Do I have a case?

[Jamp]

What is the name of your state? South Carolina

I bought my house almost 2 years ago. I had it inspected before I bought it. The inspector was on the recommended list from the realtor. The inspector told me that he would give me a booklet with everything about my house in it.

He did give me a booklet, however, he did not indicate that my house had cloth wrapped wiring that had to be replaced. I ended up paying 5000 to have my house re-wired. This was just months after I bought the house. I had to have it re-wired as the house was not grounded, and it was not up to code. The only mention the inspector gave was of one outlet in the kitchen that was not grounded.

Today, I have learned that my hot water heater is also dangerous and not up to code. The company I hired to replace the heater won't do it unless I move it so it can be put up to code. This will cost me over 1000.

I have checked my 'booklet'. The inspector listed the water heater as Satisfactory. I also checked about the wiring. He listed it as Satisfactory.

What kind of protection does a home buyer have? Are there laws about selling houses not up to code, that could be potentially fire hazards? Or am I just royally screwed?

Thankyou,
Jamp

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state? South Carolina

I bought my house almost 2 years ago. I had it inspected before I bought it. The inspector was on the recommended list from the realtor. The inspector told me that he would give me a booklet with everything about my house in it.

He did give me a booklet, however, he did not indicate that my house had cloth wrapped wiring that had to be replaced. I ended up paying 5000 to have my house re-wired. This was just months after I bought the house. I had to have it re-wired as the house was not grounded, and it was not up to code. The only mention the inspector gave was of one outlet in the kitchen that was not grounded.

Today, I have learned that my hot water heater is also dangerous and not up to code. The company I hired to replace the heater won't do it unless I move it so it can be put up to code. This will cost me over 1000.

I have checked my 'booklet'. The inspector listed the water heater as Satisfactory. I also checked about the wiring. He listed it as Satisfactory.

What kind of protection does a home buyer have? Are there laws about selling houses not up to code, that could be potentially fire hazards? Or am I just royally screwed?

Thankyou,
Jamp

**A: read your inspection agreement. And why did you not contact the inspector immediately at the first sign of problems?

 

[Jamp]

I do not have an inspection agreement. I have never bought a house before. I did not know. And I still would not have 'known' if the contractors to put in the water heater had not told me that I should have contacted a lawyer, and should contact one now.

I guess I'm a stupid consumer who was taken advantage of by crooked real estate agent.

It still seems to me there should be code laws. Could I actually sell this house knowing it is not up to code? I dont' think so, I know I couldn't from my own stand point, as I would feel quilty for the rest of my life.

I wonder how many more people this real estate agent and his 'recommended' inspectors are going to screw, I suppose until someone gets killed in a house fire?

Oh, I should also mention that the mortgage company the real estate agent also recommended, tried to switch insurance companies on me, without my knowledge. I told the mortgage agent who I wanted, and yet, after I'd bought the house, some guy showed up to give an appraisal, when I asked if he was from the insurance company I believed I had, he said no, and when I refused his service, his reply was that he "always does business" with so&so..

I ended up having to pay my house insurance out of pocket because the mortgage company did not list them on the escrow account, even though I told them, more than once. Yes, I did call and the mortgage rep just acted 'surprised', perhaps she was, but then who changed the paper work to reflect a different insurance company?

These people need to be stopped, in my humble opinion!

Jamp

 

[UNCLEBUCK]

Jamp,

So sorry to hear about your problem. I can't give you any advice on this but I can share with you a little of what I have seen. Many 'Home Inspector's' get a great deal of their business from real estate agents. If the inspector finds a huge defect in a house, as he probably did in yours, and tell's the prospective buyer (you in this case), the deal will most likely be blown, along with the agents, and of course Broker's commission. If this happen's ounce or twice, that Home Inspector's name will be off that 'recommended' list in very short order. Combine this with the fact that virtually all Home Inspector's are not liable for defect's that they 'miss', and you have a problem waiting to happen.
And I agree with you. These people do need to be stopped. It's an outrage. Very sadly, it's most likely that they won't be stopped until someone loses their life or is injured very badly.

I wish you the best with this.

 

[HomeGuru]

Jamp,

So sorry to hear about your problem. I can't give you any advice on this but I can share with you a little of what I have seen. Many 'Home Inspector's' get a great deal of their business from real estate agents. If the inspector finds a huge defect in a house, as he probably did in yours, and tell's the prospective buyer (you in this case), the deal will most likely be blown, along with the agents, and of course Broker's commission. If this happen's ounce or twice, that Home Inspector's name will be off that 'recommended' list in very short order.

**A: not true. If that were really the case, there would be no working home inspectors around with many years of experience.
******
Combine this with the fact that virtually all Home Inspector's are not liable for defect's that they 'miss', and you have a problem waiting to happen.

**A: not true. Where are you getting your information from?
********

And I agree with you. These people do need to be stopped. It's an outrage. Very sadly, it's most likely that they won't be stopped until someone loses their life or is injured very badly.

**A: I agree that bad home inspectors should be shot and left for dead.

 

[UNCLEBUCK]

Jamp,

So sorry to hear about your problem. I can't give you any advice on this but I can share with you a little of what I have seen. Many 'Home Inspector's' get a great deal of their business from real estate agents. If the inspector finds a huge defect in a house, as he probably did in yours, and tell's the prospective buyer (you in this case), the deal will most likely be blown, along with the agents, and of course Broker's commission. If this happen's ounce or twice, that Home Inspector's name will be off that 'recommended' list in very short order.


**A: not true. If that were really the case, there would be no working home inspectors around with many years of experience.
******
Why not? Take a look at Jamp's problem again. Except for people reading this forum, who know's about it? That very inspector is most likely doing an inspection for someone else at this very moment. And maybe the job he's on right now was referred by the very same agent that recommended him to Jamp.

Combine this with the fact that virtually all Home Inspector's are not liable for defect's that they 'miss', and you have a problem waiting to happen.

**A: not true. Where are you getting your information from?
********
Are you saying it is true? I am getting my information from many Home Inspection Co websites, ALL of which fail to make any mention of taking liability for defect's that they miss. I would think this would be an excellent selling point, wouldn't you? And I did say virtually, not 'all'. If you know of a Home Inspection Co. that is willing to be liable for defects which they miss please share them here as it would help prospective home buyer's.


And I agree with you. These people do need to be stopped. It's an outrage. Very sadly, it's most likely that they won't be stopped until someone loses their life or is injured very badly.

**A: I agree that bad home inspectors should be shot and left for dead.

You 'agree' with who? I never said that! Jamp never said that. Maybe you misunderstood who the 'someone' is. It's a person that might be killed in a house fire caused by faulty wiring that the inspector 'didn't find'. If you had put it in context with the rest of the thread you should have known that.

 

[PghREA]

Jamp,

Many 'Home Inspector's' get a great deal of their business from real estate agents. If the inspector finds a huge defect in a house, as he probably did in yours, and tell's the prospective buyer (you in this case), the deal will most likely be blown, along with the agents, and of course Broker's commission. If this happen's ounce or twice, that Home Inspector's name will be off that 'recommended' list in very short order.
I wish you the best with this.

Not true, Home Inspector's get kicked off the "recommended list" because
they missed critical items. If a deal gets "blown" because of an inspection report, we can always find our Buyer's another house and if we are the listing agent we can recommend that the seller make the repairs.

Home Inspectors in my state are required to do their job and keeping Realtors happy is NOT their job. They get paid whether the house sells or not.

 

[UNCLEBUCK]

Not true, Home Inspector's get kicked off the "recommended list" because they missed critical items.

How exactly does this happen? Does your Ageny keep a database of confirmed miss's of critical items? Or on a case by case basis? Just curious. Speaking of miss's, what about missed non-critical items?

If a deal gets "blown" because of an inspection report, we can always find our Buyer's another house and if we are the listing agent we can recommend that the seller make the repairs.

True. And it's also true that all of the time you spent finding your Buyer's the house is now wasted. And although you can always find them another house, it may be better stated that you might find them another house.

Home Inspectors in my state are required to do their job

That's a good thing. You know? Requiring someone to actually do their job. I think every State should require this.

and keeping Realtors happy is NOT their job.

Umm, yes. I would have to agree with you on that. Although I don't recall claiming it was. I simply stated that keeping Realtors happy keeps referrals coming in. And if they're doing a good, honest job, there's nothing wrong with that, right?

They get paid whether the house sells or not.

Of course they do. But again, the point I was making questioned their ability to stay on that recommended list.

Also, HomeGuru stated that I was simply wrong in stating that "virtually all Home Inspector's are not liable for defect's that they 'miss'.
Am I? I actually hope I am, as many homebuyer's would surely benefit from this sort of protection.

 

[Jamp]

Hi,

Thanks for all your replies. I have called a lawyer here in town, and I will be seeing him on Friday. He wishes to see all the paperwork regarding the sale and purchasing of the home. I was also told I could file with the magistrate for up to 7500. I think that is small claims?

I could understand if the inspector missed some small thing, but the problem with the water heater and the wiring should not have been missed at all. It is why I hired an 'expert', and I would not have bought the house had he told me these items were not up to code and dangerous.

I had to sign something that said I knew the real estate agent was 'working' for the sellers, but I do believe disclosure laws are still in effect.

There is no way the inspector could not have seen the water heater and not known. Or the wiring for that matter. He said both were satisfactory and only stated that one outlet in the kitchen wasn't grounded. As an 'expert' he should have then inspected WHY it wasn't grounded. I am not an expert, I have no idea about electricity, it is why I hired him.

So, yes, I believe there is liability here and I intend to take it to the full limit of the law that I can.

Thanks again, and I will let you know how it turns out.

Jamp

 

[UNCLEBUCK]

Jamp,

I hope this mess is quickly resolved for you. I'm confident you'll be on the winning side.