Rapper Sues His Home Inspector For Millions

[hausdok]

Rapper 50 Cent is suing the firm that did his pre-purchase home inspection claiming that they'd underestimated repairs required to the tune of nearly $2.7M.

To read all stories on this subject, click here, and here, and here.

[Jim Katen]

Rapper 50 Cent is suing the firm that did his pre-purchase home inspection claiming that they'd underestimated repairs required to the tune of nearly $2.7M.

To read all stories on this subject, click here, and here, and here.

Yet another reason to hate rap.

The inspector's fee was $14,000. I've never met him but I like him already.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Tom Corrigan]

I inspected a horse farm for the sheikh of Dubai last year.

The attorney was speechless when I told him what the fee was. He began speaking only after I asked what his fee was for a 20 million dollar deal!

He had to pay the fee from his escrow account.

Tom Corrigan

[Mark P]

"As the trial continued in Hartford, Jackson's lawyer, Michael Feldman, called BVH Vice President Greg van Deusen to the witness stand and said the big issue is the company's claim that it was only hired to do a rough walk-around inspection.

"Point to me in the contract where it says that physical observation is limited to a walk-around visual inspection of the property? Those exact words were not used," said Michael Feldman, Jackson's attorney"

I believe every HI in America that uses a PIA states it is a "visual inspection". Did BVH a multi-disciplined consulting engineering firm overlook that detail?

Also why would BVH subcontract an architect to perorm a HI on a 50,000 sq st mansion? Seems to me that employing a team of qualiied folks would have been better.

[kurt]

My guess is that BVH didn't honestly understand how to do a home inspection, and neither did their subcontracted architect.

I've been working with a number of large firm engineers on a regular basis lately, and I continue to be very surprised about how little they know about inspection procedures.

It's a weird job, with a lot of counter intuitive steps and procedures. And, it's a job of very strange and obscure technical and material knowledge requirements.

They don't teach this stuff anywhere I'm aware of. It has surprisingly little to do with engineering or architect-ing. It has much to do with understanding the building industry.

The engineers I know that are good inspectors readily acknowledge they didn't learn anything about the job in engineering schools. It's only the one's that don't do the work that insist they know how to do it.

Not proposing or advocating anything; just voicing my observations.

My initial knee jerk is the inspection firm screwed up. They didn't qualify the customer. Fer chrissakes, they were working for a nut; didn't they understand that going in? They didn't even do a window inventory. That alone tells me they didn't know what they were doing. I mean, who the heck would look at that sort of property and not count the windows for a basic cost projection?

Someone that's never done a HI for a nutty rich person........

[gtblum]

That is reason # Fitty why, I refuse to give estimates.

[Bain]

My guess is that BVH didn't honestly understand how to do a home inspection, and neither did their subcontracted architect.

I've been working with a number of large firm engineers on a regular basis lately, and I continue to be very surprised about how little they know about inspection procedures.

It's a weird job, with a lot of counter intuitive steps and procedures. And, it's a job of very strange and obscure technical and material knowledge requirements.

They don't teach this stuff anywhere I'm aware of. It has surprisingly little to do with engineering or architect-ing. It has much to do with understanding the building industry.

The engineers I know that are good inspectors readily acknowledge they didn't learn anything about the job in engineering schools. It's only the one's that don't do the work that insist they know how to do it.

Not proposing or advocating anything; just voicing my observations.

My initial knee jerk is the inspection firm screwed up. They didn't qualify the customer. Fer chrissakes, they were working for a nut; didn't they understand that going in? They didn't even do a window inventory. That alone tells me they didn't know what they were doing. I mean, who the heck would look at that sort of property and not count the windows for a basic cost projection?

Someone that's never done a HI for a nutty rich person........

I think you nailed it. I did a house last week for a guy who has a PhD in mechanical engineering and teaches at the U. of KY. He was incredibly warm and laid back, and openly admitted he knew very little about construction techniques and building codes.

It sounds like Fifty hired the wrong kind of consultants, who figured they could coast through the gig and pocket 14K.

[RobC]

If I understand this correctly.

An engineering firm inspects a 4.1 M residence for $14,000.00 to do a 'walk around' and fails to check the heating system. [:-bigeyes

And then they submit a cost estimate for window repair without counting the number of windows. [:-bigeyes

And in describing his service, Mr. van Deusen states "They also make assumptions," [:-bigeyes

What condition was the home in at the time of the inspection that would require 2.5M in repair?

Would that be deferred maintenance?

There are a lot of unanswered questions, I'd like to see the report first before passing judgment.

It will be interesting to hear the judge's ruling.

[Les]

My initial reading is the firm screwed up.

The process/business/industry/profession/religion of home inspection is beyond the scope of a web discussion.

It is magic! I am deadly serious - it is all about thinking!!! They did not think!

[RobC]

My initial reading is the firm screwed up.

The process/business/industry/profession/religion of home inspection is beyond the scope of a web discussion.

It is magic! I am deadly serious - it is all about thinking!!! They did not think!

That was my initial reaction, a rapper buys his buddy's mansion with the intention of renovating it on the back of the engineering firm.

But the fact remains as inept as the firm appears they did identify 2.5M in repairs. I'm thinking the report would clear up a lot of misunderstanding.

We always have to remember where we're getting our information.

[SonOfSwamp]

Two things come to mind:

1. In my humble experience, every engineer who hired me to do his home inspection disclosed on the front end that he knew nothing about doing a home inspection.

2. I'd be willing to bet, well, fifty cents, that all written communication in this deal was somewhere close to nonsensical. Show me an engineering firm that can create a semi-understandable document, let alone a bulletproof contract.

WJ

[SonOfSwamp]

"I believe every HI in America that uses a PIA states it is a "visual inspection". Did BVH a multi-disciplined consulting engineering firm overlook that detail?

Maybe it's just me, but I've always taken the term "visual inspection" to be pretty dang vague and nebulous. Does it mean, "pertaining to anything a baby could see with one rheumy eye half open?" Does it mean, "look but don't touch?"

If one wants to rely on the term "visual inspection" to keep himself out of trouble, I think he'd do well to go into detail about what it means in the context of an agreement.

WJ

[kurt]

2. I'd be willing to bet, well, fifty cents, that all written communication in this deal was somewhere close to nonsensical.

WJ

That's my thought. Engineers don't necessarily write reports any better than anyone else, and are as amazed as the most bucketheaded HI when one questions their execrable use of written language.

Sure fifty was working them. For $14,000, they were working him too, though. Heck, that'd put any one of us in there for a couple weeks full time w/an assistant. And, we'd have been qualifying the operation; I bet it was all hands off stuff run through entourage/posse members.

[Scottpat]

My initial reading is the firm screwed up.

The process/business/industry/profession/religion of home inspection is beyond the scope of a web discussion.

It is magic! I am deadly serious - it is all about thinking!!! They did not think!

I'm with Les..

It does read like the firm screwed up.

[gte217e]

Isn't it standard procedure to have a clause in the report stating that estimates cannot be relied upon and that independent estimates from licensed contractors must be obtained?

Also... who is to say that the rapper didn't get taken advantage of by a construction company that underbid the job and then kept adding costs until they made enough money? I see that happening all the time.

It sounds like 2.7 million dollars worth of repairs would also include aesthetic and functional options that were desired by the rapper, but not necessary to make the house livable. It's not the inspectors fault that he didn't write down the 500k dollar diamond encrusted chandelier that should be hanging in the foyer.

[bobfennema]

Rapper 50 Cent is suing the firm that did his pre-purchase home inspection claiming that they'd underestimated repairs required to the tune of nearly $2.7M.

To read all stories on this subject, click here, and here, and here.

Yet another reason to hate rap.

The inspector's fee was $14,000. I've never met him but I like him already.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[dbyers]

Like Kurt's first take.

If I were testifying for the defense, I'd have to ask plantiff's attorney, do I refer to your client as Mr. Jackson or Mr. Cent ?

Dave