It's a fact: all real estate has problems, even brand new construction that has never been lived in. As a friend of mine likes to say, "The Trojan Horse was brand new, but someone should have inspected it."
The information contained in your email report shall be considered unreliable beyond the date of the inspection due to changing conditions common in all real estate.
Read more about changing conditions here and here.
It is not my purpose to compile a complete, definitive, or exhaustive list of items that need repair on any property. Instead, my intent is to document the general condition of the property and to note any visible major defects (please read the Home Inspection Agreement for the definition of major defects).
Your property inspection report is not a comprehensive document about the structure and should not be relied upon as such. Cosmetic considerations (paint, wall coverings, carpeting, window coverings, etc.) and minor flaws are not within the scope of the inspection. Although some minor and cosmetic flaws might be noted in your property report, they do not comprise a complete, definitive, or exhaustive list and should not be relied upon as such. Routine maintenance and safety items are not within the scope of the property inspection unless they otherwise constitute visible major defects as defined in the Home Inspection Agreement. Your property inspection report does not include all maintenance items and should not be relied upon for such items. However, I have tried to include many common (and some not so common) maintenance and safety items in Five Star Library. Please make use of the information I have accumulated to help you with home ownership.
All conditions are reported as they existed at the time of the inspection by what is essentially a visual inspection. Items, components, or areas that were not visible due to varying conditions (such as furnishings, wall hangings, storage, etc.) or were not accessible were not inspected. Visible major defects, some common safety concerns, and some common maintenance concerns are listed in your email report. If something is not listed in your email report, the implication is that no major defects, safety concerns, or maintenance concerns were noted AT THE TIME OF THE INSPECTION. For example, if there is nothing in your email report about smoke alarms not being present in certain areas, then the implication is that smoke alarms were present.
I take a lot of pictures of furnishings, storage, and other items and conditions that affect the thoroughness of my inspections. Because such items can be very private in nature, or even embarrassing to some of the parties involved, the number of pictures actually included in the property inspection report is limited. I do not include pictures in your report just for the sake of including pictures. Digital cameras have made professional photographers of everyone, so I don't need to prove to you that I, too, know how to use a digital camera. Instead, I use pictures to provide clarification; to show something that is difficult to describe; to show an item that is not common to the average person; to provide an illustration of the proper way to do something; and to show you an area of the house that is not readily accessible by most people, such as the attic, roof, and the foundation crawl space.
Neither the property inspection report nor any part of the property inspection report, is a substitute for, nor is it intended as a substitute for, any disclosures required by Illinois or Missouri Real Estate Law, and it is not intended to relieve any person or entity from providing any real estate transfer disclosure statements as laws may require. Make sure you read the Transfer Disclosure Form (TDS) and try to put two and two together yourself. For example, if the sellers have lived in their home for 12 years, and they had a new roof put on 3 years ago, it's highly likely that they know what caused the moisture stains on the living room ceiling by the front entrance. So don't accept "No" or "Don't Know" on the form just because someone wrote it there. Too often the sellers will not take the TDS seriously, for whatever reason, but you should. By properly using the TDS form, your property inspection report, and your pest control report, you can get a very good idea of the condition, past and present, of the property. And that will increase your odds down the road of not having many problems, as long as you take care of your home. It doesn't mean that you're not going to have any problems, though,. Remember that your property inspection report is not a guaranty, warranty, or insurance of any kind, so since everyone knows that any real estate item can fail at any time, get yourself some good insurance on your house and the things that make it go.
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