When my wife and I first started looking for homes 3 years ago, we used the home inspector referred to us by our realtor.

The guy actually saved our asses 3 separate times by finding very serious issues with the various properties we were looking at. I won't go into it all, but he turned out to be a blessing and we refer him to all our friends every chance we get.

He was super detailed every time almost to the point where I'd get annoyed that he was too nit picky...he'd find EVERYTHING and have it in the report to us by that evening.

If anything, he made my realtor miss out on a bunch of higher commission opportunities and work for us for a few years before we finally settled on the home we have now. Btw, our realtor still refers him to all her clients.

I could see how you'd think there could be some conflict of interest, but I really don't think a home inspector would ignore issues just so a realtor could make a sale...any issue that arises would certainly come back to bite them.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/r...r-problem-73084.html

The real estate home inspector does have a duty to perform his job up to industry standards. A failure to do so results in liability, both for missing major problems and minor ones as well.

Liability
The real estate home inspector is liable if he misses any problems, whether major or minor, with any of the items on his checklist.
Some might be minor, like a leaky faucet, that a buyer would overlook and not pursue. A major problem would be a furnace that will need to be replaced before the next winter. The buyer would have asked the seller to install a new furnace, or give the buyer credit for the cost of a new furnace. The inspector's mistake will cause the buyer to have to purchase a new furnace. The buyer will look to the inspector for reimbursement.

Contractual Liability
A real estate home inspector can insert a clause in his contract that limits his liability to the cost of the inspection. In other words, if he misses a problem, the most he can pay is the return of his fee. Joe Ferry, an attorney who advises home inspectors, says he thinks these clauses are counterproductive. For one, many buyers will not hire an inspector who insists on such a clause. The second reason involves the effect of the language, known as an exculpatory clause. It only applies to the person who signed the contract. If the buyer sues the real estate agent and the inspector, the clause does not protect the inspector from liability to the agent.

Insurance
Errors and omissions insurance is available for home inspectors. A smart buyer asks an inspector if he has insurance. Inspectors can purchase up to $1 million in coverage with a deductible of $2,500 or $5,000. Rates depend upon the number of inspectors and revenue of the business. Insurance provides a legal defense against any lawsuit in addition to an adjuster to handle claims.

My daughter and her husband did the same thing, used an inspector who their realtor told them about.
I was against it, but have nothing but my nose in it.

He was really good, so it worked out great for them and after I met him and the realtor, both worked out great for them.
They move in next week.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

Make sure that the microwave is on a dedicated circuit.

?

Confusing?

Fastened in place appliances can't exceed 50% of circuit ampacity. Additionally even a smaller unit plus coffee pot will trip a circuit. 1,000 watt micro plus 1500w coffee machine or toaster exceeds the 2400w circuit.

I get this service call once a week. "Kitchen circuit trips randomly". It's never random. It's one of two things. First they have toaster, coffee pot, or microwave plugged into the same circuit/outlet and use both at the same time. The other one is that the microwave replaces a hood fan which is often on the kitchen lighting circuit and is only 15a, instead of 20a. The inspectors are starting to get hip to this and will often times now locate the microwave circuit and see if it turns anything else off. This is only the better ones, and only 20% of the time, but some now check.

This lady on Monday had her microwave on the lighting circuit, not only the above hood fan issue, but they then tapped off that and added another plug where she plugs in her toaster oven. Guaranteed to trip every time she uses both. People often think something is wrong. I assure them the breaker is working just fine and doing it's job to prevent fires and protect house wiring.

It is very infuriating to people who just spent $.5-$1mil+ on a new house and chose it because it had the shinny new kitchen. Sorry ma'am I'm going to need to cut into the walls and you will need painter/drywall guy to come back and paint/patch. It pisses me off to no end. If you're in the kitchen remodeling business you know the freaking code. You ignored it to save a couple hundred bucks when you remodeled or flipped house. Now it will cost new owner to fix your f-up.

I personally would never buy a house with a remodeled kitchen unless I knew who the contractor was that did the work, especially in a 50/60's era house. I rather find a cheaper house and use saved money to find my own contractor. Sadly even if you hire your own, most people don't know how to recognize quality work. All the see is the New shiny granite countertops and stainless Steel appliances.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Skins2881,