Actual Events As Told By The Home
Inspectors
Radon Gas True Story (Don't shoot the messenger)
Law Suits And Apologies (Foundation repairs)
Nit Picky About Fire Hazards (Facts about home fires)
Choosing An Inspector (Agent referred inspector horror story)
New House Headache (Mold problem)
E-mail Correspondence (Between an agent and home inspector)
Radon Gas True Story
By Larry Lake
I have talked to realtors in the past trying to get my business
going but have found some resistance, in my ignorance I was
thinking that maybe inspectors and realtors could get along and
work together....was I ever wrong! I will tell you what has just
happened to me recently. A realtor woman called me and wanted to
know if I could do a Radon test, I told her yes I would be glad to
do it. Well first off I live in a small town Ponca City, Ok about
30,000 population and we have one big company here Conoco Inc. The
realtor wanted me to inspect this particular house for a home buyer
who was relocating here with Conoco from Colorado.
After doing a 48 hour test using a Femto Tech 510 Radon Monitor,
the printout from the monitor showed an average reading of 48.5
pCi/L. The EPA standard says that you should never exceed 4 pCi/L
also the lady living in the house had lung cancer! I immediately
called the buyer who just arrived in town and told him the results,
he in turn called the realtor, she called me and proceeded to yell
at me. She was furious that I dared call the buyer with the results
instead of calling her, she was demanding the report and wanted to
know if she could come over right away and get it! I told her I was
just finishing another report for a home inspection and have not
put the report together yet and when I did my client would get it.
She told me she paid me! I said yes but that the money really came
from the relocating company with Conoco Inc. and was for the buyer
(client).
I told her that he was my client and that the report belonged to
him first. She kept yelling and finally threatened that she would
not use me again, I tried to defend myself and told her that all my
training and books say that my reports go to my client. This went
on for about 10 minutes then she hung up on me, this really upset
me to say the least. I have had problems with a few other realtors
but not this bad, so bottom line realtors really turn me off, I
suppose there are a few good ones out there.
I have always worked in the best interest of the home buying
client and no longer solicit real estate agents.
Foundation Repairs
By Wayne Genser
Formost Home Inspections
My client, two real estate brokers, and the owner of a
foundation repair company met me as I got out of my truck. The
Realtors told me the foundation repairs had just been completed, if
I had any questions the contractor was there to answer them, and
that I shouldn't worry about any cracks in the slab because they
would be patched before the end of the day. My standard answer for
this type of situation is "I'll just take a quick look anyway" and
that satisfied them for the moment.
This house had style and that's about all I could say for it.
Style, however, certainly didn't make up for the amateurish, slip
shod and downright terrible manner in which this place was thrown
together. Just about everything was wrong and the just completed
foundation repairs struck me as matching the rest of the home
perfectly. Several hours later I finished my inspection my fidgety
client asked me to review my findings with the Realtors and
contractor present.
As expected, no one liked what I had to say, including my
client. The Realtors told him he should hire another inspector, the
contractor told me he was going to call his lawyer, and my client
told me he wasn't happy about the commotion I had caused with the
Realtors. I figured oh well, you can't win ‘em all and made out
my report which set forth everything I had just explained to them,
including my comments on the foundation repair job. The client had
his report, I had my check and I made up my mind to forget the
whole affair as soon as possible.
Some three months later I received a phone call from this
client. He started off by apologizing for arguing about my
inspection and explained that before I arrived at the job both
brokers had told him that I had a bad reputation and generally
caused a lot of needless trouble. He said he was sorry he had
listened to them instead of me, and informed me that his attorney
had filed a lawsuit that morning against both brokers, the
foundation repair contractor and an engineer the brokers had told
him to call for a "good" inspection report.
Naturally I asked him what had happened and he said
"everything." He had closed on the home a week after my inspection
and then had the entire interior redone; paint, tile, wallpaper -
the works. Within two weeks the walls started to crack, the roof
leaked, doors wouldn't open or close, the plumbing system was
giving him fits, the one inch crack in the living room slab had
doubled in size and so on and so on. He said everyone involved with
the sale of that home was being sued except me, and he thanked me
for being so honest and straightforward with him - even though he
didn't listen until it was too late.
Funny thing - I never heard anything from the brokers,
contractor or engineer and never got a referral from any of them
either. Of course I've had numerous referrals from this client.
Facts About Home Fires
By Wayne Genser
Formost Home Inspections
Many Realtors have consistently criticized me over the years as
being "Too nit picky" about small, insignificant items such as poor
wiring, fire stops and window sizing that really didn't mean very
much. Well, if residential structures never caught fire and if no
one was ever injured or killed in those fires, these critics could
have a point.
In our real world fires do occur and "small, insignificant
items" simply can not be ignored. The NFPA (National Fire
Protection Association) recently furnished some pertinent
information. Between the years of 1989 and 1993 the NFPA conducted
an exhaustive, highly detailed survey of home structure fires, and
the following results speak for themselves. During the four years
included in the survey period a total of 466,300 home fires in the
U.S. were reported which resulted in 3,860 civilian deaths, 20,810
civilian injuries and $4,378,200,000.00 in property damage.
The NFPA broke down the causes of these fires into various
general categories.
Misc. equipment caused 44,000 fires, 240 deaths and 1,700
injuries.
Heating equipment caused 85,400 fires, 540 deaths and 2,180
injuries.
Electrical systems caused 39,600 fires, 370 deaths and 1,490
injuries.
Cooking equipment caused 101,200 fires, 320 deaths and 5,060
injuries.
Incendiary or suspicious caused 57,900 fires, 680 deaths and
2,310 injuries.
Open flame (such as fireplaces) caused 22,200 fires, 130 deaths
and 770 injuries.
Appliances, tools & air conditioning caused 31,200 fires,
110 deaths and 1,080 injuries.
Children playing caused 22,400 fires, 390 deaths and 2,530
injuries. Exposure to another fire caused 17,500 fires, 40 deaths
and 180 injuries. Other heat sources caused 10,000 fires, 130
deaths and 770 injuries. Natural causes were attributed to 8,700
fires, 20 deaths and 160 injuries.
By eliminating those fires caused by items which were not an
actual integral part of the home, we get an idea of just how
dangerous some homes can really be. The fires attributed solely to
heating, cooking and other equipment, electrical systems and
appliances, and open flames as their cause accounted for a total of
323,600 fires, 1,700 deaths, 12,280 injuries and $2,397,900,000.00
in property damage. Granted, these are U.S. totals which represent
a four year period of time, but I hardly think they or their
respective causes can be classed as either "small" or
"insignificant". Whether I'm criticized or not, I think I'll stay
"nit picky".
Choosing An Inspector -- What Could
Possibly Go Wrong?
By Paul Rude
Summer Street
Quick answer -- plenty! Here's a worst-case scenario. I received
a call in 1998 from a first-time buyer who had just closed escrow
on a house in San Francisco. His agent had steered him to a favored
inspector. The buyer paid for the inspection, accepted the report,
and bought the house. But then he had second thoughts about whether
the inspection report was accurate. He was right to be dubious.
The house was an 1890s Victorian on a steep hillside. It had
been extensively remodeled. A concrete retaining wall at the front
of the house made it look like the house had a modern foundation.
Living space had been added on the basement level. There were decks
overlooking the city, with patio doors from the living room and
bedrooms. A dream house? Maybe. The first inspection "report" was
just a checklist, with major items noted as either serviceable or
needing repair. Nearly everything was noted as "serviceable,"
including the foundation. Apparently, the inspector didn't bother
to look, or maybe he looked the other way.
As soon as I drove up, I could see that the remodeling was
substandard. The new stairs from the street to the house were
irregular and did not have handrails. The deck railings had large
openings that a child could easily fall through.Starting up the
stairs, I noticed the old, rusty gas pipe protruding from the soil.
This was the main gas supply to the house. A break in the pipe
would result in a major leak, and possibly a fire or explosion.
Next to the gas pipe was the sewer pipe (parts of sewers are often
exposed on steep hills). It was an old, 3-inch pipe. As I
approached the house, I saw that the newer part of the pipe, where
it passed through the front wall, was the 4-inch size. It doesn't
take rocket science to figure out that connecting a large drain to
a smaller one below will create full employment for Roto-Rooter.
When I reached the house itself, I saw that the front retaining
wall was crooked, leaning, and contained wood left from the
concrete forms. Wood embedded in concrete is a great pathway for
termites to enter a house. The wall was fairly new, all right, but
it definitely had not been installed by a professional. Worse, it
turned out that the new "foundation" consisted of concrete poured
over the old basement floor, and over the bottom of the wall
framing. Whoever installed it didn't even bother to get it level,
and there were no bolts to connect the walls to the concrete. This
is a big deal in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the chance of a
major earthquake has been estimated at about 50% within 30 years.
In a strong quake, the house could slide down the hill if it is not
properly anchored.
The "serviceable" roof had holes big enough to put your fist
through. Parts of the roof framing were badly damaged by decay.
There were gaps in the exterior that would let water into the
walls. The old electrical panel was loose and hazardous, and
circuits for the kitchen did not work. There was no sign of a
drainage system to keep water out of the basement bedroom. I could
go on, but you get the idea. None of this was mentioned in the
previous report.
Needless to say, my client was less than thrilled when he found
out his new house was a money pit. He went straight to his
attorney, of course, and filed suit against the first inspector,
the real estate company, and the sellers. The last I heard, he was
finally getting a settlement after 2 years of litigation. Whether
it will cover the full cost of repairs is anyone's guess.
Just think of the trouble this buyer would have saved by calling
a reputable, independent inspector before closing escrow! Even the
real estate agents and the sellers would have been better served.
They might have had to accept a lower price, or find another buyer,
but they would have saved a considerable amount in legal fees, not
to mention time and aggravation.
New House Mold Problem
By Scott Patterson
Trace Home Inspections, LLC
Recently I inspected a new home that was only 4 months old. The
owners said that the master bedroom and bath had a musty odor and
that mildew was growing on the walls in the bathroom. The owner
said it started about two weeks after they moved in. They have both
been sick with asthma and what they thought was the flu.
I found 3 major problems:
1. No bathroom ventilation exhausts fan had been installed.
2. The whirlpool tub drain was not fully connected to the drain,
and water had been standing under the tub. The connection to the
drain was off by over 3 inches to the left!
3. Mold growth was found under the wallpaper and on the
supporting frame for the whirlpool tub. (Testing by a mold
specialist revealed that the mold was of the Stachybotrys mold
family. This is a mold that produces toxic spores.) Normally this
would have been taken care of under the builder's warranty, but the
builder had gone out of business (bankruptcy) and no one was around
to help! The new home owners ended up spending $11,400 in repairs
and cleaning and much more in medical bills due to the mold that
initially came from the faulty and improper installation of the tub
and ventilation.
E-mail Correspondence Between Agent
And Home Inspector
Submitted By David Fogle
HomeScope Augusta, Ga.
I got this email today from the listing agent of the inspection
I did this past friday.
To: HomeScope Property Inspections
"You see, I am at this very minute trying to re-sale a property
that was already under contract but due to your suggestions for
improvement in your inspection report has caused major
renegotiations on my part. Sir, my job is already tough enough
without inspectors creating additional problems. Your inspection
report should stick to the terms of the contract and not exceed
those terms with SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT. These only cause
additional problems with the buyer asking for these SUGGESTIONS be
completed as repairs. I hope to never need your services again."
My reply:
Dear real estate agent,
The items found in the inspection were relatively minor.
Items we report on include things that may need repair, things that
the new owner should consider doing as improvements, and safety
issues. If your deal is having problems, it is caused by the
condition of the property, of which I only report on. I would
assume that you prefer a home inspector to sugar coat the defects
in order to make the sales process go more smoothly. Sorry, but we
are not part of the sales team. We report in an unbiased manner on
the condition of the home. We get paid to tell the truth, for the
benefit of our clients, not the listing agent.
If you would like to point out any examples of anything that
we reported that were not accurate, please let me know.
David Fogle
HomeScope
Augusta, Ga.