Author Topic: What to do when a home inspector misses something?  (Read 1896 times)

Dibbels81

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What to do when a home inspector misses something?
« on: August 16, 2018, 04:31:02 PM »
Long story short, we moved into our townhouse after closing and found that our dryer wasn't heating. Not a big deal. However, when the appliance repair guy came out, he noted that the dryer vent was disconnected somewhere in the ceiling and that i wasn't venting outside the house. We had a contractor come out who spent about 7 hours digging out crap from the vent and reconnecting them behind the drywall. From what he said, this was something that definitely should have been caught at the inspection.  Our inspector only noted that the dryer vent was lacking a cover, nothing about the lack of venting. What would you do in the case? Ask for a portion of the inspection fee back?

Jon Bon

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Re: What to do when a home inspector misses something?
« Reply #1 on: August 16, 2018, 04:40:15 PM »
Yeah move on, home inspections are mostly placebo effect anyways.

No inspector is going to turn on the dryer, then run outside to see if its venting. I would say you only had a case if the disconnection was obviously visible.

Dryer that did not heat? you might have more of a case, but it would never be worth it to pursue. 

justajane

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Re: What to do when a home inspector misses something?
« Reply #2 on: August 16, 2018, 04:54:24 PM »
You can ask, but I highly doubt you'll get any portion of the fee back. You probably signed something that said they weren't liable, etc. etc.

It sucks. In hindsight, our inspector was useless.

Syonyk

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Re: What to do when a home inspector misses something?
« Reply #3 on: August 16, 2018, 05:09:08 PM »
What would you do in the case?

Fix it and move on with life.

sokoloff

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Re: What to do when a home inspector misses something?
« Reply #4 on: August 16, 2018, 05:31:59 PM »
At a minimum, I’d send a complaint email and ask for a partial refund. If they don’t provide one, I wouldn’t chase it, but no harm in asking and you can clue them in that they missed something that I think they should have caught.

wageslave23

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Re: What to do when a home inspector misses something?
« Reply #5 on: August 17, 2018, 06:39:57 AM »
In my experience, inspectors are mostly useless.  They are only worth while for first time home buyers or people who know absolutely nothing about anything.  Otherwise I just inspect everything myself and if something doesn't look right I call a specialist in that area. 

GuitarStv

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Re: What to do when a home inspector misses something?
« Reply #6 on: August 17, 2018, 06:48:31 AM »
Home inspection is a pretty sweet gig.  You walk around a house, mention anything that seems obviously broken, and then are completely without liability for anything you missed.

Dibbels81

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Re: What to do when a home inspector misses something?
« Reply #7 on: August 17, 2018, 07:07:45 AM »
Ha, thanks everybody. I'll just move on. Maybe learn some DIY skills for the future.
« Last Edit: August 17, 2018, 07:21:21 AM by Dibbels81 »

Fishindude

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Re: What to do when a home inspector misses something?
« Reply #8 on: August 17, 2018, 07:37:08 AM »
Yep, most home inspectors are former contractors that went broke or couldn't cut it.
I always waive the inspection and just look things over myself.

hops

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Re: What to do when a home inspector misses something?
« Reply #9 on: August 17, 2018, 09:56:55 AM »
You might have some recourse if you paid by credit card. My inspector missed a couple of moderately expensive things a few years ago, and I went over all the forms I'd signed and couldn't find any reason not to push for a partial refund. The company was uncommunicative until I left a message saying that since I couldn't get in touch with them I'd just take up the matter with my credit card company. Within five minutes someone called me back to resolve the issue.

Jon Bon

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Re: What to do when a home inspector misses something?
« Reply #10 on: August 17, 2018, 11:47:14 AM »
You might have some recourse if you paid by credit card. My inspector missed a couple of moderately expensive things a few years ago, and I went over all the forms I'd signed and couldn't find any reason not to push for a partial refund. The company was uncommunicative until I left a message saying that since I couldn't get in touch with them I'd just take up the matter with my credit card company. Within five minutes someone called me back to resolve the issue.

Not bad advice.

I have an inspection on Sunday.....


jtraggie99

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Re: What to do when a home inspector misses something?
« Reply #11 on: August 28, 2018, 09:15:30 AM »
I will first say, always have an inspection done.  I would never buy a house without it.  But, no two inspectors are ALWAYS going to come back with the same results and information.  I bought a new house last March.  The couple selling the home were being relocated for work and the employer was using a relocation company to aid in the process.  Said relocation company had their own inspection done, prior to listing, to see if there were any issues to resolve.

Then, I had my own inspection done (this was maybe a month and a half later).  My guy found water damage in my hall bathroom.  Apparently a pipe in the wall was leaking.  It had caused water damage in the vanity, in the wall, in my master bedroom closet flooring (closet was on the other side of the wall from the bathroom.  Anyway, it ended up being several thousands worth of repairs and this was all repaired by the relocation company during my option period.  The water damage was not new, but my guy used thermal imaging and that's how he found it.  He saved me a lot of money.  But even he told me that they are just people.  One guy might find something someone else misses.  He even admitted that he could do an inspection on the same house at two different times and chances were good that he would notice something the second time around that was not caught the first time.  The good ones have a methodology and process, but it's not foolproof.  It's not an exact science.

GuitarStv

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Re: What to do when a home inspector misses something?
« Reply #12 on: August 31, 2018, 05:01:29 PM »
I will first say, always have an inspection done.  I would never buy a house without it.  But, no two inspectors are ALWAYS going to come back with the same results and information.  I bought a new house last March.  The couple selling the home were being relocated for work and the employer was using a relocation company to aid in the process.  Said relocation company had their own inspection done, prior to listing, to see if there were any issues to resolve.

Then, I had my own inspection done (this was maybe a month and a half later).  My guy found water damage in my hall bathroom.  Apparently a pipe in the wall was leaking.  It had caused water damage in the vanity, in the wall, in my master bedroom closet flooring (closet was on the other side of the wall from the bathroom.  Anyway, it ended up being several thousands worth of repairs and this was all repaired by the relocation company during my option period.  The water damage was not new, but my guy used thermal imaging and that's how he found it.  He saved me a lot of money.  But even he told me that they are just people.  One guy might find something someone else misses.  He even admitted that he could do an inspection on the same house at two different times and chances were good that he would notice something the second time around that was not caught the first time.  The good ones have a methodology and process, but it's not foolproof.  It's not an exact science.

Trust them as much as they'll cover damages for things missed during the inspection.  If that amount is zero dollars, you would be crazy to put a lot of trust in anything they say . . . as they're not willing to take responsibility for the job they are claiming to do.