This post asks a serious question: What is the purpose of the home inspection?
I ask this because in my last two transactions where I represented the buyer, the home inspections turned out to be worse than worthless.
For example one home had non functioning HVAC on the day the new owners moved in. Subsequent service evaluations proved it was impossible the system was working at the time of inspection. The inspection report specifically noted that all HVAC units were functioning properly. That is a $6000 repair bill before the furniture is even delivered! On this same property, there was a serious water leak in one bedroom after a storm. The service person found, after crawling up to the very top of the attic, a series of pans the sellers had apparently been using for quite some time to collect the water coming from poor flashing around the badly constructed chimney plus other structural defects. Currently the chimney is being rebuilt, dry wall & carpet replaced; another costly repair. Of course, there is no way these problems were non existent at the time of inspection, less than 45 days prior to the rain.
Before the closing I asked the seller's agent explicitly if there were any leaks or roof damage known to the sellers and was told there were none. The buyer commented, "Even if we had known about these problems we would have still bought the house. If they had been honest with us, at least we would have known what we needed to budget to fix this mess."
Another property also required repairs that should have been noted in the home inspector's report.
Thank goodness I included home warranty insurance in the contract so some of the repair costs were covered!
Thank goodness I included home warranty insurance in the contract so some of the repair costs were covered!
Lately in my world, home inspections seem to be a formality rather than a tool guiding the buyers and sellers during negotiations. So, why do we rely on home inspections at all? Are they of any use? Is there another way to insure the property is not in need of such major repair? What recourse does the buyer have for remedy?
Your thoughts and experience on this topic please! HELP!
Do home inspectors need to be licensed in your state? If so, they probably have to post a bond or have errors and omissions or liability insurance. If there is a licensing board, then there is a formal complaint process that may result in fines or other disciplinary measure for repeat offenders. If a home inspector is not doing a thorough job, they need to be reported so that others don't suffer the same fate.
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