Do I need a specialized home inspection?

Depending on the home’s age,  location, or condition, you might consider special types of home  inspections to investigate potential issues common in homes in your  area. General home inspections are great at giving you an idea of the  overall state of the house at that point in time, but they do not  typically have the training to identify storm related damages. When it comes to buying  a home, you want to make sure you know all there is to know about the  property before signing on the dotted line.

As  we explore why a home inspector won’t walk the roof we need to look  at this objectively. Often times this decision is made on a case by case  basis while on site. The safety of the home inspector is of the utmost  importance.

Many home inspectors are sole proprietors who have  families to support. Even a minor injury could have long-lasting effects  on the home inspector and his family. A severe injury could end a home  inspector’s career.

A home inspector may tell you on the phone  that they will walk on the roof. However, they may change their minds  on-site based on several conditions.

Upon  arrival on-site, a home inspector can often times look at  the condition of the roof coverings and make a determination of the  overall roof condition without ever stepping foot on the roof.  NOT ADVISED!

Some homes have very steep roof pitches that can not be traversed without specialized roof climbing gear and other equipment. The silver lining of a steeply pitched roof is it can easily be inspected from the ground with binoculars, from the eave with a ladder, or with a camera drone. 

In  addition, steeply pitched roofs often have large attic spaces that  allow for easy inspection of the roof sheathing from inside the attic  space. Steeply pitched roofs also tend to last longer than lower pitched roofs. 

The  roofs on some two and three-story homes make it difficult (not  impossible) to walk on the roof. Very high roofs require large ladders that some home inspectors cannot transport or do not home. It is not  uncommon for a two-story house on a crawlspace to be upwards 25-30 feet  in the air. 

The standards of practice allow for a home inspector to use their own discretion where safety is a concern. A fall from the  roof of that height could be deadly. Home inspectors will often weigh  risk versus reward when safety is a factor. Most will err to the side of  caution.

In recent years, home inspectors have turned to  telescopic camera poles or cameras on drones to conduct roof inspections  on houses that they do not feel safe to climb onto the roof. While  these techniques may not be as good as walking onto the roof, they are  still good methods that can provide a lot of great info about the roof  with high-quality clear photos.

With the advancements and camera  technology, home inspectors using a telescopic camera pole or a camera  drone can zoom in and collect numerous high-quality photos of roof  defects. All safely from the ground level.

We  touched on some of these alternative roof inspection methods above. 

Binoculars  have come a long way over the past few years. A good quality pair of  binoculars can allow you to zero in on the fine details of the roof  coverings. However, binoculars have a limitation and that it prohibits  you from being able to take photographs of the defects you observe.  Binoculars would be my least favorite option for doing a roof inspection  when I cannot walk on the roof.

One  of the tools I use when trying to take good quality photographs from  the ground of the roof is my Canon EOS Rebel T5 camera. This camera has a  digital viewfinder and can zoom in to take high-quality photos in HD.  The camera has builtin cropping features allowing you the pinpoint areas  where roof defects exist.

Many  home inspectors have begun using drones with built-in cameras or GoPros  to perform inspections on the roofs that they could not walk on. The  operation of these drones for commercial purposes such as these does  require a specialized license. 

 New York /   April 28, 2017 11:20 AM   By Kenneth R. Harney    

Most home buyers and sellers don’t think much about what might derail  their purchase or sale. But here’s a sobering fact: One of every 20  sales contracts blows up along the road to closing. And roughly one of  every four runs into an issue that delays the scheduled settlement.

These statistics come from new survey research conducted by  economists at the National Association of Realtors, covering the period  of December 2016 through February of this year.

Guess what’s the No. 1 real estate deal killer? Home inspections.  Nearly one third of all terminated real estate contracts crashed and  burned because of the inspection results. Inspections also ranked as the  No. 3 cause of delayed settlements, accounting for 13 percent.

Many or most of those deal-killing or delaying inspections probably  turned up legitimate defects that the buyers needed to know about. But  some went a little too far. Take this example provided by Diana  Dahlberg, broker and owner of 1 Month Realty in Kenosha, Wisconsin. She  was representing home buyers who hired a local inspector. When the  inspector examined the furnace, recounted Dahlberg in a post on  ActiveRain, a real estate networking and educational website, “he went  crazy saying there was a cracked heat exchanger,” then turned to the  seller, who was nursing her baby, and said, “If you don’t want to kill  your baby, you better get a new furnace right away.”

Both the seller and the buyers “freaked out” at hearing this. Later  that day the buyers canceled the contract. On subsequent inspection,  Dahlberg told me, “there was no crack in the heat ex-changer.” There was  nothing wrong. The sellers were so upset that they took their house off  the market.

In an interview, Dahlberg told me that some inspections “have become a  nightmare” for sellers and their agents. Nonetheless, she strongly  supports the concept and value of home inspections by competent  inspectors — “we do need that third party opinion” to be certain about  the condition of a property. But they need to stay within strict  professional norms and guidelines.

Walter Fish, owner of Bay Area Home Inspection LLC in the Marquette,  Michigan, area and a certified and licensed inspector, agrees. He says  that furnace issues are a “common example” of where inspectors exceed  their appropriate scope. “Some inspectors have been known to call out  [for replacement] older furnaces” that are operating normally. Why’s  that a problem? Because under widely recognized professional rules of  conduct, inspectors are not supposed to “determine the life expectancy  of any component or system.”

Fish is a member of the International Association of Certified Home  Inspectors (InterNACHI), one of the largest trade groups for the  profession. The association’s “residential standards of practice” spell  out the basic do’s and do not for inspectors. Among the tasks they are  not supposed to perform, according to the standards, are assessing:

— The life expectancy of the property or any components.

— The market value of the property or its marketability.

— The “suitability” of the property for any use or the “advisability” of its purchase.

— Aesthetic issues.

Scott Godzyk of Godzyk Real Estate Services in Manchester, New  Hampshire, described on ActiveRain one deal-damaging inspection he  experienced that crossed all sorts of professional tripwires. A buyer  hired an inspector he found online. The inspector’s final report noted  among other problems:

— The roof is at the end of its 25 year life.

— The furnace hasn’t been serviced in years.

— The oven smokes when it’s turned on.

— Paint colors in several rooms “do not match.”

— Kids’ toys are a trip hazard.

All of which were curious findings since:

— The house was only 9 years old, so the roof was nowhere near its 25 year functional life.

— The furnace had been serviced during each of the preceding seven years, as the dated tags attached to it confirmed.

— The oven only smoked because the inspector turned it on without  looking inside, where the sellers had a couple of plastic containers.

— Paint color match is not a matter for a home inspector.

— Kids’ toys do not convey with the house. Duh.

The takeaway here for you: As a seller, be aware of the standards of practice for inspectors. A good source is InterNACHI.  As a buyer, search for certified or state licensed inspectors with  solid references who will fairly and accurately report what you need to  know about the house — not what you don’t.

Sellers are often caught by surprise  when a buyer’s inspection report comes back with a long list of repairs,  even if the home isn’t very old. Here are some of the most common major  issues that come up during inspections. 

• Roofing issues:  Roofing troubles can range from a few missing shingles to leaks or soft  spots, or even a full roof replacement if the roof is old or failing. (This does not always require a claim to be filed.) 
• Electrical problems: The most common electrical issues include wiring that’s not up to code, frayed wiring, or improperly wired electrical panels. 
• Plumbing issues: Leaky pipes (and resulting water damage), failing water heaters, and sewer system problems are some of the most expensive. 
• Foundation problems: Cracking foundations, settling, and basement water damage can be costly fixes. 
• Termites and pests: Termite damage, as well as the presence of other pests or vermin, can be a big red flag for buyers. 
• Mold: Mold issues are a common problem, especially in wet or humid climates, and repairs can be extensive. 
• Window and door issues: Failing window seals, windows and doors that don’t open and close properly, or broken panes are commonly found by inspectors. 
• Asbestos or lead paint:  This is a serious issue, and something you should be especially  cautious of if you’re selling an older home. Many contracts have  specific requirements related to asbestos and lead paint, so be sure to  disclose everything you know. 
• Chimney damage: Old chimneys can be a safety hazard, and they often need to be removed if not in working order.