comments

Hello Mr. Lewis,

I am truly sad that you believe this is worst inspection you’ve ever had and that you were compelled to have a poor review published prior to speaking with me. We pride ourselves in the work we perform and encourage open communication with our Clients if they are satisfied or dissatisfied. Honestly, in the thousands of home inspections I‘ve performed, and the hundreds of Client reviews we’ve received, it is highly unusual for a review to be posted that is less than satisfactory. However, you do have the right to your opinion and the right to comment. I just don’t share that opinion and am disappointed by the comments.

Based upon the ISHI and InterNACHI Standards of Practice followed in the industry, A-Pro Home Inspection Services exceeds those standards in every category. It seems there may be a disconnect in expectation of what is a good home inspection and the scope of work for it and what may have been expected in this case. I do not know what the specific expectations from a home inspection represent for you. I do however, know what a home inspection is supposed to represent and firmly believe we have exceeded that standard or expectation.

I understand there is a belief that several items were missed and/or not included when they should have been. After my review of the items you have mentioned, and my review of the inspection report provided, I must professionally disagree with your assessment. I will go through each item you’ve listed in your email as well as in your review.

1. Large hole in the wall behind the oven: A home inspector does not and is not required to move items and to view areas behind things such as a range, oven, refrigerator, furniture, etc. A home inspection is a visual examination of the conditions that exist in a property without the moving or dismantling of any furniture or appliances. If there is a hole in a wall concealed by an appliance, this is not something any home inspector, of any qualification would report upon.. This is specified on page 6 and 22 of the inspection report.
2. Single pane windows and the need for tempered glass: There are a number of comments within the report about the low quality single pane windows and that many windows are reported as potentially needing to be replaced. Not sure where the requirement of tempered glass is coming from but there are only some locations that require tempered glass. Areas around or in doors, walkways, stairway landings and bathtub locations are a few of the locations that come to mind about locations. If pages 11, 20 and 21 of the inspection are reviewed, several comments about glass panes at doors and window issues are noted and suggested for improvement.
3. Cooler temps upstairs: On page 14 of the inspection report, it states :Supply air flow or amount of supply air in the northwest and northeast bedrooms is considered less than ideal.” and further within this same page states, “The adequacy of heat distribution is difficult to determine during a one-time visit to a home.” I believe these comments addresses and indicates there is a concern about the ability of the system to provide adequate heat or air flow to the upstairs. Without living in the house or being in the home for days at a time during different weather conditions, there is no way for an inspector to determine if the upstairs will be much cooler than any other part of the house.
4. Somewhat common radon system: On page 17 of the inspection report, there are comments made related to what was thought to be a radon mitigation system installation but that if it was, it was not installed properly. There was no visible evidence or disclosure by anyone or anything that indicated a radon system existed in the home or not. Further, the determination of a radon system in the home is not specifically required in the Standards of Practice in the industry and therefore, I was not required to even identify what I did as a courtesy in the home inspection report.
5. Plumbing problems in the upstairs: There were a number of issues identified on page 18 of the home inspection report related to problems with plumbing upstairs. Since there were fixtures not operative which were reported, and signage on one of the sinks that stated “Do Not Use”, I believe there was adequate identification of plumbing issues given the specific conditions presented during the inspection.

Again, after reviewing the myriad of items listed within the inspection report, and the recommendations made as a result of the items reported, there was more than enough description provided that indicated certain professionals would be required to make several repairs within the home. As clearly stated on page 6,

THE SCOPE OF THE INSPECTION
All components designated for inspection in the InterNACHI Inspector Standards are inspected, except as may be noted in the “Limitations of Inspection” sections within this report. The InterNACHI ® Inspector Standards of Practice are made part of the inspection.
This inspection is visual only. A representative sample of building components is viewed in areas that are accessible at the time of the inspection only. No destructive testing or dismantling of building components is performed.
Each mechanical system which conveys as part of the property and specifically listed as having been tested was observed to be in normal working condition at the time of inspection, unless one or more deficiencies for a particular system is reported. Latent defects may still exist, and evaluation of any system is limited by the conditions during the inspection and the scope defined by the InterNACHI Home Inspection Standards of Practice.
It is the goal of the inspection to put a homebuyer in a better position to make a more informed decision about the property they are choosing to purchase. The inspection is not technically exhaustive and it is virtually impossible to detect and/or report every flaw or defect within a home during a one-time, short-term visual home inspection. Therefore, not all improvements will be identified during this inspection. Unexpected repairs should still be anticipated. The inspection should not be considered a guarantee or warranty of any kind.
Please refer to the inspection authorization agreement for a full explanation of the scope of the inspection.
It is strongly recommended that a Homeowner’s Warranty or service contract be purchased to cover the operation of Appliances, the Electrical System, the Air Conditioning System (s), Heating System(s), and the Plumbing System.
Verification of compliance with current or past Building Code and/or Zoning Regulations or requirements is outside the scope of this inspection.

Please refer to the InterNACHI® Inspector Standards of Practice and the Inspection Authorization Agreement(s) for a full explanation of the scope of the inspection. The InterNACHI Standards of Practice are available upon request or online.

I realize you are unhappy with the inspection – it is obvious by your comments. Yet, I believe the dissatisfaction is not justified based upon my following of the scope of a home inspection and the Standards of Practice utilized along with the resulting content of the inspection report provided to you. I believe the inspection provided and the content of the inspection is very indicative of the condition of the home at the time the inspection took place, given the limitations present and noted in the inspection report.

If you would like to personally discuss this further, please feel free to contact me by phone. Although we encourage all Clients to discuss matters with us personally, I understand that not all Clients are comfortable doing so. Even though we are not in agreement with this inspection, I do thank you for your comments.

Respectfully,

Jeff Lyons
Certified Master Inspector®

A-Pro Home Inspections Services commented on 03/07/2018