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
Expert: John McKenna, CMI Date: 7/2/2008 Subject: negligent inspection?
Question Hi John,
I'm hoping your can give me your take on an electrical issue on a home my wife and I recently purchased (in CA). This was our first home purchase, so needless to say we were new to the whole process. Our home inspection noted a few minor issues, but no major concerns. I was with the inspector while he was there and one thing he verbally noted was that the electrical had been upgraded and what a positive thing that was (the home was built in 1950). I took that to mean the entire house had been rewired. There are 3-prong recepticles throughout and GFCI outlets in the bathrooms and kitchen.
We recently had an electrician out to bid on a repair job (I accidentally drilled into a wire) as well as adding some outlets to the garage. He discovered that despite appearances, the majority of the outlets inside the house are not grounded (i.e. they merely added new 3-prong recepticles to the 2-wire system) and while not necessarily a major safety hazard, was certainly not up to current code. I went over the inspector's report again and found that it essentially focused on the panel (which had been upgraded) and was silent on the recepticles. To my mind this is a fairly serious oversight on his part. Not only are the majority of outlets not up to current code, but they give a false sense of security in that they appear to be grounded outlets. My wife talked to him about this and his take was that the panel is grounded properly so it's not a big deal and he couldn't get to the outlets because the seller's furniture was in the way (which strikes me as absurd). Certainly this would have been important information to have during the buying process. So my question is do you agree this is a serious oversight and, if so, what sort of recourse do we have considering the report didn't get into specifics on the outlets themselves.
Thanks!
Answer I agree with you that the inspector should have at least tested a sample of plug outlets and reported the lack of proper grounding. This is a common deception by those who "upgrade" electrical system. They will add 3 prong plugs, but the old non-grounded system is still in place. Did the 'electrician' have the proper permits and was he legally certified? What other areas did they install with less than professional standards? You may be able to go after the person who did the electrical work as well. Look at the entire system again.
That said, you can contact an a qualified electrician and there may be a way for you to 'ground' your circuits (even if they only have two wires). You can even make the GFCI plugs work in a two wire system. Please consult an electrician to confirm this for your particular system and see what is allowed in your area.
Regarding how to go after the inspector or the previous 'electrician', you will need to consult a qualified attorney on that. Each state has various laws and the best path for this situation varies in different regions. Sometimes it is not easy, sad to say.
