Fascia & Soffits

[RemitAdvice]

VA

I closed on my home in May. My inspection was performed in April. Over the weekend, during some heavy rains, the gutters on the front of my house fell off.

So I scrambled up onto the roof to see what the heck was going on and I can see and feel that the fascia and soffits are rotten. Soffits are plywood.

I reviewed my home inspection report and the section titled 'fascia & soffits' lists the description of such and then has a question listed 'Damaged' where the inspector entered a response of 'No'.

Would it be possible that such extensive rot (they're gross, truly) would have taken place over a period of four months? My area has also had extremely dry weather over the summer, with it raining only recently.

Would the inspector and related company, be liable to fix the damage or at least refund the cost of the inspection?

Can anyone give me a heads up on what my next steps should be? It will be fixed before the winter gets here and probably in the next week or so...I don't want any additional damage now that I know it's there and I'm pretty handy and could probably fix it myself, with some assistance...but I'm no Bob Vila, and would really like to have it corrected by a professional, if possible.

I've searched some threads around here with similar issues, and they general consensus seems to be that the inspector is liable...

 

[Mass_Shyster]

VA

I closed on my home in May. My inspection was performed in April. Over the weekend, during some heavy rains, the gutters on the front of my house fell off.

So I scrambled up onto the roof to see what the heck was going on and I can see and feel that the fascia and soffits are rotten. Soffits are plywood.

I reviewed my home inspection report and the section titled 'fascia & soffits' lists the description of such and then has a question listed 'Damaged' where the inspector entered a response of 'No'.

Would it be possible that such extensive rot (they're gross, truly) would have taken place over a period of four months? My area has also had extremely dry weather over the summer, with it raining only recently.

Would the inspector and related company, be liable to fix the damage or at least refund the cost of the inspection?

Can anyone give me a heads up on what my next steps should be? It will be fixed before the winter gets here and probably in the next week or so...I don't want any additional damage now that I know it's there and I'm pretty handy and could probably fix it myself, with some assistance...but I'm no Bob Vila, and would really like to have it corrected by a professional, if possible.

I've searched some threads around here with similar issues, and they general consensus seems to be that the inspector is liable...

The agreements I've seen with home inspectors generally disclaim any liability for missed defects. The rationale behind that is that they are giving the house a quick once-over to find any major defects. A visual inspection will not disclose many defects. It was necessary for you to climb a ladder and poke and prod the wood to see that it was rotted. The inspector's argument will be that if you wanted him to climb the ladder and poke and prod at every piece of wood, and attempt to locate every possible defect, the cost of the inspection would have been ten times what you paid.

 

[RemitAdvice]

But he did get up onto the roof and inspect it. By noting that the fascia and soffits weren't damaged, wouldn't that mean he inspected them??

 

[FlyingRon]

While he might have detected it if he jammed a screwdriver or something into the wood, a visual inspection may not find any rot. As stated, even if he should have found it, you're not likely to get anywhere with the inspector as their liability is pretty limited base as Steveh pointed out. You'd have to show the homeowner knew about and didn't disclose (fairly difficult) to recover from them. Houses are sold "as is."

End of legal advice. Usually such rot is due to failure to maintain the gutters (leaving leaves piled up in them, etc...) so that the boards are kept wet. The damaged soffits/fascia need to be replace. Frankly, I'd use a fiber cement (such as HardieBoard) which will eliminate having to worry about it in the future and eliminate painting worries. There are plastic (Vinyl and PVC) solutions as well, but I've got the Hardie stuff and it looks and performs well.

 

[RemitAdvice]

House was purchased as a short sale, as-is condition.

I just don't understand how it can be possible that the HI is not responsible. They were to inspect the home. They noted that there was no damage to the F & S, that there was no water damage to the roof whatsoever...and four months later, here I am, the crap is rotting off the roof.

On a side note, the home sat vacant for almost two years before I moved in. When I climbed onto the roof, there was no debris in the gutters, just shingle gravel. I plan on building a front porch in the spring, so i don't want to put mega bucks into a repair that will be undone next spring, but it's definitely something to think about for the rear of the house.

 

[FlyingRon]

House was purchased as a short sale, as-is condition.

Houses are, with few exceptions, always sold "as is." It is implied unless there's a specific warranty given.

I just don't understand how it can be possible that the HI is not responsible.

Your contract with them says so. You think for $300 or whatever you pay them, you get some sort of warranty that they found everything and will cover anything they didn't? Nope, not going to happen. The most you'll recover is probably the fee you paid them, if that.

 

[HomeGuru]

House was purchased as a short sale, as-is condition.

I just don't understand how it can be possible that the HI is not responsible. They were to inspect the home. They noted that there was no damage to the F & S, that there was no water damage to the roof whatsoever...and four months later, here I am, the crap is rotting off the roof.

On a side note, the home sat vacant for almost two years before I moved in. When I climbed onto the roof, there was no debris in the gutters, just shingle gravel. I plan on building a front porch in the spring, so i don't want to put mega bucks into a repair that will be undone next spring, but it's definitely something to think about for the rear of the house.

**A: if the rot was hidden behind the gutters, then the home inspector is not responsible. Call the home inspector back to take a look.