About Carlsbad's La Huerta

Inspection went from good to bad to worse.

This recent inspection of a home was going well till I took a look at the "new roof". This roof was installed in 11 of 2011. This is the "GOOD" part.

I was thinking before I got on the roof that "being a new roof" there should be "no issues" for me to find.

I could'nt have been more wrong.

In this picture there are five things wrong. Can you pick them out?

This is the bad part.

1. The boot is the wrong size for the vent.

2. The vent has no cap.

3.The vent terminates below an eave. Not tall enough.

4. No step flashing used for the sidewall flashing.

5. The flashing that was used, was not properly fastened or sealed.

This is the worse part.

Yes, this is a live gas furnace vent. It was not secured in the attic where it connected to the furnace. It had slid down and was causing the vent to be out of alighnment and the exhaust to be running down hill.

The vent stack was too short to begin with. Another inspection with no mechanical inspector sign off anywhere to be found.

Have a great day everyone.

Furnace exhaust connections, the way not to do it right.

With all the ways to install furnaces, there is the right way the wrong way and then there is the contractors way.

It seems that if no one is watching the contractor, corners will be cut. Without a mechanical inspection for the new furnace. The installer will find every conceivable way to cut as many corners as possible.

Here are a few reasons to always get a permit and have the state or local "mechanical inspector" follow up behind the installer and make sure the installation was done correctly.

Can anyone tell me what this picture represents?

This furnace was installed in 2007, and has had "issues" from the day of installation.

There was a long list of "wrong" installation issues with this unit. There should have been a "approved sticker" on the unit with the permit number and the inspector contact information.

There was not anything on the unit about the installer or the permit and or inspection date.

Always have all mechanacle appliances pemited and inspected. If the locale mechanical inspector is doing their job. This would have never happened.

When you weatherize a home, do the job right.

After a recent inspection where the home has set empty for about three months. I was called to do a home inspection. I was told the utilities were turned on and the home was ready to be inspected.

This was not the case. The water had been turned off and there was a hanger on the front door stating that the water was to be turned on by the water department of the city and no one else.

The buyer wanted to turn on the water but after a careful explanation about the "rules to public utilities, he agreed" let's leave the water turned off.

The first bathroom i went into to inspect I saw that the commode and "P" traps had been weatherized for the winter.

Notice the broken valve on the cold water supply line on the right?

I was thinking that they planned on not being here at all and to have all power and heat turned off for the winter.

The electric was on but the furnaces were turned off with a note stating not to turn them on.

These were just the tip of the problems this new home had to deal with. The person who weatherized the home did not drain the water from the lines of the home.

There was a total of no less than TWELVE broken valves in the home.

After the inspection all I could tell the buyer was The entire water system to and within the home needs to be checked out fully by a "licensed plumber" before the water is turned back on. Then be there for when the water is turned back on for any unforeseen problems that might arise from the heat being off in the home over the winter.

Last night I made a home buyer "CRY".

I did'nt want to, but it's the way things worked out.

I did a home inspection for a "first time home buyer". She was there with her Realtor and her mother. She also had her eight month old son in tow. Not a problem, I have had a lot more people than that during a home inspection in the past.

It quickly became apparent that the home was a "concrete home built in the early fifties".

First thing I noticed when I arrived at the home was all the stress cracks in the walls of the home. Not a good thing as they were telling me a story, and I really needed to listen to the home tell it.

This home has "issues". The Realtor had to leave several times, so I had the chance to talk freely to the new buyer. If you look closely at the right side of the home you will see the home is "leaning to the right". In total it "leans about three inches". This "listing" is being caused by a faulty foundation. The home has a basement and two crawl spaces.

There are just too many details to add to the post, but the foundation was number one concern. Then comes the electrical system.

Yes you guessed it. It's a Federal Pacific Panel with Knob and tube wiring hooked to it. What a nightmare.

After talking to the buyer to well after dark. It was apparent that she really wanted this home. But the "Issues were the deciding factors". She started to cry, saying, " I really liked this home, but how can I buy it now that I know the problems it has".

I told her the final decision was hers but she would need to read my report first, then make an informed decision about the purchase of the home.

She really wanted to get this home. For the price the sellers were asking, I told her she could do a lot better for the price. If your a first time home buyer, get a home inspection. Or you just might buy a "MONEY PIT".

As a footnote to this post. I did try and mention this homes issues with the Realtor. But she seemed to remain unfazed by the "issues" the home has.

The home has closed. Tony gets his refi.

This all started with a post about "is it greed or is it me". 168 comments.

This post went wild with comments about the banking industry. Lenders who want to help and those who don't.

Well yesterday, Tony signed the papers on his home. He will save about $280.00 per month after the "refi" of his home. He went fron 6.75% rate to 3.99%rate.

His bank did not even offer a refi, nor would they even talk about a Re cast loan as mentioned by John in a comment.

There will be a twenty year payment schedual, with one final payment in the last month.

I wanted to add a picture of his home but he declined my request to do so.

I hope this is a lesson to the bank on how they can loose business and how a bank can gain new business.

Here's hoping all have a great day.