Getting sued

[chicago]

Interesting column by Barry stone in today"s http://www.inman.com/inmanstories.aspx?ID=62401man Real Estate news.

[aaronm]

This was the article I got at that link:

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Inman Real Estate News provides brokers, agents, consumers and industry insiders with the latest news from the Real Estate Industry.

[hausdok]

Hi,

It's an Inman News link. There's not much point in posting links to anything in Inman News. Anytime you post a link to something in Inman News the link's lifespan is pretty short. They want you to subscribe to their paid service. If you have their free email subscription service, you can click in to one, maybe two, articles a day before the software starts kicking up a window asking you whether you want to subscribe and conceals what you're looking for. So, anyone with a paid subscription will see the article at that link. All others will get that message.

If it's a Barry Stone article in Inman News, the same article has probably been published somewhere else in a non-paid-subscription publication. You just have to go out and search for it. Bob E., what was the article about?

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[chicago]

Thanks for the information mike, I had just subscribed Inman news news as an RSS feed. Barry stone sends a lot of his articles through the Inman news and I have just found out that these articles expire after seven days. I have just e-mailed them and news request to allow me to see the copy of the article titled can I sue my home inspector. When I receive a reply will inform you. Now I know it always pays to save to file.

[chicago]

(Shout out to Inman news for giving me permission to reprint this article) id="blue">Inspector's in the House

By Barry Stone

Distributed by Inman News

About Barry Stone

Can I sue my home inspector?

By Barry Stone

March 06, 2007

Dear Barry,

I've read several of your columns where readers ask if they have grounds for suing a home

inspector. Your answer always seems to be "no." Could it be that you're providing cover for fellow

inspectors? --Jock

Dear Jock,

You have apparently read some, but not many, of my columns on home inspector liability and

suability. Many readers have written to complain about their home inspectors and to inquire about

inspector liability. When asked if a home inspector can be justifiably sued, my answer has

sometimes been yes and sometimes no, depending on the situation. If you've read only the "no"

columns, you've gotten the wrong impression.

Most home inspectors will be sued at some time during their careers. To quote a common saying

in the business: "There are two kinds of home inspectors -- those who have been sued and those

who will be." There are, however, specific circumstances that determine whether a home

inspector is truly liable for a disputed claim.

When property defects are not reported during home inspection, the inspector is liable if the

defects are within the scope of the inspection and were visible and accessible at the time of the

inspection. For example, a leaking drain below a sink would be within the scope, and in most

cases would be visible and accessible. A damaged roof would also be within the scope, and with

some exceptions would be visible and accessible. An inspector who fails to report defects such

as these could be subject to a lawsuit. However, if the bathroom was filled with storage so that

the inspector could not inspect below the sink, or if weather conditions on the day of the

inspection prevented the inspector from walking on the roof, the inspector would not be liable, if

(and this is a big if) the inspection report clearly states that these areas were not inspected and

that further inspection is recommended prior to close of escrow.

Conditions not within the scope of a home inspection are typically itemized in the inspector's

contract and in the report. These include conditions that are not visible or accessible because

they are underground or contained within the construction of the building. Other exclusions

include structural and geological engineering, infestation by wood-destroying organisms (such as

termites), low-voltage electrical systems, septic systems, water wells and more.

Home inspectors typically include language in their contracts that limit the chances of being sued.

These include mediation and arbitration clauses (not enforceable in all states). They also may

include specific monetary limits on liability (also not enforceable in all states).

Home buyers, however, can undermine a valid claim against a home inspector by repairing the

defect before the inspector has been notified about the problem. Home inspectors should have

the opportunity to view disputed defects, to discuss whether they are was within the scope of the

inspection, whether they were visible on the day of the inspection, and whether they existed on

the day of the inspection. Inspectors who are liable should be allowed to hire a repair contractor,

to make repairs themselves, or simply to pay the costs of repairs.

If a home inspector is notified by the home buyer but fails to respond or to accept reasonable

liability, pressure should be brought to bear, even if that means being sued. This has been my

recommendation in many past columns and will continue to be my advice to home buyers whose

inspectors are professionally negligent.

To write to Barry Stone, please visit him on the Web at www.housedetective.com.

Copyright 2007 Barry Stone

Reprinted with permission of Inman News

[chicago]

This topic was moved off recent hits so here is another reply to topic in order to make this visible to members of the forum.

[hausdok]

Hi,

Actually, it's visible indefinitely to anyone who hasn't read it yet, so there's no need to try and keep it at the front. You can post it on Monday and, even if nobody responds to it and it's no longer displayed in recent topics, when someone logs who hadn't visited since it was posted, say on Friday or the following week, it will show in their recent topics display.

OT - OF!!!

M.

[chicago]

I was trying to figure that one out mike.After I got access to this clipping there was suddenly not anything there in even my last 50 most recent topics till it was found under search.

[hausdok]

"Recent" topics goes off the date of the original post and lists them in reverse chronological order, most recent to oldest. However, when you come onto the board, the software uses "Active" topics to look at when you visited last and then lists any posts what have had any activity since then.

Keep in mind that if you have TIJ marked as your home page, that every time you log onto the net but continue past TIJ to another site, without stopping in to look at what's been discussed since you were here last, the software sees that as a visit and starts counting "active" topics all over again. So, you have to remember to look back to the last time you actually hung around and looked at something, if you want to get it all.

The other thing you need to do is check your settings on the active topics page and see how you've got your preferences set up. If you want to be sure to see every topic posted since you visited last, you need to have it set up to display "All topics you have access to." You also need to have it set to reload automatically when you walk away for a while - say to eat dinner - or it won't track what's been discussed since you've been logged onto the site and been reading posts. Mines set up to reload every 5 minutes.

Every once in a while I'll clean the crap out of my computer with a cleaner program, forget to reset those two settings and leave TIJ up while I'm doing something else, expecting it to display any activity. Then, when it's unusually quiet for a long time, I'll realize my mistake, go in and do a search for active topics for that period and find a bunch of stuff has been discussed.

Also, make sure that after you read a topic you cancel it out so the software will only show you the most recent threads since you've been on the board. To do that, just click on where the most recent topics read is displayed, let it display all of the topics that you've just finished reading, and then click on the little magnifying glass at the upper left side. That will cancel out all of the stuff that you've already read and display anything posted since you last searched for most recent topics. That way, you don't miss what's been discussed while you were reading other topics.

You just need to understand the mechanics of it. Once you have that, it's easy.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike