Real Estate Community Forum

Today I received a letter in the mail from the housing inspector in my town telling me that I need to clean my gutters and fix my roof. At first I thought it was a joke because my house overall is not in terrible condition, but as I continued to read, I realized it wasn't a joke. I really think someone called to complain about my house and I think this person is my neighbor who I have a terrible relationship with. Is there any way to find out?

I will admit that my gutters could be cleaned, but my roof isn't bad. The shingles on my roof are not coming off and there are no leaks. From looking at the roof, it's slowly starting to wear along the edges and I was planning to save money down the road to eventually fix it when the time came, but now things have changed. That roof is going to cost thousands of dollars that I don't have! What can I do? The letter says that I have 45 days to fix the problems or I will be fined. Help!

It sounds like you may be getting a fine for items that may be clearly cosmetic in nature and quite subjective to judge. Obviously if there are problems with your roof that may jeopardize safety, pose a risk and are defined in the Inspection Code of your particular city, you may have to repair some items. Your gutters are another matter. It seems to me that just because your gutters may need cleaning doesn't mean it would allow for a fine.

Did the letter you received define any particular code that you allegedly violated?

I would follow up with your local property inspector and get to the bottom of it. Most cities allow for appeal with some type of administrative body. In general you will not get a request to pay a fine without your day in court to defend the issue.

Hope this helps and good luck

Sorry to hear about your problem with the housing inspector. Where I live, most of the people get a fine if their house is in really bad condition and is neglected, but it seems your house isn't too bad. Maybe the town is being strict because it is trying to get more money from people. What I mean is, rather than raise property taxes, some places will find other avenues to get money out of people.

I'm also wondering how the inspector could judge the condition of your roof without going up on a ladder to inspect it? Where you there when he came around to look at your house? I would suggest calling your town clerk to discuss your situation and maybe they will work with you.

In my opinion, if you feel your roof isn't in too bad of a condition, you may want to contact your own home inspector and have him/her come over to the property to get their opinion on the roof. They can inspect the roof from the attic to see if there is any leakage from inside and can write up a detailed report explaining the condition of the roof and whether it's a hazard. They can also indicate a time frame for when the roof should be replaced and what they recommend. Then take the report to the city to challenge their decision to replace the entire roof. This may cost money to pay for your own home inspector, but it's cheaper than putting on an entire roof and it gives you more time to save money towards that roof.

I'm sure you are very upset that a housing inspector came by to examine your house and find something wrong with it, especially if your budget it tight. I've already spent tons of money on my house and I'm still trying to get money together to fix it.

My suggestion is to make an appointment to meet with the housing inspector. Sometimes they are very helpful and will listen to your problems and will work with you to help get your house looking good. In fact, they probably have programs for people such as your self. They must have several people year long with similar situations and have developed numerous ways to help them.

I live in Pittsburgh PA and there numerous houses int the city that need to be inspected and fined for the terrible condition they are in. Year after year these houses look the same. The roof is falling apart, the porch needs repair work, the grass is never cut or the house is missing gutters. For your house to be called in for a new roof that is not leaking or is in fair condition sound fishy to me. I think that someone from your neighborhood called the housing inspector. They probably exaggerated on the phone about the condition of your house and that it's bringing down the value of the homes in the neighborhood. As a result the inspector came by and since he wants to keep his job, puts your house on the list to be in need of repairs or else will be fined. Its all politics. Best to keep a watch out for your neighbors. It just might be that one neighbor who you speak about that dislikes you.

I have a housing inspector coming over to my house this week because someone called to complain that the shingled on my roof were falling on my neighbor's property. My house is somewhat old and I will admit that the roof needs to be repaired so I am going to my bank to see if I qualify for a home improvement loan. This is something that you may want to do if you don't have the cash on hand to pay for a roof. Just make sure that you get a good rate and compare loans from different banks. You might find out that you qualify for more money at a lower interest rate.

Housing inspector can be your friend or your enemy. They can be helpful to point out what needs to be done and the importances of fixing things before it gets worse. The flip side to home inspectors is you can get someone who is very fussy and sees every crack and cranny. Of course their job is to find any repairs that are needed on a house, but lets face it. All houses no matter how old they are needs some form of repair work, even the newly constructed homes. Sometimes I think home inspectors are in cohorts with home repair guys because they usually know someone who they can refer to you to fix the plumbing or electrical. Just be sure to have a reputable inspector coming over to your house. There is too much corruption going on nowadays and I don't want to see someone get taken advantage of.

Where I live there is a housing program designed to help low income people fix up their house. The program is funded by a Federal grant. My friend applied for the program and was accepted. Her income level had to be $32,000 a year or lower for a single person. In addition all her taxes had to be paid in full and had to be the sole owner of the house. So far, a house inspector from the county will come in and determine the repairs. From there, she is entitled to $10,000 dollars of grant money. Anything extra will be given to her as a loan with zero percent interest. Right now she is waiting for the inspector to give her the list of repairs that are considered a "necessity" and the rest will be considered as a "wish list".

The housing program that you are referring to sounds very similar to the one near me. Where I live, It's called the Housing Rehab Program. The purpose of the program is to help low income homeowners fix their house so the property value doesn't decrease. The area around me are homes that are old and the town is afraid that if repairs are not done on these homes, it will eventually become bordered up that will attract crime to the area. So in order to prevent this from happening home inspectors are visiting the neighborhoods and informing residents that their home needs repairs or else they face large fines. Of course, certain home owners can't afford to pay for large repair work, so residents are referred to the program for assistance. I don't know how long the program has been around. I think this is a great program that many people aren't aware of. I would definitely enroll if I qualified.