n/a30

I was set up to do a pre-offer inspection for a buyer until the seller backed out without a firm offer in hand. The agent's want to have more assurance that the buyer is really interested in the property. A seller's (also "pre-offer") based inspection is a whole other rare animal. Some of the smarter sellers use them and others just use the buyer's inspection report to fix items if the propery doesn't close at first contract offer.

Since you are a competator Glen, I wonder what group you are in. If you ask me, and you didn't, there are far too many inspectors in the state as a whole and many are overly concentrated in the metro areas. Realize that many just don't make it past their 4th year of business although they may keep their lic. None of this has a single thing to do with handman type work. So back on track. If the handy man just does as he wishes without proper training and then perhaps fouls the job in a minor way he is believes is cosmetic, he is bound to make more than a few mistakes than he probably realizes. The same thing can be said of inspectors.

I happen to agree with the article posted in the Nashville Scene. Many reports I have seen are full of departure statements, inadequate or incomplete information and very poor composition skills. The ones out of state actually are much worst than the ones that are produced under the Texas guidelines. The worst are the checkbox ones that come from Professional Equipment. Years ago I bought one of each just to see what they were like. How can anyone get by in using such stuff that is not narrative? Perhaps a checkbox one might work if you included a book to explain the check list items. One product that does that is the Home Reference Book. It however is extremely over priced. Another much better product that can be used OUTSIDE of Texas is The User Friendly Home which interfaces with some free report writing software. I prefer MS Word as a platform rather than a boilerplate database one like 3D. End the end I wrote my own package that best fits my needs and meets the Texas Real Estate Commission requirements. Here in Texas the report format is set by the state the same way the contracts for sale are put together. It is a small without much information included in it. You can add comments into the sections specified for such commentary but it leaves a lot to be desired. I have tried with others to fix it formally but due the overwhelming entrenched bureaucracy, progress is as rare as hen’s teeth. Appropaoite embellishment in the comment areas is heavily frowned up by the State Real Estate Commission. If it get too long or complicated then it is too hard for the real estate agents to follow. A number of items are left off and any modification of the form is a case for formal action.

Excellent Material on new products. Thanks

You are right about that Jim. Mike O'Handley also deserves a round of cheers.

That initial post sounds far too much like a formal paid commercial. On viewing it again, it is, it is, it is a paid commercial. Perhaps we need an independant investigation / inspection to bring out all the facts. You won't get that from any insurance carrier. After all the insurance makes its money on selling policies. They can and do deneign responsibility of payments via legal loopholes in the policy's coverage. The biggest fact is that there are those unethical people who intentionally look for deep pockets and insurance policies to file a bogus claim. Even if the claim is legit the insurance company can still not pay the claimant under certain conditions. It is smart to know exactly what is and what is covered and how much coverage you actually get for your honestly hard earned cash. With or without the expensive insurance unethical people still exist in every business. It is all a risk with a limited payback. Some states require E&O and others don't. I opt not to become a target of those who smile in your face and then stab you in the back.

I have never been to England, but I can imagine that they suffer some of the same horrible political problems that the US has. One of which is the presence of huge bureaucuries that hampers almost every industry. The dominating bureaus often exist for at least one major unstated purpose: to justify its own existence and job security for its workers and some profit oriented empire building. Professional Societies and Associations also exist to primarily feather their own nests while presenting quite a different picture to the public via the marketing manipulation in the media. Without the formal presences however “anything goes - cowboy-ismâ€

I totally agree with the newcast's call for higher standards on inspectors. The same thing can be said of much the US market.

A side note. Watch out for fire wood that it appears to be weak in structure possibly due to termite damage. Be especially careful with firewood that has bark in place. The termites might be under it. Once you have seen the damage caused by termites you can easily understand that they can travel form firewood, and mulch if you are not selectice about the source and pest removal actions.

If anyone is interested the telephone number for the Working RE mag is 888-347-5786. The last I heard the subscription was free.

Based on the information coming out of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales I notice many problems of a structural nature. Often they are related to the drainage from the roofs and improper grading. Sometimes there are electrical and plumbing items as well that do not match ICC /NEC code. I’ve seen many European and oriental produced appliances that do not match the ones available in the US (a trade balance issue). For example, if you go to South America you will be hard pressed to find any American brand name products (a trade balnce issue again). Many of the structures in some areas are made of cement and covered with stucco. That is because cement is cheaper than treated cured and insect resistant fisishished lumber. Some places use locally available coral rock that is full of salt deposits which can lead to significant problems. In Hawaii they use lava rock that is crushed up into the mix. Retention of rain water via cisterns and catch tanks are a primary concern in some areas short of readily available surface or subsurface potable water. It's a professional habit to inspect everything architectural even during off hours. The point being that their code is not the same as ours. Problems exists where ever you look if try to find them and it is an ongoing process of refinement and compliance where common sense is needed to make better designs and structures. The US could learn form them as much as they can learn for us. Obviously each country can learn from the others and regional consideration would be taken into account. In my travels I have seen many inventive building concepts and use of regional materials. Some work better than others and as a whole all still require some maintenance and aforethought in implementation. As seen in the US maintenance and aforethought can be lacking in some important areas. The absence of these elements leads to poorly designed, built, maintained properties. Some times they features are very unsafe. Back to the situation in Brittan, speaking as a degreed engineer I have to compete with people with far less education and ability. I salute England for trying to make the bar higher than it is in the US, if in fact that is the case. I would like to read and compare their codes. Which is better protecting the public? Back to the US: Unfortunately most people in the US will not want to pay for the more educated analytical engineer as compared with the off the street inspector who has no license or viable formal training. Certification is a very poor substitute for proper licensing and proper training. In parts of the US that is all the public has generally available for the their use. Thus the bargin hunting US general public could lose again if they make the wrong choice of inspectors based primarily on quoted rates and perhaps questionable certification where there is only and illusion of due diligence. If improvement is to be made then the wasteful US should in some aspects follow the lead set by all professionals worldwide. I repeat, each country can learn from the others and regional consideration would be taken into account. We need to move to a more sustainable, capable and adequately educated “greener planetâ€

I sure wish there were more people (including inspectors) who have a global (everythihng in connected) perspective / mentality as you appear to have Jim. Good luck and congradulations to you and to those you aid. There is a great need for healing and helping (perhaps the same thing) all round.

"Although we all know they all do it, it's long been a tenet of this business that our mission is to identify deficiencies - not help buyers figure out what they should be offering for a house." Right, There are too many variables and liabilities involved. I do not give repair costs to clients since I'm not in the repair business. Previously I have formally funneled such questions to published resources and software for estimation. Some of these resources are free to clients. I don't know who often the clients follow through to get firm bid estimates from 3 or more reputable contractors that are available within the tiny option period. I’m guessing that they get the numbers from real estate agents. I have asked a few agents about it but they are tight lipped. How much research is actually involved? How about a survey to see how many inspectors give estimates for repairs? I haven't seen the show so I can't comment except in generalities. TV is vast wasteland of commercials and crass entertainment where education and the presentation of knowledge are often missing except in the most superficial manner.

It will be interesting to see what develops in the UK. They have far less wood than the US so they use more stone and stucco. The Japanese who have a shortage of natural resources now excel in technology and innovation have stronger building codes than exist in the US and parts of Europe. Anyone have a readdy link to those more procressive areas?

They should be careful how they use the term "inspection". Perhaps a company name of "Ghost Busters" might fit better. In the area where I reside, there are quite a few psycic / spiritual fairs but the people know their limits and the elegalities. A few profess to talk to angels, dead folks and some animals. They are a very small percentage of the populace generally who have a strong alliance with good health, exercise and diet. I would not worry about them as competition for home inspections.

Working RE magazine has a number of articles on this subject as it related to apprasers. The latest is entitled Copyright Controversy Flares up (again). The weblink for the mag is www.workingre.com I believe the subscription is free as supported by ads. There is a small general section related to the inspection industry included.

Jeff, I don't use a summary page. I let the client determine what is important to them with their own set of priorities and values. I could try and lead them to my values but in the end it is their call as to what takes precedence in relation to repairs and their costs. For example: Often I see very poor drainage and grading that can cause serious problems, yet few homeowners think it is important enough to fix until it too late. As far as I am concerned the client does not have to prove anything to the seller via a report. The seller can on their own (re)negotiate based on the general information I give them. If a problematic exists it may or may not be a deal breaker based on the extent of the problem, the desire to have it fixed and how the buyer wants to address it. However they justify any judgments on their part is in part based on the inspection and in part based on the client’s personal needs. When a third party views a report they only get a small glimpse of the property conditions and thus have a limited view of the situation that is colored by their on separate perspectives and needs. If the seller accepts a downwardly adjusted sales price then might be a side effect of the inspection. The inspection report can and is often used as a negotiation tool but that is not the intent of the report or the inspection. I just don't want my work illegally duplicated and distributed for free without my expressed content. It is important to control the report to the point that it does not become misused. Agents (and sometimes buyers and sellers) use the reports far too often in less than honorable ways.

Subject: Propitiatory Protected Documents (All my verbiage is intentionally copy rights reserved) In practical terms we have little control over our reports once they are handed over to the client. Reports travel often with the assistance of real estate agents who have very vested interests and entangling alliances. A precedence setting court case and some legal legwork and state or federal enforcement that actually has some teeth is needed. You can't expect corrupt people to change habits without some deep healing medicine. How many inspectors have sued agents for illegally copying reports? My guess is "zero". Who is first brave soul to file a civil action?

It is no secret that real estate agents and brokers use our reports without our permission and try to make the information in them into public domain documents. They don't pay for that assumed “rightâ€

In addition to an ethical inspector the buyer may need an ethical apraiser. The real cost of the property is the selling price plus any repairs or modifications plus taxes and other housing related expenses. Add all these up and you better a much clearer picture of the transition.

Thanks for posting it. Articles like that are what makes QUALITY a prime focus at this journal.

And the answer is YES. Realtors want copies of recent reports to hand out to the public. They file them away and disclose what they please based on personal preferences. They also use the reports to judge which inspector will be likely to be a “good inspectorâ€

It is obvious Mr Davis wants to sell his product. The following has no bearing on the recent huricanes affects on mulch. The problem has been around for a long time. Mulch CAN contain termites, ants, molds and bacterial elements. There is little if any treatment of mulch before shipment from the processing area. A blight in some newly placed mulch killed one of my silver maple trees. The death came from a fungus that was in the mulch. It is not uncommon for mulch to contain ants or ant larve. Termites are a different matter. Some sub. termites must live in the ground away from sunlight so they need a circumstance where the mulch has little contact with the ground. You won't find that anywhere. Dry bagged mulch made from cedar or redwood is probably the best available since they are supposed to be termite resistant woods. Ants and mold/fungi can still be present. Wet pine mulch mixed with dirt is probably the worse. That just invites termites to a meal. I would not buy any mulch produced in Texas, Lousiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia or Florida. All those states have heavy termite and ant problems. You might try Canadian peat instead.

Yeah, it it probably worth it. I own the VHS version. Some educational providers just present the tapes in classes. The pricetag seem a bit steep to me. There are 4 tapes and each is about 2 hours long. You definately don't want to watch all 4 in one sitting without lots of coffee breaks. Information retention is can also be a problem if you don't pace yourself. You can always watch them over again if you feel you have missed something. I ignore the older code stuff so I don't recall the UBC citations. The videos are very much like the little flipbooks. They have some old code references. It is amazing that they hold so much information in a small package. I would like to see the flipbooks 20 times their current brief length. The videos expand the flipbook information a little bit. They are a much better value than the tapes/DVD from the ICC/ICBO. Those are equally as boring (or even more boring and dry). The ICBO ones don't really cover anywhere enough information as the Code Check ones for the price. The ICBO ones are very short in duration and material. Remember both sets are all about new contruction not inspection. The subject matter does project to existing properties. Both are useful but each is still very limited in time allotment and subject matter.

It is no secret that agents look for targeted customers to unload problematic properties. If they have a property to unload, it might be dumped onto the unexperienced buyer. The targeting may have more to do with education, knowledge and common sense than a race. Obviouslly some people are more succeptable to persuation and unethical manipulation than others. Understanding the business language, including legal jargon, can be a problem for some consumers. The public trusts the agents and others to work in the plublic interest. That is far from the actual reality. The trust can be misplaced in shady practices. Sometimes the agent is actually loyal to the buyers and sellers interests. Ultimately the agent is just tasked with moving the merchandise reguardless of its condition. May the buyer beware.