Home inspectors and Square D QO breakers

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hbiss said:
The problem as I see it is that most home buyers have no clue (else they would do their own inspection) so they think a home inspector is some kind of degreed professional like a PE whose report is gospel. Every home inspection report should be prefaced with the heading:

Nothing in this report should be construed as a notification that there is a deficiency in any code or law. Deficiencies noted are only the opinion of the individual doing the inspection. Any deficiency or problem noted should be followed up with by a licensed professional in the particular trade. He or she is the only one who can advise you and make the final determination as whether something needs to be corrected. Nothing in this report should be used as a basis for negotiation between buyer and seller or the need for work or repairs.


-Hal
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Negotiation is a primary reason they get such inspections though. If deficiencies are found buyer is going to either want them fixed as part of the sale or take a reduced price and have option of fixing those deficiencies later, if they want to.

If buyer wants to claim something has a problem and wants to offer a lower purchase price, owner is going to look at the inspection report and if said problem isn't in the report is not going to be as willing to negotiate on that issue.
 
kwired said:
Negotiation is a primary reason they get such inspections though. If deficiencies are found buyer is going to either want them fixed as part of the sale or take a reduced price and have option of fixing those deficiencies later, if they want to.

If buyer wants to claim something has a problem and wants to offer a lower purchase price, owner is going to look at the inspection report and if said problem isn't in the report is not going to be as willing to negotiate on that issue.
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But the problem is such reports are only slightly more reliable than asking your brother-in-law the contractor to look the house over and write a report. If the buyer want's an inspection, the findings should be used only as an advisory that carries no weight. It's just a starting point. If I were then the seller and presented with an inspection report, I would require that any deficiency be either confirmed or dismissed by a professional in the respective trade (at buyers expense) before I would consider it valid point of negotiation.


There is just no way that someone with only a few weeks training can become proficient at seeing problems with all trades, safety, damage and deterioration etc. A disclaimer like the one I presented will help the ignorant home buyers to understand that a home inspection is not an expert determination of what is wrong or right with a house. If problems are uncovered they require further investigation before they can use them against the seller.

-Hal
 
In my state the 'BIL contractors' all find retirement work @ some RE firm , most don't even have insurance to do so, nevermind disclaimers

That said, in my fustration i did find there some 'opinon inspectors' validity with NACHI.

At least they devle into detail , the following being a panel inspection i shamelessly plagierized from them>

cPqKpzy.png


I've been handing this out to realtors for some time now, with good results. There are no code and/or listing references, and although WE could apply them, THEY won't understand them

~RJ~
 
romex jockey said:
In my state the 'BIL contractors' all find retirement work @ some RE firm , most don't even have insurance to do so, nevermind disclaimers

That said, in my fustration i did find there some 'opinon inspectors' validity with NACHI.

At least they devle into detail , the following being a panel inspection i shamelessly plagierized from them>

cPqKpzy.png


I've been handing this out to realtors for some time now, with good results. There are no code and/or listing references, and although WE could apply them, THEY won't understand them

~RJ~
Click to expand...

Looks like a decent checklist for an electrician, retired electrician or an electrical inspector to work off of (besides multiple conductors under single connector - unless there is a new code I'm unaware of), but I certainly wouldn't want a HI to fill this sheet out.
 
hbiss said:
But the problem is such reports are only slightly more reliable than asking your brother-in-law the contractor to look the house over and write a report. If the buyer want's an inspection, the findings should be used only as an advisory that carries no weight. It's just a starting point. If I were then the seller and presented with an inspection report, I would require that any deficiency be either confirmed or dismissed by a professional in the respective trade (at buyers expense) before I would consider it valid point of negotiation.


There is just no way that someone with only a few weeks training can become proficient at seeing problems with all trades, safety, damage and deterioration etc. A disclaimer like the one I presented will help the ignorant home buyers to understand that a home inspection is not an expert determination of what is wrong or right with a house. If problems are uncovered they require further investigation before they can use them against the seller.

-Hal
Click to expand...
I agree. I don't see that this is how HI's are being utilized all that often.

What does matter most is likely to be the ability of the purchaser to get insurance on the home, and they can demand anything be changed even if it was code compliant when it was installed.
 
I received a call from a frequent client yesterday who is selling a rental house. I had just done some repairs at the house and had the very small panel open. He said a HI complained the panel had "four crossed wires" and wanted to know what that meant. I told him I had no idea and I didn't see any issues in the panel last time I was there. I'm waiting to get the report so I can have a good laugh.
 
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