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PREPARING FOR THE INSPECTION

By
Home Inspector with Dream Home Inspections/203K Consultant

Preparing For The Inspection

One of the biggest obstacles I'm coming across in the inspection process is a home that is not prepared to be inspected.

Some of the biggest problems are:
1. No power to property
2. No water to property
3. Physical damage to the property (including vandalism)

What can Realtors(R) do to help minimize this?
1. Call the listing agent to confirm services are on
2. Call the City to re-confirm water service is on
3. Call the utility company to re-confirm electric service is on

One service that is preferred to be on, but can be worked around is gas service. If the gas is off, you can always call the utility service provider, and request the gas service be turned back on. For liability purposes, they will always do an evaluation of the gas devices to ensure they are in good working order. The key is to make sure you do this before the close of escrow, so if there is a problem, you can do something about it before the deal closes.

Physical damage is hard to prevent, and comes in several ways:
1. Copper wiring cut from house preventing operation of electrical systems
2. House plumbing fixtures & pipes vandalized preventing operation of plumbing systems

Comments(7)

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Vickie Nagy
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate - Palm Springs, CA
Vickie Jean the Palm Springs Condo Queen

Thanks for the post. It's becoming increasingly an issue that the listing agent does not assure that the utilities are on for the inspection,

Mar 30, 2008 05:05 PM
Barry Smith
Excellent Service Realty - Saint Petersburg, FL

About a year ago, the day that I was going to do an open house, I showed up at the house ( then vacant ) to find the owners and the police there. I was bewildered at what could be going on. I soon found out that the Heat Pump AND the cement pad had been stolen. They cut the wires right at the house. That was a first for me. So, in this case, seller beware there are theives out there that steal Heat Pumps.

Use sensor lights, nosey neighbors or whatever you can to protect your property.

Mar 30, 2008 06:00 PM
Doug Jones
Mortgage Magic - San Jose, CA
Mortgage Broker - NMLS 286668

Thanks for the info

Mar 30, 2008 07:20 PM
Alex Charfen
Charfen Institute - Austin, TX

Great post.  Congratulations on joining Active Rain, we hope you get as much out of this site as we have.  if you even need information on short sales and foreclosures we have quite a few entries on these topics.

Alex Charfen

Mar 30, 2008 09:51 PM
The Trumm Team Omaha Homes for Sale, Real Estate
Keller Williams Greater Omaha - Omaha, NE

Welcome to ActiveRain!

If you would like a few tips on getting the most out of ActiveRain, please visit my blog Welcome to Active Rain.  It has a few simple steps of what to do now that you have joined.

If you ever have any questions, just let me know.

Troy Trumm
Mar 31, 2008 02:21 AM
Greg Steffens
Mountain Country Realty - Lake Arrowhead, CA

There's nothing worse than getting a call from an inspector saying that utilities aren't on....It happened once to me - won't happen again.  Always better to spend a few minutes to make sure there are no surprises....

Mar 31, 2008 04:01 AM
Jacques Mountain
Dream Home Inspections/203K Consultant - Fayetteville, GA
Inspector/203K Consultant

Please take a look at my latest Blog Concerning Quality Home Inspections and Pricing of Home Inspections!!

Thanks for your past comments.

Jul 17, 2008 08:40 AM