Home Inspections Inc.

Review: On July 13, 2013, one of the inspectors from Home Inspections Inc., [redacted], completed an inspection which was to help my husband and I have a clear understanding of a property which we were considering to purchase and ultimately ended up closing on. We t[redacted]ed [redacted] to do a good job with inspection and identify any major repairs before closing to minimize unpleasant surprises and difficulties after move-in.

Within hours of being in the house (we closed on August 30, 2013) several major proble** were identified that [redacted] completely missed. Our home has several structural issues that are apparent to an untrained eye to include: a warped wood floor, rotted and molded subfloor, door, door frame which all come from years of water leaking into our home, rotten wood on the two main pillars (and around the front of our home) on our front porch which hold up our widows walk, broken fans in the upstairs and ground level, and all windows are lacking caulk to prevent water leakage, etc.

[redacted] was ill when arriving at the house and wouldn’t even shake our hands—we don’t know if this illness caused his negligence or if he is just a bad inspector. We are absolutely outraged by the errors on [redacted]’s part. We have had another inspector, that is also a contractor, come to our house—he was completely appalled that the damage was missed by your employee. He provided us with an unofficial quote for the damages (approximately $3500).

Instead of immediately filing complaints, we offered Home Inspections Inc. the opportunity to make it right. I sent an email to the owner of the company, [redacted], on September 3, 2013, whom didn’t return my messages or calls for days. Later we learned that he forwarded my messages straight to [redacted], his employee. After 9:00 pm a few days after emailing complaints and leaving voicemails, [redacted] called my husband’s cellphone. It should be common sense that a call after 9:00 pm is unprofessional and inconsiderate. However, that is neither here nor there. The real issue is that we were expecting a call from the owner, not [redacted], the employee we had the grievance with. Waiting days for a return phone call after a major complaint is unacceptable in virtually any profession, yet not surprising given our experience with Home Inspections Inc.

In the return call and email messages, we were led to believe a contractor was coming to examine and fix the damages overlooked by [redacted]. We have several dated emails from [redacted] explaining the details of the contractor. Nonetheless, the contractor (SURPRISE!?!) never showed and we were provided excuses multiple times to as why.

A full month later and several cancelled appointments later, we were told by [redacted] that he was no longer handling the issue, but the owner of the company was going to take over and that he might have a contractor to refer to us for repair.

The owner showed up at our home after cancelling two appointments to tell us that he could offer us our money back for the inspection. Why after a month of waiting for answers did it take that long to come to that decision? Why lead us to believe it was going to get fixed?Desired Settlement: I want them to pay for the repair of the overlooked damages as it was promised.

Business

Response:

October 14, 2013

RE: Review: [redacted] VS Home Inspections, Inc.

Dear **. [redacted],

Please find enclosed a copy of the home inspection report presented to [redacted] and [redacted] after the completion of the home inspection of the property at [redacted].

Additional documents included are a copy of their signed contract, a blank contract for your examination, the repair addendum signed by the buyer and **. [redacted], and a time line of contacts.

At the conclusion of the inspection, **. and [redacted] received a HomeBook report binder with support information in place, and a copy of our contract. The report pages were emailed later that evening, after I entered my findings of the visible and readily accessible defects along with service recommendations into the report format. Invasive or destructive testing is not performed during the home inspection as outlined in the contract and verbally explained when I present the contract to the client.

The exterior of the property was inspected first in the presence of **. and [redacted] and their Real Estate agent [redacted]. **. [redacted] was attentive and accompanied me. During this phase of the inspection, various concerns were observed and discussed including evidence of deferred maintenance and the subsequent need for additional maintenance. It was evident that substandard service had been performed including fresh paint over unrepaired wood damage.

A major concern was regarding the installation of a staircase descending from the rear exterior door.

**. [redacted] was asked to view the staircase deficiencies and the wall covering that had been removed for the staircase ledger attachment. I recommended further service by a licensed general contractor. This recommendation is on the exterior report page, as well as on the summary page, listed as a Major Point of Concern. No other obvious concerns presented in this area at that time. Service for this major area of concern, which may have reveled additional damage to the substrate concealed by paint and caulk, was not added to the repair addendum signed by the buyer and seller. Additional concerns including wood rot at the basement door were evident, discussed, and documented. The detail of the exterior inspection i$ evident in the report

During the interior phase of the inspection, the family room door was again reviewed for proper operation and any visible defects. The basement inspection revealed evidence of water intrusion at the basement door and was documented in the report. No corrective action for the water intrusion was requested of the seller in the repair addendum for this issue, only trim, carpet and pad repairs were listed.

[redacted] is requesting compensation for damages that I believe were not obvious at the time of my inspection. There was a six week period between my inspection and the time of their settlement, with service performed by the seller's contractor in the interim. During that time we did have rain, heat, and humidity typical of regional summers. Mold can develop on rotted wood in as little as 48 hours if

moisture is present, even if it was recently cleaned and painted. A pre-settlement inspection by the buyer is customary and can reveal any additional concerns not initially discovered for consideration at settlement.

Other issues listed in the complaint are not accurate, with regard to structure and a lack of sealant around windows. Window caulk is in place, but does require maintenance as stated in the report. The porch column shell blemish is also evidence of substandard maintenance but is not a structural concern.

I am sympathetic to **. and [redacted]'s additional problem and related expense and made an attempt to assist them with a contractor recommendation, but made no offers of compensation.

The contractor I wished to recommend was not available and a second contractor recommendation may have led to a conflict of interest due to inspection services I provide to his company.

Subsequent adversarial communications by [redacted] suggested that compensation was expected or there would be consequences. I will return their inspection fee since they are dissatisfied with the inspection as a gesture of good will. I don't, however, feel that compensation should be provided for damage due to water intrusion revealed when the door threshold was dislodged by contact by **. [redacted] shortly after they took possession of the property.

I have been a home inspector in good standing for nearly 14 years, am a member of The American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI #[redacted]), licensed in the State of Virginia (license # [redacted]), and a member of the Northern Virginia Chapter of ASHI. I have preformed nearly 4,000 inspections in the State of Virginia.

Also find enclosed in this package a time line of phone conversations and emails with **. [redacted] which suggest a timely response to their concerns.

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. However it is important to note that I will still be filing complaints against his license in the State of Virginia and submitting letters to local realtors to inform them of my experience with him and Home Inspections Inc. in the hopes that other first time home buyers do not have to go through what we have.