Shingle recall

[PAUL J. MAGRONE]

I've got an inspection set for Monday morrning and the realtor says that the roof was replaced recently. He also said that the shingles used were recalled and the seller did not take advantage of the opportunity to replace them under the recall. I have googled this and have had no luck finding out any information on this recent recall. Has anyone come across anything that would be helpful to me on this inspection Monday? I am looking for any information that could be helpful, even how one might report this if no other information becomes available and there are no visible issues when I get out there.

[bsumpter]

What type and/or brand of shingle...CalShake?

[kweiss]

Not sure I would go there. Normally, it is pretty hard to determine the brand of a shingle, at least with the comp type we see most around here.

If the realtor has the info and watns to pursue it that is great, but up to him. I would tell them I looked into it, as you said you did, and could not find any information to verify or deny it. Maybe refer that it be checked by a qualified roofer.

[David P. Valley]

Just do your roof inspection just as you would any other roof. And make notes of any particulars or oddities of the roof in question.

I would also note (on the report) what the Realtor had said..."He also said that the shingles used were recalled and the seller did not take advantage of the opportunity to replace them under the recall."

Let your client pursue the Realtors statement even further, if they'd like.

[PAUL J. MAGRONE]

Thanks for the input. Much appreciated. If I find out any information from the realtor I will post it here for all to see.

[mthomas2]

This brings up the question: to what extent do other inspectors here include information offered verbally by a seller, Realtor, contractor or other parties in their reports.

When relevant, I've been citing such information in the form:

"Per verbal communication from the seller, this house is built on the site of an abandoned nuclear waste reprocessing plant..." (or whatever)

but I've never been really comfortable doing so - seems like a lot of potential for a "he said / she said" dispute.

How do others handle this situation? And is their policy based on experience, legal advice, or both?

[David P. Valley]

Originally Posted by mthomas2

This brings up the question: to what extent do other inspectors here include information offered verbally by a seller, Realtor, contractor or other parties in their reports.

When relevant, I've been citing such information in the form:

"Per verbal communication from the seller, this house is built on the site of an abandoned nuclear waste reprocessing plant..." (or whatever)

but I've never been really comfortable doing so - seems like a lot of potential for a "he said / she said" dispute.

How do others handle this situation? And is their policy based on experience, legal advice, or both?

If I overhear negative information from a Realtor or tenant (regarding the property), it gets annotated in the report.

I love doing inspections on properties where the tenant is on-site and is pi$$ed off at the Seller and starts telling me everything and anything negative about the property. It makes my inspection of that particular property so much easier.

It's like having a word-of-mouth disclosure, which I'm sure every home inspector would enjoy.

[PAUL J. MAGRONE]

OK, here it goes. I contacted the roofing company in Georgia that installed the shingles. There was never a recall. There was a hail storm shortly after the roof was installed and the seller noticed the loose composite at that time. He contacted his insurance company and they denied a claim on the roof. The seller then called the roofing company who sent out someone to view the condition of the shingles. They determined that this batch of shingles had been damaged and issued the seller a full refund. There was never a recall. The seller did not use the money from the refund to replace the roof and left the shingles on the home. That was in 2000. Since then the roof covering has survived three major hurricanes and 7 Florida rain seasons. When I showed up to inspect the home the roof was near the end of its useful life. So this translated to me like this. One hail storm+seven rainy seasons+three hurricanes in 10 years aged this roof before its time. I noted all of the information that the realtor gave me in the report as well as the conversation I had with the company about the reimbursement and their notes on why they reimbursed the client. There must have been a defect somewhere unless that first hail storm was incredibly damaging. I am glad that the realtor gave me the information.