If a lending agency orders an indoor home inspection and the inspector states, without going on roof, that the roof has catastrophic failure, with no internal signs of leaks, no staining, but due to this comment in report, the loan falls through. can the home inspector be held liable for commenting on an item that was not requested on the inspection request?
Well, was the roof in a state of failure?
And what is he liable for? What are the damages?
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sounds like he might have done someone a big favor…
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I would think something like structure in the attic may play a part in it.
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What EXACTLY did the Inspector state in the report, and how did he/she come to that conclusion??
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You are on the wrong forum. You need a legal forum. Of course lawyers don’t give free advice. They say, “You get what you pay for.”
What have you gotten?
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Something tells me we arent hearing back from this one…We are missing alot of the story that she doesnt want to spill.
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They never went in the attic either.
Not if he’s right.
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Jeffrey Jonas, please don’t make assumptions of people you know nothing about
Yes You are hearing back from me.
There was a leak on one part of the roof, where the breezeway and the garage met, which had caused a leak behind the fascia board. The roof had been fixed a year prior and no longer leaked, but the soffit and fascia board had not been repaired, or painted, for it was only a foot long section and house was to be painted once loan was received. There were no other issues with the roof.
The inspector was a 65 year old real estate woman, in a skirt and high heels. She didn’t check the appliances, she didn’t inspect the plumbing, or electrical, never looked in the crawl space, just asked if there was an access, which was pointed out to her and offered a ladder, but she declined.
The Lender specifically stated for Thorough Interior Inspection Only, which she did not perform, but put on report “Roof : Extreme Cautostrophic Failure” with no detailed explanation as to how she came to that conclusion.
The lending company, because of that one statement stated they would only lend the money once the roof was replaced. If there was $20,000 available for a new roof, then tghe loan wouldn’t have been needed.
The loan was to pay off The $13,000 remaining mortgage, because bank didn’t recognize the owner as successor in interest. Been working with lender for 3 months and had less than 30 days before bank was to forclose and auction the property. The Inspection was the last thing the underwriters needed to finalize.
Due to that one false statment, which was uneducated and out of the boundaries of the Inspection, the house was lost to the bank.
My questioin is, unless the Home inspector is a licensed roofer and actually inspects the roof, can she be commenting on the structural integraty of the roof?
My understanding is Inspectors are not to comment on the structural integrity, or there opiniuon of the integrity, just exactly what they see and there suggestion of how to address it, such as," a sqft East sidesection of fascia board and soffit show signs of water damage , to be addressed by having licensed roofer inspect the area in question ."?
I feel she stepped way over the line in that area and lagged greatly in other areas of inspection.
That greatly depends on laws and statutes in your State.
Are you sure the person was an inspector? Perhaps an appraiser? Or maybe they were there to complete some specialized report requested by the lender or loan originator? (In other words, not a traditional home inspection)
This sounds like boiler plate check-box stuff, hard to imagine someone typing that comment for some water stains.
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This is a question about what an inspector is to put in an Inspection report, as far as wording and saying something beyond their scope, while over exagerating the observation.
Yes it may be a legal matter, but I want to know how far is too far in wording, for an inspector.
Though your comment is telling me that no good advice can be sought here because it’s free. Nice to know. I’m sure everybody else feels that there advice is useless, because it’s free, just as you do.
Silly me to assume that this forumn woud get me responses from educated, professional, home inspectors that would be unbiased and helpful in assisting me in understanding when one has gone too far and left themselves liable for a lawsuit.
Maybe all the inspectors on this sight don’t worry about that because they have th release of liability signed prior to inspection and good insurance, but I don’t want to have to rely on that, as an inspector. I want to do things right.
You should probably seek a lawyer with knowledge in real estate.
I believe the first 30 minutes of their time is by law free of charge.
This forum is not the place for your question’s.
They handed me a card that stated they were an inspector, but that’s the problem with CA, there’s no licensing or regulations. Anyone can be an inspector.
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I agree 100%. When the state doesn’t test on knowledge, it’s a stupid thing and they will get stupid results.
Grocery bag packer by day and inspector on the weekend.
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Why do you care about this issue? How are you involved in this? At first, I thought this was an issue you were directly involved with. Now it appears that is not the case. Please clarify.
Here’s your straight answer: There is no liability when an inspector makes a comment about a major issue they observe, even if it’s outside the scope of their work. There is liability if they observe something major and don’t report it, even if it’s outside the scope of their work. What the lender does with that information is the choice of the lender.
I assume “catastrophic failure” was present in the roof. Do you concur to that as fact?
If the person in question is an appraiser, you are on the wrong forum.
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Martin, lol…
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Your original post did not state who you were. No one knows you were/are an inspector. The advice still holds true. You need to consult a lawyer. Words matter and your liability will depend on those words. Only a LAWYER can tell you what liability will be incurred by those words.
Back to the original post. You have a problem right out of the gate since you did not / could not express yourself clearly and completely. Those writing skills are essential to stay out of trouble with a report.
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Your description is not that of a home inspector, but more of either an Appraiser or an insurance type inspector.
You really should try to contact the person that did the “inspection” and ask them why they called the roof out as they did.
If you’re not satisfied with your answer then you should contact an attorney if you feel you have been financially harmed.
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Howe the hell do you get THAT from THIS…?
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