priced , fixed up and then put back on the market. The buyer now seller's purpose being to make a profit on the property. These investors are most often referred to as flippers.

Now I have nothing against anyone making a living by flipping houses, but there are rules involved in construction that have to be followed. Many have to do with the safety and general well being of the occupants of the property. The method by which these rules are enforced is through inspections of the project by the city or town's building inspector. That is assuming a permit is pulled and the contractor schedules the inspections, but that is another topic.

Wisely many home buyer's of flipped properties opt to have the home inspected. While city inspections are necessary and will usually pick up on the major deficiencies, they can not be said to be as comprehensive as a good home inspection.

Recently I inspected a flipped property that was generally well done, but did have some major safety issues. Some of these were an incorrectly wired electric panel and numerous issues with the garage fire protection and the duct work run through the garage. The buyers and their agent requested repairs based on my report. During the negotiations I was copied on the email conversation between several of the parties involved including the contractor. Early in the conversation the contractor stated;

"This is the second home inspection we have done in 4 months due to a previous buyer. None of these items were brought up in the first home inspection and the house was all permitted and all the Subs we use are licensed. All the work we did was approved and the CO was granted. So I'm not sure where your inspector is coming up with all these items. House is very safe but I will address some of the issues."

Take a moment to absorb what this person has stated. The city inspectors, a previous home inspector and numerous contractors all saw or performed work that was knowingly or they should known was unsafe. The most disturbing part of that paragraph is a previous home inspector picked up on or reported none of these issues. I am appalled to say the least, as these issues were blatant.

In this instance I almost feel a little sympathetic for the contractor, almost. As the person responsible for the project he should be better educated on the relative building codes. Where this inspector was coming up with these items was in this case the building codes, not a story book. Nor did I dream these issues up. These concerns are very real.

Facts not fiction.

James Quarello
Connecticut Home Inspector
Former SNEC-ASHI President
NRSB #8SS0022
JRV Home Inspection Services, LLC

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