A fellow inspector, from a different city, hit me with an idea the other day that I have been mulling over ever since. He said to him it was a matter of ETHICS. Let me explain.
I was telling him that I have been performing home inspections in this area for five years now, and that there were a number of real estate agents and a few brokers that send me very little business, but when they get ready to purchase, I am the one they call. Or if its their family member they call me. I told him that there was one very well established, long term real estate broker, that to my knowledge, has never referred me to a client for a home inspection, but that when he got ready to move, he first called me to do a listing inspection on the house he was selling and then he called back the next week and asked me to inspect the home he was purchasing. I did them both. Shaking my head in wonder the whole time.
Here's the rub; my friend and long time home inspector from the other city said that he would not have done them. (WOW) He said that to him it is a matter of ETHICS. He said that he has been called a number of times over the years by agents and brokers that will not refer customers to him, but when they get ready to buy personally, they want him to do their inspection. He refuses! He says that he has taken a good bit of heat a few times for doing so, but he says to him,"it's just not right".
What do you think? Is he over the top? ... or Right on target?
The old adage "Out of sight - Out of mind" is not one that you can afford to apply to your crawl space. Even though it is considered dark and creepy by most folks, the crawl space is a very important area of the home, and it should not be ignored. If the crawl space is not healthy, the house is not going to be healthy. The most expensive repair work that is required on a home is typically performed in the crawl space. Water damage, wood destroying fungus, termite infestation or other wood destroying insects can be found in other parts of the home, but they are most often found in the crawl space. A healthy crawl space is essential for a healthy home and will significantly discourage this type of activity, growth or infestation.
Lets look at the basic requirements for a healthy crawl space by starting at the ground and working our way up. All organic material and construction debris must be removed. This means all concrete form boards, grass, shrub stumps, tree roots and anything dropped into the crawl space during construction. The soil in the crawl space should be flattened out to fill all voids and trenches to prevent moisture from accumulating in these low areas. It is a fairly common practice (and required in some locations) to then install three to four inches of small gravel over the entire crawl space ground or floor area. If these procedures are properly done it provides the first step to a healthy crawl space.
The treatment, and proper prep work, at the outside of the foundation wall is also important for a healthy crawl space. To control surface and sub-soil water movement a foundation drain is required around the perimeter of every home. The drain is required to gravity flow (down hill) to an acceptable storm water disposal location or be equipped with a means of mechanical drainage. The drain is covered with a minimum of six inches of gravel and then a soil cloth to prevent soil infiltration. All portions of the foundation wall that will be below the exterior finished grade is required to be water proofed by an approved method. This is very important in the over-all control of moisture penetration into the crawl space. Bear in mind, concrete block will not stop water but acts more like a sponge, transfering water from one side to the other.
Now lets look at ventilation. (There is an approved crawl space construction method that does not require ventilation, but it is very seldom used, and it will have to be discussed in a different post.) Crawl space ventilation is required at a ratio of one square foot of vent area per 150 square feet of crawl space, and one foundation vent is required to be set within three feet of each corner in the foundation wall. If you have a 1,500 square foot house it would need ten square feet of ventilation, so, if you install ten pre-made foundation vents, you're good to go, right? No, I'm afraid not, although that is the common misconception. Less than two percent of the homes that I inspect have proper foundation ventilation, and poor air movement is one of the main contributors to unhealthy crawl space conditions. Depending on the manufacturer, the common pre-made foundation vent has between 40 and 72 square inches of vent area. In our home example above we put in ten vents, and if we go with the higher number of vent area provided, we end up with 720 square inches of ventilation, when the required amount is 1,440 square inches. In reality we ended up with half of the ventilation area required. In most scoring situations, 50 percent, or half, is called "failing", which is exactly what happens to our crawl space when it can't breath properly.
Now that the crawl space has plenty of air movement, we go to one of the last items installed in a new home, the vapor barrier. There are several products that can be used for the vapor barrier, but because of cost and ease of installation, the most prevalent is the black, polyethylene plastic. It is installed last to prevent it from being damaged and displaced by people working on other aspects of the home. The vapor barrier should cover all of the dirt or gravel in the crawl space floor. There is no need to leave a space open around the edges or any where else. The vapor barrier is designed to catch or hold the inherent moisture that is in the ground below the plastic and to keep that moisture from moving into the air of your crawl space. It is normal and good if it is "wet" on the underside. This means that it is doing its job.
In spite of many common misconceptions, the crawl space is not some mystical area with a mind of its own that you have no real control over. Like all other aspects of home construction, the crawl space is what we make of it. If you need help with yours, call a professional home inspector. For a reasonable fee he/she will be able to evaluate the existing conditions and suggest repairs without trying to sell you a product or service.
Paul A. Perry is an ASHI® certified and TN state licensed home inspector. If you have any questions about this article, your home or home inspections in general he may be contacted at the following;
Yes is the answer; it simply depends on your perspective. If you truly have the home, the neigborhood or the clients best in mind then a home inspector is your friend. Take a simple test; What is defective or broken in a home that you don't want the buyer to know about? If there is an item that you can come up with, then you fail the test. To avoid liability as a real estate agent you want your client to know everything they possibly can about the home before the purchase. If your client is looking to someone else (the home inspector) to provide them with information about the properties condition, then your liability is almost entirely removed. Certainly the focus is no longer on you.
After fifteen years as a home inspector with well over 5000 inspections performed I have almost a perfect record of home buyers that are happy with me and think of me as their friend. On the other hand, with real estate agents I find the pecentage to be about 40/60. 40 percent view me as a resource and as a ligitimate asset to their professionalism and 60 percent think of me as a problem causer to be avoided if possible. But wait; we have the same clients, why would the percentages be different? If the purchaser is happy with the home inspector, why isint the real estate agent?
A home inspector should only be your enemy if your client is your enemy as well.
Did you know that there are only two states remaining in the union that do not adopt, and enforce on some level, a one and two family dwelling building code? Yes, that's right, Tennessee and Mississippi. I'm all for independence and freedom and I understand from the start that when the government gets involved with anything there will be both good and bad results. There are areas though, where I believe the good will definetly outwiegh the bad and this is one of them.
Do you know what two states rated highest in deaths per capita in residential household fires in 2007? Yes again, Mississippi #1 and Tennessee #2. And if you do a little research you will find that these two states are consistantly at the top of the list. (Top not being good in this case)
As a home inspector it is my responcibility to point out to my clients various safety defects that turn-up in a home. And it is alarming to me the number of homes in TN that have been built with little regard for occupant safety. I inspect homes on a very regular basis that have basement "bedrooms" with no windows at all or windows that are too far above the floor to access as a secondary egress. Log or rustic homes with lofts and/or balcony rooms are just as bad. No windows for egress from the top floor. It is not just basements and lofts though, I have been in scores or homes where regular bedrooms did not have a single window that qualified for a secodary egress. This is normally due to the window being too small or too high above the floor.
There are also many issues with wood burning devices that have inadequate clearances to combustible materials. Gas appliances and heaters with no shut off valves installed etc. etc.
I don't want to make the post too long so I'm just going to introduce the subject and not get to detailed. I would like to know what the real estate community thinks about this situation. Are you comfortable selling homes that could be a death trap? Are you recommending home inspections to your clients, and are the home inspectors that you are recommending qualified and experianced enough to note these deficiancies? When will the time be right for the real estate community as a whole to bring pressure to bear on our state legislators to correct this situation?
Speak out and lets have a productive conversation. I would like to know what you think.
I love the posts that include pictures and graphics. I'm a great Home Inspector but I'm not much of a computer guy. In simple terms (if you don't mind) how do I insert pictures into my blog posts or comments?
There is an absolutely free resource at the finger tips of each and every Real Estate agent on Active Rain.
It's called "Ask The Home Inspector"! A blog that is available to any agent who would like to ask a question about anything that has to do with a house, a home inspection or report writing. It doesn't matter how simple or how complex, I bet there will be someone or a number of someones that will be willing to give you an answer.
If you are not comfortable with a public forum and would rather have a quite word with just one individual, I am always available and will be more than happy to help in any way that I can.
A teacher when I was in high school had this sign on the wall: He who asks a question will seem a fool for five minutes. He who does not ask remains a fool forever.
Is it peculiar to this area of TN or are any of you other HI seeing builders using TJ's (Truss Joists) for girders below the house. I started seeing it about two years ago and it is very slowly gaining popularity. I for one think that the TJ's make a great floor system but they are not approved by the manufacturer to be used as girders.
The standard installation in this area is to put three truss joists below the floor system as a girder. It looks impressive, thats a lot of bulk. Over time though, the TJ's used as girders will allow a minor amount of deflection just as they leave the support columns. This produces minor elevation changes in the interior floors and is especially hard on ceramic tile floor installation.
I have a concern that something similar to what happened with the synthetic stucco (E.I.F.S.) product may end up happening with the engineered lumber. A total lack of over-site and education by the manufacturer towards the installers equals a great product with improper installation and the resulting problems. The end result: A fine product with a bad name.
Why is it essential for all real estate agents to understand that "New Home Construction" needs to undergo a Professional Home Inspection before the closing?
Simply reason: To protect your client!
Before the closing, the home belongs to the builder and the money is the purchasers. If a home inspection is performed and defects are noted, the builder has a very real impetus to correct the problems and please the purchaser. If the purchaser waits and relies on the builders warranty the focus is entirely changed. Their are very few builders that have the same since of diligence and urgency to fix or repair the house after it belongs to your client.
What if after the closing your client discovers problems with the home. They call the builder, he says he will get to it in the next couple of weeks. Not so bad on the surface of things but then he doesn't show up. He happens to be real busy building someone else's home now. Your client calls back; "Oh I'm sorry, the builder says, I let it slip my mind. I'll get right on it as soon as I get some free time. Fast forward: The builder keeps promising but never comes through. What recourse does you client have?
If your client wants to go to the time and effort, their are ways for them to report the builder to the appropriate licensing agencies. And that will give the builder a bad mark in there file. (WOW) But it will not get their house repaired. There is no magical phone number to call and report the builder and "presto", massive pressure is brought to bear that forces the builder to respond properly and repair the home.
The bottom line is this. If your client is not willing to sue the builder in court there is nothing that forces or requires the builder to repair the home. So what is the "Builders Warranty" really worth? Nothing more than the integrity, honesty and conscience of the builder. Your client could sue without a warranty.
I can tell you from experience in the industry and the sad stories that I have heard over and over again, it's not worth the gamble. It is essential that the home be inspected BEFORE CLOSING!
I wish I could say that this is an isolated insident but in this area of TN it is not. After working in this area for three years now I would say that we are at about the 50 percent mark in the real estate agent tally. About half think like the respondents and the other half still down play the need for an inspection or work hard to prevent the inspection by telling their clients it would be a waste of their money.
When I first started in this area I would hear this line about three times a week, "My realtor said I don't need a home inspection since I'm buyin a new home and it comes with a one year builders warranty". This is particularly ironic since we have no code enforcement in this area. Are we not all supposed to be offering a service to our clients, working in their best interest? It is the client that spends the money for the home inspection after all and the vast majority of the time they recieve a huge return on that investment.
Does anyone have any suggestions on ways to comunicate, in a possitive way, the need for a change in attitude in the real estate comunity in this area? Thank's for your help, Paul
I recieved a phone call today from a prospective client who lives in New Jersey. I live in middle TN. He wanted to know my opinion of the quality of home construction in this area. We had a short discusion and this is what he reveled to me.
After signing his contract he started to hear things about the lack of building code inforcement in this area and the quality of construction so he started to get nervous. He called my office to scope out his options and not knowing that he had already signed his contract I walked him through the normal process of the home inspection and assured him that if there were any serious defects in the home that through his realtor he could continue to negociate with the seller to have things resolved or worst case senario he would get his ernest money back and he could keep on looking.
That's when he told me the agent he was working with was also the listing agent of the property and that his phone call to me was after the fact.
He had declined the right to a home inspection based completely on the advice of his real estate agent.
His real estate agent had informed him/advised him that the house was in good shape and that he didn't need to spend his money on a home inspection.
In addition to the massive liability that a real estate agent places on himself/herself by offering such advice as this, what about the ethical issues involved here.
If you are a real estate agent, really, I would like to know, what is your opinion of the approch and advice that this associate of yours offered to this client.
Do any of you have advice for your fellow agents that might be tempted to offer the same advice to clients of their own. What about the ethical issues? What is the correct attitude and approach of an informed and ethical real estate agent in reguard to the clients right to a professional home inspection?
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