Foreword

Your complete property report includes Inspection Home Basics, your signed service agreement, and site-specific information in your inspection report that you will receive by email.

I have created Inspection Home Basics in an effort to make the complete report less cumbersome for you and your Realtor when creating the list of requested repairs. While I have tried to be helpful by listing site-specific areas of concern in the report, the background knowledge provided in Inspection Home Basics can provide you with a better understanding of the type and condition of the property. Much of the information in Inspection Home Basics is relevant to you because it explains possible conditions at the time of the inspection that could adversely affect the job that I am trying to do for you. For example, within Inspection Home Basics you will discover what I do and don’t do during the course of my inspections (e.g., as not walking on roofs), what I can and cannot do (e.g., seeing through walls or behind storage or furnishings), and, when it comes to possible property damage or personal injury, what I will and will not do (such as turning gas and water valves on or off, lighting gas pilot lights, turning circuit breakers on, unplugging equipment, etc). So although I understand that you are most interested in site-specific areas of concern which you might use to negotiate a better purchase price, in some cases those negotiations might be affected by specific conditions at the time of the inspection. Therefore, if you don’t take time to peruse Inspection Home Basics now, make sure that you at least read through those sections that are specifically referenced in your PDF email before your property inspection contingency period expires.

While many Realtors will only casually peruse Inspection Home Basics and, in the interest of time, go straight to the site-specific areas of concern to begin preparing a list of requested repairs for you, I will emphasize again that you should read through Inspection Home Basics before any property inspection time contingency period expires and certainly BEFORE CLOSE OF ESCROW.

Remember that I am a generalist and not an expert in any field related to real estate. As such, I know something about everything but everything about nothing, so I am limited in some areas concerning what I can do for you. Additionally, the State of Georgia considers a licensed professional more knowledgeable and more of an expert than a generalist property consultant. Therefore, I can only do so much without intruding into those licensed professions and possibly being subject to civil penalties or criminal penalties for practicing a profession without a license. So if you have any questions about anything that I have, or have not, attempted to do for you, or if I can help in any way at ay time, please contact me. I’m here to help you.

Your investment in real estate in Georgia is a big one, and if you’ll take some time to read through Inspection Home Basics, combined with your inspection report, you’ll have a better understanding of real estate in general and your home in particular.

Throughout Inspection Home Basics, I attempt to answer many of the typical questions that arise after the property inspection or after you move in. If you have any questions or concerns, though, or if I can help in any way at any time, please always feel free to contact me directly.

Items in the inspection report will be numbered and color-coded to assist you and your Realtor in evaluating them. Bold red text will indicate an area of concern; regular black text is general information or typical causes related to the area of concern; and bold green text indicates typical recommendations for resolving areas of concern.

Some of the items in the inspection report will not be areas of concern that can be repaired or replaced but might simply be general safety or maintenance information. Lack of such information can impact the safety of people on the property or can affect regular homeowner monitoring and maintenance.

“Too many” numbered items in the property report doesn’t necessarily mean that there are “too many” problems; it only means that there is site-specific information that needs to be conveyed to you to protect your interests—from safety, maintenance, and financial standpoints. Often, what looks like a serious defect can be corrected at minimal expense. On the other hand, sometimes a trivial-sounding item can be very expensive to repair, or not repairing it could result in significant property deterioration, injury, or death, usually because of additional problems related to the so-called trivial item. If you have any questions or concerns, though, please always feel free to contact me directly.

I have created Inspection Home Basics and your property report using generally accepted standards of practice in the property inspection industry. As such, there are reasons why I say what I say, so if you have any questions about the information contained in Inspection Home Basics or in your property report, or any perceived lack of information, contact me. And if I can help in any way at any time in the future, please feel free to contact me then, too.

If you have any questions about anything, simply contact me.

                      

                Thank you for using The Upscale Home Inspections Service.

                                                            www.upscaleinspections.com