What to do when an inspector misses stuff? (1 Viewer)

[El Caliente]

Your home inspection contract specifically states that it is not full proof. If he misses stuff, you have no legal remedy. You hire an inspector at your own risk, that's why it's important for buyers to fully research the company who is inspecting the home. That person is merely responsible for spotting things wrong with the house and giving his opinion. If his opinion is wrong, then his opinion is wrong. He did his job once the issue was spotted, whether it was by him or by you.

You decided to take his opinion for it rather than further inspecting the issue or hiring a contractor to come out. I'm not trying to come down on you, I'm just speaking from the perspective of how the law would see your case (from my understanding of my particular state's laws).

The only way you'd have a legal remedy, is if this is a.) not an "as-is" sale, and b.) the seller knew of the problem and did not put it on the property disclosure.

A home inspection is not meant to serve as a full-proof warranty on a home.

Then what's the point of having one? If he isn't going to tell you all that is wrong with the house I might as well not have one done.

 

[St. Geezy]

Then what's the point of having one? If he isn't going to tell you all that is wrong with the house I might as well not have one done.

The point is for him to spot things that are immediately visible. In fact, in a lot of states, aside from putting windows up and down and operating items in a house, an inspector isn't allowed to move stuff around to find problems. He could only look at items that are in his immediate view.

Every home inspection I've ever gotten specifically states that it is not meant to be considered a warranty on a home's condition.

These inspection companies are pretty well-versed on the legalease necessary to protect themselves from these types of unfortunate situations. You paid for a guy to spot immediately visible problems and for his opinions, sometimes things can be missed and sometimes those opinions could be wrong. It's up to you to qualify the inspector.

 

[Charlie Brizzown]

Then what's the point of having one? If he isn't going to tell you all that is wrong with the house I might as well not have one done.

Because they're supposed to be better than the average Joe at spotting problems.

 

[RazorOye]

Then what's the point of having one? If he isn't going to tell you all that is wrong with the house I might as well not have one done.

because there are things that he/she can spot that can impact your decision on purchasing the house, it can affect the negotiations on the price. There are things that while readily apparent to him/her won't be to you, but that doesn't mean they catch everything. Ours filled out a binder full of things that he spotted when we were negotiating. Some needed fixing, some were recommended fixed. And after we moved in, there were things that he missed in those 2-3 hours he spent inspecting.

It doesn't have to be either pointless or foolproof. It's somewhere in between, in terms of efficacy and liability.

 

[El Caliente]

But this was the roof, my wife even pointed out the discoloration of the tiles on the ceiling and asked if there was going to be a problem with the ceiling or roof, and he said it wouldn't be. That's plain sight, and he said not to worry about it.

 

[Lurkaholic]

We didn't see his insurance as our realtor told us he was reputable and that she always used him.

Not saying it's the case here, but using the agent's preferred inspector is often a bad idea, as the agent may favor that inspector precisely because he lets things go in order to push through a sale.

 

[wizard1183]

Don't buy the house unless they're willing to knock the price down for roof repairs. Hire another home inspector and charge it to the realtor IF they got the home inspector for you. You're not obligated to buy anything. And under contract there's always a way out. Good luck. A home inspector SHOULD find the wrong in homes. But thing is they may not know what they're doing or just being lazy. I thought about doing them since I'm a refinery inspector and could do this on the side. My motto is, "it's broken until I say it's not."

 

[Lurkaholic]

Don't buy the house unless they're willing to knock the price down for roof repairs. Hire another home inspector and charge it to the realtor IF they got the home inspector for you. You're not obligated to buy anything. And under contract there's always a way out. Good luck. A home inspector SHOULD find the wrong in homes. But thing is they may not know what they're doing or just being lazy. I thought about doing them since I'm a refinery inspector and could do this on the side. My motto is, "it's broken until I say it's not."

It's been said several times that he already bought the house.

 

[saintyclaus]

I would talk with the realtor for advice. Hopefully he/she isn't avoiding you now that the deal is closed. If the previous owner knew of the problem but didn't disclose it, there may be some sort of recourse for you, especially if you can find evidence that the area was previously patched. I'm sure you'll eventually need a lawyer so you'll have to consider if it is really worth the trouble.

 

[NYCsaint]

But this was the roof, my wife even pointed out the discoloration of the tiles on the ceiling and asked if there was going to be a problem with the ceiling or roof, and he said it wouldn't be. That's plain sight, and he said not to worry about it.

Knowing its such a major thing being the roof and leakage a second opinion was probably in order, in hindsight. I know, I know, not helping now. Get the opinion now and take it to a lawyer. If its major, like it sounds, no one is going to say "oh let me pay for that!"

 

[St. Geezy]

But this was the roof, my wife even pointed out the discoloration of the tiles on the ceiling and asked if there was going to be a problem with the ceiling or roof, and he said it wouldn't be. That's plain sight, and he said not to worry about it.

When you bought the inspection, you just bought a.) for one person to point stuff out to you and b.) for one person to give his opinion on the matter.

He probably should have recommended a licensed roofer to come out to "dig-in" and inspect it, but he chose not to. That doesn't mean he did something that should cause liability on his end, it just means he gave an inaccurate assesment/opinion based on the little that he knew about the issue which was based on what was immediately visible.

In all honesty though, as an experienced home buyer, if I see ceiling discoloration, I don't need an inspector to tell me that there is a leak somewhere. So that's weird that the inspector would say not to worry about it. But with that said, I don't believe that makes him liable for the mistake.

Like I said before, inspection contracts are full of legalease to protect themselves and these aren't meant to be full-proof warranties, just opinions.

 

[44slayer]

I just bought a home 2 weeks ago and Ive had the fridge go out, the dishwasher go out, and the overhead fan on the stove go out. This is a 340k home, 4 years old. The sellers did buy a home warranty, so we will see how that all works out. There are no structural problems, but to have all that go out in 10 days is frustrating.

 

[St. Geezy]

Not saying it's the case here, but using the agent's preferred inspector is often a bad idea, as the agent may favor that inspector precisely because he lets things go in order to push through a sale.

Yep...Definitely great advice here. Never go with an inspector that your agent or the sellers' agent is comfortable with. There's a lot of shady business out there at this point in time, with people trying to push deals through during this housing crisis. Both with inspections, and with the appraisal processes.

 

[JimEverett]

I am sure each state is different, but it is difficult to successfully sue inspectors. Although the threat of lawsut might help him either file an insurance claim for you or help out with the repair.

As far as the agent - are you talking about YOUR agent. No reason to sue your own agent, and I am not sure on what basis you would sue the seller's agent.
Talk to your agent about the seller's disclosures. What, exactly, did they disclose about the discoloration and/or the roof? If they did not give what looks like a good faith disclosure then it would be worth talking to them. Its always best to use your agent to talk to them. Talking to them directly can hurt if a lawsuit is filed.