Some inspectors are morons.

When we sold our previous house, we replaced one room with brand new carpet two months before putting the house for sale, no one ever used that room since.

The inspector noted "the carpet in the 3rd bedroom shows wear and tear inline with the age of the house". The house was 20 years old then. Even the buyers laughed at the report before we showed them the receipt of the carpet replacement.

I would document everything as discussed in the phone call with the inspector, with explanations to debunk his findings, and send it to the inspector, his boss with certified mails, and copy your realtor. As the next buyer would be curious why the current buyer was cancelled, you want to preserve the evidence of what the inspector did wrong.

Don't waste more time on the current buyer, you never know the real reasons they backed out, as if they were really interested in the house, they would have asked any questions they may have. Probably the inspection report gave them an out for having cold feet.

Thank y'all. Good advice. It did not occur to me to hire an engineer and I will be doing that. I hate all of this extra expense because of this inspector but I do want to sell my house. No, come to think of it, there are no photos showing foundation repair in the report. Thank you for pointing that out.

You don't have to disclose the previous inspection as you contend that it had serious faults and deficiencies. But, in an abundance of caution, it's a good idea to get an engineering report and attach it to your disclosure along with a flood map. The operation of the spa tub was outside the scope of the inspector's job and expertise. Next offer, get your agent to demonstrate operation of the tub to the buyers agent. After you close, you will want to show the new owner how to operate and drain it.

The previous buyers got cold feet and were looking for a reason to get out of the contract. If they were serious, they would have taken the time to ask some questions. If it wasn't this, it would have been something else. Consider yourself lucky that they walked so early in the process. Put your house back on the market with a clear conscience.

If a home inspector goes to a home with a Jacuzzi outside on a deck, is that "outside the scope of the inspector's job?"

The people who replaced all of the spa equipment offered to meet any potential buyers or their agents at the house to show them how it worked...at no charge. I thought that was very nice of them. Apparently, I need to ask if they will include home inspectors in that offer. Thanks for the advice y'all. I am getting an engineer out there next week. And I'm not sure how to answer the outside Jacuzzi question but I would be interested to know also.

If those buyers keep using that inspector for future offers, they won't be buying anything!

I don't know if this is helpful, but when we put our house on the market my Realtor insisted I be present during any inspections because we had an older house.

I did not inject myself into the inspection but I did listen and watch. There were a couple of things I knew were incorrect and spoke up immediately.

One was a large crack in our fireplace. It happened years before and because we always used the fireplace and had it cleaned yearly I offered to have the chimney company speak to the inspector. I was prepared for the question about the crack.

The inspector had said to the buyers that the chimney was cracked and would need to be replaced. I disagreed and then offered to call my chimney company. The inspector refused to speak to the chimney man and I then said to the buyers, they could speak to the chimney man, so he could explain the crack was in the facade of the stone and had no impact on the chimney. It was purely cosmetic.

We had a large, in-ground pool. The inspector did not know how to turn it on to test the pump. I walked out to the yard and showed him how it worked and turned it on. All went well with that.

The house had a well. The inspector turned on all the faucets including the tubs when he first arrived. Water was pouring from every bathroom (4) and kitchen. After an hour the water stopped. He said the well was bad. I overheard and explained we had an automatic shut-off in case a hose or leak took place. I went to the basement and showed the inspector where the shutoff was. I turned it back on and the water stared pouring out again.

The inspector was annoyed I was there. The buyers were not. I gave the buyers the last cleaning I had done on the fireplace with the number of the company we had used for 30 years.

After the inspection was over, the buyers thanked me and I found out the next day they called the chimney people. They accepted the report from them and bought our house.

You might want to be present during inspection. You can insist on it.

Jane

I have friends who lived in an old house in NJ. They had a contract on the house and the inspector came. All they can figure out is that he got various houses he inspected the same day, confused, as he listed "faults" in their house on items that did NOT EXIST in their house. They had a second inspection, but the first scared off the buyers. It took an additional 6 months to sell that house. That time, the owners stayed for the inspection. Funny that this inspector did not find the same "faults"! Of course he didn't - the items deemed faulty did not exist in this house!