AboutJohn McKenna, CMI Expertise I can answer your question about home inspections and the hidden aspects of of the industry. I own American Home Inspection for east Texas and am a Certified Master Inspector. Sometimes there are questions about buying and selling a home that a qualified and honest home inspector can answer. Many people are led to believe incomplete information about repair items and make costly mistakes when they respond. If you do not know enough information or know what to ask, you can buy a nightmare instead of a home. Is your home inspector working for you or the Realtor? Is the owner of the home telling the truth? How do you make sure the contractor who makes repairs will do it right? Is the Realtor moving too fast and causing a person to make hasty choices? What are some of the things the Realtor does not want you to know? What you discover after you are the owner of the home and then decide to sell? What type of box can the home inspector put you in when the new buyer is now inspecting your home? What can you do if the home inspector was negligent? How do you prepare for a home inspection? What should you do with the home inspection report at the negotiating table? What are the signs of sheeple being led to the slaughter? Why do some realtors hate the "deal killer" home inspector? What type of action can you take now to protect yourself from law suite after someone buys your home? When is something a minor or major problem? What are the most common problems found in a home inspection? What can you do to prepare for a home inspection? What questions can you ask the home inspector so you choose the right one? The list goes on and on... "The truth will make you free"
Experience Over 25 years experience in construction and board certified as a Certified Master Inspector. Licensed by the Texas Real Estate Commission as a Professional Home Inspector (TREC #4565) and Certified by the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors (NACHI).
Education/Credentials Certified Master Inspector (CMI)
National Association of Certified Home Inspectors (NACHI)
Licensed by the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC #4565) See more info: http://texas-inspection.com
Question I recently bought a home on Sep 1st 2008, Luckily we had a month overlap on another home we had and didn't have to move it right away. When the home inspector did the inspection, they noted that the main valve to the water heater was leaking so they could not run the hot water. Their report stated this was serviceable but did not state anything else. After we finally starting using the house i fixed the main valve and finally was able to run the water to the boiler and noticed it was making a sound as if water was running but nothing was on. After about 20 min, water was seeping out from under the concrete all around the car port area and a large puddle was forming on the side of the house. Since the inspector did not state that he could not verify that the hot water lines were ok do I have any recourse. After all, they are supposed to be professionals and trained to detect these things. If he couldn't evaluate the hot water lines shouldn't he have to state this in his report...now the plumbers are also telling me that the water heater also needs replacing and we haven't even been in the house for a month. Can the inspector use the excuse of not being able to run the water to get off of not being responsible for detecting a bad boiler and severe leaks ...the lowest estimate to fix this is close to $5K. I shouldn't have to pay this should I?
Answer If an inspector reports the conditions that are present at the time of the inspection and what he could not inspect because of the limitations noted, he has done his job. He could not test and inspect a system that is not working.
If a person starts the repair process before purchasing the property, then further defects are many times discovered. This is normal during the discovery process of making repairs.
If a person starts the repair process after purchasing the property, then they run the risk of finding surprises after they become the owner. It is better to do the repairs before you buy.
You must take responsibility for following the instructions of the inspector. If you ignored his report and started the repair and discovery process after you became the owner, then that is not the inspectors fault.
Sorry to hear about your problem, but I doubt you can blame the inspector.
