HABITEC announces next Continuing Education class for REALTORS licensed in Tennessee.

CLASS DATE:  February 20, 2012

LOCATION:  Sumner Association of REALTORS

35 Executive Park Drive, Unit B

Hendersonville, TN 37075

TIME:  8:30 AM - 4:00 PM

To register for this class Contact: 

Niva Johnson, niva@sumnercountyrealtors.com, or

Teresa Law, lawt@realtracs.com

615-824-6629

Cost: $25! (Includes Lunch!) for SAR Members, $35 for non-members

Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC,an Affiliate Member of SAR, is presenting a 6 hour TREC-approved course in Home Inspection topics pertinent to REALTORS. The classes are offered as a power point presentation with fascinating pictures and interesting perspective offered by Richard.  This course gives REALTORs a chance to interact with a certified and licensed Home Inspector, ask questions and discuss in general and in detail the issues that come up during a Home Inspection.  The benefits for REALTORS to take this course include:

1.  To help REALTORs understand the State of Tennessee rules and requirements for Home Inspections.  Know what your Home Inspector should be doing.

2.  Increase professionalism by providing REALTORs with a greater understanding of what should happen during a Home Inspection in Tennessee and why. 

3.  REALTORs will better understand what information should be in the Home Inspection report which will prepare REALTORs to discuss the report with their Client.  The Client will then be able to understand the report and make a better decision regarding the real estate transaction.

4.  REALTORS will be better able to assess a home early on and spot those issues that can be troublesome in a Home Inspection.   This will save you time and money!

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Comments in this blog posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings.  HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more!  In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis.  Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753. 

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections ActiveRain Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors.  All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.  You can also join HABITEC on Facebook or Linked . 

HABITEC is pleased to announce completion of another successful 6 hour Continuing Education course for REALTORS licensed in Tennessee.  On January 11, 2012, REALTORS attended the TREC-approved Tennessee Home Inspection course presented by Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC,  at the Brentwood Library in Brentwood, TN.  The following realtors have graciously offered their names as references for this course.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Comments in this blog posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings.  HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more!  In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis.  Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753. 

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections ActiveRain Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors.  All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.  You can also join HABITEC on Facebook or Linked . 

Nashville Home Inspection - Electrical Installation - What's Wrong With This Picture? 12-14-11

HINT:  Junction boxes should be used for junctions.

ANSWER:  Junction boxes should be used to house any junction of electrical conductors, or wires.  But, junction boxes, like the one in the picture above, should not be used to rig an outlet so one can plug in an extension cord.  So there is a lot wrong with this picture.  Junction boxes should be used only for conductor junctions and the box should be closed after the wires are joined and inserted.  Outlets should be housed in outlet electrical boxes with that appropriate cover plate.  Extension cords should not be used as permanent wiring.  If you need permanent wiring, call an electrician and have a dedicated circuit put in.  The installation in the picture above is a fire or electrocution waiting to happen.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Comments in this blog posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings.  HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more!  In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis.  Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753. 

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections ActiveRain Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors.  All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.  You can also join HABITEC on Facebook or Linked . 

HABITEC is pleased to announce completion of another successful 6 hour Continuing Education course for REALTORS licensed in Tennessee.  On December 7, 2011, REALTORS attended the TREC-approved Tennessee Home Inspection course presented by Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC,  at the Brentwood Library in Brentwood, TN.  The following realtors have graciously offered their names as references for this course.

The next class at the Brentwood Library is scheduled for January 11, 2012.  Please contact HABITEC at 615-376-2753 to register for this class.  Information about the class is available on the HABITEC website at http://habitecinspections.com/EducationMaterial.aspx. 

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Comments in this blog posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings.  HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more!  In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis.  Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753. 

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections ActiveRain Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors.  All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.  You can also join HABITEC on Facebook or Linked . 

Greater Nashville Association of Realtors names new President, Officers, and Directors for 2012.

Kendra Cooke has been elected president of the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors for 2012. Cooke, a Realtor with Bob Parks Realty, was sworn in this morning, along with other GNAR officers. Her one-year term will begin Jan. 1.

HABITEC wishes all these leaders success in these new positions for 2012!

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Comments in this blog posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings.  HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more!  In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis.  Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753. 

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections ActiveRain Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors.  All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.  You can also join HABITEC on Facebook or Linked . 

Nashville Home Inspection - Ugly Bug Alert.  

Please look at the picture below.  Ever see one of these bugs around your home?  What is it and why is it there?

HINT:  It looks like a cross between a cricket and a spider.  Now that can be ugly.

ANSWER:  That's it!  It's a spider-cricket!  And boy is it ugly.  Some people refer to them as cave-bugs, apparantly because they are common in caves.  So how did it ever get started?  Do you think a spider and cricket got together and, wait, let's not even go there.  Suffice it to say they are common in damp and dark places, like caves. 

Notice the Romex cable next to it.  That cable is about 1/2" in width, so you can imagine how large this spider-cricket is.  And that grey stuff is concrete block commonly used to form a residential foundation.  That's because this picture was taken inside a crawl space during a home inspection.  So why is this spider-cricket here?  Well we know a crawl space can be pretty dark, right?  And we now know that spider-cricket's like places that are dark, but also damp.  Remember, bugs go where they can live and flourish because there is food and moisture there.  So if there is a spider-cricket living in this crawl space, there must also be moisture of sufficient levels that they can live and flourish.  But it gets worse.  Like roaches, if you see one, you can bet there are more.  See the picture below.

And if you keep going in this crawl space, you will find the rest of the gang.  See below.

The good news is, these guys don't like people and will scurry off to hide when light or people come around.  But they won't go away permanently until the moisture source is fixed.  In this case a malfunctioning water management system on the outside of the home allowed significant water intrusion into the crawl space.  All that water is just the ticket for an insect infestation like the one you see above.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Comments in this blog posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings.  HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more!  In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis.  Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753. 

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections ActiveRain Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors.  All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.  You can also join HABITEC on Facebook or Linked . 

Nashville Home Inspection - Exterior Lighting Installation - What's Wrong With This Picture?

Please look at the picture below.  What is wrong with this exterior lighting installation?

HINT:  Aren't we suppose to avoid the big power lines?

ANSWER:  Yes!  So who thought it would be a good idea to put the eave lights just above the high voltage power lines??  Careful changing those light bulbs!

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Comments in this blog posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings.  HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more!  In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis.  Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753. 

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections ActiveRain Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors.  All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.  You can also join HABITEC on Facebook or Linked . 

Nashville Home Inspection - Gutters Full of Debris?  How Bad Can it Be?

Ever known that your gutters are full of debris and overflowing when it rains?  And did nothing about it?  How bad can it be?  If the gutters overflow, the water still ends up on the ground anyway, right?  Look at the picture below.  What is wrong?

HINT:  Mold soup is made when vegetation and pooled rain water stand together over a period of time.

So in the picture above we have gutters filled with tree debris so much that other vegetation has started to grow inside the gutters, the gutters have become so heavy with the wet debris that they start to pull away from the fascia, and the mold soup inside the gutters starts to overflow every time it rains.  How bad can it be?  See below.

So as the mold soup starts to flow down the side of the house, where will it end up?  See below.

And a close-up of the window frame is shown below.  It is just a matter of time before this gets inside the house.

So the bottom line on all this - keep your gutters and downspouts clean!

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Comments in this blog posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings.  HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more!  In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis.  Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753. 

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections ActiveRain Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors.  All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.  You can also join HABITEC on Facebook or Linked . 

Recently I had a REALTOR ask if there were circumstances when an Inspector would not crawl through the entire crawl space.  I explained that sometimes we don't go everywhere in the crawl space because it simply is not possible or safe.  I went on to explain that access to some areas of the crawl space may be blocked by debris, HVAC ductwork and/or tight spacing.  That did not seem to be the answer she was looking for.  But it got me to thinking, when is tight too tight? 

Sometimes the crawl space entry itself is the problem.  The minimum recommended dimensions for a crawl space entry are 24" high and 30" wide.  Remember a home inspector or technician also has to carry tools with them when they enter a crawl space.  Look at the picture below.  In this case the Inspector would literally have to exhale deeply in order to make the entry work.  Clearly too small for this big guy.

But a slightly skinnier Inspector might make it, like the fellow below.

So the decision to enter a space or not is a judgement call by the Inspector.  Certainly, if the Inspector has to exhale to enter a crawl space, good judgement would be for him to decline the entry.

Some general safety rules of crawl space entry are as follows.  These rules can be applied to Inspectors and home owners alike.

1.  Take two flashlights and a cell phone.  If the first light loses power, you'll have the second to find your way out.  The cell phone comes in very handy if you get trapped or hurt.  Its also another source of light, albeit a poor one.

2.  Make sure someone knows you will be in a crawl space and approximately when you should be out of the crawl space.  That way if you become incapacitated hopefully someone will realize you are missing before it is too late.

3.  Do not crawl over ductwork, standing water or electrical lines.  If you have to crawl over ductwork, move components or take in a breath to enter a space, it is too close to be entered. 

4.  Be alert to Confined Spaces that should not be entered.  Do not force your way into areas that are too close.  NACHI has an excellent Continuing Education course about Home Inspector safety that deals with this issue.  According to NACHI and the OSHA website, a "confined space," as defined in OSHA's General Industry Standard (29.CFR.1910), is a space that:

 a.  is large enough and is so configured that an employee can bodily enter and perform assigned work;

 b.  has limited or restricted means for entry or exit (for example:  tanks, vessels, silos, bins, hoppers, vaults, pits, etc.); and

 c.  is not designed for continuous employee occupancy.

NOTE:  OSHA defines a crawl space as a non-permit required confined space.  Therefore, a Home Inspector can enter a crawl space without a permit but according to item 4.a above, if the space is not large enough to enter and perform assigned work or the employee [Home Inspector] cannot perform assigned work [because the space is too tight], this space should not be entered.  In Tennessee, the TN Home Inspection Rules as established by the TN Department of Commerce, Rules for Home Inspectors, Chapter 0780-5-12.10, Standards of Practice, item 6.b.3, states that "Home Inspectors are not required to enter any area or perform any procedure that may damage the property or its components or be dangerous to or adversely affect the health or safety of the home inspector or other persons." 

5.  Be alert to strange odors that can be a hint of problems.  Obviously, if you smell gas, leave immediately.  Crawl space odors like watermelon indicate the presence of snakes.  If you observe snakes or evidence of snakes, or any other animal or pest that may be a threat to your health, leave the crawl space immediately.  Make a note on the report.

6.  Use a fanny pack to carry small items in the crawl space, like your cell phone and equipment testers you may need.

7.  Wear gloves and breathing protection.  The gloves protect your hand somewhat when you are searching around in the dark and the breathing protection protects you from all the dust and insulation you can breathe in.

So hey, let's be careful out there. If you would like to comment on this article please email to richard@habitecinspections.com.

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Comments in this blog posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings.  HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more!  In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis.  Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753. 

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections ActiveRain Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors.  All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.  You can also join HABITEC on Facebook or Linked . 

Nashville Home Inspections - HABITEC completes another Continuing Education Class for REALTORS licensed in Tennessee.

On September 12, 2011, HABITEC completed the 6 hour TREC-approved Tennessee Home Inspection Course at the Middle Tennessee Association of REALTORS in Murfreesboro, TN.  The following REALTORS generously offered the use of their names and contact information as references for this course.

 The next presentation of this class is scheduled as follows:

 October 26, 2011

Thank you,

Richard Acree

http://habitecinspections.com

Comments in this blog posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings.  HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more!  In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis.  Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753. 

Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections ActiveRain Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors.  All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one.  You can also join HABITEC on Facebook or Linked .