Dear Monty: I had my home inspected before putting it on the market. The home inspector tagged the furnace and said I should have a heating technician check it out. The furnace company inspected it and said there was no defect. He also offered to replace it for $8,000. I am in a quandary because when an interested party sees the report, it may cause a problem. At the same time, I struggle to justify spending $8,000 when the heating company says it’s OK. Do you have a suggestion?
Monty’s Answer: The home inspector’s job is to find defects. Defects may be defined differently state by state. A “defect” is defined as “a condition of any component of an improvement that would significantly impair the health or safety of future occupants of a property or that, if not repaired, removed or replaced, would significantly shorten or adversely affect the expected normal life of the component.” Defects most often occur in the major components or systems.
