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couldcareless posted:I've only ever used one general inspector and he made sure to go around and do outlet tests on them all. He even did very nice long detailed reports with picture and notations similar to the ones above. Guess I got lucky. The inspection report for my house had all of that, even had some minor stuff about brick repair in the foundation. It didn't include anything about the rotten joists or rafter issues that I have found.
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Jan 5, 2015 23:46
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Laminator posted:The inspection report for my house had all of that, even had some minor stuff about brick repair in the foundation. It didn't include anything about the rotten joists or rafter issues that I have found. Were these hidden by drywall or the like? "Destructive" inspection is pretty rare, since you'd have to patch up the damage afterwards.
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Jan 5, 2015 23:48
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Nope, they're pretty visible in the crawlspace and attic You just have to actually go into the crawlspace, including some tight fits under the house, and bring some extra boards into the attic to walk on the ceiling joists and look at stuff from a different angle.
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Jan 5, 2015 23:56
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Laminator posted:The inspection report for my house had all of that, even had some minor stuff about brick repair in the foundation. It didn't include anything about the rotten joists or rafter issues that I have found. That was my experience with the home inspection industry! Reams of paper and photographs wasted on bullshit, with nary a mention of the only problems that would actually end up costing me money.
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Jan 6, 2015 00:49
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Maybe I'm just jaded, then, expecting a strictly "hands off" approach as the norm rather than the exception.
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Jan 6, 2015 00:54
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This guy did our home inspection. I got a 25-page report similar to this (without as many deficiencies, of course) and I got to watch him freak the poo poo out of my realtor. Best $650 I've ever spent.
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Jan 6, 2015 00:56
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Dillbag posted:This guy did our home inspection. I got a 25-page report similar to this (without as many deficiencies, of course) and I got to watch him freak the poo poo out of my realtor. Best $650 I've ever spent. Holy poo poo.
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Jan 6, 2015 01:05
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Dillbag posted:This guy did our home inspection. I got a 25-page report similar to this (without as many deficiencies, of course) and I got to watch him freak the poo poo out of my realtor. Best $650 I've ever spent. PRO loving click.
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Jan 6, 2015 01:09
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That's not only an inspection report, that's basically a care and upkeep manual customized for that exact house. That's crazy.
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Jan 6, 2015 01:13
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Dillbag posted:This guy did our home inspection. I got a 25-page report similar to this (without as many deficiencies, of course) and I got to watch him freak the poo poo out of my realtor. Best $650 I've ever spent. drat, that guy knows his poo poo. My inspector gave me something similar but nowhere near as detailed. The place was a falling down mess (I passed on it to buy the place I have now, and would not change that decision  ) and I basically told him "ignore all the small poo poo, I'm gutting the place if I buy it, all I care about is structural, asbestos, weatherproofing, insect damage, and mold" - so rather than itemize every issue he found with the electrical system, flooring, and drywall, he let me follow him around and ask stupid questions. I learned a lot.
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Jan 6, 2015 01:26
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Dillbag posted:This guy did our home inspection. I got a 25-page report similar to this (without as many deficiencies, of course) and I got to watch him freak the poo poo out of my realtor. Best $650 I've ever spent. After seeing the report, I wouldn't have blinked if you told me you spent $3000 on it. I've owned my house for 10 years and I'd gladly pay him $650 to come over and do an inspection just as a maintenance guide. Do inspectors have the power to condemn things or force you to move out if they find problems that make a home non-inhabitable?
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Jan 6, 2015 02:28
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My home inspection was a lot like that. A little too much like that one...
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Jan 6, 2015 02:33
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I got a maintenance guide with my home inspection. Wasn't half as thorough as that one, though. A better inspection could've saved me $25 replacing an improper breaker!
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Jan 6, 2015 02:41
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From that report, I like this guy a lot: Jesus, this guy is absurd: quote:Note: your boiler can do double duty- heating and domestic hot water- call me for procedure. Bad Munki fucked around with this message at 02:46 on Jan 6, 2015 |
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Jan 6, 2015 02:43
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I like how he's taken his arrow-drawing lessons from John Madden.
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Jan 6, 2015 14:03
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The guy would probably have a conniption fit if he inspected the old house I rent in. No doubt he'd get it done, but the real question would be how many red asterisks would litter the hundreds of pages 
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Jan 6, 2015 14:49
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That guy owns, $650 seems OK. edit: apart from the grandpa-formatting of the report... edit2: also, I do LOVE the thoroughness but it would be better received if it was separated into "things that are bad" versus. "things that aren't bad"; eg. tighten fasteners and cheap fixtures. My minor complaint is that mandatory termite inspections are basically useless. Every property gets a report that deems then AT RISK due to the area, and every report is full of stuff like "the slab was not visible all the way around the house, HIGH RISK" and "wall not fully visible due to X (stack of bricks/shed/BBQ, HIGH RISK". ~Coxy fucked around with this message at 15:40 on Jan 6, 2015 |
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Jan 6, 2015 15:33
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~Coxy posted:edit2: also, I do LOVE the thoroughness but it would be better received if it was separated into "things that are bad" versus. "things that aren't bad"; eg. tighten fasteners and cheap fixtures. Check the last few pages. He itemizes everything twice: once by severity, and again by order it appears in the document. So if you want to see just the OMG RED items, they're all right there in abbreviated form, listed out for your convenience, no need to sift through the entire doc.
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Jan 6, 2015 15:42
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Termites? Got those! It's just the rear shed so NBD.
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Jan 6, 2015 15:44
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~Coxy posted:My minor complaint is that mandatory termite inspections are basically useless. Every property gets a report that deems then AT RISK due to the area, and every report is full of stuff like "the slab was not visible all the way around the house, HIGH RISK" and "wall not fully visible due to X (stack of bricks/shed/BBQ, HIGH RISK". They're not useless when actual termite damage is found. It's like some medical tests... a negative result doesn't tell you much, but a positive result is likely a major problem.
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Jan 6, 2015 16:10
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SkunkDuster posted:Do inspectors have the power to condemn things or force you to move out if they find problems that make a home non-inhabitable? No, but they sure do know the phone numbers of the people who can do that.
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Jan 6, 2015 16:43
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If you have a home inspection done on a house your thinking about buying, and the inspector finds something that makes the home uninhabitable, the sellers are required to disclose that information to anyone else looking to buy the house. (At least in this state, MA)
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Jan 6, 2015 17:27
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Just moved into a house that I'm renting, was built in 1909. We're the first renters, it's been in the owner's family since the 40's. Lot's of fun little DIY fixes around the house.
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Jan 6, 2015 17:31
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In almost half of US states, the seller isn't required to disclose that the property was used as a meth lab. Puzzle your doctors with mystery illnesses from the toxic house you bought!
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Jan 6, 2015 17:47
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I have a strong suspicion that the previous owners of my house were cooking meth in the basement. I wonder if I have to report that.
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Jan 6, 2015 18:02
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From the chemicals that crap puts off, hell I might pursue someplace that can do testing to see if anything toxic is present around that basement (ceiling, walls, etc) and how to clean it.
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Jan 6, 2015 18:08
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Dragyn posted:I have a strong suspicion that the previous owners of my house were cooking meth in the basement. I wonder if I have to report that. Nah, not for a suspicion. dietcokefiend posted:From the chemicals that crap puts off, hell I might pursue someplace that can do testing to see if anything toxic is present around that basement (ceiling, walls, etc) and how to clean it. Well, then you would have to disclose it.
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Jan 6, 2015 18:40
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Maybe WA is just really lax with enforcement, but I've never seen a seller disclose issues from previous inspections. 
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Jan 7, 2015 02:02
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Jan 7, 2015 02:53
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Gounads posted:If you have a home inspection done on a house your thinking about buying, and the inspector finds something that makes the home uninhabitable, the sellers are required to disclose that information to anyone else looking to buy the house. (At least in this state, MA) Yep. This goes for legal stuff, too. Fun fact: the MERS disaster (which is ongoing, and blatantly illegal, but the courts don't want to do anything to the Too Big To Fail banks, even after the crash) and the refinance boom resulted in a lot of incredibly shoddy sloppy paperwork, which was then used in foreclosure proceedings. If you buy a house these days, you need a good real estate lawyer representing YOU - not the one the bank hires, not the one the seller hires, one that's only working for you. I paid 500 for mine and he was worth every cent of that, likely double that in fact, because he kept me from buying a house with a title that wasn't even insurable. The paperwork on the mortgage had been done so sloppily that someone had accidentally put a property description (the one listing the address and lot corner markers, landmarks, etc) from a different property, in a different town, which hadn't had a mortgage on it in a decade into the packet, which was then duly signed by the bank, seller, and buyer, and submitted to the registry of deeds, so it ended up in the deed. Then they got foreclosed on, without anyone noticing or updating said paperwork or deed. The owners had already abandoned the house and in fact purchased another one in another town (fuckers... they knew it was coming and gamed the system) so they didn't put up a fight. Then the bank tried to sell that oceanfront property in arizona to me* and the only reason I didn't end up with a $54k useless pile of paper is because my real estate lawyer noticed. They ended up spending a year in land court to clear the title even enough that it was insurable and someone could get a mortgage on the place. If I'd bought the place with the deed hosed up like that, the previous owners could have easily proved that the mortgage wasn't even valid in the first place, told the bank to gently caress off, gotten the place back, and I would have been left with either trying to claim title insurance, or standing there with my dick in my hand and no money or house. * not actually in arizona, or oceanfront, but you get the point.
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Jan 7, 2015 03:00
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Kastein.. Not to mince words.. But from your other thread.. It seems like you've got title to land and a lot of basket case... Don't get me wrong though.. Your efforts are heroic on your place and your folks.. But it's the Maserati biturbo of homes from what I can tell. More power to ya. EvilPsych fucked around with this message at 04:31 on Jan 7, 2015 |
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Jan 7, 2015 04:27
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Oh, I know. And believe it or not, I turned down other houses that were worse and got this one instead. At least I got insurable title with this one 
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Jan 7, 2015 04:38
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kastein posted:
I guess that's something!
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Jan 7, 2015 04:40
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Dillbag posted:This guy did our home inspection. I got a 25-page report similar to this (without as many deficiencies, of course) and I got to watch him freak the poo poo out of my realtor. Best $650 I've ever spent. Man that poo poo is incredilble. I was thinking it was going to be similar to what I got, which was essentially a big rear end 200 page binder (it was a generic template) that he'd mark a few notes on here and there. My inspector was really good and got DIRTY AS poo poo and definitely earned his money, but man I'd be all about that dude of yours. Hell I'm actually ENJOYING reading the thing.
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Jan 7, 2015 04:53
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Motronic posted:No, but they sure do know the phone numbers of the people who can do that. Gounads posted:If you have a home inspection done on a house your thinking about buying, and the inspector finds something that makes the home uninhabitable, the sellers are required to disclose that information to anyone else looking to buy the house. (At least in this state, MA) I've owned my house for 10 years and have no plans to move out in my lifetime, but can see the benefit of having a guy like that do an inspection on my house so I can be aware of current and future problems that I need to take care of. My concern was that he might come in and say something like, "Sorry, you have the wrong controller module installed on your furnace that has been working fine for 20 years. Your furnace will legally be turned off until you get a licensed furnace tech in here to install a whole new furnace for $6000. Since it is January in Minnesota with subzero high temps for the next month, your house is also uninhabitable now and you will have to find somewhere else to live in the interest of child welfare until this problem is resolved." Gross exaggeration, but that is along the lines of what concerns me if I have an inspector come check my house out.
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Jan 7, 2015 06:13
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kastein posted:If you buy a house these days, you need a good real estate lawyer representing YOU - not the one the bank hires, not the one the seller hires, one that's only working for you. I paid 500 for mine and he was worth every cent of that, likely double that in fact, because he kept me from buying a house with a title that wasn't even insurable. 1000x this My lawyer pointed out that our property was a half acre, and not a full acre like all the paperwork said. The property taxes for my first year were about a third off what the previous people were paying. This pays for that lawyer fee 4x every single year. SkunkDuster posted:I've owned my house for 10 years and have no plans to move out in my lifetime, but can see the benefit of having a guy like that do an inspection on my house so I can be aware of current and future problems that I need to take care of. My concern was that he might come in and say something like, "Sorry, you have the wrong controller module installed on your furnace that has been working fine for 20 years. Your furnace will legally be turned off until you get a licensed furnace tech in here to install a whole new furnace for $6000. Since it is January in Minnesota with subzero high temps for the next month, your house is also uninhabitable now and you will have to find somewhere else to live in the interest of child welfare until this problem is resolved." If you have something grossly dangerous, sure it might happen. As in, "I just detected a near lethal amount of CO in your basement" or "your house could blow up at any second". But in those cases, you really want that. Otherwise, the guy is working for you. Nobody would hire him if he went around loving people over. It's not like you're pulling permits or getting inspection from a town inspector that could (but usually doesn't) do things like that, it'll be a private guy. Also, being a private guy, the worse he can do is report you. A few months back, I had some insulation done. Before doing that, I had to get a licensed electrician in to certify there was no knob & tube wiring anywhere in the house. While doing that, he pointed out at least a dozen code violations that should be taken care of. He even took the time to tell me which ones were easy that I could do (most of them), what I would need to do, and which ones would be worth hiring someone for.
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Jan 7, 2015 15:05
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I'd really like to hire that amazing mspaint inspector to come look at the townhouse I rent. I don't think he'd ever finish the report. He'd die an old man, still adding red text and asterisks to pictures, all while cursing the south Florida construction industry.
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Jan 7, 2015 15:12
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SkunkDuster posted:Gross exaggeration, but that is along the lines of what concerns me if I have an inspector come check my house out. Based on my inspection, there is a decent chance I would be charged as an accessory to manslaughter or child endangerment if I didn't call the appropriate authorities regarding the issues your house has.
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Jan 7, 2015 16:27
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How would one even go about finding an inspector who'd do something that detailed? I want to buy the house I'm currently renting and while I'm pretty comfortable in the major stuff after having lived here for a year I'd still love to have something like that for all the non-obvious things that I wouldn't even know how to look for. I know word of mouth is a big thing in that industry but most of my friends rent so I don't have much to go on.
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Jan 7, 2015 18:41
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wolrah posted:How would one even go about finding an inspector who'd do something that detailed? You can find them on yelp or similar. Email and ask them for a previous report.
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Jan 7, 2015 19:05
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