Hacker News Reader

> and letting purchasers decide to buy it or not with full knowledge

Consumers never have full knowledge of the quality level of whatever they're purchasing, much less in something like a house that is not standard and has to be adapted to the place it's built in.

At least with a law setting minimums, if you're lucky, you can sue if it doesn't meet them.

View on HN

If you buy a home without an inspection you're either very deep pocketed and playing a numbers game buying stuff off the market quickly, or very stupid.

I had an inspection for the first apartment and then the first house I bought in Auckland (New Zealand) in the first decade of the 21st century. Both turned out to be leaky. Whose fault was it? There's plenty of blame to go around - the inspectors (for failing to see the problem), the government (for deregulating), the builders (for using materials they shouldn't have), the architects (for design that would never have lasted), the local government (for approving the housing), and maybe me for not having understood something I had no experience of, and had never happened before in my country.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com