One of the phrases we use as Home Inspectors is "Ready for Inspection". A home that is scheduled for a Home Inspection needs to be ready for inspection. What does that mean?
In a nut shell, ready for inspection means all utilities are ON and the owner/occupant has granted permission for the Inspection to take place. If the home is occupied the business of "ready for inspection" is usually not an issue. If the home is not occupied, this can be an issue.
HUD homes, or any banked owned home, presents a special challenge for the Home Inspector. HABITEC has inspected HUD homes, or bank owned homes, on many occasions in the Nashville area and throughout Middle Tennessee. These homes present a special challenge usually because the home has been abandoned and/or winterized for a period of time. The main issue is utilities. Keeping in mind the definition of ready for inspection I offered earlier, in order for a home to be ready for inspection the home needs to be de-winterized, or re-energized, so that those components that depend on the utilities can be evaluated.
This includes plumbing appliances that depend on a source of water, HVAC appliances that depend on gas or electricity, and any other device that depends on electricity. When it comes to utilities, ready for inspection means the gas needs to be turned ON at the meter, the water needs to be turned ON at the street side shutoff valve, and the electricity needs to be turned ON at the main panel and all circuit breakers need to be CLOSED. Home Inspectors are not authorized to turn these utilities ON. In fact, if they do, often times their insurance companies will not provide coverage, hence damage protection, should their be a malfunction when the utility is turned ON. That includes closing circuit breakers.
So listing agent REALTORS and HUD officials, please make sure the home you are responsible for selling is ready for inspection. And please do not send word via the buyer that "You're Home Inspector can do that [turn the utilities ON]." I have seen significant disasters when utilities are turned ON for the first time in a long time. Especially when the water is turned ON. You need a plumber to do that.
Thank you,
Richard Acree
Comments in this blog posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings. HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more! In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis. Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753.
Richard Acree is the author of the HABITEC Home and Building Inspections ActiveRain Blog and founder of the ActiveRain Group Tennessee Home and Building Inspectors. All are welcome to join and see more blogs like this one. You can also join HABITEC on Facebook or Linked .
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