Dear Barry,
The people who are buying our home hired a home inspector, and we made the mistake of not attending the inspection. My husband is a PE (civil engineer), and he disagrees with some of the home inspector's findings. For example, the inspector said the fireplace is cracked and needs cleaning. But we had it cleaned and inspected when we bought the home and have only used gas logs since. He also said the air conditioner needs repair, but our AC guy documented the unit as fully operational and free of defects. Still, the buyers want these things repaired. Should we merely provide documentation, or is there something else we can do to reassure the buyers?
Jan

Dear Barry,
Do you research the issues you write about, before answering people's questions, or do you simply shoot from the hip. In a recent column, you spoke about a home inspector's liability for unreported safety violations involving a water heater flue pipe. In the article, you failed to mention that home inspectors are not required to cite code requirements or even to know what a flue pipe is. You should have explained that inspections are for informational purposes only. Inspectors cannot certify anything. They can only state opinions. Buyers should hire licensed experts to verify the true extent of defects, rather than relying on generalist home inspectors. How about some honest clarity?
Chris