Home Inspectors on the Roof: Rescued from the Comments
Posted on August 6th, 2007 by Jonathan Dalton
When I originally wrote this post, I approached the issue of home inspectors walking on tile roofs from a perspective of leverage. Unless there are before-and-after pictures of the roof, any buyers’ agent claiming there are broken roof tiles that must be replaced is going to have an argument on their hands because they can’t prove whether the tiles were broken before the inspection.
I wasn’t weighing in on the significance of cracked roof tiles, the professional standards that home inspectors must meet or even the value of the little logos on different inspection reports. (I was trying to think of a real estate equivalent for the West Side Story rumble that broke out in the comments … maybe exclusive buyers’ agents against the rest of us, but that’s more a business option than a certification.)
As far as leverage goes, I’m apparently not the only one who feels the way I do. You can read Brad Deal’s full comment here, but here’s a brief excerpt:
I am both a home inspector and a real estate broker with many years of experience. The real question here is the difference between a “Generalist” and a “Specialist” in regards to home inspections. …
What an inspector includes in his report is a business decision. The schism that is developing between the experienced inspectors and the less experienced inspectors is breeding contempt between the groups thus the comments that every good inspector should walk tile roofs is stated, but in the next breath they will state that you should never exceed the standards of practice. The true definition of a home inspection is something I struggle with on every report. In my opinion there is a need for a progressive level of Standards that should be met as the inspector becomes more experienced.The truth lies somewhere in between. The experts on this forum walk the roofs. From their point of view this is the proper way of identifying defects for their client to make an “Informed Purchase Decision.” From my point of view as a real estate broker, I do not want anybody walking on my client’s tile roof unless it is the roofer retained by the Seller. I just don’t need to deal with the potential problems that arise from “He said, She Said.” And these problems can become significant. Even though I used to install tile in my youth I still inspect from a ladder at the eaves. … [emphasis added]
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With more than our share of tile roofs here in California I can relate to the problem, the approach I take is an initial inspection from the eaves and will only “walk” the roof if I see something I REALLY need to look at closely. We are supposed to be “non invasive”, we walk on floors because they were designed to be walked on, we run the furnace in normal mode because that’s the way it is supposed to work, what possible practical use is there for climbing on a roof? Maybe you can guarantee it will hold the occupants in case of severe flooding? No offense to anyone who has been flooded out, but think about it. If I don’t see evidence of leaking, if I don’t see evidence of damage from falling objects, if I don’t see evidence of an overheated attic, what will I learn from going on the thing? The risk out weighs the reward.