a potentially dangerous situation. would you get involved?

[EthansMom]

If I were you, I might mention in the course of conversation that I had thought about purchasing the house myself until my inspector had taken a look at it. Heck, you could even give them a recommendation for your inspector if they are serious about the house.

 

[Papa Deuce]

sorry, but that is just flakey.

If you didn't get an official report from the home inspector, then you don't know what is specifically wrong with the house. There is nothing wrong with telling any buyer to hire a good Home Inspector. Frankly, I'm not sure if I'd put one who doesn't even issue a report into that category.

Well, I didn't want to write a book here, but his reasoning was sound, and, like I said, he did NOT charge me a penny. So, he wasn't obligated to make an official report, IMO.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Well, I didn't want to write a book here, but his reasoning was sound, and, like I said, he did NOT charge me a penny. So, he wasn't obligated to make an official report, IMO.

Papa Deuce,
I am sure his reasoning was probably sound. However, his business practices are not. If I am thinking correctly, there are laws and regulations regarding this type of thing. Is it not an inspectors legal and moral duty to disclose to SOMEONE his findings in this type of case. Either the person who paid him, or the appropriate County and/or State authorities.

I am not sure what all the regulations are in your State and County. But, I am wondering if his actions are not bordering on professional negligence. If the home is truly in this condition, he should have felt professionally obligated to do a complete inspection and to issue a complete disclosure.

Is this not the purpose of his profession as a licensed inspector?

Whether or not he decided to charge you the full agreed-upon amount is a mute point.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I thought that when a home had an inspection that report became part of the disclosure. I had to disclose to our buyer a previous inspection.

It is if the seller has gotten one, or if they've had a contract on the home where the buyer has gotten one.

At least here in Texas, that's the way it is, but I see it happen all the time where the listing agent doesn't change the disclosure when a deal falls through all the time. (I'm an agent with access to the MLS and my DH is a Professional Real Estate Inspector.)

 

[barkley]

if i knew it was unsafe for someone to habitate the house i would likely say something. likewise if i did'nt and they found out after purchase and entered into a lawsuit i would volunteer testimony as to my discussions with the homeowner during the period i was the potential buyer.

i felt realy bad when we were leaving our prior home, new neighbors had just moved in and thought they got a 'steal' on their place-in actuality they paid over $100,000 more than the place was worth. it was common knowlege on the street that their realtor knowing how much they qualified for had approached the homeowners and cut a deal for a quick commission in exchange for telling them to price it at the highest end of the buyer's approved loan rate (and they were paying enuf cash that it did'nt matter what the appraisal came back at). the realtor put the sign up and brought the buyers back in an hour-never showed them any of the other identical homes in the development (told them 'if you don't jump on this it will be gone')-out of towners, trusted the realtor....very sad.

 

[salmoneous]

if i knew it was unsafe for someone to habitate the house i would likely say something.

The thing is, PD doesn't know it is unsafe. All he knows is what the inspector told him. Now if the *inspector* really believes the house is unsafe, the inspector has an obligation - no so much to any potential buyers, but to the folks who are living in the house - to do something The fact that he hasn't called in the city building inspector leads me to believe he doesn't think there is an immediate danger.

Papa - if you are concerned about the safety of the house, that's what you should probably do. Call in the town/city for the sake of the current occupants. But I wouldn't interfere in a private business transactions.

 

[FreshTressa]

Don't do a thing. A smart buyer will have the house inspected like you did and they will find out the bad news then.

Yup...I agree.

 

[HayGan]

I would say a word becuase they could possibly sue you if they found out that you impeded a sale.

With that said, they will likely require financing for a purchase and most lenders require a home inspection. The issues that you discovered would be discovered in that inspection.

 

[Sandy22]

Why can't the inspector write up a very short report - like a couple sentences such as the home is structurally unsound or covered in mold - whatever the big problems are - and send it by registered mail to the owner and real estate agent.

That way, if the owner and agent fail to disclose the condition of the house, the future owner might have access to recourse because there will be proof they had knowledge of the existing problems.

 

[lowie]

i would highly suggest calling your towns 'code enforcement' office. if you truly believe that the home is unsafe it's not safe for the current owner as well as future owners. you can make an anonymous call as well.

 

[Papa Deuce]

The thing is, PD doesn't know it is unsafe. All he knows is what the inspector told him.

True enough. But here is what he said is wrong:

1. The roof is 30 years old and needs to be replaced.
2. He thinks the dormers will come crashing down the next big snow we get.
3. He found several HUGE cracks in the foundation.
4. The building was built incorrectly, and at separate times ( true for sure ).... and that the newer parts of the building were never properly attached.
5. The basement walls show previous extreme amounts of water, and he belived that most of it was current.
6. There are not enough screws holding the awning in over the main entrance, and he thinks that this could fall at any time.

So, he strongly advised me to pass unless I was thinking of knocking it down entirely.

Oh, and he said the elecricity was so far out of date he couldn't believe it.

 

[lclark0621]

I would strongly encourage any potential buyer I met, to get an inspection. You can be honest & say you were seriously considering buying the home, until you had an inspector look at it. That is pretty much all you need to say.

"Oh you are looking at that house? I was seriously looking to buy it for my Mother a couple of weeks ago. Then I had it inspected & I am very glad I did. As you can see it is still on the market & I did not buy it."

You are not saying "Oh DONT buy that house!", and you are not lying. But an uninformed buyer (like someone buying a home for the first time), could get into a lot of trouble here.

I know when we bought out first home, our real estate agent never once suggested an inspection. And since we were buying new construction, some said we would be fine without it. DH & I insisted on one & are glad we did. There were a lot of problems, that needed to be fixed by the builder...Nothing as serious as your situation though.

If I did not say anything, I could not live with myself. What if a young family gets in there & the roof collapses this winter? At the very least it could be a MAJOR expense they dont have, at worse it could be potentially deadly.

 

[momrek06]

PAPA: This same thing happened to DH and I almost 2 years ago. We came upon this 1890's Victorian home with the Turrets and all....we loved it. The owner (little old lady) fell down and was taken out by ambulance. Her DD was moving some items out of it and so DH just "happened" to be driving by, said to DD are you selling, she said yes, (mom was going into a nursing home) they agreed on price and NOW...we start going to banks to lend us the $$$...NOPE...NOT AT ALL. The house was so far beyond repair. We hired a Home Inspector for $400.00 and he spent 4 hours and documented everything and bottomline: DEMOLISH the house, he said. WE DID!
Can I just tell you the radon in the basement was like 45%...UGH...wiring was old etc!!!
So whether or not, you or the new potential buyers want to buy the house and unless you are paying CASH. The BANKS maybe hard pressed to lend anyone any money in the condition it is in. SO not only get the opinon of a Home Inspector but your Lender as well before you or anyone signs on the dotted line.
We loved the location and the lot so we tore the house down and re-built a brand new home and moved in June 1, 2005.

 

[phillybeth]

Papa - if you are concerned about the safety of the house, that's what you should probably do. Call in the town/city for the sake of the current occupants. But I wouldn't interfere in a private business transactions.

ITA. Call your township and report the dangerous conditions.

 

[olena]

I wouldn't get involved. If your opinion is asked, just advise a qualified home inspector to look it over. The inspection results should be adequate warning.

You don't want to expose yourself to legal action from the sellers.

 

[annegal]

True enough. But here is what he said is wrong:

1. The roof is 30 years old and needs to be replaced. Easy to have a roof changed.
2. He thinks the dormers will come crashing down the next big snow we get.
[I]Now this one is strange-why would he think that?[/I]


3. He found several HUGE cracks in the foundation.


4. The building was built incorrectly, and at separate times ( true for sure ).... and that the newer parts of the building were never properly attached. Rather vague,,,if you add a room next to an existing house, you just nail the 2 x 4 to existing jamb-but not doing so won't cause new room to fall down.

5. The basement walls show previous extreme amounts of water, and he belived that most of it was current.

6. There are not enough screws holding the awning in over the main entrance, and he thinks that this could fall at any time.
Adding a few screws would not make an inspecter say to tear down a house. An awning probably has bolts and nuts, though, not screws.

.

An inspector made these many comments unofficially, without charge?Why?

 

[Patch'sD]

An Inspector uses usefull life to project how things will last. A roof at over 30 years will have to be replaced. If there is more than one layer it may have to stripped down to the plywood. Electrical with the exception of non copper (Al.) wiring what can be wrong, is a service upgrade required. Most foundations will have cracks. Is the concrete breaking down. No termite dammage. Is there any wood rot. What type of flooding. if the foundation is cracked, it is going to flood. Cracks have to be repaired. No big deal, A Shovel is required and some Concrete patch.

I don't know how the doormer is going is going to cave in, unless because of the roof. If I had taken everything into consideration my inspector had said I would have not purchased my house. Things that he said needed replacing are still functioning, and things that he said were good were replaced. They use predetermined useful life projections. Any house that is over 40 years old will fail.

I would tell the buyer to get an inspector, tell them you were interested in the house and after the inspector gave a preliminary you decided to back away.

Your giving advice not fact.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

An Inspector uses usefull life to project how things will last.

This may be true where you are, but in Texas an inspector is not allowed to give estimates on replacement costs, or to say how long an item is expected to last, or how old it even is.

It is against TREC's Standards of Practice for them to do any of the above. They can actually get their licenses revoked if they do this. I know other states have the same SoP.

(Texas is one of the few states that requires inspectors to be licensed and their education is extensive.)

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Papa, go here and ask your questions: http://agentsonline.net/

I'm not sure how the link is going to paste, but if it goes to the main message board, scroll down and you'll see one for inspectors. You may have to adjust the posts and how far back they appear.

Inspectors are unlike real estate agents in the majority of the USA. Where we're all licensed, most states don't have license requirements for inspectors, and it takes no more than a name and a DBA to get going.

Anyway, it doesn't really matter what your state requires. Inspectors are generalists and aren't licensed in any one field. You know the old saying, "Jack of all trades, master of none"?

My DH is pulling a double tour at the fire department, but I'd be happy to bend his ear Wednesday when he gets home (from an inspection, no less) if you'd like.

 

[bettyann29]

No advice here, but wanted to mention that when I purchased my home I HAD to have it inspected before I could get the loan.. Hopefully they would have the home inspected before putting themselves on the line in buying this home..