Can I get any recourse after my own inspector missed everything?

Simone, you may have some recourse against your original inspector, but it depends on whether the missed issues were visible, accessible, and within the scope of the inspection. Start by comparing your original inspection report with the buyer's report. If your inspector clearly missed significant conditions they should have identified, contact them in writing and ask how they plan to address it. You may be able to file a complaint with the New Mexico Home Inspectors Board. For the sale, focus on documentation. If the water issue was previously corrected and the plumbing leaks were already repaired, provide invoices or statements showing that. A prior repaired condition is different from an active defect. Keep in mind that the buyer's inspector will call out perceived problems that are usually very minor and may have already been addressed. If the buyer is asking for major concessions or the inspector's mistakes are causing you a substantial financial loss, consider speaking with a New Mexico real estate attorney before agreeing to anything. Brenda Ashby | REALTOR® | JohnHart Real Estate | DRE License # 01700249

Simone, I would imagine your timeline against your inspector has passed, but I would speak to a real estate attorney to determine if you have any specific recourse. Keith Jean-Pierre Managing Principal The Dapper Agents Real Estate Operations in ALL 50 States

I can imagine how frustrating this is—you hire an inspector specifically so you don't discover major surprises after buying the house. I would start by pulling out your inspection report and the agreement you signed with the inspector and comparing what was documented with what you're finding now. Take photos, get written evaluations and estimates from qualified professionals, and contact the inspection company in writing. Depending on what was missed and the terms of your agreement, there may be limitations on the inspector's liability. And if there's evidence that a seller knew about a material defect and failed to disclose it, that's a separate issue worth discussing with a real estate attorney. This is also why I stay very involved during inspections with my buyers. I can't inspect the house for you, but I can make sure we're asking questions, bringing in specialists when something doesn't look right, and not treating the inspection report like just another box to check before closing.

Simone, Tyler is right that most of your energy belongs on the buyer, and he is right that a buyer's inspector will flag perceived problems that are not really problems. I want to push back on one piece though, because in New Mexico the answer on your inspector is not simply no. New Mexico licenses home inspectors. They are regulated by the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department under the Home Inspector Licensing Act, and there is a New Mexico Home Inspectors Board. Getting that license takes classroom hours, field hours, a national exam, proof of insurance and a background check, plus continuing education to keep it. That matters to you for one practical reason: there is a board that takes complaints, and filing one costs you nothing. It will not put money in your pocket, but "my licensed inspector missed a drain tile system and visible plumbing conditions" is exactly what that board exists to hear. The money question is separate and I am going to be straight with you rather than guess. New Mexico has more than one limitations period that could apply depending on whether your claim is framed as breach of the inspection contract or as negligence, and the sources do not line up cleanly on which governs a missed inspection. That is not a detail to take off the internet. Take the inspection report and the signed inspection agreement to a New Mexico real estate attorney and ask two questions: which limitation period applies to my claim, and does the liability cap in this agreement survive. Most inspection contracts try to cap damages at the fee you paid, often a few hundred dollars, and whether that holds up is fact-specific. I am a real estate professional, not an attorney. That is a short consult and it will tell you whether there is anything here worth chasing. Now the part I think will actually help your sale, because you are carrying this heavier than you need to. Drain tile that mitigated an old water issue is not a defect. It is the remedy for a defect. A buyer reading "previous water intrusion, drain tile installed" is reading about a house where somebody spent money and fixed the problem properly. And copper a plumber already repaired is repaired. Get that invoice. Get the drain tile invoice too if it exists. Attaching paid invoices flips the whole conversation, because you stop being a seller admitting to problems and become a seller documenting maintenance. The version of this that looks like hiding something is the version with no paperwork. On the disclosure mechanics, New Mexico uses the NMAR Adverse Material Facts property disclosure form, and NMAR reissued its forms this past March, so make sure your agent is working from the current version and let them tell you what the right paper is here rather than amending anything on your own. Disclosing correctly protects you. Disclosing sloppily is how this becomes a claim after closing. One last practical point, which is really Tyler's point sharpened. Their inspector calling copper "leaking" when a plumber already repaired it is not a disclosure problem, it is a factual dispute, and you settle a factual dispute with a plumber's letter, not with a credit. Before you concede a dollar on those pipes, have the plumber who did the work put two sentences on letterhead. That letter costs far less than the credit. Albuquerque is not my market, I work the South Bay and Palos Verdes side of Los Angeles, so I am not the person to negotiate this one for you. Your agent plus an hour with a New Mexico real estate attorney is the right team. This is Zoltan Peresztegi, and my honest read is that you have a better hand than you think, you just have not put the receipts on the table yet. Zoltan

No you don't really have any recourse with the inspector. Your best option is to just look forward and do your best to negotiate and work it out with the buyer. Unless they've signaled they're walking away, they still want the house and there is a resolution to be made. Think about it like this, if your inspector would have caught those issues, what would you have done with it ie. would you make the repairs? Just work through that with the buyer. Inspectors don't catch everything, but also inspectors often note "perceived" issues that may not really be, so don't necessarily just take the buyer's inspectors word on it either. Talk through it with your agent and come up with the best approach for your situation!