I was inspected

[allspec33351]

I sold my house and the inspection was late this afternoon. I decided not to be at home for the inspection.

When I do an inspection I almost never talk to the sellers, this guy asks my wife if the window treatments stay, how old is the ac, water heater and roof. He then tells my wife that the front gate has to be fixed and the washer hose must be changed immediately. The sale is AS IS.

When I do an inspection I try to leave everything as I find it. This guy left the heat on (it’s 85 here) he took my thermometer to measure the return and didn’t put it back in the supply. He did not reset the GFCI. He turned off two fans. Did not put back actually hang up some cleaning tools on a rack. And scratched my wall trying to get ac filter out.

Hopefully I will get to see this report because if the gate and the washer hose are the only two things he found these people threw their money away. [:-banghead]

Captain

[swarga]

Sounds like they hired a wiener.[]

I would notify the agents that the wall was damaged by the inspector and you will only allow a licensed contractor in to your house to repair the damage.

I would have to spend a 40 hour week and $1000 to fix my house before I would even thing of putting it on the market.

[chrisprickett]

Originally posted by swarga

Sounds like they hired a wiener.[]

I would notify the agents that the wall was damaged by the inspector and you will only allow a licensed contractor in to your house to repair the damage.

I would have to spend a 40 hour week and $1000 to fix my house before I would even thing of putting it on the market.

I would cost more than that to raise the doorways to normal height[:-dev3]

My house was inspected when I moved 5 years ago. The inspector was a complete moron. 50 year old house, that I totally remodeled (with no permits) and he didn't even bat an eye. Buyer beware!

[DonTx]

Originally posted by swarga

I would have to spend a 40 hour week and $1000 to fix my house before I would even thing of putting it on the market.

That makes me feel better. I thought I was the only one with a home that had "a few issues".

It's bad enough when my wife is typing the reports and hollers "Hey, we have the same problem, why don't you fix ours?"

Donald

[DLRambo]

Chris -

I've seen some of you use the "P" word before. What is a permit and what do you do with it?

[Brian G]

Originally posted by allspec33351

He then tells my wife that the front gate has to be fixed and the washer hose must be changed immediately. The sale is AS IS.

I wouldn't discuss the findings with the seller at all since we have the ASHI SOP and COE as law here, but even if they weren't I wouldn't make statements like those. It isn't the HI's place to say what "has to be" or "must be" fixed. Sounds like "Self-Important Syndrome".

---

Hopefully I will get to see this report because if the gate and the washer hose are the only two things he found these people threw their money away.

I gotta agree with that. The shortest summary report I've delivered was 1 1/2 pages, and I thought that was a damn good house. If that's all he found he wasn't looking very hard. Good for you, bad for the client. Tisk.

Brian G.

Hey Mitchell, why don't you go through and do it right, then give the buyers a copy....you know, show him up. [:-dev3][][:-dev3]

[allspec33351]

Originally posted by Brian G.

Hey Mitchell, why don't you go through and do it right, then give the buyers a copy....you know, show him up. [:-dev3][][:-dev3]

Brain

That's about the dumbest thing I've seen in print. However I did think about it for a few seconds after my wife talked to me. Then I said to myself "am I crazy?".

The answer was yes but not that crazy.

Captain

PS I got the guys card if I sell my next home.

[kurt]

Sounds like you guys take it personal. That's the same mistake that the realtors & sellers fall into. It's just a house.

I don't expect some seller to immediately start negotiating because I deliver a list of stuff that's "wrong". If some clown handed me a 3 page summary list of all things I "had to fix" when I sell my own home, I'd find another buyer.

I don't believe in the "as is" stuff; tell the buyer what you know, or tell them you don't know anything, which would be a lie. I'm especially curious about inspectors that sell "as is"; we spend our working lives ferreting out reality & truth, & then when we are asked to simply describe what we know about our own habitation (which should be a lot), we hide behind the "as is" banner.

Hmmmmmm..........

[chrisprickett]

Originally posted by kurt

Sounds like you guys take it personal. That's the same mistake that the realtors & sellers fall into. It's just a house.

I don't expect some seller to immediately start negotiating because I deliver a list of stuff that's "wrong". If some clown handed me a 3 page summary list of all things I "had to fix" when I sell my own home, I'd find another buyer.

I don't believe in the "as is" stuff; tell the buyer what you know, or tell them you don't know anything, which would be a lie. I'm especially curious about inspectors that sell "as is"; we spend our working lives ferreting out reality & truth, & then when we are asked to simply describe what we know about our own habitation (which should be a lot), we hide behind the "as is" banner.

Hmmmmmm..........

When I sold my house, it was a sellers market. I had a full price offer who wanted everything fixed. I then got an offer for 10k more, and said I wouldn't fix anything, take it or leave it. They took it. Nuttin' wrong wit dat!

[allspec33351]

Originally posted by Kurt

Sounds like you guys take it personal. That's the same mistake that the realtors & sellers fall into. It's just a house.

I don't expect some seller to immediately start negotiating because I deliver a list of stuff that's "wrong". If some clown handed me a 3 page summary list of all things I "had to fix" when I sell my own home, I'd find another buyer.

I don't believe in the "as is" stuff; tell the buyer what you know, or tell them you don't know anything, which would be a lie. I'm especially curious about inspectors that sell "as is"; we spend our working lives ferreting out reality & truth, & then when we are asked to simply describe what we know about our own habitation (which should be a lot), we hide behind the "as is" banner.

Hmmmmmm..........

Kurt

I think it be wise to know what "as is" means in my market before you make comments like the above.

Down here it means that the house is sold as is with a disclosure of what is known to be wrong and the right to inspect and reject or accept the house based on the report.

In simpler terms for you, it is you buy my house and I am not contractually obligated to give you a penny based on a home inspection or disclosure.

Why would anybody with a modicum of intelligence not sell a home "as is".

Did you see my disclosure?

Captain

[Brian G]

Originally posted by allspec33351

Originally posted by Brian G.

Hey Mitchell, why don't you go through and do it right, then give the buyers a copy....you know, show him up. [:-dev3][][:-dev3]

Brain

That's about the dumbest thing I've seen in print.

First let me compliment you on your powers of perception (Brain).

Second, pure & undiluted BS on my part Captain.

Brian G.

[allspec33351]

Originally posted by Brian G.

Hey Mitchell, why don't you go through and do it right, then give the buyers a copy....you know, show him up. [:-dev3][][:-dev3]

Brain

That's about the dumbest thing I've seen in print.

First let me compliment you on your powers of perception (Brain).

Second, pure & undiluted BS on my part Captain.

Brian G.

What would you like to be called Brain or Brian your choice. Hey I know you are kidding, I think.[:-banghead][:-dev3][:-banghead]

Captain

[pete]

I just sold my 4 year old house and the people never mentioned an inspection. I was really disappointed. I had added GFCI's in the kitchen and was interested to see if the inspector would catch a couple of the changes I had made. Oh well.

Pete

[Neal Lewis]

Pete,

Have you moved upstate yet?

Allspect,

I doubt your buyers wasted their money. If you only find minor items during an inspection, do you feel that your clients wasted their money?

OK I'll add my own issues. I have a permitted Subpanel box in a clothes closet that I recently installed/replaced an existing fusebox. For the rough and final inspections I removed EVERYTHING in the closet, so it wasn't a clothes closet at the time of the inspection.

I would have needed a variance to place my A/C condenser next to the house, so I said F that and had the A/C installed without a permit.

[Steven Hockstein]

In my opinion, selling a house "As-is" is meaningless if there is an inspection clause n the contract. In NJ, if I find a serious problem with a house and inform my client, they will almost always negotiate it as part of the deal, regardless of the"As-is" clause. Now I am not talking about cracked window panes or nail-pops. I am referring to things such as a masonry chimney that is falling off of side of the house. If the seller and real estate agents are notified of the problem, they are required to disclose it to the next buyer if the deal falls through. A smart seller will realize this and work it out with the buyer.

As far as discussing things with the seller, if the seller is home during the inspection I will usually have a short discussion with the seller while in the presence of my client. I will ask things like, how long have you lived here, have you done any major upgrades such as a new roof, heating system, etc., while living in the house. I use this information to help educate my client about the house and to help me find out if the seller is honest about things because I will double check the information that they tell me. If the seller lies to me about the age of things, it helps me get a felling as to if they are the type that will try to hide other defects. If the seller states that something is new, I will recommend that the documentation be obtained to see if there are any warranties that can be transferred to my client. This conversation is done in a friendly manner and not confrontational. I find that it is productive for me and my clients.

And finally, as far as telling the seller about defects, I will tell them about issues that may affect the life safety of the current occupants (i.e. inoperable GFCI outlets).

If I find that a washer hose is about to burst, I will tell the seller not only as a courtesy, but also to protect the house from potential water damage. Telling the seller to fix a gate or checking window treatments is crossing the line of reasonable actions by an inspector.

I agree that we should do our best to leave the house as we find it and remember to readjust theromstats and anything else that we may test or alter during the course of an inspection.

[Brian G]

Originally posted by allspec33351

What would you like to be called Brain or Brian your choice. Hey I know you are kidding, I think.

I've always said it was correct either way. []

Brian / Brain

[crusty]

I think this is still the hottest real estate market in the country, I really don't keep up with it, but a decent desirable property here will stay on the market about 10 days. Brokers tour on Monday, an open house on Sunday...."we will accept offers until 10:30 Tuesday morning, select a buyer by end of business on Thursday, you have until the following Friday to remove all contingencies." On a highly desirable property the buyers are proposing that they will remove contingencies in 3 days or less to make their offer more attractive.

And the sale is "AS IS" which basically means the buyer has the right to an inspection but the seller is not obliged to reopen negotiations. The buyer can go forward or walk. If they walk there is always one or more buyers waiting in a back up position. It is the result of high demand low supply and the sales agents have used this tactic to fuel the market and drive prices out of the stratosphere. I have raised my inspection prices accordingly....over 60% in the last 6 years. I have to live here too.[:-clown]

Oh, and about 80% of the houses sold have pre-listing inspections done, sort of. I find myself often doing the inspection during the brokers tour and they wait until the last minute (on Monday folowing the open house) to release the report to the bidders.

[:-pirate]

[crusty]

Originally posted by Neal Lewis

Pete,

Have you moved upstate yet?

Allspect,

I doubt your buyers wasted their money. If you only find minor items during an inspection, do you feel that your clients wasted their money?

OK I'll add my own issues. I have a permitted Subpanel box in a clothes closet that I recently installed/replaced an existing fusebox. For the rough and final inspections I removed EVERYTHING in the closet, so it wasn't a clothes closet at the time of the inspection.

I would have needed a variance to place my A/C condenser next to the house, so I said F that and had the A/C installed without a permit.

How the #%LL did you get a permit to install a sub panel in a closet?? I am not sure who is more suspect you or the AHJ inspector.

[allspec33351]

Originally posted by jhagarty

Originally posted by allspec33351

Hopefully I will get to see this report because if the gate and the washer hose are the only two things he found these people threw their money away. [:-banghead]

Captain

Sounds like you have publically set yourself up for a "Failure to Disclose". Fraud in this State.

Maybe Mike O will help and delete this thread.

J Hagarty

Thank you for your concern. And if it was an honest concern you would have privately e mailed it to me.

Can you please tell me what was in my disclosure and what are the laws in the state of Florida regarding what items must be disclosed?

Thanks

Captain

[n/a29]

Originally posted by hausdok

Okay Boys,

I suspect I understand the immense "respect" each of you has for the other, because of respective professional affiliation, so I can see this might get ugly in another post or two. Back to your corners.

It is pretty obvious that Mitchell posted this with the intent to point out that the inspector wasn't leaving things as he found them and was communicating exparte' with the seller - both of which are considered incorrect conduct by most professionals I know in this business.

Let's try and keep the topic focused on that. Shall we?

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

Mike, does this squabble look familiar? Looks like one of my topics I wished I had backed out of long before it got ugly.

Advice: State your opinion respectfully. Dodge the bullets on your way out if it starts getting ugly. Never look back. A smoking gun doesn't always "win" the battle.

Sip on a good homebrew and relax. It's all good...

:~)