Jacksonville Home Inspector John Richards's Blog

Selling Your Home?

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:44:25 -0800

If you’re selling your home you are competing against all of the banks who have a large number of foreclosed properties and home builders trying to get rid of their inventory. These homes are all priced to sell!

Selling your home for top dollar in this kind of market can be challenging. So what can you do to make home stand out from the competition?

On this episode of “Talkin’ Home Inspections” John and Preston discuss selling your home in this challenging market and their experience working with sellers to help them get their homes sold.

If you are serious about selling your home click the play button below.

John Richards is the President of Informed Decisions Certified Home Inspections, Jacksonville, FL.

If you need a Jacksonville Home Inspection call John at 904-891-6309

Preston Sandlin is the President of Home Inspection Carolina, Charlotte, NC.

If you need a Charlotte Home Inspection call Preston at 704-542-6575.

Jacksonville Home Inspection Videos

Charlotte Home Inspection Videos

How can a Pre-Listing Inspection Help You Sell Your Home? Here's a Few Ideas!

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:07:47 -0800

Before putting a home on the market many sellers will paint, put new carpet in, remodel the kitchen and bathrooms, etc.

Many times home owners are not aware of maintenance issues and repairs that are needed until a buyer makes an offer and hires a home inspector. Doesn't it make sense to find out what repairs will need to be made and repair them?

After any necessary repairs are made then decide what cosmetic items you should address with the remainder of your budget.

To contact Your Jacksonville Home Inspector CALL 904-891-6309.

Via Sheree Wilkerson (Realty World Alliance):

Pre-Listing Inspection? What's the Point?

Occasionally I get asked about pre-listing inspections, and I've been recommending them more and more lately. A pre-listing inspection is in fact a home inspection done by the seller prior to listing their home.

Now why would you inspect your house before you have a buyer? That I have many good answers for!

1. If there's a large problem with the home that you were unaware of, you can then decide whether you can price accordingly or whether you might be able to move at all. Much better to find this out now than when you're in the middle of selling with a buyer on the hook and possibly involved in your next property as well. I have had a buyer inspection discover something so severe that there was no way the seller could fix the home and still afford to sell.

2. It gives you a chance to fix items on the list at your own time and leisure, meaning that you can shop for repair bids or get it done yourself. When a buyer finds it at their inspection, you may only have a week to get items done before closing and they may ask for specific contractors, which could easily cost you more than the inspection would in the beginning.

3. Fixing items before listing helps your home show better as it will appear obviously well maintained and there will be less items that buyers and their agents will notice. Therefore they are more likely to give their best or better offers than if they saw unrepaired items from the get-go.

4. Being able to market your home as pre-inspected gives a nice warm, fuzzy confidence to a buyer that there shouldn't be any big surprises lurking down the path. You can easily provide the home inspection and evidence of repairs, which again should lead to better and higher offers. Lots of offers hedge against the unknowns that may be found at inspection time.

5. Already having an inspection and repairs done, the buyer's own home inspection contingency should be a breeze. There may be minor discrepancies between what everyone finds, as inspectors are human and each may miss or catch something the other doesn't, but anything of big concern should already be known. Since many contracts fall apart at inspection time, having already been through an inspection means that you're much much more likely to keep your deal together and get to closing.

6. Even if you're not making any repairs from the inspection, being able to provide this report up front should still mean better offers as buyers see what they are up against. Many buyers who purchase as-is or TLC properties come in quite low because they don't know the extent of the problems until inspection time.

I know, I know! Inspections can run you hundreds depending on the size of your home. But it may be better for you to spend a few hundred now than to lose a few thousand on the offer side of things. And the peace of mind from knowing exactly what you're up against is great. Selling a home is nerve-wracking enough just trying to find a buyer and wondering why all those other ones didn't like your house. With a pre-inspection, you can negotiate with your buyer in the confidence that you know what's going on with your home and with a higher likelihood that the deal will stay together and close!

For a list of registered home inspectors in our area and to discuss how it may affect your particular situation, feel free to contact me!

Sheree Wilkerson
Realtor®
Txt/Cell: 316.461.0575

Foreclosed Homes Jacksonville Florida – What You Need To Know

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 07:19:40 -0800

Foreclosed Homes Jacksonville Florida

I recorded this radio show with a friend of mine to help people buying a foreclosed home learn how they can get the best deal. This will be the best hour you will spend if you are planning on buying a foreclosed home in Jacksonville. Some of the things discussed are:

The first step you need to take
Selecting A Real Estate Agent
Some problems found during foreclosure home inspections
Buying the home “As Is”
Disclosure
Negotiating Repairs
and more

Click on the play button below

To contact your Jacksonville Home Inspector CALL 904-891-6309 or check out our website Home Inspections Jacksonville FL

Stop Roof Leaks - Jacksonville Home Inspector Tips

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 15:07:18 -0800

Stop Roof Leaks - Jacksonville Home Inspector Tips

One of the most common items identified by Jacksonville home inspectors is bad plumbing vent boots. The purpose of these are to seal around the plumbing vents which allow sewer gasses to escape your home.

The reason these boots fail is the sun will dry them out and cause them to become brittle and crack. Another problem is boots that are not properly installed, creating a gap between the boot and vent pipe (see Photo on left) Once these are compromised you will run the risk of having water enter your home which can cause significant damage.

I recommend that you inspect these twice a year or at least after the summer months have passed. Preventive maintenance is your best line of defense in keeping your home in good condition.

The video below was taken during two recent home inspections in Jacksonville Florida. Watching this video you can see what you should look for and the damage that can occur to your home if you ignore this problem for extended period of time.

To contact your Jacksonville Home Inspector CALL 904-891-6309 or visit our website Home Inspections Jacksonville Florida.

Find A Home Inspector Jacksonville Florida

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:31:41 -0800

Find A Home Inspector Jacksonville Florida

With all of the choices you have it can be difficult to Find A Home Inspector. So how can you make sure that you are selecting an inspector that will do the best job for you? Well there are many factors to consider.

How much the inspection costs is usually the factor that many people initially go to when trying to find a home inspector. Relying on this factor alone could lead you to the most expensive mistake of your life! Let me explain why.

There are multiple reasons for a cheap home inspections. Here are just a few.

Most NEW home inspectors find out what other companies are charging and set their prices below the others because they think this will flood their schedule with inspections. These inspectors have no experience and haven't yet developed the experience it takes to find all of the defects with the home. If you're trying to find a home inspector and You choose someone that is brand new, with no experience and minimal training evaluating your biggest investment, you're bound to have problems?

Another reason for low prices is poor performance. Some inspectors who have been around a while still charge lower fees thinking that this will make up for their poor performance. They don't get any referrals from past clients because they didn't do a good job. Only the best home inspectors get referrals from past clients. These inspectors cause 90% of the complaints I hear about home inspectors. Selecting this type of inspector while calling around to find a home inspector could leave you in financial trouble after you move in.

One more reason for the low price home inspection is the inspector only works part time, because they don't have enough business and could also be related to the home inspector in the second category.You wouldn't go to a part time doctor would you?

Just one last reason that some home inspectors are cheap, is that the home inspector:

Does not cary insurance
Does not belong to any associations, therefore is not required to follow any standards
Does not keep up to date on training
Still uses a hand written reports
Does not use the latest tools, like an Thermal Imaging Camera

These inspectors are the most dangerous. When I was getting started in the business I talked to a local inspector to see who he used for insurance. You won't believe what he told me! He asked me "Are you married? Do you trust your wife? Then put everything in her name, that's my insurance!" You definitely wouldn't want this guy looking at your home, would you?

You are buying a home and the reason you are trying to find a home inspector is to avoid any unwanted surprises after you move in! If this is true then doesn't it make sense to hire a home inspector that:

Performs hundreds of home inspections every year
Takes yearly continuing education so they can do a better job for you
Uses the newest tools
Works FULL TIME
Creates a computer generated report including photos
Carries the appropriate insurance
Wants you to be so happy with your home inspection experience, that you will refer friends and family to the home inspection company

Even if you ask all of the tough questions you still may be having a dificult time trying to find a home inspector in Jacksonville, Florida. You want to know who you can trust, right? On the Home Inspection Jacksonville FL website there are videos of things that your home inspector finds every day. These videos will let you see what you can expect from your Jacksonville home inspector. There are also videos of Jacksonville Home Inspection clients reviews, these are people just like you.

Below is just one of those videos. This client shares with you how he was able to negotiate $10,000 OFF the purchase of the home by using Informed Decisions Certified Home Inspections. So what are you waiting for? Check out the Home Inspection Jacksonville Florida website and CALL 904-891-6309 today!

New Construction Inspection Jacksonville Florida

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 15:07:48 -0800

New Construction Inspection Jacksonville Florida

It is just as important for someone buying a new home to get a home inspection as it is for people buying existing homes. Why? Because a lot of the issues found on resales were present at the time the original buyer moved in or were caused by defects with the home when it was built. Some of the most common reasons people don't get a New Construction Inspection are:

"What could be wrong, the home is brand new?"

"The city inspector signed off on everything, I'm sure they didn't miss anyhting."

"I have a one year warranty. If anything goes wrong with the home, they will fix it."

All mechanical components installed in the garage are supposed to be protected from vehicles. This new home was missing the barrier in front of the water heater.

Well I'm here to tell you that in all of the New Constrction Inspections in Jacksonville Florida that I have done, I have yet to see the perfect home. That's right, there is no such thing as the perfect home! Including the one you are about to buy. So let's look at the reasons the above statements are wrong.

"What could be wrong, the home is brand new?" There is one thing that is true about you, about me and about every person on the planet. That is that none of us are perfect, no matter how hard we try. We are all human, and humans make mistakes. Another thing to consider is that the site supervisor has a lot of responsibilities and homes to oversee.

Who does all the work? Subcontrators that's who. The experience levels of the sub contractors differ. Some of these people would rather do things the easy way than the right way. I once had a contractor tell me that I was too picky and the work was done "good enough". I asked him to show me in black & white that work he did was acceptable. I loved his response. "Since you're not cooperating, I gues I'll go ahead and do it the right way then." You want the work to be done the right way on your new home don't you?

This thermal image was taken at a new home before the "one year warranty" expired. The home owner complained that this room was always HOT in the summer and cold in the winter. The bright yellow areas show that no insulation was installed in these two stud bays.

"The city inspector signed off on everything. I'm sure they didn't miss anything." While these inspectors are responsible to make sure eveything is done right, they simply can't stand over every subcontractor during every minute of the constrction process. They go to the home at different times of the construction process, check the permits and do a couple spot checks. That's it. They can't catch everything.

"I have a one year home warranty. If anything goes wrong with the home, thebuilder will fix it." Well this is true. However once you move in they don't have free access to the home in order to make any necessary repairs. This means that you may have to take time off of work to be home so they can make the repairs once you move in. They also have other homes that are being built and those homes take priority over yours because they are trying to get those homes sold and keep the buyers of those homes satisfied.

This photo shows that one of the ducts was not properly connected to the plenum in the attic. This would have caused high electric bills and reduced the life of the HVAC system because the unit would have to work harder in order to heat and cool the home. This picture was taken at a New Constrction Inspection.

I hope you now understand the importance of a New Construction Inspection on your new Jacksonville Florida home.

If you need a New Construction Inspection in Jacksonville Florida, give us a call (904) 891-6309 or check out our website Home Inspections Jacksonville Florida.

Watch this video to see another problem that should have been caught by the builder that no one saw until I did the resale inspection.