Crappy Home Inspections (Pic Heavy)

[RobMcBee]

One of my biggest fears buying our home was having a major issue with mold or rot. So during our buying process we hired a "reputable" home inspector to come in ad give the home a go through. Well what a waste of money that was. I'll admit that I can take some of the blame for not crawling under the house while he was here, but that's what I was paying him for and I had my 16mo old son with me on the day of inspection.
After the inspection was done the only thing noted in the report was that the toilet ring had apparently leaked and damaged the floor around the toilet. NO MOLD, NO ROT, just damaged subfloor. So we negotiated with the seller to fix the floor.... and they..... well their "handyman" tried... Well after we moved in and were settling down for our first night in the house, I heard what sounded like someone pouring a cup of water in the wall behind our master shower..... a big cup of water..... There was no way to get behind it except to bust the shower. I understand they cant see through walls but how he missed the rotted floor joist, subfloor, and mold and mildew is beyond me. This much damage doesn't happen in one week from the time of inspection to the time of closing........

You can clearly see mold on the inside of the cabinet, the rest was covered by another cabinet and the counter....

this used to be a 2x6...

↓↓↓ in this pic you can see where they repaired the "toilet flange leak" (new OSB)

I pulled up most of this subfloor by hand....

and heres where all that water came from ....

 

[RobMcBee]

you cant tell me he couldn't see the rotten floor joist from the crawl space.... they literally crumbled in my hands.... but this rabbit hole just keeps getting deeper.

I know inspectors cant see everything...... but DAMN..... Sorry just had to rant a lil

 

[frankenyoter]

That sucks man. I've always thought that a home inspector was just a guy who gets paid to say "I can't see it from my house" and walks away with a fatter wallet.

 

[Kermit]

Is there any responsibility that can be tied back to the home inspector? I assume they are bonded or insured for this kind of issue.

 

[Ron]

Is there any responsibility that can be tied back to the home inspector? I assume they are bonded or insured for this kind of issue.

Most will only refund the cost of the home inspection...and their contract states as much.

 

[RobMcBee]

Yeah his contract pretty much releases him from stuff like this. Basically saying he's not liable for unseen issues, and I'm sure he'd just say he didn't see it... Smh. I actually praised this guy for his thoroughness.... Guess I should have waited. .

 

[shawn]

One of my biggest fears buying our home was having a major issue with mold or rot.

Build a house out of mold food.... it's only a matter of time, really.

It's like I always say: If people knew how their houses were actually built, they wouldn't live in them. @Ron

 

[RobMcBee]

Build a house out of mold food.... it's only a matter of time, really.

It's like I always say: If people knew how their houses were actually built, they wouldn't live in them. @Ron

While this is a true statement proper upkeep and maintenance can and will prolong the life of your dead wood lol. Evidently the previous owner was ignorant to this fact or just plain ignorant. Like I said, I kinda put myself to blame also by not being more involved in the inspection. Too late now, I'm just glad I have a background in construction. I'd hate to see what this would cost to have a contractor do it

 

[krzyabncanuck]

I myself learned the hard way after my second house I bought. Now I hired a home inspector / a plumber / electrician / HVAC / and a person to look at the rest of the house. It costs more up front but it pays in the end.

 

[justjeepin86]

That really sucks! I'm on the market for a new home and this scares the crap out of me.

 

[RobMcBee]

Just be more involved....

 

[Bogleparsons]

Some days i'm glad I live on a slab.

That sucks man

 

[CThurmond]

Yeah glad I saw this before I house hunt

 

[RobMcBee]

Some days i'm glad I live on a slab.

That sucks man

Slab houses have their problems too.... I had a friend of mine water main burst underneath the slab. Luckily his warranty covered it b/c the plumbers had done a crappy job and spliced underneath the house. It can happen anywhere... Just glad I found this when I did.

Im in the process of tearing out everything that's black or rotten. Sad part is it looks as if the water had run between the two layers of subfloor and into our bedroom. Again, this had been leaking like this for awhile. The house is a foreclosure but according to public record only 6mos between their eviction and our purchase.

 

[BrianGreen]

Go ahead and get rid of ALL of that polybutelyne (sp) plumbing while you have it torn apart. Otherwise you will be doing it again down the road.

 

[RobMcBee]

the poly only goes down to the floor joist where it connects w/ cpvc.... the plumbing is a nightmare. Im going to re plumb everything with pex and eventually re-do the whole house w pex. I already knew about the cpvc and had planned on replacing it anyway

 

[YotaOnRocks]

That sucks. But what is funny is when I opened the thread there was an ad for Harris home inspections at the top.

 

[RobMcBee]

Hahahaha

 

[UTfball68]

Man that's terrible. I've paid in about $3,000 to a local inspection company. Being a first time home buyer, and the risk of falling in love, I literally did hours of research to find one that would nit pick the living hell out of a house for me. I've used them 5 times now over the last 6 months...they're expensive, but they've also prevented me from making a 250k mistake too. Every time they do an inspection, I'm right by their side, and it's an easy 6 hours. They point out everything from nails backing out of the roof, to un-certified truss splinting, to breakers not certified to be in that particular breaker box, as well as the big things too. 90% of the stuff wouldn't bother me, but I still want to know. I've been extremely lucky to this point with my inspector, but I have no idea how someone wouldn't have caught your issue...that's just embarassing.

 

[Ron]

The house is a foreclosure but according to public record only 6mos between their eviction and our purchase.

Right ow foreclosures are running about 10-15 months behind first missed payment with no payments made at all. Any payment can further that process. It could be a situation where the PO was unable financially to repair for 2-3 years if it was a foreclosure.

 

[77GreenMachine]

Dang man. That blows. You should've remembered my mold thread and contacted me. I could've set you up with someone in your area to come out and would have seen that Guarunteed for $125.

Least you caught it now.

 

[RobMcBee]

Dang man. That blows. You should've remembered my mold thread and contacted me. I could've set you up with someone in your area to come out and would have seen that Guarunteed for $125.

Least you caught it now.

I know, and I wish I had. Hind sight is always 20/20...

 

[rodney eppes]

My first house was inspected, well, I paid for one anyway. He didn't mention the fire brick falling out of the Boiler. I knew a lot more, time I bought my present house. I don't recall how I got the inspector, probably through my "buyer agent", but he Did a "Proper" job, & photographed every detail. Gave me a full typed report, with the pictures. I haven't found any un-reported issues!

 

[RobMcBee]

well heres an update.... I've fixed and replaced all the structure damage and have the bathroom closed back up. Now having a mold remediation company come in and clean. They are pulling all the insulation spraying mold killer and wiping the beams and all. Then we are having the crawlspace fully encapsulated and dehumidified. Its costing an ass load of money, but I think my 2 year old son is worth it. That and if we ever resale its adding alot of value to our house.

 

[XJsavage]

Keep us updated on how the remediation goes. The company I work for does remediation and I've put my years in to it. There's a proper way to do everything.
Excellent decision on having the crawlspace encapsulated and dehu in place. Keep the ground moisture out and humidity below 55% and you won't have to worry about mold and pest problem will decrease by a lot (believe it or not). Pics of encapsulation please. I helped pioneer full encapsulation techniques in the southeast.