My new to me home was inspected in April and purchased in June. The inspection found various small issues: heat pump not working, receptical not working, popped nail in roof- all of which the previous owner fixed. It’s now five months later. Following a full day of rain (nearly two inches), the bathroom ceiling is leaking. Proceeding to the attic through the garage access, I find a 5 gallon yellow construction bucket underneath the roof vent cap just above the bathroom which has overflowed with water. A bucket. A bright yellow bucket. Under a roof vent cap. The inspection noted a popped nail, but not a neon alert in the attic?? After reviewing the inspection again, the attic was given a clean bill. Wouldn’t a 5 gallon yellow bucket draw reasonable suspicion? It could have saved me from now having to replace the bathroom ceiling. Can I sue the inspector? Can I send his report along with my findings to local real estate agents to demonstrate inspection quality?
Based on your description alone, it sounds as though your inspection was negligent and deficient (a bucket in the attic is a big, red, flag). However, it’s important to read the report carefully to determine if there were any factors that prevented the inspector from being able to adequately inspect that space (e.g., a vehicle in the garage that prevented the inspector from accessing that attic space, stored items in the attic, etc.). If that is the case, the situation and what areas that were not/could not be inspected should be clearly identified in the report.
Review your report and if there is nothing stating that the relevant area could not be inspected you should contact your inspector. What recourse you may have will depend on the regulations for the state that you’re in and your inspection service agreement. You may also have recourse with the seller for failure to disclose a known problem with the house.
The previous homeowner probably put it there, was it on the disclosure?
Thank you both from Indiana. There were two questions asked: was this noted on the inspection report, and was this on the homeowners disclosure. The answer is no to both questions. The inspection report gave a clean bill to the attic. As the house was vacant at the time, I watched the inspector enter and exit the scuttle hole. Additionally the homeowners disclosure did not include this notation.
Two questions were posed in the replies (Thank you from Indiana) to which the answer for both is no. No there was no indication on the inspection. No there was no inclusion on the disclosure.
The response from the inspector is as follows: “After reviewing your report, we would have noted a bucket in the attic and pictures are taken if something like that this in the attic. We have no pictures and are unsure of when it was actually put in the attic.”
Who would I contact now to file a complaint please?