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It's a great day at Michael Leavitt & Co Home Inspections!!! This is a tough work week because my plane leaves for Reno at 11 AM on Wednesday whether I'm ready or not. Last week was rather slow until Thursday and then the phone started ringing off the hook. Of course, everybody needs it done before November 8, and that will be my first day back from our Annual Meeting. That meant that Saturday was a work day, too.
ANNUAL
MEETING TREKThis year my whole family will be flying on the airplane to Reno. That means two adults trying to maintain four kids for 1:17 minutes of flight time. Of course there will be the pre-flight jitters and nervousness to deal with (Haily has already expressed concern about falling from the sky and breaking her leg!) None of the kids have ever flown, except as babies. We also run into the challenge of seating. Six people will occupy 5 seats, only 3 of which will be together. The other challenge is that it will be in the middle of the day, so we can't take advantage of the normal double dose of Dimetapp to make them sleep. I can picture it now....... Adam will decide that his 4-year-old bladder will need to be relieved just before take off. Haily, at 2 1/2 ,will be difficult to contain in a seat belt. Jessica, at 8 ,will want to hold little baby Aaron who will be trying to charm all passengers within 6 seats. This is chaos in the making, but should be a memorable trip for all.
You probably are wondering why Shelly and I would set ourselves up for this abuse. Well, it isn't so that you get the joy of my kids presence during the seminars. Instead, the moment we land in Reno we will be boarding a large, rented mini-van like the two we have sitting in our driveway. We will then start a 3 hour drive to the border of California and Oregon. I have been told that there is a thriving metropolis of about 1,500 people called Alturas. Alturas is the home of my Shelly's twin sister and her family. She and the kids will be staying there until Saturday. Then the family will be joining me in Reno for the Awards Dinner.
Alturas is also where I will be enjoying an inspection experience with Steve Bradley. Thursday morning, Steve and his wife Dorothy will drive down and meet me in Alturas to inspect a small home that my sister-in-law is considering purchasing. Steve also wants to convert over to computerization so we will be exposing him to the wonderful world of "How do you get the computer to quickly say what you observe." If there is anybody out their who wants to join us for the fun in Alturas at 10 AM on Thursday morning please let me know. This is the free part of your wonderful experience at the 1998 AII Annual Meeting.
My inspection with Steve in Alturas brings up some interesting legal questions. Since Steve and I are doing the inspection for free, is it against any law in California to perform an inspection out of our normal State(s) of business? How about termite inspections? With no fee involved, can we issue a Wood Destroying Insect report? Both Steve and I are AII Certified Pest Inspectors. I am a member of the National Pest Control Association. Steve has his Oregon license for his Pest services. We both have E&O for pest inspections, but is it illegal to perform them in California? Maybe Betty Buckley or Ron Cloyd can share with us since they live near the border.
SPECIAL NOTE: If you are considering computerization, I will be available Thursday late afternoon and evening in Reno to answer questions. Call me in my room and bring your list of questions. I will have my laptop set-up for you to toy around with. I will also be helping those that are already using the 3-D software to better take advantage of it's report writing and database features. Those that perform Mobile Home inspections, Radon Testing and Lead Hazard Screens will also want to see the computerized version of the reports. So if you are interested....... show up early on Thursday afternoon and come to my room.
THE OLD
LADY IN THE
PARLORThe following is an experience shared by Scott Merritt from Nevada County, California, on the AII Inspector Hotline. Some e-mail postings are just too good and they need to be immortalized in the MMM. This was one of them. Scott shared......
...... I had an inspection yesterday the likes of which you wouldn't believe. The agent said she couldn't meet me at the house, but the house was vacant and I could pick up the key at her office.
I arrived at the
house to find a big
100+ year old Victorian. From the street it looked
like it hadn't
been lived in for 80 of those years. Even though, I rang
the doorbell
(which didn't work), then knocked several times before using
the
key. As I normally do in this situation, as I opened the door
I
called out to announce my arrival just in case someone was home
and
didn't hear me.
I made a
quick tour of the house to
get a general idea of what I was in for, then
headed back to the
entry . . . when I almost had a heart attack! Sitting
on a sofa
in the front parlor was a frail looking old lady stroking a
cat.
I apologized to her for the intrusion and explained that I had
knocked on the door, etc., but either she was deaf or didn't care.
She
just sat there with the cat, staring at me.
This was rather unnerving, but I had to get my inspection underway.
As with most Victorians, the roof was high and pretty steep, but I was able to get my ladder to reach and accessed it at a lower-pitched section. I was on the opposite side of the roof when I heard the unmistakable sound of a ladder sliding along a gutter and crashing to the ground! Sure enough, my ladder was laying in what used to be a flower bed. I was so sure that I had set my ladder securely. It took some creativity, and it wasn't very smart, but I did find a way to the ground without breaking my neck.
I proceeded with my inspection of the exterior. At the front porch I saw through the window that the old lady was still quietly sitting in the parlor. I walked around the corner, and looking up I saw the lady standing in the window of a bedroom, staring down at me, the cat in her arms. A small smile creased her lips. I smiled back and moved on. At the back of the house was an enclosed service porch. There she was again! Just staring at me. I called to her not to be nervous about me, I was just making routine comments, checking things out, etc., but she didn't respond to me. (Then I told myself not to be nervous about her!)
As I finished looking at the last side of the house I saw the lady standing at the dining room window, and then it seemed like a half a moment later she was at an upper level window. Just standing there with the cat in her arms. I went back around to the front, entering the house again, calling out to her as I did. But she didn't call back. So I went to the kitchen.
I won't tell you everything strange about this inspection, but for example when I turned on the gas range the flames went out at each burner two seconds after turning them on. I re-lit them, and they'd go out. This happened three times. Have any of you ever had this happen? I made note of it and moved on. As I checked the cupboards I couldn't help but notice there was no food in any of them. What did this old lady eat?
I hadn't heard anything, but I got this strange feeling of someone watching me, and I turned to find the old lady with her cat standing at the kitchen doorway. Just staring at me with that hint of a smile. It was clear to me now that she wasn't going to chat so I just went back to my business of making notes . . . "disposal DNF, faucet leaks, window cracked . . . "
I opened the door to the pantry next. I heard a scuffling noise, reached for the light switch, and when the light came on a small pack of rats came scurrying out, a couple of them running over my feet before I could jump out of the way. They ran across the kitchen floor and right by the old lady standing in the doorway. She didn't even flinch! My eyes must have been big as silver dollars. She just stared back at me as if this was a normal thing to happen.
The rest of the inspection through the house was just as strange. A couple of times I would turn on a light and when I turned around the light would go out. I'd look back at the switch, and it would be in the OFF position. Was this my imagination playing tricks on me by now?
One time I was in a bedroom when I heard the loud slam of a door down the hall. When I whirled around I found the old lady passively standing in the doorway of the room I was evaluating, the cat in her arms. I asked, "What was that!", but she said nothing. It was as if she didn't hear it. I figured by now that she really was deaf.
The house
was very big with two full
living levels and a full basement/cellar, as
well as the attic.
It seemed like it was going to take forever to get
through this
inspection, but there has never been an inspection I was
more
anxious to complete. The house was very cold and
musty. The
furniture looked like it all dated from when the house
was new. Very few
of the double hung windows worked, but I had
to swipe away cobwebs from
every one of them to find out. One
door fell off its' hinges when I
opened it, it seemed every other
one creaked and groaned. When I turned
on the furnace a cloud
of dust literally came blowing through the
registers.
And almost every time I turned around there was the old lady with the cat in her arms, watching me with her small smile. Then there were other times I'd turn around expecting to see her but she wasn't there. This was getting too weird.
When it came time to check out the attic I must admit I was feeling a little uncertain. I was sure by now that if I didn't encounter more rats, I would at least have bats swirling around me, or worse. The attic was accessed from a spring-hinged hatch at the end of the hallway. I pushed the hatch cover back and secured it with a bungee cord to a nail in a rafter and prepared to climb up. As I did this I saw the old lady at the other end of the hall with her cat in her arms. Smiling.
I took my time getting accustomed
to this attic before
climbing all the way in, shining my flashlight
around and letting my eyes
take in the general layout and construction.
After a minute of this it
started to look like any of the hundreds
of other attics I had been in
and I scolded myself for allowing
my imagination to get the better of me.
There was nothing at all
unusual about this attic, (after all, most
attics of this vintage
are criss-crossed with cobwebs and have layers of
dust over the
ceiling), and I proceeded through it routinely to the far
end
. . . .
.. . . . . when
there was a loud WHAM
behind me. I must have jumped two feet in the air.
The trouble
was, there was only one foot to the rafters and I slammed my
head
and tumbled down onto the ceiling joists. I was lucky I didn't
go
through the ceiling. But I did flail around and kicked up a
cloud of
dust. As I coughed my lungs clear and rubbed the bump
on my head, (no
blood), all I could hear was the thumping of my
heart. Then, being the
professional home inspector that I am,
I made the mental note that the
attic was inadequately ventilated.
I knew this because my eyes were wide
open but all I could see
was black. I had lost my grip on the
flashlight when I was startled and had heard the crack when it
struck the
nearby brick chimney, shattering the lens and bulb.
I looked back towards the end of the
attic
that I had come from and quickly figured out that the bungee
cord holding
the access hatch open had come loose. No wonder it
made such a loud slam.
No wonder there was no glow from the hallway
to light my way back. I sat
very still and listened. I heard nothing
but blood rushing through my
temples, felt nothing but my
heart thumping in my chest for several
minutes. I slowly calmed
down, telling myself over and over that there
was nothing to be
afraid of, this was all very logical, and that I was in
control.
It was no easy task
finding my way
back to the access hole. There is nothing creepier than
crawling
through a pitch black attic, feeling your way across ceiling
joists,
cobwebs brushing across your face. It took several minutes, and
then there was the struggle of trying to open the
spring-hinged
access cover from the top side! I won't go into
that, but 30 minutes
later I was stepping back onto my ladder.
(At this point I was surprised
to find it was still there for
me).
Taking my ladder downstairs and out to my truck, I passed the old lady and her cat sitting in the parlor again. She looked at me as if nothing unusual was going on, that it was no big deal that some guy banged around in her attic for an hour. She just looked at me with that weird little smile.
I keep a spare flashlight in my truck, so I didn't have an excuse to not inspect the basement. At least I was getting close to finishing this job.
This house being the
ancient Victorian
that it was, the basement, (or cellar), was accessed
from a pull
up door in the floor of the kitchen with a recessed handle
that
flips up. I bent down and grabbed it and pulled. It lifted a few
inches and then I felt a resistance that made it difficult
to keep
opening , and I let it down. I felt the old lady's presence,
and sure
enough, she was standing off to my left with her cat.
Smiling.
I pulled up again on
the door. This
time it came up about a foot before something stopped it.
It almost
felt like someone on the other side was trying to pull it back
shut. I allowed it to close. I looked over at the old lady. She
had the
same expression as always. I grabbed the door handle again
and pulled up.
This time it again hesitated when I got it partway
open, but instead of
letting it go back down, I pulled harder.
Then the resistance increased.
It definitely felt like someone
on the other side pulling it shut. I
yanked hard and got the door
open a little
more before the strong tug
from the other side stopped it. It
went like this for a few more
tugs.
I was curious and determined now to get this door open. I'd pull, and the pull would come from the other side. I'd yank, and an equal yank would come from the other side. Back and forth, back and forth. The old lady just watched, the hint of a smile now moving into the corners of her eyes.
With a final growl and firm grip, I pulled up as hard as I could on that handle. Unbelievably, the door slammed shut faster than I could react, and I went sprawling onto the floor. At this, the silent old lady went into a gale of laughter, a laugh that was more cackle and screech than anything else.
I gathered myself together quickly and bolted for the front door. I had enough presence of mind to lock the door behind me, but I was in my truck in a flash. As I backed quickly out of the driveway I looked at the house one last time to see the old lady standing at the front window, still laughing hard. I thought I could still hear her cackling as I put the house in my rearview mirror.
Twenty minutes later I was at the real estate office to return the key. The agent happened to be there and asked me how the inspection went. As calmly as I could, I first told her I was surprised to find the old lady living there after being told the house was vacant. She looked at me with surprise and said that the house was indeed vacant, had been for over a year since the old lady who owned it had died, had actually died right at the house. In the front parlor.
She then asked how I was feeling, because I didn't look well. I hesitated to answer, then I said, "You're right, I'm not feeling well at all and I wasn't actually able to complete the inspection. Why don't you call J__ H____ to do this inspection."
"Why would you recommend J__ H____? Every time I see him he has nothing but nasty things to say about you."
"Well", I said, "I think he should know there's no hard feelings on my part, and he's the right guy for this house."
HAPPY HALLOWEEN ALL !
Scott Merritt
Spooky Nevada County, CA
Little
Baby PAUL
FOSTER
Our
Chairman, Brent Foster, and his wife
Mary sent me the following
picture of their newest addition to their
family. Even their little
daughter Allison seems to have made room for
Paul in the home.
In fact, my wife sent them all a little outfit for
Paul. When
the package arrived, Allison claimed the little outfit's hat
as
her own. Although it was warm outside, she wore the winter cap
all the
rest of the day.
I have known Brent for about 3 1/2 years now and have seen a lot of personal changes. The biggest change is the way he quickly adapted to fatherhood. After Allison made such major changes in his and Mary's lives, I was surprised when they immediately ordered another one from the stork. At this rate, Mary will be the mother of ten before the year 2010.
One thing Brent will quickly share is
the love he has for
his wife and children. He will also quickly
admit the great change it
makes in a person's lifestyle. Kids
are really a great thing. They cost a
lot and take a lot of time
and effort, but they last a long, long time.
Their added love
in a household greatly outweighs the challenges that
they bring
into the family. Congratulations Brent and Mary..... Paul is a
keeper!
ANNUAL
MEETINGThis years Annual Meeting will kick off Thursday morning with the Mobile Home Seminar. If you haven't yet taken the Mobile Home course, I highly recommend it. While that is going on in Reno, the satellite course on 3D Computerized Inspection Reporting will be taking place in Alturas, California =:-) Alturas is located 3 hours north of Reno and once you've found it, you are there. I don't think they have a traffic signal in town, but if they do, it is the only one.
There are going to be the usual array of high caliber trainings going on both Friday and Saturday. Saturday night will include the Annual Board Meeting as well as the banquet and awards ceremony. Ron Cloyd will be putting on a special Pest & Dry Rot seminar and Bill Ball will be putting on a Mechanical Inspection seminar. All in all, there should be something at the meeting for everybody. Contact Sarah at 1-800-877-4770 to register.
"CUSS CAN"
SOCIALFriday night from 6 p.m.to 7 p.m. we will be having a social at the watering hole sponsored by the contributions made to the Cuss Can. It is important that you remember to bring your quarters for contributions to be made during the Annual Meeting trainings too. That's right, you will have to watch your speech during the entire event. Words such as "Problem" and "Defect" will not be tolerated. Or should I say....... Go ahead and use them, but be prepared to pay.
BEST EQUIPPED INSPECTOR - We will be taking time at the Cuss Can Social on Friday night to see who actually is the "Best Equipped Inspector." All of those present will get to vote for their favorites. It is expected that all will show up with their gear, kind of like a fashion show, only completely different. Other awards will be given such as....
Obviously in the running for "The Best Dressed No Frills Inspector" by their e-mail postings are Ron Cloyd, Bill Ball, and Jim Lucas. On the other extreme for "The Best Over-Equipped Inspector" are Dan Back and Michael Leavitt. Others fall somewhere in between. I encourage everybody to bring their gear.
Act as though you are heading out to an inspection. Bring the bag with the gear, and bring your cool computer gizmos if you own them. Bring pictures of those things on your "Wish List" and your "Have you ever tried one of those" list. Then share with us the "How can I justify the investment" list. You will be around a select group of people, all of which have strong opinions. Don't be afraid to ask about equipment that you may have heard about and don't be surprised when you receive very different Strong Opinions as to whether or not the tool's use is needed or beneficial.
Other awards will be given for the.....
It should be a great time..... If you participate.
REPORTING
STANDARDS
Due to a request from members,
we will be
having a special Leadership Council Meeting. Instead
of the traditional
meeting, we will be encouraging all to attend
and take part in an
evaluation of Report Writing Standards. Each
participant should bring 4
copies of a recent comment-ridden report
to share with others. You should
also bring a copy of the Standards
of Practice and your Green Sheets.
This will take place on Friday
evening from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m (just before
the social).
Time will be spent addressing different reporting situations, with a focus on seeing how our reporting comments stack up. We will have some people representing the AII handwritten report. Jon Gudnason will bring his Inspectech report. Scott Merritt will bring his RAL Newton-based report. Jim Corbin and Brent Foster will share their Borealis Newton-based reports. I will participate with my Windows 95 3D Inspection "Leavitt Report".
In researching this topic I have found it very interesting to differentiate between our Standards of Practice (SOP) and our Rules of Thumb (ROT). Many of the reported items in my "Leavitt Report" are not required at all by our SOP, but are documented because of our ROT. This session should be educational for everyone involved. To participate please do the following:
PLEASE NOTE: This session is designed to be a learning session beneficial to all participants. This is not designed to be a meeting to change or modify our SOP. Instead, it gives us the opportunity to have others look at our reporting styles while we look at theirs. We may even discover more beneficial ways to report conditions that we regularly encounter. Ego's will be checked at the door and the spirit of learning will prevail.
THE TOOL
I WISH I HADThis is an information sheet drawn directly off an internet advertisement.
TIF
7900 Low
Temperature Infrared Thermometer with Laser Sighting
TIF announces the
introduction of our new quickTEMP TM series
of non-contact InfraRed (IR)
Thermometers. Instant temperature
readings on any surface can now be made
with a true "pocket
sized" tool! Revolutionary technology
provides both a price
and size breakthrough. Light enough to carry in
your shirt pocket-
easy to use, accurate and wide ranging- this is the
best thermometer
you could ever own.
The special InfraRed Sensor in these tools measures the radiated and absorbed energy from a surface and translates it into an easy to read digital temperature. Simple one touch control permits continuous measurement and memory hold. The Auto shut-off circuitry prolongs battery life. Include a convenient faux leather carrying case with belt loop. USA made with surface mount circuitry for performance and durability.
This compact unit
features a unique "Laser
Sighting" for the most accurate
readings. The High Brightness
Red Laser Spot pinpoints the target to be
measured, even in broad
daylight. The Laser Spot identifies the center of
the measurement
cone to not only simplify, but also improve the accuracy
of your
measurement. The Laser Sighting
also doubles as convenient
pointer to indicate suspect areas to
others.
This all sounds good. I have wanted an infrared thermometer for quite some time now but could not justify the dollar amount. I thought that I'd list some reasons for my desire.....
This being the case, I have wondered why the cost of these units ranges so drastically from $150 to $1,000. I'm sure that you have been seeing them in the Professional Equipment catalogs too. What do you get with the top of the line that you have to sacrifice with the bottom of the line? Next week I'll share the pros and cons, as well as give you a test drive in my new Tiff unit. Try it out at the Annual Meeting if you are the least bit curious as to how they work. All in all, I am excited about my newest purchase. In next week's MMM I'll share a great discount site to make purchases as well as some of the technical specs on the units.
QUOTABLE
QUOTE: "If
you
are not continuing to market your business, you are literally
dying on
the vine."-- Michael
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copyright 1998 Michael Leavitt & CoAII
Annual Meeting Info
by Sarah HarrisonThis year's Annual Meeting will be one of the most informative yet. The Annual Meeting will be held November 5, 6 & 7, 1998 in Reno at the Holiday Inn Downtown. The hotel offers a shuttle, free of charge, from the airport, and a shuttle to the strip gaming area. The room rates will be $49.00 per night. Reno Air offers very reasonable rates from several cities. Contact them at 800/736-6247. Some highlights of this year's function will be three certification seminars:
Some of our continuing education seminars include:
To make reservations at the hotel, please call 800/648-4877 and mention A.I.I. for the $49.00 rate. Lunch will be provided and the Annual Dinner will be on Saturday evening on the 14th Floor in the banquet room (with registration).
This year's registration for the continuing education seminars is only $115.00 per day. The Mobile Home Seminar will be $140.00 for members and $325.00 for non-members which includes Associate membership in A.I.I. The fee for the Mechanical Seminar will be $85.00 for members. To register for the Pest Seminar, contact Ron Cloyd at 541/884-1686. Register early for the Mobile Home and Friday and Saturday for only $295.00. (does not include Pest seminar or Mechanical seminar). Your spouse can attend seminars too. The fee will be $45.00 per day or $80.00 for both Friday and Saturday. You can attend one seminar, while your spouse attends another. Other social events include the Hospitality Hour, courtesy of the "cuss can", the Leadership Council Meeting, and a Board Meeting on Saturday before dinner. Call 800/877-4770 to register now.