Home inspector Ed Witzke retires in protest of shoddy buildings

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      Hated by some realtors but adored by many home buyers, Ed Witzke has been described as the most famous home inspector west of the Rockies.

      After 45 years of going into crawlspaces and attics, Witzke is finished. He’s not going to climb any more ladders to see whether or not a roof is sound. He closed his shop and took down his website at the end of December.

      “I’m doing what I’m doing in protest of the shoddy buildings that are out there,” Witzke told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview about why he decided to retire.

      For years, he has fought for inspections to be done independently of realtors. A UBC–trained architect, he’s railed against realtors bringing in their own inspectors to evaluate homes they’re selling. Realtors have filed complaints against him. In return, he has fired off complaints against interfering realtors.

      “What got me over and over again is where I saw so much horror out there, so much cover-up,” Witzke said. “It was like a crime scene. It was like going from one crime scene to another. People have been cheated and lied to.”

      Witzke recalled going to a Surrey neighbourhood at 6 a.m. to look at a house. His clients, a couple, were interested in the property, but they were worried it may have been used to grow marijuana.

      A neighbour asked him what he was doing there so early. Witzke replied that he wanted to know what kind of house he was inspecting. He asked if it was a grow-op. The neighbour said that actually it had once been a brothel.

      “The couple showed up at 9 a.m.,” Witzke went on. “They said, ‘Was it a grow-op?’ I said, ‘Absolutely not. This was not a grow-op.’ And they said, ‘Good, good, good.’ I said, ‘It was something else.’ They said, ‘What was it?’ I said, ‘It was a brothel.’ And they said, ‘That’s worse than a grow-op.’ But do you think the realtor would disclose that? When the realtor got wind of it, he went ballistic.”

      Comments

      5 Comments

      Al

      May 1, 2013 at 10:01am

      Ed did the inspection on my current home. They guy was more detailed than a police investigation. Saved us a lot of troubles.

      Kerry

      Nov 16, 2013 at 5:36pm

      Ed saved us from getting into a money pit. For that he got a complaint against him from the homeowner who was trying to sell to us. We didn't care for a leaky, asbestos filled, lead paint and creosote covered dwelling - nor the cost of repairing it. The house had passed numerous previous inspections - with none of these things noted. It's a shame that he's retired, but he's made a difference out there. No doubt about that.

      Ryan

      Feb 23, 2014 at 6:51am

      I used Ed on a proposed condo purchase in 2003. He advised against it. I didn't buy. A few years later the owners in the complex were looking at $100,000 bills for each owner to repair the complex.

      Andreas Dutschke

      Mar 27, 2014 at 7:43pm

      I used him twice and was beyond impressed with his reports. Since I have had to use others, sad to say there is no comparison.

      harry j

      Sep 12, 2015 at 6:53pm

      Best inspector ever ( realtors nicknamed him "Dr Death ) death to the crappy real estate out there .. He saved me lots of money & heartaches. .... long live Ed Witzke