Diligent Home Inspections

In response to the complaint filed against me with the Revdex.com, this was an unfortunate misunderstanding. That I am very sorry to hear about. This inspection was an unusual one in that the home was not really in an inspectable condition. It was just an uncompleted shell, that...

only had framing, and sheathing. The exterior sheathing had been put on and then a vapor barrier on that. But no exterior siding or cladding. And on the inside, they had installed glass fiber insulation and then enclosed it with a plastic vapor barrier. The same with the roof. There were many issues as we moved through the property. The worst being the presence of black mold everywhere I had access to look. As a home inspector, I am not allowed to dismantle areas or tear into them as I would really like to. It’s not like you see on TV. But every where that I could get a look behind the insulation I found mold. The realtor said he was going to recommend that clients find another property. So, we pretty much shut down. I looked in the garage, but it was just another unfinished room with a dirt floor. So, I admit that I did not find the exhaust issue from the furnace. Or I would have included it in the inspection. I misunderstood the client’s description of the exhaust issue, but now I understand. And I admit I did miss this defect. My recommendation would have been to move the furnace to an area where it could have been more efficient. And that the garage needed to be completely sheet rocked and taped to make it gas tight. We made plans to return after getting permission from the sellers to pull back more areas of the insulation, so we could get a closer look. We came a back a few days later, and we had a contractor with us. And what we found was even worse than we expected. Mold in every area we looked. I did not charge anything for my time to return to the home, because I wanted to help this young family. I even took more mold samples and sent them in at my own expense. I did not charge anything for this extra service. They have 4 small ones and I was really concerned about them moving into such a home. I found out later that they had indeed bought the place.  It says in my contract (that the client signed before the inspection) if there is a defect that I missed I need to be told in writing within 14 days of finding the defect, so I can respond and make things right. This was not done.  The client had it repaired and told me about it afterwards. Had I been told prior I would have made another trip to the property and I’m sure we could have worked something out. But I was not given this opportunity. See number nine from my contract below: 9.  Notice and Waiver.  Any claim arising out of or related to any act or omission of the Company in connection to the inspection of the Property shall be made in writing and reported to the Company within fourteen (14) days of discovery. The Company shall have fourteen (14) days to re-inspect the issue giving rise to the claim.  The Company must be allowed access to the Property to evaluate the issue before any corrective action is taken by Client. After notifying the Company in writing within the time period set forth above, Client may also contact a qualified specialist to make further inspections or evaluations of the issue giving rise to the claim; provided, however, Client agrees that any repairs or corrective action taken without consultation with Company shall constitute a waiver of such claim and shall relieve Company of any and all liability. And then as far a 200% guarantee. I did offer this back in 2016 but eliminated it from my advertising around October of 2016. I took it of my magazine advertisement and, also took it out of my contract. I thought that I had taken it off of my website, and in fact did take it out but not being the best at this website stuff, I neglected to click the publish button. So unfortunately, it was still there. My mistake, but I was not trying to be misleading. It was a simple mistake. So if the reason they hired me was the 200% Guarantee, they should have said something when they read and signed my contract, where it says my liability is limited to the fee paid for the inspection. It says nothing about a 200% guarantee. See line item #10 below: 10.  Limitation of Liability.  The Client agrees that total liability of the Company for any, and all damages whatsoever arising out of or in any way related to this Agreement shall not exceed the Inspection Fee paid to the Company hereunder. And item #8 of my contract below also supports my claim here. 8.  No Guarantee or Warranty.  Company makes no warranties or guarantees express or implied, including any implied warranties of fitness or merchantability, as part of the Inspection or the Report including, without limitation, that all defects have been found or that Company will pay for the repair of undisclosed defects; that any of the items inspected are designed or constructed in a good and workmanlike manner; or that any of the items will continue to perform in the future as they are performing at the time of the inspection.  Company shall not be liable to the Client for any special, incidental, or consequential damages.  It is unfortunate that this happened. I am sorry for that, and I am still concerned about 4 little children living in this home. But I have refunded the client’s money in full, including that costs for the mold tests and laboratory fees. These fees for the mold tests were not requested in their complaint, but I am including them anyway.  Thank you.