Re: home inspector--can I sue?

spamlapper <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> my son just bought a house in upstate ny and he has an inspectors
> report that says that the heating system may need to be serviced and a
> zone valve replaced. It turns out that the plumber came in today and
> said that the 3 wire milli volt system which was in the house about 10
> yrs is completely worthless. He said the system is no longer made. A

    I would find it very difficult to believe that it is no longer possible
to find parts for a 10yr old system.  Even when manufactures go out of
business there's usually somebody somewhere making aftermarket or similar
parts.

    I'd get a second opinion.  It sounds like maybe the plumber is trying to
sell a new system.  You'll need several opinions anyways if you take this to
the courts.

    As for the home inspector...

    Here's how this is starting to look.  Your son hired an inspector.  The
inspector DID find problems and DID note these problems on the report.  Your
son failed to properly research as to how much it would cost to complete the
repairs before signing off on his inspection condition.  Yes, he probably
was pushed into proceeding with the sale by the realtor, but every realtor
is going to do this because they're on commission.

    Had your son put his foot down and said "I won't waive my inspection
condition until an HVAC guy quotes the repair" or "I want this fixed before
closing, put it in writing" then he wouldn't be in this position right now.
Yes, the system is balanced unfairly against young, inexperienced home
buyers since there really isn't any good and usable information on how to
negotiate a real-estate sale.  However your son could have negotiated the
deal better, or brought along someone experienced such as yourself to help
out

    Inspectors can't be expected to quote out the cost of repairs beyond
"Expensive" and "Minor/cheap fix".  In fact thier national code of ethics
prohibits against quoting repair costs unless they have experience doing
such in the particular trade concerned.

    Most trades people stick to one trade such as mechanical, roofing,
framing, etc.  An inspector has to know the basics of many trades, from
electrical to foundation, etc.  He can't be expected to know the costs of
everything, and certainly can't be expected to know that a particular model
of heating system was discontinued.  All he is supposed to do is find out
what the problems are and let his client decide where to go from there.

> new system will cost $4000. To replace the zone valves and rewire the
> system will cost $800. There were other problems with the heating
> system which were not mentioned which would have caused the furnace to
> flood the utility room.

    Is there any evidence of prior flooding?  If not then the inspector
can't really be faulted for not noticing the problem.  This is starting to
sound more and more like scare tactics being employed by the plumber...
definately get a second and third opinion.

> My son dealt with some scumbag outfit that does "everything", finds
> the house, gets the mortgage financing, does the closing etc. I told
> him to forget these people but he went ahead anyway. The reason i am
> writing this is to see if anyone else has had similar experiences and
> whether or not they were able to sue these slimbuckets successfully.

    The alternative is to pay 7% commission to the realtor, and then
$1000-$2000 in lawyers fees, plus registration fees, etc.  That's what we
have to do here. The lawyers fee really bugs me, since you could essentially
train a monkey to do what they do.

> Are there any legal precedents for what the inspector has to put in
> his report and what he should be able to tell you? For example, the
> heating system is going to cost $ x amount of dollars to fix. We have
> to sue because winter is here and my son is in debt up to the hilt
> just to get the house.

    I'd be very surprised if your court date occurs before the winter is
over.

> thank you.  p.s. he told me he hired his own inspector.

    Realtors know that after you spend $300-400 for an inspector you'll be
even less likely to drop the deal, even if problems are found.  That's why
they recommend inspectors.  Most of the inspectors out there owe their
business to realtor referrals, so it's not exactly an impartial inspection
you're getting.

    Any kind of action is going to depend on what the contract with the
inspector says.  The most it's  going to allow for a refund of the
inspection, if even that.  It'll also allow the inspector to miss things.

    Good luck, here's hoping your son stays warm.

-- Steve