John Acaron, BSME

Number 1 DEFECT:

The #1 defect detected during the inspection process: moisture and drainage. This is the leading cause of dry rot, major structural damage and toxic mold. It is important that grading of the property slopes away from the home. The roof must be inspected and be watertight. Plumbing throughout the home must be free from leaks. These criteria must be met or the results would be catastrophic. Look for the following indicators:

•· Moisture stains around the ceiling, walls or windows

•· Worn roof

•· Water ponding under or by the foundation

Inspection for moisture conditions may include air quality testing. This process will detect if there are any mold spores in the air. The presence of toxic molds can be extremely hazardous to a person's health and is extremely costly to correct. Be sure to let your home inspector know of any concerns you may have regarding the house you are purchasing.

Stucco Issue

Homes with stucco exterior surfaces, when applied correctly, will last a lifetime. However, a major flaw we see in the field could add up to water in the living space and big bucks out of your pocket! At the base of exterior walls, where the foundation and the bottom plate (sill plate) meet, a component of a stucco-surfaced wall called a weep screed is applied. We know water can enter stucco through cracks, around unsealed light fixtures, outlets and the like. The water then hits the house wrap and sheds down to the weep screed and out of the building. This is brilliant, but when concrete patios, stoops or sidewalks have been poured too high and the weep screed is buried, the system cannot work and water may enter the walls and living space. When you are walking around a house and you see the weep screed disappear into the concrete, this may one day lead to water intrusion and damage.

Can mold cause health problems?

Molds are usually not a problem indoors, unless mold spores land on a wet or damp spot and begin growing. Molds have the potential to cause health problems. Molds produce allergens, irritants, and in some cases, potentially toxic substances.

Allergic reactions to mold are common and include hay fever-type symptoms, such as sneezing, runny nose, red eyes, and skin rash. Molds can also cause asthma attacks in people with asthma who are allergic to mold. The most common health problems caused by indoor mold are allergy symptoms. Although other and more serious problems can occur, people exposed to mold commonly report problems such as:

• Nasal and sinus congestion
• Cough Wheeze/breathing difficulties
• Sore throat
• Skin and eye irritation
• Upper respiratory infections (including sinus)

For more information visit: HOMEINSPECTORUSA

(850) 814-3889 Cell

"Hold-harmless clause (Inspector/Realtor)"

John M. Acaron, CHI, CMI

(850-814-3889)

To be a Professional Home Inspector you must be well-trained, and training should be an ongoing process. Education, experience and expertise are the key elements to determine if a Professional Home Inspector can perform an accurate and un-bias home inspection. Additionally, the job requires integrity, honesty, and determination and adherent to the standard of practice and ethical codes dictated by his or her professional trade association.

Home inspectors are only one of many professional individuals involved in a real estate transaction. A real estate transaction involves a series of professional individuals with a unique specialty to close a real estate transaction deal. Such as: Home Inspector, Appraisal, Surveyor, Termite Inspector, Lending Officers, Title Closing Officer and of course the Professional Realtor. However, when something goes wrong in the real estate transaction all parties involved may be liable. For that specific reason all parties involved should protect themselves and their colleagues and affiliates in the transaction with Hold-Harmless Clause (in documentation) when engaging in a real estate transaction.

As a normal practice, a Professional Home Inspector can have a client agreeing not to hold a real estate agent responsible for anything related to the home inspection using a Hold-Harmless Clause. Many Professional Realtors are worried about negligent referral claims. If a professional real estate agent refers a home inspector to his client, make sure that the professional home inspector has the Hold-Harmless Clause protecting your interest. Furthermore, it goes both ways, the Professional Realtor must also include a Hold-Harmless Clause protecting the Professional Home Inspector as well. Bottom line: In order to ease the worries you must make sure that the home inspector have a Hold-Harmless Clause in his home inspection contract agreement as well as you (Realtor).

Here is a sample ("Hold-Harmless Clause") for your information:

CLIENT agrees to hold any and all real estate agents involved in the purchase of the property to be inspected harmless and keep them exonerated from all loss, damage, liability, or expense occasioned or claimed by reasons of acts or neglects of the INSPECTOR or his employees or visitors or of independent contractors engaged or paid by INSPECTOR for the purpose of inspecting the subject home.

And Remember: A Professional Realtor should not be directing his client to a specific Professional Home Inspector, Real Estate appraisal firm, Surveyor, Termite Inspector, Mortgage company or Title company. Let the client make his own selection (choices). Providing data & information for the client's decision making process is the right thing to do. For more information related to this topic and other pertinent information visit: www.HOMEINSPECTORUSA.biz or www.PanamaCityHomeInspector.com

The proper job description of real estate agents is representing the best interest of clients. The highest expression of true representation is to provide total, complete, and unabridged disclosure. When a buyer asks an agent to recommend a professional home inspector, the actual question, regardless of how it is stated, is "who is the best home inspector available?" Real estate agents who recommend someone they do not regard as the best are not representing the client's interests and are thereby guilty of misrepresentation. If the ethical commitment to a client is not sufficient motivation to recommend a quality home inspector, real estate agents should consider the matter of personal liability. Every defect that is overlooked by a marginal home inspector is a potential lawsuit, and such suits are commonly filed against agents who compromise the interests of their clients.

The derogatory phrase "DK" is somewhat used by a few real estate agents to describe independent professional home inspectors who give buyers objective information in an inspection report, which may lead the buyer to renegotiate or to look at other properties. Some real estate agents view independent home inspectors as a challenge to their ability to generate income. They view these "DK" as foes and will try to use a number of tactics to control the inspector selection process. Think twice, Think about liability.

Transactions close when buyers are satisfied with the condition of the property. The best professional home inspectors find more of the conditions that raise dissatisfaction. Less experienced inspectors don't disclose as many of these conditions, posing less risk to the agent's income. For some agents, the temptation to recommend a less thorough inspector is too great to resist. When temptation prevails, "STOP" let the client make his choice.

But what exactly does that mean? The name suggests someone who reports nonexistent problems or who describes defects in an alarmist fashion. But professional home inspectors of that kind are rare. The epithet is more commonly applied to those with the greatest ability to discover problems in a home. Once a professional home inspector has been branded with the "DK" label, disrepute spreads through the grapevine of local real estate agents. When new agents join a real estate office, they are often advised by some of the veteran agents not to use Inspector X, because of his "DK" status. Avoid the engagement in this practice. Remember: A happy client results in many future referrals.

Being a thorough, detail and unbiased professional home inspector is often mistaken as a nick-pick inspector. However, some home inspectors use canned software package, often call a check list formatted with prewritten statements. These home inspectors are for the most part very popular because the end result is a check list that is difficult to understand and pretty much cumbersome, softening out the end results. Is this the common practice of all real estate agents? Absolutely not! So, what is the solution? Let the client make his own research and select his own professional home inspector. This is call: "PEACE OF MIND" for information visit: HOMEINSPECTORUSA.biz

Home inspectors perform a critical function of providing expertise to keep homeowners safe. With the huge area of concern no one can be an expert on everything it has to be a partnership of industry and home inspectors to inform the public of potential risk and ways to mitigate that risk. DeckLok are proud to be included in this partnership to inform the public of existing safety issues or possible safety concerns and provide cost effective solutions.

The homeowner, has enough to worry about. Their deck should be a place for peace of mind for themselves, their family and their guests. A deck collapse comes with little, if any, warning. You may not have heard of these crippling, sometimes deadly deck failures because many are never reported to the media (see list of news reports in the column to the right). Liability, lawsuits and personal grief can be devastating to the homeowner. But we have a simple, cost effective solution that can help prevent a deck catastrophe - it's called DeckLok.

For more information contact: HOMEINSPECTORUSA

About 2-1/2 million children are injured or killed by hazards in the home each year. The good news is that many of these incidents can be prevented by using simple child safety devices on the market today.

Any safety device you buy should be sturdy enough to prevent injury to your child, yet easy for you to use. It's important to follow installation instructions carefully. In addition, if you have older children in the house, be sure they re-secure safety devices. Remember, too, that no device is completely childproof; determined youngsters have been known to disable them.

You can childproof your home for a fraction of what it would cost to have a professional do it. And safety devices are easy to find. You can buy them at hardware stores, baby equipment shops, supermarkets, drug stores, home and linen stores, and through mail order catalogues.

Here are some child safety devices that can help prevent many injuries to young children.

1 Use Safety Latches and Locks for cabinets and drawers in kitchens, bathrooms, and other areas to help prevent poisonings and other injuries. Safety latches and locks on cabinets and drawers can help prevent children from gaining access to medicines and household cleaners, as well as knives and other sharp objects.

Look for safety latches and locks that adults can easily install and use, but are sturdy enough to withstand pulls and tugs from children. Safety latches are not a guarantee of protection, but they can make it more difficult for children to reach dangerous substances. Even products with child-resistant packaging should be locked away, out of reach; this packaging is not childproof.

Typical cost of a safety latch or lock: less than $2.

2 Use Safety Gates to help prevent falls down stairs and to keep children away from dangerous areas. Safety gates can help keep children away from stairs or rooms that have hazards in them. Look for safety gates that children cannot dislodge easily, but that adults can open and close without difficulty. For the top of stairs, gates that screw to the wall are more secure than "pressure gates."

New safety gates that meet safety standards display a certification seal from the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA). If you have an older safety gate, be sure it doesn't have "V" shapes that are large enough for a child's head and neck to fit into.

Typical cost of a safety gate: $13 to $40.

3 Use Door Knob Covers and Door Locks to help prevent children from entering rooms and other areas with possible dangers. Door knob covers and door locks can help keep children away from places with hazards, including swimming pools.

Be sure the door knob cover is sturdy enough not to break, but allows a door to be opened quickly by an adult in case of emergency. By restricting access to potentially hazardous rooms in the home, door knob covers could help prevent many kinds of injuries. To prevent access to swimming pools, door locks should be placed high out of reach of young children. Locks should be used in addition to fences and door alarms. Sliding glass doors, with locks that must be re-secured after each use, are often not an effective barrier to pools.

Typical cost of a door knob cover: $1 and door lock: $5 and up.

4 Use Anti-Scald Devices for faucets and shower heads and set your water heater temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit to help prevent burns from hot water. Anti-scald devices for regulating water temperature can help prevent burns.

Consider using anti-scald devices for faucets and showerheads. A plumber may need to install these. In addition, if you live in your own home, set water heater temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit to help prevent burns from hot water.

Typical cost of an anti-scald device: $6 to $30.

5 Use Smoke Detectors on every level of your home and near bedrooms to alert you to fires. Smoke detectors are essential safety devices for protection against fire deaths and injuries.

Check smoke detectors once a month to make sure they're working. If detectors are battery-operated, change batteries at least once a year or consider using 10-year batteries. Typical cost of a smoke detector: less than $10. 6 Use Window Guards and Safety Netting to help prevent falls from windows, balconies, decks, and landings. Window guards and safety netting for balconies and decks can help prevent serious falls.

Check these safety devices frequently to make sure they are secure and properly installed and maintained. There should be no more than four inches between the bars of the window guard. If you have window guards, be sure at least one window in each room can be easily used for escape in a fire. Window screens are not effective for preventing children from falling out of windows.

Typical cost of a window guard or safety netting: $8 to $16.

7 Use Corner and Edge Bumpers to help prevent injuries from falls against sharp edges of furniture and fireplaces. Corner and edge bumpers can be used with furniture and fireplace hearths to help prevent injuries from falls or to soften falls against sharp or rough edges.

Be sure to look for bumpers that stay securely on furniture or hearth edges.

Typical cost of a corner and edge bumper: $1 and up.

8 Use Outlet Covers and Outlet Plates to help prevent electrocution. Outlet covers and outlet plates can help protect children from electrical shock and possible electrocution.

Be sure the outlet protectors cannot be easily removed by children and are large enough so that children cannot choke on them.

Typical cost of an outlet cover: less than $2.

9 Use a Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detector outside bedrooms to help prevent CO poisoning. A carbon monoxide (CO) detector can help prevent CO poisoning. Consumers should install CO detectors near sleeping areas in their homes. Households that should use CO detectors include those with gas or oil heat or with attached garages.

Typical cost of a carbon monoxide (CO) detector: $30 to $70.

10 Cut Window Blind Cords; use Safety Tassels and Inner Cord Stops to help prevent children from strangling in blind cord loops. Window blind cord safety tassels on miniblinds and tension devices on vertical blinds and drapery cords can help prevent deaths and injuries from strangulation in the loops of cords. Inner cord stops can help prevent strangulation in the inner cords of window blinds.

For older miniblinds, cut the cord loop, remove the buckle, and put safety tassels on each cord. Be sure that older vertical blinds and drapery cords have tension or tie-down devices to hold the cords tight. When buying new miniblinds, verticals, and draperies, ask for safety features to prevent child strangulation.

11 Use Door Stops and Door Holders to help prevent injuries to fingers and hands. Door stops and door holders on doors and door hinges can help prevent small fingers and hands from being pinched or crushed in doors and door hinges.

Be sure any safety device for doors is easy to use and is not likely to break into small parts, which could be a choking hazard for young children.

Typical cost of a door stop and door holder: less than $4.

12 Use a Cordless Phone to make it easier to continuously watch young children, especially when they're in bathtubs, swimming pools, or other potentially dangerous areas.

Cordless phones help you watch your child continuously, without leaving the vicinity to answer a phone call. Cordless phones are especially helpful when children are in or near water, whether it's the bathtub, the swimming pool, or the beach.

Typical cost of a cordless phone: $30 and up.

For more information: HOMEINSPECTORUSA