I have had several property inspections, I get one with any property I purchase. As an inspector, there should not have been a biased or subjective opinion. After reviewing this report and having time to review another inspectors report in the area, I see that your report of 2 Windsor was an obvious attempt to belittle the items that were of concern.
There is not room for commentary in an inspector's report, as it is just stating facts about the property- not ways to minimize what those facts are. I would not recommend this inspector. Below is the email that was sent to him after getting the report- the report that he spoke to the realtor before talking to the people who paid for the report!
Drives and Walkways
From the report: "Simple fix this is a small walk way pad. Lift up with shovel and back fill with dirt."
This is not as simple as you state- The pad could weigh 50-100 lb. , leaving this to be handled by someone that know what they are doing. While dirt is not the real expense here, hiring a person to do it, is. A subjective opinion.
Exterior-Electrical
From the report: " This is a common problem. GFCI's cost $15.00 each simple to install."
Again- a commentary and assumption that is a simple project. I believe there were 6 outlets like this, so hiring an electrician to do this is not cheap if you can get someone to come out for a 'simple install' project. A subjective opinion leaving out the cost of the contractor.
PLUMBING
From the report: "This is a five dollar fix."
Again- not a true estimation of what this would cost. You are belittling the cost, assuming that the customer can do this work. This leads the reader to assume that it will literally cost $5, not taking into account the hiring of someone to do it. A subjective opinion, leaving out the cost of the contractor.
Bathroom
From the report: Cost about $5.00
Hiring someone to repair is not as easy as a cost of $5. A subjective opinion leaving out the cost of a contractor.
Pool
From the report: "Light switch missing cover" " Pool timer missing cover"
The pool report had missing covers that could potentially be an electrical shock hazard when water comes in, and this item was minimized. The fact that the pool pump was leaking was just skimmed over.
Overall- I was very upset with the report. It did not show a true picture of what was wrong. You mentioned to my boyfriend, that there was dry rot around two of the windows and I did not see that in the report. People get home inspections done to have a bargaining tool to have the seller get the things fixed before closing. This was nothing less than total disappointment because of your biased opinion. We paid $400 for your service, and everything that could have been taken care of before closing was minimized, so it looked like they were not real concerns, leaving us to loose the home because the report did not look like there were real concerns. The pictures of the overflowing leaves in the gutters were recommended to be cleaned, but in reality, that is a big job and should have been noted that they were overflowing.
This letter was emailed to John Hogan and asked for a refund and response. I got neither.
I have never been this upset over a home inspection. We knew the things that were listed on the report and the ones that were not listed-but told to us- were going to add up to several thousand dollars. read more
