Inspection of Homes: a Case of Boon or Bust

If attorney Lawrence Teplen is correctly quoted in your article, “Critics Fault Hype in Home Inspections,” I hope someone can tell me how it is that “buyers will find out that smoke detectors don’t work or that electrical wiring in the garage needs improvement . . .” by relying on the seller’s’ disclosure form.

A seller who may or may not be living in the property being sold would not necessarily know if the smoke detectors are working unless he had a recent fire, and the disclosure form doesn’t require a seller to speculate as to whether his garage wiring might need improving.

The only way for a buyer to determine the condition of a home is still for that buyer to hire a reliable inspector to whom he pays a fee for a report and to rely on that report.

J. ZIMMERMAN

Beverly Hills