We do not have all of the answers. I come to this conclusion, because I feel that there is a disconnect between the reality of building a home, and the how we plan out what is best for our house. In the end, we often forget how a home is used is an incredbily vital factor that often is left out of the planning equation. Surveying a variety of industry publications bothered me, since we seem to be suggesting that the advice you have been receiving up till now was bad or useless, so ignore it. There was also the implication that maintenance was not going to occur. For me, part of sustainability involves the homeowner maintaining his home. The homeowner may not physically do these repairs, but they will have them done. For example, sealing gaps in the exterior walls which could pose moisture problems has been mentioned as a bad idea, because homeowners do not know how to do it properly. Would not teaching them the correct method be a better answer?  From my own consulting practice, I feel that there is a trend amongst homeowners to better understand their houses, so teaching seems to be the better route to me.
    I was also considering how the advice of industry experts fit into the fact that many of us will be moving into existing structures. There is the concept of a deep energy retrofit, which is wonderful, but how feasible of a plane is this for most homeowners. This retrofit involves renovating the house in such a way that it can meet current standards of energy efficiency. I would love that for my old home, yet most of us cannot accomplish this goal on a quick time scale. The general advice that is given often involves homes that have perfect locations, with no advice on how to relate these concepts to our own homes. Considering these factors, I wrtoe this primer to have some talking points at a sustainability festival here in Houston, and I thought that I would share them with you.

THE PERFECT LANDSCAPE?

Most suggestions for how to plan out your landscape make the assumption that you have a good amount of land available around your home. You want larger plantings away from the structure to prevent possible damage to the surfaces. In this plan, you would want evergreen trees in positions along the eastern, western, and northern sides of the home. This helps to shade the house from the sun as well as blocking winds. The southern exposure would have deciduous trees. Sun would be blocked during the hot summer, but sun light could heat the home during the winter.

Issues to consider:

1. You want to plant a tree away from the home by the same measurement for the mature tree. A twenty foot high tree should be planted away from the home by twenty feet. A better judge of distance away from the home is the distance the limbs will grow from the trunk. The leaves help direct the water down to the roots. If a trees branches are over your home, the roots are trying to grow beneath it.

2. Why not use edibles? The pecan tree is the state tree. Fruit trees can be quite ornamental. We often use ornamental versions of kale and cabbage for plantings, whereas edible versions are just as ornamental. For flowers, we can use edibles such as impatiens, nasturtium, and calendula among others.

3. Mulch is often forgotten. Two inches of mulch near the home controls moisture levels. Thicker mulches can be used away from the home. If you do not want to put out new mulch each year, you may wish to consider a rock mulch. To avoid, moisture and some pest problems, leave your foundation exposed.

4. To prevent damage to the surfaces of the home, a good rule of thumb is to have tree branches away from the roof by ten feet. Plants should be kept away from wall surface by a foot.

The Reality of Landscaping

We may have little space between our property and our neighbors. Town homes probably have no area to landscape to very little. Also, water impermeable surfaces may dominate the land around our home. Using the ideas of evergreen and deciduous tree and bush placement may work for us still. Non-landscaping solutions may be a solution. Awnings for windows and doors can help, but finding architectural features to shade the walls can also help.

Issues to consider:

1. You will want to consider the items above, but let us start off here with gutter and drainage systems. I often find that gutters are not maintained, which causes damage to the home. We also have to consider that rain water should flow away from our home. Many of us accomplish this through drainage systems. The biggest problem that I see with drain pipes is that cleaning is not performed. Clogged drain pipes obviously cannot drain.

2. Debris left on the roof. I was on one roof where there was a mat of leaves two feet thick. The homeowner said this was alright, because she had a special twenty year roof. This mat held moisture and pests, which were helping to deteriorate the roof.

3. Maintain even moisture around the home. Many people water front garden beds, but forget about the others. Uneven moisture can effect the structure of the home.

4. During droughts, not watering can prove dangerous. Do you want a large limb from a dead tree falling on you or your home?

SEALING THE HOME

Can you see daylight along the edges of your door? Does your window rattle? And what exactly is happening with that fireplace? Studies have shown that a typical home has air leaks which are the equivalent to leaving a window open all year long. Dampers in fireplaces are either left open; made so that they will not close; or the dampers do not work. Sealed fireplaces are becoming the norm, which would be better for our environment. Weatherstripping does not last forever. Movement in the home can cause doors to shift in their frame. The movement can also cause windows to not sit well in their frame. Windows are meant to be the way to vent moisture in older homes, but many forget to use them.

Issues to consider:

1. Air sealing gaps on the exterior of the home which are not meant for moisture drainage help efficiency. Weatherstripping on windows and doors should be checked ever so often. Check the damper in the fireplace. When not using the fireplace, the damper should be closed.

2. Updating to a sealed fireplace is better for our climate. Simply placing a board in the fireplace opening is not enough.

3. Window screens should be in place, and windows should be operable. Air quality inside the home can be a problem. Opening windows is a good way to improve the air in the home; rid the home of moisture; and on cool days, reduce your reliance on air conditioning.

4. Moisture should still be able to escape from behind the wall covering. Brick exteriors should have weepholes (gaps in the mortar creating a hole) about every three feet roughly. Stucco walls will have a gap at the bottom of the wall for drainage. Cladding materials also have a gap on the bottom course. These holes and gaps should not be sealed. 
5. Sealing the home is great, but you have to combine this with the idea of ventilation. You are keeping moisture out, but you are also keeping moisture inside. The main moisture problem areas in homes are the utility room, the kitchen, and the bathrooms. Range hood vents should vent to the exterior. Bathrooms should have operable windows that we ope when bathing, or they should have a vent to the exterior. The same applies to utility rooms. Dehumidifiers are also great for ridding homes of moisture.

HOW DO YOU USE YOUR HOME?

People like their space, but the trend may be going back to less square footage. Think about your dining room. The room takes on different roles during the day in my home. We eat our meals there (the breakfast are is a reading/play nook for us now, which also has other uses). After school, the room is the homework station. In the evenings, we may have a family get together in that space. We can do with less space, if we use our current space wisely.

Another aspect of living in the home is what do we have in our homes? Carpets hamper indoor air quality. The type of paint that we use could off gas. We frequently store items on the floor, but we can hang items on the wall (my musical instruments are displayed like artwork on my office wall, instead of on stands taking up floor space).

Issues to consider:

1. Allergy sufferers may want to go to hard surface floors instead of carpet. Tile is easy to clean.

2. If you analyze your family’s needs, you may find the rooms can be multi-purpose.

3. Materials that you bring into the home can effect your health. Low VOC paints can be used instead of other options.

4. Storage is a big issue. An investment in a good storage system can help you declutter your life. However, you may find that going up may be a storage solution too.

Greywater/ Blackwater/ Wasted Water

We become acquainted with the eccentricities of our home. We stop using one bathroom, because we know it leaks. We know how to adjust the handle on the shower to stop that dripping. New low flow toilets can work so well, that the issue of not having enough water to fully clear the bowl is not a problem. We can look at our fixtures to find ways for the water that we use once in the home, can help us with a different task. Grey water is the reusable water from washing machines, showers, and sinks. Black water is waster water from toilets that we do not want to use again.

Issues to consider:

1. The drought in Houston caused many to think about water usage in their homes. Grey water systems can be retrofitted into older homes to make use of some of our grey water for our plants or for our toilets. There are rules concerning grey water usage, so check with your cit building department on what you can do.

2. Fix leak or fixtures. This is sometimes easy to do. Having a good home repair manual can save you a good deal of money. Over time leaks may not just cost you in the price of water; the leak may be causing damage to your home.

3. New appliances and fixtures can save you water and energy. New toilets use less water than that 1980s model that you may have. Dish and clothes washing machines are becoming more efficient in their use of water and power. Older fixtures can be updated though. There are kits for toilets to become dual flush. There are kits to turn sinks and showers into low flow devices.

4. How you use water in the home can also be a factor. Some studies suggest that using your dish washer can reduce you water usage. Using your dishwasher at night after 9:00 pm can reduce your energy usage. One area that is often overlooked when it comes to water usage is properly programming your lawn sprinkler system controls.

OF ATTICS, RADIANT BARRIERS, BUILDING ENVELOPES, AND INSULATION

Building Envelope- this term sometimes seems hard for homeowners to understand. One way to define this idea is that all of the spaces in your home that have air conditioning are inside the building envelope. The unconditioned attic would be outside the envelope. Current thinking suggests that homes in Houston would benefit from having conditioned attics. Retrofitting attics may be hard, so there are other options, such as appropriate insulation; radiant barriers under the framing for the roof; super-insulated ducts, and sealing of air leak points.

Insulation- I see insulation not covering the framing for the ceiling belowduring many of my inspections. This allows for thermal bridging. Wood has an insulating value, but heat will eventually transfer through the wood to the living space below during our hot summers. Insulation should cover these framing members.

Sealing the attic- points where hot air from the attic could effect the conditioned air during summer are a few: the vent pipes for plumbing; the attic door; sometimes ducts are placed in shafts going down through the home (since these are open in the attic and do not have insulated walls, these transfer heat over a greater surface area- this is can be a shaft down to the room below from the HVAC system); and recessed light boxes, which often are not rated to have insulation on them ( a new solution is to build an insulated box to cover them in the attic, although I do not believe any equipment manufacturers have approved of this idea.).

HVAC ducts- these present a few problems for the homeowner looking to improve energy efficiency. Older ducts are not well sealed, so you could be sending conditioned air into your attic. Once sealed, you will want to ensure that the ducts are insulated. Having an R value of 8 is considered to be good, but there are new thoughts on this topic. In some areas, such as California, building code encourages you to bury your ducts into the insulation. This does not work in Houston, since the temperature of the duct coming into contact with the warmer air of the attic causes condensation. Super-insulated ducts may be an answer. These ducts would have insulation that might meet R-30, but they are sealed from the attic air to prevent the condensation that would occur. One area to also remember to seal is where the duct connects to the vent register. Often this point is forgotten when new ducts are installed.

HVAC- Most of us have a split system with some of the components in the attic. If these components were in conditioned space, your system would not be effected by the attic temperature. Problem areas here mainly involve simple maintenance. The blue door on some units is a high efficiency media filter. Some suggest that this filter should be replaced every three months; most filters state six to twelve months. Builders have forgotten to put these filters into place in new homes, and homeowners forget to change them. The other spot would be the evaporator coil. Over time, poor filter maintenance could lead to this coil needing to be cleaned.

Water Heater- the attic is a great place for a water heater in our climate, but these appliances also need to be serviced yearly. With the attic location, homeowners forget to drain the heater or check the temperature pressure release valve every year. This effects the performance of the unit, reducing efficiency and safety.

What exactly is happening with your wall insulation?

The idea of insulating walls did not occur until the 1930s and 1940s. By the 1960s, this was a standard practice, but so little insulation was used, that there was not much benefit. By the 1990s, builders knew to fill the interior wall cavities with insulation, but they often did a poor job of completely filling the space. These gaps greatly reduced the R-value of the wall assembly. One problem that many homes have is that insulation has fallen off of the walls in attic spaces, or builders forgot to place insulation into certain spaces, particularly when they felt it might not be necessary, like on a closet wall.

Issues to consider:

1. you can help the insulation/sealing of older homes, by placing foam insulation designed to be behind outlet plate covers.

2. Filling in the empty voids in the insulation can help. This can be done with blown insulation, where smaller holes are made in the wall, so you do not have to take down parts of the wall.

3. Check wall spaces in attics. Current practice is to have some material, like thermal ply, covering the insulation and framing to hold insulation in place and limit thermal bridging. If insulation has fallen down, find ways to hold it in place.

4. Repair holes in walls. Holes pop up in walls for a number of reasons (door knobs hitting the walls is a common one). Repairing the wall helps maintain the wall assembly, allowing it to perform the way it should.

I have seen different definitions for a sustainable home, so I want to throw my own thoughts into the mix, so the reader will understand the basis for this primer. First, you should be actively maintaining your home. This means checking on its condition to make a repair before something breaks down. Second, your home should nourish you. This may be by providing some food from the garden, but it should be by giving you a space to invigorate yourself at the end of the day. I think many people do not sit in their gardens, because there is nothing there to please them or their family members. Thirdly, the home should not be a burden. I do not know how to better phrase this one. You do not want a home designed to use high amounts of water of energy. You do not want a home that has to be constantly repaired to fight the elements. You do not want a home that does not meet your needs. That is my thought process when writing these issues to consider. How do you view your home?

Have you ever noticed how your own industry may be stuck in one way of discussing an issue? In my industry, I found that the home inspection report, the end product of our efforts, was stuck in a trap, which was not allowing it to move forward. Mainly, we inspectors focused on three main points: speed of delivery; quality of the content; and report length. Since most people are not purchasing reports on a regular basis, speed of delivery may not have been an issue for the public, but for other real estate professionals. With some inspectors taking up to two weeks to produce reports, you might have received the report after closing. In Texas, this issue was resolved by a change in the code governing home inspectors by requiring reports to be produced within three days. The ideas surrounding the length of the report still hold sway, but I discovered that some eight page reports contain the same amount of information as a twenty page report. The real problem with some long reports was truly a concern about the usefulness of the information, which led to discussions of the quality of the content. This point may always be debated, but I began thinking about how information is communicated, and how does this effect quality of content. When studying websites to consider the user experience, I realized that lessons from website design may provide an answer to the question of improving communication.
    User experience alone does not create a better quality of content, but this concept can make the understanding of the content easier to digest. When you land on a website, you may not realize that a great deal of thought was given to how the website is displayed on your screen. How will you retrieve the data from that site? Can you find that video easily? Do you want to read the latest blog post? How can you find that picture that will clarify the topic? Consideration is given to the font used, even to the size of that font. Maybe a font color would be better to let you know something. For example, a link will be placed in a different color so you know right away where to find more information. How you interact with the website is governed by a field of study called the user experience. Some websites, ones you visit often, are probably always refining the user experience. They probably get elements of this correct, because you keep going back. When one blog that I was reading on a regular basis focused on advertising to increase their revenue, I felt that it was harder to read the content, and I felt that the content suffered. When another blog began breaking simple posts into two or more pages, I felt that they were trying to increase a metric important to many web masters: page views. This did not help readability in my mind. All of these thoughts about the techniques used by websites, made me evaluate my home inspection report in the light of user experience.
   I felt that what I wrote was great content, but I knew that a client was going to have to sift through the information to find what they needed to know. There are some constraints on improving the experience of the report. We have a standard report format which must be used in Texas. There are restrictions on the font and font size. However, from this starting point, we can develop changes. I decided to make a list of criteria that would effect the user experience. I had to consider in what medium would they be reading the report (computer screen or printed page). What elements would make the information easier to scan (most reports are produced for home buyers who may not have a great deal of time to read the entire report). After the main data from the report has been gleaned, the reader may want more clarification, so how could this be provided? This was how I began to evolve my report over the last few months.
    Font size, color, type, and spacing: I have seen reports that are riots of color,and most elements seemed to be in bold. There are reports were the information was crammed together, and other reports with a good deal of space around each main line. I decided to limit my color scheme. Content was in black. Links were to be in blue. Bold, italics, and underlining were to be used when appropriate. You never know which bit of content was going to prove to be most important, so all findings are in the same font size without other means to emphasize. Bold type was used to highlight a section of the report. For example, a section of notes that was not specific to the home would start off with the word “note” in bold, so a reader scanning the document would realize this is extra information.To further separate this information, I use the full width of the printed page, while the remaining content is in the outline format. Underlining was used for the name brand and serial number of a unit being examined. Italics were used to designate what was being examined (for example water pressure)  while the answer was given in the straight forward font. A one line space is used to give the eye of someone scanning the document a visual break and cue that a new section of data is being presented. Sentences crammed together are not easy to scan, and large spaces may make something easier to read, but they do slow down the flow of the report.
    Extending the idea of the outline: the report format in Texas is set up as an outline where your content can be added. Like many home inspectors, I dumped my data into the spaces of the outline. I realized that this was hard to scan, so I felt that extending the idea of the outline was in order. Where I had “II. A.” with “II” being the main system, such as electrical, and “A” being a main component of that system, such as the breaker panel, I added “a. 1)” with “a.” being a subsection of that component, for example “breakers”, and “1)” being the first finding of that specific subsection. This makes navigation through the report easier. Another aspect of navigation was adding a table of contents at the beginning of the report, so the user will know which sections they may wish to examine.
    These steps made the report easier to scan, but then we have the issue of data presentation. I have to accomplish a few things with the data: report all of my findings; not emphasize one finding over another, because I do not know which will be more important; and provide the customer with my best knowledge. This can be a difficult task. Every home inspector will bring his own background to the report, which makes the content less objective. Having been in food service, I may see things in a kitchen that are an issue, but the state minimum requirement for reporting a deficiency may not cover what I see. This issue may go away in the future if the state adopts a new report format which is currently being discussed. In the new format, an inspector will label an item as inspected or not inspected only. In the current version of the report, I have to mark an item as being deficient. If an item is not deficient as defined by the state codes, but I see a problem, I decided to use the terms “for your information” or “to be watched”.  I mention these terms in the front of the report, so the user scanning the report will know that when he sees a finding beginning with these terms, this might not be information he needs immediately, but this information that will be needed at some point. For example, a gas shut off behind the cooking range is acceptable, but this could be hard to reach when the range is on fire, so I mention this fact by prefacing the sentence with “for your information”.
   Another aspect of data presentation is photographs to help explain a finding. The problem is that for a person scanning a report, a photograph may imply importance. I decided to remove the photographs from the body of the report to a separate page. Also, I decided to focus my pictures. I can easily walk away with thirty pictures of a home. Many of those pictures will be items that can be easily seen by a client when walking through the home. Some photographs may be meaningless to the client, because the issue is so slight. My practice now is to take photographs of areas where the buyer may not normally go (on the roof or in the attic) or to really help clarify a finding.
    How much data is appropriate? This was another question that I asked, since this is important to the user. Let’s take the case of an AFCI breaker. I am required to report on its presence. I do not have to test the breaker in an occupied home. Now, for the average homeowner, they may not know what an AFCI breaker does, or what it looks like. Obviously to report on the presence, I could simply write the line: “Is an AFCI breaker present? Yes”, and I would have met the requirements of the state, without helping the client. I could add to this line stating that an AFCI trips off when arcs are detected, and/or I could add that AFCI stands for “arc fault circuit interuptor”. I could go on to include a photograph of the breaker to show what it looks like; I could explain what an arc is. I could keep adding information, but this increases the length of the report, while making it harder to scan. Also, the client may understand what the AFCI is, so additional information is not needed. This leads me to the dilemma of how much data is enough. A report has to give enough information for basic comprehension, but this may not be enough to truly help the client. The solution for me was to create a bit more interactive aspect to the report by adding links. Since I am sending the report as a pdf, a user could click on the link to gain further understanding. This does mean that the link needs to be useful. Since my blog contains pages which help further that cause, I can link to them, but then I have to ensure that these pages are updating with the latest explanations, photographs, and whatever else may be needed.
    What about report length? I can make my report easy to scan, but I do have to remember that some users need the highlights, because they may have a quick decision to make. Why should they read through the plumbing section, when there is nothing there that needs there attention? I have seen reports with summaries attached to the end of the report. These were usually generated by report writing software, and I was not a fan. Yet, these summaries did provide a service; they were easy to read in a quick glance. Although my report may be coming to the point of being easily scanned, I debated whether a summary should be included. Thinking about user experience with a website, I considered how an article is advertised on a reader program. You obtain a summary/snippet to entice you to read further. When I lectured to new managers at a beginning of a class, I would include a summary of the topic, and then I followed an outline. These two factors caused me to add a summary at the beginning of the file before the actual report. This adds to the report length; however, this summary makes for an easier read.
    Is this the end of updating my report? Probably not. First, the report format required by the state may change, but there will always be the outline form, so my current techniques will fit into that new report. My report length is now sitting around twenty one printed pages. About fifteen of those pages are the report. There is not a lot of empty space that can be removed. I have to see how the summary works out. The interactive aspect is one that I wish to explore further, so we will see.   
 

Every home inspector in the state of Texas has to perform a property inspection to meet the minimum standard of practice. I point this out, because you my find inspectors trying to convince you that their services are vastly different. This can be a true statement, but sometimes this may come across as misleading. I had a phone call a few weeks ago from a potential client who wanted to hire me. She already had an inspector look at the home, but there was a problem. Her inspector was too detailed, she felt, and this was causing problems with the sale. She thought that another inspector would produce a report that was not so detailed. Here was my problem: the details could very well be items that the state tells every home inspector to report according to the standards of practice. My report may not be that different. Considering this fact, if you are trying to compare Houston home inspection services, what do you need to examine?

What should be examined by the inspector? An inspection is an examination of the accessible parts, systems, and components of a home that results in a report of observed deficiencies. Accessible in this case relies upon the reasonable judgment of the inspector that he or she can approach, enter or view an item without undue hazard, without having to move large, heavy, or fragile objects, or without using specialized tools. The intention of the report is to let you know the condition of the home, while informing you of issues that might effect the home. The report is broken down into five general sections: Structural (including foundation, grading, drainage, roof covering, roof structure, attic, walls, ceilings, floors, doors, windows, stairways, fireplace, chimney, porches, decks, carports, and possibly other components attached to the home); Electrical (including service entrance, panels, branch circuits, connected devices, and fixtures); Plumbing (including water supply system, fixtures, drains, wastes , vents, water heating equipment, and hydro-therapy equipment); Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (including heating equipment, cooling equipment, duct system, chases, and vents); and Built-in Appliances (including dishwasher, food waste disposer, range hood, ranges, ovens, cooktops, microwave cooking equipment, trash compactor, mechanical exhaust vents, bathroom heaters, garage door operators; dor bell chimes, and dryer vents). Added to these five standard sections could be an Optional section, including lawn sprinkler systems, swimming pools, hot tubs, outbuildings, outdoor cooing equipment, gas supply systems, private water wells, private sewage disposal systems, whole-house vacuums, and other built-in appliances. All of these items are described in further detail on other parts of this site. This paragraph is giving you the clue as to what distinguishes one home inspection service from another, so let us delve deeper in order for you to know what to ask when looking for a home inspector.

Are there differences in what the service will examine? If you read the websites, you might be lead to believe that there could be differences. I did find a problem here that the consumer will have to investigate further. When I refer to a standard home inspection, I am referring to a home inspection which includes the five general sections mentioned. This may not always be the case with other home inspectors. First some background: when I first became an inspector, I was told by a few real estate agents that another firm was doing their home inspections much faster. Another inspector familiar with this firm told me that these inspectors would only investigate three systems: structural; electrical; and plumbing. In this way, they offered a much lower price, while also performing a quicker inspection. I was told this company called this their standard home inspection. Were they deceiving their clients? I do not know. The client enters into an agreement with the home inspector as to what he inspects. If the client wants the air conditioning system to be examined by a qualified professional, the home inspector could reduce his price not to include that system. Here is the problem: did you not want him to inspect that system, or did he tell you that it is not part of the report?  With this idea in mind, I checked what would be a standard part of the inspection. I found websites that did not include the five standard sections; other websites trying to make a big deal that they examine the five standard sections; and there were other sites that simply referenced a standard home inspection. There are also home inspectors who include optional systems as part of their standard home inspection. As for the sites that did not include all five sections as standard, other information on their site indicated that they did inspect all five standard sections and maybe more. This might be due to the fact that a person was hired to write the content for the site, and the company did not check what was written.  My advice: ask what is included in the inspection to check against the five standard sections.

Are you going to inspect that?  This paragraph is dealing with the concept of “accessible” as already defined. A few years ago, I saw a report that stated that it was unsafe to go up on the roof. There was a picture of the home, and my thought was that was not a dangerous roof. Later, I was asked to study another report, where a similar statement was made about a roof examination. This roof was one that I had climbed. Lastly, I was called into inspect another roof that an inspector had deemed unsafe, and I climbed to the top. Do I go on every roof? No.  There are times when I say that a roof is unsafe. A home inspector will go into different situations in each home, so he needs to determine what is accessible.The roofs may have been unsafe for those inspectors. Furthermore, if the kitchen sink is filled with cleaning products, would you consider this accessible or not? You could find reports that state this is both accessible and not accessible. Here is the problem: any home inspector called is going to state that he does a full examination, but they will also not know what they will encounter at the home, so they will use the term accessible to state where they will go. Considering my experience with other inspectors, I highlight that I go no the roof of a building, where they might not go onto the roof surface. Is this a false claim? I know that I will, and I know there is a chance that they may not, so the claim is not false, but this may not be a difference between me and another inspector. This is a difficult topic for the consumer to discover differences. My advice: 1) see if the website has sample reports to see what the home inspector has done on other jobs; and 2) ask questions to see how the inspector defines accessible.

Does a special tool mean a better job? You may have noticed that part of the definition of accessible is “without using specialized tools”. If you go through various home inspection websites, you will see references to the tools used. One site pictured standard tools for a home inspection, but they highlighted these tools as if this was special by including this picture on their home page. Other inspectors will tell you that you are missing out if the inspection does not include the use of an infrared camera. Let me relate this story to explain my feelings on the topic. I was asked to inspect a home, and an infrared camera had already been used to inspect this property. I noticed something strange with one of the air conditioning vents. Something did not look right, but nothing had been mentioned by the person who had done the infrared thermal inspection. In the attic, I found that there was no duct attached to this vent. There was no insulation around this vent either. This should have been caught by the thermal inspection. My point is that specialized tools are only as good as the operator.  My next point is that you may not need an inspection conducted by a person using a specialized tool. This is why the definition of accessible from the state makes that provision. In my example, the thermal inspection could reveal details that a normal home inspection cannot access. There is a twist for the consumer: is there an extra cost connected with using a special tool? I found that inspections using specialized tools either cost much more, or an extra charge was included for using that tool. My advice: if you as the consumer feels that a specialized tool will provide better information, then hire that inspector, but I would ask questions to see if you feel that the use of that tool will add value to the information provided by the inspector (in other words, is the idea of using a specialized tool simply a marketing ploy to charge more, or is it helping you understand your future home?).

Can a report be significantly different to effect your decision? In the end, the most important part of the inspection is the report. The consumer may be there for the inspection, but the report is the item used in negotiations. Because of its importance, the quality of the report becomes part of the home inspector advertising. What you will find when searching websites is commentary meant to encourage you to consider one report more valuable than another report. One difference mentioned is report length. One inspector touts that his reports are ten pages long, and he is focusing on the information that you need. Another inspector points out that his report is over thirty pages long, giving you detailed findings. The secret is that number of pages does not matter. It is the amount of information in the report and the quality of the content. I found that many inspectors use software to produce their reports. I am not against this practice, but I made a business decision to write my own reports. These software assisted reports are typically longer due to how the information is presented. If my fifteen page report and the over thirty page report were stripped of formatting techniques, such as font size and white spaces, our reports are around the same length. The question then becomes twofold. Does the one report contain more usable information over the other report? Is the report presented in a format that is easy for me to comprehend? That is a decision for each consumer to make. Before we continue, there is another advertised aspect of the report the consumer should consider: photographs. In my career, I have gone from not using photographs to including them. This was done because of decisions made about my own business. There are arguments against using photographs and for using them. For the consumer, you have to consider will the photograph help you. A potential client will ask me “do you take photographs”, but they never ask of what. Maybe they should. One report that I examined contained many photographs, but only about a quarter of them had anything to do with explaining an issue. There were photographs of the different rooms and equipment tags. If I inspected the Master bathroom, do you need a picture of the Master bathroom to prove that I went into that space? If I write down the information from the tag of a dishwasher, do you need a picture of the tag? What does that picture tell you? We are facing the same problem as with the content; is the picture provided useful to your understanding of an inspector’s finding? The reason that I began to include pictures in my report had to do with a desire to clarify my finding. Most home buyers are not going to wiggle their way through a tight attic space. On an inspection, I discovered that the builder had not properly insulated the attic to his own specification. I mentioned this fact, but he claimed that this could not be too bad, so he was going to ignore my finding. My statement could be doubted. By taking a photograph, the builder had to acknowledge that the insulation was not there. My goal is to take photographs of parts of the home that the buyer will not see, or to clarify a finding in the report.I do not take a picture of every issue. I do not know a way of showing that an appliance is not working through a photograph. My advice: find sample reports on the website or ask for sample reports to see if you find the report helps you.

My hope  is that my research can help you find the Houston home inspector that is right for you. Hopefully that will be me.If you are looking for what is the best value for you, then you need to find ways to discover these facts about the service provided.

My impression is that the real estate market is good right now. When I speak to others in the industry, they often make similar statements. If you hear the news, you can find stories of an improving housing market. The real estate industry is upbeat. That is great, but does this translate to good news for sellers? Over the last year, I have seen more homes in my own neighborhood become rental properties. This is not always a good sign. There are several factors which induce owners to become landlords, so this might not be a standard to observe. I began paying attention to homes in neighborhoods that I frequent, and I felt that there was one trend that I spotted which could explain why a home is not selling: neglect.

    You want to sell your home, but you have already moved to your new home. You have your home listed with a real estate agency. Sometimes you think there is good interest in your home, since the agent has told you that people are coming to see the home. No one is making an offer though. Months begin to pass, and you are wondering why no offers are coming. You may need to understand a few things. When your home is first listed, agents looking for a home for their clients in a particular area will go to see the home with their clients. This may not mean that they were seriously interested. They wanted to know what was on offer. This flow may die out, once they know about your home. There may be so many houses available, that your home does not stand out. In fact, real estate associations keep track of how long it would take to several everything on the market. This number will be over six months. Sure, a neighbor managed to sell their home in a month, but that does not mean you will. What is happening to your house while it is sitting there vacant? That may play a factor if your home will sell.
    This is where the neglect trend may be a factor. I am watching one house where the owner did not spend anytime making repairs before the house went onto market. He quickly realized that he was not going to obtain his asking price, so he decided to go the rental route. This decision may have come quickly for him, since he already owned rental properties. The house went vacant again, but I noticed that this owner has taken a different tack this time. For the last month, the home has undergone a major remodel. I believe that he is preparing to sell. A client of mine this past weekend mentioned that he wanted the house perfect before he moved. He was concerned about the nail holes that the artwork would leave behind when the seller left. As a seller, you may find this to be unreasonable, but buyers do want a sort of perfect house. This leads me to the vacant home. Most vacant houses suffer from neglect in one form or another. I buyer may forgive seeing a small pile of fliers at the door, but other signs of neglect are harder to ignore.
    The photograph is from a front yard of a home for sale. The yard looked worse at one point. There is a home around the corner from this house that had the same problem, but now a yard crew arrives on a regular basis. I have noticed buyers checking out this house. The overgrown yard has kept buyers away from the home in the photograph, until recently. The funny thing to me comes in two parts. The owner came to this home, and the yard did not bother him. Picking up the mail and fliers was his only concern. There are neighbors with houses that look like junkyards, so maybe that is why he has a lack of concern. (Yes, there are some pretty bad looking homes directly near this house in what is a nice neighborhood with some gorgeous homes). His home has been on the market for around a year now. The second funny thing to me was that some buyers did come to the house. I was near, and the woman was speaking loudly into her cell phone: “We can get this house for cheap I’m sure. They (the sellers) don’t care none for the house.” Finally, the seller is attracting interest, but maybe not for the reason that he wants.
    What can you do to help sell your home? Home staging is always a great idea. A home that looks nice will attract more attention. Yards do not need to look like the Yard of the month, but they should look maintained. I would also suggest fixing obvious problems. If you have a lot of broken tile, that leaves an impression. Buyers may not be checking out a house like a home inspector does, but they are looking. Vacant homes can begin to smell if the air conditioning has not been running. Basic cleaning is the answer, along with basic yard maintenance. When the housing crash hit full stride in 2008, you could tell the foreclosures from the homes for sale by the owners. Foreclosures looked neglected. That is not the case anymore. Many lenders learned that if they want to obtain their money back, they needed to send in a crew to make the home look presentable, and keep it looking good. Currently, there are sellers that could learn this lesson.

The following 6 point guide will help you decide which property investment is best for you.

3 Reasons Why New Property Provides the Best Returns

1. When you own an investment property you are able to claim depreciation of items such as dishwashers and washing machines. Carpeted floors and furniture all have relatively high rates of depreciation and when you own a new property you can claim higher rates on the depreciation of such. The amount of depreciation you can claim depends on the age of the property, so owning a new property will allow for better tax benefits from your investment.
2. Tenants will often prefer to move into a new property rather than an old one. If you are buying to rent then a modern property has a greater appeal. Particularly in coastal areas overlooking the sea, modern properties will fetch a greater rental rates from tenants, making newer better.
3. There are now builder regulations in place which mean they must supply insurance for any properties they build. This means that if anything happened to the house then you would be covered. It also offers the opportunity to claim back from the builders if you discover that they have failed to meet the specifications of the build. This will provide you with peace of mind at being covered if you discover problems with your property after purchase.

3 Reasons Why Old Holds the Gold

1. When buying an older property it is important to consider the value of land and building costs in the area. You will find it easier to get permission for a renovation than for a complete rebuild. Managing this sensibly will enable you to create an instant equity increase on the property. Make sure you do the calculations to ensure you are going to come out with a greater equity increase than the value of the investment.
2. Older buildings amongst other older properties have a certain appeal because of the atmosphere. It is difficult to replicate the feel of an older suburb when creating new property areas. The appeal of the surroundings will ensure a maintained demand in the area which cannot be guaranteed in a new development.
3. Older properties often have hidden attractions which you would not find in a newer property. Elements such as solid oak flooring hidden under carpet could really increase the appeal and value of the house. When looking to buy an older property, ask questions about the original features and you may be able to unearth some hidden wonders.

The Research Element

When looking to buy any property it is always necessary to do a lot of research. This is often more true with older properties, but knowing the area, the potential for expansion nearby and the accessibility of the property, will place you in better stead to discover the best buy in your chosen area. Be sure to utilise property valuation software to discover the true value of a home before making any offers.

There will come a time however, where you are either presented with an opportunity or you are in a financially stable situation, and you ask yourself: is it the right time to buy a house?

Here are some questions you need to consider that will help you determine whether buying a house is a good option for you.

1. Do you want to buy a house to be your home?

The first thing to consider is whether you want to buy a house so it can become your own home, or if this will be a rental or investment property.

If you are purchasing it to live in, owning it means you will have the control and freedom to add your own touches, to redecorate – and to repair anything promptly without having to wait on your landlord or real estate agent (always one of the main downsides to renting!).

Buying your own home will mean if needed, you can find other flatmates who can pay you rent to help pay off the mortgage, and will provide a form of financial security for you and your family. Be sure to use Property valuation software so that you can determine whether the home you are buying now really will pay off in the future.

2. Do you want to buy a house as an investment?

Perhaps you don’t wish to live in this house yourself, but see it more as an opportunity to get into the property market. Owning real estate can be a lucrative and inspiring way to save and make money: provided you have the dedication to learn and the patience to wait for the right opportunities.

Thinking about who you want your potential tenants to be – students, travelers, families – will determine where you look and what type of house you search for. Real estate development software and courses will help you learn how to spot a great investment.

3. Do you plan to move any time soon?

Buying a house – whether it is for you to call home or for investment purposes – is a significant long-term commitment. If you cannot see yourself being close to the area in where you have bought the home, or if you will be unable to visit frequently, then perhaps it is not the right time in your life to buy.

You need to be able to keep an eye on your property, or have someone you can trust to do this job for you. If you take the proper precautions now, you will not be one of those many horror stories where owners return from years overseas, only to find their tenants have destroyed their property.

4. Do you want to renovate, fix up, or change nothing at all?

Your budget will likely greatly influence your answer to this question. If you cannot afford to buy the dream house in its full glory, renovating or “fixing up” a property can be a tempting option.

If you decide to go down this route, then you are in for a fun, creative – but also lengthy process.

Please make sure you have worked out a budget for all the changes and renovations needed before you close the sale. You might discover it is worthwhile waiting another few years if the budget works out to be significantly more than you initially expected.

Over the years, I have been involved with competitor analysis. Sometimes you might think this would be fairly obvious. Why would certain companies need to do competitor analysis. For example, why would one movie theater need to know the ticket price of another when most prices are so similar, and other factors, like location, may determine where you go? However, even movie theaters conduct competitor analysis on an ongoing basis. I keep track of my competitors, and once a year, I perform a more in depth analysis to create my plans. One aspect of this analysis is “what is a Houston home inspection cost?”

What are Houston home inspectors charging? My methodology was to look at the average square footage of homes that I inspected last year first. Home inspectors base their quotes on the square footage most often. I rounded this number to the closest one hundred. This gave me 2100 square feet. Since home inspectors will have different base prices, I looked at what would an inspector charge for a 2100 sq ft home. Prices were quite varied. I found the highest price at $500. The lowest price that I found this year was $250.I had someone report a $600 cost, but I have not verified that amount. If you were to randomly call a Houston home inspector, the price you are most likely to obtain is somewhere around $310 for my average home.
In previous years, I had found prices as low as $200. I did not find a home inspector offering that low price. I believe that they are still out there, but they may be harder to find. My services cost $250 for this square footage used in the study, and I have decided not to raise my price. Each inspector has to look at their own operating expenses and desired profit along with revenue trend to determine what they charge. Another factor for me is to examine my quote to conversion ratio along with comments made by potential clients. Although, as the year progresses, I may revisit this cost, I am finding this is the best price point for me.
Does a lower cost mean a cheap service? You may hear “do not use a cheap home inspector because you will be getting poor service”. I am not sure about that fact. In my next post based on my competitor research, I want to go into what that service entails. I was surprised  by some facts. What you may find is that some lower price services are not poor in quality. There are too many factors as to why an inspector will set a price, but it may be true to state that an inspector who has been in the industry longer can command the higher price. Does an older company history mean better service? Although I know some who will make that argument, I cannot support it. Customer expectations evolve, and not all companies evolve with them. Remember Google was not the first search engine, but for most users, Google has become the main search engine to use. In the future, another search engine meeting consumer desires may be the prominent firm.
I hope that there are other reasons to decide upon which home inspector to use besides cost. The purpose of this post is to give you an idea of what to expect when doing your own research.

Below is a snapshot of current rate and term refinance Texas mortgage interest rates taken from the mortgage rate research web site, ForTheBestRate.com (9:52 AM MST 1/9/2012). Please visit the site for the criteria used in the survey. Mortgage rates are subject to change without notice.

30 Year Mortgage Rates
Quicken Loans: 4.000% Note Rate, 1 Pt, $1553 Fees, 4.149% APR
Amerisave: 3.750% Note Rate, .837 Pts, $1995 Fees, 3.902% APR
FFSI: 3.750% Note Rate, 1 Pt, $0 Fees, 3.832% APR

20 Year Mortgage Rates
FFSI: 3.750% Note Rate, 1 Pts, $0 Fees, 3.865% APR
EverBank: 3.625% Note Rate, 0 Pts, $852 Fees, 3.674% APR
AimLoan: 3.375% Note Rate, 1 Pts, $1995 Fees, 3.603% APR

15 Year Mortgage Rates
Quicken Loans: 3.250% Note Rate, 1.25 Pt, $1553 Fees, 3.547% APR
EverBank: 3.000% Note Rate, 0 Pts, $852 Fees, 3.061% APR
FFSI: 3.000% Note Rate, 1 Pt, $0 Fees, 3.145% APR

10 Year Mortgage Rates
EverBank: 3.000% Note Rate, 0 Pt, $852 Fees, 3.089% APR
Amerisave: 2.750% Note Rate, 1 Pts Pts, $1995 Fees, 3.172% APR
FFSI: 3.000% Note Rate, 1 Pt, $0 Fees, 3.211% APR

About the Author:

Nat Criss works with ForTheBestRate.com, a resource for searching current mortgage rates in your area.

Maybe the tales of a Houston home inspector are not the standard for examining real estate trends, yet I feel that the year has shown positive signs. A few neighbors have asked me about my business outlook. Perhaps this is a way to judge if they should go into the market with their own home. That could be the first trend which I noticed: the hesitant seller. There are people who want to move, but they are waiting until the market appears better for sellers. The interesting aspect of this trend for home inspectors has been sellers wanting their homes inspected to deal with issues before a buyer comes into the picture.  When looking back at this year, I can say that it has been a good year for me, but not all real estate professionals. This leads me to consider other trends.
    Is that home inspector still in business? That real estate agent? The real estate industry might consist of more part time employees than other industries. You could have a job, and you could perform home inspections on your days off. I have seen appraisers do the same. I see people begin their careers as a real estate agents while still working another job. This is what makes the real estate industry a great industry for many. You can earn extra income. You can build your business while still having security. However, when the real estate market is bad, you do loose people. I have encountered home inspectors, as well as agents, who were full time going out of business. Mainly, I find people starting new business ventures to supplement their real estate business. I found my business increasing, so I did not have the time for a new business. I found other real estate professionals in my situation. We focused our business, and we found an increase when others complained how bad the market is. Basically, the firms left standing are doing business better.
    The buyer wants to spend their money wisely, and the real estate industry is responding. Sometimes I feel that professionals in my industry are paying lip service to the idea of providing value, but we are see changes that do help the consumer. Even before 2008, the consumer was gaining more information through the internet. Smarter consumers force businesses to be smarter.  Builders are constructing more efficient homes, which consumers see as a better value. Some real estate firms are letting consumers pick and choose what they want in the way of service, instead of simply charging them for everything. The consumer may be looking for the lowest price, but they do want to ensure that they are not cutting the corners too much. The recession added the information wise consumer more budget conscious, which means even more pressure on real estate professionals to do the job right.
    Green is better. This is not a surprise: consumers are considering value, and they are considering the cost of living in the home. The vague concept of a green home is linked to the concept of value. Vague? Yes, vague. There are different standards for defining a green home. Terms like “EnergyStar” and “LEED” carry a good deal of weight. The consumer is well aware of the EnergyStar brand, but honestly, the consumer does not understand many issues that people are using to define  an energy efficient home, since all of this is new. I thought everyone understood R-value in relation to the insulation in their homes, till I began lecturing homeowners on energy efficiency. At this time the consumer wants an energy efficient home, but as the information becomes more available to them, we will see more focus of clarifying what green means.
    Do I need a home inspector or energy rater? Home inspectors have become a fairly standard part of the home buying process. I had a good percentage of clients who did not use real estate agents this past year. (There were other clients who had agents, but the agents hardly seemed involved from my perspective). The home inspection became important, because the inspection was a way to ensure value. As the consumer begins to include the cost of living in a home into their purchase calculations, they are looking for ways to discover that data prior to the purchase. Energy raters may fill this need. I noticed more home inspectors are going after this certification. I am not sure that this will become the consistent choice of the consumer any time soon. Cost is still a driving factor for the consumer, and even though having inspections of your purchase helps ensure value, there comes a point where the cost of these inspections is too great for the average consumer. There is also a question of return on investment. Having good professionals conduct these investigations will uncover problems to save you money; however, the consumer might not have the funds to go after all of these inspections, and they may not realize the value. Energy raters will be the wave of the future, but home inspectors could begin to include this knowledge in their reports  to create value.
    With builder confidence rising, and my review of my own business, I have good feelings for the coming year. More home inspectors will leave the profession. This was a good year for me and others, but this is still not the best business climate for the real estate industry. I am feeling positive; however, lenders are making mortgages difficult to obtain (unless you have worked to meet the requirements), and foreclosures will continue to bring home prices down (this is good for the consumer if they can find the right home). We have to remember that the recovery in the real estate industry will take time.

Several years ago a home inspector told me that he took two weeks to write a report. His reports were long, filled with quotes and diagrams. Another home inspector told me that his report was a checklist, which he gave to the client at the end of the inspection. His reports were obviously short. Here we have two extremes, so which one do you prefer? That is a bad question.  How long it takes to produce the report should not be our concern, but rather the quality of the content. Yet speed of report writing is still a bar by which we judge home inspectors. The irritation of some consumers did lead the state of Texas to make a requirement that reports should be produced within three days. This is fine with me, since I have always tried to produce a report quickly.

   When I first became a home inspector, I thought that producing a report at the end of the inspection would be a selling point. I had set up my report in a form format, and I would write them in a half hour. The problem with these reports were that they presented cold facts at their most basic. I came to realize that these reports did not help my clients. I did present a great deal of information to each client, but this was generalized, which had nothing to do with the specific home. I was still concerned with the idea of producing the report quickly; however, my desire to create better content was a more important driving factor. I found that writing my reports was taking two hours when an inspection lasted three. I added content that would help my clients, being common to every home inspection. The reports were still taking two hours. Oddly, I had a real estate agent criticize me for this two hours of writing. We live in an age of immediate gratification.
    The newest trend in home inspection reports is the use of software programs that produce the reports. The home inspector has to perform his investigation. He goes through a list of pre-written statements to fit his findings. There are often some spaces for personalization. I have known a few real estate agents to prefer these reports, because the automated format produces an easy to read list. I even had agents who claimed that this was a required aspect to a report. My question was if this way of producing reports was the best for my clients. I like the idea of the software, but I wanted better content, and I felt that writing my own reports was best for me.
    Having better content is the key to a good home inspection report. I began adding more items to my reports. I had reasons for not including photographs, but I found that certain photographs enhanced the report for the client. I expanded the informational sections of the reports. I created space to make it easier to read the report. This idea came from studying web design. I could write the report like my college papers, but a well designed appearance makes the information in the report easier to read. After a broker mentioned to me that clients did not always see my invoice at the end of the report, I added a table of contents. This is a breakthrough, since this could allow me to expand the information in a readable format that can allow the user to go to the appropriate section quickly. I am still tweaking these aspects of the report. The goal is to produce better content with better content delivery.
    These steps have increased the amount of time that I was taking to write the reports. Increasing work time does not seem logical from my standpoint as a business owner. More time on the job means lower profit. I decided upon a different approach to report writing. I began by writing the report backwards. I started filling in the information on the last pages. Afterwards, I would go back through the report in the standard order to check what I had written. This method forced me to edit. I had edited before, but this editing was done too quickly I discovered. Starting with the end of the report did not increase the report writing time, but I produced a better report. Still attempting to write faster, I added the idea of the information dump to my writing process. Instead of looking at my notes, I wrote everything from memory. When going back over the report in my editing process, I used my notes to fill out areas that I missed in my first draft. My report writing takes as long as my home inspection, and I am fine with this development.
     A home inspector’s goal should be the delivery of a report in a timely manner. If you are looking for an inspector, asking them how long it would take to produce the report is a valid question; however, asking questions that relate to the quality of the content would be better.