Michael's View: October 2008

I was having a discussion with a real estate agent in my area as to why a customer who had placed an order for a home inspection later changed their mind and decided forgo this part of the property transaction. It seemed as if the buyer was talking to the on site real estate agent and the project supervisor and they convinced them that everything was cool with the property, that the codes officials had inspected the property several times during construction, and had gone through it with a "fine toothed comb" before issuing the CO (Certificate of Occupancy) as required by local building departments.

To me, this is like having the fox look after the chicken coop. To be brutally frank, many builders do not want pesky home inspectors picking their properties apart as some inspectors feel that they are a gift from God to the industry and go to real extremes and make mountains out of mole hills. I do not blame builders for not wanting to deal with these guys.

However, the main purpose of having a new construction inspection is to have a fresh, independent set of eyes assess the real issues. Generate a final Punch Out List that all parties can agree on before the new owner takes possession of the property. I even label these reports, Punch Out Inspections.

A good example of what I am talking about is this electrical panel. Although we are not "Codes Inspectors", the electrical departments for Davidson and Williamson Counties here in TN have adopted the National Electrical Codes requirement for having Arc Fault breakers installed in the electrical panel that provide service for the bedrooms and the smoke alarm system. The red arrows are pointing to these circuits.

Now, it seems as if both the electrician and the codes inspector failed to notice that these circuits did not have these breakers installed. Most new home buyers do not know this and would not have been noticed or thought about again until the house was sold years later. Worse yet, there was the potential for shock hazards for the couples young children as these are designed to trip the circuit if a surge or arc situation is sensed.

So even though a house has been inspected by the codes officials, for peace of mind, get a second opinion from an independent inspector. Houses are built by people, and people do make mistakes.  

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In our hurry up, get it done quick society, it is not uncommon to see "tradesmen" take shortcuts when building our new houses. Generally speaking, if something does not look right, it typically isn't. While inspecting a new construction house in Nashville, TN I ran across a wooden block by a doorway that really looked out of place. Being the inquisitive type, I pulled the block off and lookie what I found...

Now I know that a switch was supposed to have been installed here, but this should not have passed the electrical codes inspection which is a scary thought when buyers do not often get an inspection on a new home because they buy into the builder's line, "This house was inspected by codes and they are here all the time making sure that we do things right." Yeah! Right!

Even though a house has been inspected by the codes officials, for peace of mind, get a second opinion from an independent inspector. Houses are built by people, and people do make mistakes.  

Join my birthday alarm. It is fast painless and the best part of all, you will be helping me out.

These are really trying times for the real estate industry. With so many real estate agents putting their licenses in retirement, throwing in the towel and calling it quits or working part-time jobs just to make ends meet. Not to mention the other ancillary markets that have been taking it on the chin as well such as the mortgage, title and home inspection industries. With new construction starts at a minimum, project managers are have now replace superintendents on several of the larger developments.

One thing that is not down though, is theft on construction sites. With times being tough, there are some elements of our society that think that it is far easier to steal than it is to go out and earn a honest day's wages. It is really sad when $6,000.00 worth of heating and air conditioning units are trashed in order to get another fix or a few bottles of hooch...       

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