Undisclosed problem with exterior siding
Q: Since moving into our home about two months ago, we've found that the exterior siding is warped and crumbly in several places. None of this was disclosed by our home inspector. In fact, his report refers to the siding as “wood,” even though it’s some kind of particle board. And now, we’ve learned from our neighbors that the siding was the subject of a class action lawsuit, something the sellers should have disclosed but did not. When we called our inspector about this, he said the warping must have occurred since he inspected the building, only eight weeks ago. This is clearly a lame and irresponsible excuse. Don't you think he and the sellers should have disclosed these conditions and should now accept some liability?
A: Liability on the part of the home inspector and the sellers would seem to be fair, reasonable and appropriate: the sellers for concealment of significant issues and the home inspector for what appears to be professional negligence.
Experienced home inspectors recognize composite siding as distinct from wood siding and are aware of the problems that commonly occur with this material: mainly warping, swelling and decomposition. It may be that your inspector is not at the top of his game or was simply having a bad day. Either way, his defense is embarrassing at best.
The standard of practice for a home inspector is to report conditions that are visible and accessible at the time of the inspection. Damaged composite siding clearly fits that definition and should have been disclosed by the inspector, as well as by the sellers.
The inspector's claim that the siding became damaged since the day of the inspection is ludicrous. His half-baked excuse smacks of liability avoidance and unwillingness to admit to an error. There is simply no way that warping and decomposition of composite siding occurs during a two-month period, unless the siding has been submerged in water or exposed to a recent hurricane.
The big question now is “what other property defects remain undisclosed?” If an obvious condition such as damaged siding was missed by the inspector, one can expect that other conditions were also not reported. It is therefore advised that you hire a more experienced home inspector to conduct a second, and more complete, evaluation of the property. Once you have a comprehensive picture of significant issues, you can raise these matters with the first home inspector, as well as with the sellers.
Q: I need to know the cost per square unit for installing tile roofing in the aftermath of a recent tornado. My insurance company says that the three estimates I’ve gotten from local contractors are too high.
A: If the insurance company thinks three bids don't reflect the market price, ask them to recommend some local roofing contractors whose fees are acceptable to them. If they are unable or unwilling to do this, a complaint to the state agency that regulates insurance companies would be a reasonable next step.
Distributed by Action Coast Publishing. Questions to Barry Stone can be emailed to barry@housedetective.com.