House Detective

The House Detective by Barry Stone, Certified Building Inspector

Dear Barry: We just bought our first house and hired a home inspector before signing the contract. During the inspection, my husband noticed a wet spot in the yard and pointed this out. The inspector said it was probably due to the recent rain and advised us not to worry. But after we moved in, the spot remained wet during the hot, dry months. We emailed the inspector about this and he said we probably have a leak somewhere. So now what do we do? Dawn

Dear Dawn: When a home inspector sees a wet spot in a yard, all possible causes should be considered; not just one. A more complete disclosure in the inspection report would have been, “Wet spot on lawn may be due to recent rains, but faulty ground drainage or plumbing leakage are also possible causes. Further evaluation is recommended to ensure against leakage. If no leak is detected, site drainage improvements may be needed.”

Incomplete disclosure has exposed the home inspector to some degree of liability. If a plumbing repair is needed, he may be willing to assist in the repair. Faulty site drainage, if it affects the lawn area but not the buildings on the property, and if no soil erosion is occurring, may not be a serious problem. Again, further evaluation is needed.

The House Detective by Barry Stone, Certified Building Inspector

Dear Barry: My daughter just purchased an 85-year-old house. The sellers disclosed that the gas furnace was in working order. After moving in, we had a furnace repairman check the system to make sure that everything was ok. It turned out the furnace is not up to code and will need to be replaced. Are the sellers liable for the cost of replacement? Craig

Dear Craig: If the furnace is unsafe or inoperative, the sellers could be liable, depending on whether they were aware of the problem. But there is an inconsistency in the repairman’s findings, as you described them.

Furnace replacement is necessary if the fixture or its components are damaged or deteriorated. Lack of code compliance is typically a matter of improper installation and is usually correctible. Three pertinent questions for the repairman are, “What, exactly, is wrong with the furnace? What are the specific code violations? And can the furnace be made to operate safely?” An additional question for you and your daughter is, “When you say ‘repairman,’ do you mean a licensed HVAC contractor?” If not, you should get a second opinion from a qualified professional.

The next issue is whether your daughter hired a home inspector before she bought the property. If not, she made a crucial error. In that case, a home inspector should be hired now to determine what other defects remain undisclosed. If she did hire an inspector, why was the furnace problem not discovered at that time? The answer to that question would depend on the nature of the furnace issues, whether the defects were visible at the time of the inspection, and whether the furnace is truly faulty.

Again, specific details regarding the alleged defects are needed.

The House Detective by Barry Stone, Certified Building Inspector

Dear Barry: How can I find pre-1985 building codes online. I was told that conditions that were legal when my house was built are subject to the “grandfather” rule and need not be upgraded to newer building standards. Is this true, and if so, how can I verity it? Beverly

Dear Beverly: Building codes have never been available online because the publishers of the building codes are in business to sell codebooks. And even if the codes were available on the web, you probably wouldn’t understand the esoteric language in which they are written.

The so called “grandfather” rule applies to all older construction. A building is only required to comply with codes that were in effect at the time of construction, unless specific upgrade requirements have been enacted. For example, all homes must have smoke alarms, regardless of whether smoke alarms were required when the home was built, and fireplace chimneys must have spark arrestors, regardless of older standards.

For specific answers to code questions, you don’t need to read the code. Just contact your local building department. The building official can tell you what was and what is required and can translate the codes to verbiage that you can understand.

The House Detective by Barry Stone, Certified Building Inspector

Dear Barry: I was wondering if you recommend hiring a home inspector before putting a home up for sale? This was recommended to us by a friend. But whoever buys our house is likely to hire their own inspector anyway. So what good does it do us to pay for a home inspection? Richard

Dear Richard: There are four distinct advantages when sellers have a home inspection prior to sale:

1. Providing an inspection report to the people who buy your home demonstrates that you have nothing to hide as a seller. It establishes a basis of trust among the parties to the transaction and thereby increases the likelihood of closing the deal in an atmosphere of good relations.
   
2. If an undisclosed defect is discovered after the sale of the property, it is less likely that you will be suspected of having deliberately concealed the problem, especially if the home inspector you hired is someone with a reputation for thoroughness.
   
3. When you present an inspection report to buyers at the outset of the transaction, it eliminates the need to renegotiate the terms of the deal after the buyers hire their own home inspector (assuming, of course, that the home inspector you hired did a thorough job). In most transactions, sellers await breathlessly the outcome of the buyers’ home inspection, hoping that some adverse revelation will not kill the deal. A home inspection in advance of the transaction eliminates this tense ordeal.
   
4. A presale inspection enables you to conduct an as-is sale while still meeting your obligation to provide disclosure. You simply state that you are selling the property in its current condition, as you provide a full report of what that condition is.

Presale home inspections offer strong advantages for sellers, yet few sellers exercise this option or are even aware of it as a consideration. Realtors would do well to promote home inspections when listing properties for their clients.

The House Detective by Barry Stone, Certified Building Inspector

Dear Barry: I am 68 years old, with relatively good health, and I am looking for another career. What about home inspection? I’ve just signed up for a 7-week course, beginning soon. Am I at that age where home inspection work is too demanding, or do you think I’ll be ok? Tom

Dear Tom: It depends on what shape you are in. How do you feel about crawling under houses, with barely enough room to move, or through an attic, snaking your way through trusses, ankle deep in fiberglass insulation, while brushing dusty webs from your face? If those working conditions are acceptable, you’ve overcome the second worst aspect of home inspecting.

The real deterrent is the legal liability. Homebuyers will base major purchase decisions on your findings. If you miss any defects in the course of your inspections (and all home inspectors do miss things; especially when they are new to the profession), you could be held liable. Aside from that, home inspection is a challenging and interesting way to make a living, even in the active years of early seniority.

The House Detective by Barry Stone, Certified Building Inspector

Dear Barry: When I purchased my home, it was the middle of the summer and very hot, so my home inspector did not test the forced air furnace. Months later, when the cold weather arrived, I found the heater to be inoperative, and the contractor I called said the system is unsafe. The repair costs are more than I can afford. Should I go after the inspector for negligence, the sellers for nondisclosure, or both? Chris

Dear Chris: The home inspector may or may not have been negligent, depending on what was stated in the inspection report. Furnace inspections are among the most important aspects of a home inspection because of the potential for hazardous conditions and the high costs of repair or replacement of equipment. Home inspectors should operate and inspect them, regardless of the weather. Unfortunately, some thermostats are unable to activate a heating system when the air temperature is above 90 degrees. But this does not mean that the furnace inspection should simply be dismissed.

If a home inspector, for any reason, is unable to operate a furnace, the inspection report should recommend reinspection prior to close of escrow or evaluation by a licensed heating contractor. If your inspector did neither, then he was negligent and could be liable for the cost of repairs. You should contact him in this regard.

Of equal concern is the question of disclosure by the sellers. If the heating system was inoperable before the property was sold and the sellers were aware of that fact, they should have disclosed this to all concerned parties. Failure to provide such disclosure could render them liable. On the other hand, it is possible that they had no knowledge of the problem. For example, if the home had been used as a rental or had been vacant for a prolonged period, the sellers may not have known that the furnace was inoperative. In any event, the sellers, along with the home inspector, should be notified that this problem has come to light.

The House Detective by Barry Stone, Certified Building Inspector

Dear Barry: When we bought our home, our home inspector said the water heater was OK. But when we moved in, the hot water was orange at all of the faucets. So we called a service company. They said the inside of the tank was completely rusted, and we paid them $1000.00 to replace the fixture. When we called our home inspector about this, he said that he had operated all of the faucets, and the water had been clear at that time. He also stated that he is not responsible if something is now wrong. Is he really not liable? Tammi

Dear Tammi: Many of the questions I receive from readers are pointed complaints against home inspectors. Some of these involve professional negligence by inspectors, while others reflect basic misunderstandings about the scope of a home inspection or the nature of various home defects. To fairly address your water heater situation, there are some issues that need to be clarified regarding rusted plumbing and what may or may not have been apparent on the day of the inspection.

The rust-colored water at your faucets can come from a rusted water heater of from from old rusted water pipes. In either case, discolored water may not always be apparent. For example, if the house was occupied on the day of the home inspection, then the occupants were using water on a daily basis. With regular use, the water would be clear because there would be no build-up of loose rust particles. But several days or weeks of vacancy would allow loosened rust debris to settle in the water heater, the pipes, or both. If that were the case, when you moved in and turned on the various faucets, the settled rust would have flowed with the water, and the rusty color would then have been apparent. This may or may not have been what occurred in your home, but it is one possibility to be considered in addressing your concerns.

Another variable is the seeming certainty of the “service company” (or was that a plumber?) regarding the interior condition of the water heater tank. The inside of a water heater is not exposed and cannot be inspected. A further concern as to the credibility of the service company is the cost of replacing the water heater. A typical water heater replacement costs approximately $600. The fixture itself should have cost about $250. So what was the hourly rate for labor?

As for the home inspector, it is surprising that he found no problems with the water heater, since most water heaters are not installed in full compliance with plumbing code requirements. Also, if the water heater was badly rusted, then it was old. A thorough inspection of a water heater includes an age estimate of the fixture. If the unit was old, this should have been noted in the inspection report as an indication that the water heater may have had limited remaining life.

The home inspector’s statement that he is “not responsible if something is now wrong,” needs some clarification. As often stated in this column, home inspectors are liable for conditions that are visible and accessible at the time of the inspection. If something was visible, accessible, and “wrong,” then the inspector would be liable, unless the defect involved a component that was not within the scope of a home inspection.

The House Detective by Barry Stone, Certified Building Inspector

Dear Barry: We’ve owned our home for nearly a year and now have a complaint about our home inspector. During the inspection, he spent about 10 minutes walking on the roof and then reported that there were no problems with the shingles or the skylights. When we asked him about the ceiling stains, he said they were from old roof leaks that had been repaired. But when the rains came, we had leaks all over, especially at the skylights. The leaking, in fact, was so bad that we had to replace the roof. According to our roofing contractor, cracked shingles were patched in many places, especially near the skylights. He also found three layers of roofing overall and four layers in some places. If we had known the roof was no good, we’d have negotiated with the seller, but we accepted the roof on the basis of a false inspection report. Is the home inspector liable for roof replacement? Kerry

Dear Kerry: According to your description of the roof, the extent of leakage, and the lack of disclosure in the inspection report, it would appear that your home inspector was professionally negligent. On that basis, he could be liable for some or all of the costs of roof replacement, depending on the liability limitations set by state laws and those that that are contained in the inspection agreement.

Some home inspection contracts require that you inform the inspector of problems prior to having them repaired. When home inspectors are denied the opportunity to reinspect conditions that are subject to dispute, their accountability may be nullified. If you replaced your roof without inviting your inspector for a second look, you may have relieved him of legal liability.

When home inspectors properly evaluate roofs, they disclose defects that are visible and accessible at the time. That is their primary purpose and objective, or at least should be. If your inspector surveyed the roof by walking its surface, he should have reported all pertinent conditions that were visible, including cracked shingles that had been patched. If multiple roof layers were discernible, he should have disclosed that also, especially since the number of layers was at and beyond the legal limit. If he observed ceiling stains, he should have reported these as evidence of potential leakage, rather than assuming that prior roof repairs had been successful. He should not have assumed that the ceiling stains were old or unrelated to current roof conditions. No home inspector can determine the age of water stains by visual examination. And in most cases, leak status can only be confirmed if the home is inspected on a rainy day.

It may or may not be too late to call the home inspector to account for the lack of adequate roof disclosure. Hopefully, you took plenty of photos before having the shingles replaced. If so, you should contact the inspector for a full review and reconsideration of these conditions. If he denies liability, you can seek legal advice to determine the strength of your position.

The House Detective by Barry Stone, Certified Building Inspector

Dear Barry: The people who were buying our home hired a home inspector. We were told about a few of the problems the inspector found, but no one gave us a copy of the report. The sale of the property was not completed, and we’re wondering what we should disclose to future buyers. Should we tell them about the recent inspection or just let them get an inspection of their own? Jenise

Dear Jenise: As sellers, you must disclose all conditions of which you are aware, regardless of where the information was obtained. If it was learned by way of a buyer’s home inspection, disclosure is still required. However, since you never received a copy of the report, your disclosures could be termed as “alleged defects”, rather than confirmed ones, unless they are obvious and apparent.

To further protect yourselves from disclosure liability, you should recommend in your disclosure statement that the buyers obtain a home inspection by a qualified inspector. A stronger step in this direction would be to hire your own home inspector and to use the inspection report as a supplement to your own disclosure statement. Your own inspector can confirm or deny the findings of the previous inspection report.