Feldman
Inspections Gone Bad
This is our horror story of a short sale, and an inspection
done poorly for a home we just purchased in
The inspection was
done July 1 2008, by Feldman Building Inspections Inc., located in
It is my understanding that an inspection includes the following, but which he did not report as a problem. These are all included in the items he promotes on his website www.feldmaninspections.com as part of his inspection.
* Checking appliances and exhaust systems
* Checking roof and gutters
* Letting us know if there is a possible shortened life expectancy on a major appliance
* Checking walls and foundation for defects
In my opinion, all of the above were neglected, and I will provide details on what has gone wrong since the closing on this property.
Old air unit with
limited life expectancy:
Day 2, after the closing, the air stopped working, we had it charged but do not know how long this will work. When Feldman was doing the inspection, we called to his attention a noise from the outside air unit and asked if we should be concerned. He said no, it was working well, but we should consider having the duct system and coils cleaned, as he pointed to some mildew on the unit in the garage. However, the service tech who came to fix the air, said the loud noise was not normal and could be a sign it was at the end of its life expectancy.
Dryer exhaust vent
was not inspected:
Day 4, during our clean up, we pulled out the dryer, and noticed that the hose was not connected to the vent. I remember Feldman had the unit pulled out as well, and tested it. We attached the hose to the vent. But when we did a wash/dry, we found that the dryer did not dry properly. It turns out that the exhaust was clogged and had to be cleaned. So, in other words, Mr. Feldman tested the dryer by venting it into the house. We have since found out the Realtor at Century 21 America’s Choice, knew about this problem, but did not tell us.
Water seeping into
house:
On 8/18, we had our first heavy rain. Prior to this we
noticed a musty smell in the bedroom corner. During the storm water came in,
we’re still not sure where from, and soaked the rug. The presence of black
mildew on the carpet tack strips indicates this happened before. It continues
to happen every time we get a good rain. We don’t believe the water is coming
from the roof, but we don’t know where it’s coming in.
Failed to report that
roof was not finished to code:
On 8/22, we had a building inspector from the county do an
inspection on the roof because we found that there was an open permit and it
needed to be closed. Although the permit should have been discovered by the
title company, Mr. Feldman’s roof inspection should have shown that the roof
was not built to code.
Patio covering collects
water, drainage system clogged:
The day of the inspection it rained. The patio covering or
roof showed signs of leaking. Mr. Feldman noted this in his report, but told us
all we had to do was spread some tar, and caulk the seams extending out from
the house. When the county code inspector was there for the roof, we had access
to a ladder and found the problem with the patio leak. It is an open area with
chambers that were filling with water and had no drainage at all. The trench
where the water should flow to is completely clogged with pine needles and
debris, as well as the downspouts. They are also packed up next to the roof of
the house where he told us to put tar down. He obviously did not go up and even
view it from a ladder. It’s a miracle it did not collapse during the last
storm. The leaks probably saved it.
House heavily
infested with ants:
As an aside, during the inspection, we pointed to several ant pilings on the carpets near baseboards and asked Mr. Feldman about it. We figured since he also presented himself as an authorized pest control specialist, he would be qualified to advise us. He said, nothing to worry about, they will leave as soon as it’s occupied. We have since found out, as soon as we described the pilings to another exterminator--and he told us to look under the rug, to find many more--that we are dealing with Caribbean Crazy Ants. A huge infestation inside and out, which will be very difficult to get rid of. They have colonized the property.
Mr. Feldman, did not mention, or even hint at the possibility of a problem with any of the above. He has been unresponsive to phone calls. We think he should return the fee we paid for the inspection, and reimburse us for expenses we had to pay to make any repairs that we should have been told about.
The pictures below are our discoveries after closing, except for the door frame. We saw it but knew we could replace it easily. But I mention it because it still should have been pointed out in his report. We expected to make some minor repairs and clean up on this property. But we did not expect to have our bedroom flooded when it rained. We did not expect to find ant colonies under the carpets through out, we never heard of Caribbean Crazy Ants. We did not expect to be chasing down a roofer, when we had a roof inspection, and the seller’s disclosure stated, ‘no open permits’. Although the Title Company is helping with this, since they should have found it.
Other items
overlooked:
Toilet in master bath not sealed to the floor with caulk or
plumbers putty.
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Click a picture to see a
larger view.
The Patio roof Feldman told us to just go caulk and
spread some tar where it attaches to the house.
The first picture is a large area missing stucco.
The others are gaps and holes we tried to patch in a panic.
This is our room every time it rains.
This is the mildewed tack strips with the ant dirt
that is in every room under the carpets.
Feldman’s report did not even mention this. The
door frame into the garage.
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