Kustom Home Inspection

When I filed a complaint with Attorney General's office, I just gave them a brief summary of the situationI would like to give a full statement on my situation with Kustom Home Inspections. I hired Kustom Home Inspections to perform an inspection on a home that I was
considering purchasing, based on what was found during our inspectionThis is why one hires a home inspection company, to ensure that you are making a sound investmentTo ensure you that you are not purchasing a home that is going to need major repairs, that does not have any major issuesI chose the company based on reviews and the fact that the owner, *** *** was so highly involved with ASHI
Upon the FIRST DAY of moving into the property, it was discovered that there was a crack in the bathtub, mold on the trim work in the bathroom & the ceiling above the shower was sagging (it had tape on it, from previous damage)None of these items were listed in my inspection report! As a matter of fact, based on the report the bathroom was the least of my worriesThis is what my report stated for the bath:
Bathtub: "Loose caulking observed around tub, re-caulk and keep tub properly sealed"
Shower Diverter: "Shower diverter does not function properly, replacement may be needed by a licensed plumbing contractor"
Sink/Vanity: "We noticed much homeowner storage under sink, please review area prior to closing"
Sink Drain: "Sink/vanity drains slow, have reviewed and repair as neededDrain stopper was not connected, repair or replace as needed."
Toilet: "Toilet loose at floor, secure and repair as needed by a licensed plumbing contractor"
Power Fan: "It is recommended that vent fans be installed in bathrooms for proper elimination of warm, moist air to the exterior of the homeDuring renovation, this important fixture
sometimes is forgottenRecommend proper vent fan be installed by a licensed general contractor to meet today's building standards"
Electric Outlets: "GFCI outlet would not trip with tester, repair or replace as needed"
Door: "The bath door is without a lock, add lock as needed"
Minor issues, there was no mention of these major items that could have been followed up by a licensed contractor before the purchasing of the homeIf these had been mentioned, it would have been discovered that the entire bathroom would need to be gutted upon the first week of moving into the property! Not to mention that the inspector did not evaluate the crawl space, due to "low clearance" (it's called a crawl space for a reason) & "personal items being stored". The crawl space adjacent to the one under the bathroom did have a lot of misc things stored, such as old state roofing tilesHowever the one under the bathroom did notThe only digital picture of the crawl space being "not accessible" in the report is the adjacent crawl space. Regardless, the above mentioned items were within a visual scope, there was nothing that was blocking or hiding these itemsAs a matter of fact, the crack in the bathtub was just to the right of the shower diverter that was mentioned in the report
I contacted *** ***, owner of Kustom Home Inspections, to make him aware of all these itemsHe said that he would have "to look at it for himself"I told him that I had applied
Rustoleum Leak Seal to the crack in the tub, as soon as I noticed itI asked if he would like for me to remove it and he said, "No, I will take care of it when I come out"We made
arrangements for *** *** to come to the propertyI had appointments previously scheduled for that afternoon, but my 2O year old son would be home to show him the areas that
I am referring toMy son had said that he was here for less than 15minutes, took some pictures & said that they would either call or email meWhen I arrived home that evening, I discovered that when the Rustoleum Leak Seal was removed, the lining of the tub was removed with it! What had started out as a crack in the bathtub that was about the size of a nickel to a quarter, is now a hole in the lining the size of my entire hand! This all occurred on Friday, August 8,
Over the weekend, Sunday, August 10, 2014,l had a contractor come to the property to look at the bathroom, to see what exactly needed to be repairedAs of Monday, August 11, I
had not heard from Mr ***I had tried to call to follow up, however I received the voicemailHours later, my Realtor had tried to call, he received the voicemailA little while
later, my Realtor had emailed Mr *** (attached), which he finally responded to & returned my callHe had stated that "he had shown the pictures of the crack in the tub to his
Senior Inspector, who stated that it appeared to be a sutface crack." I brought to his attention that upon his inspection that Thursday afternoon, that he had tore the lining of the tubThat I
was now left with a hole in the bathtub(attached) As you will see in the attached ernails, Mr *** will keep referring to "not being aware of" the hole in the liningI had later found
out that Mr *** actually never came out to the property "to look at it for himself", he had sent his Senior Inspector *** ***I explained to Mr ***, that these issues that
were not stated in the inspection report are not items that are as simple as a door not shutting properlyThis is my only full bathroom, that has to be completely gutted upon the first day of moving into the property! Mr *** had offered to refund my inspection fee, I had told him that was not sufficientHe should have to pay to repair the items that were missed during
the inspection & any damage caused by themHe said to move forward and start an investigation into my complaint, everything would need to be through hard copy, he needed a
statement from myself & from the contractor
I have included all email correspondents and pictures
You will see in all of the correspondents that Mr *** is continually deferring the issue at hand, with the crawl space not being accessible, and how there was no follow up to have his
company inspect the crawl space once the personal items were removedThe issue at hand, is that within the visual scope of inspection, a crack in the bathtub, mold on the trim work &
sagging ceiling were not included in the report
After much back to forth, I was finally able to have Mr *** come to the property to see the situation himselfThis would be on September 3, (almost month after he was
suppose to come out "to look for himself") Mr *** was not satisfied with the estimate that was given, he felt that it was too highHe had stated that he didn't think that I would be
happy until he wrote me a check for $ As I had told him numerous times, I do not expect for him to pay for the entire repair bill, I feel as if though he should have to pay for the items
that were missed during the inspection & the damage that was caused by them He had asked that his contractor come to the property to investigate thingsI allowed his contractor to come out that next morningUpon his investigation, he had found that there was a leak from the bathtub, however this was coming from the drain of the tub, not the crackI have since,
personally had that repaired as to I did not want to have any further damage caused while awaiting Mr ***Mr *** had also suggested that I call a company such as ***
***, as they could apply a product over the bathtub, instead of having the cost & labor of removing the currentSo I called *** ***, as he had suggested to have them come out for an
estimateIt turns out that they do not apply the product over fiberglass tubs, due to them being such a weak materialThat estimate came in at $6700, for the tub area aloneI submitted this to Mr ***
You will see if you do a comparison of the copy of the email that Mr *** submitted, and the original that I have sentHe has not included it in it's entiretyHe refers in the email that I
had failed to submit reasonable and acceptable estimates for repairs, and have instead submitted & fictious repair estaimates totaling over $13,This is absolutely absurd
The estimates that were submitted included one that was for the bathroom, with a breakdown of the itemsThe other was for *** ***, which he had suggested that I look intoThese
estimates are two separate estimates, not a totalI have had another contractor come to the property for an estimate, which I have included as wellThe two are very similar as to final cost
I feel that I have given Mr *** more than ample time to make this situation rightI hired his company for a service, that I did not only fully receive, yet had further damage caused to the lining of the tubI am now at weeks of being into my property, with having very limited use of my bathroomAs stated previously, Mr *** continually refers back to the crawl space not being accessibleThis is extremely frustrating & aggravating, I can not tell you how many times that I have told him that the crawl space under the bathroom was accessible, there were not personal items being stored & the only digital proof of the crawl space, is of the adjacent crawl space located under the living roomThis whole situation of the crawl space has become a whole he said/she said scenarioThe items that were brought to his attention were in the visual scope of an inspection, regardless of the crawl spaceAgain, this is not something as little as a door not shutting properlyThis is an entire bathroom, a bathroom that I have not been able to fully use since purchasing the house weeks agoHe also refers back to the report to have a licensed contractor further review the areas of concernIf these items WOULD HAVE BEEN LISTED IN MY REPORT as a concern, I would have! So I am left with these two issues:
The service that I paid for, was not fully performedWhich has resulted inapproximately $in repair costs
I now have a bathtub with further damaged caused by the company
Since sending Mr *** the final email on September 2014, which he responded to in an untimely manner on September 23, 2014, l have yet to hear from him in regards to resolving
this issueWhich is why I have filed my complaint
I have included the inspection report that I had receivedI give the company permission to release the report as wellI have included my copy, as I do not fully trust that Mr *** will
disclose everythingDue to his submission of a partial correspondence between myself & Mr ***.
Thank you,
*** ***