Anyone ever had a conflicting house inspection report vs. what the inspector said?

[neatfreak]

This is going to be quick because I am headed to the airport soon to fly home.

Anyway-we did inspections on our house yesterday. I thought they went well. Inspector found a few plumbing problems, a few other small things, and a foundation crack that he said he didn''t think was a big deal. He said none of the problems were huge deals or dealbreakers.

THEN we got the inspection report. TONS of things are listed as being in poor condition. But the comments mostly seem to make mountains out of molehills! Like the whole doorway/entry section is listed as being in poor condition but the only comment is that there is a cracked entryway board (which we know and is easy to fix). Or the exterior is listed as being in poor condition but the only thing wrong with it is a teensy area of rot (that he said is easily replaceable) and that it really needs a paint job BAD.

And he also mentions the grading in the lawn as being flat rather than away from the house-and in the report it sounds bad but in person it didn''t seem like a big deal to him.

What gives? Are home inspection reports a lot scarier than what is really going on? Or should we be really careful here? I should mention that we have a contractor coming out this week to look at the grading and foundation crack.

I am going to call him on Monday to clarify-but anyone have any insight into this???

 

[neatfreak]

I should also mention that we know the house is in need of some TLC and fixing. We just don''t want a money pit.

 

[April20]

Sometimes I think inspecters get a bit carried away with how they choose to document their findings on home inspections. It almost feels like a CYA since they''re really generalists and not experts on each and every trade. I''ve experienced both ends of the spectrum- too little information and too much.

When we sold our last house, we knew there were no major issues. I''d just bought the house two years before and had an inspection done, which I still had a copy of. In addition to that, we''d done a bit of work ourselves and knew everything was in good working order. When we got a copy of the buyer''s report, you''d have thought our house was FALLING down. DH decided the guy must have been paid by the word.

If you''re comfortable with the house and the things you know need to be fixed, I''d take his report with a grain of salt. If you''re not sure about the condition of something he''s noted that you may not have noticed during the inspection walk, you can always call in a subject matter expert to really evaluate it.

 

[decodelighted]

I think what they say in person is what they really think ... what they''d tell a friend? But what they put in the report is what could come back to haunt them. They have to detail every little thing and even one flaw pushes something from fair to poor yanno?

See what the contractors think. Don''t panic yet ...

If you know its a fixer "poor" conditions some places are a given, right?

 

[laine]

It could also be that he''s trying to do you a favor: say its in poor condition so you can get more price reduction from the seller. Definitely call and see what he says.

 

[ChinaCat]

Neat- We just bought a house recently. In person he was very positive, saying they rarely have these few problems, especially in a house so old. The inspection report wasn''t as big of a discrepancy as what you are describing, but it did seem less positive than what he had said. In fact, I called my realtor to ask him if we should be worried. Our house was built in 1938, so a lot of the "fair" or "poor" conditions were compared to what a new house would be, but for a house so old are in really great condition.

Anyways, it sounds like this is fairly common, but I would definitely have someone else look at (i.e., the contractor, etc.) to make sure you know what you''re getting into. Do you feel comfortable calling the inspector and asking? May put your mind at ease.

Oh, also, we had a lot of contact with our sellers and we knew all of the work and upkeep they had done on the house, so that also helped make us feel comfortable with it. Just a thought.

Good luck! We just moved into our house, and while it is old and does need a bit of work, it''s "ours" and we love it and doing the work is kind of part of the fun.

 

[ladypirate]

Date: 6/28/2009 8:49:03 AM
Author: decodelighted
I think what they say in person is what they really think ... what they''d tell a friend? But what they put in the report is what could come back to haunt them. They have to detail every little thing and even one flaw pushes something from fair to poor yanno?


See what the contractors think. Don''t panic yet ...

If you know its a fixer ''poor'' conditions some places are a given, right?

Ditto Deco--they tell you in person what they actually think but they want to make sure that they document everything in the report. Also, a home inspection report that points all these things out is really to your advantage because you can use it to bargain with the sellers.

 

[VRBeauty]

I think it''s a CYA situation. If you find problems that are not disclosed on the report you could sue the inspector for the cost of repairs, etc. By identifying these issues up front, even magnifying them, the inspector is protecting himself against future liability. I''m sure you''re going into this deal with your eyes wide open, but... I''m also sure that more than one home buyer has purchased an older house starry-eyed about the possibilities (or the good deal) only to sour on it later when they realize how much is involved with fixing problems that they glossed over in their initial assessment of the house.

A few years ago one of my co-workers sold a relatively new house in a very upscale neighborhood to a young doctor. For a few days after they turned the house over he pestered her with questions... where are the light switches in this room, how do I do this or that... until she politely referred hi back to the realtor. Then he called to say that he he could not live in the house because he found some rat droppings in the attic which (he said) was evidence of a rat infestation, and that rat urine in the insulation was circulating in the air and making him sick. He sued my friend and her husband, but he could (and should) have gone after the pest inspectors (who had indicated a signs of a past problem that had been resolved). The case never made it to court, probably because his attorneys didn''t encourage him to proceed after they realized how thin the case was -- and that their client would not have made a credible witness. My friends paid a fortune in attorneys fees and had to put up with a lot of uncertainty for three years. THE POINT OF MY STORY IS that the inspector could be erring on the side of caution -- in effect holding your house up to "new home" standards because of the possibility that you''ll move in and start wishing that you had bought a new home instead of a house that needs some TLC!

 

[neatfreak]

Thanks SO much ladies. I do feel much better after hearing all this! I was present at the inspection so he showed me a lot of what was documented and most of it is really cosmetic. Like "the exterior of the house is in extremely poor condition" translates to "this house hasn''t been painted in freaking forever and even when it was painted it wasn''t done correctly." So THOSE kind of things we can fix no problem.

I just got really worried after reading the report where a lot of things were in fair/poor condition all over the house.

I know the house has recently been upkept poorly b/c the husband moved out a year ago and hasn''t touched the place since. But he is a contractor-so I would hope he kept it in good condition beforehand! Unfortunately we are technically buying it "as is". But I also know they have had a hard time selling it (dirty, stuff everywhere, horrible paint colors and poorly done-basically the opposite of staged) AND really really want to unload it. So I am hoping we can ask for a reduction in selling price even if we can''t ask them to do repairs directly.


Deco You are completely right that it is a fixer upper and we are completely prepared to do repairs. But the report makes it sound like it''s falling down around us rather than the mostly cosmetic things that need upgrading ya know? I know you know how moneypit houses are-so I am sure you understand!

China and VR This house is 40 years old-so not super old but not super new either. That''s a good point to put it into perspective with a new house. I can certainly see how some things would be poor in comparison to a brand new house when in reality they aren''t that bad. Good tip!

Thanks everyone...I feel much better now. We are going to get a contractor and a plumber out to look at the few "bigger" issues that were noted and we already got an estimate to have the outside redone. Hopefully it''ll all work out!

 

[dreamer_dachsie]

I think I would be sure to double check the problem areas with another expert, and call the inspector, but otherwise it seems like the issues are easily observed by you and so you know what you are getting into!

I''m exctied you are getting so close. This must be so exciting and nerve wracking. We are going to buy a house longdistance in the next few months and it is so stressful

 

[D&T]

Date: 6/28/2009 9:01:18 AM
Author: laine
It could also be that he's trying to do you a favor: say its in poor condition so you can get more price reduction from the seller. Definitely call and see what he says.

ditto-

i wouldn't sweat the small stuff, they're obligated to put every even minor detail down. you want a thorough inspection report and it looks like he did his job. i'd be more worry if you only got a couple of pages long report versus what you got.

call him and ask what the biggest issues and negotiate if you want to help reduce your cost down with the seller..

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Pretty much everything was summed up by all the posts here. As you have planned, it''s an excellent idea to get a contractor and plumber out to make sure the house is sturdy and nothing serious needs to get fixed. As long as it''s a solid structure, you are okay. Minor cosmetic projects are no biggy as long as you get on the ball. If the paint needs updating, do it soon so to protect the siding. Maybe have the house professionally painted to be sure to extend the life of the siding AND so you do not need to worry for many years about painting again.

FWIW, when my DH and i were looking for our first home, we found one we really liked and it was the realtor who *refused* to selll us the house because she didn''t think it was structurally sound. If you have faith in your realtor, you''re in an excellent position.

What did the inspector think of the roof? Is there any evidence of leakage? To me, that is a biggie.

 

[ChinaCat]

NF- Yes, good point about asking seller to come down on price and/or make repairs. We did ask our seller to either make some of the bigger repairs himself, or else give us a credit towards doing it ourselves. He took care of a lot of the stuff that HAD to be done, so it''s definitely worth asking.

Good luck, keep us posted!

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 6/28/2009 7:27:14 PM
Author: MC

What did the inspector think of the roof? Is there any evidence of leakage? To me, that is a biggie.

The roof was the one thing that was pretty much perfect thank goodness!

 

[teapot]

It sounds like you had a good inspector. S/he is just being thorough and cautious. When we bought our house, the inspector talked about wood rot and how we needed to remove some wooden structures as a result of the rot, but it wasn''t too serious. One of the structures we needed to demolish was the bathroom vanity... Two years late, it hasn''t fallen apart, but I can see the warping from water damage. We plan to remodel the bathroom and as long as no water damage is in the floor or walls, we are ok with it until we fix it up. The great thing about the Bay Area is that we have lots of retailers that sell FSC certified lumber. It''s so exciting that you are so close to owning your home.