It was a great day here in Orem, Utah. Tomorrow is a big day here in Orem, Utah. We love to celebrate the 4th of July. I have to admit though that this year's vacation day placement of the 4th on a Tuesday is really lousy. July is one of our busiest months and we cannot take the weekend, Monday, and Tuesday off to celebrate. Instead, we inspect like crazy both before and after the holiday. We hope that your 4th of July is special..... We will be BBQing steaks, corn, baked potatoes and make some wonderful homemade ice cream to top it all off.
FAMILY NOTE: During the Summer months it is harder to balance the time schedule between the family and work. In the photo to the right you can see our littlest one Aaron with his hand on my home office door handle. He is sad because he has to shut the door so that Daddy can take a business call. He is wearing the construction paper tie that he made for me on Father's Day. The spots are actually his little fingerprints and on the tie it says.... "I Really Really Love You Daddy!"... Don't you just want to take him in your arms and give him a big hug!?!
Larry Cerro from sunny Florida passed along this information regarding the fate of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. It quickly sheds a reminding light on the Founding Fathers of our Country. They were true Patriots. I marvel that they did not do it for praise or self-grandizement. Instead, they did it because it was the right thing to do. I wonder if I will ever be placed in a similar situation. The information is inspection related because without their sacrifices and dedication I would have no Michael Leavitt & Co Inspections, Inc. Thanks for sharing this information Larry.....
Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?
They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they?
Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education.
They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."
They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books never told you a lot about what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn't fight just the British. We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government!
Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't. So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid. Remember: Freedom is never free!
When a perspective client calls you for an inspection that is out of your normal area, how far will you drive to do an inspection? Are you like a "Lady of the Evening" and will do anything if the "Price" is right? Or do you have a set distance that a certain travel fee is invoked? Do you have a set policy or do you drift like the wind and just throw out a fee that feels good?
I was faced with this dilemma the other day when a nice lady called and caught me in the field on my mobile. She said that John Hansen (a local agent whom I have no real strong allegiance to) said that I was the one she needed to inspect her 110-year-old dream home in a remote city called Fairview. The home was an hour away from mine and I did not warm up to the idea of traveling an extra two hours just to inspect an old home. Nothing sounded that out of the ordinary and I felt that I would rather just refer her to another Home Inspector.
Shelly and I decided a couple of years ago that I would only travel out of the area if the fee was right, or if it was a direct referral from a "How High" agent. I have a hard time on the phone telling people "No" but I am able to offer them another option. I had decided in my mind early on in the conversation that this was an inspection for fellow MMM reader Jon Larson. Jon lives just 20 minutes away from Fairview in another remote city called Ephraim. Both of these sit in a county called Sanpete that is comprised of agriculture and turkey farms with cities scattered every twenty minutes. Jon got his training through ITA and he has been trying to take a rural market where real estate is sold with a handshake and convince them that Home Inspections are a good thing. Personally, I do not think that the Sanpete population is ready for this concept and Jon is willing to drive just about anywhere to keep some food on the table. I think that he is about 5 years ahead of his time..... But that is another MMM.
After listening to the caller describe the home and tell me of her plans I told her that the inspection didn't sound that out of the ordinary and that there was an Inspector that lived nearby that might be a better option for her. I explained that by the time she paid my higher fees for the travel and inspection that she might be better off using Jon. I then took down her name and phone number and told her that I would have Jon call her. She said OK sheepishly and I immediately called Jon to give him the referral.
After my call to Jon I thought that was the end of the topic, but I was wrong. I picked up my e-mail at the inspection I was at and the following e-mail inspection order came through.......
Client's First Name = Alyson Client's Last Name = #$# Client's Property Interest = Buyer Client's Address = XXXX Client's City = Fairview name = UT Client's Zip Code = 84629 Client's Agent = fsbo Inspection Address = 35 xxxxxx Inspection City = Fairview Inspection Access = Seller will open Type of Dwelling = Single Family Dwelling Square Footage = 2301-2700 Vacant = Yes Approximate Decade = 1900's Stories = 2 Basement = Yes Bedrooms = Three Bathrooms = Two Heating Type = Forced Air Heating Fireplaces = None Wood Stoves = One Cooling "No" = No Garages = Two Cars Garage Location = Detached Roof = Steep Pitched Roof Material = Metal Wood Decks = None Mechanics Garage = Yes Barn = Yes Shed = Yes Other Buildings = Yes tack house Electricity Status = Power "ON" Water Status = Water "ON" Water Type = Public Fuel Status = Gas "ON" Sewage = Septic SFD Inspection = Yes SFD W/O Crawl Square Footage & Fee = $315 SFD WITH Crawl Square Footage & Fee = Size including unfinished areas Termite W/HI = $80 Radon W/HI = $130 Lead WITH Dust Sampling W/HI = $160 Comments & Concerns = I called you on your mobile, and you recommended John w/Precision Inspections in Ephraim. Although I'm sure John is a very nice person, this is the home we want to live in for probably the rest of our lives. We have four very small children who will grow up there. We may eventually add on. In other words, we aren't afraid of paying more to get a very comprehensive picture; we want to make sure this house will keep us safe! So please let us know how much it costs for you to drive to Sanpete County to do an inspection of an old home. Depending on cost, we may need to leave out some optional screens above (darn!), because I just added everythingup to $695 without mileage. (Ouch! But you get what you pay for, right?)
There is no doubt that this is the disposition that we wish all home buyers had when they contact us. I don't know what was said when this woman received my name as the referral, but it must have been good. I hate to do it, but I will be inspecting this home as most of you are reading this edition of the MMM. Yes, I am a "Lady of the Evening" and yes, I can be bought off, but it takes a lot..... Let me see..... This is a lot of money....... They highly value my services..... I guess I have no choice..... Add on the $100 travel fee and if they take it.... I'll do it...... Sorry Jon, but I guess I am off to Fairview bright and early on Monday morning..... Maybe next time!
What is your company travel fee policy???: Please take a few minutes and describe for the rest of us what your additional fee rates are...... At what point do you add extra? How much for how far? How much difference is the travel fee now that gas prices have risen so high??? We look forward to hearing from you......
"What say Ye?"
Your Name:
Last week I asked you to pass along kudos to Shelly for her efforts. You should have seen her face light up as she picked up her e-mail. Although only a few of you took me up on the request you would have thought she received a thousand replies. It is amazing how just a few words of thanks can really lift one's spirits.
Clay Higgins didn't let her down. He shared..... Shelly: It was good to read your article in the MMM again. You should write some more. It was also good to see your smiling face. Have not seen you since last year. Clay Higgins
Joe Lyvers from beautiful Florida provided the following testimonial of how spouses can greatly increase the volume of business.... Shelly: My wife Carol and I enjoyed reading your article in last week's MMM. It was very informative, humorous, and right on target. Carol quit her job last year to stay at home to answer the phone and schedule inspections. Our business nearly doubled from her efforts. I was amazed at the number of "Looky Lou's" and "Price Shoppers" she was able to convert to paid inspections. There will be a special place in heaven for stay-at-home spouses of home inspectors. Keep up the good work, I encourage you to write more (maybe a weekly commentary or reminder), and we look forward to the next issue of MMM. Regards, Joe Lyvers - Home Inspectors of NW Florida - Gulf Breeze, Florida
Chuck and Anne Fair are another dynamite husband and wife team that are making it a successful venture. Anne is one of the most faithful "Thank You" note specialist in North America and she responded....... Hi Shelly, Just a short note to let you know we do appreciate you and Michael very very much. What happens here is I read the MMM first and then print it out for Chuck to read. Sometimes it takes a few days before he gets time to read it, and recently we have been very busy. (Thank you God!) And yes, as you mentioned, sometimes the phone is quiet on Monday and then Tuesday the phones start ringing all week. As Martha would say, "That's a good thing."
Chuck has been using the 3D software. His reports are looking fantastic! And his clients love it. He did manage to email a couple successfully too! He hasn't taken the CE out to the sites yet - he wants to learn the software well on the main computer first.
We appreciate all your help and we thank God for meeting you that day in Las Vegas. We might not have hit the jackpot on the slots, but we hit the giant jackpot when we met you and Michael and the rest of the AII™ members in Vegas.
We often fail to respond to the MMM when the weather gets warm and sunny, because we finally get a chance to work in our yard and garden. We're still in the driveway/garage/fence planning/building stages. We gain so much from the MMM and I look forward to it every Monday morning. Much Thanks, Anne & Chuck Fair - Fair Home Inspection - WA
But Jon Gudnason takes the Grand Prize for fulfilling my request. I encouraged all of you to flood Shelly's e-mail box with Thank You's, so what do you think Jon did???......... Shelly, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
Now that was a flood, but seriously, thanks not just for you contribution to the MMM but also for your wonderful support of Michael. Jon Gudnason - Portola, CA
Thanks again for letting Shelly know that she was appreciated.
Last week's Photo Challenge drew some good responses
Clay Higgins shared some commentary on last week's photo as well as on the deck photo from the week before.... Michael: This photo reminds me of some Harvey Homeowners in my area that have patio slabs and decided to make a room on top of the slab. It would be interesting to know if this is an addition to the original home. These must be some type of roof 4 x 8 plywood or whatever on top of the 2 x 8's. I would walk on this roof before I danced on the deck from last week. Clay Higgins - CA
Our Treasurer Sylvan Stenge replied...... Yeah, I'd walk on it, but then I'm only 140#. Spruce is a pretty tough species. Remember the Spruce Goose? Well anyway I guess that's not the point. I hope the builder is good at computers or sumpthin! I would call for "further evaluation by a qualified, licensed contractor or structural engineer". I might think to myself that I would have some special angled hangars fabricated if I was to be foolish enough to buy the place. Sylvan Stenge - CA
Greg Justice's wife, Donna, shared the most accurate non-technical evaluation yet.... Even without all of the fancy joist hangar jargon she gave a perfect assessment. I look forward to more responses from Donna in the future.... Yikes!... I'm only a wife, I know, and I've never built a house, but the roof rafters...hmmm.. I don't think you are supposed to CUT those things on the edges!....... Are you? I would think you need those brackets or some other gizmo to put the WHOLE piece of lumber in and not cut... I mean, what if one of them thar pieces split... It would split the beam all the way to the center... Greg Justice's Wife: Donna - OR
PHOTO CHALLENGE NOTE: Those of you with digital cameras..... I challenge you to use them!!! Snap some interesting photos during your inspections and send them along. I know that I can't be the only person encountering this strange stuff.
Did you take advantage of the trade-in program??? I wonder if they will continue it or terminate it on June 30 like they advertised? I know that I called Casio directly on Friday to order my E-115 because the Casio server was down and you could not contact them online.
I heard a rumor from Todd Herman in Valencia, CA, that the Compaq iPaq is still not available. Have any of you been successful in obtaining one yet??? Keep me informed.
I am currently experimenting with Giga Bar for the little CE machine. I wish that it had come out a few months ago when I had more time to play around. Here is the information on it from Pocket PC Magazine.
GigaBar - GigaBar replaces the task bar on your Windows Powered device with a more powerful one. You can open or close an application, switch tasks or even browse files. You can customize the look, feel and functionality of it by means of skins and schemes. Each icon on the task bar can perform up to five functions and you can add five more functions. The best feature of this application is that its free. Get it free at: http://www.pocketpcmag.com/wksftarchives.htm
Hi, Michael and Shelly:
I have been wondering what I could do to help a little bit with the huge job of the MMM. Shelly, I know Michael is the one who gets all the credit, but I'm sure he couldn't do it alone. It has to be too big of a job. And thanks for all your marketing stuff a couple of weeks ago. Nothing substantial had given me encouragement yet, but there have been some good signs that I may someday be able to phase out of Appraising.
Anyway, I have "rit a little ditty," as it were, to help you fill some MMM space should you choose. At least I feel like I have contributed, even if you don't want to use it. So the guilt is gone for a time, and I can get on with more strawberries and ice cream. Roy Brown - WA
Thanks for the contribution, Roy. We accept all article contributions and use them promptly. We love to read the point of view from others. The following article from Roy is a sobering reminder of our ethical responsibility to the public. He also shares a unique perspective as he is currently a licensed Appraiser and Home Inspector...
I am a Real Estate Appraiser with more regularity than I am an Inspector at this point in my career. In doing appraisals, I usually come in after the inspection has been done. I have to do an appraisal with a different set of eyes than a Home Inspector, because I am involved in estimating value only. Appraisers don't have a clue about condition. I am not privy to the home inspection report, because agents don't want me calling out any work orders. An inspection is between the Buyer and his Inspector via the Agent. In that group, a lender never sees the result of an inspection.
If the lender did see the Home Inspection report, then he would require repairs as necessary per the Inspector's report. Of course, repairs is a bad word when it comes to the transaction. Repairs would rock the "transaction boat" maybe even sinking the deal. So loan officers are happy to be deaf, blind and dumb when it comes to repairs. Agents are happy to keep them that way, and, as I said before, Appraisers don't have a clue.
It turns out that the Lenders and the secondary market, different than the loan officer, do care about the security of their loan. The lender, let's say, Bank of America, and the buyer of the original loan, let's say, FANNIE MAE, don't want to carry $100,000 worth of paper on a $50,000 tear down. But the loan officer only gets paid if the deal closes. He works on commission. So while up front he represents Bank of America, he really only represents his own wallet.
This introduction by way of Real Estate Transactions 101 is simply to illustrate why a philosophical dilemma regarding what inspectors know and their impact on a transaction can have. Some other Inspectors may be Appraisers, too. If not, some may also be contractors, doing repair work on dwellings that they did not inspect. Sometimes the question, "Are you always an Inspector, or just when someone pays you to evaluate the condition of a home?", arises.
Today I appraised a home which the owner proudly announced he had it inspected when he bought it, and his buyers had it inspected too. I didn't see the report, however the indication from the owner was that it passed with flying colors. When I was in the basement, I saw a horizontal run of gas combustion vent pipe that was 20 feet long with no rise. It meant nothing to me; I'm an Appraiser.
When I was measuring the house I observed in the siding what appeared to me to be ant galleries. The wood to earth clearance was less than two inches, and there was a lot of wood debris in the area, with a lot of dead leaves that might have been against the exterior wall earlier, allowing excellent access for the little buggies. It meant nothing to me; I'm just an Appraiser. To stir up controversy with anyone over condition would have probably lost my employer a client, and me a job. The other inspector is on the hook anyway, providing: 1) He carries E&O, and 2) He is in business and available if and when it hits the fan.
This is not an isolated example for me. As an Appraiser, it is a daily occurrence. I'm sure many other Inspectors are in situations when not hired as an Inspector where challenges, maybe big ones, maybe safety issues ,are seen. There is no legal obligation to notify others of your unsolicited findings. You have no contract. You are accepting no fee. You have been asked by no one for your knowledge. BUT……What is your moral obligation, your ethical obligation? Does your specialized knowledge and experience require anything more than an average citizen who, like Appraisers, don't have a clue?
The philosophy required for success in the inspection industry is embodied in the code of ethics to which all members subscribe. 1. Members shall discharge their duties with fidelity to the public, their clients, and with fairness and impartiality to all.
This is the first statement of the Code we adhere to. It talks about our duties, but it doesn't say what they are. It talks about the recipients, which include our client and the public. The moral and ethical dilemma of doctors is dealt with in their oath. They deal with life in death in a much more real way than we do. However, dangerous components in a home can kill as well. Does our responsibility begin and end with our client contract? Or does it expand to the world beyond? Code of Ethics #1 above would suggest the latter. And what if our knowledge is in direct conflict with our ability to earn a living, as it often is with Appraiser/Inspectors? Do we ignore what we see because our immediate role is not an Inspector, or do we use our special skill and knowledge regardless of an inspection contract?
These are questions I have answered for myself, and I am comfortable with my resolutions. The answers may be different for each person, and each circumstance. However, the ethical and moral question is an important one. We face moral decisions each day in all walks of life. Many professional organizations provide direction within their code. The moral question is there for us all, and we must face it. The answer we find goes a long way in our ability to call ourselves professionals, no matter what we do.
Roy K. Brown - Puget Basin Home Inspectors -Lake Stevens, Washington
This week's AII™ Photo Challenge was a surprise to identify. The photo was snapped from the garage and you can see the living room through the double door set-up that encloses a 16" deep box. The innovative feature created a nifty way for you to be able to fill the firebox from the garage. Just think of the benefit.... You can bring in the firewood without carrying it across the carpet..... I'm sure that the idea found in this 1957 home will quickly catch on and become the hit of the building industry. The opening sits immediately next to the chimney which can be seen in the left side of the photo...... Now ponder the situation and compose your reporting comments in the box below. Do you see anything wrong? Or do you think it is just a great idea?
"What would you report?"
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