Buying a house? Selling a house? Whether you're buying a house or considering selling your own, a home inspection from Tri-County Inspections of the Greater Cleveland area is designed to provide you with the information you'll need to inform your decisions. Buyers: A home inspection when you’re the buyer is critical to negotiating a fair price based on maintenance due and other anticipated expenses – or to discover that the home has little to no deferred maintenance and pursue your purchase with more vigor and confidence. Sellers: Getting a thorough home inspection before you list a home can determine if there are updates that will come-up when the potential buyer gets a home inspection and allow you to make repairs and upgrades before you list, or to price the home accordingly and eliminate surprises.
Below our some interesting posts that should help set your expectations regarding home inspections. Call us to schedule your inspection today!
April Showers Bring … Flooded Basements
Although the saying is “April showers bring May flowers,” in the Cleveland area, April showers bring many flooded basements. If you’ve gotten a first-time home buyer home inspection in the last year from Tri-County Inspections, these tips are for you. And if you’ve gotten one of our new construction home inspections, these tips area also for you. Basically, if you have a basement, these tips are for you. Step 1 of NEO Home Ownership: Learn About Flooded Basements Last spring we saw many headlines about flooded basements and in most areas it was all too common to see destroyed carpets,…
Avoid Burn Risks in Your Home With These Tips
We frequently educate home buyers about fire safety, as it relates to a home’s electrical system and other areas of the home. Fire is the ultimate risk when determining what to do about two-prong outlets and a Federal Pacific Electric Panel, two topics we recently posted about in this blog. To raise awareness about the risks of home fires during winter weather, when we spend most of our time indoors, we want to highlight National Burn Awareness Week (Feb. 7-13, 2021) and share important burn prevention tips to prevent burn-related injuries and reduce the risk of home fires this winter….
National Radon Action Month – Get a Radon Inspection
Yes, we do provide radon inspections so we “have a bias” but radon is a legitimate issue – not something to be dismissed. The EPA has designated January as National Radon Action Month because radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the US! Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer deaths among nonsmokers in America and claims the lives of about 21,000 Americans each year. The EPA and the U.S. Surgeon General urge all Americans to test their homes for radon to protect their health. What is Radon? Do I Need a Radon Inspection? Radon is a…
Home Inspection Reveals Two-Prong Outlets. What Now?
Are you getting a pre-listing home inspection to uncover potential issues before selling your home? Are you buying a home and getting a thorough home inspection report? If the home was built before the 1980’s, it is very common to see notes about two-prong electrical outlets in the home inspection report. There are a lot of great resources out there to answer any of your questions about two-pronged outlets and ungrounded three-prong outlets. One of our favorites is this blog post, “Options for repairing ungrounded three-prong outlets.” At Tri-County Inspections we meet many first time home owners that worry two-prong…
Will a Federal Pacific Electric Panel Pass a Home Inspection?
So what is a Federal Pacific panel? How do you know if you have one? And will it “pass a home inspection?” Your Federal Pacific Electric panel will likely say “FPE” on the front metal door on a sticker for Federal Pacific Electric. These panels were commonly installed in the 50s – 80s, so the sticker may not be clear. Inside the door you will know it’s a Federal Pacific Electric panel if you see orange handles on the breakers. The last tell-tale sign of a Federal Pacific Electric panel is the label “Stab-Lok.” Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok Panels are…
Why Pay for a Home Inspection When I’m Already Getting a Home Appraisal?
Here at Tri-County Home Inspections our inspection services get confused with home appraisals a lot. Our customers will say, “so do you think it will come in at the purchase price?” or “last time I got one of these, the guy showed up, took some pictures, some measurements, and he was done in 30 minutes.” FAST Appraisals, a Cleveland Home Appraisal company, recently posted a great summary of the difference between a home inspection and a home appraisal in “I Have a Home Inspection Report, Why Do I Need an Appraisal?” Five Differences Between Home Appraisal and a Home Inspection…
Should I Waive the Home Inspection in a Seller’s Market to Win a Multiple Bid Situation?
Good news for home sellers in the Greater Cleveland Area. We’re in a “seller’s market.” (It’s a ‘hot, hot’ housing market in Northeast Ohio, despite pandemic – Fox8.com Jun 29,2020) With interest rates low and a limited supply of houses listed for sale, competition for Cleveland area property buyers is high. In a “Seller’s Market” some buyers are so desperate to win a multiple-bid situation they consider waiving their home inspection. Does the mortgage lender requires a home inspection report? Short answer, a home inspection is not a home appraisal, which is required by the mortgage lender, and the home inspection…
Save Money With a Pre-Listing Home Inspection Before you Sell
Thinking about selling your home? Wondering if it needs updates? How will the house stand-up to the home inspection process when you have a buyer? Will they want a radon inspection? Mold inspection? Are there items that the buyer will demand be updated or repaired as a condition of purchase or will they re-negotiate expecting a seller credit to make repairs that come up in the home inspection? A pre-listing home inspection, is the best way to get many of these questions answered, reduce stress AND save money! What is a Pre-Listing Home Inspection? A pre-listing home inspection is just…
Sell Faster and Sell for More With a Pre-Listing Home Inspection
Imagine you’re buying a home. You’ve scheduled four showings with your real estate agent – all in the same area and all with similar criteria. Now imagine one of those homes you saw had a copy of a recent home inspection report on the table with a detailed list of improvements the sellers made, with receipts! How much more would you pay knowing these sellers had taken good care of their home and were serious enough to get a pre-listing home inspection – proof they’re proud of the home they’re selling and not wanting to stick you with a “lemon.”…
Reduce Stress with a Pre-Listing Home Inspection
A pre-listing home inspection is a home inspection the seller pays for before listing the home. Why would a seller get a home inspection before listing their home for sale? Every situation is unique when selling a home and whether or not a pre-listing home inspection is a good idea will depend on the circumstances and the property. At Tri-County Inspections a good percentage of our home inspections are ordered by home owners that are in early stages of considering selling their home. They aren’t sure what they could get for it. They know the house might have a few…
Do I Need a Home Inspection for a New Construction Home?
It isn’t unusual for home owners buying a new-construction, or newly built, home to consider foregoing the home inspection process. The idea seems to make sense, as a person who bought a newly constructed home myself, I completely understand the thought process. Most of us assume that a home inspection is primarily to inspect what deferred maintenance you could be inheriting upon purchase: Is the furnace in good working condition? What’s that smell in the basement – mold, signs of water-back-up issues? How old is the water heater? Will it need to be replaced soon? Is that hairline crack in…
Selling Your Home in the Age of COVID-19
Originally published at Realtor.com by Erica Sweeney Spring is usually the busy season for home buying. But this year, things will be different amid the conronavirus crisis. Here’s how. Spring is usually prime home-selling season—but this spring is a whole different ballgame. With the coronavirus crisis intensifying and the economy in a tailspin, some homeowners may be asking themselves: Should I sell my home during the coronavirus pandemic, or wait? To be sure, this spring’s home-selling season will be anything but normal. So far, the latest National Association of Realtors® Economic Pulse Flash Survey conducted mid-March—which already feels like a very long time ago—revealed that…
This Would Kill You! Live Electric Wires By Water.
It’s not often I hear of something found in an inspection that alarms me, but I recently watched a video of an inspector entitled “This would kill you” that caught my attention. The video showed something he found on an inspection so dangerous it’s amazing someone had not been killed. Tom Munro, an inspector up in Vancouver, British Columbia, was recently doing an inspection on a home with a pool. As he stated in a video he loaded to this video on Youtube, “I found something incredibly dangerous.” In the shed that housed the pool pump and electrical supplies he points…
Do Inspectors Test for Carbon Monoxide?
When it comes to home inspections, it’s important to test the house for safety and functionality of all systems. This story, is a sad reality of the dangers of CO poisoning. A family in Ohio sadly died after being poisoned by CO gas from their hot water tank. The police were called after a family member notified the police to check the home to make sure everything was OK. According to the article, “Police responded to the Reitter family home for a wellness check on May 2, after a concerned family member called 911. After seeing an unresponsive person in the home,…
Do Inspectors Test For Meth? Check Out This Article!
After this many years in the home inspection business, we thought we’d seen it all, but this story surprised even us. A couple in Washington bought a home and soon after they moved in their son became ill. They had the home tested for mold (thinking that was the issue), but they had a big and expensive surprise coming their way. They were told the home had contamination for meth. Apparently the previous owner used it as a meth lab. Very sad story, but here’s the important part: they said they had a home inspection performed, but it did not mention meth…
How Do I Test for Mold?
3 Main Concerns for Homeowners with Mold Potential health effects of exposure to fungi and their byproducts Effect of mold contamination on the structural integrity of the building The negative aesthetic effects fungi can produce both visually and on the human olfactory system Types of Mold Inspections Complete Mold InspectionThe Complete Mold Inspection is performed by a certified mold inspector. The Complete Mold Inspection is performed in accordance with the Mold Inspection Standards of Practice of the International Association of Certified Indoor Air Consultants (www.IAC2.org). Limited Mold Inspection The inspector’s client requests a Limited Mold Inspection to be performed. The…
What Is A Home Inspection?
Home Inspection Defined Home inspections started in the late 1960s/early 1970s as a brief “look around”, usually without a written report. The American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI ) was founded in 1976. Over the years, inspection standards were developed to keep home inspections to a reasonable scopeand in response to what the “market” is willing to pay. Home Inspector’s Job Home inspector’s are generalists. Below is the definition of what their duties are during an inspection: To produce a written report of the general condition of the house and garage at the time of the inspection, based on a limited visual examination, and using…
Should You Get A Radon Test or Not?
What is Radon? “Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and chemically inert radioactive gas. It is formed by the natural radioactive decay of uranium in rock, soil, and water. It can be found in all 50 states. Testing for it is the only way of telling how much is present.” Scary Facts: Radon IS real. It is a radioactive gas that kills one person every 25 minutes in the us alone. Radon is responsible for at least 21,000 lung cancer deaths per year in the United States alone. Deaths Per Year Comparison Radon Deaths: 21,000 Drunk Driving Deaths: 17,400 Falls…
Cleveland Area Inspection Reminders
There’s no such thing as a perfect home (even though the picture above looks close). Last week realtor.com came out with an article about inspection issues that can “torpedo” a sale. It’s fairly basic information but it’s a good reminder all homes have issues but proactively addressing these areas, as simple as it sounds, really can help the inspection go smoothly. HVAC Issues Needless to say, an HVAC system that operates normally and works as expected is a quick hurdle to get over. If there are obvious issues (damaged unit or not performing well), have it checked by a professional…
