John's Blog

The renter nailed this one.

John Coker - Virginia Beach Home Inspector (Family Home Inspection LLC) — Sat, 16 May 2009 22:43:45 -0500

Typical inspection of a property that had renters occupying it at the time of the inspection. Very easy to see the lack of concern by the occupants for the proper care of the house and it was, well, just a dirty mess. The couple, who was home at the time, had a little girl may 2-3 years old. When I got to her room I turned to my right, looked down and saw what is shown in the picture below. I just stood there for a moment, confused and concerned. I didn't want to insult the renters, but did they know their little girl had done this? So I called the dad over andask him, "Have you seen this?". He was Oh yeah, I put that there myself so my little girl can't stick anything in there and hurt herself. I simply replied "OK". I looked at my clients agent who had come over and she was just, well, as floored as I was.

I may have found some reasoning behind this a bit later, when I went in the master bedroom where the couple was on the bed watching TV. The smokey smell (both had lit cigarrettes) and the floor fan propped up in the window gave hints, but the bag of weed, in plain view (no pictures, didn't want to agitate him) on the nightstand next to Dad summed it all up.

But just in case, for those that don't know, nails do not an electrical child safety device make.

2009, the best year yet!

John Coker - Virginia Beach Home Inspector (Family Home Inspection LLC) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 02:53:36 -0600

Someone once told me, and I don't know if he read this or was told by someone else the following statement:

Believe in yourself, then others will too!

As we head into 2009 full of economic worries, I think this is more important than ever. If you don't believe your going to not only do good business, but just be in business, how will anyone else believe it? When you walk into that meeting or meet some friends, are you talking up your business or talking it down? Are you complaining how rough things are and how 2009 is going to pose so many difficulties. Or are you boasting how 2009 is offering unique challenges and your excited by the challenge?

I've posted it before in my I Refuse blog and I mean it even more than ever. When I'm reminded of all the home inspectors in my area that have left the business, I don't say or think, I may be next. I shout out how this means more opportunities for me. When I hear of people reducing services to cut costs, I do just the opposite. Expand your services and grow! Don't offer less, offer MORE!

I know some find it hard to believe, but the power of self confidence can make all the differance in the world!

What are you doing to make 2009 the best year yet?

Have lunch with your kids!

John Coker - Virginia Beach Home Inspector (Family Home Inspection LLC) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:05:06 -0500

Even if you’re not a fan of the NFL, the story of what happened to the family of Matt Bryant of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers just breaks your heart. One morning he was getting his kids ready for school and he was about to leave to go to practice. When he went in to wake up his three month old son Matthew Tryson Bryant, he discovered he had died in his sleep.

http://www.pewterreport.com/articles/view/4682

Life is so precious and can be so tragic. You never know what can happen or when. I’m sure nobody expects such a thing to happen in the safety of their home.

After reading about this, of course as I’m sure you are now, I thought about my kids. It was still early morning so I got up and did something about it. I went to my youngest daughters school (the one that still lets me hug her in public) and had lunch with her. She was very surprised and we had a great time. Of course, before I left I gave her a hug and a kiss, a little bigger than usual. I still have my wonders with me and I wanted to make sure they know just how much I love them.

When was the last time you had lunch with your kids at school? Surprise them and give them that extra special hug.

Gifts from a client

John Coker - Virginia Beach Home Inspector (Family Home Inspection LLC) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 11:36:56 -0500

I did an inspection a while back where I saw a stew kettle in the backyard just rusting away. I asked the home owner if I could buy it it and he had agreed. That was until I found problems in the house and he got all huffy as the deal fell through (because his house was falling through, he built a second story on top of a 1932 bungalow but failed to add any extra support so it was falling in on itself). Anyways, I was annoyed for a bit but let it go.

Well last week I get from the lady for whom I was performing the inspection. It seems she not only overheard me talking about how much my wife loves this stuff, but I guess she kind of liked me too. Anyways, she calls and asks if I can come over because she has something for me. I head on over not sure what to think and low and behold, she has a trunk full of stuff like this. She said it's just been sitting in her garage for years and since my wife enjoys the stuff, it would be better if she had it. BTW she said, this is just the first of three car loads. I knew I couldn't afford it all until she yelled at me "no payments, this is a gift because you helped us out so much."

So now, my wife is in love with me again, at least for this week. But now she has tasked me with finding out how to restore these pieces. Does anyone have a clue or have a good website to throw at me that would help? Thanks!

These are just a few of the items.

Milk Jug

Irons and temperature tags

Tea Kettle

I REFUSE....

John Coker - Virginia Beach Home Inspector (Family Home Inspection LLC) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:06:30 -0500

....to participate!

No, I'm not taking my ball and going home because my big brother just pushed me down so his team could score a touchdown. I'm talking about all this recession garbage.

Depending on what source you use for your daily supplement of information, we are currently in, have been in for a while or are soon heading towards a disastrous recession. Bah Hum Bug!

Who cares what some official government document or reports states. You want the real truth? Can you handle the truth? If you can, keep reading.

*Imagine a momentary pause here with your favorite elevator music playing*

Glad your still here. The real truth is, who cares. That's right, you heard me. Who cares? Well besides those people trying to sell you the wonder books on how to make millions in a recession or the TV shows trying to boost ratings? If anything, they prove my upcoming point more than anyone. And that point? Well it's the secret answer to...

"What is a recession?"

Again, not that lame government definition. The REAL meaning of recession? Or at least, what should it mean to you?

OK, come close, I'm gonna whisper it in your ear. But don't tell anyone else our secret. If everyone found out, then the TV producers might have to find something else to report on.

OK. Ready? A recession is......"An opportunity"

Yup, that's it. Nice and simple. A recession is just an opportunity. An opportunity for you to take advantage of. When it's cold, you take the opportunity to go snow boarding don't you? Or when it's warm, to go swimming? Why should a recession be any different?

For the last several good market years, lots of people went swimming in the nice warm water. But now thats it's cold, too many people just climb under their blankets and complain how cold it is. GO SNOW BOARDING!

There is no specific wonder all one step gazoo that fits every person. But if everyone had the guts and at least tried, there may not ever be a recession again. The marketing that you did two years ago isn't working now? OK, then do something else. That work process you did two years ago is now costing you more money than it's making, then change it.

A recession is purely a mental attitude. I myself, I refuse to participate in any recession. I just want to go snow boarding!

Oh the horror!

John Coker - Virginia Beach Home Inspector (Family Home Inspection LLC) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 23:38:32 -0500

Well it's that time of year again that I must sacrifice myself for the benefit of my family. As such I will departing tomorrow morning to rescue my family from their current hardship and despair. In the process, I'm sure to endure the same turmoil they have had to deal with all summer. But a good husband and father will do what it takes to care for his family. I hope each of you can take a moment to send me your good thoughts as I will need tremendous strength to complete this task.

You see, my wife, a Spanish national and kids spend the summer at our beach house on the southern coast of Spain along with dozens of family and friends. Now I must fly over there and join them, being forced to drink sangria's on the very liberal beach. This could go on for days, only interrupted by family BBQ's, all night parties and ACK, loads of fun.

But alas, with a little luck I hope to prevail and complete the rescue of my family from such hard times. Then after I return, I must absorb the costs of all this travel. Two round trip flights for myself and three round trips for my family. On my simple US Navy retired pension and utilizing Space Available Travel, I actually have to pay for a meal and drinks which could exceed $5 per person. I'm glad the flight itself is free or I just don't know how I would handle it.

Wish me luck, I'm going to need it.

NOTE: After the joking around I'm going to take a moment to remind all my retired military brothers and sisters. If your not taking advantage of the greatest benefit of your retirement, shame on you. It may sound hard but it really is very easy if you have an open mind. I firmly believe, at this stage in my life, that this benefit is better than the health care and even the pension itself. I see too many retired military members who have never flown space A. Add in the Armed Forces Vacation Club (lodging almost anywhere in the world for $329 a week), and you just can't go wrong. If you are retired military and you haven't taken advantage of this yet, drop me a line and I'll give you all the secrets.

How important is "Just a little Caulk"?

John Coker - Virginia Beach Home Inspector (Family Home Inspection LLC) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 01:58:47 -0500

I got a frantic call today from my cousin. Her friend was selling her house and the first couple to look at it was about 1 hour away. While she did a last minute tidy up, she was horrified when she went into her daughter’s room. The carpet was soaking wet and there was a horrible smell. She is a do it yourselfer so she looked around then ripped the carpet up to try and find the source. She couldn't. That’s when I got the call.

So I get there and start to look around. As I'm looking around, the potential buyers show up. Well as you can imagine, first impression and all, they were out of there within 2 minutes. The seller tried to explain it would be taken care of, but you never get a second first impression. Count that couple out.

Anyways, I look for the simple stuff first. The windows and the ceiling (roof) weren’t leaking. Besides, it hasn't rained here in days. So the source must be internal. On the other side of the wall was the bathroom. I take a look see in there. One of the things that catch my eye is the separation between the tile and the base boards. I mention, “you know, if someone took a shower, the water could over flow/splash out of the tub, onto the floor, then flow under this wall into the next room”. Well I got an ear full on that one. No way can that happen. The shower curtain is always closed. Her son had showed there this morning and she knows it was closed. I couldn't get another word in edge wise, that could NOT be the problem. If that was the problem, it would have happened years ago she claimed.

I checked the toilet. After all, she had stated how she had recently changed the ball valve and had to tighten down the toilet because it was loose. Now I knew exactly what it was and tried to explain it to her again. The overflow from the shower was....NO WAY, it can't be, there must be a broken sewer pipe, and don’t you smell that odor? And yes, the bedroom had a nice urine odor. But sewer is not a urine smell, it is much fouler.

The hardest part in this whole ordeal was how upset she already was. She had just lost her first potential buyer and she was convincing herself that a plumber would have to break through the concrete to fix the sewer lines. It took me a lot of patience and small talk to not only gain her confidence but to calm her down. After listening to maybe 45 minutes of stories, talking about our kids and looking around the house, I tried again.

I said, hey can I have a glass of water? I wasn't thirsty, I wanted to try something. But I took a sip like I was. We walked back into the bathroom and stood there for a moment. Then I asked her if she minded if I tried pouring a little water on the floor to see what happened? She was calmer now, and said OK. I poured the glass of water on the floor, it flowed straight to the wall and underneath it. We walked to the other side, and the water was pooling up right where the stain was. She looked at me and smiled and just shook her head.

So, now that she believed me, she asked me to explain it all.

Carpet wet, padding had slight mold - The water from the shower splashed onto the floor then rolled under the wall into the bedroom. I asked and she said yes, her son, who left for college today had taken an abnormally long shower, he was nervous about going to college. So the normal showers put a little water in there, causing the mold and saturating the pad and carpet. With today’s longer shower, there was enough water to seep up through the carpet and feel it.

B ut why did it flow now and not before - The DIY fix on the toilet bowl. When something is loose, the best answer is not always to just tighten the bolts. The bolts are set into the concrete and fasten onto the toilet bowl. In between the two is the floor tile. When she over tightened the bolt's, the tile was the item to give and broke free. It was slight, but enough to break the caulk seam between the tile and the baseboard. The water would now follow the grade towards the wall, into the gap, under the wall and into the next room.

But the smell? - She had put in brand new carpet about 1 year ago. But she didn't replace the tack strips. I surmised that the previous owner had pets (She confirmed they did). When pets urinate in the house, they like to do it along the edges, where the tack strip is. When the urine dries out, it crystallizes and the odor is minimal if at all. But now add a water source, and the odors returns.

So now she has lost her first set of potential buyers and she can't bring anymore over this weekend until it is fixed. I suggested that she needs to reseat the toilet too. Although I doubt it, she may have crushed the wax ring. I recommended a plumber does it this time. She also needs to have the carpet cleaned and most likely replace the padding.

As we know Murphy well, the worst will happen at the worst time as it certainly did for her here. And believe it or not, the whole thing could have been prevented by a tube of caulk. Had she re-caulked where it had separated along the base board, then the adjacent room would never have been flooded. The water would have most likely pooled up and brought her attention to a potential problem, but before it caused any real damage.

What is nit-picking?

John Coker - Virginia Beach Home Inspector (Family Home Inspection LLC) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:37:28 -0500

One major complaint I hear about Home Inspectors is that they are too nit-picky. First, what are the definitions inolved?

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source -

nit·pick

1. to be excessively concerned with or critical of inconsequential details. –verb (used with object)

2. to criticize by focusing on inconsequential details. –noun

3. a carping, petty criticism. –adjective

4. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a nitpicker or nitpicking.

The key word in that definition is inconsequential. What is inconsequential?

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source -

in·con·se·quen·tial

1. of little or no importance; insignificant; trivial.

2. inconsequent; illogical.

So, nit-picking is when a Home Inspector reports on things of no importance or that are insignificant.

OK, se let me ask you this question. Who gets to decide what is nit-picking? Is it any condition that costs less than $1000 to fix? $100? $10? Is there a price tag? If it's a price tag, how is the price detemined? Would a comment on a $2,000,000 house be nit-picking, but the same comment on a $200,000 house is OK? Is nit-picking based on how many total comments are made? If the house has 10 items of note, is item #11 nit-picking?

Lack of caulking may be considered inconsequential to one client as he is a contractor of 45 years and routinly recaulks his home. But for that 87 year old grandmother that needs to save every penny on energy costs, it could be very important. So, as a Home Inspector, should I now be required to find out from the client what is and what isn't important?

The answer to that is no. A Home Inspector's job is to visually inspect the property and report the findings. If there is an item that does not operate as designed, it should be reported, period. Home Inspectors are not suppose to determine if they found enough problems, or too many or too few. Just report what is actually found. Any inspector that knowing omits a comment is not only opening themselves to a lawsuit, but they are doing a major dis-service to the client.

Note, I am talking about just reporting the item. Nit-picking is not over stating or exagerating a problem. Although some may do it, I think most agree that it does more harm then good. Nor am I talking about wrong comments like "Thats an ugly color rug" as a HI should not be discussing cosmetics.

IMHO, it is the job of the Agent to discuss the report with the client and together determine what actions to take. It is the job of the Inspector to report all of their findings, not just the one they think might be important enough.

Before anyone gives an example of nit-picking, answer this first. If you, your little sister, your 87 year old grandmother or your daughter were buying the house, would you say it's OK not to tell them?

Deck Safety

John Coker - Virginia Beach Home Inspector (Family Home Inspection LLC) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 23:45:31 -0500

As the weather turns nicer, we're all going to spend a little more time out on the deck. But is it safe? Take a couple of minutes to look over the deck. Not only can it save you some money, but it could save your life. Instead of copying already great information, you can follow the the below link on how to inspect your deck.

http://nadra.org/consumers/DSM_checklist2008.pdf

or you can view a good video from The Today Show.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24946165#24946165

Why am I posting this now. Well not only is it great information to share, but I feel good knowing I may have just saved a life, or at least serious injury. Yesterday I inspected a house and everything was looking very good actually. The plumbing and electrical systems were outstanding. The roof, AC, HW heater and most appliacnes were new. The seller put a lot of money into this house. But the deck in the back was a total disaster! Insufficient and undersized support columns. Undersized joist hangers. Nails instead of lag screws or carriage bolts. No metal connertors anywhere. Railing swayed a good 6 inches (3 back and forth). Several of the support columns showed severe distress and were already fracturing/collapasing.

So I report this, and what do I get? Insulted, thats what I got. The listing agent called me an alarmist deal killer and told my client she shouldn't pay me and get a new inspector. Well without getting into the, um, discussion, my clients agent had with the listing agent, lets just say he was a few feet shorter.

Still in a huff, a contractor and Structural Engineer were called to show just how poor of a job I supposedly did. It took them maybe 30 seconds to say "I wouldn't even let my mother-in-law on that deck." They told the current owner he should not go on the deck until it's repaired or replaced either.

It's never fun when insults start flying for doing a good job. But it's a GREAT feeling when you do your job right and the people that count appreciate it.

BE SAFE! Inspect your deck!

Contractors and accountability!

John Coker - Virginia Beach Home Inspector (Family Home Inspection LLC) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:05:53 -0500

As a home inspector I have seen a lot of "handyman" repairs on a home that don't really cut it. Most of the time I just chuckle to myself and note it in the report. But when I come across discrepancies caused by a licensed contractor, I get very frustrated. I recently inspected a home where, in my opinion, the contractor caused serious damage to the home and failed to inform the home owner. BTW this wasn't just damage, but a MAJOR safety hazard for whoever was in the home.

In the picture below, you can clearly see the broken drain pipe and the resulting spill into the crawlspace. This crawlspace was not very clean yet this piping was sparkling clean. When I asked the home owner, he said it had been recently replaced. After it was replaced, some termite damage was discovered in a floor joist near the drain pipe. To get to the damaged floor joist, you would have to crawl over/under the drain pipe. I'm fairly certain a contractor climbed over the pipe and snapped it off. Of course, the damage may have been prevented had the drain pipe had a few more hangers, but thats not the point. Whoever broke it should have told the home owner and accepted responsibility. Instead, since it was in the crawl space and could not be seen by the owner, they decided to avoid to say nothing and hope they weren't caught.

What irks me even more, when I find discrepancies, I'm suppose to recommend a licensed professional (not by name, just in general). Seeing things like this almost makes me throw up in my mouth when I say that.

John E. Coker

Family Home Inspection LLC

www.familyhomeinspection.com

john@familyhomeinspection.com

(757) 202-3282

Why I enjoy being a Home Inspector!

John Coker - Virginia Beach Home Inspector (Family Home Inspection LLC) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 22:42:02 -0500

A couple of months ago, I did a home inspection for a very nice family. From the very beginning I knew there was something special and important about them. The way the kids were not exactly happy about this house. To the way they dressed and the vehicles they drove compared to the house they wanted to move into, and move in quickly. All of these clues set off a bell in my head, a bell that was confirmed a few days later by the Realtor who thanked me for saving his clients. Apparently they got caught in this market and could no longer afford their current house. To avoid a foreclosure, they needed to find a new, less expensive home and sell their current house.

Anyways, when I drove up to the house I quickly noticed the brand new roof. I was like “cool, the seller fixed things up so this should not be too hard.” I was right about the roof, it was not even three months old, but I was wrong about the rest.

The house itself had a few minor areas that needed attention, but actually for the age of the house, it was in great condition. On a different inspection I did several months ago, I fell through the roof because a section of roof sheathing was missing, so I changed my pattern and now I go into the attic first to make sure it is actually there. Well in this house, there was gypsum board stapled on all the rafters, covering up the roof from the interior. This made me nervous, was something being covered up? When I checked the plumbing vents passing through the attic, I noticed there was sunlight coming through. OK this can’t be good.

Well I finished the attic, grabbed my ladder and climbed up to take a look. But before I got onto the roof, I took a peek under the shingles. The first thing I noticed, there was no starting row of shingles. The second thing I noticed was the sheathing crumbling when I touched it. I climbed down and checked in several more places around the house and found yet more rotten wood. I wrote this all up and strongly encouraged a professional roofer to inspect it.

The next day I got a call from the seller’s agent. I was informed the roof was inspected by a city inspector and he saw no problems. I scratched my head and asked if she had seen the photo’s I had taken and she said no. I told her I stand by my inspection. She prodded me some more asking me how I could say the entire roof was rotten. I quickly pointed out, I reported all visible wood showed signs of rot, I could not see the majority of the roof because if was covered up on both sides which is why I strongly encouraged a roofer to take a look. Well she wasn’t happy but she said she would talk to the buyer and try and get it done. Apparently it took her quite a bit to convince the seller to do this. He wanted to pass on these buyers and find new ones.

When the roofer got there he was completely floored. He kept asking what company did this horrible job. Not only was I correct in my report about the wood I could see, but the roofer removed the gypsum board and checked several spots on the roof. The shingles were nailed incorrectly, the flashing was all wrong and the roof consisted of mostly rotten wood. After many questions and much prodding, the seller admitted that he and his brother did the roofing job and had been lying about a professional company doing it.

When the prospective buyer found out, he quickly ended the deal. If he was lying about this, what else could he be lying about? One week later, the prospective buyer called me to inspect another house. Today he and his family are now in a house they can call home.

One thing I found very delightful, during the final walk through (The buyer asked me to be present and I gladly did) the seller’s agent from the house with the poor roof showed up and gave them a house warming gift (not sure what is was as it was wrapped) and apologized again for the previous house. That Realtor won lots of points with me that day. I never asked her what happened to that house either as it seemed a sore spot for her.

Since then I have received one referral from the buyer and done a few inspections for both the buyer’s agent and the original seller’s agent.

The worst part about this story, last week I did an inspection on a house with almost exactly the same conditions. I just hope it turns out as well, we shall see.

John E. Coker

Family Home Inspection LLC

www.familyhomeinspection.com

john@familyhomeinspection.com

(757) 202-3282

New Home Inspectors - #2 OK, I've decided to be a home inspector, now what?

John Coker - Virginia Beach Home Inspector (Family Home Inspection LLC) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 23:03:42 -0500

So after all the warnings and evil signs, you've decided to become a home inspector anyways. Good for you! The first trait to being a home inspector is the ability to hang tough. And guess what, you're going to need a lot more of that in the near future.

Well the next thing you must do to become a home inspector is to figure out a training plan. Not a business plan, we haven't gotten to that point and you won't be seeing much business in the near future anyways. What I mean is, how are you going to train yourself to become a home inspector? The first place most people go is to the internet and search home inspector training. At the top of that search page is going to be a big list of different HI training schools. I'm not going to name any of them as they advertise well enough on their own, but I will tell you one thing. STOP! You’re not ready for this yet.

HI schools can be a good thing, but they are NOT the all-in-one wonders some say they are. First off, they are not exactly cheap, ranging anywhere from $1500 all the way to $3000 or even $4000. I still don't believe you have completed step one and really decided to become a HI. As such, that is way too much money to spend. So for now, you need to look for lesser priced books and videos and begin your training on your own. Many inspectors as well as others have written some good books about inspecting. Read these first. Learn them, absorb them, and become them. Even the poor ones have some good information if you know how to pick it out.

Secondly, search for any HI forums that you can find and join them. Introduce yourself and tell us your plans. You'll get some GREAT advice about books, training plans, schools, tools, and just about everything else under the sun. Most importantly, you will be entering the realm of HI's and learning what kind of people we are. Are you one of us? You'll soon find out.

Step 2 is really just an extension of step one. There are many more people who decide against becoming a home inspector once they do this. And the best part about that is, they didn't spend thousands of dollars on the school yet and are not hurting.

BTW, don't fool yourself with your past experience. Just because you were a contractor for 20 years does not mean you’re going to make a great, or even a good home inspector. I personally believe that contractors have more to overcome to become a good home inspector vice those people with zero construction experience. You may have formed habits or gotten use to looking at things in a certain way. As an inspector, you can't look at things that way, you must learn how home inspectors do it. I have seen HVAC tech's turned HI do very poor inspections. They spend an hour wooing the client with their knowledge about HVACS but miss the fact that when the heat pump was installed in this new home and to make it fit in the crawlspace, several floor joists were cut. Maybe this was something you had done in the past, or maybe it was your boss/best friend, so it must be good no? Well I have seen this very thing happen. Of course, many contractors become GREAT inspectors. I just don't think it is required or even easier.

The last part of this step is to find a local HI and talk to them face to face. Buy a home inspector lunch and talk to him about the business. See if you can do a ride along where you go with him on an inspection. See how it's done. See the paperwork involved (and there can be a lot of it). If you do this, you are well ahead of most new home inspectors. If you do this, you are much less likely to fail, of course that is assuming you even decide to proceed.

So, study up with everything you can find. Search long and hard, the information is out there and a lot of it is free. Are you understanding it? Are you getting a grasp of it? Is it all making sense? If so, you may be ready for step three, the HI schools.

John E. Coker

Family Home Inspection LLC

www.familyhomeinspection.com

john@familyhomeinspection.com

(757) 202-3282

Now more than ever, a Pre-Listing inspection makes a difference.

John Coker - Virginia Beach Home Inspector (Family Home Inspection LLC) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 14:01:27 -0600

In today’s buyers market, the seller needs to take advantage of every possible step to both speed the sale of their house and ensure they get the best offer they can. A pre-listing inspection by the seller helps with both of these.

In the past, a pre-listing inspection was more of a speed bump than a help to the seller. Buyers were coming out of the wood work and houses were selling as soon as they went on the market. But today, the buyers can, and are, more cautious because they know they have the advantage now. They are demanding more and more concessions from the seller. So why do you want to offer a potential buyer more ammunition to use against you? Why wait until the seller has a home inspection to discover areas that need attention.

A survey by homegain.com shows that most buyers ask for up to 200% of the actual cost to repair something. By not having a pre-listing inspection, now you are just giving the buyer free money. Worse, if the buyer is considering more than one home, they could use their inspection to back out of your listing and buy one with a more favorable inspection.

Imagine the feeling you’ll have when the buyer tells you they are going to have your listing inspected. You can sit back, confident in what the inspection report will say because you already took action on your pre-listing inspection. You know there won’t be any delays waiting for something to get fixed. You know there won’t be demands of price concessions to cover discrepancies the report found. You know nothing will be found that will kill the deal. You know the buyer’s inspection, although it is still needed, is really just old news.

The winners of this world come out on top because they do more than just the minimum. Are you doing just the minimum or have you had a pre-listing home inspection?

John E. Coker

Family Home Inspection LLC

www.familyhomeinspection.com

john@familyhomeinspection.com

(757) 202-3282

Understanding GFCI's

John Coker - Virginia Beach Home Inspector (Family Home Inspection LLC) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 23:04:57 -0600

I had a discussion with a Realtor today explaining GFCI's to her. When I got home I decided to see if I could find an easy to understand blog or report that I could spread around. Well I found better than that. Check out the video I'm linking and by the time it's done, you will completely understand GFCI's. How they work, code vs standard and the major change that was made in 2006.

if you let the video run intot he next one, it talks aboutthe new child proff outlets that have been added to the 2008 code.

http://www.electricsmarts.com/container.aspx?tab=home&distid=19542&wcid=9503&tid

New Home Inspectors - #1 Making the decision

John Coker - Virginia Beach Home Inspector (Family Home Inspection LLC) — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 22:26:04 -0600

When it comes to a business or career, there are two types of people. Those that just kind of fall into the business and those that decide to do it. Both ways can be successful and rewarding. I have completed and retired from my first career, the US Navy which I just kind of fell into. My dad was Navy, two brothers and one sister were in the Army, one brother in the Air Force and then the countless cousins, uncles and other family members that did their time in the military. Who was I to break tradition and do something different?

But my second career was of my choosing and that is what I want to talk about today. It may seem simple, but it can be the most important and a common cause of failure of new businesses or careers, but you must decide you want to do it. I mean really decide. I have seen many people in many industries do things half heartedly then wonder why they failed. I am firmly of the opinion that you must fully commit to a decision to obtain the best chances of success. I’m not saying you have to quit everything your doing, sell your belongings and join a cult. This is purely from a mental stand point but critical none the less. If you’re not committed to your decision, then you won’t commit to the steps required to be successful.

If you see that ad in the paper, or the commercial on TV that says, “Make $1000 a day, be a home inspector” and decide to do it, you are coming up short. First you must realize, that ad is trying to sell you something. And just like most advertisers, they always want to state the best case scenario and act as if that is the normal event. You need to find the truth because you and your family are the ones that will face the consequences. You need to immerse yourself in as much information about the industry as possible. Find out what it really takes to earn that $1000 a day. Determine if you have the resources to actually do it. Most importantly you need to figure out if you have the guts to really try. You need to make an informed decision; your future depends on it. I highly encourage you to talk to your family and anyone you can find who is in the related field. But in the end, there is only one thing you must do, and no matter what anyone else tells you, you are the only who can do it. You must decide.

Coming soon, step #2 - OK, I've decided to be a home inspector, now what?

Note: If you are thinking of becoming a home inspector, even if your my neighbor, contact me because yes, I'm willing to help.

John E. Coker

Family Home Inspection LLC

www.familyhomeinspection.com

john@familyhomeinspection.com

(757) 202-3282

Home inspection in Spanish

John Coker - Virginia Beach Home Inspector (Family Home Inspection LLC) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:36:45 -0600

19 years ago when I was young I made the greatest mistake, I mean best decision of my life when I married a beautiful girl from Spain. Long story short, I now speak nearly fluent Andalusian Spanish. I can read fairly well but write at a 5th grade level maybe.

So here is my question. I can assist the Spanish community with home inspections since I can speak Spanish, but is there a need/want for inspection reports to be written in Spanish? Would people be willing to pay more for them since I would have to get it done by a translation agency? Also, it would add about 4 days turn around time to the report, which I think would not be very acceptable. The other option I was considering, is to just have my template translated and give these blank Spanish reports with the official report for reference?

Hablando con mi bruja, mi esposa, y ella crea que gente no pagar mas y es mejor si no lo dar oferta de report en espanol. Que te crea?

New to Active Rain

John Coker - Virginia Beach Home Inspector (Family Home Inspection LLC) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 11:30:34 -0600

Well my first post might as well be my introduction post. My name is John Coker and I'm the sole owner and inspector for Family Home Inspection LLC located in Virginia beach Virginia. I retired from the Navy last year and put into action the next step of my life. I decided to become a home inspectors almost 10 years ago when I was very dissatisfied with the home inspection I received on my first home. I figured if someone that bad could make a living in the field, I could not only do a lot better, but overall improve the quality of the industry. I built on my limited construction and inspection experience and began a heavy self study program. After retiring from the Navy, first I attended the AHIT 8 day course then I made numerous inspections with multiple seasoned inspectors here in Virginia as well as other states. One thing I have realized early on, the education will never cease. It's not just the requirements from associations or others, but my personal drive to be the best I can.

I was reffed to Active Rain by a fellow inspector who had plenty of good things to say. I hope to join the community and become an active and valuable member. Maybe I can help others here as I'm sure to become a better inspector, businessman and communicator through all the talent and experience I see here.