Electrical mystery

[jslo]

In a somewhat defense for home inspectors, 2 points I'd make are:
1) I don't believe theyou have the time, or you would be willing to pay their increased fees, to check out every switch and recepticles in the house. They usually will select some randomly or concentrate on the more safety concerned areas, ie gfic.
2) I see many switches "taped" on when exterior lights are swapped out for photo cell or motion lights requiring constant power. If this switch was on by an exterior door you could assume that it had a this purpose.
A mis-wired 3/4 way is fairly easy to wire up incorrectly but also easy to correct. This also is assuming it is a 3/4 way.

[Great-Kazoo]

In a somewhat defense for home inspectors, 2 points I'd make are:
1) I don't believe theyou have the time, or you would be willing to pay their increased fees, to check out every switch and recepticles in the house. They usually will select some randomly or concentrate on the more safety concerned areas, ie gfic.
2) I see many switches "taped" on when exterior lights are swapped out for photo cell or motion lights requiring constant power. If this switch was on by an exterior door you could assume that it had a this purpose.
A mis-wired 3/4 way is fairly easy to wire up incorrectly but also easy to correct. This also is assuming it is a 3/4 way.

We understand an inspector isn't going to do a wall to ceiling , corner to corner inspection, for the price one is charged. However the reason there's a taped switch should have been disclosed prior to closing, be the seller. If the taped switch is part of a larger issue, someone should have picked up on it.