SS89: Property Inspection Mistakes to Avoid

Welcome to Strategy Saturday; I’m Charles Carillo and today we’re going to be discussing property inspection, mistakes to avoid.

Hiring a property inspector is a wise decision when purchasing real estate. The problem is when inspectors make mistakes that end up costing you thousands of dollars. In this episode, Charles discusses common property inspection mistakes and how to avoid them.

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Talking Points:

You should always hire a property inspector when purchasing a piece of real estate. Make sure that an inspection period/due diligence period is included in your purchase and sale agreement.
There are several mistakes I have witnessed over the years from property inspectors.
- Typically, buyers will request the name of an inspector from their real estate agent and use that company without doing any other research. This may be fine but you want to make sure that the inspector you are hiring has experience with your property type. If you are purchasing an older home or commercial property or apartment complex; do they specialize in these property types?
- Make sure you are present for the inspection. This is a huge investment and you should be there. Do some research online, possibly find a property inspection checklist online, and make sure that they are addressing all of the potential issues. If there are some lingering issues or possible issues that cannot be reviewed and checked off by your inspector; hire a separate inspector. This is common for roofs and pest/termite inspections. You want to have a specialist there; not a generalist if there is a potential issue.
- Roofs; this is an important point; especially in areas that are prone to wind and/or hurricanes; like Florida. Your roof dictates the insurability of your property in these areas. If I was buying any property in this type of area; I would hire a roof inspector. In other areas, a property inspector should be able to let you know the age and life left on the roof. Look at property permits to see when the roof was last permitted. See how many layers are on it and get on the roof to inspect. Don’t forget to check the condition of the flashing around any chimneys and check the attic to see if there are any signs of water.
- Mechanicals; mainly your hot water heater and HVAC. The hot water heater is pretty straightforward. Usually, the date of installation will be written on the tank but you can usually tell from the looks of it how old it is. Is it leaking? If it is older or leaking; you might be asking the seller for a credit. HVAC is the main mechanical though that needs to be inspected since this can get expensive. If there are any doubts; hire an HVAC professional to come out and inspect. If it requires servicing; get a written quote.
- Pests and termites. If there is any sign of pest damage; I would suggest hiring a professional that specializes in this. Figure out how in-depth the problem is and the cost to remediate it and get a written quote.
- Make sure you review and test all appliances. In rental properties, the appliances are usually not that expensive compared to a single-family house but they can add up. Some of the newer high-end fridges can get expensive if they need to be replaced. If you have appliances 10+ years old, make sure they are all functioning since those will most likely need to be replaced in the near future.
- Flooring. Check around water sources to see if there are leaks or past leaks. Under sinks, around toilets, etc. Walk all of the floors and see if any are not firm. It is common for people to cover floor issues.
- Walk around the exterior of the property and look for potential water issues. When it rains; is the water being sent away from the property or towards the property? Are there any holes near the foundation in the ground where water could get to your foundation through? When the water leaves the downspout, is it being sent away from the property?
- Many of the points above are concerning water and water intrusion. Water is very damaging to a property.
- After you find and hire a property inspector; make sure they are addressing the points above and be a second set of eyes while they are performing their inspection. Don’t hesitate to ask questions if you do not understand something; the property inspector is working for you!

Transcript:

Charles:
Welcome to Strategy Saturday; I’m Charles Carillo and today we’re gonna be discussing property inspection, mistakes to avoid.

New Speaker:
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New Speaker:
You should always hire a property inspector when purchasing a piece of real estate, make sure that an inspection period due diligence period is included in your purchase and sale agreement. There are several mistakes I’ve witnessed over the years from property inspectors and from buyers. Number one, typically buyers will request the name of an inspector from their real estate agent and use that company without doing any other research. This may be fine, but you wanna make sure that the inspector you are hiring has experience with your property type. If you’re purchasing an older home or commercial property or apartment complex, do they specialize in this property type? Number two is make sure you’re present for the inspection. This is a huge investment, and you should be there. Do some research online, possibly find a property inspection checklist and make sure that they are addressing all of the potential issues. If there are some lingering issues or possible issues that cannot be reviewed and checked off by your inspector, hire a separate inspector. This is common for roofs past and Turine inspections.

Charles:
Hvacs, you have to have a specialist there, not a generalist. If there is a potential issue. Number three is roofs. And this is a very important point, especially in areas that are prone to wind and or hurricanes like Florida. Your roof dictates the insurability of your property in these areas. If I was buying any property in this type of area, I would hire a roof inspector in other areas, a property inspector should be able to let you know the age and the life left on the roof. Look at property permits to see when the roof was last permanent. Now that doesn’t mean the last time it was touched. They could have done some weekend roof work where they added on another layer or did some work on it. And they never had it permanent because there was no building inspectors driving around, see how many layers are on it and get on the roof to inspect.

Charles:
And don’t forget to check the condition of the flashing around the chimneys, which are notorious for leaks and check in the attic to see if there’s any signs of water. Number four is mechanicals mainly your hot water heater and your HVAC. The hot water heater is pretty straightforward. Usually the data installation will be written on the tank, but you can also usually tell from how it looks. And also see, I mean, is it, look, is it leaking? If it’s older and when I consider it older, I would say six to nine years plus is old. If it’s leaking, you’re gonna be asking the seller for a credit. HVAC is the main mechanical though that needs to be inspected since this can get expensive. If there are any doubts, hire an HVAC professional to come out and inspect. If it require servicing, get a written quote, five pest and termites.

Charles:
If there’s a sign of pest damage, I would suggest hiring a professional that specializes in this figure out how in depth the problem is, and then costs to remediate it and get a written quote. So you can provide that to the seller, make sure you review and test all appliances and rental properties. The appliances are usually not that expensive compared to a single family house, but they can add up some of the newer high end fridges can be expenses expensive if they need to be replaced. If you have appliances that are 10 plus years old, make sure they are all functioning since those will most likely need to be replaced in the near future. Number seven is flooring check around water sources to see if there’s any leaks or pass leaks under sinks around toilets, walk on all the floors and see if if they’re not firm.

Charles:
It is common for people to cover over floor issues. Eight is walk around the exterior of the property and look for potential water issues. When it rains is the water being sent away from the property or towards the property. Are there any holes, you know, the foundation, the ground where water could get to your foundation when the water leaves a downspout, is it being sent away from your property? These are very important things, cuz water is very damaging, you know, and many of the points concerning water and water intrusion really need to be taken in consideration because water is probably one of the most damaging things to your property. After you find and hire the property inspector, make sure they’re addressing the points above and be a second set of eyes when they’re performing their inspection. Don’t hesitate to ask questions. And if you do not understand something, the property inspector is working for you. So I hope you enjoyed. Please remember to rate reviews, subscribe, submit comments, and potential show topics at global investors’ podcast.com. Look forward to two more episodes next week. See you then

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