The best advice that any Real Estate agent can give a potential seller or buyer regarding WETT inspections is to get one before you list your property or, if buying, insist upon a 'recent' WETT inspection (within 30 days is reasonable). Buying a new property is stressful enough without having to make expensive upgrades, only to hand over the keys to the new owner. I dare say, perhaps there was a 'less than thorough' WETT inspection done in the past, that could be corrected by a new inspection. I question Real Estate Lawyers on this point as well; do they accept a 2-5 year old water sample or septic inspection? Even without considering the quality of a past inspection, a WETT inspection includes also the condition of the system - within the scope of the inspection performed.
On to chimney sweeping; For a real Estate transaction a prudent advisor would suggest getting the septic system pumped and inspected because hidden conditions could result in a costly repair. Likewise, your chimney should be swept by a person WETT certified in the category of 'Chimney Sweeping', yes, this designation is different than a WETT inspector. In the WETT 'SITE'(R) Inspection system we call this, a part of a 'Technical' inspection and state in the 'SITE' Inspection Table that a WETT Technician or WETT Chimney Sweep can perform a 'Technical' inspection. The chimney flue, or system may not be fully visible for inspection due to deposits in the chimney, elbows, or system components may need to be removed- this can be performed by a technician or sweep, but the depth of this work would always need to be discussed and consented to by both the property owner and the service provider. The easiest way to handle the situation would consider the maintenance of the system along with any WETT inspection being performed by also hiring a WETT certified sweep, experienced with the appliance in question and have them sweep the system - because they would be bound by the WETT standard of practice to perform the sweep and report any deficiencies found within the scope of the sweep service provided. These days, there are few parts of a wood burning system that are not costly to replace or repair and you as a seller or buyer should not have to suffer the stress of last minute negotiations or expense. Or, maybe you like giving expensive gifts to strangers?
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