Eric Van De Ven
04-26-2007, 01:02 PM
Tales From a Home Inspector:
The Good, the Bad and the Weird
Inside Stories From Today's Real Estate Market
Kate Morgenstern, AOL Real Estate
When buying a home, few items on the checklist are as important as the home inspection. Experienced home inspector Bill, who asked that we not use his real name, warns that a buyer is at risk for winding up in a huge mess when he waives his right to an inspection. Bill doesn't automatically assume the seller is aware of the flaws when he finds problems with a home because, "you live in a home for so many years and you get used to things wrong with your house." However, some sellers aren't simply being absent-minded. They're downright deceptive. He says, "It's too easy for a seller to not say anything about the house. They'll pretend, 'We didn't know anything about that leak.'"
Over the years, Bill has seen some weird conditions. He says, "I don't write up anything cosmetic. One time I saw a place with bright blue carpeting and purple walls. I had to ignore it." On two occasions, he saw peanut butter slathered on leaky pipes. "Once it was chunky peanut butter, and the jar was still there. I don't know where people got the idea that peanut butter will stop a leak." On another home inspection, Bill opened a closet and was shocked to see a huge boa constrictor inside. After his scare, Bill found out the snake was the home owner's pet. And he's seen worse.
(Cue scary music.)
Bill says during the worst home inspection he's done, he discovered a dead dog that had been missing from the family. "He had been trapped behind the water heater in the utility room. The living conditions and the stench were horrendous." Bill describes another inspection of a home that was in the most deplorable condition he had ever seen. He says, "The house was literally in a collapsing situation. But a young, single lady with a small child wanted to move in because she loved the back yard."
The woman's parents accompanied her to the home inspection, and her father was alarmed by the dangerous condition of the house. Bill says her father took him out to the driveway and said, "Do anything you can do to talk her out of this."
Bill says, "I told her, 'You're not going to be out here in the yard most of the time, and the house is dangerous to live in." It had major structural damage. The walls were cracked in half horizontally and the top half of the house had shifted off its frame three inches in every room. This meant the top half was sitting off-kilter from the bottom half of the house. I had never seen anything like it."
Potential for Bad Apples
Bill says that home inspection only emerged as a thriving business in the mid-'80s, so it's a relatively new field. "In many states, there's no licensure required yet, so there's greater potential for bad apples. Anyone with a business card and a telephone could go into business as a home inspector."
Bill recommends finding a home inspector who is a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors. He says, "ASHI.org is the best place to get a home inspector who is trained and educated." He says passing a proctored national exam is required to become a member of ASHI, plus yearly continuing education classes are compulsory for members to remain certified.
Bill cautions home buyers if they don't do their research, they could wind up with a home inspector who is, "a Joe blow on the weekend who does this part time. You don't know what you're going to get." Bill had noticed his neighbor across the street was getting his home inspected. The neighbor told Bill that he had to loan the inspector a flashlight, and he neglected to bring a ladder with him.
Bill says that's the sign of a lazy home inspector. "When he went to look at the attic, he just peeked up in there and came right back down. Unfortunately, you've already hired the guy, he's at your house -- how're you going to fire him? It's awkward."
I Would Never Work With That Real Estate Agent
"I was doing a home inspection for a couple who couldn't speak English," Bill says. "Their son could speak good English, and he was there to let his mom and dad know what they were buying. The furnace was rusted, and when it started up, the carbon monoxide detectors went off. I told the son, 'Tell mom and dad they need a new furnace.'"
He says the real estate agent got upset and left. "She went to her car and called me on her cell phone and said, 'You are not to have any more conversations about the furnace with these people.' I would never inspect a home for that real estate agent again."
Bill believes the high liability nature of the business keeps most home inspectors honest. "You have to have insurance. If something goes bad in the house, I have no recourse." Still, it's possible some home inspectors may give lax inspections in order to receive referrals from real estate agents.
How Far Will They Go, and Where Do They Draw the Line?
Bill says inspections are visual and do not entail destructive examining. "Home inspectors are generalists and not experts. We're like the general practitioner who sees the patient, takes blood and refers them to a specialist if there's a problem. When I see a water leak in the roof, I refer it to a licensed roofing contractor. If there's a crack in the foundation that needs attention, we refer that to a structural engineer. They carry the 'expert' behind their name and they can put in writing that a correction has to be made."
When asked what home inspectors hate checking, Bill says, "It's different for every home inspector. Some will charge extra to go into horrible crawl spaces. Most won't go into really nasty places. Some crawl spaces are so small you can't get into them, or they're not safe -- there are snakes, bees, all kinds of creatures. I'm only checking for structural issues.”
Be There or Be Sorry
Bill says the buyer should always be present during the home inspection. "It's your opportunity to learn how to operate the house and where everything is." Bill says once he was busy inspecting a home when the buyer flew down the stairs in a panic. Bill couldn't imagine what the man had seen to cause such fright. The man said to Bill, "I bought the wrong goddamn house!"
Bill explains, "He had seen so many houses with the agent and he got confused about which one it was that he'd wanted. He thought he had bought one with a huge master bedroom and he'd gone upstairs and then realized that this wasn't the house he intended to buy."
Small Bucks, Big Assurance
While there is no set price for home inspection, Bill says the general guideline is 1 percent of the sale price of the house. "Others go buy square footage of the home. It depends on the area and the age of the home."
Bill says, "Every buyer should have a home inspection. It's such a small amount of money for such peace of mind going into such a big expenditure. You're only going spend around $500 for an inspection on a $500,000 house. After everything I've seen, it amazes me that someone wouldn't."
The Good, the Bad and the Weird
Inside Stories From Today's Real Estate Market
Kate Morgenstern, AOL Real Estate
When buying a home, few items on the checklist are as important as the home inspection. Experienced home inspector Bill, who asked that we not use his real name, warns that a buyer is at risk for winding up in a huge mess when he waives his right to an inspection. Bill doesn't automatically assume the seller is aware of the flaws when he finds problems with a home because, "you live in a home for so many years and you get used to things wrong with your house." However, some sellers aren't simply being absent-minded. They're downright deceptive. He says, "It's too easy for a seller to not say anything about the house. They'll pretend, 'We didn't know anything about that leak.'"
Over the years, Bill has seen some weird conditions. He says, "I don't write up anything cosmetic. One time I saw a place with bright blue carpeting and purple walls. I had to ignore it." On two occasions, he saw peanut butter slathered on leaky pipes. "Once it was chunky peanut butter, and the jar was still there. I don't know where people got the idea that peanut butter will stop a leak." On another home inspection, Bill opened a closet and was shocked to see a huge boa constrictor inside. After his scare, Bill found out the snake was the home owner's pet. And he's seen worse.
(Cue scary music.)
Bill says during the worst home inspection he's done, he discovered a dead dog that had been missing from the family. "He had been trapped behind the water heater in the utility room. The living conditions and the stench were horrendous." Bill describes another inspection of a home that was in the most deplorable condition he had ever seen. He says, "The house was literally in a collapsing situation. But a young, single lady with a small child wanted to move in because she loved the back yard."
The woman's parents accompanied her to the home inspection, and her father was alarmed by the dangerous condition of the house. Bill says her father took him out to the driveway and said, "Do anything you can do to talk her out of this."
Bill says, "I told her, 'You're not going to be out here in the yard most of the time, and the house is dangerous to live in." It had major structural damage. The walls were cracked in half horizontally and the top half of the house had shifted off its frame three inches in every room. This meant the top half was sitting off-kilter from the bottom half of the house. I had never seen anything like it."
Potential for Bad Apples
Bill says that home inspection only emerged as a thriving business in the mid-'80s, so it's a relatively new field. "In many states, there's no licensure required yet, so there's greater potential for bad apples. Anyone with a business card and a telephone could go into business as a home inspector."
Bill recommends finding a home inspector who is a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors. He says, "ASHI.org is the best place to get a home inspector who is trained and educated." He says passing a proctored national exam is required to become a member of ASHI, plus yearly continuing education classes are compulsory for members to remain certified.
Bill cautions home buyers if they don't do their research, they could wind up with a home inspector who is, "a Joe blow on the weekend who does this part time. You don't know what you're going to get." Bill had noticed his neighbor across the street was getting his home inspected. The neighbor told Bill that he had to loan the inspector a flashlight, and he neglected to bring a ladder with him.
Bill says that's the sign of a lazy home inspector. "When he went to look at the attic, he just peeked up in there and came right back down. Unfortunately, you've already hired the guy, he's at your house -- how're you going to fire him? It's awkward."
I Would Never Work With That Real Estate Agent
"I was doing a home inspection for a couple who couldn't speak English," Bill says. "Their son could speak good English, and he was there to let his mom and dad know what they were buying. The furnace was rusted, and when it started up, the carbon monoxide detectors went off. I told the son, 'Tell mom and dad they need a new furnace.'"
He says the real estate agent got upset and left. "She went to her car and called me on her cell phone and said, 'You are not to have any more conversations about the furnace with these people.' I would never inspect a home for that real estate agent again."
Bill believes the high liability nature of the business keeps most home inspectors honest. "You have to have insurance. If something goes bad in the house, I have no recourse." Still, it's possible some home inspectors may give lax inspections in order to receive referrals from real estate agents.
How Far Will They Go, and Where Do They Draw the Line?
Bill says inspections are visual and do not entail destructive examining. "Home inspectors are generalists and not experts. We're like the general practitioner who sees the patient, takes blood and refers them to a specialist if there's a problem. When I see a water leak in the roof, I refer it to a licensed roofing contractor. If there's a crack in the foundation that needs attention, we refer that to a structural engineer. They carry the 'expert' behind their name and they can put in writing that a correction has to be made."
When asked what home inspectors hate checking, Bill says, "It's different for every home inspector. Some will charge extra to go into horrible crawl spaces. Most won't go into really nasty places. Some crawl spaces are so small you can't get into them, or they're not safe -- there are snakes, bees, all kinds of creatures. I'm only checking for structural issues.”
Be There or Be Sorry
Bill says the buyer should always be present during the home inspection. "It's your opportunity to learn how to operate the house and where everything is." Bill says once he was busy inspecting a home when the buyer flew down the stairs in a panic. Bill couldn't imagine what the man had seen to cause such fright. The man said to Bill, "I bought the wrong goddamn house!"
Bill explains, "He had seen so many houses with the agent and he got confused about which one it was that he'd wanted. He thought he had bought one with a huge master bedroom and he'd gone upstairs and then realized that this wasn't the house he intended to buy."
Small Bucks, Big Assurance
While there is no set price for home inspection, Bill says the general guideline is 1 percent of the sale price of the house. "Others go buy square footage of the home. It depends on the area and the age of the home."
Bill says, "Every buyer should have a home inspection. It's such a small amount of money for such peace of mind going into such a big expenditure. You're only going spend around $500 for an inspection on a $500,000 house. After everything I've seen, it amazes me that someone wouldn't."