Beware of Home Inspectors

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Beware of Your Home Inspectors

A home inspector is a waste of time for a lot of reasons.The first reason is that they do not do what you think they do.You think they are there to find existing or potential problems in the house so that you can decide if you should or shouldn’t buy the house.You could not be more wrong about what they do.

You should understand that a home inspection is nothing more than a “feel good moment” for you provided courtesy of the Texas Real Estate industry.Unless you find one of the rare inspectors that actually understands home construction and what problems normally beset homes, you will probably receive a 5 to 20 page report that will tell you if there is a dishwasher, a fireplace, that the plumbing works, etcetera.

The Texas Real Estate Commission licenses home inspectors, but don’t be fooled.Often, these "inspectors"have NO prior experience in home construction or repair.In Houston, after Enron failed, several former Enron employees became home inspectors.

A home inspector is only required to tell you one of four things:

  • That an item is present
  • That an item is not present
  • That it was inspected
  • That it is damaged or needs repair
    So in the case of the air conditioning system, the inspector will say if it is there or not; that he inspected it and as long as it blows relatively cool air when turned on, he will not note or report that it is damaged or in need of repair.But wait- if the a/c system is ten years old and does not cool sufficiently due to a leaking compressor, will he tell you that? NO. What if the a/c system is not even sufficient to cool the space involved? He won’t tell you that either. All he is required to do and all that he typically does is turn things on and see if they appear to work. There is no evaluation of how well they work or whether you may be incurring repair expenses or replacement in the near future.

What can you do?Hire a licensed air conditioning repair service to evaluate the system.It is money well spent.

http://www.housedefects.com/blog/23/Beware_of_Home_Inspectors.html

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Sounds like a lot of inspectors I know. This is what give us a bad name.

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Was that from an HVAC contractor about to go under?

Ignorance is bliss!:roll:

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John… is this a quote from elsewhere or your opinion?

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LOL…no, that’s from the website of a local attorney that specializes in RE law here in Austin. I hope I never get to know him personally. :shock:

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OH, and ambulance chaser. Now it makes sense!:roll: :roll: :roll:

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I sent this as an email to Mr. Dugas. I hope he enjoys it. Feel free to copy and/or modify it and send it to him as well. Maybe if enough of us do it, he’ll quit writing smack on the internet about us inspectors.

His email is: evin@housedefects.com I found it imbedded in the html on his contact form page. We should put it in many places where spiders can find it because I’m sure there are alot of folks that need his services and need to contact him. :wink:

Dear Mr. Dugas,

I enjoyed your Blog Post “Beware of Home Inspectors” so much that I thought you might like to see how it looked when it was written in reference to your profession. Please enjoy the following parody which will be making the rounds on the internet:

Beware of Your Real Estate Attorney

A Real Estate Attorney is a waste of time for a lot of reasons. The first reason is that they do not do what you think they do. You think they are there to represent you, to right a wrong that’s been done, to win a monetary award for you. You could not be more wrong about what they do.

You should understand that a Real Estate Attorney is only interested in being paid an exorbitant fee by luring you into litigation that may or may not be justified, reasonable or winnable. Of course a Real Estate Attorney doesn’t care if you win or lose your case. They will take your money either way. Many Real Estate Attorneys have infiltrated the legislature and write bills which benefit them exclusively with no regard for consumers or honest hard working persons. Unless you find one of the rare Real Estate Attorney that actually has a soul, you will probably consume your life with litigation; receive a pittance (if anything) in compensation, as your attorney rips off your money all the while laughing their way to the bank, etcetera.

The Bar Association licenses Real Estate Attorneys, but don’t be fooled. Often, these "Attorneys "have NO prior experience in litigation, case law, or honesty. When Enron failed and all the Attorneys went running to check their bank accounts, several former Enron employees became Real Estate Attorneys.

A Real Estate Attorney is only required to tell you one of four things:

• That they will represent you
• That a fee is involved
• That you have been wronged in some way
• That it is somebody else’s fault

So in the case of Real Estate litigation, the Attorney will say you did not need to take the advice of professionals that warned you of problems; that it is not your fault that you signed documents without reading or understanding them, your life has been changed for the worse, you have been wronged, somebody will pay for this. But wait- if the house is old and a piece of **** and everybody from the inspector to the neighbors said so, will he tell you that? NO. What he wants is YOUR money. He won’t tell you that either. All he is required to do and all that he typically does is drag you through the litigation process, consume your life in a living hell and laugh all the way to the bank. There is no evaluation of how well they work or whether you may be incurring expenses because your suit is frivolous.

What can you do? Well not much, but in instead of hiring a Real Estate Attorney you might as well just hire licensed air conditioning repair man. It would be money better spent and you will be much less aggravated.

*The above verbiage is a parody playing off of a poorly written blog by a Real Estate Attorney found at this site: http://www.housedefects.com/blog/23/…nspectors.html

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John Onofrey,
Thank you for contacting me. I will reply to you within 2 business days.
Evin Dugas :smiley:

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Thats really hypocritical of him considering that a home inspector is likely to be retained as an expert witness on behalf of this client!

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Very Good!!:mrgreen:

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LOL…very funny John O… I like that.

I posted the article to stir the pot. I get angry when I meet inspectors who write
soft reports to make the realtor happy. Far too many do it all the time.

On the other hand, I feel many of the inspectors here on this forum really do
care about the quality of their work. As the article says…

**Unless you find one of the rare inspectors that actually understands
home construction…
**
Keep up the good work…

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[FONT=‘Californian FB’]You must be a home inspector. I believe your TREC license number is #[/FONT][FONT=Arial]6546. [/FONT][FONT=‘Californian FB’] If you want to post a serious counter-response to my blog, I will post it. For the record, I don’t charge anything for my services until and unless there is a collection from the defendant. So, maybe your “parody” is written to disparage attorneys in general. If so, there is plenty of fodder for that. In fact, I have a much better parody of what you are getting at that is much more succinct in a joke: [/FONT]
[FONT=‘Californian FB’] [/FONT]
[FONT=‘Californian FB’]Here is how an attorney explains a contingent fee agreement: [/FONT]
[FONT=‘Californian FB’] [/FONT]
[FONT=‘Californian FB’]If we go to trial and lose, then I don’t get anything. [/FONT]
[FONT=‘Californian FB’]If we go to trial and win, then you don’t get anything. [/FONT]
[FONT=‘Californian FB’] [/FONT]
[FONT=‘Californian FB’]Again, if you want to take a counter-position for your profession, I will post it if it is not merely an attack on me. Defend your honor. [/FONT]
[FONT=‘Californian FB’] [/FONT]
[FONT=‘Californian FB’]EVIN G. DUGAS[/FONT]
[FONT=‘Californian FB’]A Litigation Firm[/FONT]
[FONT=‘Californian FB’]2303 Ranch Road[/FONT]****[FONT=‘Californian FB’] 620 South**[/FONT]**
[FONT=‘Californian FB’]Suite[/FONT]****[FONT=‘Californian FB’] 135**[/FONT][FONT=‘Californian FB’]** PMB 361**[/FONT]**
**[FONT=‘Californian FB’]Austin[/FONT][FONT=‘Californian FB’], Texas 78734[/FONT][FONT=‘Californian FB’][/FONT]**
[FONT=‘Californian FB’]Telephone 512/261-0044[/FONT]
[FONT=‘Californian FB’]Facsimile 512/261-0033[/FONT]
[FONT=‘Californian FB’] [/FONT]
[FONT=‘Californian FB’]Board Certified in Consumer & Commercial Law[/FONT]
[FONT=‘Californian FB’]Texas[/FONT]****[FONT=‘Californian FB’] Board of Legal Specialization**[/FONT]**
[FONT=‘Californian FB’]Licensed in Texas & Washington State[/FONT]

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You guys care to post some bullet points that I can use in a serious rebuttal response to Mr. Dugas? Raymond had a good one. Give me some ideas and I’'ll draft a response.

I apreciate his offer to post a rebuttal. Let’s do it in style.

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He works on contingency. That has nothing to do with what he is claiming in his statements on his blog. He has painted us with one big sloppy paint brush.

Any real good lawyer is but a really good salesman taking and explaining a situation which raises questions in triers of fact and or a juries mind to raise reasonable doubt as to the guilt of his client. Of course we all know that resonable doubt results in aquital. I wonder what training he has had other than law school, perhaps a used car salesman, aluminum storm door salesman…?

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I wonder if he would represent a home inspector who was being sued?

I wonder if he uses home inspectors as witnesses during law suits.

What do you call an attorney that got all C’s in law school? A lawyer.

The state of TX, which sets the practice for his beloved HVAC contractor also sets the standard of practice for the home inspectors for whom he has no regard. Is his beef with the standards or those who follow them?

Blanket statements are rarely indicative of an industry. A few bad apples spoil the bunch. A happy client tells on average 3 people, while an unhappy client (with or without merit) tells everyone they can. Could this be guiding his perception of the industry?

Are attorneys who lose a case just like home inspectors who miss the Freon leak?

If he has time to blog, he must need more business than he has! :roll:

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Blaine/raymond, good stuff. I’m going to ask my editor at www.homehintsenews.com to work on this to consolidate our ideas. He is the best wordsmith that I know.

C’mon guys, we need some more zingers!

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Erin,

A appreciate your fair offer to post a professional rebuttal. I will take you up on that. It seems that my parody may have rubbed you the same way your blog post did me, that without much verbiage being changed. The basic premise remained the same. Most people that I know take offense when their profession is painted with a broad brush as “a waste of time”. Home Inspectors and (gulp) Attorneys are no different in that regard, I suspect. I’ll get back to you in a couple of days after I’ve had a chance to put “pen to paper”.

Again, I appreciate the challenge and thank you.

P.S. you tell good jokes!

John A. Onofrey TREC #6546
Top 2 Bottom Inspections
281-565-4677
www.texasinspectors.net

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It was so cold up here the other day I saw two lawyers walking down the street. It was so cold they had each others hands in each others pockets! :mrgreen:

But really, I will think about some good retorts.

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Mike B.,

You are great with stats. Can you get me some stats maybe from the TREC web that demostrate/support the notion that inspectors are least likely to receive complaints, etc. Can we extrapolate and make some assumptions with regards to current number of active inspectors plus average number of inspections completed per inspector equals X?

For instance, 3000 active inspectors in Texas completed an average of 250 inspections per year which equals 750,000 completed inspections in Texas. Of that, there were 125 complaints filed on Inspectors which basically equalls 0.00 (ficticious numbers here of course, you get the idea).

Any idea’s on how many real estate transactions took place in Texas last year? Anyone?

I think the numbers might go along way to proving that you don’t have to beware of your inspector, rather, you need one.

I think when we get done with our response that we will have great content to post to our websites. I for one, intend to post Evin’s blog and our response on my web site when it’s finsihed.

Oh, This will be good and will provide for web traffic too. :wink:

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Whats his gripe with the Realtors and the Commission? The author seems to be frustrated with the system.

I would be interested to hear how he feels the profession could be bettered from a lawyers pov of course.

His comments on the A/C make sense to me, he makes a good arguement there.