Jane, do you know the person who did the inspection? Some inspectors are poorly qualified--so much so that I've wondered if they're on the take. The inspection for my last home in Alexandria was so far off as to be laughable. For instance,
The report said there was a puddle under the kitchen sink. It was actually dry as a bone, and, as my handyman, Marvelous Matt, pointed out, if there HAD been water at any time there'd be water marks.
The report said that the furnace filter needed to be replaced. The house did not have a furnace. It had a boiler and radiators, neither of which take filters. I think the inspector was referring to the AC unit, but don't you think he'd know the difference between a furnace and an AC?
The whole report was full of stuff like that. Not only was it unfair to me, the seller, but it was unfair to the buyers, as well, as it undermined their confidence in a meticulously restored historic home.
I never learned why the inspector's problem was--totally unqualified, on the take, whatever. The sale went through and I tried to put the ugliness of the this and the obnoxious buyers behind me. But I learned not to necessarily believe an inspection report.