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April 17, 2007
Heimer inspection (BAD)
This is my first post. We had Heimer do an inspection on a 2 family house. The inspector said there were no signs of termites, I even asked him a couple times to be sure, and he assured me there were no signs of them. We closed on the house and the very next day we see termites wings and all. I called Terminix and the inspector was able to point out to me a colony of the little critters in the basement. Thing is I don't even know if the guy from Heimer even had a flash light!!! I picked them because of the good reviews I saw on this site but from my experience they weren't very good. Long report but most of it was just to cover themselves from trouble!
K
Comments
are you sure they are termites and not winged ants? The way you can tell is, ants have 3 body parts: Head, abdomen, and thorax. Termites have 2. Head and body. Easy to tell just by looking without a microscope.
That said, it actually begs the question. Would you have not bought the house if you saw the termites/ants b/4 hand?
Posted by: Anonymous at April 17, 2007 2:05 PM
do you have an agenda. You posted this same story a few months ago.
Posted by: Anonymous at April 17, 2007 2:20 PM
dude, heimer doesn't inspect for termites. they inspect for structural damage due to termites. big difference. when you bought the place your mortgage lender required you to get a separate termite inspection from a licensed termite control company. this inspection comes with at least a 1-year guarantee against infestation. if they don't find termites during their inspection but you then find termites within the first year they'll pay to get rid of them. i think you're full of baloney. see heimer's website, below, you dork.
http://www.heimer.com/information/termites.html
Posted by: nicholas at April 17, 2007 5:54 PM
I agree with 2:20 poster....definitely the same person who complained a few weeks ago. The big clue "This is my first post." LMAO!!!!
5:54 is correct. Heimer....as most home inspectors do not inspect for termites...just the damage.
Heimer did a great job for us. The inspector spent 2 hours going of the report and the report was right on in estimated prices for repairs etc.
Dude....you need to let it go and move on...you'll give yourself a heart attack.
Posted by: Anonymous at April 17, 2007 7:50 PM
Can I remind posters that this site is for the sharing of information for the purpose of helping one another. Can you take a moment and read what you write? Do you really want to use this site at a toilet?
Posted by: Anonymous at April 17, 2007 11:46 PM
What was not informative about this dialogue?
Posted by: Anonymous at April 18, 2007 1:05 AM
I posted the original Heimer complaint. This poster seems to have re-posted a condensed version of my original post. Weird.
In any event, I stand behind my original complaint. The follow-up is that Heimer agreed to come back to re-inspect 2 weeks ago (after I closed) to address my complaint and guess what … the inspecting engineer admitted that he missed termite damage and mud tubes in the rear of the house. We found chewed joists, etc. during the re-inspection (when I pointed him to the area that the termite guy had found in plain sight).
I'm finished ranting on this now (and calmer about the whole thing) but just a word to the wise: these inspection reports are not as great or comprehensive as everyone says (Heimer or any company).
Posted by: Anonymous at April 18, 2007 1:28 PM
I used Heimer for an inspection a few weeks ago and it seemed a bit rushed. My attorney was impressed by how long the report was, but 95% of it was boiler-plate. Who knows-- maybe they did a fine job, but definitely felt off-the-rack, not custom.
Posted by: Anonymous at April 18, 2007 3:06 PM
I'm a real estate broker so I don't really want to comment on who is a good engineer and who isn't, but I will say this about termites: 95% of all townhouse contracts I've been a party to have included a clause which says that post-contract execution, the buyer has 10 business days to perform a termite inspection. Should this reveal infestation, the seller is responsible for treatment and (possibly) repair of any damage not initially seen by an engineer. Very often attys (and yes some brokers) fail to remind the buyers to attend to this. I too would encourage people not to rely on an engineer for conclusive evidence of termites. Call an expert! And make sure your atty includes the termite clause in the contract and/or its rider.
Posted by: Anon at April 21, 2007 5:33 PM
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