Ray Wilson - NYS Licensed Inspector

Whether it is welcome news or not, you have to realize home inspectors find issues in peoples homes that need to be addressed by licensed contractors. As for myself, I only recommended in my reports that licensed contractors evaluate these issues and perform repairs.

Inspectors are the first people to recognize issues in a home when buyers, especially first time home buyers, who can't turn a wrench or replace a filter, don't know what to look for, or who do not know who to turn to for repairs. A lot of things are easily fixable, and many can tackle these issues on there own without spending the larger dollars on expensive contractor-required issues. I try to relay the urgency of things like unsafe electrical situations, safety issues, and mold related items without the scare tactics that are sometimes employed in this business.

I have blogged in the past regarding using 'roadside labor' so-to-speak. This is quite a hot topic here on Long Island. We have many many contractors who rely on the untrained labor pool to maximize their profits. This does not contribute to our economy like you would think. Sending American dollars out of the country is the rule with day laborers. We need to hire AMERICANS! WE NEED TO SUPPORT AMERICA!

We, as a group, also spend money on give-aways that are handed out at the real estate offices, on vehicle repairs for our daily ride, and on food at deli's when we are on the road between inspections. We provide insurance companies with premiums (often way high) to protect us and our businesses, and this also protects real estate agents too! We keep gas stations in money, and we buy specialized tools and equipment to do our jobs better.

We attend monthly educational meetings to better ourselves and the industry as a whole, which provides trainers and schools with money, and indirectly, we help caterers who bring coffee and snacks to these schools, meetings and seminars.

We also realize (at least I do) that real estate agents do the same thing too. I attended a western style dance over the weekend which was sponsored by the Long Island Board of Realtors (South Shore Nasssau County Chapter), and spent money on the dance tickets, as well as over $70 on raffle tickets for the various raffles. Many agents attended this event, and they all opened their wallets. The Sands at Lido Beach also benefitted from this event, and they appreciated it too.

Please keep in mind that our businesses are entwined, and that we are in this together. Lets help each other and do the right thing for the benefit of all. Even if the deal goes south. This keeps so many other people working, and in these dire times we need this more than ever! - Ray

PS. I would like to thank Tony Smith of SAS Realty in Wantagh, N.Y., who recently lost his wife, Cheryl Manne to MS, and who sponsored the event and furnished the grand prize for the Denim and Diamonds Realtor Round-up over the weekend. Carol Gallo-Turschman and Morty Kaplan of Bill Gallo Realty, my personal friends, are also top notch and I appreciate your friendship and support. -Ray

Do you show up at the inspection to open the door, then leave during the inspection? Not too smart in my opinion. You also show your client you don't really care.

The agent should stay in attendance in case a problem arises. If someone is missing a piece of jewelry after they get home, and they find out the agent was not present, how do you think they will react? On this very litigous island I live on I do not want to hear 'he stole my watch', or 'the leak the inspector caused has damaged my carpeting'. I am not going to put the business I worked very hard to establish at risk for something I can easily stick in my pocket. But I have heard some stories.

People in real estate in different parts of the country have an inherent trust between agents and home inspectors, and we have this trust here on Long Island as well, but anything can happen. I do not turn on such things as water valves or circuit breakers that have been shut off as I do not know why they were shut off. It also goes against the Standards of Practice that I follow as well. If a leak that I do not know about is active with the valve I just turned on, and damage is caused, I can be held responsible for the damage. If wires become live after switching on a circuit breaker that was previously shut off, and this causes a fire, or someone gets shocked after they return home because I energized the circuit, I can be held responsible.

You need to be at the inspection, and you need to stay at the inspection in my opinion. Chances are that nothing negative will ever happen, but do you want to be part of the reason for the statistic, however small? - Ray

I am always on the lookout for the not so obvious, hidden and covered items that inspectors are always looing for, such as a stack of boxes in front of a foundation crack, or a locked room that cannot be inspected, but sometimes the issues are so blatant, you wonder what someone was thinking.

I did a home inspection on a house in Hampton Bays yesterday, and was checking out the raised concrete patio with ceramic floor tiles meant for the interior. The installer (probably the homeowner) tiled the patio probably due to its poor surface, and it was easier to tile it than fix it properly. The sides were cracked and it looked original to the house from the 1950's and had sunken quite a bit. 'Properly' probably means removing the old one and installing a new one, or a deck of somekind. But this was not done.

The buyer loved it! Until I got a glass of water and spilled it on the patio on purpose. I then asked him to walk on it and slide his foot on it. He almost slipped, but I was next to him in case this happened. Now, he sees why this is dangerous. VERY dangerous. Thousands of people each year get hurt, and some killed, by slipping on wet surfaces. The buyer needed no further convincing. The tiles should be removed, and replaced with a surface that will shed water. -Ray

Many old homes have heating equipment in the garage, but this is no longer done in modern construction. All boilers and any combustion equipment located in the garage should be 18 inches above the floor surfaces.

Why do you ask? A gasoline leak from your car, or a can of gas or lawnmower can emit fumes that can explode when this equipment turns on. I see people relocate the heating equipment into the garage themselves after a renovation without the use of a licensed technician, and they do not realize there are codes that govern such things.

Moving the eqipment to this height is not the easiest of tasks. But rebuilding the house after an explosion - especially after being blown to bits - is an even more challenging task. - Ray

I have been asked to remove my shoes several times when I am doing an inspection. This has caused some grief once or twice, but it is a rare occurance. I was asked to remove my shoes today, but during the course of a home in a strangers house I have stepped on small toys, a fork, staples, and a piece of banana. I will no longer step on such items.

Now I understand the seller has a clean house, and I appluad this as there are more sellers that have a filthy house than you can shake a decayed chicken bone at. Many people in New York and on Long Island keep a very filthy house. I will offer to clean my shoes to make sure I do not track mud or dirt in, but it is a little unreasonable for someone who will walk outside, then inside several times duing the course of inspection to remove their shoes.

I am sure some will disagree, but when you step on a Thomas the Tank Engine broken smokestack part and bleed on the sellers floor, then limp the rest of the day, and two days afterwards, then you may think differently. -Ray