It is a great day here in Orem, Utah. You will be reading this MMM as I will be sitting in my office doing nothing but catching up on office work. The market has virtually died in the past week. I have work scheduled for Tuesday but that is it..... I can only hope that things will pick up to the normal, strong June rate. How is the market in your areas???
Last week was full of interesting inspections. Some people were thrilled with me and others were mad. Isn't that the way it goes? If you do your job right there are always going to be some ruffled feathers. I was threatened by another Agent a week and a half ago that he was going to kill my business. I would have thought he was successful, but I know that the Agents are sitting around doing nothing as well. Maybe he can take credit for killing the entire housing market in Northern Utah and not just my business alone.
This next week is full with side inspection-related business. Tuesday has an Affiliate Utah County Association of Realtors meeting in the morning (I am currently President of this committee). Wednesday morning is the annual hole sponsorship of the Women's Association of Realtors golf tournament and a Home Inspector's chapter meeting that evening. Thursday morning will be my monthly radio show at K-Star radio here in Orem, Utah. In the leftover time slots, I will work in a few inspections.
I received the following e-mail this week from Greg Justice who is a newer Windows CE user. For those who have a weak stomach you may want to forego the next section...... It is truly a nightmare when it happens to you.
Michael, I did an inspection yesterday and entered all my data into the Casio 100. I went to sync w/ laptop for finalizing and it said the folder was empty. Went back to check the report in Casio and it locked up when trying to open. I had to reset the machine. It continued to lock up over and again. Finally, the report just vanished from the Casio. YIKES>
I went ahead and reentered everything directly into the laptop and printed the report. The client went to lunch after I explained the crash. Do you understand what happened?..... How is such a thing to be avoided? Oh yeah, have you heard about the trade in program with Casio? E-100 or 105 + 199.00 for E-115 Thank you in advance. Greg Justice
I understand how devastating this experience can be. It has happened to me 4 times in the past 7 months, yet it has not happened in over 3 months. Why?..... Because I finally got the routine down and I do not vary from it. My lost reports were due to inexperience with the process and not because of hardware weaknesses. I contacted Greg to console him and he was still surprised about the event. He said that while his client went to lunch he recreated the report from scratch out in his van on his laptop. He shared that he was thankful that he only had the one inspection scheduled that day. If there had been an afternoon inspection to get to he doesn't know what he would have done. Greg was also glad that the home inspected very cleanly and there were not a lot of custom reportable conditions.
Losing reports is easy to do if you do not save and synchronize reports in a timely and correct manner. Here are some cardinal rules for using 3D on the CE machine.
I have "Only upon connection" synchronization mode checked off. I used to use the "Continuously while the device is connected" mode but I found that it sometimes removed things that I didn't realize I accidentally told to be deleted. Under the Rules tab I have the "Leave items unresolved" option checked. If you become a wizard at this CE process then you can take advantage of some of the advanced features. Until then, I recommend that you have the computer ask you before it deletes things..... It only makes sense doesn't it???
CASIO UPGRADE PROGRAM - As of MMM release time ,I have yet to go to the Casio website and verify the program. Here is what I have been told..... If you purchase a new E-115 directly from Casio for $599 they will send you the unit and a prepaid postage tag for the return of the old E-100 or E-115. They will then rebate you $400. This offer is to expire at the end of June so don't delay. This is a really good deal for E-100 owners like myself because it gets you the extra 16 meg of memory as well as the newer operating system for only $200. This also explains the outrageous $599 price tag for the E-115. They want to get us older Casio owners feeling good about giving them the extra $200. The retail market will never allow the $599 price outright. My feeling is that the E-115 price will drop by at least $100 after the trade in program is over..... If you are tempted to spend $599 on a new Casio E-115 you are out of your mind. It would be better to wait and purchase the Compaq iPAQ for $100 less and get a quicker machine with a USB interface.
Hello Everyone! It has been a hectic month working towards the transition of taking over the Executive Director position, but I am enjoying myself. I'm sure by now that when Brent's phone rings at night he automatically knows it will be me again. I have a thousand questions (daily). He has been really great in supplying me with the information I need to get the transition completed. I've also received many calls offering support from others. Earl Alford and his secretary have been helping with some office support work. Thanks to you all, it is greatly appreciated, even if its just a call to say "thinking about you and wishing you well" (Jim Corbin).
We will be switching the A.I.I. 800 number from Brent's office to mine very soon and possibly will have a new number then. I will let you know as soon as that is complete. Sometimes the telephone company works on a different time schedule than the rest of the world.
My address, which will also be the new address for The American Institute of Inspectors is P.O. Box 177, Midland OR 97634. My office telephone number is 541-882-6588 in case you would like to call me before the 800 # is set up here. The email address at my office is buckleys@cdsnet.net.
I am still working on the database for our membership and will be contacting you all by postal mail for updated information for the new roster. We have some inspector members who do not use computers/email yet. If any of you see any of these people please share this Executive Director's Report with them. I will set up a mailing list for those members after figuring out who they all are, to keep the lines of communication open and also try to encourage them to catch up with the computer age.
Also, I have started working on our Annual Meeting in November. It is really exciting negotiating for rooms, meals and prices. I have learned a lot. There is this whole other language in the motel sales office that the general public is not privy to. I never knew that you could negotiate on motel services!! I hope you will all be pleased with the results. If anyone wants to discuss anything about the Annual Meeting, now is the time. Please contact me with any information, questions, concerns, speaker possibilities you want to share.
It's a great day at The American Institute of Inspectors!!!
Best Regards, Betty Buckley - Executive Director
Many Home Inspectors are still at the mercy of having a Listing or Selling Agent open up the property for the Home Inspection. This is burdensome at best and many times is very inconvenient for the Agents involved. Now I know that some of you are saying.... "So what if it is inconvenient. That is how they earn their money!" What some of the Home Inspectors are unaware of is that they probably can get themselves a Restricted Access Keycard. Those that have the Restricted Access keycard wonder how they ever lived without it because it can really free up your schedule.
Getting a Restricted Access key card is different in different areas. Most real estate markets in the US take advantage of the SUPRA SuperKey system. These are bulky tan keyboxes that require the use of black keypads that measure 2"x3" x ½". They keyboxes are usually locked onto a doorknob, railing or gas meter. If they are using this type of keybox system in your area then you should consider jumping through the hoops to get a keypad.
The keypad that Agents and Appraisers get are full access pads. This means that they can get access into the property without notifying anybody during the times that the keybox is programmed for. In our area, the boxes are set to only open from 9 am to 9 pm. Of course that means 8 am to 8 pm during daylight savings time. If an Agent or Appraiser tries to use the box before or after these times they are rejected access. Since Agents and Appraisers are full members of the National Association of Realtors and are State Licensed they are allowed to purchase full access key cards. Home Inspectors, on the other hand, are not full NAR members and often are not State Licensed, so they are limited to purchasing Restricted Access key cards.
A Restricted Access key card will only open the keybox if the 7 digit Call Before Showing Code is entered into the key pad first. To get a CBS code the Home Inspector must call the Listing Agent and ask for permission and be given the code. This allows a good measure of security in the system and keeps Home Inspectors from accessing properties that they are not involved with.
The Supra Supersystem keeps track of all entries into the box. The Listing Agent can obtain the entry record and know who accessed the box on which day and at which time. This protects Home Inspectors from being falsely accused if something at the property is damaged or missing. This measure of security is also the reason why the local Board of Realtors or Multiple Listing Service will grant Home Inspectors the use of Restricted Access key cards.
For years Home Inspectors in Utah were not allowed key cards. Our keybox system is managed by the Board of Realtors. When I would approach them they flatly denied the privilege stating that it was a security concern. Home Inspectors in Utah are not State licensed and they are only Affiliate Members of the Board of Realtors and therefore there was no way to protect against their possible dishonesty. At that time I was requesting a full access key card.
I was in Las Vegas a few years back and I got to talking with an Inspector from Arkansas and we started discussing the key cards. He said that he had one and I was shocked. I then extracted every bit of information I could out of him. He stepped me through the Call Before Showing (CBS) codes and the Affiliate or Restricted Access key cards. I then returned to Utah and wrote up the proposal for my local Board of Realtors. I included the explanation of the Restricted Access keycards, CBS codes and the security aspects of the system. I also explained that this is how they do it in many other markets. I accompanied this with letters of recommendation from 3 Brokers in our area stating that this would be a good idea and it would help to free up their Agent's time.
After reading the proposal and making a few phone calls ,the Board of Realtors approved the proposal and I was the first Affiliate in our market to receive the Restricted Access key pad. I look back on the process and realize that the biggest stumbling block was the lack of information. Once the information was presented it was obvious that the hurdle was already identified and overcoming it was already designed into the system. The hurdle was how to get an Affiliate restricted access without breaching the entire security system. Imagine if a dishonest Home Inspector started to enter any property with a key card installed..... I can understand their paranoia.
What the Board of Realtors did not fully understand was that after the first offense, they would easily be able to identify that it was the Home Inspector and they could yank his privileges. That is bigger than any State Licensing of membership.... Taking away the car keys from a 16 year old is the toughest penalty that can be applied!
I spoke with Mark Daughtry earlier this week and he told me that he now has a Restricted Access key card. Washington is set up differently than Utah. In Washington the key card system is overseen by the Multiple Listing Service. He had to join the MLS and then pay $100 for the card as well as $100 for each year of use. Mark feels that he can now turn that into a marketing tool...... "The Home Inspector with the Key Card!" He will find that his schedule is freed up to arrive a few minutes earlier or later. The biggest headache he will overcome is waiting on Agents that are late..... Nothing is worse than calling up an Agent 10 minutes after they were to open up the property to find out that they forgot and are another 20 minutes away.
In solving the headache of the late Agent, Mark is just entering the new headache of "What is a CBS code?" That's right, very few of the Agents have ever heard of a Call Before Showing code. This means that Mark will have to educate his marketplace and figure out a quick non-condescending explanation to help the Agents understand how they can get the CBS code. At first, Mark will probably hear the Agents say..... "That's too difficult. I'll just come out and open up the property for you." If they tell you this, then your explanation was too difficult and I recommend that you work on your spiel.
I say this.... "As an Affiliate member of the Board I have a Restricted Access key card. I need the 7 digit Call Before Showing or CBS code to access the keybox. Do you know the CBS code for the keybox on that house?..... If they say Yes then I am in. If they say No then I continue. The CBS code is very easy to get. Just call Kim the Advantage Express Computer and enter the serial # and shackle code for the keybox and Kim will give you the 7 digit CBS code. I then ask.... Do you know which keybox is on the house? If they say Yes then I tell them what number they can call me back to give me the CBS code. If they say No then I tell them that I will call them from the property with the keybox serial # and that they can then get the CBS code. I then go one step further and tell them that they can call the Board of Realtors and get a list of all their box's Serial #s, Shackle Codes, and corresponding CBS codes. They can then keep the #s with them because since they are successful Agents I will be calling them again for the CBS codes in the future. This gives them a stroke and lets them know that I think they are successful.
Here is the Newsletter article that I have composed for the next UCAR newsletter regarding Call Before Showing codes. I recommend that you pen a similar article and use it to help educate the Agents in your marketplaces.
The Utah County Association of Realtors (UCAR) currently offers the Supra SuperKey keyboxes to their members. The Supra SuperKey boxes are an excellent solution for providing access to listed homes. The Call Before Showing (CBS) Code is an advanced feature of the Supra Superkey system that many Agents are unaware of.
The CBS code is a unique 7 digit code assigned to each keybox that allows special access to a keybox. There are several situations where Agents can take advantage of this feature.
If you are the Listing Agent there are two ways to obtain the CBS code for the keybox you are using. First, you can call UCAR and Debbie will need to know the 7 digit keybox serial number which can be found on the back side of every keybox. With the serial number Debbie verifies that the keybox is assigned to your office and then she can provide the specific CBS code for that keybox. Second, you can get the keybox yourself by calling Kim the Advantage Express Computer at 1-801-486-9013. After entering into the system your own keypad ID # and your PIN number Kim allows you as a second option to get a CBS code. You must then enter the serial number of the keybox followed by the 4 digit shackle code. Kim then provides you with the unique 7 digit CBS code.
As use of the CBS code becomes more widespread it is important that you know the CBS codes for the keyboxes that you are using. It is best to keep the keybox serial numbers and corresponding CBS codes to the homes that you are listing close at hand so that when an Affiliate or Selling Agent calls you for the CBS code you will not be caught off guard.
(Michael Leavitt is the owner of Michael Leavitt & Co Inspections, Inc. and the current President of the UCAR Affiliate Committee. He can be reached online at www.TheHomeInspector.com or by calling 225-8020)
Last week's Photo Challenge series was either too overwhelming or you have all been fishing with Ron Cloyd. Not one peep of feedback graced my e-mail box. It is interesting because the amount of feedback has nothing to do with the amount of effort that went into the layout and preparation of the photos... Oh well..... Even Mark McGuire had to strike out dozens of times to break the Home Run record. We'll have to consider the EIFS photo series a strike out!!!..... Next batter, please!
This week's AII™ Photo Challenge is another multi-photo edition. I would really appreciate your comments on the water heater in the picture below. Who is familiar with this type of unit and what are the pros and cons of this Submerged combustion chamber model. Also, how many installation errors can you identify from just this half photo?
"What are your observations?"
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