At the end of the Home Inspection, the real estate agent asked me to give him 50 dollars for a finder’s fee and if I did not give him the money, the real estate agent would not use my services again. I told him no and that it is a violation of InterNACHI’s code of ethics.
During a home inspection, when entering a finished basement of a newer home, a musty odor was observed along with an area of a white mold-like substance on the wood framing. When I pointed the area of concern out to the selling real estate agent, he immediately suggested that it was a normal mold and not to put it in the report because he did not want to create any means of a panic for the potential buyer. I suggested that the agent or buyer conduct a mold test to approve or disapprove the likelihood that the substance was in fact mold.
I have completed a home inspection and have submitted findings to only correct and appropriate entities. I then provide the information to a friend of mine that is a local contractor so he may make contact with new homeowner once sold. The contractor now has all the information needed to do work for the buyer. None of the issues reported on inspection were a threat to anyone’s safety or out of compliance with any laws or statutes. The client was not made aware nor was permission granted. This is a violation of the code of ethics:
The InterNACHI member shall not release any information about the inspection or the client to a third party unless doing so is necessary to protect the safety of others, to comply with a law or statute, or both of the following conditions are met:
- the client has been made explicitly aware of what information will be released, to whom, and for what purpose, and;
- the client has provided explicit, prior written consent for the release of his/her information.
After reading the article of ways to save money and energy in your home. I found many helpful tips such the ones listed bleow
In most homes, about 2% of the heating bill will be saved for each degree that the thermostat is lowered for at least eight hours each day.
Closing curtains over the windows at night better insulates the room which there for saves money and energy.
Low flow 1.6-GPF toilets reduce water consumption by an additional 30%.
Refrigerators and freezers should not be placed near the stove, dishwasher or heat vents, or exposed to direct sunlight. Exposure to warm areas will force them to use more energy to remain cool.
Convection ovens use approximately 20% less electricity than conventional ovens.
Research Essay. I found my information in the articles section.
(Evaluating Structural Framing). Understanding basic framing types/modules and taking into account the homes age play a great importance wheninspecting a home. New homes cannot be taken for granted for quality materials and workmanship, to avoid a legal situation having the proper knowledge and application makes the difference
My short essay for the course assignment is as follows:
The buyer’s Real Estate Agent offers to refer you to do the home inspection if you give the agent 10% of the total fee. He also asks you to exaggerate the extend of repairs required in your report.
My short essay for the course assignment is as follows:
Along a floor, the maximum distance to receptacles should be 6 feet. If permanent stairway has more than 6 steps, install switches on both floors.
Inspecting Electrical Service Panels:
When inspecting electrical service panels a variety of things should be inspected prior to actually beginning the inspection of the contents of the panel itself. Any visible water or moisture found on panel, on floor surrounding, or dripping water/condensation from above observed should be an indicator that either a licensed electrician should actually complete the inspection. If the conditions are minor enough that special care can be taken to proceed with inspecting the contents of panel for any further damages. Even the most experienced and qualified inspector can overlook something that could result in serious injury or death.
In Ontario, Canada, one of the cities (Barrie, ON) requires that all home inspectors working within city boundaries must carry a valid business licence. If I want to comply with InterNachi Code of Ethics, I must obtain this Licence prior to inspecting any homes within the specified geographical area. Otherwise, I risk being expelled from InterNachi or other consequences.
Gallery Photo Essay:
“Gutters improperly discharging onto a shingled roof”.
In many North American climatic zones, gutters are present on homes. When roofs are multi-leveled, we sometimes find gutters discharging much water from upper roof onto the lower roof’s shingles. This wears out shingles pre-maturely and has potential to leak or rot wood sheathing of the roof. To properly deal with this situation, downspout extensions should be used in a manner that will contain water from upper roof and discharge directly into lower gutters or on the ground.
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HOME INSPECTION CODE OF ETHICS VIOLATION
While in the process of inspecting an attic for a client, I noticed that the underside of roof decking sourrounding the chimney showed signs of being extremly hot.While making note about my findings, I was approached by the realtor that the client had been notified about the situation and that they had no intention of using the fireplace for it was only there for cosmetic purposes. At that time I was asked if I could leave this out of my reprort since it will not be used. As an inspector, I would be doing all parties an injustice if I ignored the potettial hazard that I found and would be putting the new owner of the home at risk of a fire if they ever decided to put the fireplace back in use.
Jodie Cooper
Short essay describing a hypothetical conflict of interest or code of ethics violation:
A real estate agent advises me that his brother owns a construction / home remodeling company and he will pay me cash for every job that I can sell for his brother while I am going over my inspection results with homeowners. Of course I would immediately tell this real estate agent that this sort of behavior violates the InterNACHI Code of Ethics and that I have no intentions of complying with his offer because I must always uphold the high standards and ethics of the InterNACHI name and brand. Section 1 of my lesson taught me that “[FONT=Arial]The InterNACHI member shall abide by the Code of Ethics and substantially follow the InterNACHI Standards of Practice”.[/FONT]
~Joe
Upon inspecting a home for a investor, where is the homeowner also had a private inspector of her own, the homeowner want this house sold,so her inspectors were overlooking the air ducts had asbestos that was not contained knowing this is a safety matter and could cause harm to people so i documented this in my report because of potential harm to occupants. If I had not reported this in my report this would be a direct violation of the Code of Ethics, regardless of what ever inspectors are present. The Code of Ethics states that I must be truthful in my service and qualifications.
Library article short essay:
As a life long city slicker living in the city with city sewer and water, who wants to soon build a house out in the country, I have been trying to educate myself on septic systems. From my research from one of the articles in the library regarding septic systems, I found these helpful hints below for proper maintenance.
Ten simple steps you can take to keep your septic system working properly:
- [FONT=Arial]Locate your septic tank and drainfield. Keep a drawing of these locations in your records.
- Have your septic system inspected at least every three years. Hire an InterNACHI inspector trained in septic inspections.
- Pump your septic tank as needed (generally, every three to five years).
- Don’t dispose of household hazardous waste in sinks or toilets.
- Keep other household items, such as dental floss, feminine hygiene products, condoms, diapers, and cat litter out of your system.
- Use water efficiently.
- Plant only grass over and near your septic system. Roots from nearby trees or shrubs might clog and damage the system. Also, do not apply manure or fertilizers over the drainfield.
- Keep vehicles and livestock off your septic system. The weight can damage the pipes and tank, and your system may not drain properly under compacted soil.
- Keep gutters and basement sump pumps from draining into or near your septic system.
- Check with your local health department before using additives. Commercial septic tank additives do not eliminate the need for periodic pumping and can be harmful to your system.
I’m still on the fence. This seems like a lot of work. In the city I don’t have to worry about any of these things. Should I find a lot with city water and septic, or take the plunge and have a large country lot with a well and a septic system? Help me decide …
~Joe
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For my essay I chose the article on AFCI Indicators. This article I thought was very comprehensive and illustrated the limitations of the testers. I am a master electrician and most electrical inspectors do not test with an indicator, only with the test button on the breaker itself. I agree the AFCI indicators should be used as an additional tool and not the sole method to test the breakers reliability. Good Article.
Dacre Cary
This is the conflict of interest essay. I am a licensed master electrician and a home owner may ask that I fix the light that doesn’t work, do a service change, or properly pig tail the aluminum wiring at the devices. This is clearly a conflict that I know will come up in the future and I will have to explain to them respectively that I cannot perform these services to protect all parties involved.
Dacre Cary
I am submitting an essay for this course.
After my client received her inspection report, she decided to back out of the deal because the house had major structural defects, which was confirmed by an arc. engineer. The listing agent phoned me and told me that I should not have said or written anything about this, and because of the engineer’s and my report, she lost the sale. She said that she would have given me a $100 if I would have told her about it instead of reporting it. I told her that I have a code of ethics to abide by and she has one also, and that I was going to report her.
My hypothetical conflict of interest or violation of the Code of Ethics
I was contacted by a real estate agent to perform a home inspection on a residential property that was under contract. At the end of the conversation about the inspection, the agent comments, I won’t charge a referral fee if you can manage to overlook the termite issue. Within the InterNACHI code of ethics, I see two problems here, the referral fee and the overlooking of a problem that would kill the deal. I would not go ahead with the inspection and inform the agent that I would be reporting him/her.
Ryan
Library article short essay:
I choose to read and study the library article on basic waterproofing for basements. The main reason I choose this article is because I myself am experiencing issues with this when we get a good down poor in our area. Here are the basic steps to take to waterproof your basement.
Making sure water is diverted away from the foundation is the first step.
Be sure you have good roof drainage and that your gutters are clean and working properly, carrying water away from the foundation.
The finish grade should slope away from the building ten to fifteen feet on all sides.
Shallow ditches called swales can be used to carry water on out away from the foundation.
Repair all cracks and holes with a mixture of epoxy and latex cement. If cracks are larger than 1/8 inch, they should be filled with mortar made from one part cement and two parts sand.
Once all runoff has been diverted and all holes and cracks fixed, apply sodium-silicate to the walls and floor
Paint can also being applied after all repairs are complete.
This article was very helpful to me because I’ve learned a few steps that need to be taken at my own residence.
Ryan
The Consumer Product safety Council (CPSC) stated that between 1990 and 2007, 15,000 ER visits, with 300 fatalities. Most of these children were six and under, and were head injuries and suffocating due to entrapment. 25% of injuries occurred due to children pulling over furniture with most injuries being blows to the head to primarily males. To avoid this and keep your family safe, strap all furniture and televisions down with safety straps or L brackets that can secure at least 100 pounds. TVs and furniture can easily tip over and crush a small children, so keep your family safe, please follow these safety practices.