Can I Sue My Home Inspector ?

We had a water heater bottom out and cause a flood only 3 weeks after moving into a house.  Shouldn't our home inspector have been able to tell that our water heater was this close to failure (due to corrosion)?  We had a massive flood in our lower level because of this, completely destroying a room.  Insurance is covering most of the damage, but we're still out $2000 (for the insurance deductible, and the cost of replacing the water heater).  The water heater was indicated as in "working order" in the inspection report, and not even recommended for replacement despite the fact it was 12 years old.  Answers, please?

Hi,

I appreciate any advice on what to do in my situation. We just bought a house. There was a brown stain in the basement carpet against the wall adjacent to the next townhouse. Our home inspector did not check it out or use his moisture meter on it, but it was clearly visible. Today when we started moving in my husband touched the corners of it and got dirt on his fingers. It is moist and smells like dirt. We think it could be an expensive problem to repair. Additionally, our home inspector said he was licensed for both testing and lab work for radon. We became suspicious of his claims when he submitted a very unprofessional radon report to us. We looked into him and could not find he was certified for either. He also refused to provide us with his certification numbers. He also has a website where he is advertising himself as being certified.

Please advice us.

Thanks,

Karen

In the 15 years I have been a home inspector I find clients increasing willing to sue rather than think. 

A home inspection is a visual evaluation of the home.  A visual evaluation does not in any way mean any home inspector can possbily tell you everything that will go wrong within the home.  All a home inspector should be able to do is tell you based upon what that inspector sees what is likley to go wrong.

Clients with unrealistic espectiations are destined to be disapointed. 

By far the biggest legitimate cause for complaints against home inspectors is that the inspector failed to disclose the signifigance of the findings in a way the average person could understand them. 

If an inspector indicates a live wire is hanging from the garage ceiling and does not follow up with a warning the condition is hazardous or unsafe or recomened corrective actions that inspector should be held accountable for a material ommission.

However if the same inspector did not see the live wire due to storage it is not at all the inspectors fault. 

<a href="http://AccurateInspections.com">New Jersey Home Inspector Michael Del Greco</a>

I think you home inspectors are a bunch of washed up contractors who can't find your damn way out of a paper bag. You're all a bunch of freaking thieves, and in my opinion, your entire profession is a scam.

~Bob

Not everyone's a scam or a thief. Home inspections can and should be valuable tools to see what the sellers aren't telling you. Are there frauds? Certainly, we just bought a home in May and discovered an entire room is coated in mold under a small wooden platform that obviously had severe water damage. Our roof leaks, but we can't even find exactly where so it's a non-issue with the inspector.

We learned from him but he still missed obvious things that should have been picked up. I'd like someone who knows what they're doing to give me an accurate assessment of the house before I buy it, it's not a sham job at all... just frequently abused for money from what I can see here.

The home inspector who just went over my house says I need a basement egress and I have asbestos.  I bought the house 8 yrs ago and did not change the basement.  Is my inspector liable for not catching these things when I bought the house?

3 months ago I hired a home inspector to specifically inspect the septic system of a foreclosed property i was purchasing to rehab. He performed a dye test, and used a scope to take pictures of the inside of the tanks. His findings were that other than a few minor defects, such as a missing baffle, and a missing piece of pipe on the inlet that the system was functioning properly because there was no trace of the dye after running 250 gallons of water. Now 4 months later after a complete rehab, I have a contract on thwe house, and coincidentaly the "same" inspector came to inspect again. This time when he ran dye through the system, it showed up about 200 feet from the house. He then told the people they should have the system further evaluated. The county came out and did the scope of the system and immediately said the tanks are so severely deteriorated that they are a "public nuisance". My question is, should the inital inspector have been able to identify that the tanks were in that bad of condition, and is he liable in any way for the 15K it will cost me to remedy the issue to sell the house?

We had an inspection done 2 months ago......moved in and found we had a huge water leak from the ice maker line.  It completely destroyed our floors which we had to replace and restoration was needed for mold issues.  The cabinets/wall behind the refrigerator were completed rotted out.  Our inspector missed all of these things!  He only mentioned/suggested in the report to call a flooring contractor for the floor being elevated but did not discover the water damages.  He told us he did not have to pull out the refrigerator as part of the inspection and was very sorry........any advice?  is he in the wrong here???  thank you

Two years ago bought a house using an agent in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Inspector passed it.

While moving in, the first night we had to travel several miles to a convenience store to use the bathroom because we had to turn off the water.  There was a leak from the toliet--we found the puddle in the basement.  The only time the leak would be found would be after a flush.  However, upon closer inspection there were long time stains on the basement floor and the pipes also gave the problem away.

In addition, the neighbor came over and told us that he had applied for and received permission to have a ditch dug through our back yard (the full length of it) for an addition that he was building.  This addition would eventually be 4 inches from our fence.  The ditch ruined the look of the backyard.  We love our neighbors but it was not up to them to tell us...we should have known before we bought the house.

I called the agent at the time and she gave me the run a round.

Now we are selling...hopefully.  Of course, we will not make a profit nor will we even break even.  The inspector that came from the city has found all sorts of things that should have been corrected years ago.  Also, before we can even list the property there are about 25,000 dollars of repairs needed that should have been disclosed as well...asbestos being one of them.  And something about the cement porch has to be bolted to the house in case something falls on the roof of the porch. 

Yes we were first time home buyers; we had to find a home quickly--but it still seems that the people hired to protect our interests should share some of these problems with us.

My husband and I bought a house a little over 2 years ago. We were very naive, and didn't know anything about what to look for in a house. Our inspector looked it over and told us that it had some wiring problems and that one beam needed to be repaired, but other than that, it was fine. Because of his opinion, we bought the house. With the next rain, we had rivers of water coming into our basement (still unfinished, thankfully, but we did have to throw a lot of stuff out). AFter seeing the water, we then saw the signs that there was a water problem prior--yellow stains on the walls, patching jobs, sand on the floor, etc. We were furious, but were told that we couldn't sue the homeowner because it was a borderline forclosure and even if we won, they wouldn't have any money.  We also soon found that our water heater didn't work, that our attic wasn't ventilated properly (and got attic mold), that we had carpenter ants in our soffit, and that our gutters didn't work because there was a cap between them and the house. We are all sick, don't have the money to pay for mold removal and, from the looks of it, there's not a thing we can do about it... my husband signed the contract that states that the inspector isn't liable for anything that he missed. What's the point of an inspection?

as a homeowner we bought our home in 2006 after settlement we went "home" to find our kitchen ceiling leaking. the home inspector was in our home hours before that and 3 times previously then to have an awful smel;l below the sinks to find none i mean none of em were attached or glued. first rain we had our babies room wall by the window whas wet i could go on about so much that "professionals" have can in and said was so wrong and not even code id need 10 pages i called the home inspector and his first words were "the front page of our contract states i am not liable for anything after the final inspection. do u think i have a means to contact a lawyer?

You should be sued...so arrogant.

Bob,

My bother-in-law recently had his home inspected in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. The inspection report didn't make any note of settlement cracks in the foundation in the corners and by the window. the home is a split level with an english basement. Since the basement is finished I can't tell if the cracks are letting any water in. About 6" of the foundation is visible above grade and then it turns into a brick veneer, the crack is in the foundation and does not carry into the brick, and he has similar cracks on 3 of four corners of the house.the cracks are maybe about an eigth of an inch wide and run vertically into the ground so I don't know what is going on below the surface inside or out. The inspector said since there was no water damage or anything he wasn't responsible.

I know you have asked for pictures, I have tried to paint the best picture possible, You have also said that the inspector is responsible for what is visible, and his own report says it was a beautiful sunny 70° fall afternoon. There is a box in his report that says "typical cracks" that wasn't checked and no mention was made in the comments section - in fact there really aren't any comments at all anywhere. I've done odd jobs and handyman stuff for the last 10 years or so and I seem to have found more things to point out than this guy so I have two questions, 1) what type of recourse does my brother have, should this guy get the cracks sealed, can he at least get his money back on the service? 2) how do I find out if home inspection is for me, do you have any pointers?

Thank you,

Matt

I just found out that i have no foundation in the front and the back of my home. The previous owners (or the previous, previous owners - the house is over 100 years old) went to great lengths to cover up the back area - including buiiding a faux cabinet over the debris and dirt that was there instead of foundation.  Do I have any legal recourse?

Bob,

      My friend Ron has a terrible problem in his home. It seems about 30 years ago a person dumped a container of mealworms behind his couch on Windsor avenue. He thought he had cleaned up and eliminated the infestation but 2 years later he found them metamorphized into flying gnat like bugs all over the house. He had a non licensed building inspector come to his house as he wanted to sell his property. The man told him to hire an exterminator to destroy these pests and their eggs. He knew where Ron worked and told him to mix up something toxic to destroy them. Well, it turns out he did not have funds to pay for an exterminator, so he took it upon himself to eliminate the problem.

     Well, he works at a toxic plant in Naperville and brought home a concoction comprised of nuclear waste phallemine and acidic permethrin. He injected that combination into a time releasing arasol can along with bug bombs. Everything went fine, or so he thought. Two years later he began hearing rumblings in the walls. The next thing he noticed was the baseboards started to warp and loosen. I visited him 2 months ago and while sitting in his living room experienced the coming out of creatures from the baseboards. They had torsos of mealworms with legs that of a fly and heads I could swear look like heads of lettuce with eyes as big as basketballs. They mumbled continuously and raided his refridgerator. Then left into the walls as my screaming scared them. A terrifying experience I must say. The aboritions looked to be over 3 feet tall with a hideous smell.

     Now the part that sounds unbelievable. You see, Ron was somewhat an amateur comedian so he practiced his jokes quite often in his home. He called me just last week to tell me the creatures had developed the ability to speak. He showed the house he still has for sale twice last week. The people ran out out in terror as while looking at his home kept hearing bad jokes coming from inside the walls. He blames the unlicensed building inspector for his advise thinking how much better off he'd be with flying insects than giant creatures that will not stop reciting bad jokes.

    My question to you is....Can the fake inspector be sued for his bad advice? He has since gotten a license. Do you have any low cost advice to have these crearures destroyed or evicted in some helpful way?

                                                                                                          Randy

Bob,

      It's nice to see you are doing well. I havent seen you since hubs on irving and Menard that day 10 years ago. Before that, Prosser high school. You of course remember that day when I , for a joke dropped the container of mealworms behind Szrams' couch. I think we were in grammer school at the time. Anyway, sorry to interupt your blog with this but I ran across your name on the internet. I hope your sister and brother are doing fine. Good health to you all.

                                                                                      Peace,

                                                                                               Randy K.

We recently bought a house in Laurel, MD.  The home inspector indicated that there were minor repairs that need to be done, so we went ahead with the purchase.  The home inspection form indicated that the wiring found in the house is copper/romex, but during our renovation process, we found that all the wiring is actually aluminum.  After researching the aluminum wire, it appears that between the mid 60's and early 70's, a lot of homes were built using aluminum wire because of copper prices soaring. Doing further research, it appears that this is a fire harzard and fixing the problem will cost a lot of money.  Is this something that my home inspector should have found, especially since he indicated the wrong type of wire?  Please help because I'm losing sleep over this. Thanks!

Looking for some advice on issues that have surfaced on our house over the past 3 years we have lived there. 

1. we recently had an issue with the Grinder Pump (part of the septic system) in correcting the problem we were told the top of the pump should have been visible above ground so the pump can "breathe".  The pump, however was buried nearly a foot underground and now we are having to hire a professional landscaper to build a retaining wall around the pump

2. the electrical box, mounted on the side of the house, had the conduit ran into the box from the top, not the bottom.  This lead to water leaking into the electrical box.  According to the man looked at it, it is against code to run conduit in the top or side.  It should be ran into the bottom of the box.

3. lastly, we have several brown stains in the carpet.  When the house was inspected it was empty so they could not have been missed.  Being first time home buyers, we thought these stains were from furniture or something.  It didn't take long for us to realize when there is a heavy rain water leaks in between the wall and foundation. 

Any suggestions on these items and whether our inspector should have noted these on the report?

It is a concrete slab foundation; no basement.  The house sits below street level and has a french drain system already installed.  For the most part the drainage works; but once or twice a year we get a downpour too large for the drains to handle.  Sorry, no pictures with me.

I think that some of your inspector's post put it perfectly and show how incompetent you really are.  I could not believe reading this that you expect people to pay you $400 to $600 so that you can walk around the house and point out the obvious ? Are you saying that if an electric cable was hanging but was hidden by a storage box then you are not responsible for noting this ?  I can imagine a seller could put a box in front of anything that is wrong with the house and you would report nothing.  If you take the money you need to get on the roof, into close spaces, and if they are blocked off then move the thing thats in the way.  Just prooves you are a worthless inspector.

How about the reverse.  Suppose I am selling a home.  I have a foundation issue.  I bring in a licenced foundation repair company who inspects the foundation.  Provides a proposal with an assememnt of the problem.  A 30 year transferable warranty, and will include a structeral engineering report and sign off by city engineers.  The issue is disclosed to the buyer in advanced, prior to the buyer's inspection.  Now the buyers inspector reports that the basement is sinking and that the repair will not be sufficient.  The buyer backs out based on this report.  A Structeral engineer confirms that the foundation is not sinking and the original proposal is what is required for the repair.

Can this inspector be sued by the home seller due to the loss of sale, and extra costs assoicated with a bad and false report?

we just bought a house, got it inspected, the basement has been flooding, foundation sinking, roof leaking, walls breaking and many other things have been happening. just wondering, who is at fault for this? the inspector? or me? there are 10s of thousands of dollars worth of damage that i dont have the money to pay for and im at a loss for thought even on what to go about doing, can someone help me please?

Sorry I'm a little late to the party, and hope the professionals still feel like helping. I know that no one wants to throw another inspector under the bus but I was hoping for an opinion from someone familiar with the pertinent regulations.

Were looking to buy a house, had the inspector out and showed him several things that concerned me, namely several water spots, and the fact that the a/c didn't seem to be cooling. He inspected the entire property, and in the end stated that we had several cracked roof tiles (though he stated specifically in his report that the roof was acceptable and needed no repair) and the a/c was fine, and that a tune up would deal with my performance issue. One month after leaving the house with the inspector and calling him several times for the report, he finally sends it, everything is listed as acceptable. We close on the house and enter for the first time since the inspection, and immediately discover the following -

The compressor for the a/c is completely burnt out and must be replaced.

The return on the air handler is not attached on three sides, is full of holes, and is filled with mold, this is observable from exactly where he stood when he told me it was fine.

The water spot i asked him to check (10 inches from the attic access) which he said was nothing, is in fact a major leak in the roof, it can be seen as a large discoloration (2'x2'6") by merely putting your head into the attic. Furtherinspectionsby several different roofers all came to one conclusion, our roof is done. It is leaking in 5 places, none of the tiles are attached any more, and anyone who would have actually gone on the roof (which the inspector claimed to) could have seen the holes and the 200+ shattered tiles.

In the kitchen which he stated was acceptable, in the sink which he specifically inspected and stated was acceptable, there is a huge crack which causes it to not hold water. It is obvious from looking at it, but he explained to me that it was a scratch, and his report states likewise. This causes a large problem because it is a corian countertop, which means the sink and the counter are one continuous piece... meaning that this nearly bifurcated sink makes the whole counter worthless...

There are also numerous small things that he marked acceptable, but I'm not going to call and scream about $100 to a plumber or electrician - I understand that a used house has some associated maintenance. My concern is that he looked at the neighborhood, decided the houses were well maintained and decided that he didn't have to actually do his job in mine because of that. Now I'm standing here with bills in excess of $20,000 for the major repairs and wondering, do I have any recourse (in FL)?

Thank you for your feedback.

I was not trying to blow off smoke in a forum, I am currently wrestling with the inspector's insurance company. The inspector and his insurer have taken a hard line that inspectors are not professionals, and are merely giving their opinion for which they are not responsible. It was my position (backed by my lawyer, though I am still attempting to resolve this without involving him) that causal liability as required in a civil suit lies with the inspector, as I brought him in to professionally assess the fitness of the dwelling, as he claimed he could. I was merely trying to solicit the opinion of a few fellow inspectors on the question of are you professionals, holding liability as such, or merely con artists, pretending to give opinions on things you know nothing about and charging a fee because we were duped into thinking you were professionals.

South Dakota - We are selling our home and had the buyer's Home Inspector come thru. The inspector noted:

'The A/C circuit breaker is too large.  Should be a 30 amp breaker and the circuit breaker is currently a 40 amp. The electric panel is a Federal Pacific Stab Lock style ( mentioned it can be a potential fire hazard) and may not trip after repeated use, causing the wires to over heat.  This problem occurs mainly at commerical applications. This brand of panel is no longer in production and parts are not readily available.  This brand of panel has never been reclaled by any government agency.  The Electric range is on a 60 amp breaker and should be no larger than a 50 amp circuit breaker.' 

We purchased the home 9 years ago and the Home Inspector our agent hired never caught this.  So is this a case of possible electrical code changes?  Or did the Home Inspector we hired to inspect the home when we bought it miss these possibly easy catches?  We have never had work performed on any electrical since living there. We have now hired a electrical contractor to come in and fix these problems prior to sell. Not just because it is in the sale contract, but I don't want to sell a home to people that could die due to bad electrical issues.  I have my documentation from the Home Inspector we hired 9 years ago. Do I have any recourse on the previous Home Inspector to recover my expenses to pay for the costs the electrical contractor must make to correct the problems?  

Thanks Steven,

Our electrical cotractor did change out the FP panel and brought everything up to the manufacturer's specifications. We also have an appointment with our attorney for additional guidance.

I appreciate your professional opinion and look at this site as a valuable tool for home owners to use.

The house did close today (YEAH) and the new owners have a great electrical system in the house. 

I'm currently not in the Chicago area, but came across some of the posts from this website, and thought you may have possible suggestions for what I can do.  In going through the process of buying our first home, my wife and I paid for a full home inspection, which came back fairly clean.  The only thing mentioned about the roof of the home was that there were repairs that appear to have been performed by a non-professional.  He suggested review by a qualified professional to determine the effectiveness of the repairs and for any additional repairs/replacement needed.  We have now been in the home for about two weeks, and I got a call from our insurance company who now says that we have about three weeks to put a new roof on the home, or they'll drop us.  The inspector told us that we should probably replace the roof in the next couple of years.  We had a professional come and repair the roof before we moved in as well, because I didn't want to take any chances.  Now I've got a new roof that I'll have to pay for.  Shouldn't something of this scale been caught by the inspector?  What can I do?  Or do you think I would even have a case?  I'm not one to sue, but I just wish people would do what I've paid them to do.  Thanks for any advise.

MJ

Been out for a while, just wanted to drop a follow up to my previous comment. I was not trying to sling mud on either of you or the profession as a whole. My question boiled down to whether inspectors were required to stand behind their work. I understand in all professions that there are good and bad apples. I had a bad one, but after a LOT of pushing it didn't have to go to court, he just swore alot and sent it to his insurance company.

For everyone else wondering about these things in here, in researching for my problem I discovered this - causal liability does rest with the inspector given several qualifications -

1. The puchase was contingent upon an inspection (This shows that it was not for personal informational purposes, but was the root of your decision to purchase the property. Thus you would not have the problem if they had fulfilled their obligation)

2. It was not a degree of misstatement, but a complete omission. (such as their saying that the pipes needed work when they were shot. This makes it all subjective as work could mean a complete repipe)

3. It was included in the inspection (some inspectors in an effort to compete on price offer inspections that only cover "major systems". This means that if you have a roof/structure/electrical/plumbing inspection it's not his fault if your furnace is no good, it doesn't matter if he looked at it as a courtesy)

4. He has insurance (alot of inspectors have no office, and their vehicle is registered to them as a person. This means they can throw the company into chap. 11 and start over next week with minimal expense. The only chance you have at that point, is to pierce the veil and pursue them as an individual. This is usually possible because of poor seperation in assets for such companies.)

5. You had professionals review and document it before repairing in the case of emergency systems, or you give the inspector an opportunity to review the damage before repair. (heat in the north in winter, a/c in the south in summer, and plumbing which prevents residing are all examples of emergencies)

There is some wiggle room of course, depending on how much pride the inspector has in his work, or character as an individual. But if you've taken care of all these things, then you can legally pursue him and he cannot blow you off.

Again, want to apologize for the misunderstanding, wasn't singling out either of you, or saying the profession as a whole; just wondering if legally you had any responsibility.

Thank you for your suggestions.  I still have yet to speak with the inspector.  To answer a few of your questions, I haven't actually received anything in writing from the insurance company as of yet.  The last phone call I received from them was the Insurance Inspector calling to tell me that I had until the 28th of this month to have it replaced, otherwise I'll receive a notice from the insurance company.  The inspector said that he was only looking at photos and noticed that the roof looked like it needed to be replaced, so he came out to confirm that it did need replacement.  There are no leaks that I'm aware of, and there is only normal wear, he is basing the need for replacement strictly off of the appearance.  The "professional" roofer we had come out to repair the roof prior to closing on the home was someone our realtor knew, and since I didn't feel it was something I should have to pay for, and the Sellers didn't want to pay for , the two realtors split the cost of the repairs, so I haven't really had any contact with the roofer.  If you'd like, I can send the inspection report with the pictures.  Also, I have had a few roofing companies come out to give me estimates on replacing the roof, and in asking them if it needs to be replaced, of course they say it needs to be done.  However none of them really acted like it was an urgent matter, or that it was something that needed immediate attention.  Would I be better just to look at other insurance companies, and switch to another provider?  Thanks again.

MJ

Hi,

I'm hoping that you still check this board and are willing to share your opinion.  When my mother bought her home two and a half years ago, no mention was made by either the seller or the home inspector that a basement crawl space (5' ceiling and dirt floor) existed in the house.  It was within the first year of living there that we discovered the trap door to the basement.  At that time we sent a letter to both the realtor & the inspector telling them of our disappointment in this never having been mentioned. We had received no response from either party.  We have run a dehumidifier in the space since discovering it to help with the dampness.

However, more recently, as we have discovered numerous cracks in the house, we consulted with an engineer.  His report listed major issues with almost everything in the crawl space - everything from a twisted I-beam, to tilting concrete block supports, to the use of wood shims instead of metal shims, to severe dry rot on the beams supporting the downstairs floor, to the absence of any subflooring between the downstairs and the crawlspace, etc.  We next got an estimate from a concrete worker for the cost of correctly fixing the structures (this person also mentioned that the house was built "on grade" -  that it does not have any exposed foundation in the front, and that this was done to save on the cost of concrete).  The estimate is $38,0000.  This is for a space that no one mentioned existed.

I understand that an inspector is in no way liable for an unknown space.   However I strongly suspect that this same company had inspected the house for the previous owner.  They are the largest company in our area and frequently work with all local realtors.  If the same company had previously inspected the house, would they not have access to their own report, and shouldn't they know that the space exists?

I believe that inspectors (in NY) are not required to provide any previous inspections done on the home.  Is there any way for me to find out whether the company had previously inspected the house?  If they had, would that constitute knowledge of the existence of the crawl space. 

Thank you so much for any opinions you may have.  I have never considered filing a lawsuit against anyone for any reason.

Julie

what if you have a home inspection and you purchase the home then find out you have asbestos when the inspector did not give you a clear answer whether or not you do??  I am looking for a lawyer to sue the home inspector whome could not figure what aspestos.  I feel that if you are going to go around and professinal home inspections then you should get a profesional answer like yes or no not maybe.  I live in Los Angeles, california know any good lawyers that can handel a claim like this??b

Every day has been a new problem.  We just closed on our new home last Monday 5/16/2011.  Our home inspection was done March 2011.  The first night in, I noticed the lights once in a while would flicker, then I was cleaning and wanted to vacuum, I plugged in the vacuum and it was like a prison movie... all the lights starting flickering, at the same time.  I knew it couldn't be one lose wire because it was simultaneous.  After contacting an electrician, he pulled the breaker box panel to find the main 100 amp breaker was burned into the box, you couldn't even switch it on or off.  Had to replace the entire box for quite a few hundred dollars immediately as this was a serious safety issue, how did that pass inspection?  Next, being the breaker box concerned me, I called another inspector in only to find out, where our original inspector stated a couple peices of rotted wood need to be replaced and to reseal the toilet, it is actually the entire subfloor under the bathroom that is rotted and molding.  We were told we have about 6 - 9 months before the bathroom is in the basement and we have to gut, frame and replace the entire bathroom.  I called the inspection company owner to voice my concern on these issues and he stated 1st. The inspector did pull the panel off of the breaker box and only some breakers needed to be replaced (Not sure how he can state that as he was not at the inspection).  He also stated that the fire in the breaker box must have occurred after the inspection which is hard to beleive that the house was vacant and the next time power was on was when we moved in. I replied my husband was with him the entire inspection and he did not pull the breaker box panel.  The owner of the company in turned call my husband a liar.  2nd.  He stated that the inspector stated that there was some rotted wood pertaining to the subfloor covers him from the bathroom falling to the basement.  I thought the inspector worked for me.  Wouldn't they state, hey your bathroom is not stable and needs immediate attention.  So after contacting the inspection company again, they stated they wanted to discuss with us but never called when they told me they would.  So yesterday, this is the cake topper, I got home to a red letter notice in the mail stating my homeowners insurance has been cancelled due to rotting shingles on my roof.  The inspection report states the roof is in good condition and would recommend cleaning some moss off from a nearby tree.  That was it.  Instead of calling the inspection company to complain once again, I called my lawyer.  Do you think we will see some kind of justice?  This is just unbelievable.

No pictures were taken during the inspection and my husband followed the inspector and wrote notes of what he stated were the problems, however, what he stated and what we are finding are two different things.  The roof, we noticed around the chiminey has lifting shingles that are black around the edges.  The home was vacant during inspection, however, it did have the power on at the time of inspection.  We were counting on the inspection to help us determine what we needed the seller to fix or negotiate us fixing.

I recently discovered that I had termites.  I called and had the house treated.  On the day that the exterminator came he said to me that my house was treated before for termintes and showed me the evidence.  On the day that he treated my house I was living in it for less than five years.  He asked to see my home inspection report.  I showed it to him and he pointed out that the inspector wrote no sign of termites.  I tried to contact the home inspector and he refuses to talk to me.  I report this to the attorney general and they closed the case because for no other reasons than the inspector asked them to and states that the statute of limitation is one year.  They also wrote in their report to the attorney general that I was trying to bully them into paying for my treatment.  There were other negatives remarks about me that are unfounded.  I left a message for the attorney general to please reopen the case and consider the facts.  Can I sue the inspected for falsifying the contract?

On the contract the home inspector checked off no visible signs of treatment re wood destroying insects.  That was false.  There were visible signs of treatment re wood destroying insects.  The exterminator showed me at least 25 cemented over holes that the other exterminator made when he treated the house.  It was impossible for the HI to not see any of them.  

Less than two years ago, I purchased a foreclosed home. I had an inspector come out, and paid him for the report before buying the house. I wanted a house with a good furnace and good roof.

He said he did a 'visual check' on the roof, without getting up on it and siad it was fine for another 10 years or so.

I now have three places where, if it rains hard, water will come in. I have three ceiling areas damaged, and have tried patching the roof, and nothing has worked. Now I find the roof was never done correctly in the first place, and if I'd known this, I'd have not purchased the house. A $10,000 roof is now needed. I'm in quite a stew over this, and the other day when I was pulling stuff out of my home office, where the worst leak is, found his 'inspection report'. I'm seriously considering seeking legal action.

Thoughts?

I am in the process of selling our home and the prospective buyers had an inspection performed.  Our house is about 50 years old but we have spent 5 years completely renovating it.

The inspection report was insane in my opinion.  It had 39 line items of nothing but BS in my opinions.

For example, one line item reads:

Painting on backdoor trim does not match...requires re-painted.

Since when does an inspector provide interior design advice?  My take on this inspection was that there was nothing wrong so he had to find things that were wrong.  The buyers are foreign and are first time home buyers and they really don't understand this.  They see 39 line items and are terrified.

Another issue is the inspection reported that 3 outlets were dead.  The inspector failed to realize that in all 3 cases there was a corresponding wall switch that controlled them.

In the event this rediculous report causes our home sale to fall through could I sue them for something?  I really just want to make this guy feel like and idiot...I'm so pissed off at him.  

During the inspection he tracked cullulose from the attic all over the carpet.  He tracked mud and leaves from the outdoors inside.  He left his lunch garbage in our kitchen.  I mean really?

i bought my home on the grounds the home inspector said it passed the insprction. now a electrician told me all my wiring is not up to code and even had a 220 main in the breaker box with a 110 wiring, they almost shut off my power because it was a fire hazard. over 2500.00 in repairs. should the home inspector be held responsible for the mistake on his part?

We sold a home about a month ago.  Two weeks after we closed there was a hurricane and the roof leaked.  The buyers are consulting legal action because of the roof.  We had the roof reparied one year before and it had not leaked since.  The home is a 3 story high original slate roof.  The roofer noted cracked and or missing slates, common wear, obvious repair.  Regular maintenance necessary.  Originally the buyer told the realtor that the damage happened during the hurricane.  They then changed their story and said it was before the hurricane.  In the meantime they have hired a roofer and are having the entire roof redone for $30,000.  They have written us a letter explaining that they are going to seek legal action against us.  If the seller does not have a seperate roof inspection and the inspector saw no signs of a leaky roof (there were no water stains in the house b/c the roof did not leak for us after we had it fixed!) can we be held responsible?  We are in PA and I noticed in GA that once the deal is done the seller is not liable.  In addition, they would not consider fixing the roof, but insisted on replacing it.  We had no say or input into their decisions and yet it seems they are going to ask us to pay for it.  Should I be worried?

I mean the inspector noted those things about the roof....

The correct answer is, you can sue whom ever you want. 

hi, im looking for some advice, me and my girlfriend just bought our first home. it started raining last week, and we noticed the bathroom ceiling starting to leak. the inspector that inspected our house said our atic and roof were fine. he even added pictures of the attic in the inspection report. he stated that there was nothing wrong with the attic or roof besides a couple of broken tiles on the roof. so after we noticed the leak, i went into the attic to check how bad the leak was, and to my surprise, i found probably around 8 buckets, some had water and some didnt. also there were a couple places that i could see out of the roof, nothing but blue sky. and also noticed alot of the wood on the inside of the roof had water damage. im just curious of what steps can i take to have it fixed. of course i dont want to sue anyone...but if we would of known this from the begining we would of probably not have baught the houes, or had it repaired before purchase. what can be done about this? thank you. by the way this is in central california.

thank you

oscar

After finding the subflooring issue in my house wasn't due to the maintenance of pipes I thought might be leaking, but instead the lack of crawl space ventilation- I have been following some of the good advice in this blog.  I contacted the home inspector to discuss the issue, he has yet to appear and take a look- 5 months down the road now.  I haven't fixed the problem, leaving me without a bathroom and shower.  I checked his inspection report, he did look into the crawl space and took a picture- said everything looked good.  When consulting another house inspector- the crawl space isn't vented, the joists do not meet code spacing requirements, there was an improper joist spanner, there are two broken joists, and dry rot in the foundation walls.  There is also visible issues with the roof trusses- apparently easily seen from the ground level, should have been noted.  The loan for the purchase of this house was dependent on a favorable home inspection...at what point do I need to stop being nice and pursue a different avenue with this inspector...OR am I totally in the wrong to think I have a claim? 

Should I sue or go after my home inspector?

On Oct 4 2010 I put an offer on a house in the Phoenix Metro area.  On Oct 5th there was a massize hail storm.  On Oct 6th my offer was accepted and on Oct 25 2010 my home was inspected by a licensed inspector.  It was a clear day and the roof was easily accessible and inspected.

The inspector noted some wear on the roof but made no mention of hail damage.  I moved in on Dec 3 2010 and spent the next 3 months not able to sleep in past 6 am with all of the hammering and pounding of roofers replacing every roof in my neighborhood.  I had mine estimated and it came in at over $12,000 to replace.  My home owners insurance has just dropped me because they are afraid of the risk of insuring my house with the hail damaged roof, and I have an FHA mortgage.  I just paid a down payment, closing costs and moving expenses.  The cost to replace the roof is a big hit.  The inspector said, even in writing on his web site that roof damage does not mean the roof needs to be replaced, just that repair or attention might be needed.  No one will insure us until we REPLACE the roof.

What do you think?  Is this a claim worthy error on his part?  I feel I really got shafted here as I would not have paid full asking (my offer made the day before the storm) if I had known I would need a $12,000 roof replacement within less than a year, not to mention all of the drama of having my insurance company drop me. 

Thanks for the response Bob, he is licensed, and a member of a couple professional organizations.  Our realtor reccommended him and he spent about 4.5 hours.  No mention of hail damage, which is a bit different from signs of age and SOME in poor condition, all things which are a repair as opposed to beaten to within an inch of its life by hail.

Here is the exact text of the inspection:

- Multiple sections of the roof show signs of age and some of these are in poor condition
- Roof sheathing and fascia is damaged proximate to the east chimney
- Moisture stain on the master bedroom ceiling proximate to the fireplace
- Moisture stain of the east garage ceiling
- Tree debris limits our inspection at the SW (recommend review and inspect)
Further evaluation of the roofing and flashing by a roofing contractor during your inspection period is
recommended.

<img src="http://s1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb392/patriciainaz/">

I hope I remember how to post a photo, if not it is at the link

Steve,

    Hi, I am in the Navy and just moved to Florida from Japan.  Prior to moving into my new house I had it inspected by a lic'd inspector.  The house came with a generator and the inspector that everything was fine with it.  About a month after I moved in, the transformer for the city power blew up in the front of my house.  While the city workers were fixing the the issue, I was talking with them about stuff and I brought up my generator, which I had not used this time the power was out.  He asked if he could look at how I had the generator set up and so I was like sure.  When he looked at how things were wired, he stated that it was conected illegally.  Wired directing in with only the flipping of the main circuit breaker keeping me from killing one of the electrical workers if it is not flipped off during operation.  He said that has to be an automatic switch between my house and my meter to keep power from going both ways through the wiring.  Is my inspector libal for the installation of the automatic switch?

HI!  I stumbled upon this thread and wanted to see if you have any insight or experience on how to deal with my situation (please forgive me if this was already addressed, but i did not have time to read all of the above comments).

We bought our house in late 2004 and had a home inspector come out (one that our real estate agent had recommended).  Over the years, there has been plenty wrong that has made us question, " did the inspector even look at this house?" but it was nothing very major until recently.

About two months ago I was looking into changing my homeowner's insurance, so I was asked to hire a 4 pt inspector, which I did.  Imagine my surprise when the 4 pt inspector told me that my house contained a latent fire hazard, a federal pacific stab loc box, which needed to be replaced immediately.  Imagine also the shock I felt when I was told how much it would cost and that the homeowner's insurance would not cover me until this was remedied.

The 4pt inspector went on to assure me that this is something that should have at least been mentioned on the original inspection report.  Sure enough (and I would have obviously remembered something like this as we would have had the seller fix it before closing, but I wanted to make sure nonetheless) there was not a word of it in my orginal report.

Now I am trying to go after the inspection company, but they are draggign their feet.  I am in the process of hiring an attorney but wanted to know if this is something that would be covered by the company's insurance, and, if so, why are they so reluctant to remedy the situation?

Not sure if anyone still monitors this, but I have a question on the general process of getting the inspector to pay for an issue using his E&O insurance.... We really liked the inspector, so we hate to do this, but this is definitely something that he should have caught and listed on the report... We just closed on our house 3 days ago and got the water turned on today. We realized the toilet in the downstairs bathroom is leaking and the wood floor is warped. After going into the crawlspace we see THIS! This is the main center beam and the joist above it is completely rotted through. His report specifically states that the beams/sills/joists are satisfactory and he told us that everything in the crawlspace looks great and structurally sound. Should we go ahead and get our estimate and then submit that to him to provide to his insurance or should we first let him know about this issue, so he can come look at it and then report to his insurance? In your experience, have you seen instances where the insurance covers a claim without having to first sue the inspector? Really do not want to drag him to the courts. I feel like we have a very strong case and wonder if the insurance would see that and cover without litigation.

Hello,

I am sorry to be posting this, if this issue has been addressed above, however, I am running into kind of a big problem. I was a first time home buyer, my wife and I bought our house last year in Oklahoma. We had an inspector come through the house before closing and he made some specific notations, mainly that there were some cracks in the brick that would need to be re-mortered.

There was also a document that showed that 6 pillars had been installed dating back to 2001. However, besides re-mortering the cracks outside of the house, the inspector did no further inspection as to the home's foundation, and didn't recommend that we hire a foundation company to come check it out. Being first time home buyers, I wouldn't say we were not ignorant, but more naive, and thought that based upon the inspector's comments, and the fact that pillars had already been replaced, re-mortering the cracks would be sufficient to repair the damage.

However, after moving in, we found a file with a couple of estimates from 2006 from a foundation repair company, saying that severe foundation repairs were needed, and about 10 pillers would need to be replaced (this is in addition to the 6 that were replaced circa 2001).

My question is, how did the inspector miss such a huge problem, and what if any recourse do you think we have? Wouldn't this be something huge an inspector should catch? Or is it our responsibility to look further into the problem, even though the inspector didn't advise us to. Our biggest problem is we have to have these pillars put in soon, and not only do we not have the 10K+ that is is going to cost us, but the foundation repair company said we should really get the job done before the summer. I know typically an inspector has the right to come see the property before doing the repairs, and to hire their own company to do the work, but we are really caught between a rock and a hard place. We don't even know if this house could be sold in its current condition.

Any advice, help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Will

I have a fireplace that was inspected prior to closing by a WETT certified inspector (WETT is Wood Energy Technology Transfer - which is required for inspections of wood burning appliances here).

It passed the inspection with some minor remarks about cleaning, clearance on the hearth, and some minor repair needed to an unused flue in the chimney. However, when it was being cleaned by the chimney sweep, the sweep told me the fireplace is unsafe because it was not properly installed, and that ANY WETT certified inspector should have caught it. He then showed me a manufacterers plate attached to it (easily accessible and viewable if you knew where to look) that stated the type of chimney that needed to be installed with the fireplace.

The sweep told me that the next fire in that fireplace could be the one that burns the house down.

Should the WETT inspector be liable for cost of repairs?

Christine,

Where in South Florida do you live? I serve Broward/ Palm Beach Counties.

The inspector should have been able to get a clear picture of the wrap.

As per the 1802 form:

Metal connectors consisting of a single strap that wraps over the top of the truss/rafter and is secured with a minimum of 2 nails on the front side and a minimum of 1 nail on the opposing side. That is a single wrap.

A clip is this:

Metal connectors that do not wrap over the top of the truss/rafter, or

Metal connectors with a minimum of 1 strap that wraps over the top of the truss/rafter and does not meet the nail position requirements of C or D, but is secured with a minimum of 3 nails.

Both must meet this:

Secured to truss/rafter with a minimum of three (3) nails, and

Attached to the wall top plate of the wall framing, or embedded in the bond beam, with less than a ½" gap from the blocking or truss/rafter and blocked no more than 1.5” of the truss/rafter, and free of visible severe corrosion.

I would call the inspector back and have him perform the inspection properly, or, contact your agent and tell them that you are going to get your own inspection and if his report is different and clearly shows that you have single wraps, you expect to be reimbursed for the inspection fee as well as any money paid for, as a result of the improper previous report.

Feel free to contact me if I am in your area. If not, the Florida section of Internachi has several quialified inspectors who would be willing to help you.

christine,

This is a common problem in Fl.  The reinspector should have the picture with only 1 nail otherwise they couldn't take your credit away. Ask the reinspector or citizens for a copy of the picture showing the nail. 

You could also hire a contractor to remove your soffits and insert the required nails into the wrap or clip to restore your credits. In most cases the ROI is less than 2 yrs. 

Hope this helps...

My son and his wife bought a house less than a year ago.  The inspector passed everything on the house and the first season (winter) they used the furnace, they were poisoned by carbon monoxide.  The inspector stated that the dust in the furnace was "roof dust?"  I have never heard of this nor has anyone I have talked to, including businesses of home heating service, who stated it was burnt metal and condemmed the furnace on the spot at inspection.  The first inspectors wife represented the person selling the house that had been on the market for two years as well.  My son's daughter had two and a half times the amount of carbon in her body as is acceptable.  She was 14 months old at the time.  I am wondering if my son has a case to sue the inspector to pay or assist with payment for a new furnace.  My son would not have been able to buy the house had he known about the furnace.  It has been two months and they still cannot afford to buy a furnace.  Don't know what to do.

Sarah

HAVE A PROBLEM WITH AN INSPECTOR NJ. I'M THE SELLER & HERE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE PROBLEMS IN HIS OPION HE SAYS IS COSTING ME THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. THIS ONE IS JUST RIDICULOUS. COST ME OVER $300. THIS IS TAKEN STRAIGHT FROM THE REPORT. WOOD DESTROYING INSECTS:THERE WAS INFESTATION NOTED FOR CARPENTER ANTS THAT WILL NEED TO BE TREATED WITH A ONE YEAR WARRANTY. SO I SAID SHOW ME. ON THE GUTTER ABOVE THE GARAGE HE SHOWS ME 2 ANTS WHICH WERE REDISH & NOT BLACK. THEY WERE ABOUT 8 FT APART. DEFINITION OF INFESTATION To inhabit or overrun in numbers or quantities large enough to be harmful, threatening, or obnoxious. SO 2 ANTS 8 FT APART & I ASKED THE EXTERMINATOR THATTHE ANTS WERE REDISH BROWN & HE SAID FIELD ANTS. OH, HE DIDN'T FIND ANT INFESTATION. IT COST OVER $300 BECAUSE HE SAID SO & I'M THE SELLER RESPONSIBLE. NOW THE ROOF. THIS WILL COST ME 10KTHANKS TO THE INSPECTOR.FROM HIS REPORT: HE SAID

THE ROOF WAS PUT ON IN 95. 25 YR WARRANTY. THERE ARE NO WHATEVER HE WAS SAYING. IT WAS 10 AM YOU COULD SEE FOR MILES. CLEAR DAY. HE WAS ON THE ROOF. VISABILITY, IS THAT AN EXCUSE TO SAY THE ROOF IS NO GOOD. A ROOFER JUST SAID THE ROOF IS STILL GOOD FOR AT LEAST ANOTHER 5 YEARS.THE BUYER KNEW HOW OLD THE ROOF WAS. I TOLD THEM ALL. JUST BECAUSE IT'S NOT 20 YRS DOESN'T MEAN IT HAS TO BE REPLACED AND THAT IS WHAT THIS INSPECTOR DID FOR 2 HOURS. A BATHROOM LOCK DIDN'T WORK MUST BE REPLACED. IT OFF THE GARAGE. IT NOT ONE OF THE 2 MAIN ONES. WHY IS HE DISCUSSING A 10 DOLLAR DOOR LOCK. THE WOMEN SAT THERE ALL DAY WITH HIM. I DON'T KNOW WHAT SHE SAID TO HIM BUT SHE WANTS A NEW ROOF & HE GAVE IT TO HER & SHE WANTS A GAS FIREPLACE. NEW CHIMNEYS FOR HER GAS FIREPLACE. WHEN A ROOFER CAME TO GIVE AN ESTIMATE SHE WOULD TELL THEM HOW MUCH NEW ROOF,BOARDS ETC. I GAVE HER 25 K OFF THE LIST PRICE SO SHE CAN FIX THE ROOF IN 5 YEARS OR WHATEVER BUT THANKS TO THE REPORT. THERE'S MORE BUT TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK. I COULD SEE WITH NO PROBLEM. HOW COULD HE SAY THAT AT 10 AM CLEAR DAY.

THANKS

We just purchased a home in Traverse City, MI using a USDA Rural Development Loan. The house needed to be inspected and all repairs had to be completed prior to having funding approved. We had a company inspect and the first time they came to inspect, they found a list of repairs that needed to be fixed. The seller agreed to fix the repairs, and when the repairs were completed the inspection company came back and approved all the repairs. The list of repairs included:

GFCI receptable in garage

GFCI kitchen receptacles

GFCI bathroom receptable

Covered knockouts in electrical panel

Corrected triple tapped breaker

Covered open junction box in attic

Covered bare wire in attic

Secured all new circuits

Repaired tub drain to ensure drainage

We closed on the house and took possession the same day. When I was cleaning out the bathtub I could feel water under the liner and could hear the water squishing around when you pressed on the floor of the bathtub. The next morning, not even 24hrs after closing. We took our first showers at the house. The bathtub started draining normally but after 3-5minutes of showering the bathtub drain started to back up. The water ended up slowly draining. Then when I attempted to take my shower, not even 3 minutes into the shower, the same thing occured with the water draining normally then completely stopped. We decided not to use the shower from that point forward. Maybe 15-20 minutes later, the water in the bathtub had then drained, the toilet started gurgling and a few bubbles burped up and water (clear) came up into the bathtub. The toilet was working up until that point. When the toilet was used, water would come up into the bathtub and seep out from under the toilet. All the other plumbing in the house was working fine, including the bathroom sink. But when we tried to brush our teeth the water running in the bathroom sink made the bathtub again fill up with water. We had a plumber come out and assess the problem, and he advised to snake the drain for clogs and advised that there may be roots in the pipes which he can scope for but has to schedule another appointment. And as for the bathtub liner having water underneath, there seems to be a broken pipe that cannot be accessed without removing the entire bathtub. The house was built on a slab and there is no crawl space making repairs difficult. We reached out to our USDA loan specialist for guidance but haven't heard back. We do not have the money for the repairs and feel that the home inspector is liable since they approved the repairs, especially since one of the loan requirements was to ensure proper drainage in the bathtub. Now all the plumbing is not working, we tried running the washing machine and it made the toilet overflow. We are unable to live at the house until the repairs are completed and it is one of the requirements for our loan that the home be our primary residence. I did get in contact with the home inspection and they feel they did an adequate re-inspection. The inspector said, "I would estimate the water ran a good 5-8 minutes or so while I was in the attic (reviewing the other repairs.) It was because of this I deemed the tub drain was working properly. I'm not sure how much more water is used during a typical shower, but felt the amount I introduced was adequate for testing. This is certainly as much as we normal use during our normal inspection process."

Any help would be appreciated! 

hi 

im concerned about my home i bought it 2 years ago we hired a man with35 year experience and he said everything was fine in the wiring in the home we have noticed several problems the breaker box has like the bedroom 3 bathroom n hallway on one 15 amp then next has bedroom number 2 livingroom front porch light  the other has only one with kitchen bedroom1 n bathroom n back porch light when moved in when you plugged soemthing into the master bathroom socket it would make a popping noise we asked about it and they said it was nothing well now there is a burning smell in bedroom 2 and we had a electrician come the wires is burning and the only way to fix the problem is to rewire the doublewide which includes tearing through the walls n ceilings is there anything i can do to either get out of the loan or have the inspector pay for this because it was over looked during the inspection or what can be done i need advise asap!

I just bought my first home 2 months ago and the inspector told me that the furnace was in good conditions and him being professional i believed him. Well my heater stopped working and i called someone (professional) to come and take a look so they did and told me the furnace was no good and that i need i new furnace. Is there anything legal i can do? or call someone? Why would the inspetor tell me the furnace will still last for another 8 yrs?

Hi,

I have a question regarding my home inspection. I purchased my property over 2yrs ago and since purchasing my property, I've found several things that should have failed the home inspection. My roof is one of the main issues and the home inspector never said I needed a new roof. There were wires that were out of place in my basement that should have never passed inspection. There is visible wood damage that shows there is a major leak in my basement right under the front stairs. The electrical work is very very poor. Everytime I have someone come in to look or fix something, they ask me if I had an home inspection and when I say yes, they are shocked. There were several things wrong with this property. I would also like to know if I can go after the previos owner as well. I am from Philadelphia, Pa.

I bought a house in 2007 before I started working overseas and each time I've come home I've noticed things with the residence that draw concern. The house was new, built by the seller. As with most families we painted the interior which was all white and concealed alot of descepancies with the interior walls, blemishes and bowing. I removed the carpet on the second and third floors and found the floors to be "bucked". We can walk down the hallway on the second floor and some of the lights on the first floor will go out. I had the lower heat pump replaced last year and the company that installed the unit advised that the wiring under the house was horrible, stated most of it was wired "backwards" and he was suprised we didn't have $500 dollar power bills. I've also found buried shingles in my yard that the previous owner left along with other materials from his previous house that burned ( bad run-off from rain has uncovered them over this past year). I was able to confirm that the previous residence burned and this new one was constructed in the same place. This week I had some trees cutdown and the man cutting the trees asked if I was able to get insurance on my house and asked why. He informed me that when the house was being built it was just pieced together with what appeared to be scrap wood and he didn't think a residence built with uninspected wood could be insured. Obviously none of these issues were ever disclosed and my limited amount of time at home, probably 200 days in the last five years has limited my exposure to these issues. I'm checking with my local government agency to see who inspected my house during it's building phase, plus I'm looking to hire an independant inspector to do a thorough inspection to the extent of removing siding to check the status of the framework. Have I exceeded my limitations to pursue a course of legal action? I feel that the builder is just as guilty, if not more so, than the inspector. I'm from Aiken, SC

Hi, I have a question..
I bought my house two years ago (August 10, 2012) and am in PA. We are in escrow so we had a home inspection and the inspector reported several things wrong. The seller fixed all of the things and we had a second inspection to make sure everything was up to code...Unfortunately, my porch which is built over a coal cellar has caved in... When I went through the porch we realized that it was built with styrofoam as a base, chicken wire and then an inch of concrete..
When standing in the coal cellar and looking up, you can see that the porch was poured on styrofoam thus making it unsafe and not permitted. I am wondering if we can go after the home inspector for repairs? I feel badly, but he should have seen the poor conditions in which the porch was built on and required that the seller fixed it.

Crawl space sump pump drain system. The home inspector advised me of a sump pump in the Crawl space, but failed to see and mention in his report that the sump basin has no drain lines attached or installed . In other words ground water come up thru footers and cement blocks ,then runs and pools up in low spot in the crawl ,because there's no drain lines to catch and carry the water to the sump pump

Hi, my daughter bought a house last march and has found out recently the air conditioning unit was not installed properly so the thing blew, also there is a leak in the water cleaner and the there was no insulation under the bathroom/laundry room which is causing the pipes to freeze. The; inspector missed all of this. Is there anything she can do? This is about $10,000 to $120000 worth of repairs.

We recently have been trying to sell our house and the inspectors for the potential buyers have found rot and termites. The rot looks to have been here longer than we have lived here. Don't know what to do

I bought a house 6 months ago, and have already had 3 pipes burst...in the dead of Summer...in the SC heat. They have been plumbing pipes to different parts of our house each time; An outdoor spicket, an upstairs bathroom and now the downstairs bathroom. Each time a plumber has come out, under our home warranty, they repair the immediate leak and suggest re-piping the entire house because "the pipes are no good, this will continue to happen." Our home warranty will only fix the leak, no property damage and our homeowners insurance will fix property damage (with a $1,000 deductible) but will not cover any of the repair work. There was no mention of our pipes at all on our home inspection, no suggestion that they would be a potential problem or to replace them. Is there any recourse at all or are we just out of luck?

I bought a house and just closed a week ago. last night, we discovered that the pipes of baseboard heating in the basement is slowly leaking. The pipes are located at the bottom of the drywall, thus the water leaking through the walls and wet the half of the carpets of the basement. some part of it has black modes grew. Our inspector did not find this issue when he testing on the heating. So does inspector responsible for the damage? or should we sue him for the damage?

Thanks! Ashley

I knew I would be replacing the shingles, made financial arrangements. Contractor was stunned when he found wetness all over the flooring of the attic, the insulation was soaked, the sheetrock for my ceilings, the insulation, the plywood, every bit of material all the way to and including every truss had to be replaced. Many tens of thousands of dollars I had not anticipated spending!. Sucks to be me, more importantly, it will suck to be my home inspector when I sue his insurance for negligence. Didn't he see the obvious, in plain sight mold? Didn't he see the obvious in plain sight wetness? Didn't he check a moisture reader on the ceilings after visibly seeing and reporting verbally to me as I stood there, an obvious drip from a roof truss/rafter in the attic...huh?? Blind home inspector also missed the mold at the edges of the attic access door. Really?? His belly had to actually rest on the opening to use his flashlight in the dark attic. And didn't see the mold that came off onto his shirt? NONE of this, except the obvious drip, was reported. My lawyer is receiving the home inspector's report today. I will be reporting back to you on the progress of the lawsuit...or not.

Recently in last 3 months bought a mobile home. It was inspected for an earlier buyer one month before i bought it. The inspection missed two items. First the front stairs are not within code and stepping heights are very different which I broke my ankle going down. Second the bedroom I am in had a sewage drain coming out of the wall in the closet and when the trap dried out I got pretty sick and still feel the effects of sewer gas poison. The inspector noted it looked added on and to check for permits. Should he have not inspected the inside off an add on closet

The pipe in the closet may have been standpipe for a washer you never installed. Post a picture.

I bought an older home in Iowa with a finished basement come to find out that none of my windows open? I thought that was a fire hazard for escaping?

I hired a home inspector with a great rep and hefty inspection fee. He said my furnace was old but working fine. He took a picture of it, as its in a walk-in closet type room not a small attic. Gas company saw my furnace and immediately red-tagged it as its a Premier (Consolidated) furnace and was recalled in 2001, known to cause fires, and the company went BK. When I notified the inspector of this, he said he couldn't see the brand name of it b/c there were boxes in the way (he never wrote that there were boxes in the way in the inspection report). He also put in a generic "Service and review of entire HVAC system is recommended. This is recommended partially because there is no evidence of service in the past year, or lack of visible current service records, vent installation, horizontal furnace, other findings in this report, and age of equipment" He puts this for every single item in my home. However he does not connect it to it being a recalled furnace that is known to cause fires. His "servicing" is not the same thing as being able to use the furnace. He also didn't put in that it wasn't fully accessible due to boxes in the report or during the walk through. He didn't want to help pay for cost of new furnace or meet me in the middle, I plan to take legal action, do I have a case? Had I known it was recalled, I would have been compensated by the seller or new furnace put in. I have consulted with realtors and real estate lawyers and they say its negligence and I have a strong case.

just bought a house in NC. Inspector missed:
1.duct runs shredded open. These runs are visible as soon as you crawl into crawlspace.
2. mold/mildew growing on windows and in closet
3. electric in house was NOT grounded. states in report that it is.
Any recourse???

Hello, I just renovated a house for re-sale in NH. The prospective home owners had an inspection and decided to back out of the contract. I got a copy of the report and out of the 18 items he listed of major concern, 10 of them were wrong. We can back it up by the town inspections, which we had to pass to get our occupancy permit.

Can I sue for mis-representation of our property?

I purchased a home and two months later was informed my home owners would be cancelled if roof repairs were not done. Any advice on if I can hold the inspector liable for this would be appreciated. The whole roof needed replaced. ( In Pa.) Thank you.

I want to know if I can sue a home inspector from passing a house that had black mold which in this case my daughter died of two years after living in the home

My home inspector 'inspected' the wrong septic tank (there was a old tank cover in the yard-filled in with gravel) and didn't catch that they, in fact, built an addition onto the current septic, which is in need of replacement. Imagine my surprise when the septic was showing signs of needing to be pumped and finding out that to pump it involved cutting a 3x3 hole into the solarium. Oh and there's a ton of bats living in the attic. Ugh... can you say 'Money Pit?'

what if the insurance companies inspector says after being asked by me if the propane fire place is to close to the wall he says no its fine when in fact was illegal because it was suppose to be 12 inches from side to combustible materials and caused severe smoke damage to my home im out for 6 months and also had a live 120v baseboard heater wire cut under my hot tub that was live and like that when i purchased the house is he responsible and is that lawsuit msterial and also no hand rail on deck and overloaded fuse panel?