jodil Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 Now that I have some experience, I am not feeling the self inflicted pressure to be like the other two inpspectors in my town when it comes to report writing. It has been a custom here to have a "life expectancy" section on the summary page of appliances that MAY die in the next 5 or so years. Does anyone do this in their reports? I dont like the idea. I have no way of guessing when a furnace will die. I dont like the buyer getting all nervous that they MAY have to buy a new water heater, AC unit, and furnace maybe, possibily sometime soon cuz the book says so.... What say you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kibbel Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 I don't know of anyone that has a life expectancy section in their reports. If a house part is beyond, at, near or approaching the end of its useful life, I let folks know - in the section of the report that pertains to that part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian G Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 A separate section, no, but I do note the relative age of the permanent major home appliances (no washers or dryers). It's not an exact science by any stretch, but age and condition tell you a lot after a while. Remaining life is required under ASHI standards; I'm not sure about other SOP's. Brian G. Today's Old Appliance Is Tomorrow's Major Expense [:-weepn] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 Originally posted by jodil Now that I have some experience, I am not feeling the self inflicted pressure to be like the other two inpspectors in my town when it comes to report writing. It has been a custom here to have a "life expectancy" section on the summary page of appliances that MAY die in the next 5 or so years. Does anyone do this in their reports? I dont like the idea. I have no way of guessing when a furnace will die. I dont like the buyer getting all nervous that they MAY have to buy a new water heater, AC unit, and furnace maybe, possibily sometime soon cuz the book says so.... What say you? It's impossible to predict when any particular appliance will die. However it's very possible to express a statistical life expectancy for a certain type of appliance. My customers seem to appreciate the heads up when I find a doddering appliance. For instance yesterday I inspected a house with a 15-year old three-tab comp roof and a 15-year old heat pump. Both were working fine with no particular problems. I stressed to the customer that she'd almost certainly be replacing both of them during her tenure in the house. I even suggested that she establish a replacement reserve account to prepare for the expense. - Jim Katen, Oregon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bernhardt Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 I dont like the buyer getting all nervous that they MAY have to buy a new water heater, AC unit, and furnace maybe, possibily sometime soon cuz the book says so.... What's worse, making them nervous up front or having them financially injured and all pissed off at you later? You're thinking like a realtor. Also it doesn't do any good to put such information in the report unless you voice a recomendation to do something about it; I come from the land where I have to do so. In other words, lets say somewhere you put in your report the age of the water heater, which at the time of the inspection was working perfectly fine. Then somewhere else in the report you have a list of expected service life. When the water heater goes out as soon as they move in, do you think they will remember that you kinda warned them in the report? That they, if they had performed some quantitative anaylsis and added two and two together, that they would have come to the conclusion that the water heater was old and that they needed to be prepared to replace it? Hell no. Chris, Oregon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inspect4u Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 Hi Jodil, This is from the Texas Standards of Practice that governs us: (2) The inspector shall: (A) inspect items, parts, systems, components and conditions which are present and visible at the time of the inspection, but the inspector is not required to determine or estimate the remaining life expectancy or future performance of any inspected item, part, system or component; Mike M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bernhardt Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 but the inspector is not required to determine or estimate the remaining life expectancy or future performance of any inspected item, part, system or component Yes, because that would entail performing some sort of quantitative analysis to come to some reasonable opinion; however, it doesn't relieve an inspector from liability where adequate warning could be provided based on qualitative observations. Chris, Oregon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian G Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 Originally posted by Jim Katen For instance yesterday I inspected a house with a 15-year old three-tab comp roof and a 15-year old heat pump. That's a great example. No one could seriously suggest we should ignore a roof that's clearly coming towards its end; a major home appliance is really no different. Brian G. Clients Need to Know [:-graduat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dirks Jr Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 Determining remaining life is sketchy. Now if an item is obviously near the end of its life I'll say so. I wont give a time frame though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillip Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 Todays inspection. AC unit 21 year old, gas water heater 12 year old. This is the third time I have inspected this house since it was put on the market 18 months ago. They have fixed a few items. One of them is a new furnace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozofprev Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 I regularly told my clients that the water heater, A/C, and anything mechanical could blow as soon as I get in my car. Like Katen said, it's statistics (i.e., sadistics). So I gave them a link to the pdf HERE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inspect4u Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 Chris, Brian I agree. That just says we are not required to. I do make note in my reports that if an item is at or close to its life expectancy (or as not been properly maintained) that it has limited life left. I say limited life because I have no way of knowing if it will last one more month, year, etc.,and I make sure the buyer understands this when I go over the report with him (her) orally. Mike M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Stanley Posted March 29, 2008 Report Share Posted March 29, 2008 I don't do it. I have seen a chart that displays average life of appliances, etc. I'm thinking it was from ASHI. Maybe someone has it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian G Posted March 29, 2008 Report Share Posted March 29, 2008 I've seen a couple of charts, but I put no faith in them. They typically have water heaters and HVAC appliances going out way faster than is normal around here. I keep it simple: young, mid-life, old, and worn out/shot/dead on it's last leg. That's all people really want to know. Sometimes I also use a phrase I think I pilfered from Lord Katen. "It's a lot closer to the end of its life than it is to the beginning." Brian G. Simple Is Good [^] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jodil Posted March 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 Thinking like a Realtor? Please tell me how all Realtors (lumped into a single pile ) think? Do they think like ALL home inspectors? Like ALL use car sales persons? Bad choice of words Chris... Originally posted by Chris Bernhardt I dont like the buyer getting all nervous that they MAY have to buy a new water heater, AC unit, and furnace maybe, possibily sometime soon cuz the book says so.... What's worse, making them nervous up front or having them financially injured and all pissed off at you later? You're thinking like a realtor. Also it doesn't do any good to put such information in the report unless you voice a recomendation to do something about it; I come from the land where I have to do so. In other words, lets say somewhere you put in your report the age of the water heater, which at the time of the inspection was working perfectly fine. Then somewhere else in the report you have a list of expected service life. When the water heater goes out as soon as they move in, do you think they will remember that you kinda warned them in the report? That they, if they had performed some quantitative anaylsis and added two and two together, that they would have come to the conclusion that the water heater was old and that they needed to be prepared to replace it? Hell no. Chris, Oregon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bernhardt Posted March 30, 2008 Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 Thinking like a Realtor? Please tell me how all Realtors (lumped into a single pile ) think? Do they think like ALL home inspectors? Like ALL use car sales persons? Bad choice of words Chris... Look, realtors and car salesmen get paid only if the deal goes thru. Because of that situation good people start getting paranoid about making the client nervous, scared, frightened etc. If an inspector was paid only if the deal closed, you can imagine the mess that would make. Don't take it personal, you're an inspector now and if you worry about making clients nervous or that you will say something that will scare them, it will hurt your business it will not help it. Inspecting is an animal unto its own and there is not a lot that we can bring to it from what we did before. If you don't think that I haven't felt thrown under the bus a time or two you would be wrong. It happens more often than you think to all of us. If any of us say anything offending to you, just ignore it. There isn't anyone who doesn't want your success here. Chris, Oregon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Fabry Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 If any of us say anything offending to you, just ignore it. There isn't anyone who doesn't want your success here. It's tough love. For the record, I had a response all typed out-very similar to the one that Chris made and then I opened my email and forgot to open it in a new window and lost all the typing. He's not the only one who felt your comments were, uh, realtoresque. Most, not all, realtors fall into a predictable quadrant rather like those used to analyze stocks. To complete the analogy I'll call the quadrant "strong sell" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozofprev Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 It wasn't even tough; just true. Our job is to point out facts. A realtor's job is to sell a home. We should neither pamper nor alarm. A salesperson's job often demands both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 I have been pretty good lately, so here goes. Everyone that sells or facilitates the sale and transfer of real property is not a realtor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozofprev Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 Originally posted by Les I have been pretty good lately, so here goes. Everyone that sells or facilitates the sale and transfer of real property is not a realtor. In case Bonnie or WJ are looking... You meant to write: Not everyone who sells or facilitates the sale and transfer of real property is a realtor. I have no argument with that, but an inspector's income doesn't depend on a sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 Gary, I gotta get you a job!!! Walter and Bonnie are nicer about that sort of stuff. I have many Realtors that highly recommend my company. I have many Realtors as personal friends. Not all Realtors are bad. I have never marketed to Realtors. I think it is perfectly fine to market to Realtors. Most home inspectors can't do it ethically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozofprev Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 Didn't know I was being mean. Sorry. Just tryin' to make a point. Guess I failed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 Gary, You are/were right! You did not fail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now