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The true cost of Procrastination

Putting things off until later?; well everyone does it for a variety of reasons. I see many homes that were not well cared for and basically neglected for some reason or other. Sure It seems everyone has to do a lot more to get ahead these days, so instead of taking care of that detail, that little project, or chore that’s been on your to do list, you try to put it off until you ‘HAVE TO’ do something about it. You have worked all day and want to rest – nothing bad has happened yet… to your knowledge.

That would be okay with most things, but from my experience as a home inspector, it should not apply to home maintenance. When you own a home or anything of value, it needs to be taken care of, ESPECIALLY if it is older- Sadly – it seems out culture has made most things disposable, like kitchen appliances, Televisions, cell phones, computers, lap tops, etc. what do YOU do if one breaks – get it repaired? heck no -NOW you can get the latest one on the market!! 🙂

But homes were built to last – if they are cared for…and honestly, it just takes a little care now to prevent a big problem later. That is the point I want to drive in here.

MOST HOMES AROUND CHICAGO LAND ARE BUILT IN 1920s and 1930s…Now it’s easy to see the point of taking care of something that old – I think it is taken for granted with homes but if you think in terms of an automobile, you already understand that a poorly maintained car won’t be on the road too long – It’s the same for that house, but even more so! if you have an antique car, you make sure the oil lines and gas lines, and tires can handle day to day use- SAME THING GOES FOR A VINTAGE OR ANTIQUE HOME! (but that’s not to say that new homes don’t need maintenance too)

As much as you can say, ‘it’s been fine so far.” I know you are wise enough to know that almost everything in this world is slowly deteriorating. It just takes a little effort and monitoring, and you can care for a house that protects you and your family.

1) PROTECT THE OUTER SHELL OF YOUR HOME SO IT CAN PROTECT YOU.

Do not let moisture enter your home where it shouldn’t. The ROOF, EXTERIOR WALLS, GUTTERS AND DOWNSPOUTS, GRADING etc., should all be in good condition and able to be functioning as intended. Look for openings, gaps, weaknesses, wear, damage, and even any signs of moisture, even if you don’t know where its coming from – someone can help.

(water is the most overlooked, innocent thing, but it will cause grievous issues. think wood rot, mold, deteriorating brick and stone, cracks expanding from freeze thaw cycle, rusting metal window lintels the list goes on and on)

2) GET PROFESSIONAL REGULAR MAINTENANCE FOR YOUR HEATING / COOLING SYSTEMS

There are some things you can do under the advice of a pro, or on your own – like keeping the equipment clean and checking for appliance recalls (CALL ME TO SCHEDULE A”RECALL CHEK” SERVICE). Nothing will ruin your day faster than your furnace going caput in the middle of subzero temps. Don’t wait for that to happen because there will be typically an additional emergency fee added to the price.

3) LEARN EVERYTHING YOU CAN ABOUT YOUR HOME AND ITS SYSTEMS – ESPECIALLY HOW TO CARE FOR IT.

This is where you can greatly benefit from a home inspector doing a maintenance type of inspection and giving you a heads up/ honey do list of things to take care of or keep an eye on.

Today it might just be your gutters are full of leaves – but tomorrow it may get so clogged by winter you have an ice dam forming and water is running into your walls.

It might be a furnace filter that has not been changed each month- but has choked the system out so bad, it dies on you prematurely.

You kind of remember that sump pump worked that one time, but you didn’t know that at some point it died. You only find out after a huge rainstorm and discover a basement full of water – how much would that cost you?

In this economy, we need to prevent surprise costs from draining our savings – how do you do that? From being proactive and taking care of that little maintenance task, or repair or call to a pro, do it now before it costs you more than you have saved.

If you ever have a concern or a question, call a pro, like me and we can help – BUT don’t be afraid to learn on your own how to take care of your home.

House Flipper Fails

We’ve all seen it, the listing that says they rehabbed, remodeled , or some similar verbiage. The listing is also accompanied with a bunch of pictures. Unfortunately when you get there things look much much different.

I often get disappointed at the wide disparity of what they promise and what is actually the reality of the home.
So I wanted to go through a basic rundown of the most common flipper fails I’ve seen whilst inspecting Chicagoland properties rehabbed by some unknown crew of yahoos.

First off, It’s mostly cosmetic “lipstick” kinda work . There’s going to be some fresh paint, some new ceramic tile, maybe some new flooring, and by new flooring it’s almost always a cheap wood look laminate style flooring or a cheap boring color of carpeting. The walls might be painted white or gray or something very generic.

One of the first issues or problems I’ve come across is that the major systems of the home are ignored covered up or cheaply addressed without any real change. Plumbing, Electric, heating & cooling systems.The online listing is supiciously void of ages / years/ dates.
Furnace is 15 years old , AC compressor older and about to fail at any moment -but if they do work “ok” they run inefficiently.Plumbing is something that they don’t want to spend the money on for a flip. Instead of replacing the old and leaky plumbing you’ll see some patchwork here and there may be some updated copper piping in very limited runs and mostly limited to the bathroom and kitchen areas.

You can tell a professional did not do the work when they use accordion style flexible connections instead of proper sink drains or may have drain plumbing that pitches upward which of course will lead to a clog. Of course they’re not going to take care of the major issues such as checking the waste pipe from the house to Street. Most inspectors will quickly notice plumbing installations that appeared to have been done with the assistance of a YouTube video, but with terrible results like heaps of caked on silicone at joints and yep look, it still leaks. Or they use cheater venting connection instead of understanding how to tie in the plumbing with the homes plumbing vent system. There are multiple shortcuts that might end up as very costly problems including the potential to have leaks in the walls or ceilings that might start to draw biological growth such as molds. If they are especially froggy they might have slapped on drywall on top of the plaster & it might be a long time before you even see the leak come through and there would be at a lot of damage. Galvanised water piping can be on its way out, as it rusts out from the inside -you see leaks at threaded connections. There is so much that can go wrong if they don’t properly address plumbing system in a home. Old water heaters can fail but more often i find unsafe venting of the flue and back drafting, that allows carbon monoxide into your air. Unsafe. Then you have the electrical system. Most of the time the so-called rehabbers are not skilled enough to even deal with any needed electrical updates and they will do stupid things, like: paint over receptacles which is very annoying, ignore super old ungrounded outlets. More so often I will find miswired receptacles they put in backwards, for example ; hot or “live” wire connected to the neutral . Sometimes they won’t have a proper ground connection. Sometimes they are loose. I find nonmetallic sheathed wiring installed an a very haphazard way , most cities won’t allow it legally as per local regulations. Electrical issues are the most scary to me because they can cause a fire – which might which may result in someone getting hurt or dying. So that’s why I get especially annoyed when I see signs of do it yourself wiring , like improper connections and cheap workmanship whether it’s in the panel or at the outlet receptacles.

Something I find most often in the attics is that there isn’t any new insulation, most homes have inadequate insulation; often losing heated air and energy through the roof, literally. Couple that with poorly done lighting installations, such as canned lighting and you can see the light going through directly into the attic space & just think; at all the heated air you just paid for is escaping through roof vents. Sometimes you will see the bathroom exhaust fans pointed to the direction of the roof vent but not having its own exhaust vent to the exterior… which means it will build up moisture in the attic at the wood structure and possibly allow mold to form.

Sometimes, but more often than I want to find, I will see that the attic access was covered up by rehabbers. Now you can not see what the attic aka roof structure or the insulation/ ventilation conditions. The new roof is the latest of multiple layers of crappy roofing jobs by a crew that cleary didnt care, including the awful tar / caulk patchwork around roof penetrations that will not last long. 1 layer of shingles is recommended limit. 2 layers is actually pushing it, too heavy and doesnt usually last anyway.

This is just a general collection of some of the flipper home failures I see with focus on mostly the major systems, I will also find various shortcuts done to the cosmetic work, or just a lack of skills showing in the workmanship. The low skilled worker will do everything on the cheap, with cheap materials, and the labor is cheap too.

So before you make an offer on that home that is claimed to be rehab or remodel you should really ask the listing agent or your agent to provide the name of the person or persons that did the work or the company name and whether there’s warranty information. Because while there are very good rehabbers/ remodelers out there – most sellers would rather find a cheaper way & a lot of these flipped homes around cook County & the Chicago region are just a collection of cheats and cheap tricks. Caveat emptor , buyer beware – GET THE HOME INSPECTED – protect your investment

For the Agents

REAL ESTATE AGENTS – please, take a moment to carefully read this page for a smooth inspection experience that will benefit the client as well as the inspector. Thank you kindly

1) ACCESS: I will require reasonable access to any and all attic openings/hatches, basement walls, crawlspace opening, HVAC equipment, the Electrical panel & Remote panels ( also called a sub panel or an auxiliary panel) , The garage, fireplaces, water service entrances or gas shut offs behind panels etc. Make sure the systems of the home are functional, including water service, gas for example pilot lights should be lit. Normal Testing will be conducted. Also remove any bad smell masking deodorizers from the home- this includes plug in scent diffusers and the like.

2) COURTESY & PRIVACY: I require privacy with my client(s) and I would like to be able to have them really attend the inspection and have the freedom of asking questions and hearing what I have to say, without hearing opposing commentary from someone who is directly benefiting from the transaction. All i ask is for the professional courtesy from both agents so i can perform my job without interruptions, or trying to impose a time limit ( SEE NUMBER 3), regardless of your appointments- please understand that. Hovering over me is very distracting and it will slow me down substantially. Let me do my job in peace.

3) TIME: I require a time frame of 3- 5 hours to perform the inspection & answer my client’s questions. Larger properties will take longer of course, and It may take longer if there are lots of issues and client questions. If this is a problem feel free to go and return to lock up or just go and I will lock up the property myself and call you when I am done so you can check the property if you like. Please refrain from repeated inquiries until after the inspection is over. Asking over and over if I am done yet will distract me, so please don’t do that, it will only prolong the inspection time.

4) REPORT: The client is the only person who is privy to the inspection report -unless I get specific directions from the client with a signature, allowing me to send the report to agent. I will let client know they are in no way obliged to share the report with the agent. If you do get the report, please do not try to misguide the clients as to its contents. Your opinion is your opinion, but you are not a licensed home inspector and have no right to advise my client on the condition of the home.

5) RADON: If a Radon test is going to be set, please familiarize yourself with the closed building requirements for radon measurement. Failure to follow these requirements will result in an invalidated test and the need to order another scheduled test. This is the law. Tampering with a radon measurement is against the law as well.

6) CLIENT: My job is to show the client the condition of the home and to help the client make an informed decision. If they decide to pass on the home, please do not slander my name and profession with the term “deal killer” If anything kills a deal, it is the homes condition not an Inspector. Please remain professional in spite of the outcome. Remember, an inspection is not pass/ fail, it simply shows what is really going on and clients have a right to back out if they are not comfortable.