November 03rd, 2018

Gonna rant a little here...

We completed an inspection on a 90 year old home that had been converted to apartments this past week. When we (3 inspectors, 2 senior experienced and one licensed just under a year) got there, the property manager stated that the building had been inspected a week prior. Said the inspector was there almost two hours. When I told her that this would be an all day inspection, she was quite angry.

My buyer is an investor that we have done a lot of work with. She told me that she had a copy of the original inspection and it was inadequate. It was a whopping 4 PAGES for almost 6000 square feet of living space in two buildings!

She sent it to me today.... I can tell that I am totally invested in my profession because I was openly angry as I read the "report". Things like this are why Inspectors have a bad reputation.

Some of the nuggets....

1. He stated that the home was wood frame on slab... (never seen a 1915 home on a slab in my area) when in fact it was a basement/crawl space that had been (improperly/illegally) converted to "living space". Complete with barely 6' ceilings. (I am just a shade over 6' and had to duck throughout) 
2. Quote "The exterior of the building appeared to be in fair condition with a little repair maintenance needed." Each unit had window type AC units that had no provisions to drain the condensate away from the structure. The entire building had heavy water damages and the suspected asbestos shingles was cracked and damaged throughout. I stopped counting at 30.... 
3. Quote " No visual major structural issues noted". This is the big one...  The entire building was sinking in the middle... The roof looked like a sway backed horse and the floors inside were ski jumps! 
4. Quote "Some damaged shower tile walls but no other major water penetration or structural damaged <sic> on the walls and ceiling other than years of wear and tear. In building one , unit one, the sub floor in the kitchen is compromised from probable water damaged <sic>. (Remember that he said it was slab...)  The smell of mold was pervasive as you walked in the building.
5. One whole section of wall was torn out and the framing exposed.  
   1. ​My interior comments:
   2. A portion of the front left lower apartment exterior, structural  walls have been demolished and repairs started. A “stop work order for no permits” is posted on the exterior wall. The interior walls that are exposed have extensive pest damages, significant moisture damages that are currently wet, and have heavy, visible fungal growth. In any event, it is critical that steps be taken to manage the condensation drip from the window AC units. The “repairs” at the removed wall appear to be amateur in nature. Discrepancies include, but not limited to: No strapping hardware, nailing new wood into heavily damaged wood, only a single top plate, sistered floor joists not securely fastened and not supported Etc. Consult licensed structural engineer for repair options. The flooring at the first floor appears to be a wood frame on dirt as seen through a plumbing access in apartment 2. The floors are buckled and lifted in places and sunken in others throughout. The extremely low ceilings suggest that this area was a basement that was converted to living space.  Check with the building department before renovations are made to determine the viability of continued use of this area due to newer construction and flood restrictions.  In other areas there are several wall damages and out of level floors that suggest structural movement and/or damage associated.  Type, extent of growth and or moisture/pest/structure damage is unknown.  Based on the overall condition and visible damages, this same condition is likely throughout the structure.
   3. Elevated moisture readings at random units ceilings, see also IR report and repair,  concealed damages are unknown. Wall repairs with current elevated moisture readings are indicative of an active moisture issue or plumbing leak. All issues/concerns listed above will require further destructive investigation would be required to determine the extent of damages and to determine if repair is practical.  At some point it is reasonable to assume that demolition of the current structure and re-building may be more economical that multiple costly repairs.
6. The city had issued a "stop work order" a few days after his inspection, so it is possible that the walls were not torn open in this area when the other guy was there, BUT...According to the tenant, the "other guy only poked his head in the rooms, didn't walk around like you guys". 

Guys like this are an embarrassment to the profession.