Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm nearing the end of my short sale process, hopefully, and I've decided on a good reputable home inspector in my area (Will County, IL). Aside from the general questions that you can find online, are there some questions that you wished you had asked during the home inspection? Maybe after closing you realized that you forgot to ask something? Or maybe you noticed some issues after you moved in that you wished you would have discussed during your inspection?
Happy Fathers Day guys! ;-)
I wished I asked how did he get into the attic. My attic has the usual drop down ladder. However it opens the wrong way. You climb up the ladder and you have this small landing space. Because of the slope of the roof and ducts, you can not stand up full height there. There is a wall behind the landing, water heater on right, more ducts on left. Only a few inches between the ceiling opening and water heater or ductwork. No problem if the landing was on the opposite side. Plenty of headroom and plywood flooring.
I needed to get into the attic because that is where the furnace is and the whole house air filter is on the furnace, and the furnace was opposite the landing. For months I would poke my head in the attic wondering how the heck do I get on the other side? The inspector said the filter was clean so he must have gone up there, right? I finally figured out I needed to buy an extension ladder. . I wished I asked the inspector how he did it.
The water heater and furnace are in the attic? Is that normal?
It is quite common here.
When homes don't have basements, we see furnaces in crawlspaces, attics, garages, or packaged units like on a restaurant roof sitting beside the house on a slab.
Attics are the most common place for a 2nd unit in a dual zone setup, where the attic unit conditions the upper levels.
Water heaters can be in any of those places, too. Really ridiculous, though, is to see a water heater in an attic on a home with a basement. Seems that the plans call it out there on a non-basement house and some builders are so limited in vision, they cannot move it.
Well, I too would ask how he got in the attic but not because of roof height issues. I'd ask because in one vacant house, attic with no ladder, the inspector with no ladder, said he inspected the attic.
I'd ask beforehand precisely what he inspects. We had one very fancy engineer who didn't deign to turn on ovens and dishwashers and washer/dryers, etc. He was top notch with structural and mechanical things otherwise.
I'd take any problems with a grain of salt, too. Not long ago a friend was selling and the inspector said a certain issue required a new roof. We looked inside, followed the water pattern, found out it was really another issue that was pricey but not nearly the amount of a new roof.
Sometimes a wet basement area is only because the sump pump had been turned off.
I had a top-notch inspector and nearly a year later, still haven't found anything he didn't catch. And I found him on C-D!!!! He is a regular poster on the Dallas forum and I thought his posts were so informative and well-reasoned, that I contacted him.
Here, home inspectors are not supposed to make recommendations on whether or not you should buy based on his/her findings. So don't lead him down that path.
Our home inspectors always had about an 8-page detailed report they filled out. The inspections took hours, and then we sat down with them and our agent and went over the report.
They are paid to find problems, so don't worry when there are a lot of little issues on the report.
It is quite common here.
When homes don't have basements, we see furnaces in crawlspaces, attics, garages, or packaged units like on a restaurant roof sitting beside the house on a slab.
Attics are the most common place for a 2nd unit in a dual zone setup, where the attic unit conditions the upper levels.
Water heaters can be in any of those places, too. Really ridiculous, though, is to see a water heater in an attic on a home with a basement. Seems that the plans call it out there on a non-basement house and some builders are so limited in vision, they cannot move it.
We had an awesome inspector- however there was one thing he didn't catch (although I didn't catch it myself until after I moved in either). There is an original 1950s extractor fan behind the stove, and from what I can tell, it's still hooked up to a vent through the roof... but there is no switch anywhere to turn it on! Seriously!
The previous owner had new kitchen cabinets installed in the late 80s/early 90s (she kept the original blue tile backsplash and some original features of the kitchen though, including the above mentioned extractor fan) and I can only assume that somehow the cabinets were built over the switch and a new switch was never placed elsewhere? And yes, I've checked inside all of the cabinets looking for the switch! It's non existent!
Definitely annoying, and definitely one of those little things that either I or my inspector should have picked up!
We did have two inspections though- an unofficial one before we put an offer in, and an official one after the offer (both with different inspectors), and neither of them noticed and both were extremely thorough!
We had an awesome inspector- however there was one thing he didn't catch (although I didn't catch it myself until after I moved in either). There is an original 1950s extractor fan behind the stove, and from what I can tell, it's still hooked up to a vent through the roof... but there is no switch anywhere to turn it on! Seriously!
The previous owner had new kitchen cabinets installed in the late 80s/early 90s (she kept the original blue tile backsplash and some original features of the kitchen though, including the above mentioned extractor fan) and I can only assume that somehow the cabinets were built over the switch and a new switch was never placed elsewhere? And yes, I've checked inside all of the cabinets looking for the switch! It's non existent!
Definitely annoying, and definitely one of those little things that either I or my inspector should have picked up!
We did have two inspections though- an unofficial one before we put an offer in, and an official one after the offer (both with different inspectors), and neither of them noticed and both were extremely thorough!
WOW! So, how are you able to vent that area?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
How did he access the attic?????
. I wished I asked the inspector how he did it.
