$100k Sewer Scope Oops

Complaint: The home inspector was hired to do a job and then missed a $100k issue

[@JermaineDrummonds]

CONFLICT OF INTEREST. I'm never using a inspector that the builder recommends....NEVER!

[@BackToTheGame.98]

I'm never going to be able to afford a new house anyway

[@kennethlaw9830]

​@BackToTheGame.98 these builders now days , you should be thankful

[@estuardo2985]

I say use the recommendations....so you know who to avoid when looking for an inspector.

[@JermaineDrummonds]

@@BackToTheGame.98 🤣 sad times we live in.

[@keikei3301]

Or the realtor’s inspector!

[@reneehouser2925]

The time to determine whether or not something is beyond one's SCOPE of practice is BEFORE they take your $. This is just total BS.... This upload is so beneficial for consumers! Thanks, Cy!

[@robbiereed7779]

When we bought our house 15 years ago here in AZ, I happened to be doing IT work for a home inspector. Our realtor told us that inspector had cost her several deals because he was too thorough... So we used him. He was excellent and included doing IR pictures of an area where there was concern about water damage that the owner (a bank) ended up having to fix.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

What a great recommendation for an inspector! "They're too darned exacting."

[@TonyRule]

There's no such thing as too thorough.

[@tannerhart4069]

@@TonyRule Agreed ... Many things they'll note are things I do not care about, BUT, I'd rather know about them upfront to make that determination myself (for a 'used' home anyways, for new, I would absolutely want it built to the standards at an absolute minimum).

[@josh-ji8oc]

The fact that the contract was specifically through the inspector, who then subcontracted part of their agreed upon inspection BUT STILL CHARGED FOR AND ACCEPTED PAYMENT of said inspection should make them liable. They would then have to take it up with the hired plumber as a separate matter. If it was in the contract to inspect the sewer lines, the contract trumps whatever "minimum standards" exist, BECAUE THEY AGREED TO DO THE INSPECTION. If I am GC'ing a job and one of my subtrades makes a mistake, the liability is on my shoulders and then rolls downhill from there. inspection company is a sleazebag for sure.

[@richardgrey1752]

4 good points. Hopefully she can get some satisfaction thru the real judicial system

[@SergeantExtreme]

@@richardgrey1752 Nope. Judges are elected, and therefore extremely corrupt.

[@joshwand]

Liable, yes, but not necessarily a BTR matter as it's outside the scope of the home inspector minimum standards and code of conduct, which is what they enforce.

[@ThisIsWhyWeCantHaveNiceThings.]

It seems to me like all this board does is look for a reason to not take action instead of why they should.

[@zhackwyatt]

​@@ThisIsWhyWeCantHaveNiceThings.First time Cy was there some members were looking to go outside their scope and punish him. So it worked both ways.

[@ounceslbs]

The board position here is absurd and weak. If a home inspector offers to perform a colonoscopy as an add-on service, the home inspector should be penalized for offering services outside the scope of their abilities and certifications. Maybe the board overseeing plumbers has jurisdiction to punish ABC Plumbing, but that board will have the same jurisdiction issue with the home inspector. It's the home inspector board that is responsible for the home inspector's actions. I'm disgusted by their not-my-job passing the buck. This person just lost $100K and the board wants her to spend another $100K on legal fees for a civil suit that hopefully get covered by the inspectors' insurance, assuming they have it. The board needed to at least admonish the inspector for offering services out of scope and not clearly disclosing they were subcontracting the specific subcontractor. Because they didn't disclose that clearly, the inspector is directly liable for the actions of the subcontractor. Were I this person, I would consider suing the board if they're forcing me to pursue civil action; may as well name the board if I'm spending $100K on lawyers.

[@pOOkiNG79]

This board is incredibly corrupt. Disgusting.

[@forthelulz8085]

the board seems to be a city/government body... so qualified immunity probably protects them

[@scottnunya1]

The board has no power to make the inspector compensate the homeowner. Licensing boards typically can only test applicants for meeting state requirements for a license, and discipline licensees who don't comply with the law. Discipline measures usually are limited to suspending or revoking a license.

[@somepunk2541]

@@scottnunya1 oh so they are basically telling the person, their hands are tied within their scope. They can't go beyond it but she can get judicial system involved as but they can't do it on her behalf due to limits of their board. Cool. Thanks for explaining that.

[@fantasticsound2085]

​​@@scottnunya1 And this board should be more concerned about home inspectors charging clients for services they, themselves, are not providing without disclosure, or liability for, the subcontractor's work. It's unethical and that IS within the scope of the board's job. Instead, this board has rubber stamped home inspectors shielding themselves from liability by hiring subcontractors.

[@BeasleyFarmsAR]

You have saved me SO MUCH headache during my new build. I've been able to catch things no one else caught. THANKS CY!!!

[@GildaLee27]

Billionaire Builders & Rich Realtors: "You can't expect us to eliminate $100,000.00 plumbing fiascos EVERY SINGLE TIME!"

[@estuardo2985]

Wait! No letter of concern?!?! (see the hearing on Cy). This board overall seems not to care about the consumer. Also, I think she had a point. If the inspection company took the money for the service then they are responsible. They should of had a duty to inform the customer that they did not have the competency to do the particular task and inform of the subcontract.

[@Celestial_Reach]

No they don't care about the consumer. They care abou5 the builders, and who ever is donating the most to what ever

[@Auto438]

outside of our scope but we will take your money for it

[@DetroitHomeInspector]

Radon and mold testing are outside of scope, but we all do it. Some guys try to charge more to pull out their IR camera and look around. I have done scopes for about 12 years.

[@avocares]

Thanks so much for including the hearing. I hope the home owner can recover repair and legal costs through civil court. In addition there should be pressure placed on the board that a home inspector is liable for the failures of sub-contracted companies. It's unreasonable that an inspector can receive payment for services then sub-contract to an unqualified company and not be liable for those services not being performed.

[@schnozistanczar9433]

Thank you for branching into longform content, you catch the average person with your shorts, and educate in depth for those who need more guidance or direction

[@markwozere]

Strangely, I watched all of this expecting a positive outcome. This is one of those 'live & learn' momemts.

[@bamascubaman]

She contracted with Silverhammer, Silverhammer then subcontracted that work out. So with this decision, the board is saying that a company that DOES fall under their jurisdiction, can contract out absolutely anything as a part of their inspection but the board only has jurisdiction over a very limited portion. I'm going to to guess that the inspectors wrote the scope that the board can govern them on. And here I thought that that kind of corruption wasn't prevalent out West. Maybe I'll set up a fly by night company in Arizona because the oversight is so piss poor. Sounded like the board couldn't wait to dismiss this & didn't express any heartburn over their lack of jurisdiction.

[@modernNeanderthal800]

Yeah every question was dirivative of "not my problem"

[@iusethisnameformygoogleacc1013]

LMAO, yeah, no, that type of corruption is exponentially more common in the southwest, not *less*

[@465maltbie]

That sounds like a great learning opportunity for us, thanks for considering this kind of thing. Charles

[@buoyantturtle]

So the move as a home inspector is to outsource every aspect of your inspection, that way if you ever have a client file w complaint with the board, the board will just say "this falls outside of our scope".

[@zhackwyatt]

Let me understand this. A possible scenario is: I get a home inspector, inspector secretly subcontracts out all services to his cousin. Does poor job. I have no recourse against the inspector, the person I had a contract with and paid? Sounds like every inspector has a loophole Their decision makes no sense.

[@cyfyhomeinspections]

1. You can get the state involved for all the items that fall under the state standards. He would get away with everything else. 2. You can sue him.

[@zhackwyatt]

@@cyfyhomeinspections unless I missed something, their dismal was based on being a subcontractor, not the fact that sewer was outside the minimum standards.

[@starsINSPACE]

​@@zhackwyattAs I understand it, the board here was able to pass the buck because home inspectors have different minimum standards than plumbers for inspecting plumbing. So when the home inspector subcontracted a plumber, the home inspector board was able to pass the buck. They were able to say to the home owner that she needs to go to talk to the plumbers board to go after the subcontractor who was a plumber (but the plumber board can only go after the plumber if he didn't meet minimum standards of the plumbers code). Also the home inspection board said the home owner may go after the home inspector through the legal system. And then I think if the home inspector loses the case and has to give money to the home owner, the home inspector will sue the subcontractor to get their money back. What a ridiculous, annoying system we have to hold trades accountable smh.

[@torchcrawler768]

it was mainly due to the service being out of scope. the subcontractor part was a bit of a red herring. ​@@zhackwyatt

[@zhackwyatt]

​@@starsINSPACEit is ridiculous. And not everyone can afford going through the legal system, so most people have no recourse.

[@Stickmanght]

This court just showed that they have little interest in overseeing the slice of industry they are there for. It is fairly basic to contracting that the contractor is responsible for the actions of their subcontractors. Yet here they said they had no authority because the service was subcontracted. What a cop out. This essentially tells us that this board is useless and that the inspectors governed by them have little real enforcement.

[@scottnunya1]

This is not a court, its a licensing board. They did not say their authority ended because of the subcontract. They said they had no authority over the type of work. That it was subcontracted is immaterial to their position.

[@ricknelson947]

Wow! Avoid any liability by subcontracting your responsibilities. That inspector should be held liable for any services sold as their own. Unless these services are specifically stated in a contract that they are subcontracted and the subcontractor is liable. Seems pretty basic to me.

[@glasshalffull2930]

Always do a sewer scope even on new construction!!! My ‘new’ neighborhood had multiple homes with sewer issues (collapsed pipe, undersized pipe, construction debris in line) and most weren’t discovered until several years later. It will cost you a couple hundred, but will give you some peace of mind and could save you thousands.

[@Oneshot8242]

Tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. These grifters have plenty to come after... You're not the only one they made $ off of. GREED AND FRAUD!

[@glasshalffull2930]

@ Actually, my community banded together and did a joint lawsuit against the builder. Our attorney saw it as a slam dunk and so didn’t even ask for money up front. Never went to trial and the average amount each of us got was almost $7 K. I’m very handy and so did most of my repairs myself and some things I could live with.

[@glbernini0]

Biggest CYA hearing I've ever seen! Charged for a service & didn't do the job...

[@chrismanuel4659]

I assume that you understand that Silver Hammer is not Cy's company and this issue has nothing to do with him...? He posted this video as a warning to home owners not to make the mistake of contracting a home inspector to do something that is outside of their official scope of work!

[@TheJunkymagi]

@@chrismanuel4659 glbernini0 was using CYA for Cover Your Azz, not saying this was CYs hearing.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@chrismanuel4659 CYA, not Cy. CYA = "Cover Your... Assets." (minus the ending 'ets')

[@alexnone5720]

Following the board's logic, a home inspector could subcontract every aspect of an inspection, not disclose that to a customer and compile each subcontractor's findings into one report then would have zero responsibility for what the report contains. Cy, have you contacted the office of the state attorney general since one of their jurisdictions is consumer protection and could look into both how the board conducts its business as well as the home inspectors?

[@mderline4412]

Amen.

[@ianeagle40nil]

This group has no balls…

[@peterfnet]

Oh they have them all right, they're just getting powdered and buffed by the inspectors

[@krazykornpunk]

Just self preserving balls. Pretending to be there for the consumer, but really just there to screw you over and let companies keep grifting.

[@LdyVder]

@@krazykornpunk I'm wondering if Americans have noticed yet that many times the government(local/state/federal) tend to protect corporations from people when they're supposed to protect people from the corporations.

[@zuzuspetals9281]

Political balls.

[@AlvinKazu]

For anyone looking to buy a home... Build it yourself. Cheaper, less headache, and at this point... Would be safer and better built. It's actually sad at the level of awful we pay for. ------------------------- I also believe that we the people also need to take responsibility. We give so much of our freedoms away for convenience. Just look at the food industry. Overpriced junk food all because people cannot spend 10 mins to cook the food, because they just spent the last 10 hours working their butt off to make money that's getting taken from them left and right, and they just want to eat and go to bed. But all of this is part of the problem/design. This is why learning skills and trades are important. This is coming from someone who was a Software Developer, who now is trying to grow his own food. We aren't even getting proper homes anymore, we are getting literal paper mache homes, the stuff we did in kindergarten, with wood framing to keep it "sturdy." These homes are falling apart before they are even sold. People could build a better home themselves, I could guarantee it, especially with the level of "Professionals." out there, let alone the people who are taking anyone they can to do work, since construction is hard physically.

[@charlesslack8090]

WHY AREN'T THESE LAZY, PASS THE BUCK, UNTRAINED INSPECTERS BONDED?

[@TransNeingerian]

If the homeowner was unaware and didnt approve the work being contracted out, then that should nullify the inspector being able to negate being punished as if the inspector performed the work. If this is how they rule, why shouldnt a home inspector just contract out another inspector for every single piece of work to protect themselves from this board's discipline? The inspector is responsible for the quality and liability and payment of the contractor as if it was him doing it. He should be responsible, and if the contractor messed up, it is the inspector's responsibility to go after the contractor. If the homeowner knew what they paid the inspector to do was being contracted out, the homeowner could have denied the service or went directly to the contractor and avoided wasting everyone's time and money. This ruling makes zero sense unless you are aiming for inefficiency.

[@MacKillens]

W O W That poor woman. 😞

[@modernNeanderthal800]

She should have been more assertive

[@TheRussellStover]

Who has the best wife who stands with you in all instances? Cy Does! (You can see her at the start of the video)

[@davidOConnor-z3l]

Believe it or not psychologically it helps the person or the defendant and it makes a good appearance to the council of the board members what I do is I dragged my elderly mother I’m going to have unemployment hearing it’s the same thing with employees trying to lie I’ve been through this before last time I took my mother and it helped a decade ago so I’m gonna bring her to this one too and she’s already agreed still have her walker with her

[@neeksor]

@@davidOConnor-z3l my wife and kids went with me to federal court.. the judge actually said "are they here just to garner sympathy?"...

[@LdyVder]

@@neeksor The judge knew. 😆

[@JohnSmith-pl2bk]

@@neeksor That comment about your wife and kids shows what a POS that Judge was..... their identity should never have been raised by anyone for any reason.

[@neeksor]

@@JohnSmith-pl2bk yeah.. he was an interesting character.. my family was there for support, but you never gain much by arguing with a judge.

[@tonymidmore7652]

I own a home inspection company. I own a sewer scope. I do not perform scopes as part of my business - I sub it out to a company that does them all day long. I don't feel comfortable doing a scope and identifying everything, properly. I don't care how many Internachi-type training videos you go over, there are just too many possible issues buried down there that I feel only a very experienced technician can properly point out. If you're an inspector who feels confident in his/her abilities, you do you, but I don't want the liability. This video exemplifies my concern.

[@Pilawaag]

You sound like a good home inspector. Its amazing how people have lost the ability to stay in their lane, but I guess greed/ego does that to a person.

[@nandisaand5287]

But you still have liability, don't you? If I hire you for inspection and you sub out scope, and the sub misses something, I sue you, right? Cuz I didn't hire your sub, I hired you. Or do I have to sue you AND the sub?

[@TonyRule]

But will you take responsibility if YOUR sub-contractor misses something that later comes to light?

[@_ltor]

I do the same, I have a camera just to toy with on my own but I cant tell you how many times I've sat with my sewer guy doing a scope and had him point out things I wouldn't have considered. I also make it clear to the client we will be bringing in another company to perform this service as it is outside of my skillset.

[@tonymidmore7652]

@@TonyRule If I am required to, then of course I will. But I only have subs who are licensed and carry insurance, so I shouldn't have to.

[@sauceman8217]

Ah yes, sewage in your HVAC system... That meets minimum standards! And people are arguing to not even meet THAT line. And now there's the precedent that if a home inspector just subcontracts work, they officially have zero accountability. (This board becomes less and less useful every day, I swear)

[@Chaooo]

"The house is standing? Yup, that meets the minimum standards. Oh, it's missing walls? Sorry, that's out of the scope of our jurisdiction. Go pound dirt."

[@pinballrobbie]

Still get payed though

[@4davebert]

The original drain inspection went thru the roof, I’m guessing that the homeowner should probably get a roof inspection now too to find all the roof tiles the plumber broke.

[@vietcongbuondanbannuocphan1791]

$100,000 is a lot of sewage

[@13orrax]

more like sue-age hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@davidOConnor-z3l]

You will find that the sewer scope is a modern day version of the brownie/Brown Eye!

[@BackToTheGame.98]

But they can fix it with flex tape

[@dudleydooright6181]

​@@davidOConnor-z3l😅😅😅😅😅😅

[@34stzoo]

15:05 The definition of pure BS is this man. His solution is for the homeowner to take it to a small claim court, where you tap at 5K for a 100K repair. His solutions are pure BS because there is no other venue that can make her who outside of this board. He just wanted to move on to the next agenda or go home. I will never wish anything bad on another person, will there be one man! But I hope everyone on that board will go through the same experience as this woman. So they can deal with incompetent people like them. It's clear as day it's not about the plumber it's about the Home Inspector.

[@estebandolero1]

This board is shit. Whats the point of them if theyre just going to clean their hands and say "its not our jurisdiction"? Major conflict of interests here must be involved, in my opinion.

[@JamesJames-ht8ud]

You obviously have no clue whatsoever.

[@JT-lq4yd]

The home owner is right, what is the point of an inspection? If you hire someone and they subcontract the job, you became an agent and also responsible for what the subcontractor did or did not.

[@starsINSPACE]

I think that an honest consumer protection board would investigate any home inspector who hires subcontractors who fail so much at their jobs. Especially a home inspector who doesn't tell the home owner the work is being subcontracted. A home inspector should not be so afraid to have accountability for their work under scrutiny. They should be at risk of fine and loosing their licences if they conduct themselves in such a poor manner often.

[@hightttech]

Hopefully plumber has insurance that the lady can go after in court. I hate when contractors want to REFUND YOU and walk away clean when they just cost you a fortune.

[@thomasoparsons5537]

I did sewer and drain work for years. Our company had certified sewer and drain inspectors through the Stata. Most home inspectors in Michigan I dealt with always use a certified sewer and drain company for those inspections

[@ct181]

I am a plumber and I don't snake or camera sewers. It is a art form that i never got involved in

[@ronallen6578]

All of this was preformed on a "new" build?? How is that possible? Didn't a local city or county plumbing inspector look at this BEFORE an Occupation Certificate was issued. Is no one accountable for anything or do these occurrences "just happen"?? How do you not find a clean out on a new build? Damn this state is filled with a bunch of total freakin idiots

[@eddiee2371]

Cy, one of my biggest stomach turning situations is finding a good 'anything'. KZbin is full of ethical great pros (really), and though there are good tradespeople around, in the real world one is just worse than the next, and you may or may not eventually get lucky and find one. Fortunately i'm handy in most things though not an expert and learning from watching pros can at least get me through repairs or maintenance and at the very least not completely cause irreparable damage. There is no doubt in my mind that the bar has been lowered and excellence has taken a backseat to prosperity from deception and corruption. I do believe it’s unfortunately cultural here. You have called this out and exposed the reality, and are of course in the process making many angry that they’re being called out. I have said before that you need an army of people like yourself in every industry and even then, it would take a hundred years to fix the culture we've created. Thanks though for showing how low the bar has gotten. Keep it up.

[@Timetonut]

There should be a letter of bad faith put in place for how they screwed her over.

[@1vigorousdragon]

The FACT inspectors or Plumbers sign off on this should be enough to make them liable, Especially prior to Purchase of a property.

[@34stzoo]

This is another good ole boy network working hard to protect their buddies. If I contract you out to do work for me and that contractor subs it out. In what world the contractor is NOT responsible for the quality and outcome of his sub's work. So basically they're saying they will not hold the inspector liable for the work they said they will perform and they have no liability. It should not matter that it's sewer scope that is NOT the case, the case is a contract case they're so quick to overlook that point.

[@34stzoo]

14:00 Why can't you go after the Home Inspector? She didn't contract with Alphabet Plumbing, she contracted with the Inspector which makes them liable. So, in other words, if the Inspector was hired to do an inspection of a home electrical system and he subs it out to a girl scot, the Inspector is not held liable. This is what they're saying!

[@patriciab2132]

Not even a letter of caution against contracting for work outside their scope? No discipline action for getting refferals from the realtor or builder? Obviously a conflict of interest between who the referral comes from and potential buyer. Hope that woman sues them in civil court, though feels mire like crime. Sounds like they stole/defrauded over $1k of her money plus additional costs associated with pursuing some accountability. That board seems as useful as an HOA.

[@TheLandscaper0115]

Jeez those court room dramas are intense.. don't mean to trivialize matters I know those homeowners are going through hell. God's love to them .

[@bobcaygeon975]

The People's Court presents the case of Poop in the Plenum.

[@mderline4412]

*So whats the boards position on Silver Hammer, under the guise of being a "Home Inspection" business, offering other services and not providing those services. The board agreed the two additional services were indeed, add-ons. But they now maintain, the board has no jurisdiction (the ability to correct or penalize) over the home inspectors negligent offering of services!?*

[@miketurner8730]

As a home inspector of 15 years, I've been saying that for a long time. While not that difficult to perform a sewer scope, I have always felt it best left to the licensed plumber for roughly the same price and for the very reasons you stated. Why would a licensed plumber risk his livelihood on a home inspectors' scope that he may or may not know where it came from or when it was performed. Most sewer scopes from home inspectors will be from the main cleanout to the street and that is it. Feels slightly misleading to me as that doesn't cover the remaining cleanouts, toilets, etc. Its typically just an upsell for the home inspector who may or may not be qualified.

[@SrJackquito]

Everyone must learn from this. Though I understand that the guidelines are minimal standards, having everything spelled out in a contract including your concerns and what is to be inspected including method of inspection will help in cases like this.

[@AnAZPatriot]

My lesson I got out of this was never use a silver hammer when only a golden hammer will do.

[@cyfyhomeinspections]

😂

[@RGCDTB]

Ty for having a spine cy you're a huge assest to the community.

[@SniffTest101]

Master Plumber here. I never trust anyone else’s sewer camera work. Ever! Good Cameras can provide the depth of line and location if you’re using a good one. If you encounter an issue, it can provide the precise location of your issue.

[@scottperezfox]

When I bought my house in S. Phoenix my realtor recommended I get a sewer scope separately since it was not covered under the home inspection scope. She recommended both providers, and they both performed thoroughly and provided me with finding documents and videos. In this case, I was happy with their work. I can’t say if there is a pay-to-play relationship, but I suspect that my realtor is small enough not to have these relationships in place. Instead, I relied on her own experiences as a home owner and landlord. I’d seen the standard of maintenance of her personal properties, and that starts with the inspections.

[@markwozere]

WOOOOWW!!!! I need to get into construction inspections in the US!!! I'll promise to do 20 different tests, subcontract them all out to the most cheapest subcontractors & then offer a refund if something goes worng - "It wasn't me!! It was the subcontractor that i hired! Here, I'll offer a refund then... "

[@AbelLeba-tb7lg]

my realtor suggested "gold medal" inspections,, the guy was trash, he missed so many things, he refused to check the attic, the roof, and the foundation.. total waste of money.. thanks for fighting the good fight CY!

[@InspectorJeremy]

Inspectors doing scopes are another way to pad the bill. Every realtor should be adviser their clients to get a sewer scope from a plumber. Just like they need an appraisal and a home inspection. These three things are a must.

[@elizabethturel78]

Ha, the board didn’t protect the consumer at all. She did her due diligence and still got cheated! What I learned is I won’t be buying a home in Arizona, even though I love Prescott.🤷🏻‍♀️

[@pressfortransparency]

We didn’t really hear about how, exactly, the sewer scope inspection went wrong after the scope was done from the roof. If leaked sewage was only seen from inside an HVAC vent, that would be outside the scope of a visual, non-invasive inspection.

[@DetroitHomeInspector]

Cy, If you think the guy coming out from the plumbing company is a licensed plumber with years of sewer experience, think again!!! More likely a kid out of high school or a convicted felon out on parole. A plumbing company hires these people, takes them out on scopes for a day and then turn them loose with a van and a camera. Same with snaking lines. That's the way it works here in Michigan. Many years ago, I had a "plumber" scope a line for me. It was a kid who had no idea what he was doing and, told me I had a dip in the line and that would cause major issues and tried to sell me a new line. Twelve years later, the dip is still there with zero problems. I have done sewer scopes for about 12 years now. I bought my camera after seeing "plumbers" tell people they need their lines dug up and replaced when I knew they didn't. Not sure why it would cost 100k to patch a line and clean the duct work. There is a chemical process where they can re-sleeve all or part of a line. So, they can patch that leak with NO DIGGING. 100k? LOL

[@sewerrat7612]

Wouldn't be the plumbing if sewage is leaking into the ground in the area remediation could dictate removal of all soil in the area under the house.

[@DetroitHomeInspector]

@@sewerrat7612 I use sheet as compost in my garden and you think it's a hazardous waste that requires a hazmat team. Deferring points of view. LOL

[@sewerrat7612]

​@@DetroitHomeInspectorhuman waste can be molds quickly definitely wouldn't use as fertilizer.

[@robm5903]

Need more honest inspectors like you!!!

[@W4rd-n1c]

I haven’t looked at all the laws or anything, however common sense tell me that the inspection company should be removed from any licensing. And that individual that performed the inspection should also be fine. The realtor should be fine.

[@creech444]

Seems they could have at least published a letter of negligence so the home owner would have more ammo in a court case.

[@mderline4412]

Oh. So you mean actually looking out for the Consumer!? Yeah, it could happen....

[@patricklewis8591]

Lawyer lawyer :) thanks for the updates CY. Our preferred home inspector is hated by realtors & my last inspection was 20 pages of detailed issues. We were able to significant;y reduce the sale price so closed with full knowledge. Sure enough within 5 years we had to remedy many documented issues including the 7 layers of roofing (circa 1854).

[@michaelshea4834]

that's so painful!! Now the board really should get that inspector in front of them for a body cavity search. Hopefully, the homeowner hires a good attorney. I'd ask that attorney to look into the potential of adding the board to the lawsuit.

[@sillybilly686]

I am a little lost. This board does not listen to complaints about plumbing issues or the owner needs to file a new complaint only against Alphabet plumbing and then the board can listen. Seems like a person can take all the money sub contract everything out and become untouchable.

[@jodywilliams2505]

They are doing their best to not have to act against this inspector for charging for services that are above the scope of their license. Why they are doing this is unknown but I’m sure it’s to protect their industry & its members and not the consumers.

[@34stzoo]

A plumbing company is trash when its name starts with an A: Alphabet Plumbing. That's an old scam that was used back in the day. It will be one of the first company you will see when you go through a phonebook. It's on the top of the list. When I heard the name of the company I knew this woman was SOL!

[@jimmysunshine2348]

Really? It seems home inspectors have no real responsibility, other than showing up for the inspection, walking around and taking pictures. I am doing my own inspection and saving a boat load of money. Maybe use one, if you have never owned a home before and you have no clue.

[@geedubb-q1u]

Would you hire a carpenter to pull a tooth? Nope, you’d hire a Dentist.

[@JohnSmith-pl2bk]

If you got a recommendation from your carpenter (Home inspector)... and if the carpenter (home inspector) recommended this dentist (plumber) person and said "I guarantee you will get a good tooth pulling (drain inspection) at a discount by paying me and I will contract the dentist (plumber) for you..." would you be happy then? The home inspector/company bears responsibility in this case for any work subcontracted without notifying that to the homeowner. . This weak board should have slapped a letter on him straight away notifying the inspector that he is not to subcontract ANY services for a home owner via any offered home inspection without notifying the homeowner in the future. The board was quick to slap Cy for not doing anything EXCEPT his job... here they refused action against a home inspector exceeding his job parameters.... It's just corruption manifesting itself again...

[@nathannutter3424]

Cy, I just got back from Turkey! If you go to Cappadocia, stay at Vie Cappadocia. It’s away from the main busy tourist area, has an incredible view of a castle and old ruins, and has the best breakfast! The rooms are dug into the rock, too, so true cave-style.

[@birdlady2725]

This is like police investigating themselves! Conflict of interest? Are any of these people on the Board bought n paid for in the 'pay to play'? If so, they should be fired immediately, imho. CYA is Not Protecting Consumers! 🤬 Shameful!

[@alexguzman5547]

Wait, wait, wait... Plumbing was leaking into the HVAC... The home inspection supposedly inspected each of those systems because the owner specifically paid for both of those inspections. But the excuse is "oh we don't have jurisdiction over sewer scoping, we only care about the minimum standards" but this is a board that's supposed to be there to protect the consumer? Are these folks for real?

[@Gerald-i6w]

Learn from this do not recommend any company or business or individual for services, instead recommend that the homeowner seek out service providers on their own and relieve you the inspector from any issues, I learned this in business many 🌙 ago 😊

[@jorgeantonini201]

So in a different context… If I buy piece of furniture A(let’s call it a couch) at “Silver Hammered furniture depot”- even tho the piece is actually built by “Alphabet Furniture” - and I pay extra for the “extended warranty” where it states they will come out and inspect, fix or replace the furniture on question. If the armrest falls off 4 weeks later just out of the blue, I don’t have to worry about calling “Alphabet furniture” even though they built it. Because I bought the couch at “Silver Hammered furniture depot” and the service of the extended warranty, it’s “Silver Hammered furniture depot’s” problem to deal with me first and fix/replace my couch, before they turn around and call up “Alphabet furniture” and explain that the couch fell apart because they decided to use staples instead of nails to build said couch and claim a warranty replacement. It is not MY problem or duty to call “Alphabet furniture”, I didn’t pay them for the product or the service.

[@xenuburger7924]

There was an inspector on the east coast who missed an underground fuel oil tank that had developed a leak. Remediation cost the new homeowner $250k.

[@changoleon9321]

So silverhammer could have hired a stranger off the street that knows 0 about plumbing, and told her the job was done and still get away with it because it wasn't them that did the job...

[@TonyRule]

Precisely. That is completely unacceptable. You hire someone to do the job you're being paid to do - you own their mistakes. No ifs, buts, or maybes.

[@ThisTall]

They hardly addressed anything she said

[@tdc9136]

Never hire a lawyer with a ponytail

[@millstrive]

The State's cop out saying they don't have jurisdiction, lol. Last I checked that sewer is IN your state and is part of infrastructure that effects the STATE infrastructure

[@Roads_of_Europe]

Ask for an inspector they recommend and thats the one to avoid. Now that is besides the point, the inspector was requested to do that specific inspection and was paid for it. I would say the inspector is liable for the costs that comes up now for what he has missed.

[@bogdan78pop]

100 years old 2 flat in Chicago.....my sewer line is clean as a whistle!!..!!!

[@Sean_A999]

Whether in scope or not should not have mattered. Once they inspected the sewage, there should have been an assumption of liability and accuracy of their work

[@JamesJames-ht8ud]

Obviously you have no clue about what can and can't be involved in the scope as mentioned

[@infinitetanner]

This board cares about the corporation, and zero about the consumer! Arizona home buyers, you have been warned!

[@JabroniAdams6948]

The Turkish Hairlines is waiting.

[@XenomorphsWrath]

So in the future they are just going to sub contract all of their work and become immune to liability?

[@polaris30000]

You should never, absolutely NEVER!, use the inspector the realtor or builder recommends. It isn't in the best interest of the inspector to find faults because then the builder or realtor will stop paying or using them! Always go to a trustworthy independent inspector! An inspector with integrity will always be transparent and open about what they can and cannot do, and who the relevant experts in the field are.

[@sidlives2672]

I would never do a sewer scope through an inspector. I would only do one with a professional plumber.

[@stevegoodwin9001]

As a Hawaii Home Inspector for 22 years my policy is simple. I should be one of three possible recommendations, and the buyer needs to decide after discussing my services with me. There is no financial interaction on any level between the agents and myself. I don't do office promotions, gifts or kickbacks. No conflict of interest possible. I make it very clear what my scope of work is and what is outside of that scope including what can be reasonably expected from a limited visual inspection during a very short time frame. I do not recommend any other contractors for services or repairs. Only my opinion based on prior building experience and over 12,000 inspections. This appeared to be an issue with some inspectors. Stick to the job you are qualified for. Make sure the public / your client understands what that job is and stay in your lane.

[@GOPRepubliklan]

I had a scope done on a house I backed out of and when he couldn't find cleanouts, he removed the toilet and went in that way.

[@Eclipce051]

😂😂 if I get a contract to do a inspection of X and then I higher a third-party then the contract is against me and not the third-party company 😤

[@nicholashaugen1815]

Hey cy I have a quick question about a possibly negligent home inspection in minnesota. Long story short the heating is FUBAR and that wasn't disclosed by the owner and the inspector didn't catch it. Just wondering how I could potentially ask you a few things.

[@EvilGoatBoy]

Turkey trip? Bro I can't afford turkey dinner 😂

[@cyfyhomeinspections]

😂

[@starsINSPACE]

​@@cyfyhomeinspectionsI think I understand now that you are going on vacation to the country of Turkey but I seriously thought you meant you were going to the farm to pick out a turkey to eat. Like when you go to the Christmas tree lot to find the perfect one! 😂

[@HeartsPT]

I have always used a roofer and electrician a plumber whenever I purchase homes to inspect

[@Mike-gc9ih]

So if a home inspector wants to release themselves from even the home inspection all he has to do is sub it out?

[@starsINSPACE]

I would say a home inspector's whole job is to find possible issues that are outside of their scope! Home inspectors are not the licensed plumbers, carpenters, roofers, electricians etc who fix your home problems, but they are supposed to help you know who to call about what could be a problem. I agree that home inspectors should not be able to pass the buck when they subcontract licensed trades like plumbers. You would think the home inspector was hiring a plumber to do the plumbing job BETTER than a home inspector. If they subcontract a specialist and that specialist does a terrible job, then the home inspector has failed in a moral sense. I do not know if there are statutes or rules against this failure though.

[@mrfrenzy.]

If they subcontract to another home inspector and he fails in his regular home inspector duties they can go after the subcontractor, not the main company. If the subcontractor is a plumber or electrician this home inspector board lacks jurisdiction.

[@LilSebastian_]

"It wasn't me, it was my employee" The employee represents the owner and the company. I'm glad I got out of the home building industry when I did because it's always someone else's fault. These are the same people who preach accountability.

[@Mike-gc9ih]

I was my own general contractor when I built my house. I had a close friend that was a super over a big builder and he would come by and keep a check on it to make sure it was being built correctly. He was the one to recommend the contractors on different stages of the build. I had a great build house when I moved in

[@BC-zd5xw]

Cy is like the Ryan Upchurch of the home inspection industry. A successful independent artist going up against the mainstream machine and documenting it for everyone to see.

[@mumpers]

The corruption runs deep in the building industry there in Az

[@RebelYell95]

I would have filed a lawsuit so freaking fast for failing to fulfill contracted services against the contractor and all subcontractors.

[@scottnunya1]

This is a licensing board, not a court of law. The board's limits are with the inspector's license, not liability under his contract with the owner. This belongs in a civil court. A court case would be stronger if the board found against the inspector, the owner's lawyer may have even recommended getting this board action to strengthen the case.

[@techno_tuna]

Its insane that the board to regulate the practices of home inspectors is refusing the regulate the pracrice of a home inspector on the premise that it involved them hiring non home inspectors. By the boards logic here, a licensed home inspector is not liable for ANYTHING if they simply dont perform the work themselves, but contract it out to non-inspectors. The board is thus entirely powerless.