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home inspect: Would You Buy this House? - 11/02/07 02:26 PM
"Would you buy this house?" My client asked me this quite sincerely. Evidently I had gained her trust and she wanted my opinion.
The inspection results so far were not helping her make up her mind. The house she had fallen in love with a few days before when she first saw it with her realtor had a new complexion now after she learned about the need to replace the windows, the roof, and the water heater as well as to address a moderately long list of minor issues. As much as I wanted to help her with her decision, I … (45 comments)
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home inspect: The Green Monster - 11/01/07 07:51 AM
A recent inspection of a vacant foreclosure house confirmed my childhood fears that there is Green Monster lurking in the basement. (Sorry Red Sox fans, this isn't about the fabled Fenway wall).
It was late September and with the outside temperatures still in the 80's the air conditioner was running full blast. Unfortunately, the humidifier was also running full blast with the humidistat at 50%. I had wondered why the air in the house seemed "muggy" and on the walls and ceiling of the finished basement a potential mold growth had begun. Humidifiers are wonderful things. In the winter, they can make a chilly … (7 comments)
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home inspect: Special Alert - It's that Time of Year Again! - 10/30/07 06:01 AM
Cold weather is coming fast and it is time for winterizing the house. This letter has more significance this year than ever before because of the thousands of listed houses that are vacant!
In fact, nearly all the houses I have been inspecting lately have been vacant...a sign of a frustrating real estate market. Agents for these vacant house listings need to assume responsibility for routine winterization... especially if the owners are not in the area.
HVAC. Most of the time I am finding the HVAC in the "Off" position. Now is the time to turn the heat on and set it to … (11 comments)
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home inspect: Don't be Lulled Asleep! - 10/26/07 03:35 PM
Here is a seller stereotype that you have probably run into before.
Really good people. They've lived in their house for 25 years. Cared for it well. It is beautiful. They desire that the next people who live in their house get the same kind of joy that they have from it. They go out of their way to tell prospective buyers everything about the house.
So, as you and your clients go through the house with them, they are completely open and show and tell about everything they can think of. Your clients fall in love with the house and back in … (16 comments)
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home inspect: It's Not About Time! - 10/25/07 06:55 AM
"How long is too long for an inspection?" The question came from one of my favorite agent clients and before I could reply she said, "How about 6 and 1/2 hours!"
"Wow" I said, "It must have been some house!" While I've not taken that long on any house, I have had some very large houses approach that. "Just a simple two story town house." She went on. "I was so angry I started looking for a new home inspector. That's how I found you!"
I find it hard to say what an appropriate time is. I recently took 4 1/2 hours on … (17 comments)
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home inspect: Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Sump Pump - 10/23/07 10:41 AM
"Will you talk to my mother?" My client asked. She had just called me and was exasperated by all her mother's concerns about the sump pump in her prospective home that I had just inspected. I told her that I would be glad to set her mind at ease.
This house had ranked on my list of the top 5 houses I've every inspected for being almost perfect. This was a 6 year old single family house which had been beautifully finished out and cared for. It had an integral sump pump system protecting the foundation and draining condensate from the … (6 comments)
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home inspect: Cat on a Hot Roof! - 10/19/07 06:40 PM
"Oh good!" I thought to my self as I drove up the driveway. "A relatively new roof, 30 year shingles, and they threw in a ridge vent."
On a 30 year old house, I had expected to see a roof covering that was not original. Worst case scenerio, they had replaced the original roof at say 15 years, and would be looking at the end of life of a second set of 20 year shingles. Best case, the original shingles had lasted longer and the current roof would be newer. In this case however, the owner had upgraded to a longer … (10 comments)
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home inspect: Uncommon Sense! - 10/17/07 07:13 AM
I wrote this last year when weather conditions were the exact opposite as they are now here in Virginia. We are currently having our worst drought in years. However, stick around, we will have torrential rains soon.
July 30, 2006
This last week I was called by a lovely older lady to do a Home Wellness Check. A Home Wellness Check is my term for a full inspection on a house that is not for sale.
When I got to the inspection I learned that she had recently hired a water proofing company to install a full blown sump pump system in her basement … (12 comments)
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home inspect: Spotting Amateur Work - 10/15/07 09:18 PM
If his work were being judged by neatness, Mrs. Norwood, my old english teacher, would have given him an A+. In fact, if you did not know what you are looking for you would think it was the work of a professional.
In preparation for selling his house, the owner spent a weekend in the crawl space of his house. He did some things right. He removed every bit of debris, including all the old tattered insulation, pipe pieces, torn vapor barrier, spider webs, etc. Then he installed a complete new vapor barrier, using the thickest plastic sheathing he could find. … (4 comments)
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home inspect: A Common New Construction Problem - 10/11/07 02:29 PM
"Have you ever used a home inspector before? This is a standard warm up question and this time the response by my clients, a young couple buying a new house, was a suprise!
They both answered at once. He said, "Yes" She said, "No." I was beginning to think this might be a long morning when he began to explain. "We purchased a new house two years ago and our agent told us that we didn't need an inspection because it was a new house. We didn't know any better, so we skipped it." "Big mistake," She continued. "About two months … (13 comments)
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home inspect: House under Wraps! - 10/08/07 12:06 PM
Now that's a wrap! I said to my client, marveling at the cleanest, nicest job in attaching and sealing the house wrap material I had ever seen.
This is an important topic that is often missed and misunderstood. Today's house wraps, the good ones, are a very important part of the comfort and durability of the structure.
There are many different types of materials that can be used and it is important that the material not only prevent air and moisture penetration from the exterior, but also allow moisture on the interior to escape to the exterior.
Do you recall your first GorTex (tm) … (1 comments)
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Bill Duncan
Haymarket,
VA
More about me…
Home Status Inspection Company, LLC
Address: 4208 High Ridge Road, Haymarket, VA, 20169
Office Phone: (703) 754-9992
Cell Phone: (703) 283-6375
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