Inspected a home back in the middle of February… nearly two months ago. Ran the dishwasher through the cycles… no apparent problems… actually waited around for it to finish… recall openning door to view the inside upon completion… steam… drained… good deal…
client just closed in last week or so… moved in… dishwasher cycles but no water going through… client calls realtor… unhappy… “dishwasher does not work… should have been caught”… realtor call me… “worked fine the day i was there”…
What else can i do? We’re not liable for items that go bad after we witness their operation day of!.. any opinions…
I told realtor that we are not liable… no me and likely not her… but keep me posted…
If it is a relatively cheap fix… I may offer to split with realtor so make her feel better… but other than that… nuttin…
We kind of found out some time ago that dishwashers can often come back to bite the inspector, not because of negligence but because they do not tell the clients what often happens between the time they inspected and moving in day. (1) I always tell the client to go and do the walk through prior to closing and I also put it in my report several times, bold, highlighted. (2) I also make a point of telling them that what often happens when the old owners are moving out they will empty the refrigerator and freezer(s) and typically dump all that stuff down the disposal if there is one, then put all those dirty dishes, containers and other items in the dishwasher and run that thing non stop for a couple of days so they can pack up all their “stuff”. This can results in clogged drains and broken dishwashers. I tell them when they do their walk through inspection, run everything again; HVAC, dishwashers, faucets, flush all the toilets several times, try the lights, doors, garage door opener, fans, attic ladders (those get broken when folks move too) and anything that needs to be exercised. I had a woman I did an inspection for that called after she moved in because her front door frame was loose. She thought I had missed it (no way in hell). I was over in her neighborhood the next day, stopped by. The home had a sunken living room, the old owners had built a ramp in the LR so they could move the side by side refrig out through the front door. They had to get a running start up the ramp and T-boned the door frame, knocking it loose at the sole plate. I pointed out to her the freshly crushed door trim on the same side of the door. I asked her if she had done the walk through like I had told her. She said NO because she thought everything would be okay because she had had a home inspection and she had other things to do. I always tell them that is their last chance to find discrepancies before they take possession of the home. DO NOT SkIP the Walk thru!!! I even provide them with a one page check list to use so they can stay on track. You have to cover you 6 and make them responsible at some point. Some folks think just because they had a home inspection, nothing will ever go wrong on the home for as long as they live in it. Make them understand things get broken between inspection and closing, especially if any amount of time elapses. Whenever I have to go back, I always take the time to ask if there is anything else they have any questions on while I am there. Saves another trip later. Hope this helps
Todays dishwasher drain connection, or lack of. The previous owners took out the dishwasher and installed a base cabinet in it’s place. So let’s just stuff some plastic in this plastic hole thingy to stop the water.
First ask the client if the water to the DW is on, then check Serial # to make sure it has not been swapped out, if the house was occupied, that’s a lot of use in that amount of time. I always tell my clients to do a final walk thru before closing.
Like all pumps if not used for awhile they go dry, sometimes they need to be primed. Try putting water in the dishwasher via a pan or something and then run the dishwasher.
Not a bad idea! Always get the SN of the appliances that stay with the house. I have a little check sheet for the new home owner that I include with report. On the bottom of the check sheet I remind them that any appliance tested is working or not working on the day of the inspection only. No Warranty is expressed or implied by this report.
One of the reasons that I really like having the Realtor(s) and/or Clients at 99% of my inspections is so that they can see that their appliances and the heating and cooling system worked at the time of the inspection.
I have special sections of my SOLUTIONS Interactive Report and Real Estate Library titled:
Blame the home inspector
Is my inspection report a guarantee, warranty, or insurance, and
When things go wrong
Since I went to an educational reporting system back on April 1, 2003, (no fooling), I have had zero complaint calls. Previously, from October 15, 2001, to March 31, 2003, I had seven what I call “nuisance complaints,” and the complaint that resulted in this thread is one that I would put into the “nuisance complaint” category.
I really have not offered yet… I work a lot with this realtor and if there are issues I will probably help her out… but in the meantime i will hold my ground.
thanks for input… going to start writing down s/n more now!
