He also didn't put a sewer cam down the sewer line, measure for voltage drops, or measure the foundation. But why tell her that now? Not inspecting the crawl space could be a big deal. Many inspectors just flat out won't do it. I explained to her we didn't do termite inspections but that I could organize it, or give her contact details for someone who could do it. I also explained that it wasn't likely that Mark would go under the house she's buying unless he was doing a full inspection.
"If no one will go under these older houses, how are people supposed to get them inspected?"
I explained that many inspectors and termite inspectors won't check under the house. Mark in fact does, but it's not his favorite thing to do and he only does it as part of a full home inspection. If he did inspect it, I would have to charge her the full fee. Since she'd already paid the other guy a LOT of money, she wasn't too keen to pay us an additional LOT of money.
"The inspector we had said he couldn't get under there, but I went over there last night and I went under there. So I know he could have."
Aha! I suspect she no longer trusts the other inspector because she thinks he hasn't been truthful with her about the crawl space. I explained that there are several reasons why a home inspector might not enter the crawl space. For example, Mark won't go in unless there's 18 inches of headroom. That's a safety requirement. He also won't go in if he believes it is wet. A loose wire meeting water can electrocute you from 30 feet away. It's not worth the risk. Another reason Mark won't go in is if access is obstructed by boxes, bicycles, or other property that belongs to the sellers. But Mark always tells the buyer if he didn't go in and why. And if they've paid in advance, the extra charge for the crawl space is refunded.
The remark about electrocution seemed to strike a chord. She told me that it had been moist. Wet enough for mud to stick to her jeans. What did I think? Also there was a mound of some kind under the house. Did I think it might be termites?
We are now way outside my area of expertise. I have no advice to give. Which is what I told her. It was outside the scope of things I know about. I can answer questions about scheduling and the various techniques and technologies that Mark uses, but I have no idea about the condition of a house. Period.
Then she asked me to confirm that we lived in the same town as the house she's purchasing. I thought she was going to ask me to discount the price since Mark wouldn't have to drive very far. Instead she asked how long we'd lived here. Mark has lived here about 10 years and I've lived here over 30 years. And then she asked, "What do you know about the house?"
Nothing, really. All I can say is that I don't think it's being flipped. I don't know the owners and I've never been in it. I know the house she's talking about because I saw the realtor's sign out front.
"I think all the sewer lines have been replaced because when I was under the house, I saw PVC instead of iron. The guy who remodeled it did it for his parents. Surely he would have done a really good job if he was going to have his parents living in it."
You would think so. But now I'm being asked to pass judgement on the moral character of someone I don't know. We are moving farther and farther away from my area of expertise.
All this woman wants is reassurance that the house she's buying is a good, solid house. But it's her inspector's job to provide her with that. We can only do it if you hire us instead of the other guy.
