Inspection of Forclosed Vacant Homes

A home that has been foreclosed and is bank owned and vacant is more likely to have serious defects and potentially hazardous conditions than a home that is owner occupied. The bargain home you envision may not be such a bargain after all once you take into consideration the cost of the repairs that may be needed to put the home into satisfactory condition.

Some examples of the problems we find when we inspect foreclosed vacant homes are:

• Flooded conditions due to plumbing leaks.
• Damaged plumbing and heating equipment due to either flooding or vandalism.
• Damaged plumbing due to freeze conditions that occur in winter.
• Damaged interior walls, floors, and ceilings due to roof leaks.
• Mold growth due to water intrusion for extended periods of time.
• Structural mechanical and electrical defects due to lack of maintenance to the home and non-professional "jury-rigged" repairs.

All of these serious defects can be very expensive to correct. For this reason it is more important to have the home inspected by a professional who has experience with these types of properties.

In New Jersey, all home inspectors must be state licensed, but not all are experienced with the problems presented by foreclosed homes. Meyers Home Inspections is one company that has a great deal of experience and is fully qualified to properly inspect these homes. With 25 years of experience inspecting homes in NJ we will find and properly describe the defects in the home before you buy it.

What to Do After the Home Inspection

So you have contracted to buy the home of your dreams (or at least the home you can afford), you were smart enough to find a home inspector independently who is licensed and certified by ASHI, and maybe also an engineer for good measure, and you have read the home inspection report cover to cover. What now? Well here is a list of things that you should consider.

First of all, make sure that you are clear about all the issues or defects the home inspection report describes. If you are not completely clear on these, call the home inspector and ask for clarifications. You should also make sure that the implications of not correcting listed defects are known to you. Most home inspectors will be glad to discuss their report with you. At Meyers Home Inspections, when you call, you will always be able to speak directly with the home inspector. At some other larger home inspection firms that have many salaried employee inspectors this may not be so easy.

Second, decide which of the deficiencies in the home that are called out in the home inspection report are so compelling that they absolutely must be corrected before you will occupy the home. These are “must correct” deficiencies that your attorney should bring to the attention of the sellers attorney, and your decision to purchase should be contingent upon satisfaction of these serious defects.

Third, decide which of the deficiencies in the home that are called out in the home inspection report materially affect the price of the home that you originally agreed upon. For example, if the home inspection finds that the roof is almost worn out, you will probably have to pay for a new roof soon after you move in. The roof may not be leaking yet, and the seller may make the argument that “the roof is not leaking, so I am not going to replace it”, but you have a right to expect a reasonable amount of additional service from the roof (5 years is a typical number suggested by most insurance companies). So, be smart, request a price concession to cover the cost of roof replacement. The same goes for any other major system in the home, such as the heating/AC, water heater, etc.

Fourth, do not forget to make sure that there are no abandoned buried oil tanks lurking on the property. An abandoned buried oil tank is a significant potential liability for you. We at Meyers Home Inspections always recommend that a sweep of the grounds for an abandoned oil tank be done unless credible documentation is available that the home never used fuel oil.An inspection for termites and other wood destroying insects is almost always required by mortgage lenders, and since an infestation of wood destroying insects in a home can do significant damage, we always recommend that a separate inspection be done by licensed professionals. We can arrange for this to be done in conjunction with the home inspection, and will include it in our price quotation as a sub-contracted service. If evidence of an infestation is found, a treatment may be needed to assure that the infestation is eliminated. If we see evidence of significant damage to the wood structure caused by the infestation, then repairs may be advisable. Most of the time, the cost for treatment of an infestation is paid for by the seller of the property. Damage to the structure, should we find this to have occurred, can almost always be repaired an a reasonable cost.

In New Jersey, a screening test to rule out high radon levels in the home is recommended. High radon levels in the home are, according to the EPA, are listed as second after smoking cigarettes as a cause of lung cancer. We are licensed radon technologists, and can do the radon test in conjunction with the home inspection. If the radon test results indicate an average level of 4 pCi/l or more, then experts recommend that further evaluation or remediation should be considered. Typical radon remediation systems are routinely installed and usually cost no more than $1500.00 for the average home. It is common for sellers to be asked to cover the cost of radon remediation systems. For more information about radon in the home, you can visit www.njradon.org.

You should do a walk-through of the home just prior to closing. During this walk-through you should make sure that there have not been any new problems or damage that was not present when the home inspection was done. The walk-through is important because often there is a fairly long period of time between the home inspection and your closing date, and also, in the process of a move-out, there is a high risk that damage may be done to walls, floors, windows etc. Also, if seller turns off the heat but does not winterize the home, there may be serious damage done if pipes freeze.

Finally, every home needs regular maintenance to keep it in good shape. A list of maintenance tips can be found at our web site.

What Type of Home Inspection Report is Best?

Our home inspection reports have been called "the best we have ever seen" by numerous clients, attorneys and real estate professionals. We provide a detailed narrative style written report that is custom written for your property. The report includes digital color photos of your home and the home systems. If you have a question about anything that is in our report you can call the inspector directly to get the answer.

What About Instant Check List Type of Reports?
We do NOT provide a "check list" type of report, as we feel that a "check list" report can not provide adequate detail or accuracy as compared to the narrative report that we custom prepare in our office. We will be happy to answer questions during the inspection, but will not provide an "instant" computer generated type of report. Our considerable experience doing home inspections for many years has convinced us that "instant" type reports provided by some other home inspectors are likely to be inaccurate or incomplete since they are not proof read before delivery.

Should You Be Present at the Home Inspection?

Yes , you should be present at the home inspection if at all possible. We consider the home inspection to be an educational experience. Your home inspector will be pleased to answer any questions you may have when you accompany him on the inspection. Our report will cover all aspects of the home that are part of the home inspection, and will provide a description of the system or part of the home, its current condition, and recommendations for maintenance, repair, or replacement if needed.

What is a Home Inspection?

A home Inspection is primarily a visual, non-destructive, inspection with limited probing where allowed, with operational tests of systems using normal controls. The home inspection reports on the condition of the home as found on the date of inspection, and makes recommendations to repair, replace, monitor a system if marginal, or recommends further evaluation of a system if this is needed to determine the true condition. A home inspection should not be considered to be an insurance policy against future damages or damaged from concealed or latent conditions that may be present when the home was inspected. There may be conditions that are not identifiable at the time of the inspection because they do not immediately show themselves as problems, but instead progressively deteriorate and require repair or replacement at a future time. For example, a basement filled with stored items can hide defects in the foundation wall framing. Re-modeling or building an addition onto the home can expose hidden termite damage when walls are opened. A home inspection is not a guarantee against the possibility that repairs may be needed to the home. You should expect the need for maintenance, and repairs, because no inspection can totally eliminate all risks, and all homes need regular maintenance to keep them in good condition.Who Will Do the Home Inspection? Your home inspection should be done by a licensed home inspector who also has engineering training. State regulations actually do not require home inspectors to be engineers, and only a few of the hundreds of home inspectors in NJ are engineers. If you choose Meyers Home Inspections, your inspection will be done by degreed engineers, or by an experienced Licensed NJ Home Inspector, with the home inspection report reviewed for accuracy and completeness by the engineer before it is sent out to you.

Value vs. Price of a Home Inspection

Would you pay $100.00 more to have your home inspected by a home inspector who:

• Has more than 20 years experience inspecting homes
• Is a graduate Engineer as well as being fully licensed and certified
• Is independent and does not depend on realtor referrals for business
• Writes custom narrative reports with pictures that clearly call out all defects in the home with recommendations given in bold face type...?

Well.... some home buyers can never get past the price issue, and can not make a differentiation between price and value. That is a shame since the most important consideration in choosing a home inspector is not the price of the inspection, but the value of the service provided by the home inspection. Like any business, there are differences in home inspection services; some home inspectors choose to market their services by advertising low prices, and sometimes adding on costs for the service after they think that they have made the sale. That's called "bait & switch", and is not ethical. Other home inspection companies make a conscious decision to charge very low prices and provide a very minimal inspection, spending as little as 45 minutes at the inspection and providing a check list which provides little useful information to the home buyer. We (Meyers Home Inspections) choose to provide the highest level of professional services, and we charge a fair fee for these services. Our fee is often about $100.00 more that other less qualified inspectors, but you can be sure that you will get more value for your money.

After The Home Inspection, but Before Closing on the Home

So you have contracted to buy the home of your dreams (or at least the home you can afford), you were smart enough to find a home inspector independently who is licensed and certified by ASHI ( www.ashi.org) , and maybe also an engineer for good measure, and you have read the home inspection report cover to cover. What now? Well here is a list of things that you should consider.

First of all, make sure that you are clear about all the issues or defects the home inspection report describes. If you are not completely clear on these, call the home inspector and ask for clarifications. You should also make sure that the implications of not correcting listed defects are known to you. Most home inspectors will be glad to discuss their report with you. At Meyers Home Inspections, when you call, you will always be able to speak directly with the home inspector. Meyers Home Inspections can be reached at 973-763-7090, or on the web at www.meyershomeinspections.com. At some other larger home inspection firms that have many salaried employee inspectors this may not be so easy.

Second, decide which of the deficiencies in the home that are called out in the home inspection report are so compelling that they absolutely must be corrected before you will occupy the home. These are “must correct” deficiencies that your attorney should bring to the attention of the sellers attorney, and your decision to purchase should be contingent upon satisfaction of these serious defects.

Third, decide which of the deficiencies in the home that are called out in the home inspection report materially affect the price of the home that you originally agreed upon. For example, if the home inspection finds that the roof is almost worn out, you will probably have to pay for a new roof soon after you move in. The roof may not be leaking yet, and the seller may make the argument that “the roof is not leaking, so I am not going to replace it”, but you have a right to expect a reasonable amount of additional service from the roof (5 years is a typical number suggested by most insurance companies). So, be smart, request a price concession to cover the cost of roof replacement. The same goes for any other major system in the home, such as the heating/AC, water heater, etc.

Fourth, do not forget to make sure that there are no abandoned buried oil tanks lurking on the property. An abandoned buried oil tank is a significant potential liability for you. We at Meyers Home Inspections always recommend that a sweep of the grounds for an abandoned oil tank be done unless credible documentation is available that the home never used fuel oil.

In New Jersey, a screening test to rule out high radon levels in the home is recommended. High radon levels in the home are, according to the EPA, are listed as second after smoking cigarettes as a cause of lung cancer. At Meyers Home Inspections we always recommend that a radon test be done. For more information about radon in the home, you can visit www.njradon.org.

You should do a walk-through of the home just prior to closing. During this walk-through you should make sure that there have not been any new problems or damage that was not present when the home inspection was done. The walk-through is important because often there is a fairly long period of time between the home inspection and your closing date, and also, in the process of a move-out, there is a high risk that damage may be done to walls, floors, windows etc. Also, if seller turns off the heat but does not winterize the home, there may be serious damage done if pipes freeze. You may wish to use a pre-printed walk-through checklist, and such a checklist is available at our web site, www.njhomeinspectionengineers.com .

Finally, every home needs regular maintenance to keep it in good shape. A list of maintenance tips can be found at our web site www.njhomeinspectionengineers.com, or at www.meyersengineering.com .

Why You Should Have Your Home Inspected by a Professional

1. The purchase of a home is an emotional experience. Even if you are very familiar with construction, electrical, plumbing and other trades, etc. it is not likely that you will be objective about the condition of the home. You will see the beautiful back yard, or the beamed ceiling in the living room, or be thrilled to have a wood burning fireplace, but you may not notice antiquated and hazardous electrical wiring, water and drain pipes that are at the end of their service life, structural defects or termite infestation, or any of the hundreds of problems we have disclosed in homes that have been inspected by Meyers Home Inspections, www.meyershomeinspections.com

2. You are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for the home. A home inspection costs a small fraction of the price of the home. I know people that have pre-owned automobiles inspected by mechanics before they buy. The mechanics charge about $100.00 for this service. The car may cost $10,000.00. That's 1% of the cost of the car for the inspection. The fee Meyers Home Inspections charges for a home inspection is typically $595.00 for a 4 bedroom/ 2.5 bathroom home. If the home costs $595,000, then our fee is only one tenth of one percent of the price of the home. Your realtor will charge the homeowner 5% or 6% of the price to sell the home, and that amounts to about $25,000 commission, which increases your cost indirectly. As you can see, a home inspection is very inexpensive relative to the other costs involved.

3. Homes can be dangerous. When a home inspection is done by Meyers Home Inspections our first concern is disclosing potential safety hazards, and then the condition of the structure, electrical, plumbing, roof etc. Did you know that most decks and stairs that we inspect have safety issues? Did you know that most of the older homes we inspect have electrical hazards created by modifications or additions done by unqualified persons? Did you know that many older homes have furnaces that are so old that it is likely that they can be lethal? Did you know that chimneys, especially in older homes, usually have internal defects that can result in fires or carbon monoxide poisoning? We look for all of these potential safety hazards and more when we do an inspection.

4. You should shop for a home inspector the same way you would choose any other professional that you will be trusting with your welfare. Just as in any profession, prices range from ridiculously low to unreasonably high. Generally speaking, you get what you pay for. Experienced highly qualified home inspectors command higher prices than less qualified or less experienced inspectors. Home inspectors that provide narrative reports rather than check list reports charge more because it takes time to properly prepare the report. Home inspectors that have extra credentials, such as Ron Meyers or Dan Meyers at Meyers Home Inspections, have Engineering degrees and special certifications, command a higher price. In today's market in Northern New Jersey, the price for a home inspection ranges from about $375. to 795.00 for a typical home costing between $300,000. and $1,000,000. Our price falls in the upper middle of this range...but we are highly qualified with more than 20 years of experience,we provide detailed narrative reports with color pictures, and the home inspector will be an Engineer.

5. Licensed Home Inspector or Engineer....which one is best? Simple answer...choose a home inspector who is licensed, and also an engineer. All inspections done by Meyers Home Inspections are done by a Licensed NJ Home Inspector who is also an Engineer.

6. You need an objective home inspection report done by a professional such as Ron Meyers or Dan Meyers of Meyers Home Inspections. If the home inspection report discloses material defects in the home that you were not aware of when you made the initial purchase offer, then you may be able to negotiate the price of the home downward to allow for repairs or replacements. If the furnace needs to be replaced it would cost about $3500.00, If the roof needs replacement it may cost $6000.00. Compare these costs that you may partly or completely recover in the negotiation process with the cost of the home inspection, and you will realize that a home inspection may save you a lot of money.

Home Inspector Credentials

Recommended Credentials for a Home Inspector

• Pass the National Home Inspector Exam. This is the same exam used by the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), which is the oldest and most widely recognized organisation of home inspection professionals. It is currently the exam used by many states as part of their licensing requirements.
• Inspect at least 250 homes and write reports for these inspections under the guidance or supervision of an experienced professional home inspector. This requirement, initially part of the NJ licensing requirements for home inspectors, and a requirement for admission as a full member of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), has unfortunately been removed as a requirement in NJ under pressure from large companies that are in the business of selling home inspector business franchises. With this "apprenticeship" requirement in place, these companies found it impossible to effectively sell their franchises to "wannabe" home inspectors. This is a shame, since there is no substitute for experience working under the guidance of a experienced professional. In other professions, such as engineering, part of the licensing requirement is that the candidate be "in training" for a number of years. This is the same as being an intern in a hospital, where newly graduated MDs gain the necessary experience to confidently practice medicine.

Additional Credentials that Make the Home Inspector Even Better

• Engineering training or better yet, a graduate degree in engineering.
• A background in construction or construction related fields.
• Ability to communicate clearly and accurately.

Red Flags in Home Inspector Credentials

• Lack of experience doing home inspections. Any inspector with less than 1 year or 250 home inspections should be doing inspection under the supervision of an experienced professional home inspector.
• Not a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI). The ASHI has strict professional and ethical requirements which protect the home buyer's interests.
• Not insured for errors and omissions. Insurance is a requirement of most states that have license requirements. Lack of insurance may mean that the home inspector has a bad record and can no longer obtain coverage.
• Home inspectors that advertise low ball prices. It is usually true that you get what you pay for. Home inspectors that charge fees that appear to be bargain prices may be doing this because they are inexperienced or unqualified and must charge less than the competition to get any business at all.
• Home inspectors that have a business relationship with referring realtors. Inspectors that rely on realtors for most of their business may not be as objective as they should be when describing the condition of the home.

Home Inspection Cost

In New Jersey, where my company provides home inspections, the price for a home inspection for a typical home varies from as low as $199.00, to $1000.00, depending on the size and age of the home. There are additional costs for related home inspection services such as radon testing, termite inspections, septic system evaluation, and well water testing. A search for the presence of abandoned buried oil storage tanks is also often required, or a test of the integrity of the active buried oil tank may be advisable as well. The total costs can run up to $2000.oo or more. Are these costs worth it?

To answer the question of whether a home inspection and related inspections are worth the cost, consider a typical home that we recently inspected. This older home sold for approximately $675,000., and appeared to be in fine condition. Our inspection found the following defects or potential defects and hazards in this home:

• The presence of original old brass water pipe that had enough internal corrosion so that pin-holes were present with micro leaks.
• Two heating systems installed side by side, but only one was functional.
• A hot water heater that was 18 years old...still functional, but not much longer.
• Evidence of prior termite activity and damage to the main beam and floor joists.
• Hazardous electrical panels and obsolete wiring.
• Evidence of an abandoned buried oil tank.

We disclosed these defects and adverse conditions to the buyer in our detailed home inspection report. Cost estimates to cure all these defects came in at approximately $15,000. Based on our home inspection, the buyer instructed her attorney to request a price reduction of that amount. The sellers compromised by offering a $7500.00 price reduction.

Our fee for the home inspection services was $795.00. Do you think our home inspection fee was worth the money?

Referral Sources for Home Inspectors

Looking for a home inspector? Possibly your real estate broker will recommend one or two home inspectors, or provide you with a short list. Possibly your attorney will recommend an inspector. Are these the best ways to find and choose the inspector? The answer to this question should come from a realization that your real state broker (and possibly attorney) both benefit financially from the sale/purchase of the home, and may find it difficult to be objective with respect to recommending a home inspector. A good home inspector may find defects of signifcance that could become a roadblock to the quick and easy completion of the sale of the home. Real estate brokers know this, and may not recommend the best home inspector. More than likely, the home inspector recommended by the realtor will be one who will not protect your interest properly. Many home inspectors depend on referrals from real estate brokers for their business, and may be reluctant to clearly and openly call out a significant defect in a home for fear of loss of this referral business. For these reasons, you should do your own independent search for a home inspector. You can find qualified home inspectors at the American Society of Home Inspectors's web site, www.ashi.org. Some states, such as New Jersey, require a home inspector to be licensed, and you should look for a state licensed inspector where appropriate. You can also check the list at the site for Independent Home Inspectors of North America, www.ihina.com, where all listed home inspectors have pledged not to solicit real estate brokers for business. Lastly, although some would say that you do not need an engineer to do your home inspection, why not get the best inspection you can by looking for an inspector that is not only a licensed home inspector, member of the ASHI, the premier organization of home inspectors, and is also an engineer. In New Jersey there are several such well qualified home inspectors, among them being Ronald R. Meyers, P.E. at Meyers Engineering Services, www.MeyersEngineering.com.

The NEW NJ Home Inspector License Requirements

About six years ago the powers that be in NJ decided that all home inspectors in NJ should be done by a licensed professional, and that the minimum requirements for NJ home inspector licensing would roughly be the same as the requirements to join the American Society of Home Inspectors, which is a national association of home inspectors that established ethical and professional regulations for the profession. That was a great idea. It meant that the public could be assured that a professional home inspection would be done by someone with sufficient experience and credentials to do the job right. After five years or so of the usual NJ political ball game, the license requirements were put into effect, but they would not be enforced until December 30, 2005. December is around the corner, there are now about 500 licensed home inspectors in NJ now, and all seems well....but beware! What the public does not know is that in June of 2005 the original requirements for licensure were drastically diluted, so here is what the truth is about licensed home inspectors that will come into the field after the 2005 year end:

1. New licensed home inspectors will not have adequate training. Instead of needing to have done 300 home inspections under the supervision of a licensed home inspector, they will only have to do about 15 inspections, which will take place as part of classroom training.
2. New licensed home inspectors will need only about 140 hours of classroom training instead of 300 hours of training. Also, they may not have to take the nationally accepted exam for home inspectors, but instead may take "an approved exam" given by the school.
3. New inspectors will not have to serve as "apprentices" working under the license of an experienced licensed NJ home inspector at all. Instead, anyone with a high school diploma, and about 4 weeks of home inspection schooling, can call themself a NJ licensed home inspector. If your M.D. told you that he never served as an intern, but instead just graduated from a doctors school, would you run from his office???? I would. I would not trust my home inspection to someone with essentially no field experience even if he was licensed by the state of NJ.

So be careful NJ home buying public. If you want to have your home inspected by a qualified and experienced professional, you should ask when the home inspector got his license. If in 2005 or before, he or she was required to have substantial training and experience. If after 2005, maybe not! Also, make sure your inspector is a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors ( ASHI). You can find an ASHI inspector at www.ashi.org.

Should a Home Inspection be done by an Engineer?

If you are going to have your home inspected in NJ there are a few home inspector credentials that you should look for. Firstly, by NJ Law, the NJ home inspector must be licensed by the State of NJ. Secondly, your home inspector should be a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors, which actually has much higher requirements than the NJ Home Inspector License. You should also consider whether your home inspection should be done by an engineer. Most home inspectors are not engineers, and although a home inspector is supposed to inspect the structure such as the foundation walls and support framing of the home, you will naturally get a more complete and professional evaluation if the inspection is done by a person with an engineering background. If a home inspector that is not an engineer suspects structural defects, the standards of practice of the industry require that you get further evaluation by an engineer. If your home inspector is an engineer, the suspect structural defect may be evaluated within the home inspection report without the need for an additional costly inspection.