I was just called to do an inspection. I went through my telephone interview and asked what type of siding is on the house. I was told that the realtor said that it was Lp siding installed in 1994. She also told her it was the bad kind. She said that she didn’t know what that meant. It looked good to her and she asked me how long might it last.
My client? is a first time home buyer and there is a touch of a language barrier. I told her that I couldn’t make a determination with out seeing the home nor could I give any advice. If it is bad Lp and if it was me, I wouldn’t want the problem and would look for another home. There is a question somewhere in here. I guess I have an ethical dilemma. On one hand if it is bad siding and she is a first time homebuyer I would love to foward her links to sites that explain the problems associated with that product before the inspection. Reason being that when I bought my first home I didn’t have 2 nickels to rub together after the closing and the last thing I would hate to see would be someone who couldn’t afford to replace the siding and any other problems associated with it and pay my fee. But on the other hand it’s not my problem and I should just report the facts as I see them at the inspection. Nothing more or nothing less and advise on further evalution.
The inspection is on Saturday. Any thoughts before then would greatly be appreciated.
Joe’s link is one of many if you Google LP siding. I’d do the inspection, write up exactly what I saw, make danged sure it was really LP siding before waving any flags, then let the client decide or refer it to a qualified contractor. I’d be very cautious of coming across as recommending the client not buy the house…that’s just not right nor our job. It could get you into deep doo-doo too probably. If you write the report properly and educate the buyer on the risks then the ball’s in her court.
I had a similar situation a few weeks ago when a young couple was looking at a fairly expensive home with pool & spa. I did not do the home inspection but I did do the pool & spa & lawn sprinkler system because the other inspector didn’t offer that service. Anyway, there were numerous serious issues with both the pool & spa and the sprinkler and I was able to see that the home had issues as well. I really, really wanted to tell the young couple to look elsewhere but I knew I just couldn’t do it. They called me a few weeks later to inspect another home for them as they had passed on the 1st one, thank goodness. I told them that I thought they had made the right decision.