home inspection: It’s Not If You Have Termites, It’s When
- 11/26/23 09:42 AM
We have a saying in the real estate business here in Arizona that we use to describe the presence of termites in a property. Termites are a problem. One that can shock sellers and scare away buyers. Many homeowners are mortified when they are told, “You have termites.” “How can that be? We always take care of our house. We spray for bugs. We keep things clean,” they say. Unfortunately, it’s true. You may do a wonderful job taking care of your house and still get termites. Termites are everywhere in Arizona and hard as we may try, they figure out a way to get into … (6 comments)
home inspection: My home appraisal sucked.
- 04/21/22 10:21 AM
I don’t understand it. How could the home appraiser not see what I saw? I searched high and low for the perfect house. Showing after showing, offer after offer. Then one day I found it. The perfect place for me to lay my head. I don’t care if the paint is peeling. I can paint it to look like a quaint little English cottage. The single-pane windows will need to be replaced at some point but that’s something I can deal with later. Every house needs some work. Even the junk cars parked down the street don’t bother me, much. They’re renters and I … (6 comments)
home inspection: Self-Closing Fire Doors
- 10/27/18 11:34 AM
I was preparing a new blogpost on this subject because it comes up so often in home inspection reports. But Jay Markanich's 2016 blogpost said all that I needed to say. Take a look. Self-closing fire doors. Fire possibilities are a big deal and fire-safety codes are designed to help put people in a better position to handle themselves should a fire occur. One such code regards fire doors. What is a fire door? One that seals an opening, like the house or a bedroom, against the possibility of a fire progressing from one area to another. When there is a … (0 comments)
home inspection: Like a seat belt for your stove.
- 04/19/18 07:41 PM
Many homes in the U.S. have freestanding ranges. Freestanding ranges are convenient, functional and offer homeowners a wide variety of choices. Ranges come in a variety of colors, configurations, and quality. But one thing that freestanding ranges have in common is the potential for the unit to tip forward when a heavy weight is placed on an open oven door. It is not something that most people consider when purchasing a new range, but it happens more often than we like to consider. From 1980 through 2008, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found that there were 38 fatalities associated with … (2 comments)
home inspection: Where there's smoke, there's fire. Protect yourself.
- 04/09/18 07:12 PM
One of the greatest improvements in building safety has been the installation of smoke detector devices in homes, offices and commercial buildings. In commercial buildings smoke and fire detectors are generally part of a comprehensive fire alarm system. But residential smoke detectors, often called smoke alarms, are generally independent systems designed to protect one household or one unit in a multi-unit building. Properly working smoke detectors cut the risk of fatalities in a home fire in half. The U.S. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports 0.53 deaths per 100 fires in homes with working smoke alarms compared to 1.18 deaths in homes … (0 comments)
home inspection: Is your Home Inspector a deal killer?
- 02/18/18 06:34 PM
Home Inspectors play a very important role in the sale of a home. A good Home Inspector can assess the home and provide both buyers and sellers with worthwhile evaluation of the current condition. But like all facets of the transaction, the inspection must be performed by a competent and qualified individual. A bad or unqualified inspector can kill a deal that otherwise would go smoothly. Over the years I have had the pleasure to work with dozens of Home Inspectors, some were very good. But I have also had the displeasure to have to deal with inspectors that were not so good. … (3 comments)
home inspection: Dog Cancels Contract!
- 12/10/17 07:18 AM
Home buyers will typically visit several homes before deciding which are of interest to them. Once they see what they like they may wish to make an offer on the home. In today’s active market buyers do not always have the luxury of multiple visits and time for a lot of research before making an offer. Fortunately, in most cases, the Buyer is offered an inspection period to further research the details of a home. Many buyers believe that the inspection is limited to a physical inspection of the building, but in most states (Arizona being one of them) the inspections(s) cover a broad … (4 comments)
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