Comments on: Property Inspections – You had to be there.

By: Nick Lorber - Lorber Engineers

Nick Lorber - Lorber Engineers — Wed, 20 May 2009 18:06:29 +0000

….for sure! And after reading the boilerplate, the buyers begin to wonder what the heck we are doing out there (since everything seems to be disclaimed)…chuckle…..nothing a little torte reform wouldn’t fix!

By: Kris Berg

Kris Berg — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:45:00 +0000

Bravo, Nick! Unfortunately, a lot of buyers forget the kick-off meeting when the report comes and have a freak-out moment when they start reading the boilerplate language.

By: Nick Lorber - Lorber Engineers

Nick Lorber - Lorber Engineers — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:11:38 +0000

Loved your article….”Property Inspections – You had to be there”….As a property inspector, I always recommend that the buyers be there for additional reasons…..one of the most important factors to managing your risk of litigation is having a “meeting of the minds” between the buyer and inspector as to the limits of the scope of the inspection which includes signing of the inspection contract BEFORE the inspection starts…also to have the opportunity to establish rapport and also to find out what the buyers “hot buttons” are…..

By: Friday Blog Scan: Things we liked from the week that was | Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:16:10 +0000

[...] in our industry as one of the wittiest blogger/writers in real estate. In her post this week titled Property Inspections – You had to be there, Kris offers a big picture view of home inspections that I think all real estate agents can relate [...]

By: Kris Berg

Kris Berg — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:02:39 +0000

Randy, That one definitely falls under the heading of “sort of important.” Ouch.

Janet, That is actually a good topic for a post. Government appraisers (VA and FHA) double as mini-inspectors, the result being that fix-it items which are traditionally negotiable become mandates on which financing becomes contingent. This is one reason that buyers relying on VA and FHA financing are still at a competitive disadvantage. And, in our area, competition is getting fierce at the lower price points where these loans make the most sense.

By: Janet

Janet — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:49:07 +0000

Property inspectors are nothing compared to the VA appraisers. They find things in their report that need to be fixed before VA will fund, and if it’s a bank owned house the trouble is magnified. It isn’t only that the planter box needs to be retro-fixed with a non-permeable barrier to prevent water and soil from contact with the stucco, it must be fixed the VA appraiser way. Never mind that there are no smoke detectors inside the house, the big issue is possible crumbling stucco.

By: Randy Bragdon

Randy Bragdon — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:30:43 +0000

I wish my inspection report was only so thorough… we found out last year that there was old gas piping under our bedroom and in our walls that went no where that had been leaking gas (like multiple 2 inch x 1/2 inch holes) in the lines, and effectively poisoning us for the last 3 years. I just thought it was the antique stove we had that smelled like gas….Isn’t that lovely.

By: Kris Berg

Kris Berg — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 19:46:12 +0000

What’s up with racoons? I had those, too — several years ago. An attic full. (Missing roof vent cap.)

By: Phil Hoover

Phil Hoover — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 18:22:44 +0000

My best inspection war story is the one where I sold a new spec home and the inspector got cornered by a very angry racoon in the crawlspace.
He was down there for two hours trying to figure out how to escape.
(missing foundation vent)