MAC THE INSPECTOR

He was personable and conversant. We were left with the impression that the old house was within normal limits with minor issues such as old painted shut windows, minimal insulation, a 6 to 10 year old roof and old roof gutters in need of repair/replace. We received a 21 page report that revealed mostly disclaimers instead of information. Example: Under the "Heat" section there are 27 lines of text of disclaimers and one line of information about the heater: "the forced air heating unit is serviceable". We moved in Dec and the furnace did not operate. When called about this problem, Mac insisted the furnace worked. A repair company was called and their tech said the furnace was incorrectly wired and could not haved worked; it needed a new mother board. When called again, Mac said he was right and the tech was wrong. At my expense ($400 for the new board), the furnace was repaired. Plans to add central A/C (which we had expressed to Mac) became expensive when we learned the furnace was old and inadequate; could not support A/C. Also turns out the duct work was rusted through and we had been pumping most of the heat into the crawl space. The cold air returns were not connected to the return vents and we were sucking dirty crawl space air into the house. The crawl space is approx 4 feet tall, easy to see all the ducts, etc. Repair/replace was $10,000. The "6 to 10 year old roof" had at least two layers on it, the shingles were badly cracked from age (clearly visable to the naked eye), the perimeter boards were rotted, rafter tails were rotted, there was no drip edge (which I now know is standard in the roofing industry) and flashing (another industry standard) was missing. There was a hole in the stucco 6" high and 18" long where the porch roof met up with a detached building. None of this was noted in the report - in fact, the report states: "the roof flashing appear to be in acceptable condition". When called about this problem, Mac said "you do not need flashing in San Diego" Repair/replace of roof was $15,000. I just learned that the electrical system is incorrectly set up - it has a 100 AMP meter hooked up to a 125 AMP service - if pulling enough amps, the meter could overheat and cause a fire. The repair/replace will be approx $2,000. Get the theme here? If the inspector had pointed out these problems, I would not have purchased the house. If you hire an inspector, demand a licensed INSPECTOR (not a licensed contractor, as Mac's report lists) and demand referrals. Talk to the referrals. I would recommend you hire, instead, a roofing company, a heating/cooling company, an electrical company, and a structural engineer. Go on line at www.homeinspector.org/standards and learn the limitations of an inspection by these "house inspector" guys. Hire the industry pros, not a "house inspector" if you want a benefical inspection. DO NOT expect to have an inspection experience such as you see on HGTV - the home inspector standards do not allow for that!

He wrote a very thorough report. He was very friendly and accommodating.