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Story in the CHICAGO SUN TIMES: City inspects for safety only, not quality

By
Home Inspector with Alert Home Services


 
City inspects for safety only, not quality
THE PERFECT SHOCK | New housing needs a full once-over by a certified home inspector

April 20, 2007
BY SANDRA GUY sguy@suntimes.com
 
Beware home buyers: Illinois does not require developers to be licensed, and city inspectors are not assessing the construction quality of the residence. The inspectors are responsible only for citing public-safety hazards such as an insufficient number of fire escapes.
 
"In Illinois, you have 'Wall Street' developers who drive cars and talk on phones and hire subcontractors. They don't build anything," said Nick Gromicko, founder of the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors, based in Boulder, Colo.
 
"Most states have very minimal or no licensing of developers and contractors," he said.
 
Contractors work with the skilled trades industries, so they don't have to be masons, plumbers or roofers, said a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. A contractor has to be a good businessman, and there is no license for that, the spokeswoman said.
 
The IDFPR licenses architects, roofers, engineers and home inspectors.
 
The Illinois Department of Health licenses plumbers.
 
Gromicko said he believes the model law is Florida's, where prospective developers must pass an exam and take continuing education courses each year.
 
Chicago requires that general contractors obtain a license from the Department of Buildings. The application requires that the construction company show the appropriate business licenses and a sufficient amount of insurance to cover the size of the proposed project, said department spokesman Pete Scales.
 
City inspectors, or any other government inspector, will check only for safety issues on new construction.
 
"A leaking window is something [government inspectors] wouldn't even catch," Gromicko said.
 
Scales said city building inspectors review basic life-safety issues such as proper ventilation and lighting, and properly installed electrical and plumbing systems.
 
"They're not able to measure the quality of construction," Scales said.
 
The developer is responsible for correcting any problems.
 
New condos need a once-over by a certified home inspector, Gromicko said.
 
"A brand new home isn't a perfect home. It was built by human beings -- a variety of people who don't know each other and who may differ from one part of the construction to another," he said. "It's not the quality-control assembly line that people believe."
 
Gromicko recommends that a potential buyer pay $250 to $300 to get a certified inspector to do a once-over on a new condo before he or she closes on the purchase.
 
The national association requires its members to take 30 hours of continuing education each year. Home inspectors who belong to the national association can be found on the Web site at www.nachi.org
 
The association's requirements compare with Illinois' rule that home inspectors take 12 hours of continuing education every two years, after they complete an initial 60 hours of pre-license education.
 
The inspector will come up with a "punch list" of items that need correcting, and the would-be buyer can insist that the developer resolve the problems before he purchases the unit.
 
Once the problem is disclosed by the inspector, the listing agent must disclose it to every other potential buyer, Gromicko said.
 
New-construction warranties are good for one year, so a homeowner who failed to get an inspection before closing should get one before his first year of ownership ends, Gromicko said.
 
Tom Corbett, president of Tomacor Inc., a Chicago-based home inspection company, said he believes developers should be licensed because they have a fiduciary responsibility to the people who've bought homes from them.
 
He believes such licensing should ensure that the developer be able to read blueprints, be fully bonded for the cost of the construction work, and be certified as to level of competence and understanding of the building code.
 
Corbett said he has seen some developers remove a "significant amount of money for dubious expenses" from a development's reserve fund just before turning over the building to the new homeowners.  "The developer was charging the building tens of thousands of dollars for electrical consumption because ComEd hadn't put in the meters," he said. "Often, there is not good accounting" for the money.
 
CLICK HERE for full Sun-Times article: http://www.suntimes.com/classifieds/homes/homelife/349615,HOF-News-prairietower20.article

Comments (3)

Bob Elliott
Elliott Home Inspection - Chicago, IL
Chicago Property Inspection

Hi Rick... you just stole my local thunder.  I just picked up my copy of the Sun-Times this morning here in Chicago and read the article.  How you got wind of this news from the Windy City surprises me however I know you are in Colorado same area as our illustrious leader Nick Gromyko.Did you catch wind from a little birdie?

 

Anyway aside from the fact that this article should be fantastic a boost for the local chapter (NACHI Chicago) where we have such strong support from our members that we support ourselves with radio ads(but would love matching funds)hint.

Anytime I get a calls from a client regarding doing a condo inspection one of the very first things I asked them is to try and get a hold of the minutes from the board meetings of the Association.

 

The reason I do this is because by looking for the minutes they can find out what sort of complaints the association is taking in from the unit owners.

 

Looking through the minutes will give this client an idea as to what sort of problems they may expect.  Here in Chicago condos have been sprouting up like crazy mainly through rehab of older buildings, and as the article in the Chicago Sun-Times states contractors don't need to know anything about construction only business so there could be many issues in these older buildings that get overlooked. 

 

Another thing that my potential clients needs to look at is whether or not there are reserve funds so that anything not covered as far as the buildings components and their systems goes will not require an emergency assessment they can kill some people if they are not planning on this sort of expense.

 

I know of one building were an 80-year-old woman was kicked out of her unit for a huge emergency assessment allocated towards replacing the elevator in the building, she simply couldn't afford it.And the sherrifs police came to put all of her belongings in the street.

The last I heard it was still in court.

 

I hope many real estate agents  in the Chicago area get to see this article in the Chicago Sun-Times and realize they should always recommend a certified home inspector to inspect the condo unit their client has signed a purchase contract on and get it done immediately.

 

Rick I am not familiar with your area have you been seen as many condos sprouting up over there, and have you been getting an increasing condo inspection business.

Every conominium build should have  RESERVE STUDY to cover at least 5 years in my opinion.

Apr 20, 2007 04:06 AM
Dale Baker
Baker Energy Audits and Commercial Properties Inspections - Claremont, NH
New Hampshire Relocation Real Estate Information

Howdy Rick

I also hope they seen this article and always recommend a certified home inspection.

Jun 24, 2007 03:21 AM
Mitchell Captain
AllSpec Professional Property Inspections Inc - Fort Lauderdale, FL
Home inspections in Broward, Dade, and Palm Beach

Dale

I hope you're right and they recommend a certified home inspector. Sheesh.

Jun 24, 2007 04:33 AM