Jerry Spicer

I wanted to talk a minute about flat roof maintenance for residential homes. I have done a number of inspections this past month or so that were flat foam roofs. There were a few built up roofs in there as well and the maintenance on those is even more critical.

The foam roofs should be re coated every 5 years. I have personally just re coated my flat roof and the coating should have been done at year 4 as it was a bit past the kind of wera that I feel comfortable with. The roof is cleaned, washed, and then coated with elastomeric coating. I then broadcast sand into the roof and apply another layer of coating over the sand. This is really a commercial application as the sand makes the roof stand up to foot traffic and it makes it harder for birds to peck through it. The important note here is the time line. Sooner rather than later is preferred. It is possible you can extend the life of the roof many years if you coat on time or early. Once the roof starts to go, it is likely there will be to much damage and the roof won't be able to be saved , costing you thousands of dollars.

The built up roofs are a different matter. It is really important they be inspected yearly. The layers of material can easily leak and allow water into the roof material. When this happens, the roof will never dry out and can start to cause a number of issues. I just did a 20,000 sq.ft. Infrared roof scamn and there were approximately 7,000 sq.ft. of wet areas around the roof. The bad part is the roof warranty expired about 2 months ago and now the owner needs to spend money on repairs. The point of this is that a prescribed predictive maintenance program can save you money.

I am always available to talk to you about Phoenix Home Inspections or Phoenix Infrared Inspections, give me a call at 480.415.7977 to see how I can help you.

Sonoran Property Inspections has done allot of Phoenix Home Inspections that have been in forclosure and owned by the bank. Most all of you know that the banks are not in the property maintenance arena and put the homes out on the market in an "as is" condition. I came across a condition yesterday that I had never seen and was pretty surprised by it. I usually go into the home first thing to survey the home, turn on lights, check under sinks before turning on any water ect.. Upon doing this, I discovered that the water was off on the building, no big deal, sometimes it is on at the meter and off at the water shut off for the home. I usually turn this on if it looks to be in good condition and then can test the water using fixtures in the home. I went outside to turn the water and and this is where it gets interesting: There was NO Water Service riser! Thats right. Someone had stolen the water service right off the side of the home for the copper. I have to tell you, I have never seen this happen before.

The question I have for all of the foks here is this: Why would a Bank trying to sell a property not get this corrected so that water is on to the building and help this home sell faster? The second question is this: Why would the listing agent NOT get this fixed to sell the home faster?

I am wondering how FHA will treat this condition. I am guessing that they will not approve the loan since there is NO water to the building. The bank isn't going to pay for the riser to be installed as we know, so how does the home ever sell with an FHA loan , it seems that everyone is pointing to someone else to get it fixed. The buyer can't pay for this becouse they don't own the home, the FHA people say they won't lend becouse the home has no water. The bank says you are buying in an as is condition. This seems like a classic Catch 22! Crazy is what I say!

Sonoran Property Inspections is here to help all of you with your home inspections and questions on home construction, give us a call at 480-415-7977 .

Sonoran Property Inspections has done numerouse phoenix home inspections lately and have come up with the same item more times than not. That is pool safety items! This is serious stuff folks, I hate to write this stuff up but I hate the potential results much more. Please tell your clients if they have a pool to get the gates checked, get the pool inspected for safety. We all hear about the teagic outcome of children getting into the pools becouse of a broken gate, broken or unsecured fence ect. This is all avoidable! Please check your pool for safety. Here is a quick check list for pool safety:

Gates must be 60" above grade and be self locking and self closing

Fencing must not have any toe hold or ways for some one to climb the exterior of the fence and it to must be 60" above grade

CPR- make sure anyone who uses the pool knows how to perform cpr.

Go out to the pool with a cell phone or the cordless phone. DO NOT leave your children in the pool un supervised for any reason.

Get your children enrolled in a swimming class. They can start lessons as early as 6 months old. Some times they are even free.

Make sure the gates are locked if you are not home.

This is a short list of the more seriouse items to pay attention to. We consistantly see the poor gate and fence condition when doing our phoenix home inspections. These items are so easy to correct, please don't take action now. Drownings are preventable.

We're always happy to talk to you about your phoenix home inspection, give us a call at 480.415.7977 to see how we can help you.

Sonoran Property Inspections wanted to remind everyone to schedule your a/c service before the heat of the season sets in. This can eliminate any possible issues and stop you from sitting in 110 degree heat waiting on parts or the whole system to be replaced.

The amount of this service is usually about $65 to $ 95 per system and will likely be the best money you have spent. The techs will check your pressures, freon, filters, condensate discharge lines and also clean the coils. This is all intended to keep your system functioning as intended through the whole summer.

If you decide to replace that older system, don't forget that the Government and the utility companies have generouse rebates that make purchasing the more efficient equipment easier on your pocket book. The new equipment will also reduce your utility bills and reduce energy consumption as well.

If your system is in the 12 to 15 year range, you might consider at least budgeting for a future replacement. That doesn't mean you need to replace the equipment in a year or two years. That only means that the equipment is designed to last for a certain time frame and that time frame is approaching . It is better to plan for replacement than to get surprised all at once.

Sonoran Property Inspections does Phoenix Home Inspections and inspections in all the greater Phoenix area. We're happy to talk to you, give us a call at 480-415-7977 to see how we can help you.

Sonoran Property Inspections LLC specializes in Phoenix Home Inspections. We have 25 years of custom Home building and Home Inspections in Phoenix. We at Sonoran property Inspections LLC can put our experience to work for you during the Phoenix home inspection process and will give you 100 % effort. When doing our Phoenix home inspections we only do a maximum of 2 homes per day depending on the size of the home. We focus our complete attention on YOUR home and will take as much time as necessary to review your new home so we can present an accurate picture of the homes condition and explain it to you in plain easy to understand terms. We at Sonoran Property Inspections LLC want your home inspection to be a great experience for you and will do what ever is necessary to make sure you understand the condition of the home and our home inspection report.

Please visit www.sonoranpropertyinspections.com to learn how we can help you with your Phoenix home inspection. We’re always happy to speak to you on the phone, so give us a call at 480-415-7977. We are now offering as standard with all our Phoenix Home inspections free pool and spa inspections as well as free Termite inspections. That’s Value!

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