Defects – Continued

 

When a Home Inspector is contracted to look at a house the client is usually hoping the inspector can tell them they have found, “…a great place, no worries, and no problems. Good job finding a well constructed and maintained home.” 

They may want the inspector to find one or two relatively minor problems to use as negotiating points, but it would be unlikely that; assuming the buyer really wants the house; anyone would be happy to learn about a major foundation issue or leaky roof that needs to be completely replaced. 

 

Of course they prefer to find out about a big defect prior to buying the house rather than after, and that is really the main purpose of utilizing the Home Inspector; to find the ‘deal breaker’ if it is there and prevent a big mistake when purchasing the biggest investment of your life. 

 

Likewise, as a Home Inspector it is only natural to want to find the big defect, be the hero and save someone from themselves.  Preventing someone from a big mistake purchase is gratifying and an ego boost. Home inspectors are always looking for the large defect, the game changer, the one the client hired him to find, as they should. 

 

The pitfall this presents however is to think our job is only to think about the big ticket items and forget the small stuff.  It is extremely important not to walk by those little defects, the ones that don’t appear to be anything except a minor flaw.  There are two main reasons why the small defect should not be so quickly dismissed.

 

1.   That small blemish or minor flaw may be just a sign of something more substantial that is just at its early stage.  For example, is there such a thing as a little efflorescence? (That chalky substance found on block basement walls).  Isn’t a little efflorescence a sign of something larger that will become a major problem in the future if left unattended?  The same for small cracks in the driveway.  Cracks don’t fix themselves or get better. The cost of repairing a small crack today will certainly be less than fixing an entire driveway in the future. 

 

The price to put gutters on the house is nowhere as significant as the cost of installing a French drain and a sump pump in the basement.  There are hundreds examples of catching large expensive defects in the early stage before they become an expensive repair.  The small items you report on as simply recommendations to avoid large future costs should be considered by all inspectors as an important service.

 

2.   When you are inspecting a house you want to have your client at your side to hear you explain everything you are seeing and doing.  This is always the optimal situation.  Sometimes your client is out of town or will be joining the inspection late after work.  Including every little defect in your report may seem like an unnecessary thing, you may think the client will know that a minor blemish that you saw, but did not think warranted a note in the report, isn’t an important issue.  But what if he doesn’t?  What if he thinks that small vertical crack in the parge coat of the foundation is a big deal.  If he wasn’t there you did not have the opportunity to explain that it is not a major foundation issue.  He may think that you just missed that crack.  It may cause him to wonder if you know what you are doing and doubt your thoroughness. 

 

A client who doubts your report and your inspection may not say anything now about the small thing, but you have set the environment for his seeking legal recourse when something is found later that he thinks you should have seen.  A big storm may damage the roof two years after your inspection and cause it to leak.  This was not an oversight on the inspector’s part but the client may be thinking lawsuit because the distrust was planted by the earlier ‘oversights’.

 

It would be wise to note in your report anything that appears not as it should be, no matter how small.  It will show your client how thorough you are and will explain to your client that, ‘yes, you did see that flaw but no, you don’t think it is an issue.’  You never want is to create doubt with your client.