Shoutout to the home inspector who saved me $5,000

I was about to buy this cute little house in Oak Park, and the inspector crawled under the porch. He found termite damage in a beam that wasn't visible from the inside. The seller had to fix it before closing, which cost them over $5,000. Have any of you had an inspector catch something major that slipped past everyone else?

3 comments

3 Comments

aliceharris8h ago

Did the inspector actually crawl under there because something looked off from outside, or was he just being super thorough for no reason? I always wonder how many inspectors would have just poked a flashlight around and called it good enough, you know? Makes me think I need to find an inspector who's willing to get a little dirty to actually check the hidden spots.

river_thompson7h ago

@aliceharris honestly most inspectors would probably just shine a flashlight, say "looks fine," and move on with their day. This guy must have a personal vendetta against crawl spaces or something. Makes you wonder what he's finding under his own house at night.

the_rowan4h ago

Did the inspector mention if the damage had spread beyond that one beam? Because if it was just that spot you got lucky, but sometimes termites hit the sill plate too and that's a whole different nightmare to fix. Honestly, paying for a super thorough inspector upfront saves way more than you think, especially if they're the type to actually crawl instead of just peeking.