Michael Merino-Orland Park Ill Home Inspector

Everyone is is always trying to be on the first page on the search engines, if not in that top spot. One way is to have many other websites linking to your website. When a site links to your page it is tantamount to that linking site telling the internet community that you have a site worth visiting. The more links to your site the better your SEO. But, be aware of using link farms, the search engines are much smarter that they used to be and link farms can actually hurt your SEO. You should only link with reputable websites. Many home inspectors around the country exchange links with each other. I will send an email to a home inspector in California, for example, asking if they would like to link. Usually, the answer is yes. I will send my link information to them and they send me theirs and we then place the links on our link page. You get a vote and they get a vote.

Another thing you can do is build a "Link Submission Form". This form allows a webmaster to visit your site and add their info to the form, it also has my link information on that form that they can copy and paste to their site. Then you can add that information to you link page. I have a link submission form on both of my sites, and I get an email when someone fills in the information.

I do not know if AR has an active board for link exchange, but if anyone would like to exchange links with me I would be happy to link. My link submission forms are below or you can send me an email.

www.merinoshomeinspection.com/Oak-Forest-Mokena-home-inspector-link.html

www.orlandparkhomeinspections.com/Orland-Tinley-Park-home-inspector-link.html

MerinosHIE@gmail.com

First, let me acknowledge that this blog will be viewed by some as being controversial. In my opinion, I think it is educational. I want to be clear that I am not accusing ALL real estate agents and home inspectors of wrong doing. But, with any group of people there is going to be those bad apples.

Most home buyers know that a home inspection is a good idea, they just do not know which home inspector to choose. There are a few resources that can be used to find a good home inspector. Some resources are real estate agents, friends, family, lawyers, mortgage brokers, and the internet. This is not an all inclusive list, but gives you a general idea of the resources available.

Home buyers have a lot to do when trying to purchase a home, sometimes it can be overwhelming. The real estate agent many times offers a few names of home inspectors or home inspection companies to the buyer. This can appear to be a beneficial service for the buyer. The problem with this is that the agent and others involved in the home buying process have a vested interest in the buyer purchasing the home, this presents a conflict of interest in my opinion. Why is the agent referring a certain home inspector(s)? Some agents refer certain inspectors because they feel that the inspector will not "kill the deal".

The derogatory phrase "Deal Killer" is used by real estate agents to describe those home inspectors who are objective and provide the buyer with an inspection report which may cause the buyer to renegotiate or cancel the purchase of a property. Many real estate agents believe that the home inspector "Kills the Deal", when in fact, it is the condition(s) of the house that kills the deal. It is the classic "kill the messenger" mentality. Real estate agents believe this hurts their ability to earn income. Real estate agents will use a number of tactics to control which inspector that you select. Be wary of the agent who objects to your desire to use an inspector that they have not referred. Their objection is your clue that your desire to use a different home inspector is the right thing to do.

Some home inspectors are willing to minimize issues that are found with a house so as to not "kill the deal" in order to gain more referrals from the agent. The agents learn which inspectors are willing to minimize issues and will continue to refer them. Some home inspectors are related to or married to the agent, and do not disclose this to the buyers.

Home inspectors are the only service providers involved in the home buying process that do not benefit when a buyer purchases the home. We benefit before the purchase is complete. My job is to inform and educate you on the condition of the home, then you decide what you want to do.

My advice is to search for a home inspector before, or at least, at the same time you begin to search for the other services needed to purchase a home. Talk to family and friends, co-workers, search the internet and interview potential inspectors. Remember, you have the right and responsibility to choose your home inspector.

First, let me acknowledge that this blog will be viewed by some as being controversial. In my opinion, I think it is educational. I want to be clear that I am not accusing ALL real estate agents and home inspectors of wrong doing. But, with any group of people there is going to be those bad apples.

Most home buyers know that a home inspection is a good idea, they just do not know which home inspector to choose. There are a few resources that can be used to find a good home inspector. Some resources are real estate agents, friends, family, lawyers, mortgage brokers, and the internet. This is not an all inclusive list, but gives you a general idea of the resources available.

Home buyers have a lot to do when trying to purchase a home, sometimes it can be overwhelming. The real estate agent many times offers a few names of home inspectors or home inspection companies to the buyer. This can appear to be a beneficial service for the buyer. The problem with this is that the agent and others involved in the home buying process have a vested interest in the buyer purchasing the home, this presents a conflict of interest in my opinion. Why is the agent referring a certain home inspector(s)? Some agents refer certain inspectors because they feel that the inspector will not "kill the deal".

The derogatory phrase "Deal Killer" is used by real estate agents to describe those home inspectors who are objective and provide the buyer with an inspection report which may cause the buyer to renegotiate or cancel the purchase of a property. Many real estate agents believe that the home inspector "Kills the Deal", when in fact, it is the condition(s) of the house that kills the deal. It is the classic "kill the messenger" mentality. Real estate agents believe this hurts their ability to earn income. Real estate agents will use a number of tactics to control which inspector that you select. Be wary of the agent who objects to your desire to use an inspector that they have not referred. Their objection is your clue that your desire to use a different home inspector is the right thing to do.

Some home inspectors are willing to minimize issues that are found with a house so as to not "kill the deal" in order to gain more referrals from the agent. The agents learn which inspectors are willing to minimize issues and will continue to refer them. Some home inspectors are related to or married to the agent, and do not disclose this to the buyers.

Home inspectors are the only service providers involved in the home buying process that do not benefit when a buyer purchases the home. We benefit before the purchase is complete. My job is to inform and educate you on the condition of the home, then you decide what you want to do.

My advice is to search for a home inspector before, or at least, at the same time you begin to search for the other services needed to purchase a home. Talk to family and friends, co-workers, search the internet and interview potential inspectors. Remember, you have the right and responsibility to choose your home inspector.

This morning I went to the eye doctor for my annual check up. I was driving home feeling good that all is well with my eyeballs, and thinking about fixing the brakes on my daughters bicycle. I get a few houses away from my house, and I noticed something about my house that just made me say, UGH!!!! It is that time of year again. ALREADY!?!? When you think about doing something twice a year it seems pretty easy. But, when it is this. it seems like just yesterday that it was done. If I let it go it can lead to all kinds of problems like water in my basement, rising damp in the exterior brick work, efflorescence, insects and other issues. Whenever I perform a home inspection I suggest to the clients that they perform this maintenance twice a year to avoid the issues already stated. Here is what I saw.....

Time to clean the gutters!!! AGAIN!!

I received a phone call just a few minutes ago from a prospective (hopefully) client. It got me thinking that I should blog this issue. She is looking at a house in Markham, Illinois. She wants to have the house inspected, but her husband said it didn't need to be inspected because the city of Markham requires that the home be inspected by the city inspector, for a $60 fee of course. She wanted to know the difference in the inspections. I told her that the "city inspector is basically going to check for code issues, will probably do the inspection without them present, would most likely only spend about 30 minutes on site, they would receive no education about the systems or components of the house, and that a code inspection does not necessarily mean best practice or safe". A home inspector is a different animal.

Home inspectors may, but are not required to perform a code inspection. But, more importantly, a home inspection is not a code inspection. It is about educating the client about the condition of the home and the components. I will give you an example, the city of Chicago requires that all electrical conductors be installed in metal conduit. Other cities in Illinois do not require this, non-metal clad conductors can be used. Is one way safer than the other? Do the laws of physics work differently in Chicago than other cities? Probably not, the point is that code is dependent upon the municipality. Home Inspectors are more concerned about safety, the condition of the components, and how likely systems will fail. There are other issues that are addressed, but those are the three major areas in my opinion.

If something is code but not safe or best practice, I tell the client that it doesn't matter if it is code. Code means that it is the bare minimum that needed to be done. Using our electrical example above, metal conduit is code in Chicago. This means that most installs will not have a ground wire because the metal conduit acts as the ground conductor. But, best practice would be to install a ground wire anyway. It is safer, and in the case of the metal conduit disconnecting for any reason, it keeps that ground source connected. A city inspector will just check on a sheet of paper that the metal conduit is present, a home inspector goes further.

The real difference is the education. The home inspector will spend an average of at least 2-3 hours performing the inspection with the client present. The client can ask questions and have issues addressed in real time, learn about the systems, an get an unbiased report of the condition.