Whoa, hold on there. I get your frustration, but I think you're mixing up what an inspection can really do. Inspectors are human, they miss stuff, yeah, but a "poorly patched roof" isn't always something they can spot if it's hidden under new shingles. A second layer of shingles is a big deal, but even a good inspector can't see through a roof to know what's underneath. They can only look at what's visible from the outside. As for the "expected repairs" line, I think that's their way of saying "This is normal wear and tear for a house, not a crisis." It's not always a cop-out. Your buddy's furnace story is bad, but a furnace can be hard to fully test during a quick walkthrough. You might have a case for a missed furnace if it was clearly broken, but a roof patch that's just ugly? That's a different story. Just my two cents from seeing how these reports usually work.

The whole expensive = better thing is a trap with a lot of home stuff. Like I noticed the same with dish soap, the fancy brand leaves a film but the cheap grocery store one cuts grease way better in our hard water. Maybe these companies just market to places with humidity, and our dry air makes the cheap stuff work perfect cause there's less moisture fighting against it.

Did you catch that Paul Sellers video where he says to stop at 1000 grit?

Melted into a sticky mess all over my fries"? That's horrifying, I would have been so upset after spending that much just to have it ruin dinner.

What finally worked for me was just asking straight up "what exactly do you mean by that?" in a calm voice. People backpedal so fast when they know theyd get caught. I also started bringing my husband along to those appointments, not because I needed backup but because people are way less likely to pull that crap when theres another adult standing there. Its exhausting that we even have to plan for this kind of thing, but some people just need to know you wont be pushed around.