FHA inspections vs. home inspections
Q. The home I'm buying just had an FHA inspection and the inspector said that everything is OK. This concerns me because I've noticed little cracks in the walls at the window corners, the ceiling fan in the living room is crooked, and I can feel a draft at the front door, even when it is closed. If the inspector didn't notice these problems, I'm wondering if he even checked the safety of the fireplace or the electrical wiring. Aren't FHA inspectors supposed to check these things?
A. FHA inspections are performed when mortgage loans are to be insured by the Federal Housing Administration. Unfortunately, many homebuyers assume that FHA inspections are identical to home inspections. Actually, FHA inspections would be better understood if they were called FHA appraisals, for that is what they truly are.
The purpose of an appraisal is to determine market valve, not to investigate the property for inherent defects. Unfortunately, the federal government confused the situation by requiring FHA appraisers to perform limited inspections for which individual appraisers may or may not be truly qualified. As a result, many homebuyers, and even some real estate agents, make the mistake of foregoing a home inspection in lieu of an FHA appraisal. The result of this confusion is that many property defects remain undisclosed and undiscovered until after the close of escrow.
The defects you have noticed so far are probably not significant. Many homes have hairline stucco cracks at door and window corners, and in most cases these cracks are not related to serious structural problems. The crooked ceiling fan probably needs adjustment, and the drafty door probably needs adjustment or a new set of weather seals. However, most homes have various electrical, plumbing, roofing and heating issues that can be determined by a qualified home inspector. Now is the time to find a highly qualified inspector to provide the kind of disclosure you should have gotten before buying this home.
Q. We just purchased our first home, and now we have a drainage problem. Every time we have a hard rain, our closet carpet gets saturated. A friend said it might be because the landscape rocks on the outside of the house are above the concrete slab foundation. He says we should lower these rocks. Do you have any additional advice for this?
A. If the landscape grade level is above the level of the slab, that would be a recipe for water intrusion. Lowering the grade, not just the rocks, and providing a means for water to flow away from the building will probably eliminate the problem. If not, the expert you need is a drainage specialist, otherwise known as a geotechnical engineer.
If water intrusion occurs with each heavy rain, the sellers must have known about it and should have provided disclosure.
The faulty grade against the building should have been pointed out by your home inspector, assuming you had a home inspection. If you didn't have an inspector, now is the time to hire a good one, to find out what other defects have not been disclosed.
• To write to Barry Stone, visit him on the web at www.housedetective.com, or write AMG, 1776 Jami Lee Court, Suite 218, San Luis Obispo, CA 94301.
© 2015, Action Coast Publishing