Jim Baird

Thanks for the replies. I called this guy and talked him into my hourly rate deal, where I inspect items of concern and bill by the hour. He explained that he knew almost nothing about building and was willing to pay me for a buyer type, but he agreed with me and turned out to be a good client. I took him with me and showed him everything my eye noticed about the house. (as you might expect the workmanship was poor and he was a good listener). The little neighborhood was only two years old and most of the buildings sucked. I think his intuition was leading him to unload this dump. I think he is wise to get the eff out of it while it is still "new". The worst feature was one of those entry doors on a two story facade that faces full southern exposure with zero weather protection. The laminate clad wood door was drooping in its frame and dragged heavily on the threshold. The main interior carpet clad stair had all 7 1/2 inch risers except that 9 incher at the bottom. The front main level facade was blessed with a sorry application of ASMV, no weep screed etc. My little letter pleased him, even as I advised him, (as we are not bound here by state licensing rules) to let a potential buyer's inspector to worry about what he finds.

I know that so-called pre-sale inspections are common in some places, but I have never done one in 27 yrs inspecting. I counsel callers not to waste their money there. This caller insisted on my pre-sale visit to a two year old home, even after he had taken his spec builder to court to repair sorry work. No more warranty, but still insisted on my visit. Is he setting any kind of a trap? My report is full of disclaimers, and I have never faced complaints except from one or two. Down here in the GA woods, Jim

Cheap loans were set in motion by our old buddy Billy Clinton and the repeal of Glass-Steagall that turned the banks loose to generate those mortgage based derivatives that led to the '08 collapse.

Thanks, Michael

This jacket was installed by a handyman, I guess. I don't think it was for insulation.

I thought it was more than 22 yrs. Have learned a lot here from lots of "friends" I'm sure I will never meet. I am way less active inspecting and way more active with local community activities. With some zoning admin and AHJ inspecting experience I try to advise local authorities. Some of them listen and respond. I have a facility for composition and like to write. (Many of my referrals come from clients that like my prose style, believe it or not) I think that trying to model on JLC will be a leap that this group should not try to make. I wish I had better ideas, but I think the professional level of this forum membership really puts limits onto the kinds of content the site can carry. I agree with others' assessments here of other online inspection forums. A lot of ego and ignorance on parade there.

Glad she did not weigh 200 lbs.

Mike, That is a job I never would have finished. Flash to future, I inspected a pos mobile home a property owner had relocated across his own property to set up as an ADU, but before set up was complete, a neighbor begged him to offer shelter to a family that had suffered a house fire and had no insurance etc. My client offered them shelter in his ongoing ADU setting, and before long they became a nuisance, would not leave and loaded the property with loads of junk. Owner appeal to sheriff said he could not evict them without extended court action. Took him six months to execute eviction.

...just like our manual yard equipment, wheel barrow and cart. Pneumatic tires are generally cheaper. I bought solid tire for wheelbarrow long ago. Cost more than the wheelbarrow itself. Garden cart I could not find solid tires, so I just use it with two flats. Rolls OK. When those old tires rot and fall off I might use some lengths of old hose and some duct tape to pad those naked rims some.

I hope you were deputized for those visits. My brushes with legal issues were all on the bottom side of occupancy. I had to verify squalid conditions at dwellings were homes had been condemned by AHJ. My visits were final steps in delivery of due process before evacuation orders. One such case was of an occupant born and raised in a dwelling that was in extreme decline. His parents' portraits hung on the walls but he mainly hung out on the street. His birthplace home was scheduled for demolition, and he refused to accept homeless sheltering options. My visit was accompanied by a social worker and a sheriff deputy.

I was a part time inspector/trainer for two full timers at a local AHJ during the wild Y2K decade. Neither full timer could read the newspaper, much less the codebook. One of them failed a builder's final inspection for a doorbell not working. Builder threw up his hands and sold the house anyway. Cited then by AHJ for occupying a home without a CO, I was sent to signoff, commiserate, and issue the CO to get builder off hook. I made sure not to try that errant doorbell.

"...Going to leave this broke-down palace On my hands and my knees I will roll, roll, roll Make myself a bed by the waterside In my time, in my time, I will roll, roll, roll In a bed, in a bed By the waterside I will lay my head Listen to the river sing sweet songs To rock my soul..."--Grateful Dead Thanks for posting Mike. I have learned so much here from the brethren I will never meet. I can still inspect, but I agree with Les that the "profession" has taken a nose dive in terms of the quality of work. Just passed yr 75 myself but am very lucky to be so functional. A little arthritis here and there but my age peers are dropping off the path.

"tainted" as in bad rep, bad record?

Thanks for continuing your reply, Marc. My understanding of AL single strand was that its increased malleability in response to ebb and flow of current led to diminished connective surfaces that generated dangerous levels of heat. I did not think of copper responding to ebb and flow and keeping enough contact to keep things safe. We still don't have a suitable AL alloy for single strand branch, do we?

Do you mean Eleagnus, or Autumn Olive? The same house had that and English ivy.

At night while you're sleepin' ole Kudzu comes-a-creepin'. Very wet summer found this house being invaded.

" Thinking back, there's nothing I regret more than not taking Chad up on that offer." The Buddhists say that Longing, Fulfillment, and Regret are all the same and of equal value. I have enjoyed your posts here.

Around here unopposed fill over four block high needs engineering.

I have learned a lot here and have endured a few slings and arrows. After I got saddled with zoning on an AHJ gig I joined a planners forum that has been a big help for me in offering my two cents to local officialdom.

...love it.

Which kind of setback will the landing off that door violate? So close to the road the landing might need to include a de-cel lane.

Inspectornotes: been there done what? Yet again a client has shared with me a report from that other kind of inspector, the ones the realtor lines up for the buyer. This inspector was a staffer working for a branded corporation. He drove a custom painted logo loaded pickup truck, and he wore a uniform with a monogrammed shirt pocket patch and a matching ball cap. He carried a tablet and filled out a 25 page canned report with lots of photos. The inspector managed to fill out the report, but he failed to notice the dwelling’s status as a manufactured home, not a site built one. He failed to note the basic elements of support and anchorage that are typical of the building type. He called a red brick curtain wall a “foundation wall”. He photographed a one inch diameter wasp nest at an eave, and he recommended that the buyer contact a “qualified professional” to accomplish its removal. He failed to describe two additions to the original structure as additions. He failed to note how those additions are supported. He failed the buyer that paid him in so many ways there is not room here to list them all. In some counties manufactured homes are not even considered “real” property. They are taxed like vehicles, separately form the land parcel. It is hard to overstate the gravity of this failure by the inspector. Even though the county had somehow assessed the property as “real”, the buyer got blindsided when they refinanced. Their bank’s appraiser called the spade a spade, and demanded that a structural engineer sign off on the two additions to a manufactured home. That inspector did not flag that train, did not kill the deal. That is why the agent recommended him, but the buyer got railroaded. If you hire an inspector for a home you are buying, steer way clear of the agent’s suggested ones. Hire an independent inspector that does not use canned software and inexperienced staff.

I don't see a big problem. Their pier design is not one I have seen. The spot footing design is one I have seen, but not very well placed. I agree with Les about the call for someone qualified. All else not considered, my read of this item says no big deal.

The deck looks really thin. Must be a narrow rake to have no kind of fascia. I agree with others about the workmanship. Manufacturer instructions should show the way.

In our state electricians are allowed to leave existing work in place unless it is patently unsafe. I don't know why AHJ would want to know old codes. You can't enforce codes retroactively.