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Jul
17
Posted by James Lupori
I have had a long professional relationship with Stephan Cancler who is the Owner of Full House Inspections. He is well a well-respected inspector among many real estate agents (and realtors) in the King and Snohomish County areas. Over the years my clients have been impressed with his professionalism, knowledge and thoughtfullness when he inspects a house. As I mentioned in an earlier post about Uncle Fred doing your inspection, it’s imperative that you hire a professional inspector with a proven track record to examine your future home. What’s unique about Stephan is that he offers more than simple inspection services. Stephan will also conduct energy, pest and environmental evaluations on your current or future home. Stephan also sends me his on-line newsletter, Home Savy, which is a wonderful publication.
If you’re interested in learning more about your home, check this out.
In the future, Stephan will share some of his experiences about home inspections and give you a whole new perspective of a very interesting business.
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Jul
05
Posted by James Lupori
If you’ve ever purchased a home, chances are you had the home examined by a professional home inspector. But, if you’ve sold a home (or are planning to do so) did you ever consider having your home pre-inspected prior to listing the property? This may not appear to be an issue. After all, isn’t it the buyer’s responsibility to do an inspection? The simple answer is yes, and if you’re working with an agent who doesn’t recommend you hire an inspector to check out the house, you may be working with the wrong agent. But you should know that there has always been a huge debate among real estate professionals regarding pre-inspections. Here’s how the pro and con arguments usually play out:
Pro pre-inspection: An inspection may reveal latent or hidden defects that can be resolved before selling the house. An inspection may confirm defects that the seller is already aware of such as a failing roof, aging furnace or problems in a crawl space. The seller can choose to repair or adjust the price of the home based on the inspection in order to head off work orders requested by the buyers. The seller can feel confident that they’ve “done the right thing” by disclosing what was found in the inspection.
Con pre-inspection: Many brokers (and legal experts) believe that once a seller chooses to sell his/her home, they should not go looking for problems BECAUSE IF THEY FIND PROBLEMS, THEN THEY MUST DISCLOSE THEM! Why open a can of worms by finding out something you truly don’t know about your house? Some agents believe that they represent the clients, not the house; therefore, what benefit is it to the seller to have a pre-inspection at all? Many brokers believe that (as mentioned above) it is entirely up to the buyer to have the home inspected. If the buyer’s inspector discovers issues, then it’s up to the buyer to negotiate a solution………….Hey, this is confusing!!!
In June of 2007 Ardell Dellaloggia, the principal writer for the informative and successful blog, Rain City Guide (www.raincityguide.com), wrote a post entitled: “Should a seller have their home pre-inspected?” There were quite a number of real estate agents and several inspectors who wrote in to express some fairly strong opinions about pre-inspections. Opinions were more on the side of not doing the pre-inspection mainly because agents fear that advising an inspection can trigger a huge number of liability and disclosure issues. One even indicated that sellers can often pay twice for a repair uncovered by the pre-inspection because the buyer comes up with other issues that cost the seller more money.
Here’s what I think:
1) During 2005-2007, when the market was clearly a sellers paradise, buyers were being muscled into doing their own pre-inspections before offers were even reviewed. Basically, when the market is hot, sellers have a take it or leave it attitude.
2) Now, things have clearly changed. With huge inventories, tougher lending practices and more patient buyers, the sellers find themselves in a difficult position. I know from my own transactions and those of my fellow listing agents, that the buyers are asking for more repairs, work orders and compensation for property defects.
3) Every property and situation requires careful consideration, but I believe sellers should have their homes pre-inspected. The seller needs to know this though: expect the buyers to do an inspection anyway. I believe the advantages outweigh the risk when the buyer’s inspector comes up with a report indicating that everything is “defective” or needs repair. The seller can then present an “expert’s opinion” as to the voracity of the buyer’s claims and a reasonable solution can be negotiated.
Finally, I used to do a large number of sales through 3rd party relocation companies. Whenever I listed a home for a seller moving out-of-state, it was common that the relocation company would have the home inspected (sometimes more than once) before going on the market. There were several instances when the buyers did, indeed, find problems with a home that the pre-inspections didn’t uncover. As I’ve mentioned before: no house is perfect, issues will arise and all parties in a real estate transaction should have a professional realtor help them through the process.
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Jul
02
Posted by James Lupori
Those of you who have been reading my blog know that I’m a Realtor with Keller Williams North Seattle. I’m also a partner in a real estate marketing company called the ROCS Alliance. We have been creating a comprehensive program that real estate agents, from any company can utilize. These include computer/IT solutions; premium marketing materials for their clients; and ultimately provide systems that help agents develop successful businesses no matter what challenges the marketplace throws our way. The very blog you’re reading is just one of the most important tools the ROCS Alliance offers. ROCS agents want to be positioned as wealth determiners for our clients and drive them to the resources that make them successful.
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Jun
29
Posted by James Lupori
Christiania, Glass House, Copenhagen, August 2007
My wife and I saw a great bumper sticker today that applies to having your home inspected: “Don’t believe everything you think!” As a realtor, several of my clients insisted on having their “friend” the contractor or, worse yet, their father inspect the houses they were buying. When I gently suggested they consider hiring a “professional” I was reminded that their hand-picked person was charging far less for doing the inspection or that “my Uncle Fred knows everything there is to know about houses.” But do your friends and family understand how an inspection contingency works in a real estate transaction? Take a look at the first paragraph of an inspection addendum:
If you read the highlighted section, you’ll note that there isn’t any language requiring a “licensed” inspector to conduct the inspection. It even says that the buyer’s inspection MAY include any number of items. Sure, you can go ahead and hire Uncle Fred to do the job but let me remind you:
We Americans suffer from the modern day affliction of I KNOW IT ALL!!!! We believe that we are experts if we visit enough websites or watch enough DIY programs on cable TV. Well, I’m afraid that this attitude has created an environment in which real professionals (e.g. home inspectors, realtors, carpenters, pilots, etc.) have been reduced to commodity status. Remember, commodities are products or services that cannot be differentiated from one another. So, I’m here to tell you that not all inspectors are equal and, DON’T ENTRUST THE INSPECTION OF A HOME TO NON-EXPERTS.
Please note: as of July 2009 “home inspectors” will be required to have a license. The new law (signed by Governor Christine Gregoire). This will be the first time that minimum standards of competency in the home inspection industry in Washington State. I bet you didn’t know that there is no licensing requirement for inspectors today. The only “licensing” required by an inspector is a Pest and Wood Destroying Organism Certificate. You should do your homework when selecting an inspector. I highly recommend inspectors who hold themselves to high ethical and professional standards. You will often find they are members of:
The American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI)
The National Association of Home Inspectors, Inc. (NAHI)
Most inspectors welcome the new law as a way to ensure a higher level of service in the industry. According to the new law, a Home Inspector Advisory Board will be formed under the Department of Licensing. This board will develop a Code of Ethics, Standards of Practice and select or create a licensing test. This is good news for anyone considering the purchase or sale of a home.
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Jun
01
Posted by James Lupori
“Do you know a good landscaper?” As a realtor, I get lots of calls from neighbors, friends and former clients asking me about various contractors. I’m asked about landscaping and roofing more than any others. So if you were to call me today and ask about a landscaper it would be, hands down, Juan Aguayo. His crew of hardworking guys can do just about any project: gardening, fences, waterfalls, stone work, general clean-up and maintenance.
Yesterday, I was plesantly surprised to see Juan and his crew building a fence for one of my neighbors in Bridlepath. He has worked with a huge number of my clients and, without exception, they have all extremely satisfied with the work.
