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| The Home Inspection Process | |
 Nationwide, studies many years ago have shown the average home inspection turns up more than $2,500 worth of reportable deficiencies. The vast majority of homes exceed that today on an order of magnitude, and quite frequently are well north of $10,000 in needed repairs (with just a simple roof replacement costing that much or more).
If you wish to have the seller repair some items or wish to pursue a reduction in price, you must inform the seller in writing that the inspection is disapproved, but will be approved "under the following conditions". Then request whatever you wish to negotiate be it price reduction, closing costs, repairs, or a combination thereof. Lately in this crazy up and down market, multiple offers to buy a single home have become common. In these cases "pre-inspections" are common, where the home is inspected by numerous buyers prior to submitting an offer and the buyer adjusts their offer accordingly. New Construction | |
| New homes makes up about 30% of inspection requests. But didn't the municipal inspector just get through looking at the building? Yes, but they spend mere moments on their inspections, don't look at flashing and siding issues, the roof, workmanship issues, trade responsibility overlaps, the crawlspace, the attic, etc. They are looking only for immediate life safety items. New construction inspections are quite honestly more valuable to the consumer than inspections performed on older homes, since virtually 100% of the defects are repaired at no cost by the builder, with no further bargaining necessary. Pre-Listing Inspection This information may be hard to believe or conceptualize coming from a home inspection company, but generally pre-listing inspections are discouraged, except in the case of absentee landlords and so forth. Some real estate agents try to pursuade people to get their home inspected prior to putting it on the market. They feel the more you know about the home the better off you and the buyer will be. While there is truth in that well-meaning sentiment, given the disclosure laws in the state of Washington a complete pre-listing inspection will only serve to hurt the seller financially and at increased risk of litigation. Why? As a seller you are required to divulge everything you are aware of that is defective in your home. And I fully condone this. This should be done completely and fully to the best of your knowledge. However, nowhere is there a requirement to actually hire a professional to find defects before you sell. This increases your liability by increasing your standard of care and reporting, clouds the concept of "actual knowledge", and shifts the burden of discovering defects from the buyer to the seller. Don't do it. "Defects" are very subjective and everyone has a different idea of "acceptable". This will only lead to disappointments. I see it happen all the time. Call us when you want to buy. If you have concerns with a few items, such as with a roof or furnace before putting a home on the market, please call, then these items can be inspected individually, without the need for a "complete inspection" and its ensuing complications. Used Condominiums Buying a condominium involves buying a portion of an association of owners. You own a portion of whatever problems the entire association owns. Unfortunately literally thousands of local condo owners have been stuck with huge unexpected assessments from their associations for repairs to the exterior of their buildings due to lack of maintenance, faulty materials, or shoddy original design and construction, most notably buildings built between 1990 and 2003 (this has to do with state law changes). So what do most inspection companies do? They completely exclude the exterior portion of the building for "liability" reasons. The inspection industry unfortunately is paranoid of lawsuits and this reasoning drives their business practices, which directly hurt the consumer. The exterior inspection is the most critical part of a condo since there is such little direct control over it. Obviously the entire exterior cannot be part of an inspection, but a cursory and informal overview of the exterior maintenance and construction is always included in our inspections. Will it turn up all problems? No way, but it will sure give an idea of the risk potential. And at the end of the day that is what is important to the buyer. The reserve study, a new requirement for associations is now generally included with the resale certificate when purchasing a condo. Be sure to study this document, bring it to the inspection if you have received it, and we can study it together. Condominium conversions Converting apartments to condos was quite the money making trend only a few years ago. And then many of them were converted back to apartments in order to provide some revenue. But conversions are still out there. Problem is most potential homebuyers are not aware that since the building was not built new as a condo, it does not fall under the warranty requirements, third party progress inspections, and financial protections mandated under the state's comprehensive 2003 condo law (passed by the legislature in response to burned consumers and associations, the plethora of lawsuits, crappy construction, and lack of available insurance for developers). Typically the conversion developer will buy an apartment building, hire an engineer to go through and make repair recommendations both inside and out. There is no requirement to make these repairs, and believe it or not a good percentage of the recommendations are not actually performed. The municipal building department or county is also called in and requires upgrades to meet current code on important life safety equipment such as deck rails, smoke detectors, and so forth. Next the Public Offering Statement (POS) is developed (this is a convertsion's version of the resale certificate). The POS contains the engineer's report, the municipal upgrades and permits, the developer's response and actions regarding the engineer's report, and all the financial legalities required to set the owner's association in motion. It is one LARGE book, but must be studied, particularly the part where the developer notes where they did or did not perform the recommended repairs. Verification of these repairs is the most important part of a conversion inspection actually, just like the resal certificate/reserve study is on a used condo. While the countertops may glisten, and the carpet and appliances are new, many seriously lame and leaking siding and decks can and do remain. | |
| Report Formats & Pricing | |
Along with advice on how to solve existing problems and preventive maintenance tips, the end product of an inspection is a written report, one of several types available. Why do we do different types when other inspection companies offer a one-size-fits-all? Every person, every building, and every situation is different:Customized Report (The Big Dog) |
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Some of the Things We Check The following isn't an exhaustive list, but illustrates just how many things are inspected during a typical job. The industry is beginning to standardize after all these years, due to required state standards and assocaition standards aligning. |
| What Our Inspections Include | |
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| Tools Ladders and flashlights, screwdrivers, electrical test instruments, meters, protective suits, kneepads and respirators, gloves and spiked shoes are the basic weapons used in home inspections. Of course high tech tools can be used when necessary. Good old fashioned inspecting, aided by years of experience trumps high tech every day. That being said, Darrell dues use a pinless moisture meter, built by Electrophysics, which is great for verifying hidden subsurface water problems, i.e. bathtub surrounds, stucco, floors, and tile. Darrell also uses a digital carbon monoxide detector. ***Update (6/20/2010)***: I purchased a high resolution infrared camera (thermal imager) this weekend. This is the latest and greatest tool in home inspection and energy auditing. This camera has a big learning curve, but for now while learning how to use it confidently I am scanning homes for free as part of the routine of the inspection. Infrared inspections allow the user (with proper differntial temperature) to detect and graphically visualize hot and cold areas. This allows insulation levels to be seen inside exterior walls, some structural defects located, water leakage/rot to be seen in otherwise inacessible areas, pests located, water lines and plumbing blockages found, electrical defects isolated, more confident EIFS inspections performed, and many more things. There are only a handful of thermographers in the Seattle area, and even fewer that have the ability to do it in conjunction with a home inspection. Why don't more inspectors use infrared cameras? Because it is expensive! That I now know well. I would rather have a an infrared camera than a new truck, to put it bluntly. With wounded wallet I look forward to the challenge of learning how to use this equipment to better serve my customers! Additional Services IAQ Indoor air quality is a huge concern in newer "tighter" homes built since the middle 1980's, with mold, VOC's from chemicals/contaminants and formaldehyde all potentially damaging to health. Formaldehyde is of particular concern in brand new homes as it takes time for outgassing to occur from new building materials and furnishings. Unlike mold, formaldehyde has specific measurable exposure standards set by government health organizations (NIOSH says no higher than 16 parts per billion in the workplace, so in a home where more time is spent, the action level is 5 ppb). Mold spores are all around us and in all air indoors and out,so testing for spores doesn't provide much useful information, however testing for mold VOC's (MVOC) can show active mold growth in the home, not just background spores. Knowing that you have spores doesn't do any good, but knowing if growth is useful information. This testing can indicate mold growth that is not yet detectable by smell, not necessarily visible, nor likely to be picked up by background spore checks or thermal imaging (infrared camera), with no wall drilling or carpet removal required. This technology is extremely encouraging because it can find health hazards that would otherwise go undetected. VOC checks can also detect sulfur in Chinese drywall (mostly a problem in SE USA, and generally in years 2006 and 2007 construction) and hundreds of other chemicals that can cause ilness. Darrell is certified as a Home Air Check Professional by Prism Analytical. Any of the three separate air quality checks (MVOC--active mold growth, Formaldehyde, and VOC---hazardous chemicals) can be performed, using proprietary air dosing/sampling equipment. The test takes approximately 2.5 hours and is done in conjunction with a home inspection. Lab testing and analysis is provided by Prism Analytical www.homeaircheck.com Cost: $195 per test. Asbestos While a home inspection is not an asbestos survey, there are many suspected building products that homeowners may want to have tested for asbestos content. Several can be readily visually identified. The most common are "cottage cheese" ceilings. As a courtesy to customers while on the job site Darrell can take a sample and have it tested by a local lab specializing in this material, Asbesto-Test. Cost: $75. Lead Paint There are several different levels of lead paint testing, ranging from simple lead test kits to Xray testing. Darrell has home test kits in his truck---these are nothing more than the type bought at Home Depot or Lowe's. He can provide these at cost (typically twenty bucks) for the customer to test do their own test during the course of the inspection. If further or more comprehensive testing is needed, he can provide referrals. Sewer Scoping This business did not even exist ten years ago but it has become invaluable to the potential buyer of older homes, saving thousands of homeowners untold headaches. Highly recommended and generally about $200. Please call for referrals. | |
| How a Home Inspection Differs from Other Inspections | |
If you want to find out more about our inspections or pricing, feel free to call us for more details. |
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| Consulting Services | |
| As an added service to our customer who may wish something different than a regular building inspection, we offer consulting services by bid or at an hourly rate. Some prime examples are condominium homeowners associations with roof, siding or deck issues, or individual homeowners with drainage issues. A Word About E&O Insurance Many inspection companies like to tout the fact that they carry E&O insurance (errors and omissions). E&O is presented to the public as an insurance policy for their benefit in case the inspector had a bad day and forgot to notice that the roof was missing or some other horrible nightmare. I wouldn't have E&O insurance if you gave it to me. Say what?! The cold hard truth is that E&O insurance is bought by inspectors to protect their assets. It's not purchased out of the goodness of their hearts or for their customer's benefit. Get real. E&O benefitting the customer is just another nasty lie that this industry tells. Let's say your inspector screws up. Go ahead, I dare you, call the insurance company and ask them to give you $7500 for a new roof. Won't happen. This isn't like a fender bender in the parking lot. You'll be forced to sue. You may win in court or you may not. But you will invest at least 20 G and more than a year of your life getting there. The insured inspector is not allowed to settle with you, since his insurance company has now taken charge of the claim. Inspector E&O policies have about a $5000 yearly premium, and, to make the math easy, a $5000 deductible. So any claim will cost the inspector 10 grand after all is said and done. Plus he will have one supremely PO'ed client who will be bad-mouthing him up one side and down the other to anyone that will listen. Doesn't seem the best business policy now does it? Is there another way? Let's say this same inspector pocketed the 10 grand he would have spent on insurance and deductible and simply put it in the bank, never handing it to the insurance company. Now let's suppose this same customer calls up the uninsured inspector and says, "that roof you forgot to look at last week is missing". Rather than the inspector saying "call my insurance company and good luck Chuck", followed by the insurance carrier responding with, "sue us", what if the inspector said...."Oh my gosh, I have royally screwed up. Please take this $7500 and my profound apologies". See the difference Inspector is $2500 richer (each year), customer is happy as a clam, and tells everyone what a standup guy he is. They call this a win-win. Is it a warranty? No, it's a business philosophy. So your next question is, Darrell have you ever paid anyone? Nope. Never had the need to. | |
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