Heavy snow hinders home inspection
Q: This is not a question, but a comment. I met a home inspector in Montana. He told me he loved doing home inspections in the winter because exterior problems were often covered by snow, and he could just check the "unknown" box and avoid any responsibility or recourse. Could you please alert readers to this unfortunate cop-out?
A: White winters do in fact limit the thoroughness of home inspections. This is an inescapable reality that should not be held against home inspectors, even if they take pleasure in the momentary respite.
In cold states and high elevations, heavy snow can severely limit the thoroughness of a home inspection. Deep snow prevents inspectors from evaluating the lower portions of walls, some portions of foundations, ground drainage conditions around buildings, various plumbing fixtures (including yard sprinklers), driveways and patios, stairs and decks, roof conditions, chimney tops, and more. In such cases, home inspectors have no choice but to list buried and inaccessible conditions as "unknown" and to recommend further evaluation after the spring thaw. If inspectors take pleasure in the seasonal work relief provided by snow cover, they merely reveal one of the lazy proclivities of human nature itself.
Those who buy homes that are partially obscured by snow must accept a degree of risk. To some extent, they are buying property sight-unseen, and in many instances, defects become apparent when warm weather returns.
Home inspectors sometimes joke among themselves that the perfect inspection site is a house with a slab foundation and a flat roof. This translates, of course, to no crawling under the floor or through the attic. Now that list can be expanded to include slab homes in heavy snow.
Q: We are selling our home and have a question about seller disclosure. Next to our house, there is a large Dutch elm tree. It is diseased and will probably die in a couple of years. Our buyers have not raised any question about the tree, and the symptoms of the disease are not yet noticeable. Should we tell them about the tree or just let them enjoy it until it needs to come down?
A: Allowing the buyers to enjoy the tree for the time being will have little intrinsic value when they eventually must pay thousands of dollars to have the tree removed. If they should then suspect that you knew about the problem, you could find yourself wishing you had said something before the property was sold.
The answer to all disclosure uncertainties consists of three simple words: Disclose, disclose, disclose. Allowing one exception to this rule invites further exceptions. Nondisclosure of any kind is a slippery slope that leads to costly liability. The disclosure you withhold today could be tomorrow's income for a hungry attorney. So play it safe and disclose everything you know about the condition of your property. It is the way you would want to be treated if you were the buyer.
• Email Barry Stone at barry@housedetective.com.
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