I met with returning clients who plan to trade up in 2012 to begin the planning. First, I reviewed their last purchase. Did they like the property? Was there anything there that they would like to avoid in the future? Did they like their team: the inspector, the lender, the attorney?

Kudos for the condo. It served them well. It was a new reconstruction. The quality has held up well, with one exception. They blame the inspector, not the builder, for their unhappiness. Here’s what happened:

During the home inspection, the inspector noted that the hot air heating system also ran the air conditioning. The ducts were near the floor, upstairs, on the bedrooms level. The ducts were in the ceiling on main floor. The furnace was in the eaves on the top level. Because heat rises, the main level could be drafty in the winter, the inspector said. He suggested that fans might help.

My clients were never happy with the heat on the main level of the condo. Fans didn’t help. Although the inspector identified the problem, they think that he under-reported it. When they buy again, they will be using a different inspector.

I am curious about whether you agree that the inspector made a mistake by not stressing more about how the heating system, as designed, would be drafty.