malban

Properly done, the lower layer of shingles is lapped up under the upper layer to prevent water from getting below the roofing material. It is a common application. Googling Western Roof Council should get you diagrams of this valley type installed to manufacturer's specifictions.

I examined several companies offering this service. I learned that local utility companies will often do the same analysis free, and sometimes even give rebates for energy upgrades. The up front cost to the homeowner, to acheive a significant energy saving, was high and usually involved replacing all major appliances. I could tell a homeowner that buying all new appliances and new HVAC equipment would lower energy consumption without doing an "audit". I'll bet homeowners who paid for this professional analysis were thrilled at this highly scientific, computer generated information. The payback period for recommneded energy improvements was longer than most owners would continue to occupy the house. One huge inspection franchise company bit on this. Their franchisees paid for training up front. I never heard anything positive after the auditing company made off with the training fees. I'm just a home inspector. What do I know?

I questioned the exact way the spoken commands and data get recorded. Eventually I got the answer that a transmitter/receiver for the headset would plug into a laptop USB port. Trying to picture dictating an entire inspection, with no visual confirmation that my input was stored accurately, made me pretty ill. Just a couple of critical mis-translations or missed commands could leave me in some deep doo-doo. I guess I would feel a bit bad if I got back to the office and the report was gibberish due to some "glitch", too. I think, for now, I'll just continue poking in my inspection with a stylus on the touch screen. I'll know what I record and not have to teach the machine a vocabulary. When a couple of you guys test this and green light the system, I can always reconsider. I'd be glad for some input from experienced inspectors who try this out.

I guess it's just a habit, and it does bulk up my reports, but I would never say that anything should be replaced....I always say the client should have the appropriate specialist make an evaluation and provide estimated cost information. Then it's up to the buyer and seller whether they extend the inspection period to allow for the additional evaluation. I like it to be clear that I am not the "specialist" and cost of repairs does not figure into my work.

Sometimes I think we forget who we represent and where our best referrals come from. It well may be the agent's job to make sure the house is open for the inspection, but I promise you if the client drives 60 miles for an inspection, he isn't going to care who screwed it up or how. If we make an appointment, we need to be sure we can honor it. It's our client for the inspection, not the agents. I never trust an agent to show up. I either have a lockbox key, a lockbox code or I insist on picking up a key in advance of the inspection. If the agent won't cooperate, I ask the client for some assistance. When possible I drive by before the inspection to be sure the agent hasn't taken the lockbox off the house, oir removed the key. Some do as soon as an offer is accepted. There isn't any way for the client to predict what an agent or his/her office might do after the offer is in place. Most agents don't even rememeber what they did. When they get the offer, they go shopping and totally forget the client and the house (some exceptions apply. If you disappoint you inspection client, no matter who is at fault, you will lose the chance for future referrals. If you save the day, you will almost certainly get referrals....and you won't be hassled about your inspection. The client won't listen to a bad word about your work. Give it a try.

I join where ever I work regularly. In most cases, key access is included in the affiliate membership. The access has saved a lot of inspections where the agent forgot to show up and let his client in for the inspection. I call the agent and get permission to use the keybox and save the client a wasted trip to the house. This is pretty much an every weekend scenario. In cases where an agent and inspector affiliate are engaged in hostilities, the Board of Realtors will generally arbitrate the issue as an ethic consideration and put and end to badmouthing before clients or prospects or other agents. It's been worth the membership money when I've run up against an unhappy agent that has gone "postal". I find that often occurs when an agent is trying to sell his own property. Although I can't measure much in the way of direct business, I do know some brokers only allow their agents to refer to inspectors who affiliate with the local board. If you are not a memeber, you might be missing some work and not know it. In conclusion, the membership is usually about the price of a single inspection. What's to lose?

All this time, I thought it was unlawful for agetns to learn anything. This opens whole new vistas to consider.