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April 2004
By: Arthur S. Lazerow
Ask Mr. Home Inspector
What
are Home Inspection Limitations?
Last month,
Priscilla G. from Mt. Airy, Maryland, emailed the following: ÒÉ I
am worried about the condition of any home that I may purchase. My
Realtor said not to worry because my home inspector will
investigate the home thoroughly. I
am still worried. Please
tell me what you do during a home inspection?Ó
Answer: Priscilla,
last month I answered your question by explaining that a
home inspection is intended to provide you with information
regarding the condition of the systems of your home at the
time of the inspection and that a written report will be
furnished you identifying the components of your home and
listing major structural or mechanical deficiencies.
The
length of last monthÕs article made it impossible to include
a discussion of the limitations of the home inspection process,
so now I would like to focus on that. The
Standards of Practice of the American Society of Home Inspectors,
the largest of the national organizations, or those of any
of the other national organizations, is intended to establish
minimum levels of inspection performance and uniformity within
the industry. They
also establish limitations, all of which permit clients to
appreciate both the scope of work and the limitations.
It
is necessary to have realistic expectations about the home
inspection experience. The
inspector is not responsible to identify concealed conditions
or latent defects. The
home inspector does not determine the adequacy of any system
or component, unless the system is blatantly miss-sized. Most
importantly, for a modest fee (as compared with the value
of the properties inspected), you are not obtaining an insurance
policy that will fully compensate you should the inspector
not find a deficiency or a currently operating system malfunctions
in the future. Case
law in Maryland and most home inspectorsÕ pre-inspection
agreements include a limit of liability to be the price of
the home inspection. Experienced
home inspectors will inspect between three and five million
dollars worth of homes each week. To
have this amount of liability would put even the best home
inspector out of business.
Here
are some general home inspection exclusions. Home
inspectors do not disassemble equipment. They should not operate any system that is shut down or otherwise
inoperable, especially if it does not respond to normal operating
controls. Home
inspectors do not turn valves, especially valves in the off
position. Home
inspectors do not focus on paint, wallpaper, carpeting or
window treatments, central vacuums or indoor air quality. In fact, all environmental issues are excluded unless the
client specifically requests additional testing, for which
there are normally additional fees.
A
home inspection is not technically exhaustive. For
example, an HVAC contractor is qualified to disassemble the
equipment to make a detailed inspection, will check pressures
and temperatures with gauges and will perform a number of
other tests. The home inspector, on the other hand, performs a visual inspection
of the condition of the equipment and measures both the temperature
of the house air and the temperature of the conditioned air
above the air coil. If
there is a temperature drop of between 14 and 21 degrees
above the air coil, the system is operating normally and is considered acceptable. If
the temperature drop is outside this range, the home inspection
report will recommend evaluation and correction by a licensed
HVAC contractor.
Actually, consider your home inspector a Ògeneral
practitionerÓ, determining which components are operating
normally and which are not. Components
in the ÒnotÓ category get a recommendation for an evaluation
by an expert, comparable to your GP doctor sending you to
a specialist.
Home inspectors do not enter any area that, in the
opinion of the inspector, is likely to be dangerous. They do not attempt to determine causes of any deficiency
or detail methods, materials or costs of corrections. Market value of the property or operating costs are beyond
the scope of the home inspectorÕs work product. In
the areas of structure and mechanical systems, home inspectors
do not provide architecture or engineering services, which
means no design or computational services.
Here
are a few specifics. For exteriors, screens, shutters, fences, geologic, geotechnical
or hydrological conditions are beyond the scope of a home
inspection. For
house plumbing, the home inspector does not inspect the interiors
of flues or chimneys, fire or lawn sprinkling systems or
the sufficiency of water quantity or its quality. For heating and air conditioning, the inspector does not determine
the supply adequacy or distribution balance.
Priscilla,
I hope this information, together with last monthÕs description
of the scope of the home inspection, provides you with an
understanding of the home inspection process. Even
with the many limitations I have described above, our experience
with complaints over a ten-year period is less than a one
percent call back rate. The
protocols that home inspectors utilize, their prior job and
educational background, continuing education, and the professionalÕs
desire to be effective for the client will provide you with
a thorough inspection, including a detailed education about
your home and a list of all significant (and observable)
deficiencies.
Tip of
the Month: ItÕs spring! The
trees are budding and perennials are beginning to grow. Prepare
your garden areas for this yearÕs plants by weeding and feeding. A
light cover of mulch also helps. Get
weeds early so they do not crowd out your beautiful annuals
or perennials. Enjoy
the azaleas, flowering trees, and new growth! This
is the prettiest time of the year in our area.
Have a question relating to a housing problem? Email it to
aslaz@erols.com. Each question will be answered and some will
be included in this column.
Arthur Lazerow, president of Alban Home Inspection Service,
Inc., was a homebuilder for 25 years and is now a nationally
certified ASHI home inspector, having performed more than 5,000
inspections during the past 10 years. He can be heard every
Saturday from 10 to 11 a.m. as co-host of Real Estate Today
on WMET 1160 AM.
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