SonOfSwamp

Three things come to mind: 1. There is a school of thought that says HIs don't really need contracts. I've heard/read the arguments, and I think they hold up (but don't go by me). The reasoning goes something like this: No contract, no breach of contract. If you're negligent or commit fraud, no contract will save you. 2. As brother Kurt has told us more than once, portable testing equipment is generally quirky and unreliable. Those who think they need training on their gear -- and those who think they don't need it -- are still going to have to convince customers, judges, juries, argumentative builders and RE agents, etc. that they know what they're doing with their portable gizmos. As in any formal argument, the guy who can read, write, reason and persuade will win. The guy who quit worrying about all that reading & writing stuff in the 8th grade will face an uphill struggle. 3. Let's just say I buy an IR cam, go get all trained up, and then start doing IR scans. What if a knucklehead trained me? And what if I'm a bonehead, and I believed everything my knucklehead "instructor" told me? What good was the training if I walk out the door a "carrier" of folklore, and dumber than I was when I walked in? I bring this up because it's clear that at least some -- maybe most -- HIs don't get out of "school" with a lot of useful and durable knowledge. And it's been that way for at least 30 years. WJ

I'm just saying that my experience tells me that any reasonably intelligent and decently educated person can teach himself how to do just about anything. Of course, I am the guy who didn't buy any books in college... WJid="blue">

Well, looking at it from the civil side rather than the law-enforcement side: If an argument breaks out in a courtroom regarding IR findings, the expert who knows the most -- and can make people nod their heads in assent -- will win the day. A guy who doesn't meet the "standards" I suggested above (a decent education including Logic 101) can walk in with all kinds of "credentials" and "certifications," but if he's wrong, if people don't understand him and agree with him, he's shot down in flames. This reminds me of all the lame EIFS certs some years back, complete with built in warranties. Didn't matter who had certs, mattered who was better prepared and more persuasive in the depos and trials. WJ

Just my humble opinion, but I think that any clear-thinking person with an IQ of 100 or better, who *passed college Logic 101 *has a decent science education/background *has good reading comprehension could buy an IR camera and know how to use it in, oh I'd say about 30 days time. And, just to be contrarian, I'd say that the above should qualify almost anybody to learn how to work almost anything. Of course, I could be wrong, WJ

Go to YouTube and search for "BLEVE." WJid="blue">

Bogart, in this context, means "keep it for your own self." Not to be confused with ripoff. Following are the lyrics to "Don't Bogart that Joint," from the Easy Rider soundtrack. Don't bogart that joint my friend Pass it over to me Don't bogart that joint my friend Pass it over to me Roll another one Just like the other one You've been holding on to it And I sure will like a hit Roll another one Just like the other one That one's burned to the end Come on and be a real friend Never partook. Really, WJ

Some years back, I went into an attic full of snake skins. And fresh snake poop. I told the buyers: "There are shed snake skins and fresh snake poop all over the attic. If that bothers you, you're going to have to call a critter gitter. Or Larry, Daryll and Daryll..." Around here, they call those corn snakes or rat snakes. Harmless, unless you're small prey. WJ

There were lots of kit-house vendors in the early 20th century, including but no limited it: Sears, Radford, Alladin, Gordon Van Tine, Lewis-Liberty, Sterling, Pacific Homes and Montgomery Ward. A little Googling will turn up much interesting info. There's an excellent Sears house a block from my house. And my house might be a kit house; there are two others on my street that vary only slightly from mine (ca. 1914). WJ

That's because the real enough geniuses don't think much about their work. They just do it. Comes natural. It's a gift. WJid="blue">

Perfectly stated. On his worst day, Katen is the best HI-report-writer in all the land. And, knowing something of his sense of humor, I think I can get away with saying that even the best HI-report-writer on earth is a rough equivalent of the best one-legged swimmer in the tuberculosis sanitorium. That is, there is no great reward for being great at a thing that most people don't value. Why does Katen write so well? It's because writers are born, not made. They pop out of the womb knowing how to write well. Just like Michael Phelps was born with just the right amount of fast-twitch muscle fiber, and an odd arm-to-leg-length ratio. Brother Katen has an innate gift and feel for the work. Katen's is a rare talent that 99.9% of HIs will never have. No amount of Q&A among home inspectors is going to create a culture of excellent writers, graphic designers, bookkeepers, etc. One thing I feel sure Katen does: As he writes, he asks himself the question, "what does the reader want to know right now?" Then he writes the sentences that answer that question. And he gets the spelling, punctuation, syntax, grammar, logic, etc. right. It's really a simple formula. WJid="blue">

Just a humble suggestion, for anybody wanting to upgrade his/her HI reporting: One of these days, do a non-paying inspection on a friend or family member's house, make some field notes, then open up MS Word or the equivalent, and write down the things you'd want your mama to know if she were buying the house. If you like to include pictures, include pictures. If the report looks decent (appropriate white space, formatting, design elements, etc.), and the words can be understood perfectly by anybody with an IQ over 90, you've got yourself a pretty good reporting system. If the report looks awful, and/or the words don't make sense, creating HI reports is just going to be a nightmare, into the indefinite future. WJ

When document-making time comes, the thing to do is find good-looking easy-to-read documents made by professional document makers. Then learn how to make excellent documents that look and work the way professionally-made documents look and work. It's that skillset thing again. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I assume that most HIs come from a construction background, not a publishing or graphics background. There's just no substitute for learning how to do things right. Learning how to do desktop publishing -- which means manipulating headers, footers, columns, frames, fonts, leading, kerning, etc. -- takes a lot of time. Learning the rules of writing, logic, etc. takes even more time. Desktop-publishing newbs have been known to work for over a year just to learn the basics. Long story short: There ain't no shortcuts. It takes years to get this stuff right. WJ

I found hot faucets on a tub once. And a spanking-new codes "Final" tag on the newly-installed main panel. Gotta love those highly-trained muni codes enforcers. WJ

Well, it's surely nothing personal. It's OK with me if some HIs want to use the 70s HI template, and hitch their wagons to RE agents' Cadillac bumpers. And it's OK with me if they develop whole new ways of going about their jobs. It's just that my experience says that HIs selling themselves to RE agents is a roundabout and counterproductive way of doing things. In the countless hours that HIs spend visiting RE offices, buying lunches for RE agents, hauling chocolates to RE offices and having their evening chill time interrupted by RE agents who want to "clarify" HI reports, the HIs missed opportunities to create a local system that could've made for cleaner, easier, better-paying and less-likely-to-get-you-sued work. Simply put, an upgrade from menial laborer to respected professional. I think HIs would get better results by simply advertising their businesses the way other businesses advertise -- through local media and/or word of mouth, rather than through self-interested and conflicted middlemen. But noooo. We sell ourselves to RE agents, who consider us to be fungible. They effectively set our fees and they lobby state legislatures to control us. Heck, in some states, they even create our report templates. I know from experience that it's possible -- but not necessarily easy -- to end-run all that petty annoyance, have complete control of a little HI business, and end almost every workday with little if anything to bitch about. Of course, others' mileage may vary. WJ

A couple things: If HIs would buy some well-placed advertising, targeting the demographic they want to serve, they could bypass the whole RE-agent-referral thing altogether. Simply put, cut out the middleman. Sell yourself directly to your customers. I think brother Kurt has been successful with Angie's List, which allows customers to separate the HI wheat from the buckethead chaff. Once an HI can establish an educated and affluent customer base, everything gets easier. If an HI can raise his public profile via print and electronic media, as well as word-of-mouth, he can save himself a whole lot of begging for RE agent referrals and a whole lot of being "used" like a menial laborer. If an HI works at it, he can become the go-to guy for a whole town. Believe me when I tell you, HI life is a whole lot easier when you get up in the morning knowing that all you have to do that day is be right, and tell the truth. WJ

The furnace and water heater are antiques. The furnace looks to date back to the 50s-60s. Same with the water heater. Putting in a new water heater is a relatively small job, but installing new HVAC equipment can easily run into five figures. Even experienced home inspectors have a hard time with "flips." Although there may be some exceptions, "flippers" usually cover up flaws. They're not motivated to fix the house right; they're motivated to fix the house so it will sell quickly. Beware. And, maybe it's just me, but I'd advise you not to hire the RE agent's favorite home inspector. As a general rule, the agent "favorites" are motivated to push the deal through. But even the most knowledgeable and honest home inspector in town is likely to miss purposely-hidden defects in a "flip" house. WJ

Ditto on the disturbed wah. Despite the usual rationalizations, the whole RE agent/HI relationship starts with a whopping big conflict of interest. The RE agent has to sell or die; virtually all HIs have to get RE referrals or die. It's not a good system. Changing the subject slightly: Here in assbackwards Nashville, we've got investigative reporters on TV outing muni codes bubbas over in Wilson County. The chief codes bubba was caught on tape telling his charges that he won't tolerate any whistle-blowing or meddling with his builder buddies. Looky here: http://www.newschannel5.com/global/story.asp?s=8757479 Sigh, WJid="blue">

Pressure washer, hail or pufferfish, it doesn't matter. The shingles are shot. Time for new felt, flashing, shingles, etc. And for cryin' out loud, a roof like that does not need "evaluation." My elderly basset hound could make this call. I declare a boycott on roundabouting, tippy-toeing and needless recommendations for "evaluation." Make the call, make an honest buck. I'm amazed that I have to explain this, WJ

Pardon my grouchiness, but if you're going to use Latin, it's per se, not per say. Per se means, "by itself." Maybe it's just me, but I think when a regular non-lawyer American has a choice between "per se" and "by itself," it's best to use "by itself." WJid="blue">

Sigh... Ditto that. I, too, have gotten over worrying about HIs' tender feelings. HI tests and continuing ed are jokes. If the tests get harder -- say up to middle-school level -- HIs won't be able to pass them. If the tests get easier, middle schoolers will be able to pass them. We need to be smarter than the AHJs, the builders, the addled tradesmen and the average fifth-graders. Otherwise, we're useless. Truth is, anybody with decent housey knowledge and a little bit of getup can make more money defending or smiting errant home inspectors than he can crawling through 140-degree attics and ratshit-filled crawl spaces. WJid="blue">

I can't tell much from the pix, but I'm 99.9% sure that any significantly-flawed roof in Charleston (with anything peeling, flaking or otherwise coming loose) will fail quickly. Though I dislike punting, I think this is one of those times when you just tell the customer to get the best roofing company in town (preferably a commercial outfit) to check out the roof and fix anything that needs fixing. WJ PS: That flaky silver stuff could be the work of Irish Travelers.

Probably a "reglazed" unit, which is another way of saying, "a painted-over commode. Funny how so many homeowners don't know that one can't actually reglaze a porcelain fixture. WJ

Hundreds of owners -- usually men who stayed home from work just to look over my shoulder -- walked up to me at the start of the job and buttinskilly said, "Can I answer any questions?" To which I'd respond: "Sure, tell me everything that's wrong with the house, in 100 words or less." And with that, Buttinski would go to his room, and stay there until I left. WJ

Whatever you do, don't go hunting through the Internet for HI contracts. Also, assiduously avoid any HI contracts that come with HI "reporting systems." No offense to anybody, but HIs, taken as a breed, are the worst people on earth for writing contracts. Most of the DIY HI contracts I've seen are full of errors in spelling, grammar, syntax and logic. Such contracts are easily destroyed by any lawyer and/or expert with a thimbleful of brains. Do this: Find a lawyer who knows something about how the HI business works, and something about writing contracts. Go to that lawyer's office, and explain what you do. Then, pay the lawyer the going rate for writing a simple contract. WJid="blue">

And we spend how much time criticizing agents for quoting prices of home inspections?????? I'm trying to figure out how a meaningful "average" can have a spread of 50%. WJid="blue">