Phoenix Home Inspection

The condensate line on an air conditioner requires a p-trap.  The p-trap stays wet all the time.  The water in the p-trap keeps any contaminants in the attic air from entering the system and getting blown into the house.  The vent allows any contaminants in the line to escape.  It is important to install the vent after the p-trap.  Contractors may tell you that the vent is before the p-rap so that the home owner can pour some bleach in it periodically to keep the line flowing freely.  That is fine to do as long as the vent has a cap on it and there is an open vent on the other side of the p-trap.  The vent in the picture will allow the air blowing across the coils to blow into the attic and waste energy.

I have enough construction experience to do it myself.

When you are buying a new home you are, as the owl in Bambi says, "twitter-pated".  You have searched high and low for the perfect house.  It is easy to not look for the flaws with an objective mind.  The lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client.  The doctor that gives himself a physical ends up a patient.  If doctors and lawyers are smart enough to go to a colleague for an objective opinion then shouldn't you do the same when buying a house?

My best friend is a contractor and he will do it cheaper.

First let me clear up the legal aspects of this.  Only a licensed Home Inspector can perform a home inspection for a fee.  This does not prevent a contractor from acting within the bounds of his license.  A contractor is within the bounds of his license to perform an inspection and offer to repair or replace anything he finds.  It is not within the bounds of his license to get paid a fee for that home inspection.  The Arizona Board of Technical Registration rules state that a home Inspector shall not perform, or offer to perform, for an additional fee, any repairs to a structure that has been inspected by that inspector or the inspector's firm for a period of twenty-four months following the inspection.  The contractors motivation is inspecting a home is to build a relationship of trust with the client and find work to do on the home.  If work is not found then the client will likely refer their friends.  The best time to have a contractor look at the home is when you already know there is something that needs to be fixed and you want a price to fix it.  There is very little motivation for a contractor to be as thorough as the standard of practice for home inspectors requires.  Most contractors have never read the home inspection standards of practice.  The small things like opening every window & door, operating every faucet, putting a tester in every outlet, and checking the automatic garage opener functions are very low on their list of priorities since the inspection has to be free.

The best person for the job is the first one that returns my phone call at 9:00am on Sunday morning.

Home Inspection requires integrity.  It is not acceptable to let serious defects go just to please a referral source.  The last time I checked Sunday is still considered the Sabbath day for the vast majority of people in the United States.  If it is ok to miss church just to be right by the phone to potentially make a buck then what else is it ok to compromise on?  My grandpa operated a small grocery store in Safford Arizona for many years.  Everyone told him he could not survive unless he opened on Sunday.  He wouldn't compromise his values to make a buck.  He raised 10 kids and they never went without.  Just last year he gave every one of his 100+ descendants a bag with 15-20 coins.  Most are lady head dimes, buffalo nickels, solid silver coins and wheat backed pennies.  All of those coins were saved from that store.  Each bag is probably worth less than $15 right now.  If saved for another 30 years they could be very valuable.  For all those naysayers that say you can't get to the top without working on Sunday, just try to eat at Chik-fil-A on Sunday.  What is the bottom line?  Integrity matters.

I can send an email to the listing realtor and expect them to respond in a timely manner with the lock box code.

Responses from emails should not be expected back in less than 24 hours and never over the weekend.  It takes a phone call follow up to make sure the email was read.  Many people get their email on their phones and many don't.  I use these general rules.  If I tell you on the phone that an email is coming then I expect you to read it as soon as you get to a computer.  If I don't tell you the email is coming then I don't expect an answer until the end of next business day.  The best time to verify that the utilities are on and get the lock box code is the day that the contract is accepted.  That way it is taken care of well in advance and there are no rushes at the last minute.

First the builtin microwave was installed such that the vent at the rear was blocked. All the vented air was coming out the top front of the microwave instead of out the ductwork that was installed to take the air outside.

Second the refrigerator was wired on a GFCI circuit. If for some reason that circuit gets tripped and you go out of town for a couple days without knowing, you will come home to spoiled food.

These are examples of why it is important to have a Home Inspection on every home you purchase.

For all your Buckeye Home Inspection needs give Greens Home Design a call at 602-326-4061.

Is there a money pit hidden in the dream home you found at a great price?  Bargain basement priced homes are almost always sold as-is.  This means that you could be assuming hidden repair costs.

Bank owned and short sale homes are usually abandoned.  These homes become neglected, and thus more susceptible to damage.  There could be electrical, structural, mechanical, plumbing, or many other hidden problems.  Most of the problems can be fixed easily if you know about them now.  If you wait for them to become big problems then they won't be so easy to fix.

Even with all the potential problems, it is possible to get a great deal.  The surest way to protect that deal is to get it inspected by a professional home inspector.  A home inspector will identify the potential problems.  The problems will fall into one of these 4 categories:

•1.      Major defects.  An example of this would be a structural failure.

•2.      Things that lead to major defects.  A small roof-flashing leak, for example.

•3.      Things that may hinder your ability to finance, legally occupy or insure the home.

•4.      Safety hazards, such as an exposed, live buss bar at the electric panel.

Anything in these categories should be addressed.  Often a serious problem can be corrected inexpensively to protect both life and property (especially in categories 2 and 4).

Websites like www.inspectorlocator.com, www.nspectorseek.com, www.inspectornow.com and www.findaninspector.us all allow you to search for certified inspectors.  There are important things to know about the inspector before you hire one.

Is he properly licensed and insured?

Does he fill out a paper checklist or generate a report on a computer with color pictures?

Does he have education or experience beyond the minimum requirements?  A college education would give him the ability to communicate better both orally and in writing.

Is it a multi-inspector firm or an individual?  It will be difficult to view the individual qualifications of the inspectors in a multi-inspector firm.  There is no guarantee which inspector you get.

Has he ever remodeled a house?

When you are hiring an inspector, you are not paying for the 3-4 hours that he is there.  You are paying for the hundreds if not thousands of hours of education and experience that he has spent gaining the knowledge required to inspect well.  You will get what you pay for, so don't even look at the low price inspectors.

To book an inspection now and get $500 in free gas or groceries call 602-326-4061

For more information visit www.GreensHomeDesign.com.