How to become Certified as a Home Inspector! - 12/31/09 03:50 PM
Just had a friend of mine take an online test to become 'Certified' as a Home Inspector.
40 minutes later:
Test #1 Congratulations! You've passed this exam with a final score of 86!
Test #2 Took the second test, which you can not fail, "Please register your successful completion"
Test #3 Answered none of the questions and it said: "You mark completioned 63.87% of the statements correctly."
"Please note that the grading of this Standard of Practice Quiz is offered for your own benefit. There is no required "passing" grade. The following statements are true and required, but were left unmarked … (45 comments)

11 Month Home Inspection or 1 Year Home Inspection - 12/30/09 01:37 PM
Now that your home is approaching 1 year old you may want to have it re-inspected or if it was never inspected, inspected now.
You could hire a Home Inspector to look for cracks or leaking pipes but you could do that yourself.
What you really need is to have it inspected by someone who can also tell you if it was built properly. This is commonly referred to as a code inspection.
When choosing someone to do this inspection ask them if they do 'code' inspections. Better yet ask them if they are certified to perform this inspection for you.
… (4 comments)

Double Tapped Breakers - 12/28/09 10:01 AM
This is why Realtors® need to know a little about what Home Inspectors are putting in the report.

An inspector (in Ohio) call this panel out as having a double tap. Here is what he said.
"M Marginal Item is not fully functional and requires repair or servicing."
He even stated that this was a Square D panel in his report.

This is Home Inspector Electrical training 101 that this is NOT a defect. Most Home Inspectors know this but enough do not.
You need to know things like this so that incorrect information does not kill your deals.
Do … (14 comments)

Tamper Resistant Receptacles - Important Read - 12/23/09 12:39 PM
One of the easiest ways to protect your children or grandchildren is to add TR (Tamper Resistant) Receptacles.

Here is a video that explains these receptacles. http://www.childoutletsafety.org/video.html
Here in central Ohio Northwest Electric and Plumbing (OH. Lic. #26286) installs these for as little as $10.00 each. Yes there is a minimum charge. Or you can replace these yourself if you have a working knowledge of residential electric.
You could as a Realtor offer to have these replace for your client to help make a sale. As you can see it is not pricey.
You can reach Northwest Electric and Plumbing at 614-214-1487.
… (6 comments)

Licensed Home Inspector in Ohio - 12/22/09 02:58 PM
There is no such thing in Ohio. So why do I see so many Home Inspectors claiming to be either licensed or certified. In my opinion this is very deceptive. Just do a Google search and see.
There is licensing legislation being debated but still no regulation. See: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=128_SB_14 . It needs improvement but it is a start.
I believe in licensing and testing for this profession. I also believe that the grandfathering should be for one year only and that a test should be passed within that year.
I doubt if many, if any, inspectors agree with me on this. … (4 comments)

New Construction Defects in Ohio - 12/21/09 01:26 PM
Problems with your new home? 
Did you buy a new home and not have it inspected? Or did you hire a Home Inspector or use one that your Realtor recommended, and he missed a lot of new construction defects. Maybe before it is too late you should hire a new home construction expert to look at your home.
We have the expertise to inspect your home. There are only a hand full of companies in Ohio that have the qualifications to help you and we are one of them. 
Just compare our state certifications with the others claiming to be able to … (2 comments)

Code Inspections where there is no local authority. - 12/18/09 12:13 PM
Building or buying a new home in an area that has no local inspections? You better get an inspection.
I do not mean a Home Inspection I mean an inspection by someone who knows the code. The code that I am referring to is The 2006 Residential Code of Ohio. All new construction must meet these requirements.
While Home Inspectors are good at finding defects in existing structures they do not have the training, the knowledge or the certifications to provide a quality inspection.
If you are a Realtor selling a new construction home in an area with no local inspections … (2 comments)

For true Americans only! - 12/16/09 07:01 PM
When it comes to my writing skills I am closer to Forrest Gump than I am to the writers of The Constitution of The United States.
My oral skills are excellent but you need to hear someone like former New Jersey Superior Court Judge Andrew P. Napolitano talk about health care and our government. And the Patriot Act.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n2m-X7OIuY  Listen about want happened to the 87 year old woman. It starts about 2 minutes in. SCARY!
Please no I am a Dem. or a Rep. here. Just tell me if what he says makes sense.
BTW        GOD BLESS AMERICA MERRY CHRISTMAS … (2 comments)

How to verify a Licensed Contractor - Ohio - 12/16/09 05:08 PM
This is for Ohio only but maybe your state may have this also.
Many Realtors, Mortgage Companies, Insurance Agents and others ask me how can I verify a persons license?
Follow these instructions:
How to verify a Specialty Contractors License in Ohio 
First go to the State of Ohio website's license lookup:
http://elicense1-lookup.com.ohio.gov/SearchCriteria.asp 
In the first box pick the trade. In this example we will use my Electrical Contractor's License #. It is OH. Lic. #26286. Why I listed it.

Then you should see something like this:

If not it is probably not a good license #.
Note: This … (3 comments)

Patent and latent defects - flooded basement - 12/10/09 12:35 PM
Just ran across a case where the buyer did not take the agents advice for a Home Inspection. It looks like the court used common sense in this case.
It also looks like the "as is" phrasing was discussed in this case.
http://www.leagle.com/unsecure/page.htm?shortname=inohco20091207240
"However, it is significant to note that Pissini, a real estate professional, was concerned about this disclosure and specifically advised Goddard to have the matter examined"
Glad to see that the agent did (his) job.
… (2 comments)

No city inspections for new homes? - 12/10/09 12:02 PM
Most Realtors and home buyers do not know that many areas of Ohio have NO inspections when building a new home. This means no one checks the builder to see if the home is built properly.
To find out if your area has inspections you can look at the list here: http://www.com.ohio.gov/dico/docs/bbst_ResBldgDeptMasterList.pdf
If not you may want to consider us to look at your new home. We are one of the few companies in Ohio quailified to perfrom these inspections.
Home Inspectors are not qualified to perform these inspections.
Protect your clients interests and yours.
Not all Realtors read active rain so … (3 comments)

Request to Remedy Inspections - Ohio - 12/09/09 09:19 AM
After repairs have been made how many of you recommend to your clients to have the repairs inspected?
In my opinion this is very important. Here is why to hire me:
I know that most people out there have no idea what these credentials mean and that is sad. Realtors® need to now about the credentials of the individuals that they recommend. Not knowing the limitations of those who you recommend could come back to ‘bite' you in the future.
At least in Ohio there are some components of a home that you are not allowed to inspect unless you taken … (0 comments)

Backup email accounts - 12/03/09 04:20 PM
Do any of you have backup email accounts?
I do and I will tell you why.
Last week for some reason a report that I was sending to a mortgage company would not go through.
Lucky I was able to send the report from my regular email to my Blackberry account and forward it to the mortgage company.
Time was of the essence in this case becuase it needed to close that day.
I do not know why the first email did not go through but I was glad to have a backup. Maybe some type of spam protection.
Just something to … (8 comments)

Should Ohio license Home Inspectors? - 12/03/09 04:04 PM
I have been following attempts to regulate the Home Inspection industry since 1999. Still we have no standards here in Ohio.
Anyone involved in real estate knows that this is a problem. We all have seen deals 'killed' because of bad home inspections.
I believe in testing for this industry.
Can anyone tell me why it is so hard to have this industry regulated?
Who is stopping this?
For those of you who have regulations in your state did it help regulating Home Inspectors? I would like your thoughts.
… (3 comments)

Collecting Rent for a Landlord? You May Need To Be Licensed - 12/03/09 09:19 AM
If it is not hard enough to be in any profession regarding real estate they, the government, keep making it harder.
Here is a blog that I just came across. I think that this is a must read.
http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/06/collecting_rent_for_a_landlord.html
Pass this along to anyone that you know that may be in the management of real estate.
… (1 comments)

Is a new construction Home Inspection necessary? - 12/02/09 10:17 PM
When a buyer asks your opinion on whether they should have a home inspection on a ‘new’ home do you say yes?
Maybe you should reconsider this advice.
Would it be fair to say that your client is expecting that the inspector is there to verify that the home has been properly constructed? If the answer is yes then what your client really wants (needs) is a ‘code’ inspection not a home inspection.
Home Inspectors do not do code inspections, just ask them.
Every home in Ohio is required to be built to The 2006 Residential Code of Ohio (RCO). If … (6 comments)

Before you buy a rehabbed home! - 12/02/09 01:15 PM
Before you buy a rehabbed home you should read this article: http://www.local12.com/news/local/story/Home-Buyers-Find-Big-Problems/oSEo6nDWm0e5_QdE_sC2NA.cspx
Home inspectors are not regulated in Ohio and most have no idea about what is required when rehabbing a property.
You should hire someone, like us, who is knowledgeable with what is required.
We are certified and knowledgeable to inspect your home.
… (2 comments)

Motorcycles - 12/01/09 08:43 PM
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE put down your cell phones and other distracting devices. I just heard that a friend of mine, the second friend this year, that was hit on a bike. Yes we are still out there.
Put a picture of a loved one in your car and every-time that the phone rings look at that picture.
You do not want to be the one that hits or kills a kid or anyone else.
Is anything that we do that damn important?
He is a fireman and his neck is broken.
Please pray that he is going to be able to … (0 comments)

 

Inspector Mike Parks

Circleville, OH

More about me…

Residential Building Inspectors

Address: Oh

Office Phone: (614) 214-1487

Cell Phone: (614) 214-1487

Email Me

As a Residential Building Official and a Electrical Safety Inspector I receive information on home related issues before the public is made aware of these changes and will share them here as they develop.While I am based out of Columbus Ohio I can help you in other areas of Ohio.



Links

Archives

RSS 2.0 Feed for this blog