Barry Stone

Q: There's a house that I want to buy, but I have some questions about a gas line easement in the backyard. First of all, what is an easement? Should it affect my purchase decision? Is there any likelihood of gas leaks? And does it prevent me from building an addition onto the house?

Q: As a new Realtor, I have a question about disclosure. I recently showed a bank-owned property to an investor. As we walked through the home, there was obvious evidence of mold, including black stains on some of the walls, wetness in the basement and the smell of bleach everywhere.

Q: Our Realtor recommended a home inspector who has a very good reputation for thoroughness and honesty. But sellers' agent has refused to allow that inspector on the property.

Q: We are planning to sell our home and have learned that we have high levels of radon. Is there an inexpensive way that we can solve this problem before we list the property? And why do some homes in our neighborhood have high radon levels while other homes do not?

Q: We purchased a home and hired a home inspector who was recommended by our agent. On the day of the inspection, the outside of the deck was wrapped with tarps because of wet weather, so only the top of the deck was inspected. The inspector reported two rotted posts above the deck and recommended that a carpenter look at it, but he never checked the support posts under the deck. After moving in, we found many rotted posts below the deck. When we called the inspector, he agreed to pay for part of the repair work, but not all of it. If he had just looked under the tarps when he did the inspection, the seller could have paid for all of the repairs. Do you think our home inspector is liable?

Q: Your often-repeated advice that Realtors should only recommend the most thorough home inspectors, is dead wrong.

Q: I hope you won't mind answering four questions, rather than just one. Here goes: 1) How easy is it to become a home inspector? 2) Is it easy for home inspectors to find clients? 3) How many inspectors have errors and omissions insurance? 4) What is the biggest issue affecting home inspectors?

Q: As a fellow home inspector, I think you go overboard with electrical issues, such as ungrounded two-prong outlets in old homes. Ungrounded outlets should not be reported as a defect unless found in a newer home. In fact, you might be hard-pressed to find a case of electrocution resulting from properly used, ungrounded outlets. The only time I report an ungrounded outlet as a defect is when a three-prong outlet is ungrounded. In those cases, a simple solution is a GFCI outlet, which provides greater safety without a ground. Home inspectors should not advise upgrades for outlets that are functional and were properly installed when the home was built. If we apply new standards to old buildings, where do we draw the line? If buyers want a new home, they should buy one.

Q: In one of your articles, you said that home inspectors' liability is “limited in scope to defects that are visible and readily accessible.” This seems to be a blanket justification for the failure of home inspectors to report defects. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, inspection is defined as: “View or examine closely and critically especially in order to assess quality for shortcomings....” Given that definition, home inspectors don't inspect: they express personal opinions. One solution would be for buyers and sellers to conduct their own inspections for obvious defects, instead of allowing home inspectors to pick their pockets. This would help to reduce the escalating costs of buying a home, typically caused by attorneys and others who ride the lucrative real estate gravy train.

Q: We bought our house about eight months ago and just learned that we have asbestos insulation on the air ducts in our attic. The sellers must have known about it because they purchased a new forced air furnace last year, so their heating contractor must have told them about the asbestos.