Seller upset about home inspectors
Q:
I have a complaint against home inspectors. My home is very well-maintained, so when I listed it for sale, I had a full-price offer within a week. Everything was going great until he hired a home inspector. I thought the inspector to look for code violations and structural problems, but this guy was over the top. He made a big deal about the water heater being almost 20 years old. It works fine, so what difference does the age make? He said the shingles are worn, but so what? The roof has never leaked since the house was built. I could go on and on about all the pointless things he listed in his report. Bottom line: I’m selling the house as is, so the buyer cancelled the deal. Why do home inspectors have to be so nit-picky? — Lacie
A:
As a seller, you are troubled by the thoroughness of the buyer’s home inspector. If you were the buyer, would you feel the same way? If the inspector you hire for your next home says nothing about the water heater being very old, would it bother you if the water heater began leaking a few weeks or months after you moved in? Wouldn’t you call him to ask why he had not warned you about the possibility of water damage in the house and the cost of replacing the water heater?
What about the roof? Suppose your home inspector were to say nothing about the worn shingles on the home you may soon be buying and the roof were to leak the following winter. If a roofing contrac- tor were to say, “Your home inspector should have reported this,” would you not want your inspector to cover the cost of roof replacement?
These are the realities that home inspectors deal with every day. Buyers spend enormous sums of money to purchase a home. They don’t want expensive surprises after the close of escrow, so they hire a home inspector to avoid financial prevent bombshells. If the roof is old and worn, they want to know. If the water heater is at the end of its useful life, they want to be told, just as you would. If there are any defects involving plumbing, electrical, heating, fire safety, ground drainage, trip hazards, and so on, buyers want to know up front, not after they own the property.
Home inspectors who minimize this level of disclosure to avoid being labeled as “nit-picky” or as “deal breakers” expose themselves to endless levels of liability for the costs of undisclosed defects.
Aside from the liability aspect, there are overriding ethical considerations. Home inspectors are hired as advocates for the financial interests of their customers. Their primary function is to protect the customer from monetary loss arising from undisclosed property defects. That is what the home inspector was doing for your buyer when he reported the conditions about which you are complaining.
Consider also the fact that buyers sometimes sue sellers when undisclosed defects arise. This means that the buyer’s home inspector was providing you with free liability protection. Consider these things when you enter escrow with your next buyer and also when you hire an inspector to evaluate your next home.