Greater Boston’s red-hot real estate market has fueled a controversial, and potentially illegal, practice among the licensed professionals who inspect homes.
“You’re going to move in and you’re going to say, ‘Holy moly, we spent $100,000 over asking, and I didn’t know I needed a new roof and my heating system failed in the first year,’ ” Rizzo said. Buyers opting for abbreviated inspections have little to no recourse if an inspector misses a problem that’s discovered later — say, a water leak in a basement or a faulty heating system.
Alex Steinberg, of JBS Home Inspections, probes the underside of the gutters during a house inspection in Newton. Amy Baxter, a new homeowner in Needham, said she and her fiance made a no-inspection offer on one house but were outbid. For the house they eventually bought, the seller accepted their offer, made on the condition of a full inspection. Good thing: Their inspector found a colony of termites eating away at a wall.
The unpaid, five-member board is an arm of the Division of Occupational Licensure, within the state’s Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation. The board evaluates applications for licenses, considers complaints filed against inspectors, and carries out state rules for the industry. Meeting minutes from the past two years show fewer than five members have typically attended meetings.
Executive Director Keith Gleason, who took the appointed office in January, told inspectors at the March virtual meeting there had been “some initial discussions” with the board’s legal counsel. He said board staff wanted to gather information so members could make an informed decision. But the law leaves some grey area. It says inspections are not “exhaustive” and that inspectors are not required to report on every part of a home, including areas “specifically excluded” by the buyer.
Do people even use home inspectors anymore?!
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