---document some more.
As an inspector these words of wisdom are closer to a necessity than a choice.
Many times in the course of an inspection there will be evidence of past conditions where there is no way we will be able to duplicate the conditions that created the evidence in the course of the inspection.
We often will not be able to tell if the evidence is from something fixed and no longer an issue or whether it is something ongoing.
But “just-in-case” most inspectors will make a note in the report that “evidence of past or ongoing XYZ was noted at PDQ.”
I have routine pictures I take to make note of such conditions. On a recent inspection I took my usual picture of the dishwasher air-gap connection and noted in the picture that there was a fairly typical stain from a past leak.
At the end of the inspection, after the dishwasher had finished its cycle, I took the same picture because there was a little spot of water on the bottom of the cabinet below the air-gap device.
In this case, that past leak turned into evidence of a current leak, justifying the typical comment that might be in the report of there being evidence of past or ongoing leaking.
I don’t always get so lucky--sometimes all I have to offer my client is a note in the report--a heads up to keep an eye on things.
Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle
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