What are the options for a homeowner who discovered 3 months post inspection that the house purchased has aluminum wiring instead of the “copper” wiring listed on the home inspection report - the homeowner purchased prior to act of sale.
Ok - I hear the ugh out there - mistakes happen - but what if it was your mom in this scenario?
First you need to call your Home Inspector and your agent then call a lawyer.
It’s the weekend - agent called and will discuss on Monday - but can one negotiate without lawyers? Seems like the only ones that win in a situation like this are lawyers…
By the way - Thanks for your honest response.
Thats why I said to call the Home Inspector first. Everyone makes mistakes and us HI’s are not infallable.
I wish you the best.
Thanks -
One more question - what would be a reasonable response from the home inspection company which by the way is an ASHI member? I understand if you feel you can’t answer that.
No Inspector without being there could answer that question.
Why would that be? It seems pretty straight forward - 2000 sq.ft house on a slab - nothing fancy - pretty typical construction for this area - except the wiring -
I can not see it so how can I judge it?
Got it - thanks again -
Ann, look at your pre-inspection agreement (contract with the inspector). Often, this spells out a course of action in the event a dispute arises.
Typically, the inspector reserves the right to be contacted within a certain amount of time of the discovery, and is allowed a certian reasonable amount of time to review the complaint.
After that, there may be a limitation of liability clause in your agreement which would also help direct the way your negotiations may go.
Many inspectors also cary Errors and Omissions insurance for exactly this reason (we are not infallible) and that may also enter into this discussion at some point.
In the end, if your inspector gives you satisfaction, you will likely reach an agrement with him. If not, consulting an attorney is probably your next course of action.
Thanks - good advice - not a easy thing to have happen - for the inspector or the home owner - Appreciate the time you took to write the response.
Hey Ann,
There are hundreds of thousands of residential structures throughout the country and world wired with Aluminum Wiring. They continue to be purchased, sold, rented, leased, remodeled, lived in and enjoyed just like homes without Aluminum Wiring. I can’t remember a single occasion where Aluminum Wiring killed the deal. You should be aware of it and maintain it like several other components and or systems within residential structures.
Were you present during the inspection? Did you speak verbally with the inspector during the inspection and or specifically regarding the service panel and or electrical wiring systems? Is it possible the dead front cover of the existing service panel was not removed for access or safety reasons? For example, if an FPE, Zinsco and or Sylvania service panel were present I wouldn’t pull the dead front cover. I’ve had two prior occasion where arching and damage occured by doing so. If it’s a remodeled structure, looking at the outlets does not always give us a true indication of what basic wiring system is in use throughout the entire structure.
My point is, none of us online inspectors can have a true understanding of the circumstances since we weren’t there, don’t have all the facts and or don’t have all sides of the story.
I’m guessing if you liked the property, you’d probably go forward with the purchase regardless of Aluminum Wiring. You may have tried to ask for some compensation from the seller, but in all the cases I’ve been involved in the answer is always, “NO”…
Hi Ann,
I’d like to say that I and I’m sure others, appreciate that you are attempting to research this and find an equitable solution to this issue, rather than just jumping into suing the home inspector in this situation. I think that is a fair and responsible position to take. Thank you and good luck.
~Wendy
](http://www.inspectorwendy.com)
I’ve read all the other responses. What we also don’t know here is what does “has aluminum wiring” mean?
My home “has aluminum wiring,” but it is multistrand wiring, which has no problems associated with it other than using anti-oxidant paste on the exposed ends.
Also, we don’t know the conditions at the time of the inspection.
I had a house several years ago that had so much garbage and filth on the property that I couldn’t get to the electric panel, so I disclaimed it. Of course, the buyers moved in, did some remodeling, and found that the house had aluminum wiring. They called me and I reminded them of the conditions at the time of the inspection and told them to look at Figure 327 in their inspection report, which was a picture of the electric panel from 20 feet away since that’s as close as I could get. I then asked them if they followed my recommendation in Item #592 for “further evaluation of the electrical system by a licensed electrician before close of escrow”? Nope. Case closed.
So there’s so much that we don’t know here that it would be impossible for us to answer outside of a general recommendation like contacting the home inspector first and foremost.
Hi Ann
How was the aluminum wiring discovered 3 months after the sale?
The first thought I had on Ann’s orginal post was the report said copper which makes me think "did the inspector actually check the branch wiring in the home? or for that matter the MDP or the SDP’s? or did he use a checklist and made a mistake by checking the wrong box? or was there a combination of copper and alum. branch wiring with the majority of branch wiring being copper and not noted? Those would be questions I would be asking the inspector and if they said they did, photos would be the proof if taken.
Thanks for your comments - I was present at the end of the inspection - my realtor -was there for all of it - and I have contacted her. The house hasn’t been remodeled relative to wiring - and one would think if the inspector couldn’t determine wiring type - it would have been stated so in the report - The report clearly states that the internal wiring is copper. It isn’t a check mark but a description. Whether it is a deal breaker or not is somewhat of a mute point since there wasn’t the option of deciding or discussing this - I know there are many homes across the united states with aluminum wiring - but it is no longer acceptable by code for good reasons. Purchasing a home with aluminum wiring needs to be considered thoughtfully - as there are many potental issues down the road. Annual electrical inspections are strongly recommended to prevent house fires for one.
The aluminum wiring issue was discovered when I had my handy man change out a light fixture that broke. At which point I started looking at the outlets etc - which all appear to be aluminum. I have also talked since to my neighbors which state that the developer in this area indeed used aluminum wiring.
It may have been one of those “oops” errors - but now I feel like I am left holding a bag of goods that isn’t what I paid for. Having come from a family of firemen - I would have been more than leary about proceeding with this sale had I known the internal wiring was aluminum instead of copper.
On Monday - I will discuss this further with my realtor who uses this inspection company often to agree on a course of action. I really do appreciate all your responses - as I would like to determine a reasonable solution to this problem for both parties - Since it is a national company - one would assume there is an errors and omissions policy - under which this may fall.
Thanks again for the comments.