About Inspections of Older Homes

There has long been a controversy in the inspection industry about how to describe conditions in older homes.  This is especially relevant here in the central Bay Area, where most of the housing is 50 to 100 years old.  Some inspectors feel that anything that would not have been considered a defect when a house was built should not be one now.  A few conservative Realtors feel that such conditions should not even be mentioned by inspectors. 

My main consideration is my clients’ expectations of safety, comfort, and durability -- not technical questions as to when certain rules or practices may have been adopted.  The public’s expectations have changed enormously in the past few decades, not to mention in the past century.  When I tell clients that an old electrical system does not meet modern standards, it’s irrelevant that it was considered state of the art in, say, 1920.  An example I often use concerns fences around swimming pools, which are required in modern housing to prevent accidental drowning of small children.  There is rarely a requirement that a fence be added around a pool in an older home, but if a child drowns – and several drown each year in the Bay Area -- are you going to feel better knowing that a fence was not required?