Marietta / Woodstock, Georgia
              Inspection Home Basics - Knowledge Database


   Introduction
        
  Table Of Contents

 

After you close escrow and move in, you will discover problems with your home, even if it’s brand new and no one has ever lived in it before. Not “might discover” or “possibly discover,” but “WILL DISCOVER.” That is because you are buying a piece of real estate, and real estate changes on a daily basic, sometimes even on an hourly basis, in response to changing weather conditions, neglect, daily use, and even lack of daily use. All of those things are called home ownership. Answers about many of those conditions can be found in HOME BASICS

Some of the verbiage in HOME BASICS might seem harsh, perhaps even rude or inappropriate, you might think. Please believe me that it is not my intent to be harsh or rude. I’m a Southerner and believe very strongly in helping people and standing by my words and actions. However, the home inspection industry is a very litigious industry. And since there is no licensing for home inspectors, and no regulations governing the industry—in other words, no protection for me under the law as there is with licensed professionals—I have to do everything I can to protect myself from unscrupulous attorneys who like to file lawsuits against everyone simply to see who is left standing with the deepest pockets and the most insurance money. When it comes to money, too often friends turn on friends and family turns on family, so you can imagine what could happen when you and I have a problem since we were only together for a few hours at the time of the inspection.

Too many people refuse to take responsibility for their own negligence, their own lack of knowledge, or their own inaction in following the recommendations that I make in the property inspection report. As one nationally respected home inspector told one of his Clients, “I am not responsible for advice not taken.” And we always have to remember that the legal system is not a justice system; it is a system for wrongly and inequitably redistributing wealth to attorneys.

So I’m hoping that you will call me if you experience problems after the home inspection and that you and I can discuss your problems reasonably. I’m here to help you, and I will go out of my way to help you. But I won’t pay for things that broke or failed simply because they broke or failed. That’s not the purpose of a property inspection; that’s what insurance is for. I will help you determine why something failed and what you might need to do to ensure that your insurance will honor a claim. Remember that insurance companies are in business to make money, in other words, to bring in more income as premiums than they pay out in claims. So just because they initially deny your claim does not mean that that is the definitive decision. I’ve helped many of my Clients fight their insurance companies, and I have an unblemished record of success.  Realtors like to say that real estate is about “location, location, location.” Well, I like to say that property inspections are about “communication, communication, communication.” So please contact me if you’re having problems with your piece of real estate, if you have any questions or concerns, or if I can help in any way, please.

The following subjects are meant to help you understand both the property inspection and responsible home ownership. However, if you have any questions or concerns, or if I can help in any way, please contact me. Several times I have been successful in helping my Clients resolve issues with insurance companies, sellers, and Realtors. I like to think outside the box when helping my Clients! Simply click on the following subjects that you would like to read about. Links are in underlined blue text. Note that a couple of the subjects are in bold green text, indicating that there is no associated link. Some of the subjects should be read now, before your home inspection contingency period expires, but certainly before close of escrow. They are explicitly identified for you using bold red text, and links were also provided in your email report. Again, if you have any questions, please contact me.

 

                       Table Of Contents

A )
AFCI electric circuit breakers
Appliance package—Keep valuable insurance information about your appliances and equipment in this handy package. A $99 value FREE with some inspection types.
Appliances
Asbestos
Attic
Attic Furnace Drain Pans

B )
Bathroom exhaust fans
Bathrooms
Bathtub overflows
Better Business Bureau
Blame the home inspector
Building codes
Business and trade associations

C )
Cabinets
Cable outlets Carbon monoxide
Carpet floors
Carbon Monoxide
Cast iron drain pipes
Caulking and grouting
Ceiling fans
Central cleaning systems
Chemical storage in sink cabinets
Circuit breakers
Closets
Code Of Ethics
Codes
Common components and common areas—Helpful information if you are buying a condominium, townhome, PUD, or other property with common areas or common components.
Concrete Cracks
Conditions at the time of the inspection
Consumer Product Safety Commission product recalls and safety concerns
Contact information
Copies of the property report
Copyright of the property report
Corrosion
Cost to repair
Countertop microwaves
Countertops
Cracks

D )
Deferred maintenance, excessive
Detached structures
Discussion prior to report—You should read this before your home inspection contingency period expires.
Door openers, garage vehicle
Doors
Drainage cleanout caps
Dryers—Personal property
Dryers—Laundry

E )
Efflorescence
Electric arc-fault circuit breakers
Electric Wiring, Breakers, Outlets
Electric outlets
Electric panels
Electric service capacity
Energy savings
Environmental hazards
Errors in your property inspection report
Excessive debris
Excessive deferred maintenance
Excessive furnishings
Excessive storage
Excessive vegetation
Exhaust fans, bathroom
Exterior grounds

F )
Fans
Faucets, low-flow
Fire door
Fire suppression systems
Fire wall
Fireplace
Floor coverings
Floors and interior foundation
Foreword—You should read this before your home inspection contingency period expires.
Formaldehyde
Foundation
Franklin stoves
Free appliance package—Keep valuable insurance information about your appliances and equipment in this handy package. A $49 value FREE with some inspection types.
Free-standing appliances
Free-standing fireplaces
Freezers
Functional drainage
Functional water flow

G )
Garage vehicle door
Garages and garage safety
Gas pilot lights
Gas service—Recommend safety check of all gas-using appliances before close of escrow. Gas and electric companies typically, but not always, conduct this service free of charge.
GFCI outlets
Grading
Grease—An accumulation of grease in the kitchen (vent fan and surfaces) can harbor various germs and bacteria and can result in grease fires. Recommend frequently cleaning the fan, filter, and surfaces to prevent grease from accumulation and causing health problems.
Guaranty—A property inspection report is not a guaranty. Manufacturers and home builders typically provide a one-year warranty or guaranty on things that are brand new, so I’m certainly not going to provide an indefinite warranty or guaranty on something that I merely looked at for a few minutes and used the standard operator controls to turn on and off.

H )
Hazards, environmental
Heating and cooling
Home Inspection Service agreement—This is an unsigned copy of my standard service agreement. It sets the scope of what I have tried to do for you through my property services, telling you what I do and don’t do, what I can and can’t do in the State of Georgia, and, when it comes to personal injury and property damage, what I will and won’t do. A signed copy  will be provided to you after the inspection. Check your email report for instructions on how to obtain it. You should review your service agreement before your home inspection contingency period expires and contact me if you have any questions or concerns about what I have done for you.
Home Basics - Table of Contents
Home inspection standards
Home inspectors as movers
Information about your home—Some information about your home was acquired from the United States Postal Service web site and public records accessed through the Multiple Listing Service and Realist. You should verify all information to your satisfaction.

I )
Inspection types—You should read this before your home inspection contingency period expires.
Insurance—A property inspection report is not insurance of any kind whatsoever. I am not licensed by the State of Georgia as an insurance provider, and there can be severe civil and/or criminal penalties for providing insurance without a license.
Intercom systems
InterNational Association of Certified Home Inspectors
Introduction—You  should read this before your home inspection contingency period expires.
Irrigation systems
Is my report a warranty, a guarantee, or insurance?—No. I am not a manufaturer and am not licensed to provide insurance in the State of Georgia. Providing insurance without a license can be subject to severe civil and/or criminal penalties.

J, K )
Knob and tube wiring

L )
Landscape lighting systems
Laundry area
Lead
Lead paint
Life Expectancy Table
Lights and switches
Low-flow faucets
Low-flow shower heads
Low-flow toilets

M )
Microwaves, countertop
Missing items
Mold and mold remediation

N )
Newer home or older home?
Non-standard systems

O )
Occupied and furnished home
Older structure
Outlets, electric

P )
Paint, lead
Panels, electric
Personal referrals from me to you
Permits and permit history
Pictures
Plasma televisions
Playground equipment
Plumbing cleanout caps
Pool
Pre-Closing Checklist
Property report

Q )
Questions about your property report—The best person to ask is the person who provided the information: me!

R )
Real estate transfer disclosures—Neither the property report nor any part of the property report shall be construed as a substitute for any disclosures required by Georgia Real Estate Law, and it is not intended to relieve any person or entity from providing any Real Estate Transfer Disclosure Statements as laws may require.
Recall and safety concern research
Referral Rewards Program—All of my inspections are eligible for my Referral Rewards Program. Read about how you can earn all of your inspection fee back, and then some!
Refrigerators
Renovated or being renovated
Repair costs
Roof

S )
Safety glass in doors and windows
Safety glass, tempered
Safety Issues
Security systems
Service capacity, electric
Shower heads, low-flow
Shower pans
Shutoff valves
Sink
Sink cabinets
Skylights and solar tubes
Smoke alarms
Solar heating systems
Solar tubes and skylights
Spa
Space heaters
Standards of practice
Stereo systems
Structure exterior
Structure interior
Swimming pool

T )
Taking care of your home
Telephone jacks
Televisions
Televisions, plasma
Tempered safety glass
Testing methods and further evaluation
Toilets, low-flow
Trade associations and business associations
Trash compactors
Typographical errors

U )
Understanding your roof
Unplugging equipment, testing outlets, or dismantling equipment
Utilities

V )
Vacant residence
Vegetation
Vehicle door openers, garage
Valves, breakers, outlets, gas pilot lights
Vehicle door, garage
Vinyl floors

W )
Wall hangings
Wall mirrors
Wall paneling
Wall paper
Warranty—A property inspection report is not a guaranty. Manufacturers and home builders typically provide a one-year warranty or guaranty on things that are brand new, so I’m certainly not going to provide an indefinite warranty or guaranty on something that I merely looked at for a few minutes and used the standard operator controls to turn on and off.
Washer/dryer combination units—Personal property
Washer/dryer combination units—Laundry
Washers—Personal property
Washers—Laundry
Water filters
Water heater
Water Heater Explosion
Water modification systems
Water pressure
Water purifiers
Water service
Water shutoff valves
Water softeners
When should I read my report?—You should read your complete property report before your purchase contract contingency periods expire.
When things go wrong (also known as home ownership)—Explains why things go wrong in your home after the property inspection.
Why I’m not specific
Window air conditioners
Windows
Wood floors

X, Y, Z )

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

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