What if I find something that was missed in the inspection?
If you feel that we have missed something import that should have been in your opinion included in the inspection report, please bring it to our attention right away so we can help address the issue.  We are happy to address it and want you to have the best inspection we can provide.  Do not bring the issue to your realtor in the effort to resolve it, as they are not the ones who performed the inspection for you.  We need to address any issue with you directly. We ask that you notify us of an issue in writing and give us a proper chance to review the report, the reported issue and respond in a timely fashion.   Your satisfaction is our goal and we work very hard to make that happen with every inspection.
We also ask you to review the following information regarding the purpose of a home inspection.
The main focus of a home inspection is to find material defects in a property.  Material defects are ones that significantly impact the valuation of the property or that pose an unreasonable risk to the occupants.  We are not trying to document every single defect in a home, as that is not the purpose of a home inspection. While we try and report on some smaller items as a courtesy, some issues, especially in a home that is in poor condition will not be added to the report.  The focus is on bigger issues.  Cosmetic items and smaller defects that are readily noticeable when walking through the property will not always be included in reports. Reports would become too long and less usable.  We would also as inspectors not have enough time to properly evaluate the big picture more important items if we dwell on every small defect.
It is normal after moving into a home and spending significant time in it to notice things that were not in the inspection report.  This is especially true in homes with a large amount of defects.  Given the limited amount of time in a home that we can spend, some issues were either a) not present during the inspection or have changed since the inspection b) chosen to not be included in the report given the smaller or cosmetic nature of the defect or c) were just not noticed.
So, we ask you to pause a moment, and consider, is the item in question a material defect or big picture decision making item regarding the purchase of a home, or is it a smaller item that just needs routine maintenance or repair / replacement.