would you ask fof your home inspection fee back?

[bigteamug]

So, our home inspector wasn't great, but this latest thing is the last straw. We have a brick column holding up a small roof over the rear door. We knew it had settled, and the inspector looked at it, but when I had a contractor out yesterday and he pushed it a little, it moved. If it falls over it could really hurt (or maybe worse) someone. And the roof could then come down. Things the inspector missed: carpenter ants (they have a pest certification), 2 leaky faucets, water issues in basement, possible rot in the rim joist, uninspected/unpermitted electrical panel replacment, and now this. And the repair won't be cheap.

I doubt I could get much of the actual cost out of him, but is it worth asking for our fee of $500 back? It would help, at least. We bought in June, I doubt that anything would have changed so much that it would suddenly become that unstable - I think he just never pushed on it.

What would y'all do?

[Mama Mko]

I think it's very hard to get money back from inspectors. Do you have the paperwork you had with him? Does it say anything about him not being responsible for things you might find in the future?

I think it sucks and I'm sorry!

[busymama77]

Originally Posted by rebeccajo

I think it's very hard to get money back from inspectors. Do you have the paperwork you had with him? Does it say anything about him not being responsible for things you might find in the future?

I think it sucks and I'm sorry!

I agree. I would investigate this further as we just went through 3 home inspections ourselves. Two for one home that we put a contract on, another for the home that we ended up buying and just closed on and another for our house that we sold. The inspector that worked on our old house missed obvious things that we thought for SURE that he was going to see. It's amazing how different they all can be - it makes me wonder if they all go by specific guidelines and how one company can charge X amount of $ and the other can be cheaper. Who knows. The whole process is frustrating and I'm sorry you're having to deal with this!

[luv-my-boys]

some of it might depend on your states regulations. My BIL is a home inspector and is licensed by his state. He indeed can be held liable for *missed* items in terms of his licensing be revoked or have notations on made on it. However he lives in a state that has strick inspector regulations. Depending on the severity and the obvious/negligence factor and what your contract states than you might have a recourse in small claims court.

[phatchristy]

Well, what I would do is most definitely look at your contract and see what it says.

After that, there are definitely gov't licensing departments which can be contacted. Your state/county likely has to license this guy and he should have to address any complaints.