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MONDAY MORNING MESSENGER

Message prepared especially for Members of the American Institute of Inspectors® as well as Home Inspectors abroad

May 1, 2000

GOOOOOD MORNING, A.I.I.™

It is a great day here in Orem, Utah. Wow..... Where did that wonderful weekend go??? It sounded like quite a simple task. Shelly and I were scheduled to spend 3 1/2 wonderful days in Portland, Oregon, for the AII Portland 2000 Spring Conference. Well, we did spend the time there, but what a whirlwind trip it turned out to be. I never did get to see the City, but I did get to eat some great seafood as we feasted by the river one night and in a local seafood restaurant another. Even the hotel restaurant was unusually good.

TRAVEL TO PORTLAND

This portion of the MMM is being composed aboard the Delta skyliner flying non-stop from Salt Lake City to Portland, Oregon. I have very mixed emotions as Shelly and I are traveling along. Here I am preparing to present seminars on making our Inspection enterprises more successful through creative marketing and technology, yet I feel I have practically destroyed my business making the arrangements to leave town.... Sometimes I stop and wonder if it is all worthwhile, yet after making all the efforts and struggles to do so, I know that I am helping other Inspectors out.

My big brother Jimi always impressed upon me the philosophy that whatever good you do for others will come back tenfold. This same philosophy was presented to me by Bill Ball five years ago when he shared that to get what we want we need to help as many other people get what they want. It's a "What comes around goes around" philosophy.

I feel very strongly about the good that the American Institute of Inspectors is doing for its members and I am eager to see the gathering in Portland. This is one of the rare trade associations that is run by real people who receive little to no financial gain for their efforts. Scott Merritt is a good example of this dedication. The Portland Northwest conference was partly his brainchild and has come about largely because of Scott's efforts. Scott has invested long hours in the planning and preparation so that we could all have another excuse to gather from afar and rub shoulders.

Some of my favorite people of the human race are AII members. My long-running friendship with our current Chairman, Brent Foster, is a cherished one. It is strange to think that we would never have crossed paths without our membership in the American Institute of Inspectors. The fact that we are 1,000 miles apart makes for some large long distance bills, but this has been a very small price to pay.

KEY TO TRAVELING

I learned a great key to traveling. As you are aware, when you fly these shorter jaunts, they will serve you a small glass of soda and a little bag of edibles. The glass of soda has always left me feeling like more, yet I never had the courage to ask for seconds. I figured that it was a written FTC regulation that there is one glass of soda per flyer. All of a sudden I look over at my wife and the stewardess on her side of the plane gave her a full can of soda...... I wondered how this woman, this lady of mystery, scored a full soda. I cautiously asked Shelly how she got a full can to which she responded "I asked them for a CAN of soda."

Shocked, I had never heard of such a thing and so I cautiously asked her where she learned she could do that without getting into trouble. After all, I have been married to this intriguing creature for over 10 years and she has been holding out on me about this well-kept traveling secret. She shared that on a trip where she was without me she saw the man next to her get a full can and she was struck with the same amazement that I am currently experiencing...... "I just asked the man how he got a full can and he told me."

Ask and ye shall receive.... Knock and it shall be opened unto you! Please don't let this traveling secret get out to the general public and just keep it amongst those closest to you. Just in case you are wondering..... When my stewardess asked me what I wanted I boldly said.... "I would like a CAN of Sprite, please." Then she gave me a fresh unopened can and the same full cup filled of ice. It worked!! =:}

HOME INSPECTION CALL BACKS

Jon Gudnason led a wonderful discussion regarding the dreaded phone call from the previous Client who is dissatisfied with your service. Jon is a very seasoned Inspector who has learned over the years the best way to deal with this type of confrontation.

Jon shared the importance of immediately getting back to the Client. Do not delay your return phone call.

Do not admit any guilt on site. Sound your Client out about their situation and what they expect YOU to do about it.

Never tell the Client what you will do about it on site. Instead, take pictures and tell them that you will review your report and get back to them in writing.

Next you should sleep on it and then get back to the Clients through a well thought out return letter.

You may find that you have to try and work out a settlement. In your offer to settle, you should never admit guilt because they may refuse the offer and use your admission of guilt to win big in the courtroom.

Jon has a release that he uses for disgruntled customers that he has promised to share with the readership in an upcoming issue.

Jon Gudnason moderated the discussion with fellow seasoned Inspectors Ron Cloyd, Scott Merritt and Brent Foster

Ron Cloyd shared the situation of a dry rot settlement where he had no access to a water heater. He failed to report that he could not gain complete access to the unit and he did not state it in the report. He settled and Ron freely admitted his mistake. Ron looks at it as good advertising to admit an omission and the $180 repair was split between Ron and the Agents due to the Sellers concealment of the water heater by a gun safe.

Ron talked about the fact that dry rot cases will always occur in those areas of the home that you couldn't fully access. Ron now fully describes those areas that he could not access. Being as specific as possible will protect you from later complaints.

Honesty is the best policy and freely admitting your mistakes works well with Ron's clientele. Honest Ron's philosophy has caused him to settle four inspections with the most expensive being $60.

Scott Merritt warned that it is really easy to get emotional when the call comes. He is working on it and has found that it is important to not get adversarial. Also don't immediately just grab a checkbook to resolve the situation. His client had a Chimney Sweep come out who condemned the flue. Scott recommended that they each call other Chimney Sweeps and see what they had to say. Both disagreed with the original shyster Chimney Sweep. By being a helpful resource you can many times help the disgruntled Client resolve their issues.

Scott warned that you should not get distracted by Clients and Agents during your inspection process. It is important to get all of the information into your report and to not leave any area incomplete. From listening to Scott, I realized the importance of adding that the specific recommendation for FURTHER EVALUATION/REPAIR by a professional for the reasons that you have described as well as any thing else that they may find during their further evaluation.

Brent Foster is probably the king of irate clients. |His warning is to not perform inspections for recently divorced female government workers...... "They are your worst nightmare," Brent warned. Brent shared the situation where he listened to the neighbor that said that the neighborhood knew all about the vacant home he was inspecting. The neighbor said that all of them had helped out over there and made it sound as though an army lived next door. Brent inquired how many people lived in the house and the man said that there were 30 of them. Shocked, Brent asked why so many people lived there and the man said that it was a halfway house for child molesters....... His client was accompanying Brent and the deal was immediately dead.

Brent also shared that you should be careful of tenants who tell you that everything is wonderful... They are sometimes lying to prevent needed repairs and increased rents.

Steve Jordan shared the important tip that on his Pest and Dry Rot inspections he discloses that he only evaluates cladding 8' and lower off the ground.

EIFS Exterior Insulation Finishing Systems

By Stuart McMullen

Stuart shared that this EIFS product is a multi-billion dollar issue that Home Inspectors need to be very cautious with. EIFS was designed for use over concrete and then Americans devised the idea to install it over wood... bad idea. Originally the installers were very highly trained and then through a major labor shortage they started allowing almost anybody to do the installations.

"Synthetic Stucco is not part of the building code." That means that almost anything goes and 98% of the installations are human-error related. Stuart went to North Carolina and learned firsthand the issues that led to its banning in North Carolina. When he returned to Oregon he found the same misinstallations.

EIFS installations a decade ago by skilled installers ran $9.00 a square foot. It currently runs $6.50 a square foot. What has happened is that the contractors now accept the lowest bidder who has eliminated important finishing details (such as caulking) to come up with the lower bid. Without adequate sealing details the water easily enters the wall. The EIFS is so waterproof that the moisture quickly rots the wood framing beneath.

It takes 28 dry days for an EIFS system to cure where they can then install the sealant. In the Oregon area they have never seen 28 drying days in a row.

"Homeowners are really taking it in the shorts. The first owner has the legal recourse against the Builder. The following owners have no claim. The Home Inspector is really the only form of defense to protect the marketplace."

"I truly like what I do, but you have to love to be hated!"

LOG HOMES By Bill Meyer

Look for sap on the end of the logs on a 3-year-old home. If there is sap it indicates that this is a green lumber home.

Squash blocks need to be added perpendicular to the floor joist IF they are TGI's. The same is not true of dimensional floor joist lumber.

It is important to check every door and window in a log home. Don't just check a random sampling.

Bill shared with those in attendance a 20 page handout that deals clearly with construction styles, chinking and inspection warnings. Here is a sample....

WINDOWS AND DOORS - You probably won't be able to see if windows were installed with bucks floating in keyways or whatever method was used but check EVERY window and door! Inadequate allowances for settlement can make then inoperable. This is important. Don't do a random window or door sample. Look for window and door trim that has been forced downward. Check the glazing for cracks, especially in windows that are sloped in without manufactured frames. Stresses from log movement are quite common.

Bill also offered for sale a great little book called...... "Log Span Tables for floor joists, beams, and roof support systems." I must admit that the majority of the technical data goes way over my head, but many aspects of the log home structure weak points were clarified in my mind during Bill's presentation. If you would like to purchase the Log Span book you can contact Bill Meyer at 509-534-6398 in Spokane, Washington.

PORTLAND AFTERTHOUGHTS

The four day conference in Portland was a great success. The hotel was very nice, the catered food was fantastic, and the course offerings were excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed the time that Shelly and I were able to spend creating new friendships and meeting all of the Inspectors from the Oregon and Washington areas.

The conference drew Inspectors from Nevada, Utah, Montana, California, Washington and Oregon. This was great because it was originally envisioned to mainly draw Inspectors from Oregon and Washington. I look forward to the next Conference and I have heard rumors that the dates for the next event will be released within the next month...... I can't wait to mark my calendar...... Look forward to more Inspecting information in the next MMM.

NOTE: On the plane flight home I also enjoyed my full can of soda! =;-]