Putting cosmetic items in your inspections

As far as cosmetics are concerned, it depends on the home and situation. If the client is CONSTANTLY looking over my shoulder, or I bump into him every time I turn around, I give them the painters tape and “ask” for their help to mark cosmetic problems they have already noticed. HE HE HE. I have not had a client refuse. They are happy to do so.

Now, having said that, AFTER my inspection, I go by and look at painters tape marked defects and discuss with the client as to how severe they are. Running paint, missing paint, small cracks on a brand new home are left. Older homes are taken off with a smile to the effect of “If you are looking for perfection in the building industry, I don’t think you are ever going to find what you are looking for.”

I just got through looking at a home in a rual area of Alabama that did not have one building permit. No one has looked at the home prior to me going…in the condition that it was in, neither did the contractor. I am meeting there this morning to “discuss” the inspection report with the builder. The client made the inside of the home look like it had chicken pox. Every one of her marked cosmetic issues were legit. Found out afterwards that the contractor painted and patched the walls himself (no sanding what so ever) and that this was a cash deal. No R.E. needed or wanted.

That would be my PREMIUM inspection.

I wouldn’t piss in a builder’s face like that even if I offered an Oober Spectacular Fantastic Kawabunga inspection.

How many paint chips, wall gouges or other cosmetic items should be allowed in a BRAND NEW HOUSE? :shock:

Hi Kev,

How’s the ticker?

Granted, it’s tough to really tell what’s being taped in those pics but the point is many homeowner’s go freaking crazy with tape and expect perfection. Generally speaking, anything visible from six feet, standing perpendicular to the wall, under normal lighting conditions should be fixed. If you’re up against the wall using a flash light at an angle to see a paint variation, you need to be slapped around a bit.

The ticker is doing just fine. I’ve pretty much narrowed it down to excessive alcohol as my trigger. Avoid that and I don’t have any problems whatsoever.

I only do cosmetics on new construction, and then I am careful to notice dings, missing nail hole putty etc. In my opinion, when buying a new home, one has the right to have things as close to perfection as is humanly possible.

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That’s a ridiculous expectation and also extremely subjective.

I include cosmetic defects only as an informational comment only. If there is a cosmetic defect (like carpet dirty or substandard drywall work) that warrants futher inspection I recommend it.

New construction I use a six foot rule. If you can’t see it from six feet away, I don’t call it out. I am not going to scour the walls, floors and ceiling for minute defects. If it is new construction, I give the client a roll of blue painters tape and let them go to town. I understand Kevin’s point of view especially with his new business but NEW is NEW. It is not new with defects. Then the choice is, do you walk away or do you put up with it.

If I see a scratch on something I want to buy, I won’t buy it, if for nothing other than the simple reason is I know it is there and I will always know it is there and I will see it every time I pass the item.

For existing homes, I don’t mention minor cosmetics issues. Actual holes in doors or walls, yes. Single nail pops, no… multiple in same room, yes. Cracks around windows or doors, depends. You have to get a feel for the client’s needs or expectations. It does not take any longer to check one narrative than it does to check another.

I won’t either but there’s a difference between buying a machine manufactured consumer product like an ipod and a product that is hand built, collaboratively by multiple different people at different times, like a house.

Don’t get me wrong, defects are defects and they should be corrected but the expected quality of a home shouldn’t be compared to the expected quality of an ipod. By no means should a builder be expected to build a house “as close to perfection as humanly possible”.

Would this be cosmetic???

15270 W Elm 9-29-09 019.JPG

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No. That’s poor workmanship. (What country was he from? Persia? :mrgreen:)

You gotta great memory Joe. :mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:

Personally I do not feel that I should be wasting my time with those issues.

Give your client a roll of tape and give them something to do while you’re inspecting the house!

I will often stick a piece of tape on a defect, but it never goes in the report!
If I do it once, I be expected to do it again sometime.

It seems to me that I read somewhere that we are to report on “significant deficiencies” and I don’t see a bad paint job as a significant deficiency on the interior of the house.

By the way, I have never been asked to identify or document deficiencies like this. In 12 years, the house is usually polkadotted with tape before I arrive or the client is there doing it at the same time I’m inspecting.

There are things that appear cosmetic, such as i improper tile grouting against the bathtub or shower. Water infiltration will destroy the sub floor and walls and cause mold growth on the interior of the finished walls, so that is really not a cosmetic deficiency to begin with.

IMO when to comment on “cosmetic” issues is largely a function of their possible financial implications.

For example when I encounter damaged/missing vinyl siding I mention in my reports that even if replacement material is still available sometimes the remaining siding will have faded sufficiently so that the new material will not match, and that if this is the case repair will always have a “patched” appearance. I think that’s something my client will want to know, and something the average person is not likely to be aware of.

In these situations however IMO the report should at a minimum also state clearly that this is a cosmetic issue - that if properly installed the new siding will not be significantly deficient in functional terms - and in my reports I go the extra step of breaking out such comments into a separate “FYI” category to make this distinction clear.

I think it a good idea to add basic cosmetic inspections to the list. I am not a punch out man but many of the items a municipal inspector on a new construction inspection will not include such as testing drains, checking windows for proper opening and closing, etc. But one thing I think is a problem is mixing cosmetic in with the ICC, state or local codes. I dedicate the first part of my report to codes including code section. It is important to let the homeowner understand the difference.