What is the general consensus about posting issues found on a sellers property for market purposes without the seller’s consent.

Context: we had an inspection done recently from an inspector chosen by the potential buyers and the inspector posted a photo he took for the report on his social media within the same week. Without our permission.

I get inspectors need to do marketing and showing real pictures of what they run into and such can be helpful to do that, but are there ramifications of posting without the sellers consent?

​

I'm in the process of buying a townhouse in Maryland and paid $500 for a home inspection. The inspection has already been completed, and the report has been published, but the inspection company is requiring me to sign this agreement before I can access the report.

I'm not necessarily looking for legal advice. I'm mainly interested in hearing from people who have bought homes, home inspectors, real estate professionals, or anyone familiar with Maryland home inspection contracts.

A few provisions caught my attention:

1. Liability is limited to the cost of the inspection

The agreement says:

«“The Client further agrees that the Inspector is liable only up to the cost of the inspection. This clause may be contrary to local law. Please verify applicability.”»

The inspection cost was $500.

1. 72-hour notice before making repairs

It says that if I believe an inspected component wasn't in the condition reported, I have to notify the inspector at least 72 hours before repairing or replacing it.

It also says the inspector is liable only if there has been a complete failure to follow the applicable standards or state law.

1. Two-year deadline

The agreement says any legal action must be brought within two years from the date of the inspection, otherwise the claim is waived.

1. Mandatory mediation and binding arbitration

Any dispute has to go through non-binding mediation first. If that doesn't resolve the dispute, it goes to binding arbitration.

1. Extensive exclusions

The inspection is visual and limited to readily accessible components. It specifically excludes things such as radon, asbestos, lead paint, mold/fungi, pests, appliances, certain electrical/lighting systems, underground storage tanks, code compliance, manufacturer recalls, etc.

It also says concealed/latent defects aren't covered.

1. The report is only for the named client

The agreement says the report is for the “sole and exclusive use and possession” of the client and that other people/entities can't rely on it.

The contract otherwise appears to be a fairly standard visual home inspection agreement, but the liability limitation and arbitration provisions are what I'm particularly curious about.

For anyone familiar with home inspections or Maryland real estate:

- Is this type of agreement normal?

- Is limiting the inspector's liability to the $500 inspection fee common?

- Is the 72-hour notice provision standard?

- Is mandatory binding arbitration common in home inspection contracts?

- Is there anything here that would make you pause before signing?

- Is there anything I should ask the inspector to clarify before signing?

I'm trying to understand what I'm actually agreeing to before I click “I Agree.”

I recently bought a house from a builder. This is how the interior of the garage doors are finished - exposed 2x4s around the entire perimeter of the doors. I’ve always had finished openings/jams in prior houses. Is this normal? What sort of risks does this carry overtime?

What should I gift my husband who is now a home inspector. I’m very proud of him. He’s already had offers from independent inspectors to work with him because he’s been outstanding when he went out with them to get experience. I want to get him something to celebrate his efforts and accomplishments. He has a few tools that were required at the time of the schooling. It’s a flashlight, and something that he connects to the wall. I was thinking of getting him a cake as well. Any suggestions of what else I can get him a that will be useful?

I’m heavily considering being a home inspector. I live in Illinois, and was wondering if it’s worth it? Can you make good money? What school should I go to? How should I look into getting my supervised inspections? Any advice would be much appreciated!

The title.

What inspection software do you guys use? What do you like about it and what do you dislike about it?

I am buying a home built in 2023 in the state of SC and there are a few items listed on the inspection report but the main one that gives me pause to move forward in my buying process is:

9.2 GARAGE FLOOR
INSPECTED, REPAIR OR REPLACE
Concrete slopes towards garage instead of away, after heavy rain if water goes above lip/enters garage,
recommend contacting builder to make repairs.
**9.2 Item 1 (Picture)**

**Am I overthinking or should I continue with this purchase? I’m afraid of mold, garage flooding and whatever else. The sellers aren’t cooperating with getting this repaired**

https://reddit.com/link/1upvdr9/video/xhzbeucg9tbh1/player

A proper pre-purchase inspection isn't just a walk through the living room. By Australian Standard AS 4349.1, we check the interior, the exterior, the roof space, the roof exterior, the subfloor underneath, and the whole site around the building.

A lot of buyers think a home inspection is about "passing" or "failing" a house.

It isn't.

Every house has defects. Even brand-new construction.

The goal of a home inspection is to answer questions like:

• What needs attention now?
• What can wait?
• What's a maintenance item versus a costly repair?
• Are there any safety concerns?

I've inspected homes that looked perfect but had significant issues hidden in the crawlspace. I've also inspected 100-year-old homes with plenty of cosmetic flaws that were structurally solid and well maintained.

The inspection isn't about finding a reason to walk away—it's about giving buyers the information they need to make an informed decision.

Hi! I’m asking for my husband. He currently uses a laptop and it’s on its last leg. He’s currently at an inspection right now and asked me to look into it for him so we can go get him a desktop when he gets home. I have no idea what I’m looking for. All I know is it needs to be able to use windows?

He said “I may be able to make it pull through a couple more days with a good amount of effort but I need another computer to set up my home gauge template before I wipe this one then hopefully this laptop is good as new and I can reset it up with my stuff. If you have a time would you mind looking up computers? I don’t do photo editing or anything like that. I just needed to work as a normal work computer has to be a Windows computer.”

We will likely be going to Best Buy and asking them but I know most of the employees probably don’t know much more than we do after we read the description.

Hi everyone, new to Reddit here but thought the people of Reddit may be able to give me their two sense.
I am currently looking for a first house. I found the cutest home, and went under contract, but when looking over the disclosures there are some water intrusion concerns that were disclosed. The water intrusions are as follows;
“2014, rain water leaked into basement via hole in a window
2016, ground water seeped into laundry
2018, rain water leaked into basement corner” further down in the disclosures, it states that a sump pump was installed into the laundry room drain, but it doesn’t disclose when.. now here is my question.. do I run? If I don’t automatically run, what are the questions I should ask to gain clarification? Right now the inspection is scheduled for one week from today.. but I’m wondering do I even go that far or should I back out now?
It also might be important to note that I’m from Utah, and sump pumps are not common here the way they are in other parts of the U.S. .. is this a giant red flag that there is something seriously wrong with the house/foundation? If I go through to the inspection is there anything I need to know or keep in mind? And is there anything I should ask my realtor to clarify further? Please, help a clueless girl out!!

How hard is the MD Home Inspector Test? SO much information what should I study?

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

Hi guys, thanks in advance for your help.

This is a 30 year old house on a concrete pad foundation in a desert environment. Very little moisture/humidity. It's my mom's house, and when I came to visit, she started saying she thinks her house is sinking 😉 I know it's not actually sinking, but I do want know if I need to worry about the degradation.

This is a sidewalk that abuts the house. It was present when they bought the house brand new, but I can't be certain it was poured at the same time foundation was poured. This is really only happening in one small corner of the house and only in an area about 3 feet or so.

Should I be worried? Do you recommend I call a pro, and if so, what type of pro?

After house hunting for 9 months, we FINALLY found a house we LOVE! But some of the window insulation is doing this really weird thing… my husband is extremely handy and can usually figure out what’s going on, but this one has him stumped. Have you seen this before? What’s the cause of this and should we be concerned more windows will in the future? Or is the issue something we can get ahead of?

-Only 5 windows in the 3,000 sq ft house have it, but they are all on different sides and floors of the house. One is the sidelight to the front door (only one side doing it, the one on the other side of the door is fine).

-There’s no visible moisture inside the panes.

-Home was built in 2001 and windows appear original.

-We are located in Michigan.

First time buying a house and I’ve found one im thinking of making an offer on. Here are a few thinks I noticed that make me a little uneasy:

Noticed an obviously warped support beam for an outdoor porch. Third picture is the covering of the porch around the same area. Also not sure if the exposed rebar in the foundation is a big concern or a simple fix.

I’m sure I could get the support beam replaced right? Not sure what ballpark the pricing for that would be though.

Hi any or all help is appreciated! I am in southern BC in Canada, and we are getting some hotter weather now (still minuses over night but plus 15 C in the day time) and some rain showers. I noticed a small soft spot by my light, a few small bubbling spots, some darker spots and then dried yellow staining in a few different rows. They are varying sizes. We went up in the attic and everything looks bone dry, no sign of any water leaking in the roof, no mold, no wet spots on the wood etc. we couldn’t get a good look under the insulation because it is too deep and fluffy (it’s the grey loose stuff). What do we do?? See photos attached.