Harney: Ensure officials play by the rules

Both the seller and the buyers “freaked out” at hearing this. Later that day the buyers canceled the contract. On subsequent inspection, Dahlberg told me, “there was no crack in the heat exchanger.” There was nothing wrong. The sellers were so upset that they took their house off the market.

In an interview, Dahlberg told me that some inspections “have become a nightmare” for sellers and their agents. Nonetheless, she strongly supports the concept and value of home inspections by competent inspectors — “we do need that third party opinion” to be certain about the condition of a property. But they need to stay within strict professional norms and guidelines.

Walter Fish, owner of Bay Area Home Inspection LLC in the Marquette, Mich., area and a certified and licensed inspector, agrees. He says that furnace issues are a “common example” of where inspectors exceed their appropriate scope. “Some inspectors have been known to call out (for replacement) older furnaces” that are operating normally. Why’s that a problem? Because under widely recognized professional rules of conduct, inspectors are not supposed to “determine the life expectancy of any component or system.”

Fish is a member of the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI), one of the largest trade groups for the profession. The association’s “residential standards of practice” spell out the basic do’s and don’ts for inspectors. Among the tasks they are not supposed to perform, according to the standards, are assessing:

• The life expectancy of the property or any components.

• The market value of the property or its marketability.

• The “suitability” of the property for any use or the “advisability” of its purchase.

• Aesthetic issues.

Scott Godzyk of Godzyk Real Estate Services in Manchester, N.H., described on ActiveRain one deal-damaging inspection he experienced that crossed all sorts of professional tripwires. A buyer hired an inspector he found online. The inspector’s final report noted among other problems:

• The roof is at the end of its 25 year life.

• The furnace hasn’t been serviced in years.

• The oven smokes when it’s turned on.

• Paint colors in several rooms “do not match.”

• Kids’ toys are a trip hazard.

All of which were curious findings since:

• The house was only 9 years old, so the roof was nowhere near its 25 year functional life.

• The furnace had been serviced during each of the preceding seven years, as the dated tags attached to it confirmed.

• The oven only smoked because the inspector turned it on without looking inside, where the sellers had a couple of plastic containers.

• Paint color match is not a matter for a home inspector.

• Kids’ toys do not convey with the house. Duh.

The takeaway here for you: As a seller, be aware of the standards of practice for inspectors.

A good source is InterNACHI (www.nachi.org/sop.htm.) As a buyer, search for certified or state licensed inspectors with solid references who will fairly and accurately report what you need to know about the house — not what you don’t.

Kenneth R. Harney of the Washington Post Writers Group is a past member of the Federal Reserve Board’s Consumer Advisory Council and is currently on the board of directors of the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Reach him at KenHarney@earthlink.net.