denable

I guess this will be my last post on this not so open "open disussion" thread or any thread for that matter. I have have been served my eviction notice by the landlord. Yes, I am guilty of posting a link to a real estate web site and yes I am guilty of posting parts of e-mails sent to me (and I forced everyone to read my posts.) But unlike several other guys on this forum, I avoided personal insults and attacks. Of course this type of action against me is nothing new. Years ago when agents did not want me around they did everything in their power to keep me from inspecting property for their customers. Unlike the guys who played the game by the agent's rules to stay in favor, I worked to change the rules. It took many years, a lot of work, a couple of legal challenges and a lot of hate mail. I will continue this fight on behalf of other inspectors who want to see the control of agents over this field ended. So like some of the other real "independent" inspectors I have been shown the exit door of this forum. I'll bet there are some real happy guys out there now, although I think discussions will become boring with everyone singing the same tune. For those who really don't want to see me go (there has to be a couple of you out there) you will see me appearing on various news media formats and in at least one book about home inspecting. Don't forget to notify some of the whimps such as Doug H. that it's safe to come back into the water now.

Brian, Remember the old movie, The Wizard Of Oz? Remember the part where the little dog pulls back the curtain and the wizard shouts out, "ignore what's behind the curtain!" So let's censor everything and everyone who keeps opening up that curtain and while were at it, lets keep attacking the person who pulls open the curtain with personal insults.

Jim, Hey Jim, to me that's worth a lot. TIJ and other inspector forums, unfortunately are no different then the whole inspector / agent relationship itself. Mike wants to make money. Mike is pressured by sponsors to limit the discussions about the control agents have over inspectors. Mike is also pressured by other inspectors to quiet guys like myself. This is no differnt then when the Chapter persident tried to keep me from showing the WBZ investigative tape in 1995 about agent referred inspectors. Back then when we took a straw poll at the meeting, there were only about 4 guys out of 35 who agreed that inspectors should separate themselves from agents. BTW, as the messenger, I'm use to be shot at.

Pete, How old was the house? Are you sure it had 7 layers? The most I have ever found was 4. If you are viewing the cross section at a gable end, how many actual shingles are you seeing piled up? If there was actually 7 layers (you would be able to count around 14 shingles)they would have to use railroad spikes to make it to the sheathing and the weight of the shingles, especially with snow on them would collapse the roof.

Rob, As you know I usually only do one inspection per day. This past week I did two per day, all were condos! What's up with the condo market? Dennis

Rob, No fair, you know the territory too well. There were a couple of oddly painted "vehicles" on this street. It was like a trip back to the "70's". Dennis

Two questions: Can you guess what city this car was parked in? What color do you think is recorded on the registration record? Download Attachment: car.jpg 49.43 KB

How the heck do you expect to get referred again by that agent if you suggest the client budget for replacement. They are not leaking now are they? So simply tell the client to "monitor" the situation. That shouldn't alarm anyone and you've done a real service for the client.[:-dunce][:-paperbag]

Gerry, I have lost my mind, but that's a topic for another thread. I kind of figured that there was some electrical activity going on with the GFI's. I can't believe this was the first time I detected the difference and actually thought about.

Wondering if anyone knew whether a GFI receptacle with nothing plugged into it, would normally be around 5 degrees warmer than the surrounding wall. I happened to find this by accident. When I was re-setting the test button after tripping it with a circuit tester, the receptacle was slightly warm to the touch. Using a infra-red theromometer a found the receptacle to be 70 degrees and the surrounding wall next to it at 65 degrees.

Jim, If you let me boast about IHINA and let me sell my how to make a million dollars in home inspections without real esate agents on this forum, I'll promise to stop inspecting in apple country. Dennis[]

Tony, Bear with me, I'm typing this with my nose. My wife had to restrain me when I found your post. She duct taped my hands behind my back and stuffed a sock in mouth. I would love to respond to your question, but the censor would delete it as soon as it hit the screen. Instead I'll just post a link for you. http://ablehomeinspection.com/conflictsofinterest.html

I used to do that, but got tired of writing: " Realtor commented on the rugged good looks of the inspector". It get embarrassing! I actually had a female agent comment last week that I was the best dressed inspector she ever saw. Since I had nothing fancy on, (the usual black work boots, clean Dockers, sweater and a run of the mill wind breaker) it made me wonder what the other inspectors were wearing.

At the begining of my reports I have a little statement that says something to the effect:"If the property owner, a representative of the property owner or agent for the property owner has made a statement/s pertaining to some situation regarding the property, such as a system condition or age of a component, those statements may be incorporated into this report." After a couple of years of putting all the "stupid" statements agents make during inspections into the reports, there are very few agents who make comments during my inspections now. []

Brian, The argument about bigger ad budgets was made to me in one of the "hate" mails I received last year. The inspector who complained to me was charging less than $225 per inspection. My point to him was that if he was charging $400 and providing his clients with a great (useful) service and the agents did not interfer with the inspector selection process, he wouldn't have to worry about his ad budget. I don't want to have a tread drift here, but I usually check out the web sites of inspectors who log onto inspector forums. The one thing that stands out is the pricing. Why do inspectors feel compelled to display prices? Especially when their fees are less than $200. Most do it to complete with other inspection companies. Prospective clients are being taught (by home inspectors) to find the cheapest inspector. When 70% of the inspectors get 70% of their referrals from agents, it's easy to see why I get a lot of flak from inspectors when I suggest removing the agents from the inspector selection process. The reaction must be "oh my god, you mean I would have to depend upon the actual people who use my service to keep me in business"?