Arizona Home Inspection & Construction Blog ACSI

For most of us, our home represents the largest investment we’ll make in our lifetimes. It’ll also be one of the most complex transactions for most of us.

In the center of it all – is the property we’re attempting to buy. Homes are made up of major systems such as plumbing, electrical, refrigeration or heating to name just a few. The home itself is a complex combination of systems and subsystems. Literally hundreds of defects can exist which wouldn’t be obvious to the naked eye. A professional home inspector will inspect the entire structure from roof to foundation, interior and exterior and all electric and mechanical parts of the home.

“Buyer Beware” at one time was the mantra. That’s no longer the case in Arizona. The Arizona Association of Realtors Residential Purchase Agreement provides two significant protections for buyers: First, there is a period of time during which the Buyer can have the property inspected by a professional Home Inspector. Secondly, there is a mechanism in the process that provides for the Seller to disclose all known defects to the Buyer. The Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement (SPDS) is a form that asks every conceivable question related to the property. Unless a Buyer waives the requirement in the original offer, the seller is required to complete the form and provide it to the buyer within 5 days of the contract. Buyers comparing the sellers responses with the Inspection Report have intimate knowledge of the property before the escrow closes. After the inspection, the provision in the agreement allows the Buyer to request the Seller to repair the major systems before the escrow closes.

Arizona Home Inspectors are required to be registered and certified with the Arizona State Board of Technical Registration. This Board is also the regulatory agency for Architects, Assayers, Clandestine Drug Laboratory Site Remediation On-Site Workers and On-Site Supervisors, Engineers, Geologists, Home Inspectors, Landscape Architects, Surveyors and Remediation Specialists.

Certification by the State of Arizona requires a minimum of 80 hours of classroom education, successful completion of the National Home Inspection Examination, and 30 parallel inspections in the presence of a certified home inspector. (THATS RIGHT A WHOPPING 30 INSPECTIONS WITH SOMEONE ELSE)

So the question is: “How does a Buyer choose a home inspector?”

First be sure they licensed by the state then ask the following questions:
Are they members of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI)? ASHI Certified Members have performed over 250 fee paid inspections.

Be aware of the distinction between membership and doing the inspection to ASHI standards or the NACHI Code of Ethics. The State of Arizona Requires inspections be done to the AZ-ASHI Standards of Practice. These are more stringent than just the ASHI Standards.

Are they bonded, insured and do they carry Errors & Omissions insurance? The State of AZ requires they be Bonded OR Insured, not both.

What is their past experience? You want someone that has been in the area for years and is knows about local construction, Our climate is different than other places and therefore we build things differently. If you want to know about common defects found by Phoenix Home Inspectors

What are their rates? Cheaper is not the best route to go when your basing a huge investment on it.

Additional testing or inspections that a Buyer may want to consider include those for wood destroying organisms, Thermal Imaging, mold, radon gas, etc. Not all home inspectors are qualified to do these inspections or tests. There would probably be an additionally charge as well since these are above and beyond the inspectors normal qualifications.

It’s important to remember the home inspector is a generalist. As a Buyer, you may also want to consider additional inspections on major systems such as the roof, refrigeration, plumbing and electrical by contractors licensed within those specialties.

While there are no guarantees that all defects will be found and all future problems prevented, the process in place today in Arizona allows home buyers to have confidence in their decisions.

More Information about selecting an Arizona Home Inspector

What You Should Know About Arizona Home Inspections

A home inspection is one of the most important parts of the home buying process, as it goes beyond aesthetic appeal, location, and price — the reasons why most people decide to buy a home — to ensure that the house is structurally sound. Think of it as a way to protect yourself: A house may look inviting on the outside, may even seem like a good deal, but it could still have unseen problems that would cost you a lot of money in the long run.

With so much riding on the home inspection, there are a few things you need to know in order to better protect yourself.

* Only do business with well-known, well-respected home inspection companies. There are a lot of fly-by-night home inspection companies out there and others that used to be in business but they did not maintain their state requirements and therefore are operating illegally , so be sure to do your research and only do business with the respectable ones! You can check the Better Business Bureau, RipOffReport.com, and other online review sites in order to verify a company’s reputation.
* Look for good credentials. Before hiring a home inspection company, find out their credentials and Google them to make sure they are valid. Make sure their credentials are well respected in the industry (for example are they a member of ASHI or NAHI).
* Spring for additional tests. There are several tests that the home inspector can do that will cost you extra, but that may prove to be a good investment. For instance, you can have the home tested for radon, mold, termites, or have thermal imaging performed to locate insulation issues or moisture issues. Although these tests cost more than just the standard home inspection, they are a good idea as they offer additional protection.
* Accompany the home inspector. Even if the home inspector doesn’t find anything wrong with the house, there is a lot to be learned by tagging along during his inspection. He can give you tips such as where more insulation may be needed, how long you have until the roof will need to be replaced, and whether there are signs of repairs or additions that have been made over the years. These may not be deal-breaking structural issues, but they are still good to know.
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Follow up on any problems the home inspector identifies

. As already mentioned, the home inspection is for your protection. If any problems are found, you will have the opportunity to either back out of the sale OR make the sale contingent on the repair (i.e., the seller fixing the problem will be part of the revised sale contract). You may also want to renegotiate a lower price based on the home inspector’s findings, so that you will have the money to do the repairs yourself (instead of having the seller do them). Even if you are only flipping houses and don’t plan on spending much time in the home yourself, you have to assume that your buyer’s home inspector will find the same problems that yours just did, and you don’t want to find yourself stuck with a home you can’t sell without doing major renovations first.

Don’t underestimate the value of a home inspection. The average buyer or seller often does not recognize the signs of a serious problem, so a home inspector’s expertise is needed to help you steer clear of financial black holes and properties you won’t be able to resell when the time comes.

Source:Go Homing Blog
For more information about home inspections in phoenix Arizona and the surrounding areas please see the following links.
How long is a home inspection?
How to hire a home inspector video
The hard truth about infrared (Real Estate Agents Read This)
General home inspection information

Facebook has become a buy me, try me, join me, hear me, shop me, help me, add me, like me, love me, hate me, friend me, share me, request me, cause me, plead me, receive me, accept me, see me, gift me, hit me, challenge me, build me, feel me, question me, donate me site!

Yikes!

When I log on, it’s right in my face, often visually exhausting.

After joining Facebook, I was excited to reconnect with family and friends and now when I get online and sign in, I am inundated with a barrage of requests, images, suggestions of joining this club and that cause and I guess I’m just not all that interested. It no longer holds the appeal for me it once did, therefore I will be spending less time there. Don’t get me wrong, I like Facebook and will still stop buy but that is because I have blocked most of the games and gifts from posting on my page.

With twitter, there is no Farmville or other games, there are no fake gifts, hugs, flowers, drinks etc. just people sharing information and trying to push their stuff, and I don’t follow those people who push to hard.