The Question:
We had an inspection done by Tom Cherry on a 15,200 sq ft home which is my listing at 1.3 million in Gallatin, TN. His inspection only took 2 1/2 hours. He somehow noticed that there was no house wrap behind the brick exterior. He spent 1 hour with client explaining what a horrible mistake that was and the repairs would cost about 400,000.00. He also pointed out that one of the lintels was not continuous. The owner explained to him that it is a steel framed house and there is a vertical I beam that the lintel is connected to (spliced) which was certified by engineer at time of construction and is a common practice in steel framed homes. I am about to loose this deal and feel the inspector was outside of his area of expertise. I need expert help fast. Please help me understand. My name is Andrea Swanson, I am a realtor and my phone number is 615-347-2459.
Andrea Swanson
Gallatin TN just outside of Nashville
NACHI Answers:
Odd how your phone number comes up as this:
http://www.ndvr.us/
Michael Larson
Hudson, WI
How funny... Is this a husband-wife spat?
Michael L. Ivie
Cornelia, Ga
Andrea,
Explain to the client just what you explained to us here.
As to the lack of house wrap, I would be interested in knowing how he could tell. Seeing through bricks is quite a skill to have, I thought only
Superman could do that.
Tell the client that for a home this size, a thorough inspection should take no less that 6-8 hours. If it were me, I would expect it to take at
least an entire day maybe more. With additional time at the office preparing the report.
My guess is the client purchased a "budget" inspector when they should have gone a "premium" route. I'm sure there are many NACHI certified
inspectors in your area that would be happy to assist. I believe TN is a licensed state, so I would also inquire as to the license status of the
inspector.
BTW. What does Steve say about this?
Mark Nahrgang
St. Peters, MO
Andrea,
As a seller of houses in Tennessee, you are well aware of your state's licensing laws and the inspector's duty's to them. You also know the recousre
that is available to you if you think any of these laws have been broken. Chances are, you assisted the Tennessee Association of Realtors in lobbying
for them and know them better than most home inspectors.
Since you are not using that avenue, something tells me that there is more to this than you revealed to us...particularly, something that might favor
the inspector.
Accordingly, without knowing his input in this situation and hearing only your side of the story, I would advise you to start looking for a better
home to show your client.
James H. Bushart
St. Louis, MO
LOL...I like that.
Mark Nahrgang
St. Peters, MO
The title of the thread is: Inspector with ulterior motives!!
Ralph Brady
Eureka, CA
Well something sure doesn't add up.
I wonder what his "motive" might be?
Michael Larson
Hudson, WI
LOL. Andrea why don't you let Steve give you a second opinion?
Christopher B. Currins
Alton, IL
I can come down and reinspect that for about $3,859.00 for you. Or David Anderson from Nashville serves that are, he can probably do it for less, plus he has a new hybrid and can get there cheaper.
Ben D. Kelly
Rives, TN