I had a client and friend of mine get burned on this one; thank God we are still friends but I learned a very valuable lesson from this experience. In this case the Home Inspector who we selected and hired for the home inspection turned on the usual water valves in sinks, laundry room, kitchen and shower let them run for about the amount of time it takes to take a leak LOL, checked for leaks, and moved on with the rest of his home inspection. After my client/friend moved into the home and started taking showers in the upper level full bath, he discovered that the shower floor pan was leaking through to the lower level ceiling. The previous owner had just did some remodeling in the home and had re-did the shower stall and wainscot, so it was not immediately suspected and turned out to be a latent defect. The problem is: the home inspector's limit of liability is generally limited to the amount of the charge for his home inspection (typically around $400 or so depending on the size of the property). This is certainly not adequate recourse to do the repairs and fix the collateral damage involved; plus the time, aggravation and inconvenience involved in the repair process. Also, if you have or are thinking; "oh no problem, I have a Home Warranty that'll cover that" WRONG !! You can bet that the Home Warranty company will find any way possible to deny a claim or assert "pre-existing condition" or walk-thru type of way out of it.
Also, on a typical pre-settlement buyer's "walk-thru" (where appliances, plumbing and mechanical systems should be in "normal working order") latent defects may also not be discovered or found or which could be written up on the walk through addendum by the buyer's agent which could encumber (or prevent) the Seller's settlement or closing.
Also, ask your self what the vague and ambiguous home inspection contigency and walk-thru addendum contract language "in normal working order" really means ? Sounds subjective, doesn't it ? Would a leak or other defect in a mechanical system, HVAC, electrical, plumbing or appliance be "in normal working order" for a house given it's age or the age of that component ?
Solution: make sure the home inspector leaves the water running for at least the amount of time it would take for a very LONG shower or longer, then go back and check for leaks, or come back and do a follow up inspection later that same day or next if possible or feasible; even if the buyer or his agent is not accompanied by the home inspector they could come back and check for any signs of leakage themselves. Or... make sure you put some sort of contract stipulation in to cover latent defects not discovered or discoverable by the home inspector....
In all fairness to home inspectors, they unfortunately do not have Superman like ex-ray vision were they could peer behind or through walls (at least no yet - although technology may someday soon allow for this), and they are there to mitigate or prevent as much as possible the buyer from knowingly buying a property with major issues or not have the opportunity of getting out of the contract over major home inspection issues or negotiate with the seller for lower price and/or repairs. However, make sure your home inspector is not only a very good one, conducts due diligence, and lets the water run for enough time to check for leaks. Often alot of conversation or even banter also takes place between buyer, agent and home inspector. It is best to let him focus completely at the task at hand and you can always chit chat it up later after he has done a THOROUGH and COMPLETE job at the inspection !
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