I have also seen this method used on a TV program that spotlights exterminators that used the same method with 100% success.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/winnipeg-landlord-turns-old-trailer-cooker-rid-bedbugs-20110220-142342-576.html

Happy sleeping!

Darren

I’m just surprised that more people aren’t getting a home inspection when they buy privately. Not that I think the homes are any worse than other’s or that the people selling them are trying to disguise or hide problems, not in the least. What I am sure of is that the majority of real estate sales agents are quite savvy when it comes to doing their own inspection of a home their client is looking to buy that very often, they will see issues and point them out to the client well before a home inspector is booked.

 The home is the same, regardless of who is selling it, so it makes sense to have it inspected. I think that buyers assume enough responsibility and risk already when they buy a home privately, but to pass on a home inspection is like driving without your seatbelt on: Most of the time you’ll be ok, but why take the risk?

I think that the public is still under the impression that home inspections are not worth the money or it just doesn’t even enter their minds. most real estate agents I believe, will strongly recommend an inspection. So if I only found one thing wrong on the home inspection that saved you twice the cost of the inspection, wouldn’t that be worth it? Give me $1.00 and I’ll find you $5.00 in savings… That’s a good deal, I say! (I typically find anywhere from 18 to 30 things to report on, by the way)

An inspection a day, keeps the bad homes away.

: D

The home in question was about 30 years old and overall seemed in good condition. However, there were a couple of issues that I called attention to about the wood stove. I did not think the clearances were acceptable and I referred to this in my report. As I am not WETT (Wood Energy Technology Transfer) certified, I cannot make a definitive claim to such. I did refer the images to a colleague of mine however, who is WETT certified and he immediately drew attention to the lack of clearnace from combustible materials. (the door when open, overhang the carpet floor of the family room mainly. The other issue I had with this item, was the exterior chimney had pulled away from the house by about 3/8″ at the top and was stained by what appeared to be soot. I questioned the integrity of the flue inside the brick chimney. By the way: The house had a very strong smell of soot when I first went in, which also made me question the safety of the unit.

Here’s the thing: The sellers had a WETT certificate from 2009. The buyers agent – yes the same one who is working for the same client – was almost defensive with me and kept stating “yes, but they have a certificate” as if I was making the issues up! Again, and I stress, I am looking out for my clients safety. Even if these people weren’t paying me a dime, I would still state that there seems to be something amiss and it should be checked by someone with more training and knowledge than I have. A certificate is like a home inspection: It is at the time and date of the inspection. I say it again and again that things can change one day to the next. “My car drove fine to the store, but when I came out, it started making a weird nose” Sound familiar? Houses are no different. They don’t leak Monday, but after Tuesdays rain storm, the roof suddenly started to leak. ‘$#!T happens’

I write this to point out to anyone reading this, especially home inspectors, to stick to your guns and follow your gut feelings when it comes to issues of safety.

It is far better to err on the side of caution and be wrong for the right reasons, than bend to the will of other’s and be wrong.

= D

I realized early on during my own home inspection studies, that this should be a key part of all home inspection training, as rarely anything can teach us like hands on experience and actually doing something.

The students I talk to and take on inspections all agree that this is a good exercise and would like to see more of it. Consider too that our profession could easily be classified as a semi-trade and although none of us are typically experts in every trade, we could be called “house experts”. 

As such there are many groups, such as CREA, CMHC and other large bodies of people who want to see regulation and accountability from the home inspection industry, which I’m not against either - I look forward to being licensed. (so the goof-ball that did not invest thousands of dollars into a proper home inspection education, that do a poor job and give our industry a bad name, will be shut down and I’ll double my business!) but I digress…..

What I think is that all home inspectors should be apprentices under an established inspector, or have group and/or individual inspection practice before they ever charge a client fees. This should be mandatory in their studies prior to writing an exam.

I know that OAHI (Ontario Association of Home Inspectors) would like to include mentorship and shadowing in their member requirements and some inspection franchises make it part of their program. So should all the schools and colleges that offer home inspection training courses.

Like the couple of schools that I help, it is easy enough to set this up. They should have no trouble finding qualified and experienced instructors to offer the hands on component and provide qualitative feedback on the student for the school to give a grade. Yes I get paid for this, after all it is my time, experience and work setting up inspections and providing the hands-on portion.

I believe that once the home inspection industry becomes more structured and regulated, this will become a mandatory part of the training process and I do not see any fault with this. Student inspectors will feel better prepared to go into the market and charge for services. Home buyers will have a better chance that the ‘newbie’ inspector they hired won’t be overwhelmed or miss something important.

Darren

The reason is of course, that after spending thosands of dollars on education and gaining years of experience, they are being beaten to the clients by new and untrained home inspectors, that paid about $300. to join a home inspection association such as NACHI (http://www.nachi.org/) where they can take an online exam and within about 3 hours, promote themselves as a certified home inspector, asking for the same amount of money for an inspection, as the person who spent $6-7,000. on formal education, submitted reports for professional review and is required to carry E&O insurance to be considered an active member of this association.

Well, after some resitance on my part to join this association, maybe fuelled by opinions of others (biased of course) and an uncertainty of the direction it might lead; I have decided to join the professional inspection association OAHI (http://www.oahi.com/).

A friend and fellow inspector in Hamilton has been a member and attained the RHI designation- which stands for Registered Home Inspector- the closest thing we have at the moment to ensuring that a home inspector with this designation has really been trained, has experience and the knowledge to perform your home inspection. In a conversation we had, he and I were discussing the pros and cons of being an RHI and one very important key point he made was this: “You are a Certified Home Inspector. A Master home Inspector. You have formal education from a college in home inspection study and 10 courses, many years of related experience and more than 5 years being a home inspector. So what seperates you from the guy two streets over who has not completed any formal education or courses in home inspection, no previous experience in any way related to this industry and doesn’t even carry any insurance (which allows him to charge less) but also calls himself a Certified Home Inspector?

This is true; How is the client or real estate agent going to know the difference?  At a glance they can’t. You would have to read over my credentials or interview me over the phone to know all the facts. Which brings me back to OAHI. When a client or real estate sales person sees “RHI” after an inspectors name, they know they stand a better chance of referring this inspector to their clients, than the one they don’t know. In fact, many realtors and brokers won’t even refer inspectors that are not RHI’s.

So, I have joined the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors and am on my way to becoming a Registered Home Inspector. So that all my Blood, Sweat, Money and Tears that I gave to get to this level of expertise, knowledge and professionalism is not mistaken for another less qualified and inexperienced home inspector’s.

Darren

It came to mind that these folks may have the theory licked, but that a practical component is missing which is going to be very real for them in a short time. I remember when I first started my inspection business, the nervousness I felt and the overwhelming amount of stuff that suddenly needed to be at the front of my mind to do the inspection properly. Having a lengthy background in building a home maintenance, along with years of managerial training and experience, I was maybe better prepared for this than some others might be. But the fact is, the folks in this class – and there are many, many more class just like this one – need to do some practice inspections before jumping into the deep fryer of real estate transactions.

I suggested that a group inspection should be attended (put on by yours truly) to show the students what they should be looking for and how an inspection flows. It was also suggested that a shadowing experience is attended. This would be a real inspection and the students would tag-along with an experienced inspector to watch and learn. I think this is a great idea and should be included in all training programs as part of the curriculum before they are passed into the world of home inspections.

During a recent meeting of OAHI (Ontario Association of Home Inspectors) the suggestion that mentoring and shadowing prior to obtaining an RHI designation (Registered Home Inspector) should be part of their process also. So the notion is nothing new, but it seems that it isn’t widely understood or accepted that it could be compared to being as valuable as driving practice prior to getting ones license.

If anyone reading this is studying to be a home inspector, please try to involve yourself with another inspector and ask to shadow them for a couple of inspections, even if there is a small charge for this. Some inspectors will do it for free, others will ask for small fee, which will be worth the experience you will gain.

Darren.

• Smoke alarms, Carbon monoxide alarms and fire extinguishers should be checked, batteries replaced and gauges checked.
• Check your fire escape routes. Every home should have an escape plan in place for the family to know what to do in an emergency. Go through it again or make one if you haven’t.
• Check the basement floor drain(s) to make sure the water level is high enough in the trap. If not add water and then top off with vegetable cooking oil to slow the evaporation.
• If you have pipes that are susceptible to freezing, insulate them or install heating tape/wire to keep them warm during extremely cold temperatures.
• Ensure that all doors to the outside and garage shut tightly and check for ease of use. Renew door weather-stripping if required to seal out any drafts. If there is a door from your home to the garage, it should be made of steel and have a self-closing device to make sure the door shuts and latches tightly to contain noxious fumes or fire.
• Clean the dryer vent pipe.
• Clean debris from the chimney, such as bird nests. If you’re using a wood burning fireplace or wood stove, have it inspected and cleaned annually.

For more information, or to book a home maintenance inspection with us, please visit our website at http://www.nookncranny.ca/Home.htm

Thank you for visiting,

Darren

I’m happy to say that my washing machine was fixed and I found a great company to refer other’s to.

Darren

Visit our website at: http://www.nookncranny.ca/Home.htm

The sales staff and switchboard people were taught to look into a mirror when they answered the phone. If you smile while you talk to someone, it comes through in your voice. The importance is undisputable, if you sound friendly on the phone the first contact anyone has of you or your company, then they have a good first impression.

Today I was reminded of this when I called for appliance service on my 7-year-old Kenmore washing machine. The water pump has broken and I just don’t have the time or inclination to run around getting a part and replace it. So I called a company just around the corner from me and the woman who answered the phone did so without even a “Hello”, she just stated the company name ‘Sutton’s’ I said “Hello, how are you today?, to which I received a 2 second pause and the a somewhat cold and disinterested ’Fine…” and nothing else!  Not a  ”Fine Thank you” or “I’m great. How about you?”

Right away, my impression of this company is poor. The service people and owner might be awesome and the best appliance repair company around. But that 5 seconds during the initial contact call was what made my mind up about them. When I asked about service, I was told that it wouldn’t be until Thursday. Again, without any empathy for my situation or predicament, just stated matter of fact, like someone would answer a mundane question such as what day it was.

So when you, or your employees, answer the phone for a business, remember to be friendly, respectful and smile. You never know who is on the other end and what they may have or not brought to your business. What if, hypothetically, I had been some bigshot at a major hotel chain, just looking for a company to service my hundreds of washers and dryers.. that 5 seconds cost a company thousands of dollars in business.

Darren

You can visit our website at: http://www.nookncranny.ca/Home.htm

Remove and drain garden hoses, then store away for the winter. This prevents any water left in the hose from freezing and then splitting the hose due to expansion.

Drain the fuel from yard equipment and clean it of debris, so it will be ready to run again in the Spring. Fuel left over the winter will break down and turn gummy. This could seriously damage the combustion chamber, leading to costly repairs. Making sure any grass clippings are cleaned off of the underside of your mower, will keep moisture from being held against the base leading to rust. * Make sure to remove the spark plug wire or make sure safety measures are taken to prevent accidental start-up and personal injury.

This is a good time to check the height of the planting (flower) beds. Make sure they are at least 3-4″ below the siding or brick of your home. This will cut the chance that rain or melting snow will seep into the sill plate space over your foundation wall, leading to leaks and interior framing and finish damages.

If you haven’t already done so, there is still time to repair any concrete walks and steps. If the concrete is pitted, broken or cracked, there are products made that can repair the issues, which will reduce continued damage from moisture and freezing, as well as the chance of people tripping on uneven surfaces.

I know it’s still early, but dig out the snow shovels and think about buying a few bags of salt for the driveway, sidewalk, stairs and walks. This way they are ready to go even if you leave them in the shed. Because if you’re like me, they are pushed way to the back and covered with garden chairs, just behind the wheel barrow!

It’s a good idea to put on storm windows now, if your house is one of the few left that uses them. You should have replaced this type of window decades ago. But hey, some houses look better left as is..

The list goes on.. for more information on home maintenance, check our website at: http://www.nookncranny.ca/maintenance-tips.htm

You can also order a home maintenance inspection for a reasonable fee, we will go through your home and Produce a detailed report of the components and what needs to be repaired, replaced or improved.