Roberts Home Inspection Service

THE 1% RULE
When you consider the life cycle of every component of a house, a reasonable annual estimate of the cost of normal maintenance is 1% of the value of the house. One year you may replace the furnace; a few years down the road you may re-surface the roof. Throw in the odd unexpected repair in between and you average 1% per year. It's incredible but this rule is not far off even for very expensive and very inexpensive houses.

NORMAL MAINTENANCE
If you strip away the cosmetics, a house is made up of the structure, roof, exterior envelope and the systems of the house. The systems are things like heating, plumbing, electrical and cooling.

All components and systems eventually wear out. Fortunately, they don't all wear out at the same time. Different components have different life cycles. Houses tend to settle into what you might call a normal maintenance pattern.

WHAT'S THE MESSAGE HERE?
A homebuyer should arrive at the home inspection with realistic expectations. If you are buying a 12-15 year old home, let's face it, you may need a new roof covering. If you are buying a 60 year old home, you may have to update some plumbing. Don't let this scare you away from a perfectly good home.

When Things Go Wrong .... (And they do from time to time)

There may come a time that you discover something wrong with the house, and you may be upset or disappointed with your Home Inspection. This is truly understandable. Roberts Home Inspection Service (RHIS) makes makes every effort possible to find any or all note worthy discrepancies. But, there are times when some things do go wrong. If you find something that we missed during the inspection, and you feel it needs attention, please do NOT hesitate to call us back. We will be more than happy to come back out and re-evaluate the item missed.

Intermittent Or Concealed Problems
Some problems can only be discovered by LIVING IN a house. They cannot be discovered during the few hours of a home inspection. For example, some shower stalls leak when people are in the shower, but do not leak when you simply turn on the tap. Some roofs and basements only leak when specific conditions exist (heavy rain and/or snow fall). Some problems will only be discovered when carpets were lifted, furniture is moved or finishes are removed.

No Clues
These problems may have existed at the time of the inspection but there were no clues as to their existence. Our inspections are based on the past performance of the house. If there are no clues of a past problem, it is unfair to assume we should foresee a future problem.

We Always Miss Some Minor Things
Some say we are inconsistent because our reports identify some minor problems but not others. The minor problems that are identified were discovered while looking for more significant problems. We note them simply as a courtesy. The intent of the inspection is not to find the $200 problems; it is to find the $2,000 problems. These are the things that affect people's decisions to purchase.

Contractors' Advice
The main source of dissatisfaction with Home Inspectors comes from comments made by contractors. Contractors' opinions often differ from ours. Don't be surprised when three roofers all say the roof needs replacement when we said that, with some minor repairs, the roof will last a few more years.

Last Man In Theory
While our advice represents the most prudent thing to do, many contractors are reluctant to undertake these repairs. This is because of the "Last Man In Theory". The contractor fears that if he is the last person to work on the roof, he will get blamed if the roof leaks, regardless of whether the roof leak is his fault or not. Consequently, he won't want to do a minor repair with high liability when he could re-roof the entire house for more money and reduce the likelihood of a callback. This is understandable.

Most Recent Advice Is Best
There is more to the "Last Man In Theory". It suggests that it is human nature for homeowners to believe the last bit of "expert" advice they receive, even if it is contrary to previous advice. As Home Inspectors, we unfortunately find ourselves in the position of "First Man In" and consequently it is our advice that is often disbelieved.

Why Didn't We See It
Contractors may say: "I can't believe you had this house inspected, and they didn't find this problem". There are several reasons for these apparent oversights:

1. Conditions During Inspection
It is difficult for homeowners to remember the circumstances in the house, at the time of the inspection. Homeowners seldom remember that it was snowing, there was storage everywhere in the basement or that the furnace could not be turned on because the air conditioning was operating, etc. It's impossible for contractors to know what the circumstances were when the inspection was performed. It's for this reason, RHIS takes a visual and physical "Snap-Shot" of the day when the home inspection was performed (i.e. - The month, day, time, weather conditions, which way house faces, etc).

2. The Wisdom Of Hindsight
When the problem manifests itself, it is very easy to have 20/20 hindsight. Anybody can say that the basement is wet when there is 2 inches of water on the floor. Predicting the problem is a different story.

3. A Long Look
If we spent 1/2 an hour under the kitchen sink or 45 minutes disassembling the furnace, we'd find more problems too. Unfortunately, the inspection would take several days and would cost considerably more.

4. We're Generalists
We are generalists; we are not specialists. The heating contractor may indeed have more heating expertise than we do.

5. An Invasive Look
Problems often become apparent when carpets or plaster are removed, when fixtures or cabinets are pulled out, and so on. A home inspection is a visual examination. We don't perform any invasive or destructive tests.

Not Insurance
In conclusion, a home inspection is designed to better your odds. It is not designed to eliminate all risk. For that reason, a home inspection should not be considered an insurance policy. The premium that an insurance company would have to charge for a policy with no deductible, no limit and an indefinite policy period would be considerably more than the fee we charge. It would also not include the value added by the inspection.