# home inspectors



## antiCon (Jun 15, 2012)

did i ever tell you guys how much i hate them.. i dont understand why people cant just have a licensed plumber, electrician, ect. come to check a house for a buyer..? 
these jack of all.. master of none folk, miss stuff thats not code and put in "their reports" stuff that is code and say its not and needs to be changed. (the majority of them)... example: house with a pvc t&p drain, and galvy to copper connections all over the water heater area A-OK.. no mention of them on the report but, said hot cold and gas not bonded (which is not Required by code here) needs to be fixed. also missed an S trap on a sink.:no:

this was an estimate i gave last week.. needed to rant a little after the locked post i saw this morning.:furious:


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## Relic (Sep 30, 2012)

I agree, they are a worthless bunch that sell fear. They get busted every so often here with the inspect then fail then "I know a great contractor here's his number" who just happens to be his partner. I view them as hacks that couldn't become a real tradesmen.


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## BigDave (Mar 24, 2012)

What do you expect for the fees they charge?
They get hired because they're cheap, you get what you pay for...


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

Oh man, don't get me start...
Okay, here's one... how do the hell the home inspector say the air cond is working properly during the winter inspection?


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## BigDave (Mar 24, 2012)

rjbphd said:


> Oh man, don't get me start...
> Okay, here's one... how do the hell the home inspector say the air cond is working properly during the winter inspection?


That's too easy! He turned on the blower and felt air coming out of the vents
:laughing::laughing::laughing:


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

BigDave said:


> That's too easy! He turned on the blower and felt air coming out of the vents
> :laughing::laughing::laughing:


And how he claimed all three heating circ pumps are working while one of them is turned off due to 'frozen' bearing assy?


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## BigDave (Mar 24, 2012)

rjbphd said:


> And how he claimed all three heating circ pumps are working while one of them is turned off due to 'frozen' bearing assy?


ing home inspectors!
I'm right there with ya brah. :laughing:


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## RW Plumbing (Aug 16, 2010)

When my parents sold their house, the home inspector for the buyer said the basement walls were bowed out, and needed to be shored up. Their walls were in pristine condition, not even any cracked mortar. My parents had to get an engineer out there to certify them because they knew it was bs. When the engineer saw the walls he laughed that the home inspector said they were bad. The inspector put a level on block walls, instead of measuring with a plumb bob.


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## victoryplbaz (May 19, 2012)

I was at a house to quote a new flue for the "gas" water hater. Turns out it was electric!!!! I said to the home owner, you really going to trust the rest of that report?


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## Keefer w (Jan 26, 2012)

This is the one place that I can give props to Mike Holmes. He calls them out in their b.s.(at least in his show). I am constantly fixing what they miss or writing in my invoices that their found "problems" in plumbing are not true. One good one was an "inspector"missed a poly condensate drain tapped into the pvc on a power vent heater.


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## plumberpro (Jan 1, 2013)

I also have no use for those idiot inspectors had one once fails the insp because the elect panel was in a wood panel in a finished basement another was for a ohv insp said it works fine the new ho turns the shut off in basement and it flooded the basement I found the water line was cut off from ohv sadly they couldn't go after the insp they paid him 350 now he is gone!


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## sjaquay (Jan 13, 2013)

we actually ask h.o. for copies of the reports so we can all laugh at them. right now theres a co telling people they have new infrared tech that can tell that a wc wax ring is failing, they flush it 10 times and show the ho how it changes color....well no **** dick tracy, infrared shows temp change, of course theres a temp change. had another one say that the ho needed to raise the oxygen level in the gas to the water heater because it was burning to rich. my personal fav one a friend of mine saw a report that the inspect told a lady her copper pipes were turning black due to the chinese drywall and her walls were actually plaster. here the inspectors charge $600 for their bs reports. its like a license to rip off people.


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## ToUtahNow (Jul 19, 2008)

Home Inspectors are like plumbers and drain cleaners, some are really good and some are really bad. In between those are the average guys just trying to do their jobs.

Mark


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

ToUtahNow said:


> Home Inspectors are like plumbers and drain cleaners, some are really good and some are really bad. In between those are the average guys just trying to do their jobs.
> 
> Mark


It's a profitable side business for me. I made better money in that venture last year than I did Plumbing. I might actually have to hire one more person to keep up with the demand.


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

Widdershins said:


> It's a profitable side business for me. I made better money in that venture last year than I did Plumbing. I might actually have to hire one more person to keep up with the demand.


I'm for the qualfied home inspectors, not those matchbook certified home inspectors.


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

rjbphd said:


> I'm for the qualfied home inspectors, not those matchbook certified home inspectors.


The biggest issue I've seen in the field is the lack of prior construction experience. I interviewed a recent graduate from one of the accrediting agencies over the summer who talked a good talk -- He knew all of the jargon, but he didn't know his arse from a hole in the ground when it came to practical knowledge.


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## Rando (Dec 31, 2012)

True story...
Getting the inspection done on my house i live in now. I'm tagging along with the inspector, we go into the crawl space. He saw some lime on the ground. I knew immediately there was a sewer backup some time in the past, no big deal, but he says there must be a lot of ground water here, it's coming to the surface and leaching out salt. :blink:
Then he points at the condensate pump for the AC sitting on the dirt for some reason, and says, look, they even put in a sump pump to get rid of the water. :laughing:
I couldn't take any more and went and waited in my truck.


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## Greenguy (Jan 22, 2011)

When i bought my first house in Vancouver we researched out a good inspector, was a little more pricey but we did the walk around with him, I shît you not it took 7 hours, he took 30 minutes on the roof checked all down spouts and drains to the sump in the front of the house, soap tested the gas unions and used a sniffer, was very through. His report came with rough prices to fix and how important it was to fix, my realtor saw who we hired and was disgusted, he had cost her sales in the past when she represented some sellers.


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## ToUtahNow (Jul 19, 2008)

During the 80s, I had a Construction Company separate and apart from my Plumbing Business. My foreman was a very knowledgeable and licensed General Contractor. When he got married, his new in-laws bought him a small home inspection business in Orange County. Within a couple of years, he became very successful and bought out other franchises. I lost touch with him but always knew he would do well.

In 2007, I attended the National EDU-Code put on by the ICC.
It’s a great place to earn you CEU because it is a week straight, 8-hours per day of Code classes. It was held in Las Vegas and I always keep my eyes open for people I know. I did not see a single Plumbing Contractor I knew but I did find my old foreman I lost 20-years earlier. He was their earning the required CEU for his Home Inspection Business.

Many of the Home Inspectors belong to organizations that require continuing education units. I have given many presentations to local chapters of these organizations. In May, I am doing a ½ day Presentation for their Annual Convention. The guys who pay to attend these things are serious about what they do.

Mark


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## TallCoolOne (Dec 19, 2010)

Had a home inspector tell the buyer that the water heater we installed about 8 months ago in the attic. 

That the drain had to be inside the pan?

Home inspector takes an 8 hour class on plumbing

It takes 8 years to get my licenses in Texas

I called him and told him to get bent


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

Another way I tell them to get bent is when they can't tell the difference between a boiler and furance... had one the home inspector told the customer that the heat only furance checked out fine and ready to use. First cold day, cranked up the thermostat, small explosion sound, got called out. Boiler dry fired and cracked due to lack of water, system was drained as house was empty in past winter. Homeowner can't sue the inspection due to some bs clause that they can't be sued.


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