After Your Inspection…When things go wrong
There may be a time that you discover something wrong with the house, and you may be upset or disappointed with your home inspection. Intermittent or Concealed Problems
Some problems can only be discovered by living in a house. They cannot be discovered during the few hours of a home inspection. For example, some shower stalls leak when people are in the shower, but do not leak when you simply turn on the tap. Some roofs and basements only leak when specific conditions exist. Some problems will only be discovered when carpets were lifted, furniture is moved or finishes are removed. These problems may have existed at the time of the inspection but there were no clues to their existence. Our inspections are based on the past performance of the house. If there are no clues to a problem, a home inspector won’t find it.
Minor Issues
Some say we are inconsistent because our reports identify some minor problems but not others. The minor problems that are identified were discovered while looking for more significant problems. We note them simply as a courtesy. The intent of the inspection is not to find the $200 problems; it is to find the $2,000 problems. These are the things that affect people’s decisions to purchase.
Contractor’s Advice
The main source of dissatisfaction with home inspectors comes from comments made by contractors. Contractors’ opinions often differ from ours. Don’t be surprised when three roofers all say the roof needs replacement when we said that, with minor repairs, the roof will last a few more years.
Last-One-In Syndrome
While our advice represents the most prudent thing to do, many contractors are reluctant to undertake these repairs. This is because of the Last-One-In Syndrome. The contractor fears that the last person to work on the roof will get blamed if the roof leaks, regardless of whose fault it is. Consequently, there is an understandable reluctance to do a minor repair with high liability when the entire house could be re-roofed for more money and reduce the likelihood of a callback. The Last-One-In Syndrome also suggests that it is human nature for homeowners to believe the last bit of “expert” advice they receive, even if it is contrary to previous advice. As home inspectors, we unfortunately find ourselves in the position of “first one in” and consequently it is our advice that is often misbelieved.
Why Didn’t I See It?
Contractors may say, “I can’t believe you had this house inspected, and they didn’t find this problem.” There are several reasons for these apparent oversights:
1. It’s impossible for contractors to know what the circumstances were when the inspection was performed.
2. When the problem manifests itself, it is very easy to have 20/20 hindsight. Anybody can say that the basement is wet when there are two inches of water on the floor. Predicting the problem is a different story.
3. If we spent half an hour under the kitchen sink or 45 minutes disassembling the furnace, we’d find more problems too. Unfortunately, the inspection would take several days and would cost considerably more.
4. It is difficult for homeowners to remember the circumstances in the house at the time of the inspection. Homeowners seldom remember that it was snowing, there was storage everywhere in the basement or the furnace could not be turned on because the air conditioning was operating, for example.
5. We are generalists; we are not specialists. The heating contractor may indeed have more heating expertise than we do. This is because we are expected to have heating expertise and plumbing expertise, roofing expertise, electrical expertise, and so on.
6. Problems often become apparent when carpets or plaster are removed, when fixtures or cabinets are pulled out, and so on. A home inspection is a visual examination. We don’t perform any invasive or destructive tests.
Not Insurance
In conclusion, a home inspection is designed to better your odds. It is not designed to eliminate all risk. For that reason, a home inspection should not be considered an insurance policy. The premium that an insurance company would have to charge for a policy with no deductible, no limit and an indefinite policy period would be considerably more than the fee we charge. It would also not include the value added by the inspection.
We hope this is food for thought.
. 05 Jul 09 | Helpful Articles
Happy New Years!! To my favorite blog, hopefully no tactical body armor is needed with all those morons firing their shotguns along busy streets.
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