Home inspections are a racket

[slakjaw]

I hired this company Inspecta-Homes to do an inspection before I bought my house. I wish someone would have told me this is a total racket. These guys did basically nothing. and when I called them later to ask why they missed so much and to request a refund they basically laughed and said "you signed a contract" What a complete waste of money.

[Gogar]

What did they miss?

[widgeon13]

I think they get kickbacks from the sellers!

[RANDY P]

Originally Posted by widgeon13

I think they get kickbacks from the sellers!

fify

they might. Why would anyone (especially a RE agent) give them biz if they shoot down houses?

Whores get the biz. They probably got recommended cuz they do miss so much. If there's a lawsuit, name them as well.

rjp

[slakjaw]

What did they miss?

A **** ton of mold. All they had to do was take off a cover over an elec. outlet and they would have seen it. Much of it was painted over.

They also missed a lot of water damage that was intentionally hidden...

I think my realtor is friends with the owner of the company. So F him too.

[MRM]

Email me the contract and I'll take a look.

[aschen]

I think realtors have about 1 to 2 years left before they are completely replaced by technology.

The last home inspector I had took his job very seriously. he spent 20 min explaing to me how his expensive refrigerant sniffer was better than everyone elses.

It was so effective it sniffed out a evap leak that I think was a figmant of its imagination.

[johnsjmc]

Have you ever watched a show called Holmes on homes? He is a builder contractor from Toronto His name is Mike Holmes. You wouldn,t believe how much he finds after a buyer has a regular home inspection. Problem is around here anyway They won,t remove a cover plate or anything else because you don,t own the house yet and can,t give them permission to pull cover plates or lift carpets.
The home inspector probably relies heavily on a check list and doesn,t see much especially if the realtor recommended them .

[RANDY P]

Mold is serious, you might have a case. Let MRM look.

rjp

[Bugsinrugs]

There used to be a time when termite inspectors actually put on overalls and crawled under a house. No more. Not without additional charges. Everything is " further inspection required"
Some home inspectors are good.

[mikesride]

Check your laws....around here you can go back on the seller within a couple of years after possession if they intentionally hid or omitted issues.

[Eric Coffey]

Hmmm. I would probably be doing some due-diligence prior to hiring a company called "Inspecta-Homes" lol.

Do you know if the inspection company is licensed/certified (a requirement in most states)? Bonded and/or E&O insurance? (also a requirement in most states)? Is that license/certification in good standing? Any previous or outstanding licensing/certification board complaints? Are they ASHI members? BBB rating? Any Yelp reviews? Etc. Etc.

Also, in a lot of cases, home inspectors are not allowed to do "intrusive" inspections (which is BS IMO). They have legal grounds to stand behind not removing switch plates, or looking behind fixed appliances, etc. However, that is not an excuse for incompetence and/or negligence.

If you have "intentionally hidden" items, then it sounds like you don't have an inspection issue, as much as you have a seller disclosure issue. If you can prove that the seller intentionally hid potentially dangerous problems/defects, then you have a bit of leverage. Disclosure is one of the few things that a seller can get nailed to the wall for, and one of the few things that can include criminal penalties, not just civil.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Eric Coffey

... it sounds like you don't have an inspection issue, as much as you have a seller disclosure issue....

Agreed.

[Eric Coffey]

Just a little tid-bit for ya...

I just took a Disclosure CE class recently, reviewing case law. One of the recent cases was on a RE purchase/transaction somewhere back east. The home in question had gas heat, to include a heated driveway. The seller knew that the driveway heater system was defective, but didn't disclose it. The buyer moved in and had his family come to visit (brother or sister and two kids I believe). The new owner turned on the driveway heater one evening for the first time, to accommodate his family who were all leaving the next morning. It was left on all night. The following morning, 4 people, including 2 children were dead from CO poisoning. Seller is now doing 10-15 in state prison for neg. homicide for not disclosing the issue (they plead it down, hence the lighter sentence).

It only took one document to nail the seller; an estimate was found which he had received to fix the driveway heater prior to selling the house. Apparently, the $2k it would have cost was too expensive, so he declined to have it repaired.

[slakjaw]

Originally Posted by Eric Coffey

Just a little tid-bit for ya...

I just took a Disclosure CE class recently, reviewing case law. One of the recent cases was on a RE purchase/transaction somewhere back east. The home in question had gas heat, to include a heated driveway. The seller knew that the driveway heater system was defective, but didn't disclose it. The buyer moved in and had his family come to visit (brother or sister and two kids I believe). The owner turned on the driveway heater one evening for the first time, to accommodate his family who were all leaving the next morning. It was left on all night. The following morning, 4 people, including 2 children were dead from CO poisoning. Seller is now doing 10-15 in state prison for neg. homicide for not disclosing the issue.

Whoa! Makes my problems seem like nothing.

[slakjaw]

Originally Posted by MRM

Email me the contract and I'll take a look.

I will send it to you. And thank you.

[RANDY P]

Originally Posted by Eric Coffey

Just a little tid-bit for ya...

I just took a Disclosure CE class recently, reviewing case law. One of the recent cases was on a RE purchase/transaction somewhere back east. The home in question had gas heat, to include a heated driveway. The seller knew that the driveway heater system was defective, but didn't disclose it. The buyer moved in and had his family come to visit (brother or sister and two kids I believe). The owner turned on the driveway heater one evening for the first time, to accommodate his family who were all leaving the next morning. It was left on all night. The following morning, 4 people, including 2 children were dead from CO poisoning. Seller is now doing 10-15 in state prison for neg. homicide for not disclosing the issue.

Holy ****!

rjp

[PetrolBlueSC]

As a PE, I considered the Home Inspection biz as a potential job in my retirement. Sounds like the pressure from sellers to not find stuff, pressure from buyers to do a good job, and potential law suits if you screwup make this less desireable.

[URY914]

They have a check list. They just go down the list and sign off on it. They get paid.

[Gogar]

Miss gogar's inspector (selling) gave her a hit because one of the hot water radiators didnt work. It was turned off. The other dig was that one of the stove burners didnt light fast enough. From that experience I have deduced that it's not entirely legit all the time, yes.