Posts in category: Inspection Philosophy

Do Home Inspectors check code? The short answer is no, they do not. But there is more to the question than just yes or no. Let’s dive into it.

In New York, licensed Home Inspectors follow what is known as the Standards of Practice. This is a set of guidelines that state what home inspectors shall and shall not inspect. It also states that home inspectors are required to report on unsafe conditions. An unsafe condition is defined as a condition that presents a significant risk of bodily injury during normal, day-to-day use; either due to damage, deterioration, improper installation or a change in construction standards.

So, what are these standards? Although they are not specifically codes, most, if not all inspectors know that this means code because construction standards are defined by codes. So technically Home Inspectors do not inspect for code compliance but in many instances, they are actually checking code. In addition to many code compliance items that are checked during a home inspection there are many more things that have nothing to do with code but are equally as important such as: How old is my roof? How long will my HVAC equipment last? How old are my windows and should I replace them? Will my basement have water intrusion?

With me so far? Now here is where it gets a little confusing. A home inspector cannot be expected to know every code for each of the building trades. This would be nearly impossible. But they must be familiar enough with the current version of the IRC (International Residential Code) to know when
things don’t seem right. They can also use safety as a compass to help them determine what recommendations they should make and when.

You might ask why your inspector would not check all codes?  An inspector must be a generalist, not a specialist.  A generalist must have a deep knowledge of each of the building trades so that they can pick out small details that might present an issue to the performance and functionality of a system or present a safety concern.  There are far too many codes within the IRC to memorize them all.   Also, Home Inspectors inspect homes that were built at different times and with different sets of codes.  Not all new codes must be complied with.  Older houses are “grandfathered” from many newer codes because keeping up with current codes would mean rebuilding houses much more often than homeowners would like.   They only must comply with new codes as the house gets upgrades or remodeled.

Here are a few examples of where building codes and Home Inspector Standards of Practice overlap:

1. Guard rails too low.  An inspector does not need to know the exact height the railing should be but will recommend higher if they seem too low by a visual inspection.
2. Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors: A home inspector worth their weight in salt should know what current code requires for fire safety.
3. Electrical wiring: A home inspector must know what size wires belong with every size breaker.
4. Soft copper piping used for gas lines inside of a structure: This used to be allowed by code but is no longer and should be replaced with hard (steel) piping.

The moral of the story is, your Home Inspectors is not required to check code by the New York State Standards of Practice, but they had better be familiar enough with them if they want to be valuable to their clients.

Many people feel it’s the inspector’s job to move furniture, appliances, and other personal items to inspect a particular component. However, New York State license law says otherwise. Home Inspectors are not required to inspect anything that is not readily accessible.

What does readily accessible mean? It means “available for visual inspection without requiring the home inspector to remove or dismantle any personal property, use destructive measures, or take any action which will likely involve risk to persons or property.”

For example, if the attic access is blocked by clothing in a closet or a refrigerator in the garage, it may force an inspector to exclude the attic in the inspection report.

Sometimes the inspector must make an appointment to reinspect an attic or other area of the house or component because of the buyer’s concerns. (Nobody likes to book a second inspection.) Therefore, we recommend that sellers make all areas as accessible as possible. By the way, the seller should move or protect clothing in a closet if that’s where the access to the attic is.

For more related information click on this link:

https://safeharborinspections.com/blog/

Some buyers are purchasing real estate without having an inspection. This, of course, is brought about by such a tight market and competition for homes to purchase. It’s understandable! Especially since buyers have lost several transactions to better cash offers.

Over the past few years, we have had countless inspection appointments canceled because the sellers received a better offer. Then, on the next house, they elected to forgo the inspection completely. Some of these buyers have called us back after they closed on the house without an inspection because serious surprises popped up. They called us after the fact to help them deal with defects. In some cases, the defects involved structural issues. In one case, the house had aluminum wires, mold, and asbestos throughout, and several galvanized and cast-iron plumbing pipes that needed to be replaced due to leakage.

Other buyers are making their offer without an inspection contingency, but they are still doing the inspection just so that they don’t get surprised after they close. If there is no inspection, buyers should understand that there may be unexpected substantial defects.

Of course, everything circles back, and eventually, the market will soften, and buyers may not feel the need to skip the inspection.

For more related information click on this link:

https://safeharborinspections.com/blog/

Seller’s Inspection Benefit

Most people don’t realize how beneficial Seller’s Inspections (Pre-Marketing Inspections) can be.

We feel it’s beneficial for the seller to understand the following two options after a seller’s inspection:

1. First, the seller has the opportunity to disclose defects upfront and state that they are selling as-is. Buyers will have a hard time negotiating inspection items if they are told about the defect before making their offer. For example, if the buyer has been advised the roof needs replacement, they would have difficulty trying to negotiate the roof issue after their inspection.
2. Secondly, the seller can deal with certain defects before they cause a problem with the sale. For example, buyers get concerned about termites. So, if we find termites, we recommend a termite treatment; as a result, the termite issue goes away before the buyer gets involved. Similarly, other items may come up during a home inspection that may cause problems with the transaction unless they are dealt with before the house goes on the market.
3. Here’s a short YouTube video that explains the benefits. https://youtu.be/tNeDhhfvQVg

Based on the above, we feel that Seller’s Inspections provide substantial benefits that most people aren’t aware of. So, if you are a real estate agent or real estate attorney, would you want to advise your clients about Seller’s Inspections?

For more related information click on this link:

https://safeharborinspections.com/blog/

As I’m sure you know, there is an entire industry around investing in real estate, improving it, and then selling it. Commonly known as “Flipping”. Oftentimes, flipped homes are in very good condition and were properly improved with licensed contractors and an investor with the intent to do “the right thing”. New appliances, bathrooms, kitchen, HVAC, flooring, driveway, electrical etc. etc.

However, often the flippers major priority is to maximize the return on his investment. This can lead to hiring unskilled and unlicensed contractors to save as much money as possible. At first glance the house may look impeccable because of the new cosmetics and appliances. But upon further examination, shortcuts may show up.

As an example, we did an inspection which revealed substantial structural defects in the crawlspace. Consequently, there was a substantial concern in the structure. As usual, we took pictures of the situation and offered to show the investor (flipper) the pictures to help explain what we saw. The response from the flipper was “no thanks, I just hope the next buyer doesn’t hire an inspector”.

Sometimes defects are purposely hidden with sheet rock, ceiling tiles, and carpeting etc. So, during the inspection defects are impossible to see without dismantling (which does not occur during an inspection). If you walk into the basement and everything is covered up, perhaps there are defects that cannot be seen by you, or an inspector or anybody else for that matter.

Sometimes we see signs of a bearing wall having been removed to create a “great room” and a sagging ceiling develops.  When bearing walls get removed, structural modifications must be made in order to support the weight above.

The bottom line is in the adage, “buyer beware”. Make sure you hire a very thorough inspector and read the inspection report very carefully. It’s also not a bad idea to check with the building department to see if the contractors procured and finalized building permits during the upgrade process. This can be accomplished by an “expediter”.

Please don’t misunderstand us. Usually the improvements were well executed, and the home is in great condition, and will serve its purpose nicely for years to come without major unexpected repairs.

For more related information click on this link:

https://safeharborinspections.com/blog/

Inspecting large luxury homes and estates versus more modest homes

Large luxury homes and estates are typically much more complex and time-consuming to inspect than more modest homes. Smaller homes typically have one electrical panel, one heating system, one air conditioner unit etc. Larger luxury homes and estates may have 10 or more electrical panels, several heating systems, several air-conditioning units, several attics, etc.

Larger homes and estates may take a single inspector more than a full day to inspect. It can be overwhelming, which may cause the inspector to get tired and gloss over important items. Whereas smaller homes can typically be inspected in a few hours by one inspector.

We at Safe Harbor inspections Inc. feel that large homes and estates should be inspected by a team of inspectors, each focusing on a different aspect of the home. We typically bring three or four inspectors to a large home or estate. The inspection can be done efficiently and completed within a few hours. Buyers, sellers, and agents all appreciate the faster and more efficient inspection. And believe me, the inspectors appreciate it too!

If you are interested, all our previous newsletters are available on our website blog. Click on the following link and it will take you right to it.

https://safeharborinspections.com/blog/“

The most important goal of our inspections is to help our client understand the subject property. One of the most effective ways we do that is to review our findings with photographs on site at the end of the inspection.  This process enables us to clearly convey our findings to our client.

If the seller is there, and/or the listing agent, and, if everything is friendly and copacetic, and, very importantly, if our client agrees, often we invite the seller and listing agent to see our photographs and hear our summary. This enables everyone to be on the same page and expedites the inspection part of the real estate transaction. It can also greatly assist in negotiations (if there are any). Our summary is done with a cool, calm, collected, non-alarmist approach. When we are done, everybody leaves the inspection pleased that they know and understand our inspection findings.

If you are interested, all our previous newsletters are available on our website blog. Click on the following link and it will take you right to it.

https://safeharborinspections.com/blog/“

Safe Harbor Inspections Inc. is dedicated solely to being the best building inspectors and providing the best Long Island and New York home inspections the area has to offer. We are a full-service Long Island and New York home inspections company focusing on high quality residential home inspection services and commercial property inspections with state-of-the-art photographic reports.

This report is available shortly after the inspection on a secure website for your viewing 24 hours a day seven days a week from anywhere in the world and will remain there indefinitely.

We encourage our clients to accompany their home inspector during the home inspection service because our goal is to enable you to truly understand the inspection findings. We want you to know more about that real estate than anyone else. We accomplish this in 3 ways:

1. Firsthand during the inspection: You join the inspector during the actual inspection and see things firsthand (along with explanations from the inspector). We take photos of all issues.
2. Verbal Summary with photo review: At the end of the inspection, we will load all the photos we have taken during the inspection into the laptop computer (right there at the inspection) and review them with you. This serves as a great summary for all present and is unique to Safe Harbor Inspections Inc. According to NY State home inspection law, the findings of the inspection are your confidential property. However, our clients often want us to share this information with the agents and the Seller for negotiating purposes.
3. The Inspection Report: all the photos will be in the report along with concise explanations. This gives you a third look at the findings of the inspection. Our report is designed to be easy to understand and fast to read (the photos really help!)

Our Mission:

Create such positive relationships and make our clients so happy with our services that they will want to refer Safe Harbor Inspections Inc. to their friends and family.

Provide the best property inspections and inspection reports on Long Island and New York.

Use the highest level of technology available to provide timely, easily accessible, and accurate information to our clients.

Put our inspection findings in the proper context through thoughtful and concise explanations and reports.

Continue our reputation for responsiveness, reliability, and honesty in all our dealings with clients, associates, and other professionals and the general public.

If you are interested, all our previous newsletters are available on our website blog. Click on the following link and it will take you right to it.

https://safeharborinspections.com/blog/”

Multi-family home inspections are typically done for property investors.

Depending on the size of the structure(s), representative sampling plays a big role in determining the degree of detail in terms of items to be inspected. For example, representative sampling of the electrical outlets, windows, doors, and plumbing systems will be inspected.

This type of inspection is typically performed on behalf of the client to get a “big picture” perspective on the investment property. The degree of representative sampling will be discussed and agreed upon between the investor and Safe Harbor Inspections during the scheduling process.

If you are interested, all our previous newsletters are available on our website blog. Click on the following link and it will take you right to it.

https://safeharborinspections.com/blog/“

Luxury home inspections include the systems and components of a typical home inspection plus other items as follows: 

• swimming pool
• cabana
• landscape irrigation
• Guesthouse
• Wood destroying insect inspection (termites).
• indoor air quality, including asbestos, and mold.
• Because of the size and complexity of luxury homes, we usually assign an inspection team: 2, 3,or 4 inspectors normally make up the team.

If you are interested, all our previous newsletters are available on our website blog. Click on the following link and it will take you right to it.

https://safeharborinspections.com/blog/”