SUMMARY NOW REQUIRED!

Home Inspection Rule Changes

Be sure to read this in its entirety. The last paragraph is the most important and will not be clearly understood without reading the whole.

The following changes to the North Carolina rules for home inspections should take effect July 1, 2000:

Signed contract required before the inspection.

Summary now required as part of the report.

Structural components where deterioration is suspected must be probed.

Probe exterior wood components (of garage doors) where deterioration is suspected.

All Home Inspectors must "Provide a written contract, signed by the client, before the home inspection is performed…" Contracts have been required. The change is that they must be signed before the inspection.

It might interest you to know what is required to be included in this contract per North Carolina law:

"State that the home inspection is in accordance with the Standards of Practice of the North Carolina Home Inspector Licensure Board; Describe what services shall be provided and their cost: and State, when an inspection is for only one or a limited number of systems or components, that the inspection is limited to only those systems or components…"

After July 1, 2000, if an inspector does not demand that a contract be signed prior to the inspection he/she is not operating within the law and the inspection should not continue nor be paid for.

All Home Inspection reports must now include a Summary meeting the following requirements:

"Written reports required by this rule for pre-purchase home inspections of three or more systems shall include a separate section labeled "Summary" that includes any system or component that: does not function as intended or adversely affects the habitability of the dwelling; or appears to warrant further investigation by a specialist or requires subsequent observation."

"This summary shall not contain recommendations for routine upkeep of a system or component to keep it in proper functioning condition or recommendations to upgrade or enhance the function, efficiency, or safety of the home. This summary shall contain the following statement: This summary is not the entire report. The complete report may include additional information of concern to the client. It is recommended that the client read the complete report."

After July 1, 2000, if an inspector's report does not include a summary section meeting the above requirements he/she is not operating within the law and the report should be refused and a correct report demanded.

Other minor changes have been made:

Structural components where deterioration is suspected must be probed. The change is that the exception has been removed. The exception was "except where probing would damage any surface…"

The following has been added to rules relative to garage doors: "Probe exterior wood components where deterioration is suspected."

The Newsletter of the North Carolina Home Inspector Licensure Board June 2000 edition included the following:

An Interpretation of rules changes:

The new rules require a separate Summary section. May I include safety items in this section?

Safety repairs should be included in the Summary section. The rules state that the Summary should include any system or component that "does not function as intended or adversely affects the habitability of the dwelling." The Board's interpretation is that a component that is otherwise functional but poses a significant safety hazard affects the habitability of the dwelling. For example, a furnace that is functioning to heat the house but which has a defective venting system should be reported in the Summary, as should typical electrical safety concerns such a cable splices not enclosed in junction boxes, or junction boxes missing cover plates.

The new rules state that the Summary "shall not contain recommendations for routine upkeep…or recommendations to upgrade or enhance the function, efficiency, or safety of the home." What exactly does this mean?

Perhaps the best way to answer it is by examples: A recommendation for routine filter changes on a forced air heating system should not be in the Summary. However, if filters are severely clogged (we sometimes see them so clogged that they have literally been pulled into the return) and the inspector has valid reason to suspect that the evaporator coil, air handler, or other parts may be affected, then this could be reported in the Summary section as an item for further investigation by a specialist.

Lack of GFCI protection at bathroom receptacles should not be reported as a repair item in the Summary in a 50-year-old house that has not been renovated. It would however be legitimate and prudent to recommend upgrading safety by installation of GFCI devices in potentially damp locations. At the same time if you are inspecting a New house and it does not have GFCI protection in the bathrooms, this should be reported in the Summary.

The new rules regarding probing exterior wood components "where deterioration is suspected" may force me to incur liability for damage to those components. How should I proceed?

Proceed with caution and use common sense. The Board does not expect inspectors to go around poking holes in soft wood and leaving the house looking like Swiss cheese. However, most experienced inspectors know how to gently and carefully press on material that looks damaged to determine if they are. The point of this rules change is this: we found in disciplinary hearings that some inspectors fail to report extensive exterior damage, and use the excuse that they couldn't find it without damaging it. This change is intended to close this apparent loophole. We believe it will protect the public without unduly increasing the liability of the inspector.

End of quote

These rule changes, especially the one related to a Summary, was largely due to complaints and the involvement of Realtors in the process of regulating and improving the Home Inspection profession. This is another fine example of how you can be effective in the process.

Most Home Inspectors do not agree with the requirements for a Summary. Your profession wanted it; it adds to and complicates our work, but does not adversely effect the inspection, so we conceded to your request. The negative, which most concerns Home Inspectors, is that our Client and busy Realtors will not read the report and will copy and transmit only the Summary.

My personal concern relating to the Summary is a little different from other inspectors. I feel that a summary puts undue attention on minor issues, which per the new regulations must be included. For example: Are missing electrical junction box cover plates or missing door hinge screws a legitimate concern? Sure they are and they should be fixed. Should they adversely effect the sale or must the seller before closing be required to repair them? Absolutely not. Why should a few penny screws or cover plates effect a $100,000 plus deal? Let's be realistic. Almost anyone can resolve these simple issues. Although they should be repaired at some juncture, is it really relevant whether the seller or the buyer performs these penny repairs? I firmly believe that the buyers and sellers through negotiation relative to their individual transactions should determine the relevance of the issues. If the seller is a 70-year-old window who walks with a cane, and the buyer is a 30-year-old handy with tools, what is the relevance? The Home Inspectors job is to inform. The Realtor's job is to advise. Relevancy should be left to the clients!

Caution: My other concern has to do with your liability. If you are transmitting a report or forwarding it to someone else (for example the builder or seller for action), send all of the report with the action issues marked. Never be guilty of sending only the Summary because it is easier. If an issue comes up later which was in the report, but not in the Summary, take one guess where the liability for failure to perform may fall. This type of action may leave you open for litigation. If you don't want to send all of the report, then don't send any of the report. State the issues for action in a new separate document.

Wish me a Happy Birthday. Today June 30, 2000 I turn 50. Half a century sure sounds like a long time unless you have lived it and you wonder where all the yesterdays have gone.