Choosing a Home Inspector

Anyone with a license, flashlight, and business card can call himself a home inspector. But to entrust your inspection to just anyone is a risk not worth taking. After all, there are few transactions more important, more costly, or more lasting than the purchase or sale of real property.

To be confident, make sure your inspector is a full member, in good standing, of the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC).

TREC exists to protect and serve the citizens of Texas. The Commission’s programs of education, licensing and industry regulation ensure that real estate service providers are honest, trustworthy and competent.

TREC requires that all real estate brokers and salespersons meet and maintain specified levels of education to hold a license to act as a real estate agent. Agents are required to follow the provisions of The Real Estate License Act and the Rules of the Texas Real Estate Commission in all transactions and to deal with the public in a competent and honest manner. The Commission also licenses real estate inspectors, residential service companies, real estate schools and registers timeshare properties.

What does the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) Do?

TREC is the state’s regulatory agency for the following:
Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons
Real Estate Inspectors
Education Providers for Real Estate and Inspection Courses
Residential Service Companies
Timeshare Developers
Easement Or Right-of-Way (ERW) agents

Visit the TREC website for more information on Texas Real Estate Guidelines.

Some of the content on this page is taken directly from the TREC web site, and we acknowledge the copyright: Copyright © 2009

Common Defects Found

Exterior

Wear on a roof may be readily apparent if the wear is very advanced but a roof that is starting to age is a more subtle defect that the inspector can uncover. Resurfacing a roof costs thousands of dollars, and will cost much more if the existing roofing surface needs to be removed prior to re-roofing. If a roof will need to be resurfaced in the foreseeable future, this may be a negotiable item. Similarly, the siding of the house should be carefully inspected because residing a house can also cost thousand of dollars. Replacement of old defective windows can cost thousands of dollars, don’t overlook this obvious defect. The home inspector should be sure that the land around the home is properly graded to divert water away from the home, this will help to reduce the possibility of water intrusion into the home.

Interior

If there’s one defect you don’t want to find out about after you move in, it’s a basement that floods. The basement areas of the home should be thoroughly checked for signs of water intrusion, such as water stains, mildew, an odor of dampness, efflorescence on the walls and floors, and damaged and cupping floors. In addition, look for water proofing systems, sump pumps, etc. in the basement; these systems can help to reduce the risk of water flooding in the basement but may not be able to eliminate water intrusion under all conditions. If a house needs water proofing measures, the cost can run into the thousands.

Proper insulation and ventilation in a home should not be overlooked; proper ventilation in a home is more important than most home buyers are aware of. Inadequate ventilation in an attic can result in accelerated deterioration of the structural roof deck; if this occurs, a major expense will be incurred to remove and replace the roofing shingles and roof deck, and in extreme cases, the roof rafters.

The condition of the paint surface on homes constructed prior to 1978 may contain lead paint which can be a problem if there is wide spread deterioration of the paint surface; your home inspector may suggest an X-ray evaluation of the paint surface for lead content. If you are planning renovation of walls, etc. after you move in, lead paint is an issue to consider.

Structural

Bulges, deflections, and other irregularities in the roof framing, exterior wall framing, and interior framing, or cracks in the foundation wall may indicate a serious structural problem that may be the result of poor structural design, poor construction techniques, improper structural alteration, water damage, or termite damage. Jacking up a house to replace damaged structural components, or underpinning a defective foundation wall is a major expense.

Deferred Maintenance

Be very careful of homes where deferred maintenance is clearly evident; if a home has been poorly maintained and there are obvious problems, proceed with extreme caution, this could be your worst nightmare where you wake up in the middle of the night screaming. If there are obvious problems, imagine what you can’t see.

Be careful of homes where there is obvious plumbing and electrical work, as well as structural additions and renovations, that were not professionally installed and were most likely installed by the home owner; correcting these defects can cost thousands of dollars.

Electrical

First, the inspector should determine the size of the service to determine if it meets current standards; bringing an upgraded electrical service into a home can cost one thousand dollars. The electrical system should then be checked by removing the cover from the electric service panel. Once the wiring is exposed, the inspector looks for problems in the panel such as burned wiring, overfused circuits (the fuse or circuit breaker is too large for the wire size), improper wiring connections, openings in the panel (where a child can put their finger into the panel), home owner installed wiring, etc. In addition to checking for an adequate quantity of electrical switches and convenience outlets in the house, the outlets should be checked for open ground and wiring reversal conditions. Throughout the house, dead ended wiring and exposed wiring should be on the list of defects to look for. Homes wired in the mid 60’s to mid 70’s may have aluminum wiring and if so, the inspector should determine if an approved retrofit has been installed at the wiring connections; if not, a potential fire safety hazard exists. If the home is very old, it may have knob and tube wiring, this is ancient wiring and may be hazardous. Extensive wiring replacement can cost thousands of dollars.

Plumbing

First, the home inspector should determine the type of pipe that supplies water to the house from the municipal main in the street. Be wary of old lead and galvanized steel water supply pipes, replacement costs thousands of dollars. Be sure that your home inspector checks the piping distribution in the house for type of material and condition looking for deterioration, incompatible piping materials, and leaks. Your inspector should carry a moisture meter to evaluate any suspect plaster or wall board on the ceilings and walls caused by water leaks; replacing the piping network in the walls and ceilings is a major expense that can cost thousands of dollars. Be sure that the inspector checks all of the fixtures and faucets for proper operation, and also checks tiled bathtub and shower enclosures for integrity. Replacement of tiling in a bathroom, or replacement of a shower pan can cost a couple of thousand dollars.

Heating And Air-Conditioning

Look out for that old clunker that used to fire coal, it will consume fuel faster than you can feed it; plan on replacing it with a modern efficient heating system. Other problems include defective furnace heat exchangers, this type of problem is not always easy to uncover and usually means that the furnace will require replacement and this can cost three to four thousand dollars. Boilers that are starting to leak will also require replacement and a typical cost is three to five thousand dollars; your inspector should look for these major defects. In addition, your inspector should be sure that the heat distribution is satisfactory and that the heat distribution piping or ductwork is in good condition. Safety concerns such as defective controls, inoperative emergency switches, and evidence of past malfunctions and carbon monoxide emissions must be carefully investigated by the inspector. Be careful of special problems associated with radiant floor heating and other less common systems.

The inspector should advise you to have underground oil storage tanks tested for integrity; a leaking underground oil storage tank can cause thousands of dollars of environmental damage. Another environmental concern is the existence of insulation that may contain asbestos and is especially hazardous if the material is friable. The inspector should advise you to have any suspect material laboratory tested.

The home inspector should test the central air-conditioning system to be sure that it is cooling properly; replacement of an air-conditioning compressor can cost two to five thousand dollars.

Credit to Online Sources:
www.inspectamerica.com

What do inpectors look for?

Living room • Dining room • Bedrooms

  • Examine the walls for any cracks, bulges, water stains, peeling paints or wallpaper, missing mortal, rotten siding or flaking bricks on the walls
  • Examine the ceiling for any peeling paints, sagging plasters or other mechanical damages
  • Examine the floor for any carpet baldness’s, bulging of linoleum, damages or lack of floor tiles, large stains or demanded areas, deteriorated coverings or cracked ceramics on the floor
  • Examine all electrical sockets and lights testing all light switches, electrical outlets and their fixedness, outlets’ grounding
  • Examine the windows checking if all windows can be opened and closed easily and glasses are safe, ensure that windows are not painted shut and the hardware is working properly. Operate all blinds and curtains to make sure they function as intended

Bathrooms

  • Examine the walls, ceilings, floor, electrical equipment, windows, blinds and curtains, exhaust fans, faucets, sinks, and drains as listed in the livingroom and kitchen inspection details.
  • Examine the bathtub and shower is working properly and there are no signs of damage to the walls surround them.
  • Examine the toilet by flushing it and check for dripping water, and that the tank refills.
  • Check for cracks and delaminations on
    the mirror

Kitchen

  • Examine the walls for any cracks, bulges, water stains, peeling paints or wallpaper, missing mortal, rotten siding or flaking bricks on the walls
  • Examine the ceiling for any peeling paints, sagging plasters or other mechanical damages
  • Examine the floor for any swellings, bulging of linoleum, large stains, lack of floor tiles or crached ceramics on the floor
  • Examine all electrical sockets and lights testing all light switches, electrical outlets and their fixedness, outlets’ grounding
  • Examine the windows checking if all windows can be opened and closed easily and glasses are safe, ensure that windows are not painted shut and the hardware is working properly. Operate all blinds and curtains to make sure they function as intended.
  • Check all applainces are in working condition, i.e. dishwasher completes cycles, garbage disposal operates, burners turn on, oven heats, icemaker operates.
  • Check if the exhaust fans, faucets, sinks and drains are working. Examine the color of the water, the time that it takes to get hot. Examine if there is no moisture under the sink, check the water pressure
  • Check for leaks around and under sink and on fixtures. Test water pressure (turn on more than one faucet at once). Test hot water pressure (same method). Look for rust or leaking around hot water heater. Make sure water heater is up to code.

Credit to Online Sources:
www.todolistsoft.com
www.inspectamerica.com

Outside Condition

  • Examine the roof, checking for leaks or conditions that might lead to leaks. Make sure there are no trees touching or overhanging the roof (wet leaves are very heavy)
  • Examine the foundation, checking for cracks, shifting, or settling. See if house is bolted to foundation (for earthquake safety). Make sure mudsill (part of the house that rests on the foundation) is in good condition.
  • Examine the windows, checking for dry rot on panes, sills and frames. Check for cracks in glass. Make sure windows open properly. Check for moisture damage inside.
  • Check for drainage, making sure that spouts drain away from house. Yard should slope away from the house to draw water away. Earth should be at least 6-8 inches below top of concrete foundation.
  • Examine fireplace, checking for crumbling mortar around brickwork. Look at stability of chimney. Check for obstructions.
  • Examine Stairs and Walkways, Making sure that all stairs and walkways (inside and out) are free of obstructions. All stepping stones should be firm. Railings should be steady.
  • Check for pests. Look for termit and beetle holes in wooden supports and under house. Check attic vents for hornet and wasp nests. Check for rodent droppings in cupboards and under house.
  • Examine Pool/Spa, making sure cleaning / filtering system works properly. Test thermostat. Check for leaks or cracks.
  • Examine paint, checking for cracked or peeling paint of exterior and interior of house.
  • Check A/C and Furnace units, making sure thermostat is operational. Check venting.

Basement Inspection

  • Check if there are no large cracks or bulges in the wall
  • Check the floor joists and beams
  • Check if there are no stains indicating that there is water at times
  • Check the supports and sump pump
  • Check the stairs and entry

Occupants’ Interview

  • Ask the occupants about the age of the house
  • Ask the occupants if there are any existing or repaired structural problems in the house
  • Ask the occupants if there are any signs of leaking roof now or were in the past
  • Ask the occupants if there are any problems with heating and conditioning systems
  • Ask the occupants if there are any termite damage in the house
  • Ask the occupants if there is a moisture in the basement
  • Ask the occupants if there are no problems with electrical service
  • Ask the occupants if there are no problems with plumbing system
  • Ask the occupants about reconstructions or improvements of the house.
  • Ask the occupants if the house was tested for radon recently

Credit to Online Sources:
www.todolistsoft.com
www.inspectamerica.com

What is a Home Inspection?

What is a Home Inspection?

A professional home inspection is an objective, detailed visual assessment of a property’s structure and operating systems. Once a home inspection is performed, you’ll receive a detailed report describing the condition of your home and recommending any repairs or improvements that should be made. Buyers will use the home inspection report to inform their negotiating and purchasing decisions about your home.

Every prospective homeowner is advised to have thorough home inspections done by professionals before purchasing a home. A home inspection can protect you from incurring unexpected costs after completing the purchase. Also, by identifying any problems up front you can often convince the seller to either fix the
problems or reimburse the buyer for the cost of repairs before the purchase is completed.

The most common inspections are an overall home inspection, which evaluates the home’s structural and
mechanical condition, and a pest inspection, which looks for pest and moisture damage. However, these reports may highlight issues that should be investigated by a specialized professional (e.g., a roofer or plumber).

At the conclusion of the home inspection, the home buyer should be well informed and should know the condition of the home; the inspection should be followed up with the inspectors written home
inspection report. If anything is wrong, the home buyer should know what needs to be done to correct problems (or safety hazards), what repair alternatives are available, what priorities to assign to the problems, which repair costs are significant or minor, which costs are non-essential improvements, home inspections are visual and there is always a risk of concealed damage, further destructive investigation is sometimes needed.

Although some home inspection companies will provide you with a pre-printed hand written checklist at the conclusion of the home inspection these boiler plate formats often do not provide the level of detail and advice and that a formal detailed written home inspection report can provide. It is easy for the home inspector to check off good, fair, poor, acceptable, or not acceptable, but it is another thing to describe what’s wrong, why its wrong, and what needs to be done about it. Anybody can check off a form that indicates that a stairway is tilting, but a written home inspection report by a Licensed Professional Engineer can tell you why the stairway is tilting and what needs to be done about it. Remember, only a Professional Engineer is licensed to make professional engineering judgments and provide you with a professional engineer’s design for remedial repair.

Carefully read your home inspection report and make a list of items that need correction; this will help you to determine your future expenditures for repairs and maintenance. The report contains useful information that serves as a reference for you in the future. A home can not fail an inspection, the home inspection report records the condition of the home, both positives and negatives.

If you have questions regarding your inspection report, feel free to me.

Credit to Online Sources:
www.eloan.com
www.inspectamerica.com
www.lowesmoving.com

Planning to Sell?

If you are already a home owner, having a Home Inspection every 2-5 years may help identify problems in the making and reveal ways to use preventive measures which might avoid costly future repairs.

If you are planning to sell your home, its also a good idea to get a Home Inspection. This will give you a better understanding of conditions which may be discovered by the buyer’s inspector and an opportunity to make repairs that will put the property in better selling condition prior to placing it on the market.

Home Evaluation Guide for Sellers

In a competitive market like this one, you want your home to “stand out in the crowd.” Eliminating major defects makes a property more desirable and leads to a favorable home inspection report for the buyer – thereby helping expedite a sale. Our Inspection Checklist can help you evaluate your real estate property prior to placing it on the market.

We hope that sellers will find this checklist helpful in evaluating their property and correcting problems that could adversely affect pre-purchase negotiations. Here’s a quick look at what to look for when you are going house hunting.

Questions for the Seller

Texas has a disclosure law requiring sellers to state any problems of which they are aware. We have compiled some Questions for the Seller** that the seller may need to answer in addition to the Disclosure Statement. As a buyer, these questions should be asked and answered to your satisfaction.

** This document is in Adobe Acrobat format. If you already have the Acrobat Reader, simply click on the link to view the document. If you don’t have Acrobat Reader, get it for FREE from Adobe.

Got a Leak?

Tell Tale Signs of a Leak for Homeowners

  1. Consistent wet spot in the yard
  2. Sink hole or depression in lawn or driveway
  3. Grass is greener and/or grows faster in a certain area of the lawn
  4. Constant sound of running water on the pipes in the house
  5. Sudden increase in water usage

Think you might have a leak? First things first. Most of the water supplies to our homes are regulated by a water meter located in the front yard. Usually they are near the sidewalk or curb side. There are two dials on that meter. The smaller of the two is what I call the activity indicator. With all fixtures off in the house, including the toilets, this dial should not be moving at all. If it is, it is quite possible that you have a leak.

Got a Pool?

Your pool will naturally lose some water to evaporation, some to splash out and some to backwash wastewater. You may also gain water from rainfall. A good rule of thumb is that if you’re routinely adding more than two inch of water to your pool per week, you may have a leak. (that is worth spending some time and money to repair) Pools are meant to be watertight, of course, but sealants will deteriorate, while other parts of your pool shift and settle, or just plain wear out. Pools can leak through any of the fittings or accessories, plumbing or even right through the shell. It is important to repair leaks, not only to save water, heat and chemicals, but also to prevent undermining pool structural components, and washing away fill dirt.

All pools are susceptible to leaks, whether old or new, plaster or vinyl. Leaks can be caused by ground movement and settling, aging, even your pets. Call an expert that uses Electronic Leak detection. This is an electronic instrument that has been specifically designed to find leaks in your pool. No more sending down a diver and spending hours to try and find the leak. No more draining the pool either. The use of the electronic leak detection device saves you money and time. This device takes all the guess work out of finding the leak. No more “I can’t find the leak”

Sonic Leak Detection is also used in conjunction with Pressure Testing for finding leaks in your pool plumbing. It is used to listen for escaping air or water from the pipes that run under your decking. It will not find leaks in your liner as some will have you believe.

Got a Pool? Want a Pool?

Pool/Spa Inspections

Pools can provide years of leisure, heath enrichment and pleasure. Yet, pools tend to be the most neglected aspect of a home/property. They can even become life threatening with safety issues if not properly maintained and repaired. Even if the pool is maintained by a pool service, you cannot be assured that your pool is safe and in good working condition without a pool inspection.

A typical pool inspection involves the examination of pool equipment (filter, pumps/motors, etc), the pool body, decking, coping, electrical, add-ons (such as heaters, diving boards, waterfalls, etc) as well as safety features such as pool fences, child safety gates, alarms and doors.

So when and who should you get a pool inspection performed?

      • Safety inspections for any one concerned about the prevention of drowning.
      • Realtors can recommend our inspection services for their prospective clients as part of the due diligence process.
      • Homeowners building their own pool and /or spa can avoid many costly mistakes getting construction supervision inspections!
      • Homeowners can get their pool inspected to ensure it is safe and in good working order.
      • New homebuyers can save 100’s if not 1000’s of dollars when buying a home with an inspection report.
      • Home sellers can get an inspection report and estimate to repair or restore a pool.
      • Landlords can have inspections for maintaining properties and ensuring the pool is safe and in good working order.
      • Property management can get an inspection to ensure a pool is in good working order and find out what needs to be repaired/replaced.

What is Mold?

What is mold?

Mold is part of the natural process of decay and renewal. It will begin to digest nearly anything under the right conditions. Building materials offer appealing food.

The main requirement for mold growth is the presence of moisture for over 48 hours. If the water content in building materials reaches 19% for two days mold growth and decay will begin.

Molds can cause extreme health problems including death. Testing for mold is not a usual part of a home inspection. Only a trained licensed professional should provide Indoor Air Quality Testing that samples the air you breath and identifies molds and other pollutants. CHR Inspections offers EPA approved testing protocols for mold testing and inspection as appropriate for the situation.

Listed below are the 10 most important things you should know about mold.

  1. Potential health effects and symptoms associated with mold exposures include allergic reactions, asthma, and other respiratory complaints.
  2. There is no practical way to eliminate all mold and mold spores in the indoor environment. The way to control indoor mold growth is to control moisture.
  3. If mold is a problem in your home or school, you must clean up the mold and eliminate sources of moisture.
  4. Fix the source of the water problem or leak to prevent mold growth.
  5. Reduce indoor humidity (to 30-60%) to decrease mold growth by: venting bathrooms, dryers, and other moisture-generating sources to the outside; using air conditioners and de-humidifiers; increasing ventilation; and using exhaust fans whenever cooking, dishwashing and cleaning.
  6. Clean and dry any damp or wet building materials and furnishings within 24-48 hours to prevent mold growth.
  7. Clean mold off hard surfaces with water and detergent, and dry completely. Absorbent materials, such as ceiling tiles that are moldy, may need to be replaced.
  8. Prevent condensation. Reduce the potential for condensation on cold surfaces (i.e., windows, piping, exterior walls, roof or floors) by adding insulation.
  9. In areas where there is a perpetual moisture problem, do not install carpeting (i.e., by drinking fountains, by classroom sinks, or on concrete floors with leaks or frequent condensation).
  10. Molds can be found almost anywhere. They can grow on virtually any substance, providing moisture is present. There are molds that can grow on wood, paper, carpet and foods.