When buying a house make sure you get it inspected!

[Dynamic]

Three years ago I bought a house from a lady in the town I wanted to live and took her word that it was in good condition and up to par. I brought up the topic of bringing in an inspector and she insisted that there was no need to waste 400 bucks and she seemed like a nice lady so stupid me I bought it.

Almost instantly I knew it was a mistake and 3 years later I regret that decision to buy this house almost every day. Last week I took the deck off and found out they managed to mess up that as well. They had no ledger board for the deck so they just attached the joists to the house wall and now water has been getting behind the wall for as long as the deck has been on the house. The half wall is completely rotted out. Grrrrr

 

[ferniesnow]

Three years ago I bought a house from a lady in the town I wanted to live and took her word that it was in good condition and up to par. I brought up the topic of bringing in an inspector and she insisted that there was no need to waste 400 bucks and she seemed like a nice lady so stupid me I bought it.

Almost instantly I knew it was a mistake and 3 years later I regret that decision to buy this house almost every day. Last week I took the deck off and found out they managed to mess up that as well. They had no ledger board for the deck so they just attached the joists to the house wall and now water has been getting behind the wall for as long as the deck has been on the house. The half wall is completely rotted out. Grrrrr

and you think an inspector would have found that? Some would and most wouldn't. Always a crap shoot buying a house. Even the new ones sometimes have corners cut to save time and money.

The trials and tribulations of being a home owner, eh!

 

[morerpmfred]

What the home inspector would have found was no flashing on the top of the deck and would have noted possable water penatration.

 

[intmid8or!]

maybe

 

[Summitric]

/\ x2

 

[Bogger]

my understnding is that at this point anyone can call themselves a home inspector, training ranges from 1 day to 3 day to 1 week to 2 week to trade certification but literally anyone can say "I'm a home inspector" and market themselves.... they assume no liability for missed items or bad calls etc...

In my opinion your better off to bring in a tradesperson who knows what they are looking at.... We used the wifes dad he's a 40 year carpenter but even then they can only see what they can see... you'd be amazed what kind of chit can be covered up...

 

[Summitric]

my understnding is that at this point anyone can call themselves a home inspector, training ranges from 1 day to 3 day to 1 week to 2 week to trade certification but literally anyone can say "i'm a home inspector" and market themselves.... They assume no liability for missed items or bad calls etc...

In my opinion your better off to bring in a tradesperson who knows what they are looking at.... We used the wifes dad he's a 40 year carpenter but even then they can only see what they can see... You'd be amazed what kind of chit can be covered up...

don't want to know...........

 

[maxwell]

A good home inspection wouldn't be 400$. He would be bringing in thermal imaging cameras and whatnot to do a proper job. Very scary what's out there especially in new construction. I'm worried as to what will happen to all of these cookie cutter houses built in the last 5 years when they get up to 15+ years old. Seems the custom home builders are still doing a good job for the most part

 

[arff]

A good home inspection wouldn't be 400$. He would be bringing in thermal imaging cameras and whatnot to do a proper job

And moisture meter.
Also the inspector should check with the local authority's for proper permits. Electrical, deck, fence etc.

 

[Toyboy]

A good home inspection wouldn't be 400$. He would be bringing in thermal imaging cameras and whatnot to do a proper job

X2 if you paid less than $1500 it wasn't a real inspection.

Thermal imaging camera's, moisture meters and a full days work plus travel plus report plus liability insurance. What would you charge???

 

[Bnorth]

 

[plio7]

amerispec, who is supposedly a nationally accredited home inspection organization isn't worth the cost of they're little phuckin binder they carry. go up a ladder and look at some shingles, open and attic door and take a peek, check the electrical, check for moisture, blah blah blah.......do it yourself, you can rent/buy any of the testing gear you require (im pretty sure oyu can get a moisture tester for drywall for 30-40$), any idiot can look at shingles, check the attic, look at the property grading, ect. ect.

 

[magnet]

Yup agree with plio. When it says at the bottom of all their reports something like
So an so inspections cannot be in any way held responsible for anything we have missed tells you they aren't worth a bucket of frozen piss

 

[rzrgade]

A "good" inspector can surprize you with what he will find...............!!!

 

[Badass69]

A good inspector is still a joke compared to someone that actually does the work for a living...... And that is the kind of guy I used today. Been in the business for 35 years of doing builds and full blown renos..... not to mention he is the most meticulous picky guy ever. His work is beyond top notch and I have personal experience that way plus have known him a long time..... Yeah needless to say after him and I went through the property I had an offer on...... forget it. The place is junk, plain and simple. Average home inspector yahoo probably wouldn't have found half the deficiences we found and basically proved that although the frame of the home was okay, being built in 2005 especially...... it was a wreck. Probably about oh, $100,000 would fix the house...... and then the shop and landscaping need work too that the snow was hiding quite well. So yeah, I am walking away on that one. Can't say I regret having him look lol.

Next time I do a walkthrough I am bringing him with me actually. I am not an amateur and I know what to look at but he makes me look like a joke. Probably will end up buying bare land and building in all reality. I don't want someone elses headache.

 

[somethingnuw]

X2 if you paid less than $1500 it wasn't a real inspection.

Thermal imaging camera's, moisture meters and a full days work plus travel plus report plus liability insurance. What would you charge???

id gladly get that if it was available... my home inspection was 2 hours tops... home is 30 years old... problem is home inspection are set up by realtors who wanna sell the house and don't give a crap about the buyer!

 

[somethingnuw]

amerispec, who is supposedly a nationally accredited home inspection organization isn't worth the cost of they're little phuckin binder they carry. go up a ladder and look at some shingles, open and attic door and take a peek, check the electrical, check for moisture, blah blah blah.......do it yourself, you can rent/buy any of the testing gear you require (im pretty sure oyu can get a moisture tester for drywall for 30-40$), any idiot can look at shingles, check the attic, look at the property grading, ect. ect.

there is another company called post and somthing... id never use them again...albeit i think the realtor had something to do as they needed to move the house... didn't even get up on my roof... stupid me!!!! Roof cost me 7k the very next year... albeit in his reprt he said he didn't get on the roof... fall hazard or something so i just looked up there... looked great till i saw the valley's in the spring clean... right dwn to the paper.. there was no snow what kinda inspector doesn't go on the roof? And yes, his disclaimer said he was not responsabile for anything... worst 300 bucks i ever spent in 2 horus... next time an escort would a better investment... everything that was pointed out could have been pointed out to me by the door greater at walmart

 

[LUCKY 7]

after watching all the shows on tv about this issue it sure is scary buying even a new house. when I bought my house 17 years ago I knew it had issues but we fixed and now so far so good. lots of crap out there and the owners have no problem selling that crap!

 

[whoDEANie]

i dont believe any of these so called inspectors lol how can u inspect a house with no construction experience and all they did was push a pen all their life ... i will say they are good scammers tho .

I think a good portion of them do have some sort of construction background, but you know what they say... "Those that can't do, teach. Those that can't teach, inspect."

 

[X-it]

Train a dog to smell out dry rot and you have the best inspector out there, of coarse a little knowledge of bad years for water lines and wiring can save you thousands. A certified carpenter will know where to look for the expensive problems.