(11-04-2016, 05:23 PM)Snipe Hunter Wrote: It really has nothing to do with that. A home inspection is "Non Invasive". The customer signs a contract stating that he/she understands what that means.

As an inspector, I can open any panel, main or sub panel and I can visually inspect any wiring (or anything else for that matter) in my line of sight. I can't move anything other than something intended to be opened like a door, window, attic hatch etc. I can't even move a throw rug to look at a soft spot in a wood floor or a box away from a wall if I suspect moisture. So, I have to look for wet or water stained boxes. All I can do is note that there was a soft spot that I could not completely inspect. I can't take a cover off an outlet or switch to inspect wiring.

There are a lot of old homes here with knob and tube wiring where the panel and outlets and switches were upgraded but the wiring throughout the house is still knob and tube. Hopefully, I can find it in a crawl space or attic. I'm going to look for it in an old house but if I can't see it, I can't report it being there.

(11-04-2016, 10:33 PM)JTTHECLOCKMAN Wrote: I just recently sold my Mom's house when she passed away ( God rest her soul ) There was 4 locations and they were all lights that had knob and tube wiring. It has been left there even after the house was upgraded in 1962. The reason was my Dad did not have the money to rip through the plaster walls and replace. It was fine and would have been fine for another 100 years. But the home inspector saw the junction box the electrician left that tied the knob and tube to upgraded wire. He mentioned in his report and the buyer got hung up on this and it became a stipulation to fix or the deal falls through. We already went through 3 other deals falling through because of various reasons so I wound up replacing. It really was not that bad. I drilled 1-1/2" holes wherever there were cross members and fished the wires through and took baseboard off and drilled holes through floor plate and pulled new wire. Patched and replaced baseboard. Primed the spots but got away with painting because they were changing colors anyway. Passed inspection and everything was fine. 

Older homes and people want pristine. Not going to happen.

(11-09-2016, 06:53 PM)daveferg Wrote: I think a great deal has to do with the age of the house.  Things like knob and tube, l ad or galvanized pipes, asbestos or lead paint are found on houses built at different decades.  Seems a good inspector would check for such potential problems.  When we bought our condo, the inspector was very good.  Did he miss some things?  Sure, but he caught a lot of problems.  

On the other hand, a Realator got an inspection on the we're selling.  What a jerk!!  He missed required things, like claiming we didn't have a CO detector, which we did.  Claimed we needed to have the house tented for some outside dry rot and then outright lied about torn screens and a dented garage door.  I tore them a new one on Yelp!

(11-09-2016, 07:20 PM)Snipe Hunter Wrote: This house was actually inspected while I was in school to take my inspector's exam. My agent (who I generally trust) is a high volume agent who we have used before. She knew I was in the process of becoming an inspector and we hired the inspector she uses because I knew he was popular among the agents. I wanted to see why. I found out why. He missed just about everything. It makes real-estate transactions easier when there aren't any issues with the house.