On May 5 Barry Melcher of Affordable Home Inspections came to our prospective home (which is now the home we bought) and did the home inspection. We were present for the inspection. We were first-time home-buyers, rookies at this whole process, and when our realtor Mark McElHaney of Kentucky Homefront Realty, here in Florence Kentucky, suggested Barry as one of our choices for a home inspector, we thought that was saving us time instead of having to search on our own and find an inspector.
Well we were wrong. He did a horrible job of inspecting our home. The very day we took posession of the house, I walked upstairs into the master bedroom only to find that the mirror was smashed in the bathroom! The third day after we took posession of the house we were in the basement when it started to rain, and suddenly there was water all over the floor.
I traced it to it's source (from the water stains on the dry wall in our garage!) and found that there was a hole in our roof! AND another problem we discovered that day is that the venting which brings in fresh air for our gas furnace wasn't installed correctly on the outside of our house so it lets rain come down the pipe and onto the furnace every time it rains, which has started some rust spots on our furnace!
We also have a natural gas leak (on the power company's side not our responsibility thankfully) that he missed in the inspection, even though I told him while he was here doing it that I smelled has and that I wanted him to figure out why - he said he'd get the power company to come out, but never did. He charged us $350 for his ripoff inspection, 50 of which was to go to a termite inspector. We have NEVER received a termite report, he just verbally told the realtor who told us that the house is clear of termites. The roof repair alone was $350.
I want my money back and have called Barry and told him so. He came out to the house to see the roof area and the receipt I have for the repair and said to my face that he'd send off a cheque to us in the mail for $350, which he has never done. What can we do? I don't think getting a lawyer would solve our problem, I am sure we'd end up paying more in lawyer's fees than getting back our $350! Just know not to use this man for your inspection!
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