Incompetent Building Inspectors Hurting Homeowners
Building inspectors are shortchanging unsuspecting owners with corrupt tactics.
May 1, 2007 — -- A recent "Good Morning America" investigation finds that government building inspectors are often overworked and sometimes lazy, incompetent or corrupt.
Whether you're remodeling or having a new home built, building inspectors are supposed to check the construction at several crucial phases and make sure it's up to code. Home buyers and remodelers count on those inspections to ensure their houses are safe.
Homeowner Lisa Daniel of Wayne County, N.C., showed "GMA" how the front of her house was seven inches longer than the back, making the house hopelessly out of square and dangerously unstable.
An engineer found more than 25 code violations that the inspector had missed and said the house should be demolished and started over. Daniel never moved in because the house was unfit for occupancy.
"I lost everything I ever had and I've lost everything I ever wanted to have and everything I ever tried to have -- before I even had it," Daniel said. "I never spent a night in this house."
Daniel was so devastated that she followed and videotaped the building inspector who had done her inspection. Her tapes show an insulation inspection where he enters the house and spends just 24 seconds inside. Then he walks out and signs the inspection sheet. Another clip shows the same inspector at another house on a day when he's supposed to inspect framing, electrical and plumbing -- serious safety issues. One minute and 28 seconds later, he exits and signs off on it.
"I couldn't believe that he'd been getting away with this," Daniel said.
Daniel sued Wayne County, which settled for $94,000 without admitting liability. Wayne County wouldn't comment on the specifics of the case. The inspector told us the inspections we saw were quick because they were follow-ups, but he had no response when we revealed he was seen on tape doing the same thing over and over again. As for Daniel, she's still out tens of thousands of dollars.
It's a nationwide hazard. The state of New Jersey investigated shoddy new-home construction and found lazy, incompetent code inspectors were part of the problem.
