A listing of mine sold recently in Arlington, VA, that had a very nice and expensive tile roof. I was minding my own business or whatever it is that Broker’s do at the office, when I received a call from a very peeved and frustrated Buyer Agent. He was accompanying the Purchaser for the home inspection. The Purchaser and the Inspector were at an impasse about the roof: the Purchaser wanted him to go up on it and insure its’ integrity and stability; the inspector refused citing personal liability if any of the tiles should happen to break while he was on it. He asked the Purchaser to assume responsibility for any broken tiles and, the Purchaser refused but - insisted he go on it regardless.
What would you do at this point?
Right or wrong, I called my favorite A.S.H.I. certified and 20-year-experienced Home Inspector for an opinion. H e said he wouldn’t go up on the roof either unless the Purchaser agreed to assume liability for any breakage. He went on to say that in most instances, the limited amount of walking on the roof needed to complete the inspection probably wouldn’t cause any tiles to break, but it could. The American Society of Home Inspectors and the National Association of Home Inspectors both exclude walking on tile roofs as an obligation for home inspectors. The reason for this exclusion is to relieve inspectors from the liability for broken tiles, whether or not those tiles were broken by the inspector. There is always a chance of being blamed for tiles that were already broken.
So what happened? The inspector placed the ladder against the eaves at various locations and visually inspected the roof for damaged tiles. He also stood back from the property and inspected the roof with binoculars. We then suggested to the Purchaser that the Seller might allow two additional days on the home inspection contingency to provide time for the Purchaser to hire a licensed Roofer to come to the property and inspect the roof. The roof was fine. We closed three weeks later.
What experiences, good or bad, have you had with tile roofs? How were they inspected? Any breakage incidents?
Comments (6)Subscribe to CommentsComment