Why Home Inspections

Why choose home inspections as a profession? there are plenty of other fields of service a home inspector can do. We could for example be general contractors, building homes instead of inspecting them. Some can be engineers, and a few are, why? can’t be for the money or they did not have anything else to do. Some can be heating and air conditioning technicians while others electricians or plumbers. Is it the idea of working for ourselves? spending all our money on marketing and advertising, not to mention all the equipment, reporting software, website building and time away from families trying to build the business.

When I was working for a commercial concrete company I was involved with some big projects, Reliant Stadium and the Anadarko Tower in The Woodlands, TX just to name a couple, and in my fifteen years I have seen a lot of good people not make it home, in either one piece, or some not at all. When I was given the responsibility to lead a crew I took safety pretty serious, it was my men hanging over the edge of skyscrapers, and during my time everyone went home at the end of the day.

Home inspections is about a lot more than reporting on whether or not the toilet flushes and the oven works. The inspection of the electrical components are safety related inspections, a bad installation can result in burning down your house. Taking into account all the positive reasons for a home inspection (I don’t believe in negative information, it is up to the individual how it is perceived ) I believe the safe operation for the occupants of the home is the most important thing to inspect and report on, even above the standards of practice set forth by the Texas Real Estate Commission.

I chose home inspections because I have something to offer in the way of safety, and want to help others know the condition of the home there in now or the one they want to purchase.

It’s Your Investment

When it comes to trusting those that are considered to be professionals in their field whether it’s the mechanic, the health provider, or even a home inspector, it may not be in your best interest to hire the preferred service providers referred by the insurance companies or your realtor. Often these referred providers pay to be on a list of preferred service providers. They ( the referred providers) may even be family members thereby bringing on a conflict of interest, blood is thicker than water, so everyone involved in the deal, minus the un-expecting client, will profit from the service with a more favorable outcome for the referrers, and this holds true for any service provider who wants to remain on the preferred vendors list. 

You do not have to use the preferred vendors suggested to you. Find a qualified service provider that you feel confident about hiring, read their testimonials, ask for referrals from friends, family, and work colleagues. 

When you do find a qualified service provider be sure to do the service a compliment and suggest them to your friends and family, fill out any customer satisfaction surveys that may be provided by the service provider to help them better serve their clients. It is your investment so why would you intrust it to sub par, self-proclaimed, cheap (another blog), service providers.

D.I.Yer’s Beware

personally I like to watch the diy network on saturday mornings, especially renovation realities. The host appear to be knowledgeable and talented tradespeople. So when I see them give advice on how to properly install a plumbing trap under a bathroom sink and it turns out to be an S trap which is no longer allowed (for siphonage reasons) it makes me wonder what other improper installs have occured, the ones behind the scenes, now behind the walls. What made me decide to write about this is what I seen this morning. A kitchen remodel led to the need to re-route an HVAC duct, no problem, everything looked good until it came time to seal the joints were they connected the new duct. Everyone I know would have used the metal tape specifically designed for duct work, not the host of kitchen remodel, duct tape is still utilized for everything. Now when the unsuspecting home owner runs her air conditioner the cold duct work will cause the gray duct tape to loose its adhesion, thereby setting up a scenario for mold growth, higher utility bills, and poor air quality, as if that isn’t enough reason to do it right, how about the occupants health and the cost of mold remediation, highering everyone from home inspectors to qualified contractors to help identify and replace or clean air conditioning unit.

Size Does Matter

When it concerns your air conditioner. Believe it or not but most a.c contractors don’t know how or don’t bother to properly size your air conditioning unit. Most of them (contractors) oversize. A unit that is somewhat smaller actually does better bye reducing the cycling times. There are three reasons why sizing is important, 1; cycling times,                  2; moist control, and 3; noisy operations. We’ll start with short cycling first.

Short cycling refers to the time it takes for your a.c to start, reach the desired temperature, and shutoff. An airconditioner normally reaches peek performance within ten to fifteen minutes and will continue to run without the extra draw of power it takes  to startup, if it didn’t that extra voltage needed would fry your system. Now, with a system that is oversized reaching the desired temperature is quicker thereby shutting down the a.c shortly after reaching peak performance, you would save on your electric bill by letting it run longer rather than having it continually draw the extra power for starting up. Wich leads us to moisture control.

It takes time for the air conditioning unit to replace the warmer air with cooler air. As the air is flowing out of the vents it is drawing air into the return, and forcing it back outside. The return air blower motor is pretty powerful, it is drawing air from not only in the rooms but from the walls, attic, and crawlspace if the insulation is inadequate. So if your a.c is shortcycling it doesn’t have the time to remove the humid, stail air making the occupants uncomfortable.

Noisy operations; A unit that is oversized and forcing air out of vents and into the return (a large unit has more air flow and higher air speed) reducing the filters effectiveness if the return air grille is to small, the size of ducts should correspond with the units size.

The positives of having a properly sized a.c;  smaller units are cheaper (relatively speaking), smaller utility bill…which can help pay for the unit over time, and air quality that will be be compfortable for everyone…which is important for infants and the elderly…but that is another post, maybe next week’s

Make sure your contractor does a “manual  j” to properly size the unit and ask what method was used to figure it out. A qualified computer method from RHVAC from elite software has proven to be pretty reliable, and there based out of Bryan, TX , so there still somewhat local and deal with our humidity. You can contact them at 800-648-9523.

Seller Inspections

Seller inspections (sometimes referred to as pre-listing inspections) are becoming more popular because they virtually eliminate all the pitfalls and hassles associated with waiting to do the home inspection until a buyer is found.  In many ways, waiting to schedule the inspection until after a home goes under agreement is too late.  Seller inspections are arranged and paid for by the seller, usually just before the home goes on the market.  The seller is the inspector’s client.  The inspector works for the seller and generates a report for the seller.  The seller then typically makes multiple copies of the report and shares them with potential buyers who tour the home for sale.  Seller inspections are a benefit to all parties in a real estate transaction.  They are a win-win-win-win situation. 

 

Advantages to the Home Inspector:

• Seller inspections allow the inspector to catch inspection jobs upstream, ahead of real estate transactions and the competition.
• Seller inspections are easier to schedule and are not under the time constraints of a sales agreement’s inspection contingencies.
• Working for sellers is typically less stressful than working for buyers who are about to make the purchase of their lifetimes. 
• Sellers can alert the inspector to problems that should be included in the report, answer questions about their homes, and provide Seller’s Disclosure Statements.
• Repairs of problems found during seller inspections often necessitate the need for re-inspections by the inspector.
• Seller inspections put a sample copy of the inspector’s product — the report — in the hands of many potential buyers who will need a local inspector soon.
• Seller inspections put a sample copy of the inspector’s product — the report — in the hands of many local buyers’ agents who tour the home.
• The inspector is credited, in part, with the smoothness of the real estate transaction by the buyer, seller and agents on both sides.
• The liability of the inspector is reduced by putting more time between the date of the inspection and the move-in date of the buyers.
• The liability of the inspector is reduced because the inspector’s clients are not buying the properties inspected, but, rather, moving out of them.
• The buyer might insist on hiring the seller’s inspector to produce a fresh report, since the seller’s inspector is already familiar with the home.
• Seller inspections provide inspectors the opportunity to show off their services to listing agents.
• Seller inspections provide examples of the inspector’s work to the listing agent of each home, which might encourage those agents to have other listings pre-inspected by the inspector.
• Most sellers are local buyers, so many sellers hire the inspector again to inspect the homes they are moving into.

Advantages to the Seller:

• The seller can choose a certified InterNACHI inspector rather than be at the mercy of the buyer’s choice of inspector.
• The seller can schedule the inspections at the seller’s convenience.
• It might alert the seller to any items of immediate concern, such as radon gas or active termite infestation.
• The seller can assist the inspector during the inspection, something normally not done during a buyer’s inspection.
• The seller can have the inspector correct any misstatements in the inspection report before it is generated.
• The report can help the seller realistically price the home if problems exist.
• The report can help the seller substantiate a higher asking price if problems don’t exist or have been corrected.
• A seller inspection reveals problems ahead of time, which:
  • might make the home show better.
  • gives the seller time to make repairs and shop for competitive contractors.
  • permits the seller to attach repair estimates or paid invoices to the inspection report.
  • removes over-inflated buyer-procured estimates from the negotiation table.
• The report might alert the seller to any immediate safety issues found, before agents and visitors tour the home.
• The report provides a third-party, unbiased opinion to offer to potential buyers.
• A seller inspection permits a clean home inspection report to be used as a marketing tool.
• A seller inspection is the ultimate gesture in forthrightness on the part of the seller.
• The report might relieve a prospective buyer’s unfounded suspicions, before they walk away.
• A seller inspection lightens negotiations and 11th-hour re-negotiations.
• The report might encourage the buyer to waive the inspection contingency.
• The deal is less likely to fall apart, the way they often do, when a buyer’s inspection unexpectedly reveals a last-minute problem.
• The report provides full-disclosure protection from future legal claims.

Advantages to the Real Estate Agent:

• Agents can recommend certified InterNACHI inspectors, as opposed to being at the mercy of buyer’s choices in inspectors.
• Sellers can schedule the inspections at seller’s convenience, with little effort on the part of agents.
• Sellers can assist inspectors during the inspections, something normally not done during buyers’ inspections.
• Sellers can have inspectors correct any misstatements in the reports before they are generated.
• The reports help sellers see their homes through the eyes of a critical third-party, thus making sellers more realistic about asking price.
• Agents are alerted to any immediate safety issues found, before other agents and potential buyers tour the home.
• Repairs made ahead of time might make homes show better.
• Reports hosted online entice potential buyers to tour the homes.
• The reports provide third-party, unbiased opinions to offer to potential buyers.
• Clean reports can be used as marketing tools to help sell the homes.
• The reports might relieve prospective buyers’ unfounded suspicions, before they walk away.
• Seller inspections eliminate “buyer’s remorse” that sometimes occurs just after an inspection.
• Seller inspections reduce the need for negotiations and 11th-hour re-negotiations.
• Seller inspections relieve the agent of having to hurriedly procure repair estimates or schedule repairs.
• The reports might encourage buyers to waive their inspection contingencies.
• Deals are less likely to fall apart, the way they often do, when buyer’s inspections unexpectedly reveal last-minute problems. 
• Reports provide full-disclosure protection from future legal claims.

Advantages to the Home Buyer:

• The inspection is done already.
• The inspection is paid for by the seller.
• The report provides a more accurate third-party view of the condition of the home prior to making an offer.
• A seller inspection eliminates surprise defects.
• Problems are corrected, or at least acknowledged, prior to making an offer on the home.
• A seller inspection reduces the need for negotiations and 11th-hour re-negotiations.
• The report might assist in acquiring financing.
• A seller inspection allows the buyer to sweeten the offer without increasing the offering price by waiving inspections.

“Note: Just as no two home inspectors and no two reporting systems are alike, no two inspection reports, even if performed on the same property at the same time, are alike. This seller or pre-listing inspection report was performed for my client, the home seller, with the cooperation and assistance of my client, the home seller. It assumes full disclosure on the part of my client, the home seller.  My client may choose to share my report with others, but it was performed solely for my client.  Although ABC Inspections performs all inspections and writes all reports objectively, without regard to the client’s personal interests, performance of additional, fresh inspections (which, of course, could reveal and report matters differently) should be considered.”  
  

Common Myths About Seller Inspections:

Q.  Don’t seller inspections kill deals by forcing sellers to disclose defects they otherwise wouldn’t have known about?

A.  Any defect that is material enough to kill a real estate transaction is likely going to be uncovered eventually anyway.  It is best to discover the problem ahead of time, before it can kill the deal.

 

Q.  Isn’t a home inspector’s liability increased by having his/her report seen by potential buyers?

A.  No.  There is no liability in having your seller permit someone who doesn’t buy the property see your report.  And there is less liability in having a buyer rely on your old report when the buyer is not your client (and has been warned not to rely on your report) than it is to work directly for the buyer and have him be entitled to rely on your report.

 

Q.  Don’t seller inspections take too much energy to sell to make them profitable for the inspector?

A.  Perhaps, but not when the inspector takes into account the marketing benefit of having a samples of his/her product (the report) passed out to agents and potential buyers who are looking to buy now in the inspector’s own local market, not to mention the seller who is likely moving locally and is in need of an inspector, plus the additional chance of re-inspection work that is generated for the inspector.

 

Q.  A newer home in good condition doesn’t need an inspection anyway.  Why should the seller have one done?

A.  Unlike real estate agents, whose job is to market properties for their sellers, inspectors produce objective reports.  If the property is truly in great shape, the inspection report becomes a pseudo-marketing piece, with the added benefit of having been generated by an impartial party. 

 

Q.  Don’t seller inspections and re-inspections reduce the number of buyer inspections needed in the marketplace?

A.  No.  Although every inspection job an InterNACHI member catches upstream is one his/her competitors might not get, especially if the buyer waives his/her inspection and/or the seller hires the same inspector to inspect the home s/he is buying, the number of inspections performed by the industry as a whole is increased by seller inspections. 

 

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New Construction Inspections

Foundation Inspection

After choosing your builder and the floor plan that will be your dream home you would  spend the rest of your days in, ask yourself, did the builder do there part in assuring that my home was built to the specifications that the engineer designed and put his/her stamp on? For the most part I would like to think so, but why jump into this blindly? Ask the builder before construction begins if they provide inspections through a third party fee paid inspector, as apposed to an inspector on there payroll. Even better, you have the right to research and decide on which inspector you find to be qualified enough to inspect your investment. Be sure to hire the inspector before the construction begins, so he/she has ample time to coordinate with the builder in assuring that the process up to and before the moisture barrier is put down, such as proper grading and fill, plumbing pipes should be inspected for support along the trenches and there connections, was the pad compacted? and engineered fill used instead of topsoil, and was the pad treated for termites prior to the plastic going down. Most of this information can be obtained by asking the builder for any paper work attesting to this, if you don’t mind the attitude this line of questioning can bring about, which will not matter if the concrete is on it’s way.

Don’t judge a home by it’s cover

The general thought about purchasing a new home is that there shoudn’t be any major concerns since after all it is new. I know not everyone thinks this way, that’s why they hire me to do a warranty inspection, usually within eight months, before the builders warranty is up. On one of these inspections I uncovered a serious gas line instalation defect that would have left the buyers with no means to shut off the gas had a leak occured.

So if you are planning on building your new home or purchasing a newley built one, don’t let the builder hand you over something you didn’t pay for, actually less than what you expected, there could be safety implications involved.