That $600 home inspection I paid for missed a leaky roof

I bought a house in Charlotte last spring and the inspector gave it a clean bill of health. Three months later I found a slow leak in the attic that cost me $2,800 in repairs. Has anyone else dealt with a bad inspection report that missed something obvious?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliver24210d ago

A lot of inspectors miss attic leaks because they won't get up on the roof if it looks sketchy or the weather's been dry. Next time, get a roofer to do a separate walkthrough since inspectors have a limited scope and aren't specialists. Keep your paperwork from the inspection 'cause you might be able to go after their insurance if the missed damage was really obvious.

faith_schmidt9d ago

And if you do get a roofer out there, make sure they actually run water on the roof to test it, not just eyeball it from the ground. I've seen too many walkthroughs where they glance at the attic, see no active drips, and call it good. But if there's old water stains or musty insulation, that's a telltale sign of a recurring leak that just isn't dripping right then. A good roofer will check the flashing around vents and chimneys too, since that's where most of the sneaky ones hide.