Can I take an Inspector to court for lying in his inspection?
He failed to disclose numerous difects in the house. Plus he said he couldn’t turn on the water to test the plumbing (which is where most of the problems are) however, when we did a walk through of the house 4 weeks previously, we were able to turn on the water to taste it with no problem at all, so we don’t understand why he had one?
Also though he said stove was in good working order when 2 of the top burners don’t function and oven won’t turn on. Those are just a few of the things.
If you accuse someone of lying, you had best be prepared to substantiate your assertion in court, as you are likely to find yourself the defendant in a defamation lawsuit…
Read your service agreement and any state mandated standards of practice and talk to your inspector. I know of no standard of practice which requires inspectors to turn on a utility service. Few informed inspectors will turn on any utility service. It is the seller’s obligation to have the house ready to inspect with utilities turned on.
Inspectors are not required to turn on the water service or other utility that is shut off to perform a home inspection. Operating valves such as the main water shutoff valve can cause damage to the home if operating the valve were to cause a leak. Most often a homes water service is shut off when leaks or other defects may be present. With all that being said, your home inspection report should clearly explain that the plumbing could not be inspected and should be re-inspected once service is restored. What did your report say?
Most inspectors don’t turn on the water and it sounds like he informed you that it wasn’t tested or inspected. Also in my experience when people say “those are just a few things” they really mean “that is everything”
My suggestion to you is to accept the fact that you have some repairs to make as the owner of the home.