Here are a few incidents where John Langmeyer, president of Pacific Northwest Building Inspections, was able to avert a potential disaster for unsuspecting buyers.

Dream House? Or House of Horrors?

“I take away the emotion when viewing a house,” says Langmeyer. “I am an impartial judge of the true condition of a house, a professional that is not swayed by the desire of buying a dream home.”

Several years ago, Langmeyer inspected a new brand home that had substantial problems with the siding, flashing, and window installation. There was deterioration in the sheathing below the siding and in other areas. The building contractor used materials that, after three months of finished construction, were rotted and needed to be replaced.

“My client was in love with the house and burst into tears when I informed her that she should continue to look for a better constructed house,” says Langmeyer. “Never in all my years as a building inspector have I ever not walked into the house. But with this house, I was able to quickly make the determination after reviewing the exterior of the house that there were problems.”

“I remember my client lamenting, ‘this is my dream house.’ I had to tell her, this is no dream house – it’s a house of horrors!” says Langmeyer. “Two weeks later, she found her true dream house, which I inspected and found to be the perfect home she wanted.”

No Inspection Leads to Traumatic Lawsuit

A few years ago, Pacific Northwest Building Inspections received a call from distraught homeowners who bought a brand new home for $2.5 million. Thinking the value of the house spoke for its integrity, the owners did not even think to have a building inspection conducted. Shortly after they moved in, small issues began to surface – doors sticking, floors separating, and tiles cracking. They began to realize there were some severe underlying issues and they contacted Pacific Northwest Building Inspections to document the problems.

“My clients asked me to document everything that was wrong with the house so that the contractor could fix the problems,” says Langmeyer. “After 80 hours of work, the list was pretty long and extensive. For instance, we realized that the house did not have an adequate foundation or drainage. The shingle siding was installed improperly, leaving large gaps in the siding. The septic system did not drain properly, leaving four inches of water in the crawl space and causing painted woodwork to open at the joints.” Langmeyer adds, “It was truly a nightmare, and sadly, most, if not all of this, could have been uncovered in an inspection prior to purchase.”

The homeowners got bids to fix the damage, and after consulting an attorney, they ended up going to court and suing the contractor for over $700,000. Langmeyer comments, “The whole process was so traumatic for my clients. They now are firm believers in having in building inspections before an offer is made.”