Rick's Blog

I was recently working with a client looking at a commercial property and was sent a Google Street View link. Last I checked they were only doing major metro areas however this morning I noticed the little yellow figure on the map and gave it a try. Sure enough -

The Googlers had driven through town to the end of main street and out to the ferry. Wow this is just like when we got our first traffic light, McDonald and Walgreens. Only this time we are really on the map. I suspect the Google Streetview car was through in early summer as the Fidalgo Coffee stand was open but the ACS building was not complete. 

Google doesn't announce when they are going to map an areas but one needs to stay tuned to changes that can help remote clients get a feel for the area.

Rick Bunzel, CRI
Pacific Crest Inspections

NPSAR Affiliate of the Year 2006-2007
WWW.PacCrestInspections.com
360-588-6956
Fax 360-588-6965
Toll Free 866-618-7764

Home inspection is an opinion based profession and yes, it is true if you put 10 inspectors in a room, you will get 10 different views. Is this unique to the inspection profession? No, the same can be said about lawyers, doctors, appraisers, claim adjusters and REALTORS. The reason is that our opinions are shaped by our experiences. Home inspectors are generalists. We have to know about the thousands of different items that go into homes ranging from old coal furnaces to energy management systems.

Unfortunately, there are inspectors who can go way overboard with their opinion. Here are some tactics you can use to put dose of reality into the transaction. So when you get the inspection response from HELL the first thing to do is to step back and be objective. How realistic is the list? Is the buyer’s agent simple using this as an opportunity to get more price concessions? Let’s take the roof for example. The buyers are asking for a new roof. How old is the roof? Most roofs will last 20-25 years. If the seller has not supplied it, ask for the specific wording the inspector used. For example, if the age of the roof is mid-life, then ask what criteria they are basing there request on. Let say the roof has visible repairs, that doesn’t justify replacement; repairs are part of normal maintenance. Your best defense at this point is to get a roofer to inspect the roof. A specialist’s opinion will always trump a generalist home inspector.

Some agents will want to talk to the home inspector directly and negotiate with them. For most inspectors this would violate their association’s Standards of Practice, so they won’t do it nor do they want to negotiate directly with the seller. Secondly, once an inspector creates and delivers an inspection report they won’t be inclined to charge it. Personally I don’t mind getting and giving clarifications when I have the permission of my clients but I do have a problem when the seller’s agent starts to question my opinion.

Although home inspection is opinion based, we must use criteria to base our opinion. Using the roof as an example we are taught to look at granule loss, curling of edges, burn through, and cracking to judge its overall condition. All manufacturers have guidelines for installation and usage. If you think the inspector is being harsh or punitive, examine the criteria they use to form that opinion. If the inspector doesn’t have a solid basis for his/her opinion, ask for a clarification. “Codes” are a four letter word and often misused. Most experienced inspectors stay away from codes due to the inconsistent way they are applied. Every building department adopts the building codes at a time and place of their choosing. If a homeowner wants to remodel a kitchen a building department may want the entire electrical and plumbing systems upgrade while the neighboring city may not. One city may be using the 2007 plumbing codes but 2005 electrical codes while the neighbor is just the reverse. I have even seen in a brand new development where two inspectors from the same building department disagree on how to apply the current building codes. Get the picture? If a home inspector is using building codes to describe a defect, ask them for specifics and their qualifications to cite the building codes. If the home had been remodeled and approved by the city, then it met the codes as they were being applied at that time.

If you are listing an older home (especially if it has gone through a number of remodels) then I highly recommend a pre-listing inspection. Being pro-active is your best defense against an inspection. The owners will get to see their home through the eyes of an inspector. They will get an opportunity to correct issues at a time and place of there choosing. If they don’t want to correct them, then they can disclose them. Either way it lessens the shock and puts the sellers in a better negotiating position.

Rick Bunzel, CRI
Pacific Crest Inspections

WWW.PacCrestInspections.com
360-588-6956
Fax 360-588-6965
Toll Free 866-618-7764

We are seeing a rise in Manufactured Home Sales as people trade down or opportunistic buyers jump on these low cost homes. If they happen to be using FHA they will want to check to see if the foundation are going to need to be upgraded before they make the offer

The most common problems found:

• Tie downs - insufficient numbers or inappropriate materials (I saw anchor chain resently!!)
  
• Tie downs - Inappropriate ties downs such anchors are stakes driven into the soil
• Skirting - Skirting is no longer allowed - HUD wants a foundation wall
• Piers - Stacked block cannot be on soil - they must be on poured concrete footer or plastic spread foot base

Wood Skirting - no allowed by FHA

Block on soil Not allowed by FHA

In most cases it is not difficult to upgrade the foundation to meet FHA/HUD standards but its still an obstacle that take time and funds to overcome

Rick Bunzel, CRI
Pacific Crest Inspections
NPSAR Affiliate of the Year 2006-2007
WWW.PacCrestInspections.com
360-588-6956
Fax 360-588-6965
Toll Free 866-618-7764

http://www.paccrestinspections.com/hud-fha-foundation-inspections.htm

Disaster Planning - Are you ready?

With the number of hurricanes marching down on the Gulf and Southeast I started thinking it was time to review our Disaster Planning. Since I am a firefighter and had my first home in the middle of earthquake country, this was something we always did. Everyone should give some thought to the type of disaster they have and how to prepare. A little bit of thought and preparate will go a long way to helping you help yourself. Please, please don't depend on fire, police, national guard or FEMA to come rescue you. All these services get inundated with requests that they must prioritize. During a disaster you must decided whether you need to shelter in place or evacuate. This is best decided way before the storm hits.

What Shelter-in-Place Means:
You are going to stay in your home and ride it out. This assumes that your home's construction is solid enough to withstand the event. Your home should also have a "last refuge" which is usually a small, interior room, with no or few windows. If you are going to shelter-in-place then you should also have food, water and medications for at least 5 days.


Evacuate:
The obvious method is by car and its fairly simple to throw everything you need into the SUV but what if the road is out or the traffic is backed up so long that you run out of gas? You need to be prepared to move on foot during an evacuation. Every family member should have there own backpack with their own items including some food and water. In addition you may want a rolling bag with food, water, bedding etc. If you have a pet you also have to think about food for them.

    *   Medical supplies: prescription medications and dentures.
    * Disaster supplies: flashlight, batteries, radio, first aid kit, bottled water
    * Clothing and bedding: a change of clothes and a sleeping bag or bedroll and pillow for each household member
    * Car keys and keys to the place you may be going (friend's or relative's home)

Since you are leaving your home don't forget about important papers:
    *  Driver's license or personal identification
    * Social Security card
    * Proof of residence (deed or lease)
    * Insurance policies
    * Birth and marriage certificates
    * Stocks, bonds, and other negotiable certificates
    * Wills, deeds, and copies of recent tax returns

A little thought and preparation goes a long way in a disaster. We all saw the Katrina pictures of the folks who were caught in the middle of it. However the majority of the people who did evacuate early on did it safely and without incident. The news usually doesn't focus on those prepared because its not news.

Here are some links you might find helpful

Pacific Crest Disaster Planning

The Lists you need for Disasters

Rick Bunzel, CRI
Pacific Crest Inspections

NPSAR Affiliate of the Year 2006-2007
WWW.PacCrestInspections.com
360-588-6956
Fax 360-588-6965
Toll Free 866-618-7764

I was talking to a REALTOR about a home I inspected recently and she explained that the deal was in limbo due to a mold inspection. I recalled that I had discussed mold with the client and did not observed any mold conducive conditions during my inspection. The REALTOR said that the client looked at the mold disclaimer and decided to get the home tested. The client paid a company $350 and the company said that there was evidence of black mold in the home. The REALTOR did not know any more details.

Since I had spent several hours in the home I was curious and wanted to look out for the best interest of the buyer. I spoke to her and ask about the results and where the mold was found. She said that without more tests they could not localize where the mold was. I ask her permission to talk to the company and she readily agreed. At this point she was comtemplating backing our of the deal because of the mold. I was surprised because this was an 8 year old home built by a reputable builder and well maintained.

I spoke to the "Mold Testing Company" and all that they would tell me is that they did a settling plate (petri dish) and that the home tested positive for cladospirium. They could not give me any spore counts.  I ask them about what levels were unhealthy and they were very vague. I also asked about whether they did a baseline test and they did not know. A baseline test is done on the exterior of the house to establish the level of mold outside the home. Mold is part of our ecosystem especially here in the Pacific NW. Homeowners who keep there windows open can have high readings without having issues in the home especially when they have a pond or mulch pile nearby.

Now most people don't know that there are over 700 types of mold and cladospirium is commonly found in most bathrooms and is not considered by expert to be toxic. In most cases it is found on the surface of bathroom walls and can be black in some circumstances. This type of mold can also take on the color of the foods it eats.

I called my client back and advised her to ask some hard questions of the testing company:

Why are they calling this black mold? Isn't that a generic term?

What levels of cladospirium do they consider unhealthy?

Why did they not locate the source of readings in the original tests?

Is it possible this is bathroom mold?

Do they do mitigation, what will they do? (isn't this a conflict of interest??)

I hope most REALTORS realize that the mold testing industry is unregulated and there are no health standards that can be used to differentiate between a healthy home and a unhealthy home. Companies can recieve a MOLD Testing Certification in as little as 4 hours. Mold mitigation companies routinely use the term BLACK MOLD to describe common household molds. This scares the homeowner into wholesale remodels or expensive mitigation. I have seen some of my clients spend thousands of dollars on mold cleanups when something similar could have been done with TSP or bleach and water.

I am curious to see what experiences others have had with mold testing????

//Rick

Rick Bunzel, CRI
Pacific Crest Inspections

NPSAR Affiliate of the Year 2006-2007
WWW.PacCrestInspections.com
360-588-6956
Fax 360-588-6965
Toll Free 866-618-7764

Ok, the titles a tease. One can't really guarantee anything. However with some common sense, correctly set expectations and a good inspector, you should end up with a reasonably accurate inspection. Here are some tips to make that happen.

Education- Clients need to understand the inspection process. That education starts when the REALTOR describes the buying process. First step is picking the inspector. Some sites recommend against using a REALTOR referred inspector. If your clients doesn't trust your  recommendation, you got bigger problem and you need to regain their trust. Secondly, you has more contact with home inspectors than anyone else. We already know that your  not going to give the client the pickiest inspector of the bunch or the lackey. In between there are a good group of inspectors. Most REALTORs will give the client three picks, encourage the client call them and book with the one they  like the best. There are a ton of websites that will give the client good questions to identify the "best" inspector.

Set Expectations - The client needs to understand what the inspection is and isn't. It is a visual inspection - its not exhaustive. Visual means we are looking at things - no X-Ray vision. If the issue is concealed we can't report it. Not exhaustive means that we don't  tear apart everything  as if we were experts. The except is removing the electrical panel cover and furnace cover, we don't tear things apart.  Accessibility means we need to be able to safely access an area. Wet or steeply pitched roofs are not accessible, Insulated attics with no walk-boards are not accessible. Safety is important. Some inspectors will walk attic trusses, some of those same inspectors will miss the beam and fall through the attic. I tell my customers my goal is to identify BIG issues. A big issue is something that will cost them $1,000 or more to repair. If a see something smaller I will usually also report it but I focus on BIG items.

What We are - Home Inspectors are generalists. The best analogy is comparing a family practitioner doctor and a orthopedics doctor. A family doctor knows about broken bones, can identify them but refers the repairs out to an expert, the orthopedics guy. A home inspector knows all about  different aspects of a home and can identify the issues but ultimately refers the final diagnosis and repair out to the experts.

Make sure the house is ready for the inspections - Short sale or foreclosure properties frequently don't have all the utilities on. An inspector can't do a complete job is the electric, gas or water are not turned on. Please make sure everything is on.  I had a REALTOR tell the client that of course I would come back to finish the inspection when the gas was turned on. When I informed her that there would be a charge to come back she appeared surprised. I quietly informed her that I was here to do a complete inspection and that it was through no fault of mine that the gas was off. To come back (it was 30 miles from my office) I would be driving 1 hour round trip and most likely 1 hour at the property. 2 hours time plus vehicle costs (I drive an SUV!)

Attend the inspection - I prefer that clients attend my inspections and appreciate when the REALTOR attends. Clients get to see the home through my eyes, interactively ask questions and get a sense of what the home is and isn't. When the REALTOR is present they can answer questions that are outside my domain such as easements, shared well agreements, inspection contingency, what to ask the seller to fix etc. Some clients will start to panic as I point things out. Remember we are paid to identify issues with the house. Although I can help keep things in perspective, I don't have the same relationship with the client that the REALTOR has. Some REALTORs don't think its a good use of their time to attend the inspection. I disagree, if the deal goes south because the client panics at the inspection and decides to walk, was it worth the two hours you gained to do something else?

Uninformed clients will ask whether the home passed the inspection. From my perspective houses don't pass or fail. It's all in the eyes of the buyer. What is a diamond in the rough to one client, is a money pit to another. Another question is "would you buy this house?" I look at functionality and condition. I don't look at rooms sizes, decor, flow and location. I always have to delicately answer this question.

Review the entire report    - Read the whole report. As a courtesy I provide a summary but no all inspector do and not all the detail goes into the summary. Its just highlights, the report has the details. When you spending this much to purchase a home you really want to look at all the details. Something may jump out at you that wasn't that important from the inspectors perspective.

Ask questions - My service doesn't end when I've delivered the report. If you have a questions, call or email your inspector. Find something at final walk-through or on move-in day. Call the inspector. This helps identify and eliminate issues before they become big problems.

Start around 2000, the mortgage banking industry began to require that a licensed local engineer certify that a manufactured home is sitting on a permanent foundation in order to approve a loan This started only with loans required to meet HUD (Housing and Urban Development) guidelines which includes FHA and Rural  Housing loans  In late 2005, it became federally mandated that all government guaranteed loans on manufactured housing have these engineering certificates.

Now that many first time buyer are finding that HUD FHA backed loans are the best product for them we are seeing a resurgence in these inspections.  Beware that most home inspectors are not qualified to provide these inspections as they cannot provide the engineering certificate the HUD /FHA requires.

The reason for this requirement is to establish a national standard of consistency amidst inconsistent state installation standards. While manufactured homes have standardized preemptive structural, plumbing, and electrical standards that need to be met before leaving the factory, installation standards vary from county to county, state to state. Additionally, manufactured homes are unique in that they can either be titled either as personal property (chattel) or real property. In some states the distinction between personal and real property is determined by the type of foundation and underpinnings that support the home. In other states, the classification of "personal" or "real" property is determined by how the property is taxed. Since the individual jurisdictional requirements vary signficantly, the Engineer Certification Letter helps to provide a standard for excellence. This is generally an underwriting requirement for all FHA insured loans, which also include Reverse Mortgages.

If an existing home is already on a foundation,  Pacific Crest Inspections can provide a certification attesting to the fact that the home meets the guidelines. If it does not meet the HUD guidelines, there are a variety of proprietary or approved engineered foundation systems that can be retrofitted in combination with the existing structural components. Pacific Crest can assist in the engineering certification process.

For more about Manufactured Home see our webpage

For more about HUD FHA Foundation Inspections see our webpage

Rick Bunzel, CRI
Pacific Crest Inspections

NPSAR Affiliate of the Year 2006-2007
WWW.PacCrestInspections.com
360-588-6956
Fax 360-588-6965
Toll Free 866-618-7764

Over the past 5 years I have always consoled my clients to inspect their HOA's. 

Most buyers, particuliarly first time buyers have no idea of what a HOA is , let alone the power that the HOA holds over the individual owner. Fortunately most of the abuses in California, Az. and Florida have already been exposed and dealt with. Still mismanagement can be costly and potential case an owner to lose their home.

 In March the Governor sign a new law regarding reserve studies for condominiums. The law falls short of what many industry professionals sought, including mandatory reserve funding and studies, but is a step in the right direction. The new law also is silent on maintenance plans, as required in neighboring Oregon and California.

The law, which becomes effective June 12, 2008:

    * Requires a residential condominium association, unless doing so, would impose an unreasonable hardship, to (1) prepare an initial reserve study based upon a visual site inspection conducted by a reserve study professional; (2) update the study annually; and (3) arrange for a visual site inspection every three years by a reserve study professional.

    * Reserve studies must include detailed information on projected expenditures and current reserve account information and must be conducted by a reserve study professional.

    * Encourages, but does not require, a residential condominium association to establish a reserve account, supplemental to the association’s annual operating budget, to fund major maintenance, repair, and replacement of common elements.

    * Requires a condominium Public Offering Statement or Resale Certificate to include a copy of the current reserve study; or (2) a disclosure to the potential buyer stating that the association does not have a reserve study.  

 Ultimately this forces the owners association to plan for maintenance issues and set aside reserves which should help prevent unnecessary financial surprises. Companies like Pacific Crest Inspections can help associations with the creations of the reserve study.

 

Rick Bunzel, CRI
Pacific Crest Inspections

NPSAR Affiliate of the Year 2006-2007
WWW.PacCrestInspections.com
360-588-6956
Fax 360-588-6965
Toll Free 866-618-7764

As a home inspector I am frequently identifying old smoke detectors (10+ years) and recommending new ones be installed. Many clients want to know which ones which ones they should buy. Something is better nothing... 

As a firefighter I have been to numerous calls in the past 10 years where a working smoke detector could have prevented a tragedy. After the smoke clears one of the tasks is to see if there was a smoke detector present. Sometime we find it with no battery, in a drawer or sitting on a shelf or one time still in its box. Most adults have recieved some education about the value of smoke detectors but we continue to see preventable fire deaths from a lack of working smoke detectors.

Recently a old controversy has come back up which type of smoke detector is better: Ion (Ionization) or  Photo (Photoelectric)? Both Ion (Ionization) and Photo (Photoelectric) smoke alarms respond to combustion particles given off by developing fires. Both have to pass the SAME fire tests by Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL). Both are designed to give adequate warning in case of fire, whether a fire starts slowly and smolders, or bursts into flames quickly and spreads rapidly.

 
The  Ion  detector reacts faster and is more responsive to smoldering fires that put out small combustible particles of nearly invisible smoke. The Photo Electric detector is reacts slower than the ion and is more responsive to flaming fires which put out larger visual particles of black smoke.  Ion and Photo sensing chambers use different methods to detect smoke. The differences between them are pretty technical, so let's start with a simple analogy: Think of wrist watches. Some are digital, some have dials with hands. Both tell time, but they use different methods. Same idea with ion and photo smoke alarms:
 

• Ionization: Ion smoke alarms react to changes in ionized particles, and are somewhat better at detecting flaming fires. Flaming fires spread quickly, "consuming" or burning materials in their path rapidly. Examples include paper burning in a wastebasket or stove-top grease fires. According to a recent study released by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 94% of reported home fires were categorized as flaming fires.

• Photoelectric: Photo smoke alarms react to how smoke affects light, are somewhat better at detecting smoldering fires. These fires can smolder for hours before bursting into flames. Examples include cigarettes burning in couches or bedding.

Is one better? It's impossible to say one sensor -- photo or ion -- is universally better at detecting all types of fires. Why? Because both sensors are designed to respond to combustion particles produced by smoldering or flaming fires, and because fires themselves are different. The combustion particles produced will vary depending on what starts the fire (matches, electrical fire, etc.) and what burns (paper, fabric, wood). If a lit cigarette drops directly onto a couch, it is more likely to start a smoldering fire. If that same cigarette drops onto a newspaper on the couch, the resulting fire may be more characterized by flames than smoldering smoke.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends installing both ionization and photoelectric type smoke alarms throughout the home for the best warning of a fire.  This recommendation is also supported by the United States Fire Administration, the National Fire Protection Association, Underwriters Laboratories, and by research conducted by the National Institute for Standards and Technology.  There are also dual sensor smoke alarms that have both ionization and photoelectric sensors in one unit.  

Personally I will add photoelectric sensors to each level of my home to enhance the safety of the 6 detectors already in place. I will also use lithium 9volt batteries that will last 10 years so I won't have to worry about season changes.

Rick Bunzel, CRI
Pacific Crest Inspections

NPSAR Affiliate of the Year 2006-2007
WWW.PacCrestInspections.com
360-588-6956
Fax 360-588-6965
Toll Free 866-618-7764

I follow an Indoor Air Quality group on Yahoo. This post came in recently:

On 4/1/08 12:00 PM, "midsouthbuilders" <no_reply@yahoogroup s.com> wrote:

I am a builder and as such, no stranger to mold contamination. We just
finished a large custom home and within three weeks of occupancy, the
new homeowner was complaining about musty odors. Recognizing that we
could be dealing with mold, I suggested they find a mold inspector and
we would pick up the bill.

I show up about the same time the mold "expert" is completing a few air
samples. He states "these will tell us if there is a problem". I state,
I can already tell you there is a problem because I can smell it.

The "expert" scurries back to truck promising results in three days. I
walk back in to the house and simply follow my nose to the laundry room
where I find a leaking washer water hose. Turn off water, pull washer
away from wall, and presto - mold.

Two days later, mold is removed. Same day a call from the "expert" says
the test show nothing significant going on so it must be the HVAC
system. I thanked him for his time and hung up.

I guess my question is - is there such a thing as a mold "expert"?
Cause I think I could be one...

Will

The only real experts are called Industrial Hygienists. Everyone else should be suspect.  The lack of regulation in the Mold Industry can be a real headache for all of us. Normally I would say Buyer Beware but without some education buyers may make the choice based on the biggest yellow page ad, telephone salesperson or web hit. I keep names of several companies I feel are reputable if I need to take the investigation further but the reality is that in most cases if you find the water leak, you have now found the source of the contamination.  Fix the leak Who cares what kind of mold it is, get rid of any materials that are heavily contaminated and clean the rest. This will deal with 85% of the issues I have seen over thousands of inspections. If you have a client who is considering a Mold Inspection have them look at our web page on it.

http://www.paccrestinspections.com/mold_inspections.htm 

Rick Bunzel, CRI
Pacific Crest Inspections

NPSAR Affiliate of the Year 2006-2007
WWW.PacCrestInspections.com
360-588-6956
Fax 360-588-6965
Toll Free 866-618-7764