October 2021 I hired Maine Inspections to do an inspection of my 'hopefully' soon to be forever retirement home. Oliver game out and did what I thought at the time was a professional, in-depth inspection of the house. He was prompt, courteous and professional throughout the process, giving us some great insight and advice on issues with the property. I was so impressed that I wrote a 5 star review, something that I rarely do.
Fast forward 3 months, during renovations, I am confronted with the news that we need an entire new roof. I had 3 separate roofing contractors look at it and give me their opinions and quotes for repair. All noted apparent water damage, missing flashing, screws sticking out and no roof ridge vent were visible from the ground and the driveway. All 3 felt that the roof issues should have been caught during the inspection. During the inspection the roof was never identified to me as an issue so I pulled out my inspection report and there was no mention of any roof damage or needing a replacement. The only mention was the need for yearly maintenance on the sealant around the chimney and flashing.
I reached out to Maine Inspections to let them know what was happening and Oliver got right back to me and came out right away. He re-examined the roof and talked about condensation from the basement on some of the screws inside the attic. (This would not be the reason for water pouring into the attic and down the walls causing water damage on the rafters, the electrical panel to rust and black mold in the insulation of the attic and wall.) He stated that to get any sort of financial reimbursement, we would need to hire an attorney and go after their insurance company. If we had this information before we bought the house, we would have handled the transaction differently. We are now having to replace the roof at a cost of over $15,000.
While I completely understand that anyone can make a mistake, especially with the number of homes that they are inspecting, what I cannot understand is not being held accountable and making things right for the customer. I have never heard from the owner of the company and the only concession that was offered was to me by Oliver was to sign a release and get my $700 inspection fee back. I am now having to get an attorney to try and recoup some of the loss that I have. read more