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Michael Leavitt & Co Inspections, Inc. |
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MONDAY MORNING MESSENGER |
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Message prepared especially for Members of the American Institute of Inspectors® as well as Home Inspectors abroad |
It's a great day here in Orem, Utah! We are preparing for that glorious day that we get to celebrate Jesus' birth and show are gratitude to the ones that we really care about. The Leavitt household is full of blessings from the help of our friends and family. This has been an extremely difficult year and we wish to thank those of you that have kept us in your thoughts and prayers.
The Leavitt's performed in their second annual KSTAR hour long radio show this past week. Shelly pulled herself together to participate and it was once again a great experience. We sang and told stories about the holiday season. It was once again a time for the children to show Shelly and I that the musical talents really can skip a generation. While they sing with great vocal precision, Shelly & I sing with our hearts. Both of us are surprised that kids will still let us sing with them : -) The decision to do the program has given our children great confidence in their abilities and hasn't done anything to hurt our business. Instead, it gives us one more opportunity to help uplift those around us.
Our seventh grade daughter Jessica had this to say about the radio show..... "At first I was really nervous, but after a few minutes it went away because you don't realize that you are on the air for the whole area to hear. You are just in the room talking and it was very easy. But none of my friends believed me that I was on the radio because they were in school while we were on the air. I am the only kid I know that has been on the radio and I want to do it again. It was really cool!"
DISCLAIMER: The following segment of the MMM is very personal and I am sharing it with the MMM readership because many of you have carefully followed the health of Shelly and the well being of our family. I also know that I can trust these most intimate family moments with all of you. I hope that you enjoy them and that the account will lift your Christmas spirits.
The Christmas season is a special one and Shelly and I have always tried to keep the emphasis on the true meaning of the season. Having four kids under twelve has a great many of the thoughts in our home reflecting the great commercial aspect of the season acted out in the many commercials that our children are constantly digesting. We do not have a TV free home like some of you. We do not have a complete barrier from worldly on goings like some of you. Instead, we have a pretty typical young family environment with Mommy and Daddy doing their best to restrict the more evil aspects of modern media. Rare is the PG movie that our children get to see and even then, it is with the TV Guardian helping to protect their young ears from the commonly accepted swear words or our day. If you do not know what a TV Guardian is, then check it out at http://www.tvguardian.com/
As Shelly and I do our best to shelter, yet encourage growth in our children's interests, we often wonder how well we are doing. Due to Shelly's long term illness we have seen the effects on our children resulting from the lack of the full time mother influence. Often is the conversation with a teacher regarding the actions of our younger ones and how they need to improve. This is heartbreaking for us and we continue to do our best to love and encourage. We have great kids, but without the constant mother henning they will sometimes let their homework go and they sometimes are not at their best in the classroom. I share this to help you better understand my apprehension when I went to the grade school and the receptionist said that I needed to see our 8 year old son's teacher. This came after a lengthy parent teacher conference where we were informed of some less than stellar performance marks. I walked the long hall dreading the sudden conference that was about to occur.
I found Adam's teacher and she said "We had an exercise today where we wrote letters to Santa Claus and I thought you needed to see Adam's letter." I stood there apprehensively horrified. Time stood still as I waited for her to find the letter. I figured that it was either an 8 year old messing around instead of doing the assignment, or maybe it was an 8 page letter of wanted presents. She handed me the letter and tears streamed immediately down my face.........
Children are much more tender than I usually give them credit for. Adam is no exception. The Leavitt family wishes all of you a very Merry Christmas!!!
ERRORS & OMISSION INSURANCE Who is your provider? What are your rates? How are your rates different from last year? What limits of coverage do you have? What other companies did you pursue when making your E&O purchase decision? Do you have your general liability combined with your E&O. If not, who are you using for general liability? How much is it and what are the coverage limits?
E&O, WDO and General Liability through Allen Insurance, $300m per claim/$600m aggregate each, $1000, $3500 and $250 deductibles respectively. Occurrence with four year claim reporting. $4000 annual as new inspector, which includes $500 for WDO. Doug Barkee - Vancouver, WA
I use Allen Insurance Group of Georgia. They specialize in insuring Home Inspection people only. 800 474 4472. I pay @ 3300.00 a year for 2 people. And I pay an extra 500.00 for termite coverage even though I inspect for termites under a pest control companies license. My limits are 300/600. This is for E&O and general liability. I am a newbie as I opened my company in July. The quotes I got from local commercial insurance companies was almost 5-6,000 dollars a year. I found Allen and Associates through another home inspector. They have some nice programs. ie: E&O insurance that covers the referring realtor, broker, lender, attorney with a 0 deductable to them for referring you. If anyone has any questions please feel free to call or email me at 727 397 5096 or Hbinspec@tampabay.rr.com Gordon Cohen - St Petersburg, Fl
When I was carrying E&O, I had Allen Insurance. I did not consider others. The service and coverage were excellent. Jim Corbin, AII 2002 President -Bow, WA
I was with a group of inspectors last Saturday and a number of them are very seriously considering going with no insurance at all (the no deep pockets syndrome). It is ironic that our industry should be taking it in the skivies. We have a minimal loss record yet our reward for all of this is higher rates. Go figure! Jim Lucas - Camino, CA
I have E&O coverage with FREA. For rates you can check them out on the web. I had Allen for a long time and have been very happy with them. No complaints. I think they may be better coverage overall. I went with FREA because they offer the ability to enroll in health insurance as part of their group. Being self employed and having some history with health issues in our family, we were turned down for coverage everywhere else. Being part of the FREA group one is automatically accepted with no qualifications.
I get general liability insurance through Hartford. They have a good policy that also covers business property loss. That means insurance for my computer equipment. It is $500 per year. I did have a claim with them once that involved an overflowing bathtub on the second story. They took care of all the cleanup and restoration. No deductible. I was glad to have the coverage. They would also buy me a new computer if I happened to drop it or something like that. Jon Gudnason - Placerville, CA
Mine is through Business Risk Partners. Info at www.inspectorinsurance.com. Also well respected is the Allen Insurance Group at www.allenins.com and FREA at www.frea.com. There is another outfit called Target but I don't know anything about them. Paul MacLean - Austin, TX
INSPECTION FEESI am a newbie inspector, I have only been open since July and average @ 17-22 inspections a month. I set my fees from the beginning at the 8-9 scale. I charge extra for crawl spaces $75.00. I am not the highest and I am not the lowest for crawl spaces. I charge extra for pool and spas $25.00. My fees are competitive with the other good inspectors in my area and so far I have had only a few lost inspections to those that only charge 125-175.00 for a house. When it comes to pricing low, you usually get what you pay for. You want a cheap inspection and for 150.00 thats what you get. My fees start at 250.00 for a house and 195.00 for a condo up to 2000 sf. Even at 55 inspections a month i would leave my fees where they are and hire an assisitant to help me on my inspections. Gordon Cohen - St Petersburg, FL
I guess that everyone is overcome with the Christmas rush and unable to help this inspector out who is facing the real life scenario....... If you had 55 inspections a month and could step away for a moment and set a new plan of attack on your fee structure, then what would you advise for yourself??? So please take the time to respond if you can.
SYSTEM FAILURE & BACK-UPSI back up my system every Sunday evening and have my files on my laptop and on my son's cpu,who works wiith me and lives 45 minutes away. Fred Klein - Maple Glen PA
I have 3-D installed on two computers with the second mirroring the first,yet don't have a back-up in a fireproof box. Thats next. Chris Marshburn - Wendell, NC
Being somewhat computer literate, I long ago learned to respect the power of proper backups. I backup data files everyday there are changes. I keep identical copies of inspection data and forms on a laptop and my desktop plus once a week backup the 3d data files to a cdrom. PDA data files are auto backed up on the safe file on my hp jornada pocket pc (This is an option in the software).I also keep a saved cdrom copy of 3d inspection program in my vehicle that goes to the inspections in case of a major program failure. Then I could reload the program in 15 minutes and be good to go. Have never had to use this option, but someday!!!!!!!! Alan Taylor - Canandaigua NY
All reports are backed up in PDF format daily on a Zip drive, then burned to a CD at the end of the quarter. All reports are stored on the hand held hard drive in 3D format until the end of the quarter and then burned to a CD. Quick Books is backed up to a Zip drive daily, burned to a CD at the end of the year. Brent Foster - Oly, WA
It is rare when we hear from Brent, and yet when we do we all listen intently. Brent is an inspector of few words who hires out the areas of his business that he is not proficient. Computers are one of those areas. Brent has an IT professional named Pat who keeps him up and running. When Brent has a computer issue he usually calls Pat and says "Help!" Brent pays dearly for Pat's services, but it is worth it to him. Pat deals with the network, virus protection, and hardware issues. In fact, anything to do with computers with the exception of the 3D system is taken care of by Pat. When it comes to 3D, then Brent has my phone number.
So let's discuss an issue that Brent had with 3D. You must understand, that when Brent has an issue or a screw up, he really screws things up. Brent does not change his routine. He does the same things the same way each and every time. When something gets messed up, he has no patience with it. He has consigned himself to the fact that when it is screwed up, it is usually because he screwed it up. He doesn't blame the hardware or the software. Instead, he knows when he has screwed it up. His issue is that he doesn't understand how he screwed it up. Toubleshooting computer issues with Brent from several hundred miles away usually requires psychic powers to figure out what has happened.
Brent called me with the following issue. "I modify a word processing document and when I reuse it the whole system crashes. This didn't happen until I upgraded to version 5.0. What is wrong?" Well that sounds easy. The immediate response is that he must have corrupted software. So I asked Brent to send me the file and I would see what happened with the same file on a working version of 5.0. Sure enough, the file arrived via e-mail and it was a corrupted file that would not open with the 3D Word Processor. The easy response still would be that Brent had a corrupted version of 5.0, but I know Brent better than this. Something had gone wrong with Brent's modification procedures and it was no longer working.
So I had Brent step me through his process.
"Brent, what are you trying to do and what steps are you going through to accomplish it?" I asked.
Brent answered, "I am trying to modify my summary master document. I open it up and then resave it. When I open it back up with 3D it tells me that it cannot open the file."
Brent's situation baffled me. I could not see what he was doing and I was making too many assumptions as to what he was doing. It was at that moment that I wished that I was standing in his office watching his every keystroke. That was not possible so I questioned him further about his process. He finally shared..... "So that I don't corrupt the original I go to the 3D folder and copy the file from the folder an onto the desktop. Next, I double click on the icon on the desktop and after it opens up I modify it and resave it with a different name. Then when I open it up in the 3D word processor, it is corrupted."
I asked Brent what the icon looked like on the desktop and he responded, "It used to be that it was a 3D icon, but now it has the notepad looking icon."
That was it! When he was opening the desktop file the document was being opened with the Notepad software. When he was resaving the document it would save it as a .txt file and not the 3D .w3d file. Somehow the association of the .w3d files was changed from opening with 3D to opening with Notepad.
This will open a window that specifies which program will open the W3D files. Obviously Brent has this set to Notepad. Whether this happened during the version 5.0 upgrade or it was a fluke of nature, it really doesn't matter. The victory is that we know what happened and how to correct it. The application used to perform the action should read.... "C:\Program Files\3D Inspection System\3DINSP.EXE"
Now most of us would never experience what Brent went through because most 3D users open the word processing documents directly from the 3D Word Processor. This method worked just perfectly for Brent even though his file association was messed up. But he was trying to open up the file by double clicking the icon on the desktop. I have shared this scenario because the theory applies to all of the files on your computer. When you click on a new type of file for the first time your computer will pop up with a new window that asked you which software should be used to open the file. If you pick the wrong software, then you can follow the steps above to change the opening association.
WHAT TOOL DO YOU WANT FOR CHRISTMAS?Santa, I would really love to have a clone to assist me with my daily duties. I have been really good this year Santa! Reggie Ayres - Medford, OR
A moisture meter----ha, just kidding! Jim Lucas - Camino, CA
Well I'm looking for a Sure Test Electrical Circuit Analyzer this year my self. I have been a good boy I hope santa gets my E-Mail this year. Alan Muenzel - Sandy, UT
A boroscope and a SureTest circuit analyzer. Gordon Cohen - St Petersburg, Fl
WINDOWS POCKET PC 2002 PRINTING TIPIf you want to be able to "beam" a Word based report or any Word document from your IPAQ/PDA to your printer you can go to <www.fieldsoftware.com>. They have a demo software you can download to test and purchase the release code for $40. It works very well. Guy Wikman - Edina, MN
Thanks for the software tip Guy. I caution the readers to please be careful with Guy's tip. Printing from a Pocket PC can be just a little trickier than with a full blown computer. The software must be enabled to allow use with the aftermarket printing software. While each of them is designed to work with the onboard Windows Pocket PC 2002 software, the software that you load onto the machine's after the fact may not be programmed to work with the printing software. I recommend that you check with your inspection software vendor as to which printing softwares they will work with.
PHOTO CHALLENGE #134 RESPONSES |
Be careful not to touch the woodwork next to range when the burners are on. it will blister your fingers. Travis - Medford, OR
Jon, stay the heck out of the kitchen, give it a rest and just let the lady of the house cook dinner! Jeeze... Now put the tape measure away, kick back, put your feet up and watch Oprah until dinner's ready. Larry Stamp - Olympia, WA
This looks like Jon's rental. Jim Lucas - Camino, CA
I would report this based on the fact that also being a firefighter in Raleigh, I know people forget about and leave their food all the time and noticing the heat damage at the corner thats all it would take. Chris Marshburn - Wendell, NC
Potential safety hazard exists with the stove gas elements in close proximity to flamable surface. Recommend consulting manufacturers installation specifications and gas appliance installation specialist. Jim Corbin, AII 2002 President - Bow, WA
INSPECTION RISKSLarry, we look forward to hearing what safety protocols you put into practice with regular cleaning and sterilization. When Shelly first came down with her illness I was sitting in a mold training and was hit with the thought that it was possible that my jump suits could have been the source of her condition. You are so right with the observation that we, as inspectors, are in contact with many more germs than the majority of the population. We enter many more houses, not to mentions crawl spaces and attics, than almost any other profession. We become intimate with all of the areas of the home and if there are germs to be contaminated with, then we end up exposing ourselves to them.
As for repeated exposures and an eventual wearing down of our immunities against them, I think that there is something to this. I have watched my own inability to deal with fiberglass attic insulation dwindle over the years. I now very quickly get an allergic reaction including very watery eyes and coughing. Call me crazy, but I have narrowed it down to the attics insulated with blown-in fiberglass.
I would like to respond by saying none of you have any business putting a ladder against a sellers gutter. You can damage both the gutter and the paint job. Place it at the gable end, or with a hip roof use padding on your ladder or, as in my case, I fold one section of my four section ladder at an angle so there is absolutely no contact with the gutter. This is called being a courteous inspector. Jim Lucas - Camino, CA
That is a pretty myopic viewpoint Jim. Many of us operate in areas where the rooflines are 1 1/2 to 2 stories tall. Some homes are equipped with full perimeter gutters, or it is everything you can do to extend the 23 foot extension ladder and mount the roof. No all of us operate in areas where one story ramblers are the norm. While I like your recommendation to use padding or lean the ladder along the rake, this approach would be possible with only about 20% of my housing stock. The folded fourth ladder section option would also rarely be possible in my area due to the tall roof type of housing. Leaning against a gutter has nothing to do with being courteous and all about being safe. I have often envied those inspectors who can carry around a 12' telestep ladder and be able to mount all of the housetops.
What ladder safety precautions do you take? Do you lean against gutters? What types of ladders do you recommend?
PHOTO CHALLENGE #135 |
QUOTABLE QUOTE: "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11 |
HAVE A GREAT WEEK! Michael Leavitt & Co Inspections, Inc. The Most Qualified Inspector in Northern Utah! |
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