Ok Here it goes.
I did call the inspector this morning. Introduced myself as the owner of the house he inspected last week. At first stated he cannot talk about the property per legal issues, but I assured him I was just concerned about the potentialy dangerous concerns and wanted to hear from him and not through 2 realtors. He said to ask any question and he will do his best to answer.
1st Question:
We start with the gas leak in the basement. I tell him I was informed of multiple leaks near the meter and immediatly called michcon. Within 2 hours of his call myself and 3 field techs on site no one was able to confirm any gas leak. Could he please explain to me how he came to this conclusion. Was I in the wrong location of the leak?
His answer: Your house was full of gas. We smelled it as soon as we walked down into the basement. Yes there were 5 leaks at the meter. I can’t tell you how many times I have to come back and show michcon where the leaks are at. He said he uses a methane sniffer? If you have any concerns you should call a qualified prof.
2nd Question:
I was told my whole house is ungrounded and electrical box not up to code.
His answer: That is wrong, In my report I stated that the garage is not grounded properly.
My reply , was that this concern that was not explained to me correctly and I will look into that.
3rd Question:
The roof is 2-4 years old. I just had a new roof installed 33 days ago?
His answer: I look into the gutter to see how much shingle debris is there.
( Also I’m not shure exactly) some sort of test on the shingle? He said 3d shingles are hard to acurately tell there age. He also noted the vents were not new.
My reply: You are correct the roofer did not use new vents? But they function fine. We also replaced many boards underneath the shingles.
Again he said: If you have any concerns please call in a qualified prof.
I thanked him for taking the time to answer my questions.
At this point the buyer is moving forward with the sale. I don’t feel like pursuing any more issues with this H.I. I know his name and will be on the lookout for him in the future. I do feel he is a subpar H.I. but that is my opinion. I’m glad I took everyones advice and called him. He did say a few good things.
If you have any concerns please call a qualified prof. Yes, you are right about that.
I wish I bumped into more sellers like yourself. You seemed to handle the issues professionally and in a calm and collected maner. It sounds as though the sale will go forward and you can move on to your next project and or home.
Good luck in the future and thanks for sharing your experience with us…
You didn’t say that you actually viewed the report. Strange that the buyer didn’t relay that to you. I would certainly ask for a copy. I don’t know which state you are in, but if you are in a state that requires licensing, you may want to speak with the licensing board after you view the report. In NC, for instance, ANYONE can file a complaint against a home inspector with the licensing board (Realtor, seller, buyer, home builder, etc.).
Dean
I am new to the post but not new to Michigan. The state of Michigan does not have any licensing and so the industry in our state is not regulated; more self-monitored. The fact that you will avoid this inspector in the future and probably get others to do as well works faster to clean out the bad one’s than waiting for the state to do it. You handled yourself very well and that is why the buyers are going ahead with the sale. If he used a methane sniffer but smelled gas “as soon as we walked into the basement”, than that smell does not go away with as many leaks as you said he described, and you would have detected it. Keep up the rehabs…not all inspectors in the state are like that.
Dean
Another way that you can possibly address this situation and avoid any problems like this is to hire a HI yourself that you are confident in and have him perform a pre-listing inspection for you. By doing this you will have access to the report, as well as any recommendations or concerns that came up during the inspection process and can address them accordingly before the property gets listed. Also what some HI’s do is create a “summary” report of the property that has been inspected, and you can also advertise that the property has a current home inspection already performed. What I do is also offer a “walk around” with any potential serious buyers for a fee, and go through the inspection report with them
The best thing to do is to turn the system off. I can’t believe so many people here put so much stock into little green and red boxes. Yes, talk about childish. Seems like if one were to get busy doing some persistent and consistent marketing, one could buy green and red boxes at the store with all the money one makes.