Home inspections

I as a full time home inspector am constantly surprised by some of the questions Real Estate Agents ask me. Like do I really need to get an electrician to fix/correct this item. Do I really need a HVAC contractor for this item. These questions of course are in regards to our recommendations in the reports we have written for their clients.

Speaking for my self as an inspector if I recommend contacting a qualified licensed electrical contractor to correct a situation I encountered while inspecting a home that’s what I mean. Full stop.

The other surprise is how often the Agent tries to explain to their clients that some item that I have just encountered during the inspection is something that I report on on all houses. First off they are not along at all my inspections and second what is their point? A fire safety issue is a fire safety issue. It still needs to be dealt with properly by the appropriate licensed contractor.

My recommendation to clients is listen to your inspectors about their findings, it is their area of training. Great agents do not try to spin every situation. I do not question the roofer that shows up on the job, or the pest inspector. Listen to the agent about items that are their expertise. Yes they may have some experience they even will be right on occasion, but do you want them to call a plumber they know to fix a roofing problem your inspector reported on? How about a handyman?

Do not hesitate to call your inspector and ask questions about the inspection and their report. You paid them for their expertise so use it. Just please do not call me about some clause in your Real Estate Contract.

P.S. If you are interested in learning about commonly overlooked items that sellers often fail to correct before a home inspection go to www.beattheinspector.com

All the best out there!

Mildew or mold? You may as well ask is it good or bad.  Often we as inspectors encounter something that looks kind of fishy even kind of mean and hairy but is it mold?  I would venture that most of us inspectors do not know.  We are not trained lab technicians with an Industrial Hygienist degree or some such suitable moniker.  We are just simple guys and gals trying to do our best.  I know some inspector out there will take exception with this statement and has a suitable degree or certificate that says they know how to test for mildew and mold.  Some companies may even offer this kind of evaluation as an extra fee based service.

However, it is true that most of us are not experts on mildew or mold. Per the Standards of Practice I use (ASHI) it is not in the scope of our inspection to even inspect for Mildew or Mold.  Still stuff like what is shown in the photo below does not look right and at a minimum indicates possible water damage.  We certainly try to make our clients aware of these kind of things and point them in the right direction for further evaluation by qualified others.

Mildew or Mold?

The truth is we can not make our clients follow up on our recommendations.  We hope they do, we want them to but will they?  Will you?

All the best out there!

It is not news to anyone at this point that the real estate market has changed in the last two years.  The news is not always the same as understanding.  We seldom realize what it means for the people in that industry.  What does the change mean for the Real Estate Agents as agents and as people, what does it mean for sellers, or buyers.  What new challenges do Appraisers have?

I can speak as an Inspector, two years ago most of the homes we inspected were “staged” for sale.   For those of you not familiar with the term staging was a method used to make the house marketable.  There were several Staging companies in our area in most cases they removed most of the homeowners furniture and replaced it with their own trendy stuff for a fee of course.  Staging worked, basically they decluttered the house and made it more like a show room.  It was often a sort of Pottery Barn meets Zee Gallery with a European flair thrown in.

They were delightful to inspect and buyers loved them. They were clean, and it was easy to move around the house to access windows and outlets.  They were bright and cheery and then we went home.

Home of course is a different place.  A pile of mail on the counter some dealt with some not, a mixture of furniture bought through the years not a theme running throughout the house. Reality was firmly at home if not everywhere in our workplace.

How times have changed, now it is a delight to go home.  Most of the homes we inspect now are Bank owned. Almost none are staged.  Most of the light fixtures in Bank owned homes are missing light bulbs, the places are empty, the walls are beat up. The carpet is fully exposed because there is no furniture and that is not a pretty sight.  Often the homes have been vacant for awhile and the heat has not been on (the gas is often off).  Sometimes the water is off and the electricity is off. The houses are bone cold, dark and frankly depressing.   We are glad at the end of the day to go home and see our own clutter at least the lights work we can take a shower, and the heat is on.

In my opinion Agents would do well to carry light bulbs and install them.  Banks would do well to heat the places even though they are vacant.   Staging might be out of the question in some cases but dead carpet is dead carpet.  Fresh paint is the difference between a budding romance and a breakup.

In most cases these at heart are good houses they are just currently unloved.  Yes some people see below the grime but most are just shell shocked.   When there are no light bulbs I as an inspector have no choice but to recommend a complete review of the fixture. I do not know if it is a bad fixture or if wiring has melted or a circuit breaker failed, or if it just needs a bulb.  When the gas is off we can not test a gas furnace or determine if a gas water heater works.  If there are gas fireplaces who knows if they work?  The gas stove in the kitchen? again who knows if it works. These situations makes it harder for a buyer to make their decision.  Buy or not buy? Again I suggest Agents would do well to carry light bulbs and install them in their listings.  Show a little love to the property so someone can more easily see below the grime and fall in love with the house.

Banks should shoulder the cost of heating an empty place (keep the gas turned on) and the water service on. Surely a heated place with working lights and fresh paint can not hurt the Appraisers feelings.  Running water is basic.  Will it change my report?, yes in terms of the lights, the plumbing system and the heating system, but not at all in terms of paint.  But paint may well help the buyer decide.

Even though the market has changed our job as Home Inspectors has not changed. Some people say we are paid skeptics.  Be this as it may we at the end of the day are concerned with safety and functionality, Bank owned or not.  However the Agents and Banks have a different job.   They have a back log of properties to match up with buyers.

My gut feeling is they need to give the buyers a reason to love the place and less reasons for inspectors to be skeptical.

A few minutes with the hedge clippers could save your life, and your house.

Homeowners often forget where their gas meter is located or where their main electrical panel is located.  Often homeowners let their landscaping grow up over these items making them difficult to find and access in an emergency.

Keep all vegetation and obstructions well back from these areas at all times. Spending a few minutes pruning the plants or removing stored items from these areas may make all the difference.

To learn more about common items that homeowners fail to maintain or that sellers often fail to correct before a home inspection go to www.beattheinspector.com

A hidden gas meter. You smell gas but can't find the meter!

Electrical panel behind the Rose bush. In an emergency do you want to fight with the Rose bush? How about in the dark or in the rain?

Go ahead do some trimming, it will be good to get out and do something productive with your hands!

Wacky question #1:

Q: What is the “R” value of spider webs in the attic?

A: That is a sticky question, and we do not want to be stuck in it.   We simply do not want to get devoured by some rouge Internet spider who differs in our opinion.

Wacky question #2:

Q: Why does Harrison Ford look so damm good when he comes crawling out of some cave covered in spider webs and when your Home Inspector comes out of the crawlspace they look so thrashed, and more than a little relieved.

A: The answer is not genetics.  All home inspectors are good lookers!  It’s the magic of Hollywood, and well that’s real life, we inspectors are damm relived to be out of the sub area.  Bottom line it is just plain hard work crawling around down there.

Over the years a few intrepid clients (see one below) have ventured down under the house with us, even fewer have gone the whole distance, and were they ever glad to go back to their day jobs.  I for one don’t blame them I don’t go home and go under my house…  Well not unless she who must be obeyed says so and that’s it I have to draw the line somewhere!

You have to hand it to this first time home buyer she really wanted to learn about her house. Hats off to Kristina McMillan!

Have a great weekend!

Now that we have your attention, we want to illustrate that there is more than meets the eye to flipping a light switch. We came to realize that this post’s approach may be helpful after reading a post over at Silicon Valley Moms Blog.

Clearly the electrical system is an extremely important aspect of any home inspection. The action of turning on a light switch and looking at the fixture may appear simple to most, however, much like in the natural world there are background complexities that are not immediately apparent. The operation of the humble light switch calls upon several of the home inspector’s physical senses including sight, touch, smell, and sound to identify clues that could indicate problems with the electrical system.

Some examples of what home inspectors check for while operating a light fixture are:

• 1) The switch plate cover was installed and in good shape. This is a good thing.  A missing   switch plate is dangerous for several reasons. One example would be someone touching the         exposed wiring and being electrocuted.
• 2) The light responded immediately. Clearly desirable.
• 3) There was no sparking at the switch or light fixture. Sparks in these locations are never good. Obviously this type of problem would need immediate correction.
• 4) No other lights within view of the room dimmed or flickered. This is a condition that if occuring would need further evaluation and possible correction.
• 5) The switch was not loose and the light fixture did not appear loose. A loose switch or fixture could pose a safety hazard.
• 6) The switch was not hot to the touch. A hot switch would need further evaluation by qualified others beyond the scope of a typical Home inspection.
• 7) No odor was noticed like smoke or electrical wiring burning. Clearly something needing immediate attention/review by appropriate professionals and correction.
• 8) No “buzzing” was heard at the switch when operated. Buzzing is scary it’s right up there with a Rattle Snake “rattling” call a qualified electrician for immediate further evaluation.

As shown by the examples above several mental check lists are implemented by the home inspector to consciously eliminate several clues that could indicate problems. Similar processes hold true for most aspects of a home inspection as well, like operating faucets or testing electrical outlets.

In a perfect world if nothing was verbalized or reported to the clients about a given system it would indicate that negative clues were not observed by the inspector during normal operation of that system.

We hope this post’s approach illustrated that the gathering of valuable information can be accomplished with seemingly simple actions on the inspector’s behalf. Don’t be shy about asking the inspector what they are looking for beyond the obvious. However be warned! You may encounter a lonely inspector who will bury you with an avalanche of information.

To learn about some common items that homeowners fail to maintain or that sellers often fail to correct before a home inspection go to www.beattheinspector.com

The humble light switch

SIMPLE FACT: A home inspection is not a property inspection: I have never in all my years in the Home Inspection business met a property inspector. Just what are they?, are they a surveyor? Do they even exist? Seriously if a client was buying an empty lot they would not call us.

The real problem with the misleading term “property” inspector is that the clients naturally enough often think we are going to inspect everything on the property. Sometimes the Real Estate Agent will aid and abet this idea with off the cuff statements to their clients like oh they inspect everything! Statements like this may be well intentioned but in fact they are promising more than we can deliver.

GOOD FACT: You as a client can put yourself in a more informed position. Ask your inspector what Standards of Practice they use? This will alert you to what the inspector does and does not do. The inspector should be able to direct you to a website or hand you a hard copy of their Standards of Practice. If they start to hem and haw you know what to do…find and inspector that uses recognized Standards of Practice.

REALLY BIG FACTS: Most States require Inspectors to use specific Standards of Practice and many States require inspectors to be licensed. On the other hand understand that some States do not require licensing or provide a way for an inspector to get licensed so at a minimum look for their Standards of Practice to determine what they do and equally important what they do not do.

Many Home Inspectors belong to Organizations that have Standards of Practice their members must use. Organizations like these- American Society of Home Inspectors, Californian Real Estate Inspection Association and National Association of Home Inspectors, Inc. This is not a complete list. If you are interested or need to know more there are links for these particular organizations in the sidebar below the Blogroll.

Just one more observation to bug you “property” inspectors out there. Didn’t you kind of notice that the organizations so many of you belong to do not recognize that you exist? It is not the American Society of property Inspectors, or the California property Inspection Association or the National Association of property Inspectors, I’m just saying… Quit confusing people.

In Home Inspections VS Property Inspections Part 2 we will discuss some items often found on (properties that have homes on them) not inspected during a typical Home inspection. Items you might of assumed we would inspect but do not.