Home Warranties and Inspections - need a good home inspector

I'm thinking of putting an offer on a foreclosed home in Westchester, NY. There is water damage in the kitchen. The siding looks really bad. The basement has puddles of water. I need a home inspector that will accurately tell me the causes of these and any other problems that the home has.

And do home inspectors usually guarantee their work? So that they pay for all expenses for anythign they missed. For instance if they missed mold, bad pipes, broken heating system, etc.

Also, how much does this cost? It's a single family split level hoem with 1600 sq feet. Oil heating. Has a fireplace.

Thanks!

A good inspector will do a very good job of helping you evaluate your purchase. Unfortunately, determining that the one you select is a good one is more difficult. There is a long list of certifications that inspectors can obtain, check this site for a list: Home Inspector - InterNACHI: home inspection/inspector (http://www.nachi.org/)

As for their insurance covering anything missed, it would typically cover negligence or bad mistakes. There can always be hidden problems and you can't rely on the inspectors insurance bailing you out. Check with your insurance company before you purchase to make sure they will issue coverage.

Why banks and lenders allow these home to set and become serious problems is beyond me. Make sure they are not hanging THEIR problems around YOUR neck.

Bud

Thanks for the advice!

What did you mean by:

Check with your insurance company before you purchase to make sure they will issue coverage.


Home owner's insurance can cover these things? Or is there another type of insurance that will?

The "king" of home inspection is the American Society of Home Inspectors" (ASHI). They have been involved in training, inpector certification and their tests are the guides for the tests administered by many states. They have various levels of memberships and the real criteria is a documented history of experience, number of inspections that some states require for certification. They have very firm policies about also being a contractor and conducting any work on projects inspected and require an inspector to give a list of qualified specialists/contracts (3 preferred).

Some "certifying" groups even have a on simplistic on-line test that is almost impossible to fail, but you can always get anther try and long as you pay the cheap annual dues.

If your state has a certification program for your protection, make the sure the inspector is certified by the state and has over 250 documented inspections.

The inspection is actually a visual inspection of what can be seen and frequently problems can be hidden by storage or other items since the potential buyer and the inspector are just guests in the property currently owned by someone. A good experienced inspector can see around suspect areas and look at other things like stains, cracks in adjacent areas, etc. It is not a "code" inspection since many of the items may have been legal at the time of installation, but to to point out problems (safety, future expected problems, major future expenditures based on current age and expected life). Some inspectors may be specialists (HVAC, structural engineers, mechanicalor other?). If a specialist needs to be consulted for more details the items should be noted.

Not all systems can be shut down or tested because of the huge liability (shutting off power to a computer or an oxygen generation system, resetting many items, etc.), considering the low prices. Some items may fail (like pressure temperature valve on a hot water safety valve) after trying to turn them back on. All that can be done is to make sure it is there, there is no leakage or corrosion and the the discharge is proper. unthreaded and has adequate clearance.

The home inspection is far cheaper than hiring a specialist that may also be trying to sell and future job, so the home inspections is good to have for the $300 to $500 it costs since it also goes to safety and expects major costs.

Many smart sellers are getting "pre-listing" inspections from the best/experienced/ toughest inspector around before listing and preparing for sale. The seller then owns the confidential report and the inspector wil not be allowed to inspect the same property again because of the legal conflict.

Do not always go with the inspector the realtor suggests, but look at the experience, association certification and state certification. Some realtor will suggest an easy inspector that lets things ride through, while other may list a good experienced inspector with all credentials. A good realtor will provide a "suggested" list of at least 3 inspectors, but you can always look elsewhere.

Because of the low cost of an inspection you cannot expect a great deal of liability inspection based reflected by the insurance costs, no matter how many inspections have been conducted, since a typical major problem involves a "shot-gun" approach of anyone remotely involved.

I have done over 500 inspections part-time in 3 states and not a member of an association and would much rather spend my time on problems, by doing some forensic engineering/inspection of current problems and being an expert witness when required.

Dick

When a home has a history of mold, you cannot be certain an insurance company will issue a policy. Since Katrina, they have been taking a tighter look at why/how the mold gets started and using language that covers them, not you.

Check first
Bud

After 5 months in LA and MS after Katrina as a loss verifier (not adjuster), I saw many examples of mold and moisture problems covered up by bleach, sprays and drywall.

One of the most rediculous things was the failure to renail the the joints with the proper nails. Everything looked wonderful on the outside, but not renailing was far to common. Few used a proper corrosion resistant fastener when the wood was still wet on the interior. The moisture just kept working since wood in place will never dry for many months or years even if protected. This was almost criminal in the areas that were soaked in water for a week or two (especially salt or brackish water). A sure temporary fix for a while.

Even the some old homes in Gulfport, MS that survived Camille were gone after Katrina and there were little signs of any renailing or original nails that lasted. The old growth wood hanging in the trees was easily salvaged and probably used for other buildings. Katrina had a higher surge, but othe building came through much better.

Dick

After 5 months in LA and MS after Katrina as a loss verifier (not adjuster), I saw many examples of mold and moisture problems covered up by bleach, sprays and drywall.

One of the most rediculous things was the failure to renail the the joints with the proper nails. Everything looked wonderful on the outside, but not renailing was far to common. Few used a proper corrosion resistant fastener when the wood was still wet on the interior. The moisture just kept working since wood in place will never dry for many months or years even if protected. This was almost criminal in the areas that were soaked in water for a week or two (especially salt or brackish water). A sure temporary fix for a while.

Even the some old homes in Gulfport, MS that survived Camille were gone after Katrina and there were little signs of any renailing or original nails that lasted. The old growth wood hanging in the trees was easily salvaged and probably used for other buildings. Katrina had a higher surge, but othe building came through much better.

Dick

Are you saying that mold is easily fixed with bleach and new dry walling?

You notice he said "covered up"? I think what he meant was that they would spray bleach to kill surface mold, then laminate new drywall over the old. Or that they would rip out old, spray the interior with bleach then put up new. Not the proper way to remove mold.

I helped advise on a mold issue where we suspect the previous owner simply washed and repainted over a bad mold problem. Sold it, took the money and ran. The new owners started battling small mold issues immediately, but thought it was normal in high humidity. Within 6 months the mold had exploded to a toxic point and they had to move out. Contacted their insurance company and were told, YOU get it tested and send us the report and then we will decide if it is a coverable occurrence. That answer was after a month of dragging their feet, so you can guess what the house looked like. The closest the got to an estimate was almost half of what they paid for the house. I believe there was action they could have taken, but they were already broke, and lawyers don't work for free, unless it is a tobacco lawsuit.

Bud

You aren't trying to purchase a home inspection, you are trying to purchase an unlimited warranty against anything which may be wrong with a trashed out property, and no home inspector in their right mind will take you up on that proposition.

These foreclosures are often a nightmare to inspect: frequently the utilities are off, in my climate they may have been through one or more unheated winters, which practically guarantees the when the house is reoccupied, heated and cooled, and returned to the moisture levels typical of an occupied property that movements in structural elements and finish materials will be causing problems for months thereafter, it's usually impossible to establish even basic facts about the history of the structure (for example, was it ever oil heated), and given vandalism and weather related damage there is a very good chance there will be substantial changes in property condition between the inspection and close of the sale (which can be months and sometimes more than a year in the case of REO properties).

What you can reasonably expect from an inspection under these conditions is that the inspector will identify and document as many major defects as possible in the time available, at such inspections I'm concentrating almost entirely on identifying defects that require big dollar repairs, can reasonably be expected to result in such repairs, or a significant health and safety risks. - there is just no way I have the time to carefully inspect for and document defects I might be observing and reporting in an occupied home in better condition. Given the constraints under which I'm inspecting, my goal was not to identify everything that's wrong with the house, my goal is to identify the problems that a client may consider a deal killer.

The analog I would use is this, having such an inspection performed is a lot like taking a high mileage ratty looking used car to good mechanic: they can tell you a compression test shows that the rings on two cylinders are shot, that you have to toss all four rotors and at least two caliper assemblies along with McPherson struts, that two out of three engine mounts are shot, and that the alignment is shot as well... but in the a half hour the mechanic has got the car up on the lift, it's quite possible he won't notice that the catalytic converters is missing entirely, and someone has stuck a piece of exhaust pipe in it's place - especially if everything down there is rusted and mud splattered.

The important thing is that the mechanic did the compression test, because for you that's a deal killer "I can deal with the other stuff, but it's not worth rebuilding the engine".

Same way when I'm inspected a trashed out foreclosure, you need to know that the heating system froze up over the water, and the baseboard convectors have had big hunks blown out of them, but don't get upset if I don't discover that there is a hairline crack in the trap for the second floor bath - because there is just no way I'm going to be able to discover every defect - or even every defect that could significantly affect property condition and value - at such a property in the time available at such an inspection, in fact I may not even spot the broken rafter in corner the attic, because in my limited time up there a I'm whole lot more concerned such questions as whether the masonry chimney is so badly eroded that the whole thing is going to have to get replaced, and not only to roof level but probably somewhere down the middle of the second floor to find structurally sound brick supports replacement. That kind of masonry work is a big dollar repair, sistering a cracked rafter, not so much.

And just like the mechanic, I'm providing no warranty about what may happen when you drive the car out of the shop, or when we close the front door and walk back to our cars.

Not trying to be harsh but IMO if you need a home inspector to tell you what is wrong with the house, maybe you should look at houses that don't have anything wrong with them. Any home inspector can only tell you what he sees and give you his opinion on what is the cause.