Are secondary inspections worth it?
When I wrote about buyers walking away due to major defects, Lance commented:
REALmaven's comment [about sellers who deny inspector’s results] brings up a great point. Many sellers convince themselves that there is no problem and therefore no need to disclose. Some may go so far as to hire experts (i.e. shills) to corroborate their story…
As a buyer, good luck going after sellers for undisclosed defects after closing. Sure, you may have the legal right to sue. But get ready for a time consuming, expensive headache... One which is seldom cost effective (the lawyers are usually the only winners in these cases).
The best advice is to thorough due diligence on the property you are considering, ask probing questions (in writing) to both the REALTOR(TM!) and the sellers, and treat the sale as final. Buyer beware.
Last Sunday morning, before I set out to parking-Hell called “winter open houses,” I saw this in my email. Inman News writer, Barry Stone wrote about undisclosed house problems. Mr. Stone lays out who carries the blame, but doesn’t tell the new homeowner how to get a good outcome.
The best defense is a good offense (OK, I wrote this on February 6.) The goal is to find the big-ticket problems before you purchase a house. The typical home buyer will need help.
Here is the line-up:
1. If you know about houses, look at the big-ticket items before making your offer. Bring a friend who knows about houses. Hire an agent capable of helping you with this.
2. Your home inspector should know more about houses than you, your friend or your agent. All inspectors have the same licensing and are required to check the same list of things, but they are as varied in skill as real estate agents. Good screening #1. Good inspection #2.
3. Inspectors are generalists. Some inspectors know houses and write reports that will inform a new homeowner what he/she will face in repairs. Some are too busy “saving deals” to tell the truth. I have seen home inspection reports that look like this: “the water heater is older, have it inspected by a plumber.” (Bad. This inspector is too timid to write, “the water heater is beyond its lifespan, expect to replace in the near future.”)
4. The best inspectors also know what they don’t know. An inspector can identify a mal-functioning flue. He/she can also separate a simple problem – like a stuck damper latch – from a dangerous or expensive one that requires a mason’s opinion.
5. Sometimes, the house is worth the cost of the next level of investigation and estimates by an engineer (foundation or framing), a mason (flue or structure), a carpenter (structural wood damage), a plumber (brass piping) and electrician (knob and tube wiring.) Evaluations cost money and sometimes estimates do, too. Some houses are worth it, some aren’t.
Did you get estimates or have further inspections when you bought? Would you advise a buyer to pay for an engineer or other specialist?
