Expansive clay soils......BEWARE! (MAP INCLUDED) (Phoenix: sale, real estate, home)

[EnicAZ]

Originally Posted by PheenixJobless

A very informative post. I have a friend who purchased a house, only to find out one year later the foundation has major issues due to this. I can't emphasize how quickly builders put these houses together. He had to either pay $35,000 to do the necessary restructuring.

I would be interested to know, just how easily the inspector skips over this to make sure the sale gets completed. There is usually not much a person can do afterwards, and I know how all people involved basically just want to make sure the sale goes through and they get paid. It leaves the expensive repair bills with the person who signed.

[khuntrevor]

If it is covered with floor covering they just mark it as non-accessible. If it goes across the garage, they can say "a hair-line" or an 1'8 of an inch. My dad did a small battle with US Homes over the warped siding on his house. There are allowable variances, but that really doesn't help the consumer, when it's time to re-sell.

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by EnicAZ

I would be interested to know, just how easily the inspector skips over this to make sure the sale gets completed. There is usually not much a person can do afterwards, and I know how all people involved basically just want to make sure the sale goes through and they get paid. It leaves the expensive repair bills with the person who signed.

Not if the prospective buyer uses good judgment and researches carefully. All of this can be prevented with sensible due diligence. No need for all this hand wringing. The information is available to intelligent home-buyers. Yes, it is a factor to consider. No, it is not a sinister conspiracy worthy of all this wild speculation.

[khuntrevor]

If the buyers were actually intelligent, we wouldn't be where we are today.

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by khuntrevor

If the buyers were actually intelligent, we wouldn't be where we are today.

LOL! Excellent point.

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by EnicAZ

I would be interested to know, just how easily the inspector skips over this to make sure the sale gets completed. There is usually not much a person can do afterwards, and I know how all people involved basically just want to make sure the sale goes through and they get paid. It leaves the expensive repair bills with the person who signed.

Unfortunately a lot of that is more from the Inspector not knowing (yes they should know) than collusion to make the sale go through. There is some collusion occurring so you do have to be careful with that.

You made a rerence to this poster:

Originally Posted by PheenixJobless

A very informative post. I have a friend who purchased a house, only to find out one year later the foundation has major issues due to this. I can't emphasize how quickly builders put these houses together. He had to either pay $35,000 to do the necessary restructuring.

One of the things the we Inspectors find are owners who have no experience with expansive clay soils. Regardless of how well a builder prepares the site there will always be some simple requirements for soils moisture maintenance, grading, etc. These owners might not fully understand all of the possibilities, methods, and importance of maintaining these conditions to prevent foundation damage. These owners might have been raised or lived in areas that did not have these problems and as such they become less important maintenance items. The problem is depending on weather conditions foundation problems can develope easily in a matter of weeks.

Originally Posted by khuntrevor

and those highly touted home inspectors will not do that for you. They will mark it as "inaccessible."

Good Inspectors carry many different tools and pieces of equipment with them to perform their jobs. Unfortunately I don't know any that carry carpet stretching equipment with them. Also that is a time consuming action to pull up and stretch carpet back down and not normal for a Home Inspector. If there are signs under a carpet of foundation movement then chances are real high they have already manifested themselves in visible areas such as sheetrock, windows, doors, and exposed areas of foundations.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by escanlan

Good Inspectors carry many different tools and pieces of equipment with them to perform their jobs. Unfortunately I don't know any that carry carpet stretching equipment with them. Also that is a time consuming action to pull up and stretch carpet back down and not normal for a Home Inspector. If there are signs under a carpet of foundation movement then chances are real high they have already manifested themselves in visible areas such as sheetrock, windows, doors, and exposed areas of foundations.

I would never expect a home inspector to pull back floor covering, and I doubt many "normal" home sellers would allow it - but in the case of a bank-owned property, sold "as-is, where is" a buyer is only prudent to inspect whatever is important to them. In my case, I planned to tile the entire home - and the materials used to tile a home with a cracked slab double the cost of the tile job ( kerdi membrane isn't cheap )

As an experienced buyer, a home inspector doesn't really provide much value to me - I'm confident in my ability to find many major issues myself, and bring in my own experts for things outside my comfort zone. For a first-time buyer, an inspector can provide some valuable clues to less-obvious problems.

[Finger Laker]

Originally Posted by EnicAZ

Sadly, this has happened to far too many people. Homes constructed during the boom years of 2003-2007 are especially vulnerable. Homes built during the ongoing bust are less likely to have troubles, but one still needs to do their homework.

this is 100% false

that is all.............

[PhoenixAirConcerns]

Originally Posted by EnicAZ

I would be interested to know, just how easily the inspector skips over this to make sure the sale gets completed. There is usually not much a person can do afterwards, and I know how all people involved basically just want to make sure the sale goes through and they get paid. It leaves the expensive repair bills with the person who signed.

I have often heard of how the collusion on making sales happens, and I appreciate hearing from someone who is on the inside. It's too bad people will skip over their duties just to get paid, even if it means the buyer will end up with an extremely expensive problem on their hands.

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by PhoenixAirConcerns

I have often heard of how the collusion on making sales happens, and I appreciate hearing from someone who is on the inside. It's too bad people will skip over their duties just to get paid, even if it means the buyer will end up with an extremely expensive problem on their hands.

All you've heard from are anonymous people on an internet website. You haven't heard from anyone "on the inside." All these wild conspiracy theories and hysterical hand-wringing are ridiculous. Buyers should be well informed and prepared to advocate on their own behalf. Educate yourselves and stop expecting others to look out for your own best interests.