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Unless you're a meteorologist and can actively monitor humidity levels, keep your crawl space vents open during the winter. If temperatures drop below 25 degrees for an extended period, the vents may be closed to prevent freezing issues but should be opened once temperatures rise. The only exception is if your crawl space is encapsulated with a dehumidifier installed and then the vents are always keep closed.
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We are excited to be an Amazon Service Provider. We were invited by Amazon to join their team of service providers. It is a honor.
WC Home Inspection is now registered on the Alexa platform.With winter approaching, I recommend home owners check the emergency heat function of their heat pump. When the temperature drops below 25 degrees F, the emergency heat is needed to keep the home warm. With our mild winter last year in SC, the heat pump would have kept the home warm without the need for the emergency/auxiliary heat. Recommend turning your thermostat to emergency heat only and determine if you get hot air from your registers.For two or three story homes, the client may desire to have a drone inspection of the roof. The drone can fly over the roof and take pictures of the entire surface.
We are proud to announce that we have partnered with Spec Drones to offer drone inspections of roofs if desired by the client. Not every two or three story home requires this service but sometimes it could be a good additional step to take to ensure the roof surface is in good condition. Thank you note from a realtor. It is a privilege to assist our clients and their realtors.6/13/2019  When buying a flip house beware! Many flippers do a good job remodeling and updating a house but there are many exceptions. Some flippers buy new kitchen appliances, paint, and possibly put down new flooring and list the home. Many times the work is done by someone who watches HGTV or cruises the internet and decide they are qualified to do the work. Typically, these jobs turn out to less than professional.
Also, many flippers focus on what appeals to buyers such as new appliances and granite counter tops with no regard to the important unseen items. All home renovations and new builds should begin with the outside structural concerns. If you are considering buying a flip house, please hire a home inspector. We would prefer you hire us but please hire someone. I recommend having easy access to your attic. It is preferred to have metal pull down stairs with a platform to access any systems located in the attic. It is important from a safety standpoint that a repair man or you as the homeowner have to attempt to walk on joists or step over ducting to access the systems.
If pull down stairs are not practical, at least have a hatch that is easily opened. If you have any questions regarding this concern, please reach out to WC Home Inspection at 803-448-5512. An excerpt from an article written by Tarek El Moussa of 'Flip or Flop'.
4. Bypassing a home inspection because the house looks perfect One time at the start of my career, when I was trying anything and everything, a homeowner called me with a proposition. He had an old home he'd just inherited, and no cash for renovations. He would put up the property, I would put up the cash to renovate, and the profit we would earn when we sold would be split 50/50. We started ... and it was one thing after another. The electric system needed to be totally replaced. The pipes were rusted. Then we found termites. It got to the point where I'd feel nervous whenever my phone rang. When we finally sold, I lost money. I'd been certain it would be a sure thing. It wasn’t. Moral of this story? Hire a professional home inspector to carefully examine all the details and bones of the home before you buy. With a home, it’s what’s underneath that counts. Just remember, building inspectors look for faults: It's their job. So don’t get upset when you see their 40-page report. Pay attention to the big-ticket items, which include the electric wiring, plumbing, foundation, and things that concern health, like old building materials such as lead and asbestos. This is why home inspections are a major contingency in most home purchases. One of my clients was so excited about a place, she decided to forgo the inspection contingency on her offer. The good news: Her offer was accepted. The bad: There wound up being an issue with the foundation that cost her an extra $45,000 to fix. 5. Assuming new construction is in great shape One time, I put an offer on a new house being built in Tustin, CA. Since it was new construction, the buyers didn’t think that an inspection was necessary. I told them it was worth the few hundred dollars, and insisted. We ended up finding that the builder had faulty plumbing ... which was found to be the case for the entire newly built neighborhood! Even with new builds, do your due diligence. Many homeowners cover their electrical main panels with pictures, enclosures, or paint the same color as the wall. Electrical codes do not allow any of these practices. In reality, the "code police" are not going to show up and issue a ticket. Regardless of code, you want the panels visible and easily accessible in case of emergency. You need to think of fire fighters, renters, or guests that might not have any idea where the main panel is hidden. Is it really worth the risk to be cosmetically appealing to hide a panel?  |
Dale's corner:I am a full-time home inspector servicing all of South Carolina. Archives
January 2020
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