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Will I After Tea And Cakes And Ices, Have The Strength To Force This Moment To Its Crisis?

By
Home Inspector with Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC 3380-000723

Last inspection for January - it's the 31st.  I knew the house would have problems when there was no key in the lock box.

The seller (investor, who bought and "remodeled" a foreclosure) was called and sent his wife with the key.

We waited 45 minutes.

Well, the only thing odd about the house was something I have not seen before.  I should share.  All four outlets in a bedroom tested fine.  I use the Inspector II Live Load Branch Circuit Analyzer by Tasco, Inc.  It simulates an 80% load on a circuit (15 or 20 amps) and tests for 6 different things. 

I then turned on the wall switch to test the light and circulation of the Hunter ceiling fan.  Didn't work.  So I pulled the chains thinking they might be in the off position.  Still didn't work.

So I retested the outlet below the switch.  With the wall switch on for both light and fan, the outlet was dead.  Hmmm...

So I retested the outlet on the wall to the right.  Upon inserting my testing device, the light and paddles of the fan turned on and it worked fine!  All three speeds I might add!  I pulled out my device.  It turned off.  Hmmm...

Start again.  I turned off the wall switches.  The outlet below worked fine.  The outlet to the right worked fine too and did NOT turn on the fan or light.

I lathered, rinsed and repeated the process.  Same results.  The buyers were not amused.

Gee, I hope an electrician can figure it out!

That's the only thing really.

Well, except that one half of the upper level was over what appeared to be a crawl space.  But the finish work in the basement configured the drywall to make things look like no crawl space was present in the house.

Oh, and that the outlets in that half of the house were not grounded.  I think the cables that serviced them came from below.

Oh, and that the floor under the new kitchen island (granite counter top) bowed dramatically and bounced up and down.  But I could not see the structure below.

Oh, and that there were no HVAC registers in the floor of that half of the house.  They would have come from below too.

Oh, and that there were no HVAC registers in two rooms and a bathroom in the basement beside said crawl space.  It appeared that one would need to get into that crawl space to be able to install those ducts.

Oh, and that there had been a serious termite and mold problem in the house, but it's okay now because everything was fixed fine and the receipt from the companies that did all that will be on its way any time now. 

Oh, and that those problems originated in a "crawl space."

Maybe that receipt will come with the county permit for all the work that was done.  I'm sure the permit will be along right away.  As will the final inspection sticker for the panel box.

Oh, and ...  well, never mind, I should stop here.  You probably got the point already.

I got home early - around 5:30!

I think I will take the rest of the month off.

Posted by

Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC  

Based in Bristow, serving all of Northern Virginia.

Office (703) 330-6388   Cell (703) 585-7560

www.jaymarinspect.com


Comments(16)

Gabe Sanders
Real Estate of Florida specializing in Martin County Residential Homes, Condos and Land Sales - Stuart, FL
Stuart Florida Real Estate

Other than those few 'oh's everything was just perfect.  Noooo Problems!

Jan 31, 2009 09:45 AM
Associate Broker Falmouth MA Cape Cod Heath Coker
https://teamcoker.robertpaul.com - Falmouth, MA
Heath Coker Berkshire Hathaway HS Robert Paul Prop

And I thought it was a post about lock boxes and lost keys. LOL

Jan 31, 2009 09:52 AM
Jack Gilleland
Home Inspection and Investor Services, Clayton - Clayton, OH

Let's see there was this, and one more thing, and one more thing, and one more thing.  LOL Jay.  Sill chuckling.

Jan 31, 2009 10:05 AM
Chris Oliver
Century 21, Preferred Properties - Reynolds Plantation, GA

Yeah, but did you find the body?

Jan 31, 2009 10:20 AM
Susan Haughton
Long and Foster REALTORS (703) 470-4545 - Alexandria, VA
Susan & Mindy Team...Honesty. Integrity. Results.

...but, but, but...it had granite countertops and everything!!  :-)  Sounds like an exciting day.

Jan 31, 2009 10:45 AM
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Well, what about "the rest of the story?"   Did the buyers walk or not?  I can tell that you didn't like the repairs!  LOL

Jan 31, 2009 10:58 AM
Jay Markanich
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC - Bristow, VA
Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia

Gabe - I didn't know this at the time, but while I was with the clients the lady with the key spoke to the selling agent about how she did not appreciate the buyers being with the home inspector...  Um....  I'm not sure she or her husband understand this inspection thing.  They may not understand the permit thing either, but I digress.

Heath - actually around here they have changed from one supra-key box to a newer one.  The one on the door was the older box, but without a key inside.  The agent said she couldn't have gotten into it anyway...

Jack - there actually was one more thing, and one more thing and one more thing, and more than I mentioned in the post!

Chris - did not!

Susan - the first one today was in South Arlington, East Glebe Road.  This post was about a house in Springfield.  Need I say more?  Yes, an exciting day!

Jan 31, 2009 10:58 AM
Jay Markanich
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC - Bristow, VA
Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia

Barbara - I don't know!  They are checking with the county and asking some history questions of the seller. 

Jan 31, 2009 11:00 AM
Charles Buell
Charles Buell Inspections Inc. - Seattle, WA
Seattle Home Inspector

Jay, I would like to venture a guess about the electrical issue.  Is there any chance they were powering the light from an originally switched receptacle and have it screwed up so that when you plug your tester in you may be completing the circuit?----run long enough you might cook your tester:)  If the hot and neutral from the light (via the switch) were connected to the two hot screws of a receptacle---with the tab that connects them removed---the light/fan would work when you plugged that type of tester in.  Otherwise I have no clue without more info. 

Jan 31, 2009 11:37 AM
Jay Markanich
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC - Bristow, VA
Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia

Charles - that's a good theory!  In that era (1967) the bedrooms all had switched ceiling lights.  From the attic I saw they put a stronger box in the ceiling to accommodate the ceiling fan's weight.  The Hunter fan wall switch has two slides, side by side, one for the light and one for the fan.  They may have crossed up that switch wiring.  They also upgraded the wiring from the old two-prong to a newer three-prong.  They may have screwed up on a traveler feed.  Obviously I closed the circuit with the tester, but how or why I don't know.  I didn't diagnose it, but it sure was odd!

Jan 31, 2009 12:04 PM
Susan Gonzalez Faux painting murals atlanta
Marietta Mural & Decorative Design - Atlanta, GA

I have a brother-in-law that I don't like who is looking for a house. Can I have the address?

Feb 01, 2009 02:21 AM
Jay Markanich
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC - Bristow, VA
Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia

Susan - If I hear the deal falls through, I will pass your name along to the realtors...

Feb 01, 2009 03:53 AM
Steven L. Smith
King of the House Home Inspection, Inc. - Bellingham, WA
Bellingham WA Home Inspector

Jay,

I hate it when you have to fiddle around, scratching your head on some of that stuff. You know right away there is a problem but it is interesting enough that you want to figure out what is causing it and it is easy to spend too much time debating the odd situation. It does, however, give something to write about and that is good.

Feb 01, 2009 04:07 AM
Jay Markanich
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC - Bristow, VA
Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia

Steve - I fiddled around for a good while trying different combinations of things to see if I could isolate the problem.  I was afraid of damaging my tester, not cheap, and wondering if the same thing was going to happen in the other two bedrooms, each with the same fan and switch.  It did not, so this was a anomaly relative to the first room only.   After describing the problem, I also say on the report, "Evaluation by a licensed electrical professional is recommended."

Feb 01, 2009 04:14 AM
James Quarello
JRV Home Inspection Services, LLC - Wallingford, CT
Connecticut Home Inspector

Jay, You have got to love a flipped property. Usually quick and crummy armature construction.  Just about guaranteed to be a long and interesting day.

Feb 02, 2009 11:00 AM
Jay Markanich
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC - Bristow, VA
Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia

James - to top it off, the wife went home and told the investor/seller about all the people present (inspector, realtor, two buyers, buyer's brother).  In a flash he came to complain to the buyer's realtor that his realtor should have been present to "represent" his interests and that it was apparent we were there to sneak around without his interests for defense.  I moved quickly away from that conversation, but he was there a while. 

Maybe he did not understand this process...!

Every now and then I see one of these flip shows on TV and you can see the decisions some of these flippers make and the contruction techniques they employ to make them happen.  Not comforting.  You simply cannot assume that the flipping is done on the up and up or by a professional.

Feb 02, 2009 07:27 PM