Blocked off roof access hatch

> @namahs
> it sounds like your home inspector/engineer did not do a great job

he did a terrible job, but short of tearing down walls there was no way to know.

randolph

in Roofing 6 years and 10 months ago

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murph | 6 years and 10 months ago

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Walk away. Yes, FDNY & your mortgage banker & your home insurance inspector like to see a hatchway accessible from the top floor and the roof surface. The cock loft should have a foot or foot-and-a-half of loose fill insulation with free flow of air above to vent out the roof. You can’t check on anything, can you? Again, walk away.

slopefarm | 6 years and 10 months ago

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The broker is never a reliable source on these kinds of questions.

Yes, walk away. This is sketchy enough that I would start questioning what other sketchy things they did in working on the house. .

Guest User | 6 years and 10 months ago

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If you really love the house and cannot bear to walk away, perhaps you can offer a lower price that takes into account the maximum amount of repairs that might need to be done in order to fix any concealed roof issues. That is, if this is the only area of the house that cannot be visually inspected…

daveinbedstuy | 6 years and 10 months ago

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What are we talking about here? Possibly uninsulated rafters. $2,000 – 3,000 job to do that from the roof. And another $1,000 – 2,000 to add a hatch access. But sure, there could be other “hidden issues” throughout the house. That’s what a good inspector will point out.

RobertGMarvin

in Roofing 6 years and 10 months ago

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I fear that an inspector, good, or otherwise, will be unable to find problems hidden inside walls, especially if they’re intentionally hidden.

daveinbedstuy | 6 years and 10 months ago

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True Bob but then that would eliminate any flipper renovated house from anyone’s prospects! But yes, when there are signs that things have been done wrong, it’s a big red flag

slopefarm | 6 years and 10 months ago

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I do think a flipper-renovated house at baseline deserves some serious scrutiny, particularly if all or much of the job was done without a filing or permit. No reason not to buy, so long as you do some diligence. But I think once you start seeing red flags on a flipper reno, the best move is to walk away. I would not view the roof hatch concealment here as a one-off accident, but as part of the flipper’s MO. You don’t want to pay the premium that comes with a renovated home and then find yourself redoing lots of things.

RobertGMarvin

in Roofing 6 years and 10 months ago

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“but then that would eliminate any flipper renovated house from anyone’s prospects! ”

True DIBS, but would that be a bad thing?

mozeeatupu | 6 years and 10 months ago

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No home inspector opens or looks inside walls.

slopefarm | 6 years and 10 months ago

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“No home inspector opens or looks inside walls” Agreed. that’s why one should consider walking if the flipper has put up a bunch of unnecessary and non-code compliant sheetrocking covering places the inspector normally ought to be able to see.

randolph | 6 years and 10 months ago

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our home inspector said a handful of things were issues, and they were not. he also said a whole shitload of things were A OK, and they ended up being a major PITA and $$$$$$. i would honestly just forgo the home inspection if you know the house needs a lot of work, all that will come of it is a false sense of security at best.

RobertGMarvin

in Roofing 6 years and 10 months ago

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IMO with old houses where you know a lot of work must be done inspectors are STILL needed to see if there are any structural issues that make the house unusable.

namahs | 6 years and 10 months ago

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@Randolph I don’t want to come out negative but it sounds like your home inspector/engineer did not do a great job. For us, we were lucky have a family friend that gave us a good inspection report. Depending on the inspector or engineer, sometimes the report on the issue can be blown out of proportion. One thing to note is the inspector only has 1-2hrs with looking thru the house, there are only so much he can see or be allowed to see. It is very difficult to capture everything. For our current home, we actually hired another engineer to confirm the findings that were bothering us, structural issues. We didn’t think the extra $500 is wasted since this is one of the largest investments.

dorkofwindsor | 6 years and 10 months ago

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“I could not find a roof access hatch on the 2nd floor. Apparently, the contractor sheetrocked over it”
As has been said, big red flag on corner cutting. Just imagine what the shower construction looks like – any waterproofing membrane under the tile? You’ll never know…. nor would you make an optimistic assumption with someone who just sheet rocked over a hatch…. i personally would let someone else have this house. (note: i bought from a flipper)