Originally Posted By: kbliss
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Does anybody add life expectancies in their reports, like for heat and air systems and etc.
Kurt Bliss
Does anybody add life expectancies in their reports, like for heat and air systems and etc.
Kurt Bliss
Originally Posted By: ismetaniuk
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This membership was a big waste of my time!
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Igor
Top To Bottom Inspections
Glen Spey, NY
Originally Posted By: Robert Patterson
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I know Erby’s going to jump on me, but estimating life is like estimating repairs, no way on either.
Bob
Originally Posted By: rkuntz
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Igor
I love that comeback  . I am going to start using that one with my clients .
Originally Posted By: jmyers
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Kurt,
I add life expectancies to my reports and GOD am I gonna get slammed for that. I do add them in a range of years, not a specific amount. Say like a heater 20 to 30 years.
Joe Myers
Originally Posted By: kbliss
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Joe
That is what I mean just a industry average for the life expectancies for such things as heat pumps, water heaters etc. Not for roofs or anything that is affected by the environment.
Kurt Bliss
Originally Posted By: gbeaumont
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Hi Guys,
I think that even alluding to life expectancies is begging for problems, if you state that x type of boiler should last 20 years, and it dies at 18, who is the home owner going to go after, the manufacturer or you. I know many inspectors who do put general life spans into their reports to generally educate their customers, but it is hard enough to disclaim capital equipment problems without giving the client ammunition to come after you. I do understand the arguments and I know of instances where putting a probable life span into the report as info can help cover you ie. “the boiler is 18 years old and boilers of this type have a life expectancy of 15- 20 years, therefore it must be taken into account that this unit is nearing the end of it’s projected life”.
But I generally would not put that info into a report unless I was using it to cover my rear-end.
Gerry
Originally Posted By: kbliss
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Gerry,
Thanks for the info, makes a lot of sense.
Kurt Bliss
Originally Posted By: matthew berman
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I have a boiler plate in my report that states ( average life of a forced air furnace could be 15 to 20 years with normal yearly pre season maintenance )--------mattOriginally Posted By: jmyers
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Matt,
That is a good idea to let the client know that those life expectancies are for anually maintained systems. Good post, good point.
Joe Myers
Originally Posted By: ismetaniuk
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This membership was a big waste of my time!
–
Igor
Top To Bottom Inspections
Glen Spey, NY
Originally Posted By: matthew berman
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Igor, i have been called a lot of things in my day ,but never a martyr THANKS----------matt.Originally Posted By: phughes
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Only Inspection One wants to know that, or someone’s attorney.
I wonder why....
Originally Posted By: Morgan Audetat
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For what it is worth, I think that quoting numbers serves little purpose. I believe it is better to be smart than to look smart.
Having been an installer,distributor and manufacturer of plumbing heating and a.c. equipment - including boilers, I would never mention life expectancy without using an industry reference.
For instance one such association stated that the average residential water heater lasts 13 years, another stated the average gas furnace at 15 and the average cast iron boiler at 35 years!
However, many factors can effect serviceable life which a "visual inspection" can not possibly detect. Neglect comes to mind.
One more point should be considered: If the blower on the "newer furnace" - to coin a popular phrase - fails the first season after your inspection and the furnace is more than 10 years old, the owner will likely be given a choice between a newer blower (many over $500.00 installed) and a new furnace. I believe this is a sticky wicket best avoided.
Morgan Audetat
Badger Home Inspection
Prior Lake, MN
Originally Posted By: jmyers
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Life expectancies on the other hand can give the client a clearer understanding of how important routine cleaning and maintenance can be in getting the most from the appliance.
I do tell the client up front that does not mean this particular appliance will last that long but it can with regular routine maintenance. It does give the client a better understanding of how often and how much they can plan on spending in the future to maintain their new home. That is important for long term spending giving them an idea of when and how much they should plan to spend.
You take the same risk by telling them nothing and giving them a false sense of security because at least if they know it is at the end of its life expectancy they know it should be budgeted to be replaced sometime soon in the future. That also gives them an efficiency advantage over older appliances which is important in figuring long term savings and their ROI.
Joe Myers
Originally Posted By: jhagarty
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edited
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Joseph Hagarty
HouseMaster / Main Line, PA
joseph.hagarty@housemaster.com
www.householdinspector.com
Phone: 610-399-9864
Fax : 610-399-9865
HouseMaster. Home inspections. Done right.
Originally Posted By: jmyers
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Joe H.
Good point...but you can always find another agency for home owners insurance.
They don't know what you have unless you tell them. Many times this information is given by the prospective client when they call for insurance and tell them they want to purcharse insurance and they had an inspection done for their new home they just purchased. BAD MANUVER.
Our current home owners insurance company told us we had to replace the shingle roof and wood fascia on the detached garage or they will drop our home owners insurance. Of course me...the roof is not leaking...I will replace it when it gets warm...cold shingles do not seal and if you drop my insurance I will absolutely to the insurance commission and file a complaint. END OF STORY!!
Joe Myers
Originally Posted By: jmyers
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Joe H.
Well said.
Joe Myers
Originally Posted By: matthew berman
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All good points on this thread,as we all know .We are in business to serve our clients, to give the best and most information possible.The point i make here is its your business decision to say how long a piece of equiptment could last.You may decide to not say how long it could last.I choose to give a range of life so my client can plan his or her budget.If i dont say how long it could last and it breaks down the year after they may say i neglected to tell them it could break.Its not a case of trying to look smart, its being an informed profesional for which we are being paid.--------------matt
Originally Posted By: jmyers
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Here are my thoughts on how long I will live.
Joe Myers was inspected today and found to be in functioning condition (just needs to do the triple S express, SH**, shower, shave). It should be noted that Joe has surpassed his life expectancy by 7 years (according to his father). It was obvious that Joe has smoked heavy, swore and consumed a considerable amount of alcohol early in his life (don't worry about the drugs, the doctor said they were the least of his worries) and routine maintenance was not performed as recommended. It is obvious that he loves the heart stopping, artery clogging foods taken intravenously with large quantities of Coca Cola on a daily basis and it has the doctor(s) absolutely astounded as to how and why he is still walking, talking and/or breathing. Since this unit has exceeded his life expectancy you should consider purchasing life insurance should this unit fail unexpectedly. It is not possible to know exactly how long this unit will last. It could continue to function for years, it could fail tomorrow there is just no way we can tell.
Any questions?
Joe Myers