Expert: John McKenna, CMI - 7/19/2009

Question
HELP!!

Here's our situation. We purchased a home in Colorado April 24th, 2008. We hired a home inspector through our Realtor (she suggested him) We paid 240.00 for an entire inspection which should have included a written report. The individual conducted the inspection and did not note any problems with the home (we were there for the entire inspection)
At the time of the inspection it was snowy outside and he told us he would return in the following days to climb onto the roof and inspect that area of the home, and would provide the written report  after that.

We never heard anything negative about the roof and so we continued with the close of our home, assuming that if there were any major issues we would have been notified.
Once we moved in the home we began noticing that there seemed to be several leaks as we entered the rainy season (paint was peeling and bubbling, brown gunk running down the walls ect.)

We went back and looked through our purchase agreement and saw that the only leak disclosed by the seller was over the garage which had been "repaired". We are now at the height of the rainy season after living here for 15 months and called a roofing company to get an estimate to fix our leaks. We found out that our roof needs to be completely replaced. Our flashing was installed incorrectly which has lead to damage on the roof as well as in the walls of the garage. The leak which was "repaired" has caved in a collapsed in the garage. We have gotten some bids around 6,00-7,000 dollars. All of the roofers and insurance people who have seen the roof have told us that this damage has been long standing.

Here's our questions.

What recourse do we have if any against our inspection who missed all of this damage? We never received a written copy of our report and have asked several times.

If the seller disclosed that the leak was repaired but only the drywall was fixed and the rotten decking not would they be liable?

We thank you for your time and appreciate any assistance you can provide.

Ryan and Melissa  

Answer
Hind sight is always 20/20, but you should never let the Realtor select your inspector.  It is very important that you select your own home inspector and make sure he does a very detailed inspection, and works only for you.

You need to contact a real estate attorney to find out what rights and legal advise you should know for your local area.  The laws that relate to home inspections are different in each state, so you should find out how the law works in your area.

If your state licenses home inspectors, then you can contact the licensing authority and file a complaint with them also.  You will need to document the present defects ASAP in order to verify what defects should have been discovered by your original inspector and build a case from there.  I am not an attorney, so please get the proper legal advise in order to seek relief from the damages you have endured.

It sounds like you have have been abused by a dishonest inspector.  Sometimes inspectors go easy on the inspection process in order to make the realtors happy.  The Realtor may also share some liability in this situation also.

Hope this helps,

John McKenna, CMI
Certified Master Inspector

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