Tim McIntyre

It's Fall...

The weather is nice...
The leaves are changing...
It's football season...
The Ravens are winning...
And...

The pests are out.

Here is a tale of my very pesty week:

Bed Bugs: Literally, a pain in the (fill in the blank). I thought this was just a saying, or a made up term. But they're for real, and they really do bite. Getting rid of them is a major deal. It's not something I could do on my own - I had to call an exterminator. My tenant had to discard his mattress and pillow, bag up all of his clothes and move out for two days while his apartment was bombed (just an extermination term). Cost of the chemical treatment: $400.

Cigarette Beetle: Another tenant called to tell me that there are termites swarming all over her apartment. I call my exterminator...AGAIN...and asked them to inspect the building and deal with it. (By the way, I didn't think termites swarmed in the fall and I asked my exterminator about this. Much to my surprise - they do.) A termite treatment is likely to cost $600 or more. However, I was elated to find out it wasn't termites. It was a bug I'd never heard of: the Cigarette beetle. They're nasty bugs too, smokin' Marlboro reds, and always leaving butts behind. Once again, my tenant had to move out. The apartment was bombed. Cost: $150

Unnamed Pest: My final call of the week was from a tenant who said he had rats. He had a newborn and was worried the baby might be bitten, and it was a health hazard. Once again, I sent out my exterminator and it turned out they were a very small breed of rat called........mice. One thing worth doing with mice is to seal openings in your exterior with spray foam. Pay particular attention to plumbing lines, electrical lines, exhaust ducts, garage door seals, and any other small openings. In this case, I had my exterminator handle the removal. Cost: $300.

Pest Free Fall: Priceless
By the way, if you need the name of a great exterminator, give me a call.

Has anyone else had a pesty fall? Tell me your bug stories.

PS - If you're interested in how last week's situation with the heat pump turned out, send me an email. I'll reply with the happy ending.

Life Expectancy

We all know how home inspections can go. We know there are good inspectors, and some are not so good. A good inspector can explain things to buyers in terms that are very unemotional. Unfortunately, there are some inspectors that inject more than their professional opinion about certain issues.

"Life expectancy" is a term used by home inspectors, generally in reference to certain systems or components of a house, such as a heating unit or roof. Recently I dealt with a home inspection issue regarding life expectancy. I represented a client in respect to a house that has two zone heating. The first floor heat pump and condenser have been replaced and are operating fine. The second floor's heat pump is 21 years old. The "life expectancy", according to the home inspector, is 15 years. The unit is operating fine.

When the heat pump on the second floor needs to be replaced, there is not adequate access to do so, which may mean additional costs for replacement, above and beyond the cost of the unit. As you might guess, the buyer wants a credit of several thousand dollars toward a new heat pump.

Part of this whole business of "life expectancy" has to do with inspectors putting it into their report, maybe so that they are not left open to litigation - but is "life expectancy" really fact? They put it into the report as a generalization, without really knowing how long a unit may or may not last. I have a boiler in my home that is 40 years old - well past any inspectors "life expectancy".

In these circumstances, a seller will generally say, "The unit is working fine. I'll have it serviced and that's all I will do." Sometimes that is enough to satisfy the buyer, and sometimes it is not - usually it depends on how the issue was presented to the buyer by their home inspector.

What my thoughts are is to have the seller purchase a one year warranty. Most real estate companies offer this type of warranty. The warranty would allow for repair or replacement of the unit if needed within the first twelve months. This at least provides some protection for the purchaser.

It's always important for me to calmly and rationally approach a situation from my professional experience, and not so much what I think personally, irrespective of who I represent in a transaction.

What are your thoughts about life expectancy? Have you run into this challenge, whether selling or buying a home?

Every Monday I send out statistics on my blog and on Facebook. More and more people are contacting me and are wondering about the Real Estate market - what do I think? Do I think it's starting to turn around?

U.S. Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke, speaking at the Brookings Institution yesterday said during a Q&A that the recession is "very likely" over, and that the "recovery is likely to be relatively slow at first", and ending his prepared remarks with "although we have avoided the worst, difficult challenges still lie ahead".

What I have been seeing in the Real Estate Market mirrors what Mr. Bernanke is saying: I've been seeing a lot more activity and calls from buyers in recent weeks. I've actually had competing offers on a property, a situation I have not seen in a couple of years. . Though activity has increased, we're not in for a steady climb right back up - the turn around in the Real Estate Market is likely to be slow going.

It does seem to me like we're at "the bottom", and that a slow come-back is starting. Fortunately, in Howard County, people will always be motivated by location (location, location). We are very fortunate to have a solid foundation, in that our area provides plenty of government jobs for both the Baltimore and the Washington DC areas. We also have the added benefit of a great school system.

What's your opinion?