That's right.... Happy Easter (Feliz Pascoa) and a great big Happy Birthday to our oldest child Jessica. 12 years ago Jessica was born on Easter Sunday. We have always given her the nickname of Bunny and she is as special as they come. To celebrate we hosted a 6 hour birthday party with over 14 of her closest friends. They had a video scavenger hunt, received facials, pedicures, manicures and made fragrant bath bombs. The level of fun was incredible for the females. Jessica beamed from ear to ear throughout the celebration.
Half way through the event the males were bored so I loaded them up and we headed over to Brigham Young University and watched our first experience with Lacrosse. We have signed up 7 year old for a week long Lacrosse camp later this Summer and he lit up when he saw these guys wearing full hockey type helmets, padding and pole nets beating the daylights out of whoever had the ball. Oh yeah, the teams scored some goals too.... Adam loves action, strategy and defense with personal contact so this sport is a perfect match for him.
Thanks again for the response feedback the past couple of weeks. They have lightened my load and allowed me to concentrate on the personal issues in our home. Keep them coming and take the challenge to document one of your experiences to share with the readership.
In response to last week's quote of the week..... "To heck with this, I'm moving to Oregon and argue with the Seller's. Steve are you hiring?" Chris Burkhart - Sandy, Utah came the reply from Steve.....
Chris, come on out. This is a great place to live and we have plenty of disgruntled sellers out here to deal with. Steve Bradley
I would like to copy this letter so that I may study it for future reference. In other words I think he has done an excellent job. Peter Barten - Bay City, OR
Appears to me that Steve addressed all the complaint items thoroughly and with reserve and politeness towards the complainer. The letter he demands from the complainer is a must. Hopefully it would help heal any damage that has occurred. The complainer legally has no right with the contractors board as they did not contract Steve's service. Whether that fact protects him from damage or not is anybody's guess. Who could argue the response he has given? I think he has defended the complaint thoroughly and respectfully. Reggie Ayres - Medford, OR
I had a similar experience a few weeks ago with an upset seller on the phone. I was told "the retaining wall is not leaning it is bowed outward." I could not believe she was serious. She went on to nit pick every derogatory remark about her house. By the time the phone conversation was over I had her calmed down and finally understanding that it was not my intention or duty to nit pick her house. As always, I believe it is best to respond to this type of complaint IMMEDIATELY. I would write a letter to the home owner detailing my thought on each one of his complaints and copy a letter to the agents involved. This type of letter from an upset seller could "cost" Steve a lot of business if not handled appropriately. It is my guess that the home had more serious conditions that Steve properly noted, and that the other issues are more likely what caused the buyer to back out. Nathan Buckley - Snow City, OR
Great job, Steve Bradley: Whenever I come across something as well written as your reply letter (yes, there were a few typos & awkward sentence structure - easily corrected!), I keep a copy in my appropriate folder for future reference in answering similar types of complaints. I'm working on one now concerning a seller who thinks he's a Master Electrician, but put in a spa energized by a sub panel with a common ground and neutral bar. At my evaluation that this was an imminent safety hazard and recommendation to have this sub panel reviewed by a licensed electrician, the seller apparently, has put in an additional "ground bus," and printed and filled in his own receipt "for services" by an imaginary company called "Frontier Electric." The Buyer's Realtor involved in this is one of the best in the business and wants her buyers to be fully informed. I know that most Agents consider negative remarks in our reports as Deal Breakers, but this Realtor is just the opposite! She insists on getting to the bottom of the challenge. According to her description, the seller was very upset with my report recommending a "licensed electrician to correct!" and he ostensibly hired one to do the corrections. My Realtor e-mailed me a copy of his receipt from this company called "Frontier Electric." It showed only a P.O. Box, no phone number, no evaluation, under description of services: "Labor & Materials" is the only notation and the amount is completely illegible. This looks to me like fraud, since this company is NOT listed in the telephone directory. I'm at a loss as to how to proceed with this now. Anybody got suggestions? Richard Grisham - Las Vegas, NV
Your Name:City: State:
Please include your name or I don't know who it is from...
Last week's topic of Meth labs and their clean-up liabilities was the first time many of the reader's had contemplated this new issue. Here were some of the responses.....
I would want to know what signs to look for that would indicate that a house had been used as a meth lab. Are there odors, stains, etc? Gary Holzbauer - OR
Cover yourselves in your service agreement by statements of what you do not do. This is the best defense. I have changed my Service Agreement. I am not sure what else can be done except to try to cover as best you can. Jim Corbin - Bow, WA
Reggie Ayres was the only one to take on the role of Our Lawyer friend Greg.... Does this sound familiar???........
Greg would say " Double your inspection fee !" Then he would say " Leave all testing devices at home." Then he would say " This is a LIMITED VISUAL INSPECTION ONLY!!!". Then he would say " Refer to some other professional, and do not offer your opinion!" ( See no evil-Speak no evil-Hear no evil) That will be $800.00,Thank you very much! Reggie Ayres - OR
In addition to the information this past week I attended a special Home Inspector meeting where a Salt Lake County Sheriff gave us a presentation on Meth labs. I learned how they are made, what the end product looks like, and most importantly the visible evidences that may lay in waiting for us as we inspect...... Next week I'll share those meeting notes with all of you.
Please include your name or else I don't know who it is from.
While in Portland, Oregon at the Mid-Year Conference I sold my wonderful digital camera to Mr. Scott Merritt. This was a shock to most, and it was even more shocking for Scott who had approached me with the line..... "Sometime this weekend I need to discuss with you digital cameras. I have the older Sony Mavica and I want to upgrade." I told Scott that I was selling mine, but he surprised me with.... "I don't think that I want to buy your old camera. Instead, I want to know which camera you have your mind set on buying."
I then went on to recount my experiences with my Sony DSC-S50 Cybershot. I have taken thousands of pictures with it since Shelly and I purchased it on our cruise to the Caribbean last September. The Sony DSC-S50 Cybershot had a 2.1 million megapixel resolution and an incredible battery system. The photos were always great quality with a good auto flash system and a storage capability only limited by the size of mini memory stick. I also found the video with audio sound capability very useful for skiing and kid's sporting events. All of my praise for my Cybershot sounded hollow to Scott until He asked which model I wanted to switch to. I then shared the fact that I wanted the same make with the same features in the new smaller shell. My DSC-S50 Cybershot was much smaller that my older Mavica, but they found a way to make it even smaller.
The new Michael Leavitt digital camera will be the Sony Cybershot DSC-S501 which lists for $799.00. It has a 3.4 million mega-pixel resolution and every other feature of my previous Cybershot. The camera weighs just 9 ounces and has a Super Compact Size - Just 4-7/16 x 2-1/8 x 1-3/4". One inspector told me that he read a bad review on the camera, yet every review that I have read has given it good to great reviews. I know the technology is good since I have loved the Cybershot. The smaller package really appeals to me. The only one I would consider over the Sony DPSC-1 would be a Nikon Cool Pixs. The Nikon drawback is the horrid battery life and the lack of the moving video. The strength of the Nikon is the Nikon photo quality and the ability to take high speed multiple photos..... The battery life is still a big Inspector issue.
Let's talk about digital picture cameras and batteries. I spoke with another Inspector this past week who has a great Olympus digital camera. It is smaller, takes good pictures, yet it rarely gets used anymore. He bought it with the goal of using it for family photos as well. His wife confided that every time they go to use it the batteries go dead without warning. They got to the point that they don't even take it anywhere with them anymore. I found this odd when I heard it and thought..... Why not just take along the 4 extra AA batteries. Then I remembered my first Casio digital camera that also ran on 4 AA batteries. I remembered that I had to invest in 8 nicad AA batteries and a charger for about $40. I then would recharge one set while I was using the other. The camera did not have an auto shut-off which made it horrible when I would take the camera out and realize that I had left it on and the batteries were now dead.
I also used to keep my Casio digital camera safely in my duffel sack until I needed it. When I found a picture I needed I would return to the bag, get the camera and then return to the area to take the desired picture. I usually left sight with just the first picture of the front of the house because I rarely had the camera with me when I found a photo opportunity. This same habit continued with my larger Sony Mavica. It was so bulky that I found no convenient way to carry around the large workhorse, so rarely were pictures taken.
Let's share a bit about the strengths and drawbacks about the Sony Mavica that so many Inspectors use. They are durable workhorses with fantastic battery lifes. You recharge the battery and the on screen meter tells you that you have about 172 minutes of On time. You use the camera until the meter gets below 100 and then recharge it. Rarely are you left with a dead battery. The drawback is the size, time between photos and the storage medium. The unit is large and bulky. It would take about 8 seconds between shots and another 8 seconds if you wanted to view the picture taken. The storage medium was floppy disks and you eventually build-up a massive collection of old floppies. When they came out they were great and would hold about 22 high resolution pictures. Conversely, the Cybershot that I just sold would take 3 floppies for one photo if I used the highest resolution setting.
The other huge drawback to my older Mavica was the built-in flash. To use it you had to turn it on manually and there was no flash level adjustment. This meant that if you were too close to an object in an attic or crawl space the picture would be completely washed out. This was corrected in newer Mavica units, but I was stuck with the original flaw. The solution to flash wash out was to pull out a white Kleenex or hanky and cover the flash to reduce its effect. This used to drive me wacky and make me reconsider coming back out of the crawl space to get the camera and crawl back for the picture.
So why is any of this dialogue important to Inspectors..... Because many of you are considering making the purchase of a new camera. The key to a camera is the ability to have the camera with you at all times. Make it small sized with a great rechargeable system for battery life. The pictures need to be clear with an automatic flash built-in. I know this from first hand experience, but I had forgotten how important these features are to us in the field. I was reminded during this past week of how important these features are and how your computerized reports will suffer if you do not have them.
This past week I felt naked without my Sony Cybershot. I used to wear it on my tool belt is an easy access padded case that had two extra securing clips added to prevent the case from coming off of my belt and kept my camera from falling out of the case onto the ground. Without any thought, my Cybershot had become as easy to reach as my 3 prong outlet tester. It turned on quick, snapped pictures quickly and allowed me to see the photo I just snapped equally as quick. This past week I found myself with the big, slow, and awkward Mavica as my only camera source. What a drag.... The thing was never with me when I needed it and as a result I may have shot 30 pictures all week instead of over 500. The two crawl spaces I did enter I took the camera and whined the whole time. The crawl space photos were washed out and the week was a huge disappointment from the perspective of finished reports. Instead of clear photos to accentuate my written descriptions, I had to rely solely upon my written descriptions...... This next week will be different as my new Sony should be here as you are reading this edition of the MMM.
They sure get through small places. I saw the photos at the conference. What a lark to find. A shocking experience for sure. Great conference! Jim Corbin, Bow, WA
That is an interesting question. Once when I was remodeling, I removed sheetrock and found a quite large rodent in the wall cavity that had absolutely no openings. I still scratch my head over that discovery. Maybe when it was a very small baby it squeezed in through a crack and found nutrition in the cellulose materials and whatever else crawled by. I think this particular fellow committed suicide simply out of boredom and the lack of getting the MMM every week. Michael, Where do you get these photos???? It's great! Was it the foot or the tail that made the fatal connection? Reggie Ayres - Medford, OR
Reggie, many of the photos come from my own camera but most of them come from you Inspectors in the field. Keep them coming because we all enjoy them so much. If you don't have a digital camera yet then invest in a good quality smaller unit that you can have with you at all times..... The photo that got away was Bill Bergstedt's experience in Lake Tahoe, CA. Bill was making his way through a crawl space when he encountered a cat that met his fate by biting through live Romex. Imagine seeing a cat on its feet with its mouth still clamped down on the Romex line..... Where was the camera when he needed it???..... Out in his work duffel bag of course.
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