Course essay
I have been contracted to perform a home inspection on a home where my spouse is a real estate agent involved in the transaction. My spouse’s commission is contingent on the sale. With that I have a financial interest in the sale.
A realtor offers me a “guarantee” of more inspections if I’m willing to give “favorable” inspections on their properties. I inform the realtor that I perform thorough, accurate, and honest inspections; my integrity is not negotiable. 
I researched the interior stairs and components including max ht of risers, minimum tread widths, handrail ht, types of handrails, spacing between balusters, spacing of bottom guardrail and bottom of riser and back of tread. Dryer venting how to, washing machine drain to standpipe, checking refrigerator temps and attic access or lack of access.
Starting the course, looking forward to learning more!
As inspectors we have a responsibility to be impartial – what we see (good, bad or indifferent) is what we report. THAT is what we’re paid to do, nothing more and nothing less. Agents will always have a financial interest, buyers and sellers have both financial and emotional interests. I try to head off any potential conflicts of interest while explaining the process we’ll go through in the inspection by letting everyone know that there are things I cannot/will not do because of the Code of Ethics. Because of that I’ve been fortunate and have not been asked about performing repairs, wording things a particular way, referral fees, etc. (so far!).
I just reviewed the HVAC gallery illustrations. I have been in the HVAC field since 2001 and all too often I see poor installation of equipment and or ductwork. Specifically in the HVAC General section it shows the clearances and accesses required to properly maintain or service HVAC equipment. All to often these codes are not met and leaves me wondering… how did this pass city inspection when the house was built??? I’m not talking about new codes since the house was built, codes that were already in place when the house was built.
After inspecting some structural damage in the attic area the client asks if the inspector could repair the structure for a lesser fee. The inspector agrees but demands that the client tells no one of the agreement.
I reviewed 10 Easy Ways to Save Money & Energy in Your Home. There are many ways to save money and energy in your home but a couple that stood out to me were tankless water heaters and sealing and insulating your home. Tankless water heaters allow you to have access to hot water only when needed. There is no need to wait for a storage tank to fill up or time spent waiting on hot water. Insulating and sealing your home can be done by any home owner with limited knowledge. Sealing windows and doors is one of the easiest ways to weather proof your home and save money.
Daniel Quinn’s Essay
A possible ethical dilemma would be finding a major concern regarding the foundation and structure of the house and being asked by the agent to report it as an issue to only monitor going forward in return for additional inspection referrals. Bumping it down to only a monitoring item makes it seem less serious than it is. This would pose an ethical dilemma because it is in the best interest to report the proper findings to the client and not only be looking out for additional business coming in from that realtor. The proper thing to do would be to report the findings of the house as is and not make changes to the report just to earn additional business. This is actually something that has come up for one fee paid inspection I have performed so far and I have not heard from the realtor since submitting the report.
I too, just starting taking this course and I have no field experience. I’m looking forward to the work and learning process.
If a home inspection included an estimated cost of all repairs and remediation. Attached to the home inspection was a bid to complete the work, by the very same person that did home inspection. This would be a conflict of Interest issue?
Research Exercise - Firestops
I read the article in the library about firestops. I learned that firestops must be installed to seal any openings in firewalls. I also learned that a common problem with Firestops is unsealed pipe penetrations.
Someone I know had a chimney cap installed. The guy did nothing but sit the cap on the chase and took his money. It blew off a few weeks later.
For my next essay; I researched 10 Easy ways to Save Money & Energy in your home.
I found this information interesting, it was my point of interest to see if my family and I follow any of the 10. Performing or using 5 out of 10 was not bad I guess.
- Replacing lighting to LEDs and CFLs.
- Ensuring we had "1.6 GPF Marked on Toilets was a plus.
- Keeping electronics unplugged like; “Chargers and Laptops” while not in use.
- Cooking on a Grill with Propane and limiting certain cooking on kitchen appliance.
- Laundry is performed at Certain times with limited loads.
Performing a search for this course has inspired me to keep searching and implementing more Energy Efficient ways to improve my house. Also, Providing me with Knowledgeable Information to provide to my future clientele.
Inspection Issues
During an inspection of a property for Olive Oil, a Realtor representing the seller of a older residential home, a floor that previously had a throw rug was removed by the buyer and left open. Upon closer inspection of the area, the area that the rug covered showed signs of a floor that had been removed and was structurally deficient. It was made to match the remaining floor height by the use of 1/8” plywood and cardboard. The seller was a very elderly widow and asked that this situation not be included in the report because she could not afford to fix it. The seller needed the money to pay vet bills for an aging cat. The seller offered $20 not to mention the situation.
In the middle of my home inspection, a neighbor walks up and starts asking questions about the property owner’s house. I would have to refuse to answer any questions they may have. I would politely inform them I am not allowed to disclose any information about the inspection to anyone but the client if they persisted.
I am performing an inspection in a home. The customer offers to tip me well for a passing inspection. This is not acceptable by the code of ethics.
Hypothetical conflict of interest or violation of the Code of Ethics…
After completing the crawl space, the realtor pulled me aside and asked me to forget about the mold and water damage that I saw. She added that she had a contractor coming to fix the issue later this evening and it would be a waste of my time to add it to the report. I told her that my findings will indeed be in my report along with several photos and that her asking me to violate my code of ethics was a violation of hers as well.
A great way to have a more energy-efficient house is to insulate key locations. A particular area that requires a lot of insulation is the attic. This is due to heats tendency to rise, and escape through the top of houses. Another way to prevent heat from escaping is by using sealing foam around wiring or plumbing. Basically any place that is exposed to the outside is vulnerable to heat loss. Properly insulating your house is important in order to save money on energy bills.
The Inspector exams with difficult answers article was interesting. Apparently internachi uses a testing formula with easy answers to test competence.The catch that makes this work by penalizing you heavily when you get one wrong, thus weeding out the incompetent.
I read the article about a garage inspection. Ive performed a few inspections during my 40 hours field training and never once did it occur to me to look at the gussets to see if they have been modified in any way. This article has shown me that simple modifications like the bottom chord of a truss being supported on an interior wall or at a point other than the exterior wall can transfer weight to that point and could lead to truss failure.
I was asked by the realtor to overlook the water stain on ceiling because it was going to be painted later in the day. I let him know that I will not overlook it and that I will try a determine where the roof may be leaking that caused the stain. Once I have completed my investigation, I will write a report noting the stain on the ceiling along with my findings about a possible roof leak.