Wasted $1800 on a home inspection that missed everything

When I bought my first house last year in Portland, I hired this inspector who was recommended by my realtor. Paid $1800 for what he called a 'premium' inspection with thermal imaging and all that. He spent maybe 3 hours in the house and gave me a 50 page report that looked real official. Turned out he totally missed a cracked main sewer line and knob and tube wiring hidden behind insulation in the attic. Found out about the sewer line 3 months later when my basement flooded and the wiring during my first electrician visit. Cost me $4000 to fix the sewer and another $2500 to get the wiring replaced. The inspection is supposed to catch this stuff, right? Has anyone else had a bad experience with a home inspector that seemed legit but was basically useless?

3 comments

3 Comments

ray_burns4d ago

$1800 is insane. Should've hired a plumber and electrician separately for half that.

adam1864d ago

Ask @ray_burns if he's ever actually tried hiring a plumber and an electrician separately for a job like this... I've seen both show up, point fingers at each other, and still hand you a bill for $1200 each. Getting one crew to handle it might cost more upfront but at least you've got one person to blame when something goes wrong.

the_ben4d ago

Have you actually tried that route before, Ray? I went the separate route once on a similar project and it was a nightmare. The plumber finished his part but then the electrician showed up and said the wiring was wrong for what I needed, so I had to call the plumber back. By the time it was all sorted I had paid around $2000 and wasted three weekends waiting on both of them to come back. That peace of mind knowing one crew handles it all is worth something to me, even if it's not cheap upfront. I'd rather pay more and have it done right in one shot than gamble on saving a few hundred bucks.