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Home inspector missed cracked furnace

Q: I recently bought my first home and was extremely proud of myself because I'm just 23 years old. The home needs work, so I hired a home inspector who was recommended by my Realtor. The inspector found minor problems only, so I bought the house. Five months later, the heating system stopped working. Good thing too, because the repairman found a crack in the heat exchanger. He said this was giving off carbon monoxide. If my home inspector had told me this, I could have had the sellers replace the furnace. What can I do now?

A: If you haven’t already replaced the damaged furnace, you should contact your home inspector immediately and request a reinspection of the system. If the crack or any related defects are visible and accessible, the home inspector should be liable for failing to disclose those conditions.

In many cases, cracks in a heat exchanger are within the dark recesses of a furnace and are not visible to a home inspector. Sometimes there are symptoms that can alert a home inspector to potential problems with the heat exchanger, such as irregular flame pattern, abnormal flame color, or soot near warm air registers or inside the flue pipe.

The big question, therefore, is whether faulty furnace conditions were visible at the time of the inspection. If so, the inspector may be liability for repair costs. However, the degree of liability could be limited by verbiage in the inspection contract, by state laws, or by the inspector's possible unwillingness to take responsibility for the consequences of a professional error. In that case, a consultation with an attorney would be advisable.

Q: We are first-time homebuyers and have just made an offer on the condo we are currently renting. We’re trying to decide whether to get a home inspection, and several friends have advised us to save our money. They say it’s not necessary because the condo is priced very low and the equity will more than cover the cost of needed repairs. Are we taking a big risk if we buy without having an inspection?

A: Laments are often heard from buyers who bought homes without having them inspected. In many cases, their decisions were based on well-meaning advice from friends and relatives or inexcusable advice from misguided agents.

The reasons given for bypassing an inspection are numerous and always erroneous. For example, your friends say the equity in your condo will enable you to pay for needed repairs. But how will you know what those repairs are if you don't hire a qualified home inspector? If there are problems with the electrical wiring, the plumbing, or the heating, symptoms may not be evident until serious consequences occur.

Regardless of low price and high equity, you need to know the true condition of the home you are buying. You need to know that systems are not only functional, but safe and in compliance with applicable building standards. You're preparing to buy a commodity that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. Spend a few hundred dollars to protect that investment, and before you do, be sure to find the most qualified and experienced home inspector available in your area.

Distributed by Action Coast Publishing. Questions to Barry Stone can be emailed to barry@housedetective.com.

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