northern va home inspection: The Peek-A-Boo Gable! - 11/08/07 12:07 PM
I almost missed it! Lots of people had missed it. The owner, who had the house built 20 years ago and had lived in it all these years. The builder. The county inspectors. The roofer. The second roofer who installed a new roof one year ago. Yet there it was. In … (10 comments)
northern va home inspection: 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)
northern va home inspection: 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 … (45 comments)
northern va home inspection: 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)
northern va home inspection: Hazard Marking - 10/09/07 06:18 PM
Normally when installing an attic fan, you install the fan first, then hook up the electric wire to it, then hook up the wire at a junction box to the power source. However, I recently encountered a case where the homeowner hooked the electric wire to power first and then forgot … (1 comments)
northern va home inspection: Shut up Murphy! - 10/04/07 01:57 PM
Murphy rides on my shoulder and tells me what fun he's having. Most of the time he doesn't bother me...just when he can cause some mischief.Like last week when I was studying an electrical panel and noticed a breaker labeled Sump Pump. That's funny I thought. I've been all over this … (1 comments)
northern va home inspection: Where do we start? - 10/02/07 07:02 AM
I think it's fantastic that some people live together for 30, 40, 50 or more years. When they live together in the same place without moving, sometimes the rest of the real estate world passes their house by. That was the case with this inspection and I've had quite a few … (7 comments)
northern va home inspection: Did You See the Gorilla? - 09/30/07 05:53 PM
Nothing describes a common hazard to home inspectors better than this story, told to me by my daughter-in-law Ravit who has her Doctorate in Education Science.She describes a study of young adult students who were observed while watching a basketball game. During the action of the game, a man, dressed in a … (9 comments)
northern va home inspection: The Field Panel - 09/29/07 08:14 AM
His passion was restoring old cars and as I drove up to the old farm house on the hill, I saw several old 40ish clunkers in a field about 300 feet down the hill from the house.He needed electrical power for a sander and some other small tools so he improvised … (0 comments)
northern va home inspection: Tell Tale Signs - 09/28/07 08:38 AM
Some houses scream "Help Me!"...others give up their secrets quietly and reluctantly. After you have home inspected for a while, you learn the language and how to coax out what needs to be known. For agents, there are several signs that you can use to reinforce with your clients the use of … (32 comments)
northern va home inspection: Federal Pacific Panels - 09/27/07 05:54 PM
The problem with Federal Pacific Panels is that when you find them they are not smoking or spitting sparks. They are just sitting there working as they have for 25, 30, or more years. Because of this, some inspectors will say that a Federal Panel is OK...I say be careful. I cannot, … (9 comments)
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