My Clients Are Listening To Me!
It's so important to be present during your inspection of your new home -- listen to your inspector, follow him around the house, ask questions. This inspector, Jay Markanich, tells his clients to call him after the inspection with any questions. You should be able to call your inspector after you move in -- he knows your home very well and he has his report to refer to. This is a re-blog of one of Jay's interesting posts about inspections and follow up.
My clients are listening to me! This is good news, because I tell every client at every inspection that if they have any question at all, at any time, they may call me. And I mean it.
Just this week, here are a couple of the MANY calls from clients:
1. "Jay, you said to listen to my house and take care of things myself for a while so I know what they sound like. So I did.
You said we should change or clean our furnace filter every month, if the furnace is used every day.
This week the furnace sounded funny, like it was straining. I checked the filter, and my (worthless, ever-mangier, no good, lazy*) husband has not changed it in a good while! It just didn't sound right."
* Inside joke, mock adjectives mine, they are reading this...
WELL, SHE WAS LISTENING!
2. When I returned to a house that had been struck by lightning to examine the work pre-drywall, they had not completed the insulation. When they got to the insulation, I told my clients what to look for. In these thermal images, cool spots are blue and purple.
They called me to say, "They didn't seal along the floor like you said and I think air is getting in. They jammed insulation into the corners and didn't put anything in between the floors on that outside part of the wall. None of the receptacle boxes were foamed, like they said they would. And they haven't stapled the insulation anywhere."
So, they asked me by with the thermal camera to have a peek. Here are a couple of the many images I took. And guess what, the "insulators" didn't do much of what I had told my clients they should look for to insure a good job. The camera doesn't lie, and pointed out where real attention was needed. My clients made their case!
WELL, THEY WERE LISTENING!
3.
"Jay, for a couple of weeks, every few hours I thought I heard water running. I couldn't figure it out. Then once as I was walking by the bathroom I heard it in there. Do you know what it could be?"
I explained that I thought it might be the toilet stopper, that it was old and not sealing well. And that she could replace it herself. I walked her through how to turn off the toilet and recommended she remove the old stopper to take with her to the hardware store. She did, and found one exactly like it.
Having removed the old one, she knew how to install it! Calling me back, she has reported that the running water sound has stopped! Problem solved.
WELL, SHE WAS LISTENING!
My recommendation: when you first move into a house, pay attention! It will speak to you. Learn how things sound when they are operating properly, so when they are not, you will know! And feel free to call your home inspector. Cheerful service after the inspection is a part of the home inspection service!
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC
Based in Bristow, serving all of Northern Virginia
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