As a home inspector you would like to think you are helping people who are making arguably one of the biggest purchases and investments in their life. Unfortunately you cannot protect people from themselves.

Case and point; A little while ago I was called by an Real Estate agent that I had never dealt with before to inspect a home for her clients. I went to the home, which was a sold below market value in my opinion, and met the purchaser and then started the inspection.

The basement bathroom had mould everywhere and the floor was a mess. The basement windows at the front of the house had 2 inches of water standing inside the thermal unit, and the upstairs walls were punky from previous water or moisture damage. There was no evidence of moisture in the upstairs walls even though they were punky when probed.

The home had a brand new roof, was a rental unit and the tenants had moved out and the owner apparently had listed the house without seeing it, as the story goes.

I verbally informed the client of the visible mould, water in the windows which I concluded had run down the walls from old roof, punky walls upstairs with some small visible traces of mould, plus walked with him and pointed out all these items.

Unfortunately the purchaser, without waiting or bothering to pick up report for two days, went ahead with the purchase. Report made note of mould in house four different times, pictures of mould, and recommendation to bring in a mould specialist to check upstairs walls for mould.

Results: Received call from purchasers wife, who was really upset, telling me that they had called in a ?cleaning company?, who pulled their walls apart and found mould, which they then had to bring in a ?mould removal company?, all this while they lived in a motel with their kids.

Talked to purchaser and he told me the Real Estate told him to contact the ?Home Inspector?, that there was nothing they could do for him. I offered to refund his fee as I offer a money-back guarantee, but he refused, saying, ? I was just a blue collar worker, like him and he wanted to go after the big companies.?

Below is another story from homeowners printed in Edmonton, Alberta.

Homeless Homeowners

Global Edmonton

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Steve and Norma Dima shelled out $264,000 for their new home, but now they have nowhere to live. The Stony Plain couple is facing a fierce battle - taking on a toxic mould they discovered soon after they moved into their new home.

Norma Dima says, "We've lost everything. We have nothing."

The Dimas have now been forced to live under a tarp over a picnic table. Across the yard is the empty house they recently purchased. "It's the house of horrors."

And they want to warn other home buyers, saying it pays to have a home inspected before moving in.

"When Steve comes home with the van, we sleep in the back. We're trying to cope... we're trying to keep going."

The Dimas didn't get a home inspection before buying the home. They moved in on the May long weekend. But soon after, the family started getting sick. That's when Capital Health found mould, and lots of it.

Norma says they were told to "better get a home inspection, so we did that. That's when we found out we had 99.9% moisture in the house."

Everything, even the dishes had to be left inside. Norma spends her days looking for a way out of this mess, and is trying to get their money back.

Denis Noel, a real estate lawyer, says, "About the only remedy purchasers in a case like that would have is to sue the vendor."

But that's only if they can prove the seller knew about the mould. Legally, any home health risk must be revealed to a buyer. It's a case of buyer beware, and Noel says about half of home buyers, still don't bother getting an inspection. "I think most people are not experts in house construction, and do not know what to look for. An expert inspector will certainly catch the most obvious things."

That's why the Dimas are speaking out. They don't want any other family to have no place to go. Norma says, "Oh boy - be smarter than us. Be a lot smarter and get this home inspection. I don't care what the house is or where it is, but spend the $300, $400, or $500 and get this. That's the only safeguard you've got."

Steve and Norma are now looking for an apartment to rent. They have two sons who are staying with a family member. Norma is also waiting to hear from her doctor, to find out if she's facing any long term health problems from the mould.

Moral of the Story, you can protect people from some things, but you can't protect them from themselves.