What can homebuyers do if an inspector misses a problem?

Question: Three months ago, we signed a contract to purchase a second home in the Flagstaff area. We hired a home inspector who was recommended by our Realtor. The home inspection report cost $500, and listed some minor items, which the seller fixed. We closed escrow. Two weeks later when we went back to Flagstaff with the furniture, etc., we noticed cracks in the floors of two of the bedrooms. Over the holidays we showed these cracks to my son, who is an engineer, and he said that we probably have a ‘’soil settling’ problem which could be expensive to fix. Our son also said that the home inspector should have seen the cracks. Can we recover against the home inspector for the cost to correct the ‘soil settling’ problem?

Answer: Probably not. First, as allowed by Arizona law, in his contract with the buyer, the home inspector normally limits any liability for damages to the cost of the home inspection, i.e., the $500 cost charged by your home inspector. Second, if there is no limitation in the contract with the home inspector, you will have to find and hire another home inspector to testify as to what your home inspector did wrong. Good luck on that one! Finally, if you get a money judgment against the home inspector, most home inspectors personally have limited assets or do business in the name of a personal LLC or corporation with limited assets.