Active neighborhoods undergo active changes. You can see old friends, but you can quickly miss the departed. I discovered that a nice little cafe in the River Oaks area of town has closed down, to be replaced by an interior design firm. The change occurred over the course of one month. I have been busy of late, so I did not wander about this section of town as much as I have wanted. These changes caused me to linger on the streets, before entering the home, which I was scheduled to inspect.

I like driving through a neighborhood to get a sense of it before my inspection, and sometimes I walk around the block to get a better feel, and I did that yesterday. I also like talking to the residents. Usually, I just introduce myself, in order for them to know why that man is climbing all over that house, but every so often, people want to chat. Maybe it had something to do with the nice weather, or my fetching smile (alright, I do not have much of a smile, so that could not have been it), but several people wanted to talk to me. In fact, we had quite long conversations, so I was glad to have arrived an hour early for the job. However, I do keep thinking that I have to get back to the task at hand, because I have a client coming. One talk provided me with a font of information for my client, which made me happy to have taken the time to discuss the property with her.

A former Realtor lives next door to the house, where I was scheduled to be. She had been responsible for the sale of some of the lots about her home, and she was actively watching the market for home in her area. She had a dossier on my property. It turns out to have been a mortgage fraud. She had observed the house being built, and what the fate of the tenants was. It is good to know your neighbors I thought.

She did not have high praise for the builder, and my initial impression drove me to a similar conclusion. Here was a three story town home with a lovely courtyard design, which included beautiful materials, but there was plenty of evidence that he rushed through the job. The home was just over a year old, and it had quite a honey-do list compiled. For all of the gorgeous features, the moment you see a flaw, your eye is drawn to it. I wonder if the foreman did a final walk-through to check the quality of his work. How could he have missed the paint dripping down onto the wood door, or the poorly laid tile on the balconies? The list goes on; all items which did not have to do with my report proper, but I included them to let my client know about the tasks that will be ahead of her. I just had to stress that most of these items were cosmetic.

Hopefully, builders in the current market will learn to check their work, and buyers will be more conscious of these issues. It helps to talk with the other homeowners around the house that you are considering, you may never know what you will find out.