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Inspector Homes |
professional home inspection and consulting |
Inspector Homes canada 2831 34th St SW Calgary AB p 403-464-6637 f 403 249 4615 info@inspectorhomes.ca |
Calgary's Home for Home Inspection |
Expectations and Limitations |
I take pride in satisfied clients. My goal on every inspection is to provide you with a thorough, unbiased perspective of the condition of your real estate investment. Experience has taught me that satisfied clients also understand the limitations of the inspection. Many of my competitors want to gloss over this aspect of our industry but this leads to misinformed customers who walk away feeling like they didn't receive the value they were expecting. By providing this information I hope to address some of the most common misconceptions of home inspections. Please review this section in order to understand the scope of your home inspection. For further information read the Standards of Practice and consult the Questions & Answers about home inspection. |
A home inspection is not technically exhaustive. A technically exhaustive inspection would involve experts from every discipline of home construction: structural engineers; master plumbers, electricians and gas fitters; heating, ventilation and air quality specialists; and may others. This would involve disassembling, inspecting and reassembling every component of the home taking days and costing many thousands of dollars. Even after this inspection there would be no guarantee that some problems would not be detected. No inspection is all encompassing and some detectable deficiencies my go unnoticed due to extenuating circumstances and conditions. |
Home inspectors are not experts in every area of building construction and maintenance. A good analogy that is often used to describe home inspectors is we are General Practitioners much like your family doctor. We look at the overall conditions of your property focussing on the major systems and safety. There are times when an inspector will discover a deficiency or condition beyond his capacity and will refer you to a specialist in a particular field for further examination. This should be considered a sign of professionalism and not inadequacy. |
The home inspector will not find every defect in the property. While the inspection is comprehensive in that it involves every major system and component of the home, it is not all-inclusive. It is a reality that there will be some deficiencies discovered in the property that were not identified in the inspection report. A home inspection is a visual evalutation of the property over a few hours. |
The inspection cannot identify defects that are hidden within wall, floor and ceiling cavities or are otherwise concealed. A home inspection is visual inspection of readily accessible systems and components in the home. Inspectors do not have permission to do invasive or destructive testing which essentially means no trace left behind that we were ever in the home. Readily accessible means those items that are visible without removing personal propery, dismantling, destructive measures or any action which is likely to involve risk to persons or property. We don't have permission to move furniture, personal belongings, lift carpets or ceiling tiles. |
Deficiencies may exist which only occur under certain circumstances. Some problems can only be discovered by living in a house. For example, a roof or basement my only leak in certain extreme weather conditions. A shower door may leak when the door is closed and the water is spraying against it, but this is not a condition that a home inspector can recreate. This can be particularly true when a property has been vacant for an exended period. The bathtub may have a small leak that only shows up after it has been used on a daily basis for several weeks. Problems can be present at the time of the inspection but not present readily visible evidence. The visual home inspection is based on the past performance of the house and the present condition. |
The home inspection does not seek to identify minor or cosmetic deficiencies. The intent of a home inspection is not to form a list of $50 repair items; it is to find the significant deficiencies that can impact the decision to purchase a home. Beyond safety items, minor items noted are identified in the course of looking for major deficiencies and are noted as a courtesy. Cosmetic items such as scratched hardwood floors, damaged paint or trim and other surface deficiencies are not noted or identified. |
The home inspection does not identify environmental hazards. Identification of environmental hazards of any kind whether concealed or in plain view is outside the scope of the inspection. This can include building materials that are now suspected of posing health risks including but not limited to asbestos, vermiculite insulation, formaldehyde, or other carcinogens. The home inspection also does not identify or determine the presence of chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, allergens, irritants, lead or mold. If you have any concerns about environmental hazards I strongly recommend that you seek the services of a qualified environmental specialist to provide a full environmental assessment of your home. |
The home inspection is not a building code, permit or zoning assessment. Houses are required to meet the building codes at the time of construction or renovation. Building codes are continually changing and evolving with updates in materials and techniques and as we demand more from our homes in performance and design. It is unrealistic to evaluate a home built 20 or 30 years ago to todays edition of the building code. In instances of safety an inspector may use the current building code as a benchmark for present safety standards. It is beyond the scope of the inspection to determine if the original construction or any subsequent modifications, additions or renovations were carried out under the appropriate permits or municipal inspections. |
The home inspector will not tell you how to fix the deficiencies. The home inspector will not detail how to repair deficiencies, what materials to use or how much repairs will cost. Home inspectors are not contractors and are prohibitted by most Codes of Ethics from repairing clients homes. It is always recommended to use qualified professional trades and contractors to perform any repairs or deficiencies. |
The home inspection does not determine the life expectancy of any comonents or systems. The home inspectors findings and opinions reflect the conditions that were observed at the time of the inspection. The inspector can not determine when a component will fail. Some components or systems may be continue to perform past their expected life cycle and other components may fail prematurely. There may be components which operate intermittently or only experience problems under certian conditions. Just like in an automobile, systems and components can fail at any time. These are the risks of home ownership and as a home owner you assume these risks and responsibilities. |
The home inspection does not form a guarantee or warranty. The purpose of the inspection is to educate you in the present condition of your home. That is what you are paying for. It is unreasonable to assume that for a small fee you can transfer all the risk of your home purchase over to your home inspector. That is not the purpose of a home inspection. Although a home inspection can reduce your risk, it cannot eliminate it and as such the inspector will not assume any risk associated with the home's condition, adequacy, suitability, deficiency, performance or lack of. |
If the real estate transaction on the inspected property is conditional on the home inspection, do not waive conditions until you have recieved the full, written report and are satisfied with the findings. If you are present at the inspection you may feel comfortable with the findings at the conclusion of the inspection. I strongly urge you to carefully read the inspection report and address any concerns with the findings of the report before you sign any documents removing the condition of the home inspection in your real estate pruchase. While you may feel that the deficiencies the inspector points out as you participate in the inspection are minor or insignificant to the purchase, it has been my experience that buyer's perspectives can change when the whole, written report is laid out for them. |
The best way to reduce your risk of costly repairs is to properly maintain your home. Read your inspection report carefully and follow up on the inspector's recommendations. A home is a made up of many complex systems and with home ownership comes a responsibility to maintain those systems and components. Educate yourself in what maintenance is required and recommended on your home and stay on top of it. Most major problems arise from simple maintenance that is neglected. For example, you greatly increase your risk for basement water infiltration if you don't ensure adequate drainage around your home and keep your gutters, downspouts and downspout extensions in proper condition. You will have water infiltration into the wall assembly around your tub or shower if the caulking and seals are not properly maintained. A few minutes and five dollars worth of silicone or caulking can save you thousands in repairs. In time, all systems in your home will fail and require extensive repair or replacement. As already mentioned this can happen well before or well after their expected life. Make sure that you budget an adequate amount (suggested 1% to 3%) of your homes value annually for repairs, improvements and upgrades. |
For further information read the Standards of Practice and consult the Questions & Answers about home inspection. |
Inspected once, inspected right.® |
Still have questions? Just Ask! |
The purpose of the home inspection is not to provide ammunition to renegotiate the purchase price of the property. There can, on occaisons, be significant defects present that your Realtor representative feels may be justified to return to the negotiation table, depending on your Purchase Contract. Some clients, however, feel that the inspection report is a "To Do" list for the seller. As has already been mentioned here, there is not such thing as a perfect house. It is unreasonable to expect the seller to take care of any deficiency in the report. |
The "Perfect" home does not exist. In my experience I have encountered clients who expect to purchase a perfect home with no deficiencies. My regretful response to these individuals is that I have never seen a "perfect" house, nor have any of my peers; It does not exist! Yes, even an inspector's house has some things which could be improved - better seals, updated components, a refinished deck, etc. As a home owner you need to be prepared for routine maintenance, replacement of major components in time and the burden of unexpected repairs. View typical life lifespans in How long will it last?, recommended maintenance schedules from Maintenance Overview and a Cost Guideline for improvements and repairs. |
403 464 6637 |