Don't let home inspector out of your sight
Before buying, it pays to know property's condition
By Paul Bianchina, Thursday, August 28, 2008.Q: In as much as there are a great number of current issues regarding disclosure to the purchaser of real property, when, if ever, is it going to be the responsibility of the purchaser to investigate particular items of relevance to them? --George D.
A: Great question! In today's day and age of people expecting "someone" to look after them and protect them from anything and everything, and with each succeeding generation seeming to develop more of that attitude than the previous one, it's unlikely that you are going to see the burden of responsibility shifting back onto home buyers anytime soon.
Don't get me wrong. I have always been an advocate of people looking after themselves, especially with a purchase as huge as a home. I am all in favor of disclosure laws, since only the seller knows where the leaks or other problems are (or were), but buyers also need to take the time to inspect and understand the house for themselves. There's a lot more to home than whether or not is has granite countertops!
The current trend is to entrust the responsibility of inspecting a house to a home inspector. That's fine, because a home is a big and complex structure and you can't expect every buyer to have the necessary expertise to do their own inspections. However, I have seen good inspectors that really understand homes and know what does and doesn't constitute a genuine problem that a buyer should be concerned about, and I have also seen bad inspectors that rely on checklists and limited knowledge and handing out a bunch of printed information they downloaded from the Internet, as though an inspection report that's loaded with unimportant paper makes up for one that really delves into the inner workings of the home.
Hiring a home inspector is fine, and I fully encourage it. But remember that if the seller is paying the fee, they're probably going to go for the lowest bidder. So buyers should hire their own inspector as well, and be prepared to put on their coveralls and follow the inspector around -- on the roof, in the attic, under the house -- everywhere their physical abilities will allow them to go. Ask questions. Then when you have the results of both inspections, compare the results closely and ask more questions.
I have noticed that people are more concerned with all the details of the purchase of a $20,000 car than they are with the purchase of a $500,000 home, and then when things go wrong they want to know whom to point the finger at.
So, home buyers everywhere, get involved with your purchase, learn about how it works, understand what's broken and what it's going to take to fix it -- and then sleep a little better at night.
Q: I have never seen anywhere information on cleaning and putting a preservative on a deck that is over water. We have lived in our home on the lake for three years and would like to clean and preserve our deck but can find nothing that states that it can be used where a deck is over the water. With a few really hard rains our lower deck ends up underwater until the water recedes, and I know this can't be good for the wood. Any suggestions? --Penny V.
A: I didn't have a good answer for you, so I contacted the technical people at Wolman Wood Care Products, a company that makes a very good line of deck products. Their recommendation is as follows:
"The best product for this type of application is Wolman Copper Coat, as it is a water-based product so it is safe to apply over a dock, and also it is typically used for dock structures."
I have used Wolman products with great success in the past, so I would consider taking a look at their recommendation. You can get more information about this and other Wolman products on the Web at www.wolman.com.
Q: What is the proper way to clean up stains on Trex decking? --Bob F.
A: Typically, all that's required for normal dirt is to first sweep the deck off, then clean it with hot water, soap, and a stiff nylon scrub brush or stiff push broom. For grease stains, use a household degreaser such as Formula 409, then soap and water.
Incidentally, there's a great cleaning and stain removal chart on the Trex Web site, at www.trex.com.
Remodeling and repair questions? E-mail Paul at paulbianchina@inman.com.
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Submitted by Emmanuel Scanlan on August 29, 2008 - 5:17am.
You offer good points regarding the Home Inspection, but have missed the mark on two major points and are offering very dangerous advice!
"be prepared to put on their coveralls and follow the inspector around -- on the roof, in the attic, under the house -- everywhere their physical abilities will allow them to go. Ask questions."
First we will touch on the dangerous advice. I NEVER allow my clients to follow me on a roof walk, foundation crawl or attic walk. I do not allow this for their safety alone. These areas are dangerous enough for an Inspector who has done them many times before. For a potential home buyer, who may never have experienced these, they can easily turn into DISASTER and/or DEATH. As a result, any good Inspector will take plenty of pictures of these areas and include relevant pictures in the report.
The second issue you suggest is to follow the Inspector around during the inspection. Not all Inspectors would agree with that. I only perform one full inspection per day. I ask that my clients allow me uninterrupted time to perform all of my checks, tests and investigation uninterrupted so that I do not miss anything of importance. I generally call them an hour prior to expected completion time to provide them time to drive to the home for the review. At that point if my clients want to go through the entire inspection all over again we can certainly do that.
That is why I only schedule one full inspection each day. I also have no idea what I am going to run into until I arrive and start and inspection. My expected 3 - 4 hour inspection can easily turn into 5 hours+ if issues are found requiring extensive investigation. Our clients' time is just as important to us as is our own time. I certainly would not want to take a client's whole day just to have them sitting around waiting for me to come out of the attic (can be a long time to carefully inspect), off of a roof or from under a foundation.
Emmanuel Scanlan
PS Inspection & Property Services LLC
www.psinspection.com
Submitted by Wenceslao Fernandez Jr, BS, Realtor, CDPE on August 29, 2008 - 6:31am.
By all means, inspections must be done, if the buyer wants true peace of mind.
Unless the buyer is or has been involved in the construction business or has other relevant expert knowledge that allows them to inspect on their own (and the great majority don't), all buyers should make sure the inspection is done by a professional who can represent them (not the seller).
Having said that, Emmanuel brings up great safety points. Crawl spaces are typically full of nails and other debris which could easily lacerate. Furthermore, there may be infestations of ants, spiders, fleas, or any number of critters. Not a good place for more than one person to try and crawl out of in a hurry if necessary. Roofs are also a major consideration, even if they're a flat roof. Just climbing a ladder is a major safety issue.
In addition, I guess I can appreciate Emmanuels request for being able to do his run first, uninterrupted, in a systematic way (yes...using checklists), so that nothing is missed. Checklist in and of themselves are not an issue. The issue is when inexperienced inspectors use them to churn meaningless paper as Paul suggested. In the hands of a professional, they serve to ensure they "pilot" the investigation without missing a beat. Later, a true professional would point-out the issues and answer any questions that come up.
The bottom line is..."buyer beware". Even the best intended seller could be unaware of a problem. However, in today's market, you find many distressed sellers selling "as-is, where-is" and without the blessing of a good inspection, you'd really be on your own if you were to buy without one. Also, many sellers today are non-traditional. Often, they're investors or lenders that either bought the properties for profit or gained possession in a foreclosure action. These sellers have no idea about the condition of the house, or represent that they are simply unaware since they never lived in it.
Don't buy in the expectation to later shift blame in a lawsuit. Take responsibility for your decision to buy, by inspecting what you expect. Save yourself the headaches later, by taking the pill now. A few hundred dollars in an inspection today, could save thousands (at times tens of thousands, or even the value of a house that could proof hazardous, slapped with code violations or labeled uninhabitable by the city). Your choice.
www.MiamiRealEstateKing.com
Certified Distressed Property Expert
Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Submitted by Roselind Hejl on August 30, 2008 - 7:50am.
Of course folks should not crawl into the attic with the inspector. However, I think buyers will benefit by taking a close interest in choosing the inspector, and attending the inspection. I would like to add a comment about inspecting new homes:
At some point you will sell you home, and your buyer will likely have your home inspected. Some of the items the inspector catches now may seem minor, but they will come up later in your buyer’s home inspection if they are not corrected. It is in your best interest to have everything nailed down now. If there are items that cannot be fixed before closing, and you cannot delay closing, ask the builder to sign a written list of items to be repaired or completed.
Building a new home can be an exciting and rewarding experience. A new home can deliver the right floor plan and finishes for you. It is a complicated project and huge investment. The support, advice and information that you will gain from a third party inspection is invaluable. Do not leave out this important step in the building process. It is well worth the investment.
Roselind Hejl - www.weloveaustin.com
Submitted by Steve Simon on August 31, 2008 - 2:08pm.
I agree with a few of your points.
Folks often look at the purchase of a house with less scruntiny than a purchase of a pair of shoes.
Couple that with a false sense of security a "Home Inspection Report" can give the inexperienced buyer and you have a recipe for huge disappointment.
The thought that, "if there is a problem not already known, and the report failed to show it, then the inspector will be responsible" is a very naive conclusion...
In court the responsibility will be on the home owner claiming damge to prove that the inspection was done in a manner that would impart culpability to the person that performed it! Not easy to prove. In my State, Florida, Home Inspectors don't even have to have any education or work experience to enter the industry.
The law has changed and I believe as of 2010 they will need required education (120 hours? the rules are not written yet), but as of today there are a lot of folks doing inspections that really have no formal training of any kind what-so-ever.
In addition even if there was a deficient inspection and it was proved to be deficient, there would have to be a "Pocket" to go after. Currently there is no requirement for E & O insurance for inspectors!
In addition anyone that has ever been involved in a court action will tell you you cannot count on everything turning out the way you planned in court!
Nope, I still beieve the saying, "look before you leap..." is real good advice :)
If the answer to a complex problem is very simple, it is usually incomplete...
Steve Simon is the lead instructor at the Steve Simon School of Real Estate www.stevesimon.us