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It's a great day at
Michael Leavitt & Co Home Inspections. We have just finished
off our Utah Pioneer celebration. The most important event of
last week was our 10 year anniversary. It seems so odd to say
that Shelly and I have been married a decade. It seems like only
yesterday, and then on the other hand, it seems like forever.
Now I don't mean forever in a bad way..... I mean that it just
seems like we have always been married.
As I previously mentioned, last Friday was the Utah celebration for Pioneer Day. That means that Utah closed up its doors. This also put the pressure on to get 5 days of work done in 4. Our anniversary was Thursday the 22nd, but the week was flying by so quickly that it could have come and gone without any notice. My wife had booked Thursday up with 3 inspections, with the last one having a 6 pm walkthrough. I didn't say much, but I thought it odd to work so late on the special day. I also had planned to go water skiing at 6 am the following morning.
I had a little break in between the second and third inspection, so I bought a dozen roses and went home. Shelly quickly appreciated them and then left to run some errands. At this point, I was a little frustrated. I had an hour and a half to kill; my wife left to do who knows what; my next inspection seemed to be scheduled way too late, and so I found myself doing something I have never ever done. I sat down and watched the Rosanne TV talk show....... I must have been desperate.
Bored of Rosanne, I went into the office and realized that the address on the late inspection did not jive with the calendar. What had Shelly done??? I then made up the Service Agreement and realized....What am I waiting for??? The home is vacant. It is keyboxed. There is no client walkthrough. Why wait till 4 o'clock to start this thing? I can do it right when Shelly gets home and be done with inspecting for 3 days. I waited.... and waited.... and waited. Finally Shelly came home. After a few minutes of pleasantries, I confronted Shelly with the mess-up. You know the routine..... Why did you schedule the inspection so late? Why is the address conflicting? Why do I need to wait until 4:00? I'm gonna just leave now and get this dumpy old home with a CRAWL SPACE done!!!
I kissed her and walked out the door. As I climbed into the van and started it up, I noticed Shelly coming out from the back yard with her purse in hand. I thought that she was sneaking away from the kids so that she could leave to take care of more things for the evening..... Afterall, it was her year to plan the Anniversary celebration. She came by the van and started to climb into the passenger seat. I thought it was just for a kiss, but she was making herself comfortable. Then like a big lughead it hit me..... I looked at her and said.... "I don't have another inspection, do I?"...... "No, you don't." And with that we headed off to a wonderful Bed & Breakfast in Salt Lake City. My report is as follows..... Marriage after ten years is really a wonderful thing.
FIRE DETECTORS x2Last weeks MMM dealt with a CPSC fire sprinkler recall. It was great to be reminded of the recall because I found myself inspecting a 3-story 100 year old unreinforced masonry office building that had a fire sprinkler system installed. I was confidently able to look at the system with its heads and know that it wasn't the same brand that had been recalled. The fire sprinkler topic makes this next Canadian news article that much more timely. It may seem strange, but we are going over the boarder for this article.
Are you familiar with the fact that there are two main types of residential smoke detectors? Can you name them? Can you tell me which one is meant for which application? Are there situations that both types are recommended? Are there other situations where only one is recommended? If you can answer these questions then don't waste your time reading the following. If you are a little smokey as to what the differences are then please read on.....
Did you buy Underwriters Laboratories of Canada-approved smoke alarms to ensure your family's safety? Do you have both types of smoke detectors ready to protect you and your home?
"Investigations into home fire deaths very often find that a smoke alarm did not sound," explains Canada Safety Council (CSC) president Emile Therien. "It may have been disconnected or not in working order. The batteries may have been dead, or someone may have taken them out."
Or maybe it was the wrong type of smoke alarm.
Different types of smoke alarms detect different sorts of fires. For maximum protection, you should have at least one of each type of alarm - ionization and photoelectric - on every level of your home.
Ionization-type smoke alarms are the first to respond to fast flaming fires that consume combustible materials quickly and spread rapidly. These fires generate a lot of heat, but little smoke. Cooking fat or grease, the most common causes of home fires, create fast flaming fires as do flammable liquids, newspapers, paint, and cleaning solutions. Since ionization-type smoke alarms typically respond to fast flaming fires, they are best suited for rooms and areas which contain highly combustible materials like kitchens, workrooms, home offices, basement storage areas, and garages.
Slow smoldering fires trigger photoelectric smoke alarms. These are the alarms that can be such a nuisance in kitchens and hallways where the smoke from burning toast or frying food sets them off. This frustration factor often causes the alarms to be dismantled to keep the peace, a serious lapse in judgment.
Smoldering fires produce a lot of smoke but little flame or heat. They may smolder for hours in large pieces of furniture such as a couch, mattress, or counter top before bursting into flame. Photoelectric alarms should be placed in or near living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens.
Smoke alarms have been credited with bringing the number of people that die in Canadian home fires down to about 400 each year. But that is still too many preventable deaths. A fully-charged a smoke alarm can scream the warning of fire that provides precious seconds for an escape to safety.
Fire safety isn't accidental. Following these tips will ensure a safe home:
For more fire safety information: Canada Safety Council, Ottawa, Phone 613-739-1535 (after hours 613-737-4965) or email csc@safety.council.org.
The website is http://www.safety.council.org Or contact your local fire station.
A day in the life of...You had asked earlier for articles
of interest or tidbits from the inspectors for the quarterly news
letter. I thought I should share one of my experiences. Here goes:
This is my first year in the home inspections business and I was
thrilled to be called upon to provide an inspection on a $1 million
property. As it turned out, this was also going to be my first
day full of a comedy of errors. Let me walk you through this scenario.
The 3800 square foot, slab on grade, single story house is two
years old and sits on five acres in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa
Barbara County here in California. This is also horse country,
and the home of many Hollywood types, which brings in the $1 million
price tag.
Even though the house is only two years old and the street not
listed in my Thomas Guide, which is five years old, once I was
given the major cross streets I was sure I knew where the property
is located. But, you know what happens when you "assume"
something. It never turns out like you thought it would. This
house was not in the development that I had anticipated but actually
about three miles away. Today, I learned the importance of updating
my Thomas Guide more frequently!
Fortunately for me, the Realtor had called the morning of the
inspection and asked if we could push the time back by 1/2 hour.
As it turned out, I was only two minutes late, rather than the
15 minutes early that I like to be. Fortunately also, I beat the
prospective buyer by one minute and the realtor by about five,
so neither of them knew of my blunder.
I introduced myself to the prospective buyer and was going over
the service agreement with her when the Realtor arrived. After
the initial introductions and salutations, they started to chatter
and I returned to my truck for my tools. The Buyer and Realtor
went into the home, taking the unsigned service agreement with
them. I started my inspection around the outside, figuring the
paperwork will all come together in the end. Another assumption
gone wrong. But I'll say more about this later.
While examining the exterior of the building and the landscaping, the automatic sprinklers turned on in the front yard. Being the ever mindful inspector, I noted this in the report and think how blessed I am to be able to check out the operation of this system without having to go out of my way to do so. Another assumption gone wrong. As I returned to the driveway, I see that I had left the window down on my truck and I had been treated to an interior wash by one of those yard sprinklers that also covered the parking area. How blessed, indeed! Oh well, too late to do anything about that now.
I get my ladder out of the back of
the truck and go around back to check the roof. You guessed it.
Just as I am adjusting the ladder to climb up to the roof, the
rear yard sprinklers turn on and get me soaked. It's amazing how
something like this gets you so startled that you can't move for
a second. It was a good thing that I had noted the automatic system
in my report (but not for myself). Oh well, I'll just take a little
longer outside in order to dry out before going inside.
When I do finally get inside, the Realtor is leaning over the
kitchen counter reading the morning newspaper. He tells me that
his buyer had another appointment to go to, but will be back for
my summary at the end of the inspection. Another assumption goes
wrong. I never see the buyer again.
The rest of the inspection goes well and as expected. Everything
is fairly new (only two years old) and functioning according to
our criteria of durability and serviceability. Houses in this
price range have top of the line everything and they are a pleasure
to inspect. Even the attic was great. There is a pull down ladder
into the attic area, a floor over a good portion of it, and plenty
of headroom. I didn't have to suit up or crawl for this portion
of the inspection.
The inspection is complete, so the realtor and I chit-chat while
waiting for his buyer to return. After 45 minutes, he calls her
and discovers that she is off doing other things and will not
be returning. He suggests that I go over the findings of my report
with him, which I cannot do without a signed service agreement.
He doesn't want to sign one on his client's behalf, so we have
to call it a day and go our separate ways. And I haven't been
paid yet.
A couple of days (and phone calls) later, I finally speak with
the prospective buyer and am told that "the check is in the
mail". After a couple of weeks (and a few more phone calls)
pass without any payment, I have to enlist the help of the realtor.
Fortunately for me, he is very upstanding and says that his client
has decided not to continue with the purchase and was not planning
to pay me. He then explained to her that a service had been provided
and payment was due. A few days later, a check finally arrives
in the mail but, no signed service agreement.
A month has now passed and I end up mailing my inspection report
to the (no longer) prospective buyer along with another copy of
the service agreement to be signed, and a postage paid return
envelope. To this copy of the agreement I added a note, for the
buyer to initial, allowing me to give a copy of my report to the
realtor. At least she did sign and return the agreement, but did
not initial for the realtor to receive a copy. I really felt bad
having to call and thank the realtor for his help in the collection
of my fee and then saying that I could not legally provide him
with a copy of the report for his file. Hopefully, he was able
to obtain a copy from his client.
What an experience. At least when things go wrong, it's better to have them all happen at once. This way I feel like it is all behind me now and I can look forward to newer and greater challenges. From the outside, this career looks like such an easy way to make a living.
I always appreciate learning from
the mistakes of others and figure its my time to share.
Doug Treloar
Pre-Purchase Inspection Services
Carpinteria, CA
Y2K - Will it effect my little home inspection business?The year 2000 is just around the corner, in fact, it is exactly 158 days away. I'm sure you are all as sick of the topic as I am. Y2K this, Y2K that...the world will end as we know it...better be armed and ready...stock up now...nothing will happen...it is all a big hoax... Take your pick. All of these are being spouted out by various "people in the know." Which version do you believe? But more importantly, how will the ticking of the clock towards midnight on December 31st effect your business lives? Have you given this any thought?
I
really had not given it much of my brain time until last week
another inspector asked me if I thought house sales would come
to a screeching halt in November and when did I see them picking
back up again. Then he asked, "Are you financially ready
for 3 months of no business?" I initially laughed at the
thought because everything is going so well right now. Then I
stopped to think about how fickle home buyers are. Are we currently
seeing record sales because buyers are trying to buy before things
get rough and sellers are trying to get rid of properties before
things come to a standstill? Or will it be business as usual?
Is it just busy right now because it is summer and the majority
of people want to do their real estate transactions during the
non-school months?
Nobody knows for sure. We can only speculate. But let's be real. Would you put your home on the market in November? Or would you decide to wait and see what happens after January 1, 2000. What about companies? Will they relocate people during December? Or will they just hold off as well?
Or will it be the opposite--everyone buying and selling like crazy before December 31st and you are busier than you have ever been during the winter. Then January screeches to a halt...when does the housing market pick back up?
Logic tells us that even if there is no significant change in our lifestyles, even if there is no Y2K bug that will destroy our daily activity, even if January 1st brings no changes...when the future is unsure, people are not known to forge ahead and conduct business as usual. Here is where Shelly and I go separate ways. Shelly, in her typical "Chicken Little The Sky Is Falling" manner, sees a potential spiral effect. Here is her scenario: people stop making big purchases (homes, cars, investments, stocks). The people in these industries are adversely affected. They don't have money to buy Christmas gifts. Sales will be way down as people start worrying about the lack of income and the lack of sales. Now retail sales are down. And the sky begins to fall. And Shelly will state her now famous words, "I told you so...I told you so!"
I, on the other hand, only look at how it will affect my small little business. Who cares about the rest of the people...let them fend for themselves. I think I will start promoting EIFS lawsuits. The lawyers will never be without business. On the serious side, the home inspector bank accounts could really suffer. It's at this point that I start to envy the part-time inspectors will full-time jobs and benefits. I truthfully foresee a dramatic slow down and a very slow upswing in the housing markets. I can only hope that big government and big financial institutions will down play all of this Y2K stuff and will keep public confidence high so that there will be no downward trend. What do you think???? I'm serious...I expect an e-mail from each one of you. Let me know what your thoughts are. And if you previously have not given this any thought, stop and ponder it. So here goes the first official Millennial AII™ Y2K Survey.
Next week we will share everyone's thoughts on this. ... Please don't think that your opinion doesn't count.
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