One of the best home inspection tips I can provide to home buyers is to inspect your home inspector before hiring him to do your home inspection.

How does one go about inspecting ones home inspector? First, ask questions before, during and after the process.

You should go through exactly the same process you do when selecting any other trained professional. Seek referrals from friends who bought homes to determine what they thought about the process. When friends tell you they had a good experience with the home inspector they hired, take that into consideration for your decision. Also, realtors can be a good source if they have an inspector that they have worked with in the past that has a good reputation.

But the best tip I can give anyone looking to hire a home inspector is to hire an experienced home inspector. Rest assured a home inspector with 25 years experience knows at least 25 times what a new just out of school home inspector knows. Home inspecting requires not only technical knowledge, continuing education, but also the ability to communicate that knowledge to others in such a way that they can understand it.

Now you are ready to have your new home inspected with confidence.

Inspectors do not mention trees in an inspection report unless they are encroaching on a foundation and causing damage.  However as part of rountine maintenance of your home, trees should be included.

Trees add to our enjoyment of outdoor experiences whether in forests, parks, or urban landscapes. Too often, we are unaware of the risks associated with defective trees, which can cause personal injury and property damage. A “hazard tree” is a tree with structural defects likely to cause failure of all or part of the tree, which could strike a “target.” A target can be a vehicle, building, or a place where people gather such as a park bench, picnic table, street, or backyard.

Inspecting trees is a home owner’s responsibility and should be done yearly. Tree inspections can be done at any time of year, leaf-on or leaf-off. To be thorough, inspect trees after leaf drop in fall, after leaf-out in spring, and routinely after severe storms.

Inspect trees carefully and systematically. Examine all parts of the tree, including the roots, root or trunk flare, main stem, branches, and branch unions. Be sure to examine all sides of the tree. Use a pair of binoculars to see branches high off the ground. Consider the following factors when inspecting trees: Tree condition, species, size and age.

Because of the natural variability of trees, the severity of their defects, and the different sites upon which they grow, evaluating trees for hazardous defects can be a complex process. Hazardous defects are visible signs that the tree is failing. Recognize the seven main types of tree defects: dead wood, cracks, weak branch unions, decay, cankers, root problems, and poor tree architecture. A tree with defects is not hazardous, however, unless some portion of it is within striking distance of a target.

Corrective actions begin with a thorough evaluation. If a hazardous situation exists, there are three recommended options for correcting the problem: move the target, prune the tree, or remove the tree.

Evaluating and treating hazard trees is complicated, requiring a certain knowledge and expertise. If you are not sure, have it evaluated by a professional. Consult your phone book under "Arborists" or "Tree Service."

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Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas that forms from incomplete combustion of fuels, such as natural or liquefied petroleum gas, oil, wood or coal.

Facts and Figures

• 480 U.S. residents died between 2001 and 2003 from non-fire-related carbon-monoxide poisoning.
• Most CO exposures occur during the winter months, especially in December (including 56 deaths, and 2,157 non-fatal exposures), and in January (including 69 deaths and 2,511 non-fatal exposures). The peak time of day for CO exposure is between 6 and 10 p.m.
• Many experts believe that CO poisoning statistics understate the problem. Because the symptoms of CO poisoning mimic a range of common health ailments, it is likely that a large number of mild to mid-level exposures are never identified, diagnosed, or accounted for in any way in carbon monoxide statistics.
• Out of all reported non-fire carbon-monoxide incidents, 89% or almost nine out of 10 of them take place in a home.

Physiology of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
When CO is inhaled, it displaces the oxygen that would ordinarily bind with hemoglobin, a process the effectively suffocates the body. CO can poison slowly over a period of several hours, even in low concentrations. Sensitive organs, such as the brain, heart and lungs, suffer the most from a lack of oxygen.

High concentrations of carbon monoxide can kill in less than five minutes. At low concentrations, it will require a longer period of time to affect the body. Exceeding the EPA concentration of 9 parts per million (ppm) for more than eight hours may have adverse health effects. The limit of CO exposure for healthy workers, as prescribed by the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration, is 50 ppm.

Potential Sources of Carbon Monoxide

Any fuel-burning appliances which are malfunctioning or improperly installed can be a source of CO, such as:

• furnaces;
• stoves and ovens;
• water heaters;
• dryers; 
• room and space heaters; 
• fireplaces and wood stoves;
• charcoal grills;
• automobiles;
• clogged chimneys or flues;
• space heaters;
• power tools that run on fuel;
• gas and charcoal grills;
• certain types of swimming pool heaters; and 
• boat engines.

If you do not have a carbon monoxide detector, now is the time to get one!

 Home inspections are an extra expense, so do you really need one? You bet! Money might be tight for closing, but try to imagine moving in and finding out that the air conditioning unit isn't cooling the house or maybe the roof needs replacement.  Having an inspection during the option period will cut out the unwelcome surprises.

Especially if you are buying a home "As Is".  It also a really good idea to follow that up with a Home Warranty for extra comfort during the first year of ownership.

Is the roof older than the seller thought? Does it have more wear and tear than its age indicates? The time to find that out is before you buy. A new roof is a big expense for a new homeowner, that’s why it is important to have an inspection by an experienced inspection company or professional established roofing company.

You may get an inspection report back with 10 red flags, but 9 of them might be minor stuff! Make sure you can filter out what is a deal breaker and what can be fixed easily by you or the seller.

TREC requires Standards of Practice that every inspector follows, but inspectors can interpret which are minor and which are major.

That’s what we are here for!

 

While a landlord can conduct their own house inspections on home rentals, it is recommended that a professional home inspector be hired to inspect the premises of home rentals and supply home inspection reports that will be credible documentation for interested renters.

Home rentals and property management companies should include home inspections as part of the process of marketing and renting a property to ensure that the home is in excellent condition for renters.  Renters can also use this process to document the condition before and after move out.  Although cosmetic items such as floor coverings are not included, any documentation can be helpful!

During times of little or no rain, it is important to water around your foundation to close gaps and minimize movement.  The most effeciant way to accomplish this without a sprinkler system is to connect soaker hoses to a timer box at the exterior hose bibs. 

Closet Light Clearance

Porcelain base “Lamp-holders” are inexpensive devices, and,if in closets, should be replaced with approved “light fixtures.”

Lights placed in closets are a real convenience, especially when looking for something in the dark. However, blankets, clothes, and other combustible materials piled high on a closet shelf can ignite, if located too close to the closet light. For that reason, earlier editions of the National Electric Code (NEC) required that incandescent lights be mounted in a location that was unobstructed vertically to the floor and had a minimum horizontal clearance of 18″ to storage areas above the front edge of shelves. However closet fires still persisted. In 1990, the NEC completely rewrote this article and banned incandescent bulbs from closets (hot filament wires could fall and ignite flammables if the bulb breaks) unless fully enclosed. Fully-enclosed incandescent fixtures were permitted to be surface mounted provided if they were at least 12″ from the nearest point of the “storage area”. Fluorescent, and fully-enclosed recessed incandescent fixtures were permitted as near as 6″ to the nearest point of the storage area.  Fully enclosed means adding a globe or a wire-cage to protect the bulb.

 A licensed electrician should thoroughly inspect and move lights that do not conform to current code requirements, and install fixtures that are approved for reduced clearance to shelves.