Barry Stone

Q: I inspect homes in Ontario, Canada. Our area has had a few floods in recent years. Because of this, many insurance companies here have canceled homeowners flood insurance policies. After the last flood, many residents had to pay for their own repairs. The homebuyers who hire me want to know which homes were flooded, and the quality of the repairs that were done. To make matters worse, the city will not provide addresses or maps to show which properties were affected by the floods. As a home inspector, I often find evidence of water-damage repairs to interior walls and flooring. This has become a new focus of my inspections. Do you have any suggestions?

Words Barry Stone 11-min read An 18-day voyage aboard Hapag-Lloyd's Hanseatic Inspiration carries travelers from Greenland's remote fjords and abandoned settlements to the historic shores of eastern Canada, pairing raw Arctic beauty with polished service, exceptional dining and the quiet thrill of true expedition travel. AI-generated summary This article chronicles an 18-day luxury expedition cruise from Greenland to Toronto aboard Hapag-Lloyd's Hanseatic Inspiration. The journey explores remote Greenlandic settlements like Qoornoq and Disko Bay, highlighting the region's unique geography, Viking history, and Inuit culture. As the ship traverses the Labrador Sea to Newfoundland and continues through the Saint Lawrence Seaway, the narrative blends travelogues of sites like L'Anse aux Meadows and Gros Morne National Park with academic insights from on-board experts. The trip concludes in Toronto, capturing the unique camaraderie of international passengers and the distinct experience of small-ship Arctic exploration. Privacy Preference Center Your Privacy Performance Cookies Functional Cookies Targeting Cookies Strictly Necessary Cookies Your Privacy When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. More information Performance Cookies Performance Cookies These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance. Functional Cookies Functional Cookies These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly. Targeting Cookies Targeting Cookies These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising. Strictly Necessary Cookies Always Active These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information. Vendor Search checkbox label label checkbox label label checkbox label label checkbox label label Your Privacy ['dialog closed'] By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.

Q: As a marketing and advertising professional, I have been assisting my husband to build his new business as a professional home inspector. Unfortunately, it has been more difficult to market his services than those of my other clients. How do I crack this nut and get him more customers who are looking for a home inspector?

Q: We purchased our home two months ago. As part of the transaction, we hired a professional home inspector. After moving in, we had plumbing problems with the drains. The plumber we called wants $9,000 for a new sewer main to the street. The old clay pipes are cracked, full of roots, and need to be replaced. We feel that something should have been disclosed about this, by the sellers or our home inspector. Further investigation has revealed a new drain cleanout in the back yard, covered with a tarp and overlaid with tree limbs, as though someone didn't want it to be noticed. We believe the sellers were having problems with the main sewer line, had installed a new cleanout to deal with blockages, and failed to disclose this condition. What do you think about this?

Q: We sold our previous home about eight years ago but have continued to live just a few doors away. A few years ago, a trash truck got stuck in the mud at the edge of the property and damaged the leach lines in the septic system. The broken pipes were sticking out of the ground, so the owner pulled them up and threw them away. Since then, smelly water from the septic tank drains onto the street. The house has been sold since then, and the new owners refuse to fix the problem. They say the county has determined that the water is from a broken sprinkler pipe, not the septic. But that can't be true because water in a sprinkler system would not smell so awful. Is there anything we can do?

Q: Before buying my home, I attended the home inspection. In the master bathroom, I asked the inspector what he thought of the roughly patched wall just outside the stall shower. He said it was probably caused by seepage at the shower door. Then he turned to the seller and asked if there had been any leaks. The owner said, “No.” So, the inspector made no further investigation, and no mention of it appeared in his report. But last week, a tile fell from the shower wall and revealed the wet moldy drywall and insulation inside. If the inspector had taken time to look, he would have found water stains and mold in the cabinet next to the shower. The inside of the cabinet was so wet, the seller must have known there was a leak. So now I'm stuck with thousands of dollars in repairs because my home inspector listened to the seller instead of doing his job. What should I do?

Q: We just accepted an offer to buy our home, and our agent made a strange request. She asked that we not be home during the buyers' home inspection. This seems unreasonable to us. We don't like the idea of people walking through our home when we are not there. If the buyers are permitted to attend the inspection, why should we be asked to leave?

Q: We bought our home in wintertime, so our home inspector did not test the air conditioner. He said the outside temperature was too cold to run the system. But that left us with an undisclosed problem. The summer arrived with 100-degree temperatures, and we found that our air conditioner did not work. The contractor we called said the system had not been fully connected when it was installed, but this was not reported to us during our home inspection. Is the inspector liable for failing to report this problem?

Q: In a past article, you stated that an FHA appraisal is not a reliable disclosure document for homebuyers. In it, you advise buyers not to rely on the findings of an FHA inspection in place of a home inspection. I think that article was an unfair treatment of FHA appraisers and am wondering if you have changed your mind since you wrote it.

Q: Our home inspector seemed to do a pretty good job when we were buying our home, but after moving in, we found two problems that he missed. One of the window frames is cracked, and the ice dispenser in our refrigerator does not work. These things are obvious and should have been caught by our inspector. Can we ask him for compensation?