home status: Climbing Trees and Bad Toupees - 03/12/08 12:25 PM
When I was a kid about 10 years old, I loved to climb trees, much to the worriment of my mom. I even built a tree house for some friends and me in the back yard...but that's a story for another time.
Recently I have begun to call on those old … (7 comments)
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home status: An Intentional Defect? - 01/23/08 01:43 PM
… (8 comments)
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home status: But Will the House Dance? - 11/06/07 06:54 AM
Selling an older home today can be alot like getting back in the dating game after many years of married life. Lots of updating to do. In today's real estate market, update you must, or more than likely, the house sits, and sits, and sits....like a wall flower at the dance.
This … (9 comments)
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home status: Buyer Be Wary! - 11/05/07 03:05 PM
If you like television series CSI, you'll enjoy this.
This inspection was of an 11 year old single family house that showed well...no, better than that, it was spectacular! Tremendous upgrades, granite, ceramic tile, hardwood floors, the works. It was also almost vacant, but tastefully staged, when I saw it. It … (8 comments)
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home status: What's Different About Foreclosures? - 10/29/07 06:19 AM
The rising tide of forclosures has left some lasting impressions with me. Inspections of foreclosed properties have gone from about 3% of my business last year to about 25% this year. The trend seems to be accellerating.
Obviously foreclosed properties are different. Like the woman who is magical with make up … (9 comments)
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home status: 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. … (16 comments)
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home status: The Ceiling Fan Farm! - 10/24/07 08:46 AM
My initial impression of the second floor bedrooms in this foreclosure house was that if you turned on all the ceiling fans full speed, there was one in every room, the roof might blast off!
Just as in houses where there are air fresheners in every electrical receptacle, ceiling fans in … (9 comments)
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home status: 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 … (6 comments)
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home status: Radon Myths - revised - 10/21/07 08:03 AM
Some clients and agents do not have correct knowledge about Radon:
Myth 1 - Slab foundations. "We don't need to test Radon, this house has a slab foundation." The agent said this to me as though it was an absolute fact. I told him I wished that were true, but Radon … (10 comments)
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home status: 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 … (10 comments)
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home status: Shut up and Bail! - 10/18/07 08:17 AM
My client was very excited about owning her first home. So much so that when I started doing my inspection, she started cleaning and doing repairs! Never mind that she didn't own the house yet! She wanted to get a head start and she had come prepared to get some serious … (12 comments)
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home status: 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 … (12 comments)
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home status: 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 … (4 comments)
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home status: Nature vs. Nurture - 10/15/07 08:08 AM
Foreword, there may be people that think I should not mention the Virginia Tech tragedy in context of a home inspection blog or news letter. I do so here with the utmost respect for the victums, their families and everyone involved with this incident. At the time, our hearts were heavy … (1 comments)
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home status: The Fixer Upper! - 10/14/07 03:57 PM
"Does this house qualify for one of your email letters? My agent friend asked me with a devilish grin. "Probably about three" I said, and I began to think of the lessons this house could teach.
This was a 29 year old split level on a beautiful mountain lot which showed … (4 comments)
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home status: On Discipline When Business is Slow - 10/13/07 03:14 PM
I was opening an old electrical panel and my electric drill didn't have the power to turn the screws, so I reached in my bag for my manual screw driver. It wasn't there. I had to improvise, basically using my electric drill as a manual screw driver. No big deal right?
Well I … (31 comments)
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home status: The Bottomless Hose Bib! - 10/12/07 07:04 AM
For all the agents who are custodians of empty listed houses, it's that time of year again. Freezing temperatures in many parts of the country are right around the corner. Cases like the one below are rare, but if you find an outside faucet that does not shut off properly, get … (4 comments)
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home status: 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 … (13 comments)
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home status: Unwritten Rules #103 & 104 - 10/11/07 07:24 AM
A friend of mine who happens to be a real estate agent related a horror story to me several months ago that I felt should be passed along to others. The second story below happened to me on an inspection. Both teach rules to live by in Real Estate which are probably … (9 comments)
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home status: Unwritten Rules #101 & 102 - 10/09/07 07:03 AM
These rules may be covered in real estate training, but they never came up in my home inspection classes. I believe they apply equally to both agents and home inspectors.
"Pretty nice place" I said as I began reviewing the home inspection report with my client. This had become a standard … (5 comments)
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