"Commercial and Residential Property Inspections" Volume 1, Number 1 August 2007 Welcome to Inspectors Associates, Inc.’s newsletter. Any links that you can’t access as a hyperlink can be copied and pasted into your web browser. Please send your comments, questions, and suggestions to: Stan@WeTeachHouse.com. In this issue . . . From the Inspector’s File: Benefits of A Pre-Sale Home Inspection What’s Happening in Georgia? In case you didn’t know . . . Question of the Month Homeowner 101 Passing the White-Glove Test Recipe of the Month from the collection of Evie's Incredible Edibles. From the Inspector’s File Benefits of A Pre-Sale Home Inspection by Stan A. Garnet, ASHI, ICC, MAIA So, you think you are ready to sell your home? Do you really know what’s going on in your house? Most people think they know what is happening in their homes. However, if your home is inspected, you may find that there is more going on than you ever thought about or even wanted to know! And, you probably don’t want to hear about your home’s issues from a buyer, right? That’s because you know it will cost you—money to repair or replace before closing, monetary concessions at the closing table, or the buyer backing out of the sale of your home. Consider this. Your diligent, potential buyer has an inspection by one of a handful of certified ASHI inspectors in your town. The inspector creates a list of defects. The buyer then analyzes them with his or her agent—what is going on with the subject property? Most likely, the first reaction may be you ask for a price reduction. So they write an amendment to reduce the price: I will buy your home if you drop the price $10,000 for the roof to be replaced (when it may only need a repair) and $15,000 for the rusty HVAC system to be replaced (when you know it can probably be replaced for half the price) and so on. Now, the negotiating begins to reduce the drain of money and, if successful, preserve the sale even if it’s for a lower price rather than lose the sale completely. Something that has several years of life left and can be repaired may not be perceived that way by a buyer who wants it replaced. Also keep in mind the value of repairs are doubled or tripled in the minds of buyers. And if you have to replace something, especially a large-ticket item, or find someone in a hurry to make repairs, the costs go up. You can preempt this nightmare and the possible loss of money, time, and even the sale of your home, by having a pre-sale inspection. A pre-sale inspection before listing your home can reveal its condition before it goes on the market. Based on the inspection report, this gives you three options: repair, replace, or disclose. When a buyer signs a purchase and sale agreement to buy your home, the attached disclosure statement you have lists the defects in existence. By accepting your disclosure statement as part of the contract, a potential buyer is also accepting the house in the condition it is at the time. Perhaps the roof only needs a repair. Of course, your buyer may exaggerate the defect and ask for a replacement, but if you make the repair and cure the defect before your home is on the market, there is nothing for the buyer’s inspector to report. Perhaps your HVAC system is on its last leg. You have a choice: You can replace it by shopping and trying to get the most cost-effective system or simply to disclose it and note that there is an allowance for its replacement. This doesn’t mean a buyer can’t ask to have something repaired or replaced, but it removes an item in question as a surprise, last-minute, closing table negotiation. A pre-sale inspection gives you the option of making repairs within your time frame and budget. In a soft real estate market, homes are being listed at lower prices than they may have been a year or two ago. You don’t want to lower the price much more and you may not be able to afford to do so. Of course, choosing the right inspector is key to this preemptive action. Hiring an inspector based on the fee charged may cause more harm than good. What you want is a detail-oriented, trained, professional inspector willing to devote the time needed to provide a complete physical examination of your home. Also consider the report. A full narrative report outlining all defects, both minor and major, will give you a much better picture of a defect than a checkmark on a list. In a state like Georgia that has no minimum standards for home inspectors, choosing an ASHI-certified inspector is the safest choice. (ASHI is to the home inspection industry as NAR is to Realtors®. Both are trade organizations that set high standards of education and performance for their members.) Even if you’re not selling your home just yet, if you’ve lived in it for more than three years, having a full house inspection can avoid costly and unexpected maintenance repairs. Dealing with problems or normal wear-and-tear issues at an early stage will give you peace of mind and can save money. People take their cars to mechanics regularly. As a homeowner, isn’t it reasonable to spend as much consideration and care for the largest and most expensive investment in your life? What’s happening in Georgia? Right now, in Georgia, there’s no quality control, so to speak, for contractors you hire to work on your home. Next year, that will change. Beginning in July 2008, every contractor in Georgia, including builders, will be licensed by the state. The Georgia Construction Industry Licensing Board consists of five divisions: the Division of Conditioned Air Contractors, Division of Electrical Contractors, Division of Low Voltage Contractors, Division of Master and Journeyman Plumbers, and Division of Utility Contractors. The Board protects the public against faulty construction installations and administers standards for the licensing of the contractors in the above professions. In addition to licensing, each will take disciplinary action against licensees. For more information: http://sos.georgia.gov/plb/construct/ The State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors requires the following to hold a license: 1. Residential-Basic Contractor (detached one- and two-family homes and one-family townhouses not over three stories); 2. Residential-Light Commercial Contractor (same as basic plus multi-family and multi-use light commercial buildings and structures); and 3. General Contractor (unlimited regarding type of work). For more information: http://www.atlantahomebuilders.com/uploads/100121_LicensingDocs/102062.doc Work costing less than $2,500 does not require a state-licensed contractor which includes most handyman services. In case you didn’t know . . . On February 17, 2009, the way TV is broadcast will change from analog to digital. While our TV view may not change, the equipment used will. Although this is in the future, manufacturers are now producing digital-convertible TVs and other equipment. If you're planning to purchase a TV or collateral equipment, this knowledge can help you make a cost-effective purchase. For more information: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/digitaltv.html Question of the Month Should I Buy This House? At the end of the inspection of a house I wanted to buy, I asked my home inspector if he thought I should buy the house. He told me he couldn’t tell me what to do. It’s a simple question, why wouldn’t he answer me? Well, it is also a simple answer. Home inspectors are there to report on the condition of the house. They are not there to tell you whether you should buy the house. That needs to be the buyer’s decision for many reasons. First of all it is not the Inspector that has put the contract on the house and as you know everyone has different needs and base their decision on financial consideration, location and their general emotional feeling towards the house. A good inspector will give you the needed ammunition to make valued decisions as to whether you should buy the house. A good inspector will also try and lead you based on substantial negative findings. On at least 3 occasions in the last several years I have asked my clients if they might consider falling in love with another home. The repair costs were going to come close to the selling price of the house. However it is still not my place to tell someone to not buy a home. It is hoped that in the worst case scenario the buyer will take into consider all aspects of the inspection repeat and come to their own conclusion. A typical response for me to that question is, if you think your are buying the house at the right price, you love the home and the location, you have done your due diligence and you can get the seller to pay for the bulk of the issues, then I would see no substantial reason for you to walk away from the deal. Regardless, the decision to buy still needs to rest with the buyer and not the inspector. We inspectors must stay focused on giving our clients good and valuable information as to our findings. Home Owning 101 Passing the White Glove Test by F. N. Rosenstock When you’re getting ready to sell your home, your agent will probably tell you to de-clutter, neutralize and clean. Most people follow their agent’s advice, especially in a buyer’s market. But it’s the little things that are missed that can sink a sale. For me, its dust—on window and door frames, TV screens, lamp finials, ceiling fan blades, the backs of wood chairs, light switches, and my all-time favorite, doorknobs. If I find it, it’s a turn-off. You’re probably thinking this is a little obsessive. Don’t get me wrong, I’m as guilty as anyone about dust in my home. I just don’t have time to be consistent. I am, however, very thorough when I do dust which is not as often as I would like. But my home isn’t on the market . . . at least not yet! Let me tell you a true story which may explain my perspective. My mother kept a spotless house and had a reputation for doing so in the small town in which we lived. One early morning, at least by her standards, a few of her friends came over. They were going somewhere and carpooling in my mother’s car. While they waited for my mother, one of her friends pulled a chair to a window, got on the chair, and ran her white-gloved fingers across the top of a cornice. Her gloves remained white. Yes, my mother had passed the white glove test and word spread far and wide—she was so clean, you could eat off her floors. Fast forward some 20 years and there is my mother visiting me in my first apartment laughing. I could almost hear her thinking: “What a dump!” She ran her ungloved fingers across some of my furniture. It wasn’t good. Then, she looked at my floors where my dust-bunny zoo resided. She said with all haughtiness, “You can eat off of my floors!” Without missing a beat, I replied, “What am I, a dog?” It’s hard to keep up the level of clean needed to sell a home on a regular basis with commitments to work, family, and friends. Of course, we also need time to for ourselves. But in a tight, buyer’s market, you want to eliminate any opportunity for rejection. There are also health benefits to keeping dust-free. That’s why people who have allergies, sinus problems, or breathing issues often remove the carpeting in their homes. We are fortunate today that the cleaning implements we have are far easier to use than the old undershirts of yesteryear. But I’m most thankful that we don’t wear white gloves anymore. I know I’d never pass!
Evie Garnet has agreed to share her favorite recipes with you. As a recipient of her gourmet cooking and delectable dishes, I can assure you that you will enjoy each and every recipe that Evie releases.
English Toffee Squares
1 ¾ cups flour ¾ cup light brown sugar 1/3 cup butter or margarine, dash of salt 1 ½ cups pecans, chopped in good-sized pieces Topping: ½ cup light brown sugar 2/3 cup butter or margarine 1 cup chocolate c hips
You are
in my data base because you may have made an inquiry, been involved in
an inspection, are a past or present client or a real-estate agent that
was party to an inspection performed on a home that was being purchased
or sold. Your email address will never be sold or passed on
to anyone. If at any time you no longer wish to receive this newsletter,
just request to be removed by clicking on reply and typing in the words,
"please remove me from your list". |
||||
