Dear Harry: I recently moved to the Philadelphia area from Rhode Island to take advantage of a significant promotion. We got some good references for the best areas to raise our two kids and looked for a house. My wife fell in love with a house that had one apparent flaw: a half-inch crack in a basement wall. The real-estate broker told us he would recommend a home inspector who was also an engineer to evaluate the problem. His conclusion was that this was just a normal settlement crack that was not unusual. He suggested that we do nothing about it. About a month ago, we saw that the crack had widened quite a bit, so we contacted two building contractors who said that the crack resulted from a defect in the footings under the foundation. When they dug down on the outside of the house, they showed us that part of the footing collapsed and they had to use a small steel beam to set things right. Our cost was almost $5,000. Do you think we should sue the inspector or the real estate agent or both?
What Harry says: Why not go after both? One or the other may cooperate voluntarily. Too often we lose sight of the possibility of collusion. The inspector depends on real-estate brokers for much of his income. The broker, in turn, is more inclined to recommend someone who will not upset the sale. Incidentally, a buyer should never buy a house without the right of inspection. He should get an inspector from an objective source: a lawyer, a real-estate broker not involved in the sale, a friend. Good luck!