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Home Values Soar Even Higher In August As Inventory Tightens

2020-09-18T12:00:00.000+00:00

SEATTLE, Sept. 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Pressure from this summer's housing inventory shortage caused U.S. home values to rise sharply in August. They are up 0.7% from July to $256,663, the biggest month-over-month increase in nearly seven years, according to the August Zillow® Real Estate Market Report¹. Home value growth accelerated last month in 48 of the 50 largest markets and was relatively constant in the other two: Birmingham, Ala. and Richmond, Va.

Year over year, home values are up 5.1% in August, the largest annual rise since March 2019. Markets with the highest year-over-year increases in home values were Phoenix (10.5%), San Jose (10.3%) and Seattle (9.2%). The smallest year-over-year gains in home values among major metros were seen in Chicago (1.9%), New York (2.3%) and San Francisco (2.7%).

"American home shoppers faced an historic shortage of listings to choose from this summer, and that scarcity is now reflected in rapidly appreciating home values after a sluggish start to the home shopping season this spring," said Zillow economist Jeff Tucker. "Builders are racing to catch up with demand, and rising prices should encourage more potential sellers to come off the sidelines and list. Still, the shortage of inventory should keep housing markets unusually tilted in sellers' favor this autumn."

Nationwide, demand continues to outpace supply. Homes continue to fly off the market at a record pace and inventory is contracting, according to the most recent Zillow weekly housing market data. Listings' typical time on the market was 14 days, as of the week ending Sept. 12. That's 14 days faster than the year before.

Looking forward, upward price pressure seems likely to continue at least through the fall, thanks to the large inventory deficit. Purchase demand is holding steady at high levels, reflected in strong pending sales data, perhaps due to delayed purchases from earlier this spring and summer. Given that the housing market typically begins to cool off by late August, this stable volume of sales looks even more impressive: pending sales were up a whopping 23.3% year over year in the week ending September 12.

The Fed expects to keep interest rates near zero through at least 2023, and allow periods of higher inflation, in an effort to revive the economy. This news reinforces the Federal Reserve's commitment to keeping credit flowing using a broad policy toolkit that included purchases of mortgage-backed securities this year. In that context there is little reason to expect mortgage rates to rise significantly any time soon, which should help keep buyers active.

While the for-sale market has strengthened since April, the rental market has softened. The U.S. has seen yearly rent price appreciation decline every month since the pandemic began, dropping from 3.8% year-over-year rent growth in February to just 0.7% in August. The typical U.S. rent was $1,771 in August, down 0.3% from July, which is the largest monthly decrease seen since September 2017.

"Rents softened further this August, especially in New York and the San Francisco Bay Area," Tucker said. "Rental demand has been battered by still-elevated unemployment as well as some renters opting out of expensive markets with their ability to work remotely during the pandemic. The rental market may also be feeling an early gust of demographic headwinds, as the bumper crop of Millennials in their early 30s begin making the leap to homeownership."

Compared to last year, typical rent is down 4.6% in New York, 4% in San Francisco and 3.8% in San Jose. In Boston, the fifth most expensive metro within the top 50, rents are down 2.8% since last year. Typical rents in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Austin, Houston, and Denver also declined since last year. The softening is especially pronounced in areas where higher shares of college students typically live.

Meanwhile, rents in Midwestern and Sun Belt cities are making headlong strides upwards. Memphis leads the way with 8.3% rent appreciation since last year, and has seen monthly increases throughout the pandemic. Phoenix rents bounced back with 1.1% month-over-month growth in August after posting negative figures in April and May.

Mortgage rates listed by third-party lenders on Zillow started the month at 3.1% and rose to twin peaks of 3.17% on Aug. 12 and Aug. 28. High volatility in mid-August led to a minimum of 2.97% on Aug. 13. August closed with rates at 3.12%. Zillow's real-time mortgage rates are based on thousands of custom mortgage quotes submitted daily to anonymous borrowers on the Zillow Group Mortgages site by third-party lenders and reflect recent changes in the market².

Metropolitan Area*	Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), August 2020	ZHVI - YoY Change, August 2020	Total Inventory - YoY Change, Week Ending Sept. 12	Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), August 2020	ZORI - YoY Change, August 2020
United States	$256,663	5.1%	-29.4%	$1,771	0.7%
New York/Newark, NY/NJ	$493,579	2.3%	-13.4%	$2,716	-4.6%
Los Angeles, CA	$706,714	5.9%	-23.8%	$2,627	0.0%
Chicago, IL	$246,357	1.9%	-26.9%	$1,791	-1.0%
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX	$261,739	4.1%	-29.0%	$1,620	1.1%
Philadelphia, PA	$262,437	5.1%	-37.8%	$1,620	1.3%
Houston, TX	$222,936	3.1%	-25.8%	$1,537	-0.6%
Washington, DC	$452,030	5.1%	-33.1%	$2,161	-1.2%
Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL	$310,471	4.1%	-9.6%	$1,947	1.2%
Atlanta, GA	$251,454	5.7%	-25.3%	$1,609	3.3%
Boston, MA	$514,321	4.9%	-24.2%	$2,490	-2.8%
San Francisco, CA	$1,127,066	2.7%	1.5%	$3,167	-4.0%
Detroit, MI	$188,420	4.3%	-36.4%	$1,316	2.5%
Riverside, CA	$400,664	5.7%	-46.7%	$2,097	5.5%
Phoenix, AZ	$312,317	10.5%	-21.8%	$1,521	5.7%
Seattle, WA	$559,226	9.2%	-26.7%	$2,000	0.4%
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN	$305,202	5.4%	-25.6%	$1,602	1.5%
San Diego, CA	$643,903	5.9%	-36.7%	$2,422	1.8%
St. Louis, MO	$187,795	5.0%	-31.5%	$1,155	2.7%
Tampa, FL	$242,924	7.2%	-31.9%	$1,580	4.1%
Baltimore, MD	$302,464	2.9%	-44.4%	$1,732	0.3%
Denver, CO	$458,600	4.5%	-31.1%	$1,821	-0.1%
Pittsburgh, PA	$167,172	5.2%	-24.5%	$1,148	1.1%
Portland, OR	$429,608	5.3%	-31.0%	$1,688	1.3%
Charlotte, NC	$249,960	8.0%	-39.7%	$1,520	1.9%
Sacramento, CA	$444,733	5.7%	-41.1%	$1,908	4.3%
San Antonio, TX	$211,964	3.2%	-23.4%	$1,395	1.5%
Orlando, FL	$266,005	5.4%	-13.7%	$1,619	1.1%
Cincinnati, OH	$197,135	7.2%	-37.4%	$1,293	2.9%
Cleveland, OH	$168,298	6.7%	-38.3%	$1,166	2.8%
Kansas City, MO	$214,639	6.3%	-42.4%	$1,251	4.3%
Las Vegas, NV	$302,071	4.0%	-22.5%	$1,478	3.0%
Columbus, OH	$222,467	7.1%	-37.8%	$1,356	4.6%
Indianapolis, IN	$192,677	7.9%	-40.2%	$1,340	4.8%
San Jose, CA	$1,224,366	10.3%	-19.0%	$3,129	-3.8%
Austin, TX	$357,346	6.1%	-32.2%	$1,598	-0.8%
Virginia Beach, VA	$252,041	4.8%	-36.3%	$1,413	3.8%
Nashville, TN	$289,792	5.9%	-17.2%	$1,620	2.4%
Providence, RI	$333,191	5.7%	-36.5%	$1,635	4.4%
Milwaukee, WI	$212,166	7.5%	-8.2%	$1,147	2.6%
Jacksonville, FL	$240,785	4.8%	-33.1%	$1,419	3.2%
Memphis, TN	$164,254	8.5%	-40.6%	$1,396	8.3%
Oklahoma City, OK	$165,014	6.0%	-33.9%	$1,096	2.0%
Louisville, KY	$189,706	6.8%	-41.8%	$1,098	4.4%
Hartford, CT	$246,821	4.0%	-40.4%	$1,428	3.9%
Richmond, VA	$256,417	4.6%	-35.1%	$1,355	3.0%
New Orleans, LA	$215,218	5.7%	-42.3%	$1,470	0.5%
Buffalo, NY	$183,071	5.2%	-32.4%	$1,116	4.5%
Raleigh, NC	$292,160	4.5%	-37.7%	$1,546	1.8%
Birmingham, AL	$174,875	7.0%	-33.7%	$1,152	4.0%
Salt Lake City, UT	$405,189	7.9%	-41.4%	$1,461	1.3%


*	Table ordered by market size

¹ The Zillow Real Estate Market Reports are a monthly overview of the national and local real estate markets. The reports are compiled by Zillow Real Estate Research. For more information, visit www.zillow.com/research/. The data in Zillow's Real Estate Market Reports are aggregated from public sources by a number of data providers for 928 metropolitan and micropolitan areas dating back to 1996. Mortgage and home loan data are typically recorded in each county and publicly available through a county recorder's office. Methodologies and all current monthly data at the national, state, metro, city, ZIP code and neighborhood level can be accessed at www.zillow.com/research/data.

² Zillow Group Marketplace, Inc. is a licensed mortgage broker, NMLS #1303160.

About Zillow
Zillow, the most visited real estate website in the U.S., is building an on-demand real estate experience. Whether selling, buying, renting or financing, customers can turn to Zillow's businesses to find and get into their next home with speed, certainty and ease.

In addition to for-sale and rental listings, Zillow Offers buys and sells homes directly in dozens of markets across the country, allowing sellers control over their timeline. Zillow Home Loans, our affiliate lender, provides our customers with an easy option to get pre-approved and secure financing for their next home purchase.

Millions of people visit Zillow Group sites every month to start their home search, and now they can rely on Zillow to help them finish it — with the same confidence, ease and empowerment they've come to expect from real estate's most trusted brand.

Zillow is owned and operated by Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z and ZG).

SOURCE Zillow

Builder confidence reaches 35-year high in September

2020-09-17T20:05:49.000+00:00

The National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose five points to 83 in September – the highest score the series has seen since its inception 35 years ago, according to a release from NAHB on Wednesday. Based on a scale from zero to 100, the index gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the coming six months.

In September, all HMI indices, including current sales conditions, sales expectations and traffic of prospective buyers, reported their highest readings ever, the release said.

Regionally, the West continued to see the greatest confidence in the three-month moving averages – jumping seven points to 85. Following suit, the South rose eight points to 79, the Northeast gained 11 points up to 76 and the Midwest increased nine to 72. Month-over-month, however, regional confidence gains slowed from the double-digit spikes August saw.

For months now HousingWire has reported evidence that an urban exodus is underway and NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz furthered that narrative on Wednesday, saying a growing number of builders throughout the country reported calls from customers in high-density markets asking about relocation.

According to Dietz, a shift toward suburbia coupled with low interest rates is keeping home builders busy. So busy in fact, that residential construction employment rose by 27,700 in August to 2.9 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

While construction employment is booming, in a release from Sept. 4, Dietz noted the lumber industry has only gained roughly half of the jobs it originally lost due to the pandemic.

“Historic traffic numbers have builders seeing positive market conditions, but many in the industry are worried about rising costs and delays for building materials, especially lumber,” said NAHB chairman Chuck Fowke. “More domestic lumber production or tariff relief is needed to avoid a slowdown in the market in the coming months.”

With growing demand for lumber, insufficient supply and 20% tariffs put in place on Canadian supply, escalating prices are putting pressure on an already volatile situation. Since mid-April, lumber prices are now up 170% – piling more than $16,000 on top of the price of a typical family home, Dietz said.

First-time homebuyer activity decreased in Q2, but there’s still plenty of buyers out there

2020-09-17T16:33:26.000+00:00

First-time homebuyer activity decreased mostly in part due to the economic effects of the pandemic, but it still remains the most active segment in the purchase space of the housing market.

During the second quarter, 539,000 single-family homes were purchased by first-time homebuyers, down 4.6% compared to last year, according to Genworth Mortgage Insurance. This represented 40% of single-family homes purchased during Q2, Genworth said.

Compared to the first quarter of this year, it is an 18% drop.

“The COVID-19 pandemic pushed the U.S. economy into the sharpest recession on record in March,” Tian Liu, Genworth’s chief economist said. “The housing market also began correcting in April, resulting in an 18% decrease in the number of first-time homebuyers in the second quarter compared to the first quarter. A quick rebound in May moderated the market decline.”

Although buyer purchasing power has increased, many may not be able to find a home that’s affordable due to high home prices as a result of low inventory.

In 35 states and Puerto Rico, there were fewer first-time homebuyers in the second quarter of 2020 than the second quarter of the prior year. In 15 states and Washington, D.C., there were actually more first-time homebuyers reported.

The report also noted that first-time homebuyers relied on smaller down payments for their mortgages.

Overall, 449,000 first-time homebuyers used some form of low down payment mortgage products to finance their home purchase in the second quarter, roughly 83% of all first-time homebuyers. That’s a record, according to Genworth.

Between April and June, Genworth researchers found that the number of rate locks by first-time homebuyers increased by 55% and no states reported negative growth.

Rate locks of over 100% between April and June happened in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Michigan.

Liu said that despite the challenge the pandemic handed first-time homebuyers, credit availability was maintained in the housing finance system, as the private mortgage insurance industry played a huge role.

“The main reasons that the housing finance system has largely maintained credit availability to date include a focus on prudent underwriting, having adequate capital in the financial system, a significant presence for the agency market that will take credit risk during periods of market stress, and continued investment in technology to make the industry capacity more elastic,” Liu said.

College-Area Rents Are Falling Behind as Schools Move Online

2020-09-17T12:07:00.000+00:00

SEATTLE, Sept. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Rent prices in college neighborhoods have fallen this summer as colleges and universities across the country have opted for remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic. The drop throughout college areas stands out even in a rental market that has softened across the board since February with rent price growth slowing and landlords offering more concessions.

Data from The Chronicle of Higher Education and Davidson College show 44% of U.S. colleges and universities are operating fully or primarily online for the Fall semester, while only 27% are offering classes fully or primarily in person. A new Zillow® analysis shows reduced demand in this largely remote environment is having a noticeable impact on rents in ZIP codes in which at least 20% of the population is college students, who make up about 8% of the U.S. rental market in a typical yearⁱ.

In these neighborhoods with a high share of college students, average rent prices were growing 4.7% year over year in February. By August, when many students would typically move back near campus, rents were down 0.5% from the year before, marking the first time since at least 2017 -- the earliest Zillow data is available -- in which college-area rents were lower than the previous year. Meanwhile, rents in ZIP codes with a lower share of college students were up 2.6% annually.

In May, the average rent was only 1% lower in college areas than non-college areas. By August, that gap had widened to 3.4% as rents continued to fall in college areas but rose elsewhere. That's the furthest college-area rents have fallen below rents elsewhere since at least 2017.

Pricier areas with a high share of college students are often seeing steeper rent declines. For example, the average rent is down 7% year over year in Boston's 02115 ZIP code that includes Northeastern University, which is made up of about 60% college students, and down 5% in the 94704 ZIP code in Berkeley, Calif., with about 70% of the population being college students.

"The softening rental market across the country is more stark in college neighborhoods as pandemic-mandated campus closures and opportunities to complete courses online have provided motivation for young people to move back home," said Zillow senior economist Cheryl Young. "With many leases ending at the end of the summer or the beginning of the fall, we can expect even greater impacts in the months ahead. The good news for rental owners is administrators seem to be itching to bring students back to campus as soon as they can do so safely, so it's possible this will be a relatively short-term shock to rent prices."

Rising unemployment and campus closures, among other factors, pushed about 2.7 million American adults to move back in with parents or grandparents last spring. Those numbers dwindled during the summer months, but there were still 2 million more 18- to 25-year-olds living at home in August than there were a year earlier, an 11% increase. The jump in the share of these college-age Americans living at home was sharpest among Black and Asian and Pacific Islander young adults. Nearly two-thirds (65.7%) of Black 18- to 25-year-olds were living at home in August, up from 56.5% last year.

With demand for rentals softening, landlords are offering discounts or other incentives as they strive to attract new tenants. Rent concessions on Zillow listings across the country are nearly twice as common as they were in February. Even small discounts or short-lived vacancies can have a big impact on landlords -- previous Zillow research has shown rental owners typically spend more than half of their rental income on fixed costs of property ownership such as mortgage payments, property taxes and insurance.

	College Areas		Non-College Areas
Month	Average Rent	Average Rent - YoY Change	Average Rent	Average Rent - YoY Change
February 2020	$1,809	4.7%	$1,825	3.3%
May 2020	$1,800	1.5%	$1,819	1.2%
August 2020	$1,787	-0.5%	$1,851	2.6%

Zillow is owned and operated by Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z and ZG).

ⁱ Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2018 American Community Survey

SOURCE Zillow

EasyKnock launches solution that lets homeowners lease back their home after selling

2020-09-15T17:40:47.000+00:00

Residential sell and lease-back company EasyKnock has added another product to its portfolio. ReLEASE provides homeowners with the option to sell their home and rent it back from EasyKnock as long as they would like, the company said.

“We’re launching this product today because Americans need options now,” EasyKnock CEO Jarred Kessler said in a statement. “Historically, financing options have been limited and lending standards have not worked in favor of the consumer. EasyKnock is here to change this with solutions that help a wider range of homeowners achieve their goals. We want homeowners to feel their financial circumstances do not have to define them.”

The product is now available for qualified homeowners in Florida, Michigan, Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Texas, and Georgia. ReLEASE is the third solution EasyKnock offers to homeowners.

Sell and Stay and MoveAbility are its other products available to homeowners. Sell and Stay offers homeowners longer-term lease options with the opportunity to buy back their home, while MoveAbility enables greater flexibility for homeowners who want to sell but are waiting for the right time to move.

EasyKnock says hassle-free options provide customers with a competitive price on their house and can close in as few as seven days.

“As the nation faces a rise in forbearance and as credit inevitably tightens, U.S. homeowners are in greater need of flexible financial solutions,” the company said in a release. “With EasyKnock, customers can use the value of their home to pay down personal debt, invest in a business, diversify retirement portfolios, make a down payment on a new home, or relocate.”

Last month, Viola FinTech added $5 million to EasyKnock’s Series B funding round, bringing it to $25 million. Kessler said this round of funding with Viola FinTech will assist consumers who have faced economic uncertainty because of the pandemic.

Poised for Growth, These Are The Dozen Mid-Sized Metros to Watch

2020-09-15T12:07:00.000+00:00

SEATTLE, Sept. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- This year has been anything but normal and, like 2020 as a whole, this summer's most in-demand housing markets are not the usual suspects.

A new Zillow® analysis shows mid-sized¹ cities like Boise, Syracuse, and Portland (ME) are now leading the country as the top markets poised for growth, replacing expensive coastal metros such as San Francisco and Seattle that have led the way in the past. Many of these markets also happen to offer home shoppers more space for their money, as the coronavirus pandemic has reshaped where and how people want to live.

The analysis weighs a variety of factors to show demand in the market, and continued opportunity for growth. Those include recent and forecasted home value growth, the share of homes sold above list price, and how quickly homes sell.

Home shopper behavior continues to evolve throughout the pandemic, but many are reconsidering their home's functionality or dreaming of more space -- factors which might drive their next move. A recent Zillow survey² found nearly one-third of Americans who could occasionally work remotely said they would consider moving in order to live in a larger home (30%), have a home with more rooms (29%), and have a home with a dedicated office space (31%).

As remote work opens up more opportunities for home ownership, many first-time buyers may seek out a starter home in a more affordable area. These are the top dozen mid-sized metros that offer more space for growing families and big-city amenities for urbanites.

1. Boise, Idaho

Population: 616,561³; typical home value: $334,965

Boise, Idaho, is an up-and-coming city drawing young professionals, families, and retirees alike. Home values are strong and continue to rise, increasing 11.8% from last year, and are expected to grow 5.6% into next year. Buyers are snatching up houses in record time here, with the typical home going under contract in as little as five days.

"Boise offers that small-town feel people crave from the movies, and has something for everyone," says Michael Edgar, owner of Michael Ryan Real Estate, who relocated to Boise in 2003 from California. "There's an abundance of outdoor activities right outside your doorstep, plenty of restaurants to choose from, and not a lack of career opportunities. Its affordability makes it a great place to raise kids, retire, or work remotely."

Boise, which was an under-the-radar hot market last year, offers both a bustling downtown, with quiet neighborhoods and access to outdoor recreation.

2. Huntsville, Ala.

Population: 417,593; typical home value: $203,242

Huntsville, known as Rocket City, is home to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. Home values have also skyrocketed, increasing 11.5% compared to last year, and home values are forecasted to increase 5% over the next year.

3. Ogden, Utah

Population: 597,159; typical home value: $344,816

Ogden offers the benefits of urban life with easy access to the outdoors. The demand in this market is strong, with 41.5% of homes selling above list price -- helping sellers who want to trade up and signaling there are buyers eager to settle in Ogden. Zillow is forecasting home values in Ogden will increase 4.6% in the next year, showing the demand for this market is here to stay.

4. Spokane, Wash.

Population: 527,753; typical home value: $293,655

Spokane has seen accelerating home value growth, increasing 9.5% from a year prior. The Spokane market is hot for sellers, with 45.1% of homes selling above list price. Competition for homes here may be attributed, in part, to the metro's vibrant downtown, trail system and growing microbrewery and winery scene.

5. York, Pa.

Population: 434,972; typical home value: $195,837

York is the oldest city on this list, dating back to 1777 as the first U.S. capital. Today, York has a suburban feel mixed with its history, and sales of these architecturally unique homes do not appear to be slowing down anytime soon. Home sales increased a whopping 75.7% from the previous month, and are 17.7% above last year's levels.

6. Colorado Springs, Colo.

Population: 645,613; typical home value: $336,927

Colorado Springs' hot housing market bumps it up the list, with home values sharply increasing and poised to continue strong growth. Home values have seen a 9.5% increase from last year, and are forecasted to grow 4.8% over the next year. Home sales are up 17.8% above last year's levels.

"If you love the outdoors and you love biking, hiking, camping and all the things that come with the Colorado lifestyle, you'll love the Springs," said Jacob Mueller, a Colorado Springs native and a Zillow Premier Agent with Atlas Real Estate. "You can get into the mountains really easily and that's very attractive. The city is also experiencing tremendous economic growth, so people can grow their careers here without having to leave for a bigger city."

7. Lancaster, Pa.

Population: 519,445; typical home value: $242,009

Homes are flying off the market in the growing city of Lancaster, and home sales continue to boom. Sales are up 78.6% from last month, with homes typically going under contract in 7 days. With its proximity to city hubs and great walkability, Lancaster offers wide open spaces, with proximity to plenty of bars and restaurants.

8. Modesto, Calif.

Population: 514,453; typical home value: $340,762

Homes in Modesto are in high demand, with 39.1% selling above the list price -- indicating buyers are competing to put down roots in this agricultural hub. Homes are only on the market for 7 days before going under contract, and home values here are forecasted to increase 4% over the next year.

9. Syracuse, N.Y.

Population: 662,577; typical home value: $154,596

Syracuse is the market to watch in upstate New York. Home values here continue to appreciate, and are 6.8% above last year's levels, and projected to increase 4% by this time next year.

"Syracuse offers a great quality of life at a reasonable cost," said R.J. Long, managing partner at Coldwell Banker Prime Properties in New York state. "It's got gorgeous hills and terrain, and proximity to the water with the Great Lakes and the Finger Lakes nearby. It offers beautiful homes, good jobs and it's accessible from anywhere in the state."

10. Visalia, Calif.

Population: 442,179; typical home value: $232,800

Visalia is a vibrant community with a small-town feel and a gateway to the outdoors. Home values continue to climb here, up 7.5% since last year. Home value growth is forecasted to continue into next year, expected to rise another 4.3%. Additionally, more than one out of every three of homes on the market sell above list price, indicating buyers are ready to settle down in this community.

11. Portland, Maine

Population: 514,098; typical home value: $334,650

"For those looking for an arts and foodie-driven lifestyle on the ocean, Portland can't be beat," says Nate Wildes, Executive Director of the nonprofit Live and Work in Maine. "Portland offers the Maine quality of life, matched with a uniquely quaint urban experience and genuine sense of place. The communities of greater-Portland are a thriving destination."

Home values in this seaport metro continue to grow, up 7.5% from last year and are expected to see 3.9% growth into next year. There are very eager buyers ready to make Portland home, with nearly 40% of homes selling above list price.

12. Lansing, Mich.

Population: 464,036; typical home value: $170,011

Rounding out the list is Michigan's capital, Lansing, where buyers are active and ready to secure their next home. Monthly sales are increasing at a rapid pace, up about 68% from the previous month, and 40% of homes are selling above the listed price.

Methodology

"Mid-Sized Markets" are metropolitan areas ranked by size between 76-125 of all U.S metros. The analysis of these metros weighted five variables equally to determine the list:

Home value growth year-over-year
Forecasted home value growth
Days a home stays on the market
Share of homes sold above list price
Month-over-month sale counts

About Zillow

Zillow, the most-visited real estate website in the U.S., is building an on-demand real estate experience. Whether selling, buying, renting or financing, customers can turn to Zillow's businesses to find and get into their next home with speed, certainty and ease.

Zillow is owned and operated by Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z and ZG).

¹ Mid-size cities are ranked by size between 75-125 of all U.S metros

² This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Zillow from May 4-6, 2020 among 2,065 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact press@zillow.com.

³ Population data are the most recent numbers from the 2010 Census

SOURCE Zillow

This missile silo-turned luxury bunker might be just what 2020 needs

2020-09-14T21:48:28.000+00:00

About a year ago, RE/MAX agent Ken Flaspohler took on what he said is the most exciting luxury listing he’s ever had. Hidden somewhere in rural Kansas and nestled 15 stories below the ground, the listing consists of condos constructed in a repurposed Atlas missile silo.

The exact location wasn’t shared with HousingWire, or even posted on the listing site, but Flaspohler said keeping the location information low key is what comes with the territory.

The site’s developer, Larry Hall, purchased the silo in 2008, then remodeled it into the survival bunker it is now. Surrounded by concrete walls that are nine feet thick, Flaspohler said the over 20,000-square-foot space consists of individual condos with their own kitchenette and bathrooms.

What was once used by the U.S. Air Force for missile storage has been transformed into a luxury, secluded living experience.

“People say this looks like it’s out of the Jetsons,” Flaspohler said.

According to the listing site: “Survival Condos run from $1.5 mil to $4.5 mil and most banks will not finance. You must be liquid to become an owner.”

Other features in the silo include a library, his and hers workout rooms and steam rooms, a bar, an inground swimming pool, a hospital and dental room, a dog park and a media room.

Flaspohler, a RE/MAX agent based in Kansas City, has been in real estate since 1986. He said this listing is like nothing he has ever taken on before. Taking shelter in place to a whole new level, residents can survive in the missile silos for up to five years, if needed.

“This is not your typical second home to have,” Flaspohler said. “[It’s] in case you feel like there could be something, like maybe a little bit of what we’re going through now, a pandemic or a world event that might require maybe a little extra caution and safety.”

Running water is connected to underground wells that run through the silo’s treatment plant, and there are wind turbines and diesel generators that create power.

The silo also has its own aquaponic system, where the community can grow its own vegetables.

Since the pandemic hit., Flaspohler said that there has been a lot of interest in the listing, bringing people from all over the country to take a tour.

“At the beginning of COVID, people weren’t quite sure what was going to happen…and I don’t think it got as bad as maybe people might have thought at the beginning of COVID, so it seems [interest] kind of tapered off a little bit. And then I don’t know why now, [interest] picked up here in the last month,” Flaspohler said.

As for how this compares to other listings he’s had, Flaspohler said this one is basically similar to a condo in Kansas City, but has a higher quality of “extras” and prices.

“I’ve been doing this since 1986, and certainly sold houses, farms, land, a couple of buildings,” Flaspohler said. “This was just such a unique property. I knew I was going to enjoy working on because it’s such a unique property.”

Zillow and Redfin among companies vowing to add Black board members

2020-09-11T19:32:39.000+00:00

Zillow and Redfin are among the companies that are signing on to The Board Challenge, a pledge to add a Black member to their board of directors within one year.

Rolled out this week, the Board Challenge is part of a movement to increase diversity and inclusion since the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis in May.

“The perspectives and ideas we listen to, and the voices we elevate, will determine the future of our industries, our companies, and ultimately our world,” Zillow Cofounder and CEO Rich Barton said in a statement. “It’s obvious that Black people are underrepresented in corporate boardrooms and other positions of leadership and power. It is something we don’t talk about enough.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, data from Boardlist shows about 66% of Fortune 500 company board members are white men and 18% are white women; 9% are Black men and women.

PwC’s 2019 Annual Corporate Directors Survey reports that 94% of directors agree that board diversity brings unique perspectives to the boardroom, while 87% thinking board diversity enhances board performance and 76% say it enhances company performance.

In a LinkedIn post, Barton said that Zillow has been sharing its workforce diversity and pay equity data since 2016, to “hold ourselves accountable to do better for our own team members.”

Zillow has had a spot open on its board since former CEO Spencer Rascoff stepped down in April, a spot Barton said he is actively looking to fill.

“The search for a Black director is already well underway at Zillow, and we’re very excited about the talented candidates we’ve been able to talk to,” Barton said.

Also listed as a supporter of the Board Challenge, Redfin’s CEO Glenn Kelman has been vocal about Redfin’s effort to add diversity to staff as well as anti-discriminatory practices.

“We just recruited a new director to our board, which was just another reminder of how many fantastic candidates of color there are for roles at the most senior levels,” Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman said in a statement to HousingWire.

“Diversity is crucial to one of a board’s foundational responsibilities, to ensure the company is fairly run,” Kelman said. “This fairness depends not just on our board’s decision-making, but also on employees’ confidence in that decision-making. No matter how hard we try to be an open company, it can be daunting for any employee to escalate a problem to the board, but especially for an employee of color who doesn’t see a director with the life experiences to process that problem.”

Other supporters of the Board Challenge include United Airlines, Sonos and Uber, to name a few.

How agents are winning bidding wars in America’s most competitive markets

2020-09-09T22:13:52.000+00:00

In the ultra-competitive Westchester market, the odds were stacked against Heather Harrison and her client. A stately suburban home that was listed on Tuesday already had 30 showings lined up for that upcoming Saturday.

“I put in a full price offer at $1.275 million, that was the asking price,” Harrison said. “The client went to highest and best on Monday at 5 p.m., and I counseled my client to bid accordingly, waive his mortgage contingency, then we bid $1.45 million and we got it.”

With the suburbs seeing record volume, agents and brokers like Harrison, who runs Compass’ operations in Westchester alongside her husband Zach, are counseling their clients on how to prevail in a fierce bidding war.

According to Redfin, offers on single-family homes in August were most likely to be involved in a bidding war, at 56.6% of offers, followed by townhomes at 54.7% and condos at 41.3% – 54.5% of offers overall engaged in bidding wars.

Time waits for no buyer in the suburbs

With record-low interest rates, paltry inventory and a surge in buyers, agents are advising clients to be extraordinarily aggressive to win.

“You’ve got to really advise your clients appropriately, quickly and make sure that they know there’s not even a week to come see the property – you’ve got to go,” Harrison said. “The property comes on within 24 hours, and if it meets your buyers criteria you want to get them out to see it.”

When it comes to counseling a client through a bidding war, education is paramount, Harrison said. Prospective buyers need to be armed with as much data as possible about the market they’re targeting. Another critical element, according to agents, is not to make the deals contingent upon things like inspections and not to “nickel and dime” the client. That will set the prospective buyer apart, Harrison said.

“I’ve also been encouraging them to write kind of like a love letter so to speak to the sellers, so they’re not just like an offer on a piece of paper, they’re giving a little color about themselves, why they’re moving, why they like their house, and giving a picture of them so that the sellers can feel good about who they’re selling to and it’s not just about the numbers,” Harrison said.

To win, waive those contingencies goodbye

Susan Hamblen, broker and owner of Long Island-based EXIT Realty Achieve, said that her agents are slammed with business, and homes that are “priced right” are getting offers within the first 24 hours.

“Homes are going $40,000 to $60,000 over ask, easily,” Hamblen said, attributing the bidding wars partly to the influx of buyers from New York City. “We have about two months of inventory and the buyer demand is just crazy.”

Eugene Cordano, vice president and director of sales at Halstead in New Jersey, said that in his market, bidding wars have triggered offers between 15% and 20% over asking, across all home prices.

To that tune, Cordano agreed with Harrison that it’s important to stick out in a bidding war.

“The old axioms of real estate do not change,” Cordano said. “But the highest bid does not always prevail.”

The influx of buyers from New York City to New Jersey at the beginning of April through June meant that there was more money to spend on homes.

“For our seller-clients, we were counseling them on how the buyers waive appraisals or waive mortgage contingencies,” Cordano said. “With the influx of New York City buyers bidding these houses up, oftentimes waiving the financing/mortgage/appraisal contingencies was not a difficult thing to ask for and most of them did that.”

When it comes to buyers, it’s a different story.

“If the buyer really wanted that home, it was often, “How do we structure this offer to make sure that it stands out and wins the day?’” Cordano said. “That’s not a scientific process. Sometimes that is something that’s very emotionally driven, or driven to the point where the buyer really wants it and is just willing to pay and will offer, either in price or in terms, something that will win the day versus all the other buyers that were there.”

Spreading out in the hottest market will cost you

Vickie Mox, an agent with RE/MAX Dallas Suburbs, covers the Collin County area, north of Dallas. She said the surrounding towns are busiest right now.

The Dallas suburbs of Frisco and Plano are the hottest because they have low rates of inventory and are priced to sell, spurring bidding wars, Mox said.

“Houses that are more unique with large lots and that have been totally updated [sell quicker], and there’s nothing for the buyer to do but move in,” Mox said. “[That listing] could conceivably have 10 offers, and that’s usually between the price range $250,000 to $400,000.”

Once you get over $400,000 there are fewer buyers and there’s less demand for the property, according to Mox.

“But a $500,000 house could have multiple offers if it has everything the buyers are looking for which is being updated to a large yard or a three-car garage, in the right neighborhood and right school district,” she said.

In Colorado Springs, which Redfin said recently has the No. 1 hottest ZIP code right now, there could be at least three to five offers on a home in the first 48 to 72 hours of being listed, according to Keller Williams Associate Broker Scott Sanchez.

“The typical thing here in the Springs has been a $10,000-plus minimum to go over list price,” Sanchez told HousingWire.

“Maybe two years ago it was kind of common for five grand over, maybe $10,000 tops,” Sanchez said. “Last year, you start getting into the $10,000 to $15,000 range and this year it’s been $20,000 on the good homes that are well marketed and even if they’re priced up, they still will get 20 grand over.”

Bidding wars aren’t necessarily uncommon for Peck Barham, a real estate agent at TeamBarham, Keller Williams Homewood outside Birmingham, Alabama, but not at this rate.

“We haven’t seen [bidding] quite like this,” Barham said. “I think in August something like 600 homes went under contract in a three-week period, which for Birmingham is a lot. That’s a lot of homes going real fast.”

Coronavirus: State officials found COVID-19 spread throughout Holyoke Soldiers' Home in 1st inspection - MassLive.com

2020-04-20T21:17:49.000+00:00

HOLYOKE — When a new clinical team came into the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke on March 30 after hearing at least eight residents had died of COVID-19 in less than a week, they found the coronavirus had already spread throughout the building.

In addition, many staff had called in sick with the disease and units had been combined, creating a perfect storm to spread the virus even further among the residents, who are mostly elderly and infirm and vulnerable to the disease.

As of Thursday, at least 44 veterans have died and another 86 are infected. A total of 46 veterans now test negative for coronavirus, said Val Liptak, a registered nurse and CEO of Western Massachusetts Hospital in Westfield, who has taken over as the superintendent.

Liptak and others shared details of the response Thursday during a meeting of the Soldiers’ Home board of trustees. The meeting, trustees’ first since the crisis began, was conducted by telephone.

After hearing that so many people had died of the virus from union officials and Mayor Alex B. Morse on March 29, officials for the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services sent a team to evaluate the problems the next day. By late morning they had placed Superintendent Bennett Walsh on paid administrative leave and asked Liptak to take over.

The state also formed a clinical command team, headed by Lisa Colombo, a registered nurse the executive vice chancellor for Commonwealth Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. The included a variety of experts in areas such as infection control, logistics, finance and operations. The Massachusetts National Guard also deployed 160 members who had medical, operations and logistics backgrounds to assist, said Daniel Tsai, deputy secretary for Health and Human Services.

“There were COVID patients throughout the home,” Colombo said, describing what officials found when they arrived March 30.

Many residents were infected in one unit that she called “very hot” because of the number of people suffering from COVID-19. The majority of remaining units had veterans who had tested positive or showed symptoms of the disease, and there were two units where residents were not presumed to be infected but had been exposed to the virus, Colombo said.

“The home has 10 inpatient units, and because there had been a significant number of people out of work they were down to 40 people in a staff that was already small,” Colombo said. “They had consolidated it down to seven units and that resulted in overcrowding.”

The first thing the clinical command team did is have all staff and residents tested for COVID-19 and started moving residents to different units to try to prevent more people from being infected. Those who were confirmed positive were separated from those who tested negative. Residents who tested negative but were known to have contact with anyone who was positive were also separated, Liptak said.

“Residents who are negative are continually tested and moved if they test positive,” Liptak said. “Unfortunately we are seeing new patients arrive and sadly more deaths.”

By the end of the week officials also contacted the head of Holyoke Medical Center, who offered his assistance. In less than a day, staff prepared a unit for 44 residents who were believed to be negative and not directly exposed to the virus. Fifteen of those residents have since tested positive and three have died, she said.

Tsai said he especially appreciates how quickly Holyoke Medical Center staff reacted, saying they started preparing the unit within 90 minutes after he called, and praised the ongoing care they have provided to those veterans.

“The primary focus is to stabilize the home and patient and staff safety,” he said.

Staff-to-resident ratios now meet national standards, all staff have received extra education on infection control and additional housecleaning staff has been hired, Liptak said.

Major changes have been made in the home including closing communal spaces, changing food service, adding treatment carts and even increasing the number of trash cans. Officials have also cleaned out one area of the home to prepare for the return of some veterans now in the hospital, she said.

Multiple social workers and caseworkers have been added through different agencies to assist in helping the veterans contact families and ensure the residents and families receive services they need, she said.

“We are still managing through this crisis and we are not yet in the clear,” Liptak said.

The seven trustees asked questions about staffing and long-term plans for the home.

“We want to thank you for your valiant efforts to lead us through this difficult hour,” said Kevin Jourdain, chairman of the board.

Trustees also asked about the well-being of the staff, 81 of whom have tested positive and many of whom have to deal with the day-to-day impact of the pandemic.

Colombo said the clinical team is following federal protocols for making sure they are not ill when they come to work and that infected employees have fully recovered before they return to work.

“The emotional health of the staff have been a primary focus for us. You can imagine how difficult this has been for them,” she said. “We go and talk to staff, they have a very deep and ongoing connection with the residents.”

The trustees did not discuss the employment status of Walsh. They were originally scheduled to meet on Saturday and hold a hearing in closed session, presumably to discuss firing him.

That meeting was canceled after a Hampden Superior Court judge granted a temporary restraining order after Walsh’s lawyer and uncle, former Hampden District Attorney William Bennett, filed a complaint for injunctive relief.

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Do you recommend getting a home inspection?

2020-04-20T09:34:50.000+00:00

Do you recommend getting a home inspection? That’s the question for today. My overwhelming, resounding, shout it from the rooftops answer is YES!!! Without a shadow of a doubt, you should 100% get a home inspection on the house you intend on buying.

Why do you recommend getting a home inspection?

Gather round for a quick story! We once had a client who was buying a house that was allegedly fully renovated. ALLEGEDLY. It looked ok on the surface, but the home inspection told us a completely different story. The house was advertised as having a new roof, a new foundation, and all new plumbing. Wanna guess what it didn’t have?! NONE OF THOSE THINGS. NONE. The seller of the house had previously paid a contractor to complete the “renovation”. To make a long story short – the contractor took the money, did a half-ass job, and disappeared. Without our client paying for a home inspection, these issues would not have been discovered until it was too late. Crisis averted.

Want another reason we recommend a home inspection?

Another client of ours made an offer on a house that was also “fully renovated.” It looked ok, but something seemed off to us. We just weren’t completely sold on this house. When the home inspector arrived, he informed us that the house was actually a mobile home. The seller of the house was a house flipper and was trying to hide this fact from us. YEP. That happened. We canceled the sale and moved on.

Are there any other inspections you recommend?

Yes, there are two other inspections we recommend. You should get a video pipe and termite inspection as well. A video pipe inspection will determine if you have any breaks, cracks, or leaks in your sewage lines. The termite or the wood-destroying insect inspection looks for bugs that like to eat… you guessed it… wood. We have seen termites in homes that were just built a month ago. We have seen termites in homes that have termite contracts. This inspection is very important. As your real estate agents, we think the video pipe inspection is critical. Countless times we have seen busted sewage lines that the homeowner had no clue about. This one inspection can save you thousands of dollars.

What if I don’t want a home inspection?

We really don’t advise you to skip home inspections. Another bad idea is having your friend’s uncle who is a contractor on the weekends to perform your home inspection either. If you opt-out of home inspections, we will have you sign a document stating that you are doing so against our recommendation.

Who should I use for home inspections?

Don’t worry – we have recommendations! You are always free to choose whomever you’d like. But, since we have sat through over 100 of these, we can tell you who we love and who we don’t think does the very best job. If you’re wondering what happens after inspections – that’s we ask for repairs or a possible price reduction. Everything is dependant on the property inspection report. TL;DR : Yes, we recommend getting a home inspection. Check out the top 5 problems we find during home inspections. Ready to buy your New Orleans home? Text or email us!

Extra Costs of Home Buying

Tips For Hiring a Home Inspection Service

2020-04-20T06:03:02.000+00:00

Tips For Hiring a Home Inspection Service
a resolution that is acceptable to both the inspector and the property owner freePRnow.com, 4/19/2020 - This article gives you tips for obtaining Home Inspection Service Woodlands TX a Home Inspection Service in your area. The information below may help you avoid costly mistakes while selecting a professional that you can trust.

A common mistake is hiring an unqualified person who will charge you exorbitant fees. It is very important to ensure that the person performing the inspection is qualified. You should make sure the inspection firm has been in business for at least two years. You should also ask for references from people who have been previously worked with the company.

Find out the cost of any service you are planning to get from a Home Inspection Service. You should expect to pay as much as $500 per hour or more. The price depends on the number of hours the professional will work for you.

Make sure you know what your overall scope of service is. You should have an accurate understanding of your responsibility as a property owner and what you can and cannot do to resolve potential problems with your home.

The inspector checks out the conditions of the property as well as the exterior and interior of the house, which include the roof, windows, doors, floors, insulation, plumbing, electrical wiring, and heating and cooling systems. You should be aware that the quality of these items may be directly related to the condition of the materials of the building.

Once the inspector has completed their inspection of the house, they will write up a report of their findings. This report will give you an idea of what needs to be fixed and what needs to be repaired.

When you receive the inspector's report, be sure to review it to see if it addresses any issues that you are having with your house. If you believe you do not need to do anything, be sure to inform the inspector that you were not satisfied with their inspection and tell them why.

At this point, the inspector is going to contact the company to let them know what they found and the recommendations for further action. The next step is for the inspector to start fixing the problem, if it is a problem. If the problem is minor, the inspector will tell you and the company what to do to fix the problem.

Some issues that will be handled by the inspector themselves include: carpet replacement, caulking, paint, insulation, mold, insulation, leaking roofs, water damage, painting, painting problems, and siding repairs. There may be other issues that need to be addressed and they will notify you so you know what needs to be done.

You need to ask the inspector and the company what the "average" time for completion of an inspection is. This is often the maximum amount of time the inspector recommends before they close their file and send it to the company. They may tell you the average time is three months.

The inspector and the company will then determine if the issue has been resolved and if so, how much time will be needed to get the issue fixed. They will work together to come up with a resolution that is acceptable to both the inspector and the property owner.

By following these tips, you can ensure that you get the best Home Inspection Service in your area. The best services provide impartial and professional home inspections, thorough repairs, and prompt service.

Woman charged after allegedly pointing gun at home inspector - Las Cruces Sun-News

2020-04-16T06:55:31.000+00:00

Bethany Freudenthal, Las Cruces Sun-News Published 3:12 p.m. MT April 8, 2020

LAS CRUCES - A Las Cruces woman was arrested Monday after she allegedly pointed a gun at a home inspector who was early for an appointment and waiting in his vehicle near a vacant lot.

Michelle Brady, 51 of Las Cruces, is charged with one count aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a felony, and is currently being held without bond at the Doña Ana County Detention Center, according to jail records.

According to court documents, the inspector got to a home in the 1100 block of Castile Court at 12:54 p.m. The inspector was early, so he parked his vehicle near the empty lot and began looking at his phone.

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The inspector told police that Brady exited her home along with a dog, and approached him. She was holding a pink handgun close to her chest, the inspector said.

After the inspector told Brady why he was there, she walked back toward the house, with the gun at her side, court documents state.

The inspector called 911 and police later found a black and pink Taurus firearm with a fully loaded magazine and a bullet in the chamber in Brady's dresser.

Brady told authorities that a fight had broken out in the vacant lot two weeks ago and she was frightened when she saw the vehicle outside. She also told police she made a mistake when she pointed the gun at the inspector, court documents state.

According to New Mexico statute, homeowners have the authority to protect their property, but only if they are threatened by a suspected perpetrator.

Bethany Freudenthal can be reached at bfreudenthal@lcsun-news.com, 575-541-5449 or @b ethanyfreuden1 on Twitter.

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How to Handle Home inspection Hurdles Brought on By Coronavirus

2020-04-16T00:36:35.000+00:00

As coronavirus complicates the real estate business in many ways, home inspections are one step that may be putting a monkey wrench in your transactions. Here’s the trouble: Sellers are naturally uncertain about allowing anyone — inspectors included — inside their homes. Furthermore, stay-at-home orders can make it difficult, if not impossible, to meet contractual obligations related to home inspections and repairs on a certain timeline. And the choice to ignore these orders can result in fines, delays, stressed-out clients, and more. The landscape is rapidly changing with coronavirus, and one thing that’s for sure is that nearly everyone must adapt. This includes how to approach home inspections, especially since they are traditionally the most common contract contingency. In this article, we ask three experienced agents to give tips on how to handle home inspections during coronavirus, in a way that benefits everyone involved. Source: (Kaleidico / Unsplash)

Get familiar with local ordinances related to coronavirus

The first consideration is awareness of your specific state’s stay-at-home-order (or lack thereof). These orders constantly change from day-to-day. For example, New York put a stop on real estate amidst COVID-19, only to reclassify it as an essential business on April 2, 2020. Real estate is an essential business in some states but not in others. It becomes more complex when some metro areas consider real estate essential but other metros in the same state do not. Jason Huerkamp, a top agent in Minneapolis, gives his insight on how to stay on top of local orders: “I would rely heavily on your broker, your local board, and in addition to that, your local health department.” Furthermore, each state’s government website has information regarding essential businesses. You might find this in the form of a press release or a set of listed criteria. It differs from state to state. Consequences of noncompliance also vary from state to state. For example, in Pennsylvania, businesses that refuse to cease operation can:

Face fines
License suspension
Citations
Forfeit ability to receive disaster relief
Termination of state loans
Termination of grant funding

If real estate is non-essential in your area, home inspections may come to a halt along with it. Home inspections may also be classified under a different category — such as “Public Works” — so you may need to check multiple sets of rules. If you can carry on with real estate business, including inspections, in your area, the next consideration is social distancing for home inspections, which is essential to all parties involved.

Home inspection precautions and minimizing contact

Home inspections take an average of 2 to 3 hours. Under normal circumstances, agents may encourage the buyer to be present — but not during a home inspection amid coronavirus. “In Minnesota, you would see the buyers [at the inspection], the inspector, and the buyers might bring mom and dad at the very end, or for the whole inspection which is 3 hours,” says Huerkamp. “99% of the time you are hiring a professional to do the inspection. Let that inspector go by themselves and do the inspection, then give you a report on the house and areas that are of concern.” For buyers who feel they must be present at the inspection, Heurkamp gives the following advice: “It’s no different than taking your car to get inspected at your local mechanic. You typically aren’t going with the mechanic and looking at all of the issues. Home inspectors take detailed photos of issues, so there is really no reason that the buyer needs to be at the inspection due to the circumstances.” Troy Walseth and Wendy Lockhart, top agents and business partners serving Seminole, Florida and the Gulf Beaches, weigh in on how they handle home inspections during coronavirus: “Inspectors ask if the sellers or agents are going to be there because they would like to walk through on their own,” says Walseth. “We aren’t shaking hands, we keep our distance, but it’s necessary to keep the ball moving forward.” Walseth currently goes to home inspections since they are still allowed in his area and he wants to represent his clients. However, he abides by the CDC’s social distancing recommendations. “I unlock everything, turn the lights on, introduce myself from 6 feet away, and say I am going to be on the patio if you have any questions,” says Walseth. “We definitely stay out of the way.” Source: (Jason Jarrach / Unsplash)

How to communicate with buyers, sellers, and inspectors about COVID-19

Sellers might feel nervous to allow an inspector to enter their home, especially since extended family should even stay away. There are several steps and precautions to take to protect the health of buyers and sellers and provide peace of mind. If your client is a buyer:

Ensure that the client understands why they cannot attend the home inspection. Social distancing laws mandated by each state may only allow the inspector in the home, or perhaps the inspector and the agent. It’s for the protection and safety of the buyer to not be present during the inspection.
Assure the client that any and all findings are documented by the inspector. Inspectors take detailed photos and write reports of their findings, so they will know exactly what happens during the process.
If the inspector is willing, perhaps arrange a FaceTime call or phone call where the buyers can ask questions after the inspection is finished.

If your client is a seller:

Explain to the seller that you will not be attending the inspection unless it’s an absolute must. Agents may sit in their car for the period of the inspection or somewhere outside if the weather is nice.
Have the client consider the rules they want to provide for the inspector. They can request for the inspector to wear masks or full gear when entering the home.
Have the seller plan to leave the premises while the inspector works. The process takes two-to-three hours, so perhaps encourage the seller to get some fresh air for a while. They can also tend to some yard work as long as they give the inspector plenty of space.

When you communicate with the inspector:

Ask the inspector in advance on how they plan to prepare to inspect the home in light of COVID-19, including additional precautions. Ideally, they should bring their own protective gear and hand sanitizer. They should also mention the importance of social distancing and request how many people they want in the home, or if they want the agent present.
Allow only the inspector to enter the home with the homeowner keeping at least 6’ distance if they are home.
If non-essential people are present during the inspection, the inspector may reschedule. The sellers may have to vacate the premises during the inspection entirely.
Ask the inspector to wash their hands, especially after the inspection of the kitchen and each bathroom.
Prepare to supply the inspector with hand soap and water, as well as hand sanitizer or Clorox wipes if you are able. Many inspectors might bring their own, especially if they undergo certification such as InterNACHI’s COVID-19 Safety Guidelines for Home Inspectors and Contractors.
Prepare to wipe off doorknobs and other high-touch areas with sanitizing wipes. Ask the inspector to do this as he or she leaves from room to room.
Home inspectors may wear masks (during non-COVID times) to crawl into attic spaces. They may have N-95 masks on hand to keep out attic dust, but they are also ideal for use during the coronavirus outbreak. The inspector may opt to wear the mask during the entire inspection, as an N-95 mask is most effective for capturing droplets that may contain coronavirus.
Require the inspector to wear crawl space gear in the house. This is an entire suit with a mask.

While these approaches can help bring peace of mind to all parties, what happens if the home inspection isn’t allowed at all? With this unique and uncertain situation, our three agents weigh in on possible solutions.

Workarounds to postponed home inspections

On a case-by-case basis, delays in home inspections won’t necessarily become deal-breakers. Some creative thinking can go a long way along with contract extension options. “Should we start having the sellers do their own pre-inspection?” suggests Lockhart. “Maybe the seller is the one that calls in, or maybe we just have major systems inspected like the AC, can we get just the roof looked at, and do those types of things. I guess that would depend on the detail of the regulation.” “A couple of other factors play into this,” Walseth adds. “In Florida, you have to get what’s called the 4-point inspection. If you don’t, you can’t get insurance. So passing the 4-point is what allows you to have insurance, and without insurance, you can’t get a loan.” Walseth notes it will be difficult to forego the inspection entirely, as many buyers view it as a highly important part of the process.

How can pre-listing inspections help prevent coronavirus roadblocks?

A pre-listing inspection can help speed up the process of selling a home, especially if the home is on the older side. The pre-listing inspection can help in the following ways:

It can give buyers peace of mind that the seller wants the home in good condition.
It allows the seller to make the buyer aware of potential problems before they go under contract.
It will allow sellers to make repairs or replacements that are within their control during the coronavirus outbreak.
It can help the seller and agent create a game plan in advance if there are problems with the home.

Know that the buyer’s inspector may always find something different than the original inspector. However, the idea is that a pre-inspection can keep you a step ahead during the coronavirus outbreak. Source: (Kelly Sikkema / Unsplash)

Add a coronavirus addendum to the contract

During a typical home inspection, a buyer may request the seller to make repairs before they agree to purchase the home within a certain time frame, such as 30 or 60 days. However, a coronavirus addendum tacked on to the contract can add some flexibility around the transaction in general, including the home inspection itself and any repair requests that may follow, during these uncertain times. Specific addenda may consider the inability for the seller to access services from other persons or entities in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. This may apply to hiring an inspector as well as professional contractors who’d be called on to make repairs. Note that some repairs and replacements may still be feasible to complete. For example, window and roofing companies across the country are offering no-contact estimates during COVID-19. If the repair is not possible, the seller may consider reducing the price of the home to offset the cost and the buyer can repair it later. They may also add a clause stating a future date for repairs with the understanding that an extension can be made if both parties agree. Even with an addendum in place, there is no guarantee that the deal will still close. “It’s a case by case basis, depending on what [the buyers’ and sellers’] needs are,” says Walseth. “Also, how good the offer is, probably,” says Lockart. “If you’ve got a really, really good price for it and the buyers are solid, you might want to give them 30 or 60 days. If you need to sell it sooner, you wouldn’t accept [an extension].” Just like everything else with COVID-19, we must take home inspections a day at a time and be flexible with each situation. What works one day may not work the next. Keep an open mind with options on the table for your clients, and prepare for the possibility to change plans at a moment’s notice. Header Image Source; (MBLifestyle / Shutterstock)

Podcast: When the seller attends the home inspection

2020-02-28T22:26:04.000+00:00

Tessa starts off the podcast by talking about a recent “memorable” home inspection. A less-than-helpful seller decided to stay home for the inspection because nobody told her that she was supposed to leave, and the situation got extremely awkward. To make things much worse, the seller’s agent showed up to the inspection and tried to get in the middle of the whole process. Next, we talk about what can be done to help prevent these types of situations, giving advice to home sellers, buyers, and real estate agents. We also talk about different variables that will affect the length of the inspection, and ways for homebuyers to get the most out of their home inspection by showing up at the right time. Reuben also tells a story about how he almost ran a dishwasher with the seller’s laptops hidden inside of it, and they discuss whether or not real estate agents should attend the home inspection. The podcast ends discussing Continuing Education classes offered by Structure Tech to real estate agents. TRANSCRIPTION The following is a transcription from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it may be slightly incomplete or contain minor inaccuracies due to inaudible passages or transcription errors. Reuben Saltzman: A lot of people have no idea of what a home inspection is, how long it takes, what it consists of, who is going to be at their house, treat this like a really long showing. Assume that the home inspector is gonna be there for several hours. The buyers are gonna be there. Their parents might come along and clean up your house just the way you would on any other showing. Bill Oelrich: Welcome, everybody, to Structure Talk, a Structure Tech presentation. I’m Bill Oelrich, alongside our co-host, Tessa Murry, and Reuben Saltzman. And on today’s episode we were gonna talk a little bit about the inspection process and not so much exactly what we do, more about managing the whole process. Who’s involved, how long it takes? This whole thing is a pretty emotional event. It’s emotional for the buyers. There’s a ton of pressure on them at this point. This is a fulcrum in the process. The sellers, they’re worried that something’s gonna go wrong and they always wanna know what did you find. And of course, we’ve got the agents and all of the complexities that are involved with we’re trying to manage the deal. And so today Reuben, Tessa, I just wanna get some feedback from you about this process, how we can make it go better from our perspective and ideally what would you like to see? So let’s start with you, Tessa. I know you had an interesting inspection last week, can you just fill us in about what happened and why it might not have been ideal? Tessa Murry: I’ve got stories about how inspections have just problems, issues that happen that could have been avoided if these agents would have maybe listened to some of these nuggets that we’re about to share. Right, Reuben? Reuben: Oh my goodness. Well, there’s a whole class that we teach on this, and it’s all about making the inspection process go smoother. That’s the title of the class, hassle-free. Tessa: Hassle-free. Reuben: Thank you, hassle-free home inspections. Tessa: Yes. Reuben: And this class was just developed out of all the problems that we see with the home inspection process. And, well, I should back up a step. When I said this class, I’m talking about a CE class for real estate agents. There’s five different classes that Tessa and I teach, ranging from four hours down to one hour. Am I saying it right? Hassle-free home… Tessa: Yeah, hassle-free home inspection. Reuben: Yeah, hassle-free. That’s a two-hour class we teach. And we just thought it would to be fun to take a couple of nuggets out of that class and do a podcast on it. Bill: Yeah, and for everybody out there listening: If you’re not a real estate agent CE classes, what does that mean? Well, through Commerce, Minnesota Department of Commerce, real estate agents have to take a certain amount of continuing ed classes each year, and they can get these classes from a variety of sources, but Reuben has developed four or five different classes here that they can attend and get credit for, good for their continuing ed that Commerce requires. Reuben: That’s right, yeah. And we teach those for free, and we teach them that real estate offices all over the Twin Cities. All that we require is a room and the AV equipment and at least a dozen people in attendance. Bill: And Tessa, you had mentioned that if the agents, if they had a chance to hear this class, they might be able to help manage a very emotional situation a little better. I think most agents do a really good job of this, and it’s just sometimes there’s bigger gaps in between their deals. But you’ve seen this a thousand times. There’s just such high emotion. What happened last week? Because this is a really good story and this is an oddball story. It doesn’t happen all the time, but this is how bad it can get. Tessa: Yeah, thank goodness, it doesn’t happen all the time. I don’t know if I could handle being a home inspector, but I show up at the house and the homeowner is still there, the seller’s still there and it is time for the inspection. So of course, ring the door bell. She answered the door, and she’s very friendly, she’s like, “Oh, come on in.” And we all know how that goes, right? And I know that the buyers are gonna show up any minute. And so I ask her, I said, “Oh, were you planning on leaving for the home inspection here?” She’s like, “Oh no, no, I work from home, I’m gonna stay home.” So then that leads me into explaining to her, “Well, this home inspection, it’s gonna take about three to four hours and the buyers are gonna be showing up here any minute, with me to go through this house from top to bottom and look at everything and talk about everything that we might find.” You can just see her face just drop like shock, like her mouth opens a little bit like what? Reuben: ‘Cause nobody told her. Tessa: No one told her. It’s what she said. And she decided still though, that she wanted to stay there because she had an office and she was working from her home. I said, “Okay that’s fine. We can’t make the seller leave.” Bill: It’s their house after all. Tessa: It’s their house after all. So I am going through the house with someone who is there shadowing our company, another potential inspector. We’re down in the basement getting our quick pictures of mechanical systems and everything just like we do at the beginning. And I hear people talking upstairs and I’m like, “Oh shoot, the buyers are here.” And I come up the stairs. And I see the buyers standing in the front entry holding their coffee, kinda looking… They just got this shocked look… Bill: Confused. Tessa: And confused look on their face because the seller is there [chuckle] and she’s talking to them, right? And it’s just this really big awkward moment. Reuben: Super awkward. Tessa: Super awkward, right? And so I’m like “Oh hey guys, I’m your inspector. Let’s just take a step outside real quick.” And so we step outside and I explain to them the situation. “I’m so sorry, the seller is gonna stay here.” And they’ve never bought a house before so they have no idea what the process is. Reuben: Rolling my eyes. Tessa: Oh man, yeah, she… Reuben: It doesn’t show up in the podcast. Tessa: So the buyers were anxious and nervous about that. And I said, “You know, I’m still gonna go through the inspection like I would… We’ll talk about things but I’ll make sure that we’re not having those discussions right in front of the seller.” But they were still not happy about that. They wanted time in the house alone with me. So we can talk about things freely and not have a seller listening nearby. So they call their agent and their agent came over about 30 minutes later and their agent was just so upset that the seller was still there, and why didn’t the listing agent tell her, right? So she gets on the phone and calls a listing agent like three or four times. He doesn’t answer. Maybe about an hour later, we’re inside the house. And I think the listing agent at that point had listened to his voice mail and knew that the buyers were very upset and the agent was upset. And so the seller comes out of her back office and she’s kind of… You can tell she’s kinda scrambling, she’s a little bit upset and she’s like, “Well, I’m getting out of here. How long is this gonna take?” And I’m like, “Well, we’re scheduled to be here,” yeah… Reuben: “An hour into the three-hour process”, I thought here. Tessa: Yes. She’s mad at me. And I’m like, “Well we’re gonna be here for another couple hours,” and I said, “I can text you when we’re done so you know.” I said, “But we’re scheduled to be here from 8:00 to noon,” and she’s like, “Okay.” So, she left, and at that point, then the seller’s agent tells the buyer’s agent, “Hey, I’m coming over.” I don’t know why. And the buyer’s agent is there and she’s like, “Why? No, he doesn’t need to come here. Why is he coming here?” So, next thing we know, he shows up and he’s at the house. And now we’re down in the basement. We’ve finished the entire exterior and interior. We’re down in the basement and he starts asking what I found and what are the problems. Bill: In front of the buyers? Tessa: No, they were in the other room, and so was the agent. And so, he’s got me isolated and he wants to know what’s going on, and he’s very aggressive, pushy. And I said, “I can’t tell you those things,” I said, “But you can talk to Cathy, who’s right here, and she can tell you what, anything that she wants to share with you.” And I could see he was just really upset and I was like, “I can tell you though, that there’s nothing that’s an immediate safety hazard that I would notify the seller about.” Reuben: Good. That’s good. Tessa: We didn’t find any gas leaks. We didn’t find anything that’s gonna blow up the house or super dangerous, and just to put him at ease. Settle him down a little bit. So we’re going through that process. And also too, we have Joe from Drain Busters there, trying to find the sewer clean-out in the basement, which has been finished over. So, we’ve got both buyers, the buyer’s agent, me, the guy shadowing, Joe from Drain Busters, and the seller’s agent, all standing in this tiny little basement and it’s just terrible. And we get outside. And the seller’s agent [chuckle] was like, “Well, she told me that you guys didn’t find anything. There’s no problems there, there’s no problems, so that’s great.” And then the buyers were like, “Wait, what? You told him that there weren’t any problems?” And it’s just like one thing after another snow-balling, right? You get it. Reuben: They’re putting words in your mouth, yeah. Tessa: The story goes on and on. Yeah, but… Reuben: That’s why they shouldn’t be there. Tessa: The buyers were upset. They were really frustrated that this agent was there, was very pushy, was interacting with everything. They’re upset that the seller was there, the whole thing. She came back at noon and we were still there and you should have seen the look on her face. Just the whole thing. Bill: Well I can imagine that this was like in the encyclopedia of how to have a very contentious morning, it looks like this. But when we come back, we’re gonna talk a little bit about the classes that you both teach and how we can help educate people. This feels like an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, all day long. Tessa: Yes. Reuben: Totally. Bill: Welcome back to Structure Talk. I’m Bill Oelrich, alongside Tessa Murry and Reuben Saltzman. And before we went to the break, Tessa told us a very uncomfortable story about a very uncomfortable situation. So I’m sitting here thinking, what could we have done better or how could this have been better to be a more successful morning? Reuben: This is something that we cover in our classes, and this is a message to any real estate agents who are selling houses is remember, that even though you’ve probably done tons of transactions and you know what home inspections are all about, don’t make the assumption that your customer has ever gone through a home inspection. Assume that your home-seller knows nothing about it. So often we show up to houses, and they say, “You’re like an appraiser, right? You’re gonna be here for 15 minutes, in and out.” A lot of people have no idea what a home inspection is, how long it takes, what it consists of, who’s going to be at their house. And really, what it comes down to is, treat this like a really long showing. Assume that the home inspector is gonna be there for several hours. The buyers are gonna be there, their parents might come along. And clean up your house just the way you would on any other showing. Treat this like a really long showing. Bill: Well, I think that language is important because people understand the language of their world and listing agents when they are talking to their clients, we have a showing set up. They all get it, they understand it versus a home inspection, it brings it into the world that they understand. So I like that you use that language. Reuben: Yeah, and home sellers, they’ve hopefully even coached up by their agent to know what you do with your house when you have a showing. Use the same language do the same thing. Find something to do, get out of the house for three hours, four hours, whatever. And that’s another topic that we cover in our classes. How long does a home inspection take? And… Bill: Well, how long does a home inspection take? Reuben: Well, it’s Tessa’s favorite answer to everything you have. Tessa: Here we go, “It depends.” Bill: Can you put some brackets around that “depends”? Tessa: Yeah, yeah it depends. I would say if you’re an agent and you’re wondering how long it’s gonna take, talk to your inspector ’cause it depends on the age of the house, it depends on the size of the house. It also depends too, on if you’re gonna have your clients or the buyers there for the home inspection. At our company, we encourage the buyers to be there for the whole thing, so that we can go through the whole house with them. Answer any questions that they have. But if you’ve got someone who’s really nervous, who has a lot of questions about things, it might take a little bit longer, right? Reuben: Oh, and what if it’s an engineer? Tessa: Yeah, our favorite. Our favorite. Yeah. Reuben: You could just double the inspection time right there. Tessa: Yeah. Bill: Be nice now. Reuben: No, I love engineers. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong but… Tessa: Yeah, they ask great questions. They do. Reuben: But I like to joke, an engineer is never satisfied with your answer until they can explain it back to you. And then they’re satisfied. Tessa: Yeah, yeah. Reuben: No, I love engineers. Tessa: Yeah, so it depends, but we say roughly two to four hours. And it just, it depends. Bill: Is that a square footage thing? Is that age of the home thing? Tessa: All of it. Reuben: No, it’s all of those things. Tessa: All of it. Yeah. Reuben: And, condition of the house. Tessa: Yes. Reuben: That’s another huge one. You can take the same size house, same age of house, but two very different conditions. One inspection might take you twice as long. Another one is addition. Every time there’s an addition, I feel like that’s gonna add another half-hour on your inspection ’cause it means you may have a separate heating system, you might have a crawl space, you might have a different attic. Tessa: You might have a separate attic. Yeah. Another electrical panel. Reuben: Yes. Tessa: All those things take time. Reuben: And we can’t predict this stuff. When we just quote prices over the phone, we can’t dig into all that. I’m so envious of single-man operator, home inspection companies, who don’t have any standard pricing and it’s like, “Well, I charge whatever I feel like it’s gonna be.” Tessa: Yeah. Reuben: And, then they can ask all these questions and really get into what it’s gonna be. We can’t do that. Tessa: Yep. Bill: So, you had mentioned talking to the agent. Do you ever have communications with sellers, selling agents? Do you ever make a phone call to them to have any… Tessa: As a home inspector, I’m not… At our company, our Client Care Coordinators take care of all of that stuff. All of the scheduling, all of the emails that go out, all the information. So, we send out an email to the listing agent before the inspection explaining the whole process, how long it’s gonna take, when it’s scheduled and to make sure that all of these things are made accessible for the home inspector as well like attic accesses, electrical panels, furnaces to make our inspection go smoother. And, they’re supposed to pass that along to their client, the seller, correct? Reuben: Yeah, yeah. But there’s an acronym and I heard about this from another real estate agent which is RDR, “Realtors Don’t Read.” Tessa: Don’t read, yeah. [laughter] Reuben: Yeah we didn’t make that one off, that’s somebody else who told me that. I think a lot of these emails, I mean realtors probably get hundreds, maybe thousands of emails a day. I can’t imagine how much stuff they get and I think a lot of them just don’t read all of it. And for the ones that do, are they gonna choose to pass it on to the seller, and if they pass on to seller, does the seller actually read it? I think it happens about 1% of the time. Tessa: Yeah. Bill: So Tessa, you don’t have a normal contact with the selling agent. That’s just all takes care of things… Tessa: No, correct. Yep. Bill: Okay, Reuben, ideally, who would you like to see at the home inspection and why? Reuben: Well, in a perfect world, the buyers would be there for the entire time, or maybe they show up a half-hour after we show up. Our first half hour there is usually turn stuff on, turn on all the lights, figure out where everything terminates, walk on the roof, we get all that done, and then the buyer shows up, and ideally they’ll be there for the rest of the time. And, we’ll do it all together. We tell them what we’re doing, we show them how stuff works, there’s a lot of interaction, they ask a lot of questions and sometimes the buyer’s parents will be there. Sometimes it’s better if the buyer’s parents aren’t there. They can be a huge distraction. It’s best if you don’t have a ton of other family members coming there. Sometimes buyers will like to have contractors come through at the same time, they wanna do some big gut remodel. That’s fine, we don’t control the transaction, but it definitely is distracting and it’s where we lose our clients for about 45 minutes, and then we gotta go back through and catch them up on everything. And it takes away from what they’re paying us for. So in a perfect world, it would just be the buyers there and definitely not the sellers… Tessa: Yeah. Reuben: Definitely not the listing agent. However, if the listing agent is just gonna sit in one room and watch the house and just hang out and do their thing, I don’t have a problem with that, if they’re just gonna remove themselves. Tessa: The listing agent? Reuben: Yep. Bill: Yeah, ’cause we’ve seen that on some of these high-end houses that the showings have to be under the supervision of the listing agent. So, that’s a pretty unique situation. Reuben: Yeah, it doesn’t happen a lot but the one I will never forget is the one where one of the listing agent was there, he just sat in the kitchen, he stayed out of the way. And, I was about to start the dishwasher, and he said, “Oh wait, wait, wait, hold on.” Before I turned it on. He said that, “That’s where the sellers keep their laptops.” So, he pulled all the laptops out of the dishwasher. Tessa: What? Reuben: Yeah. [chuckle] Tessa: Wow, he saved you from disaster. Reuben: Yeah. And so, this was a very long time ago and what I learned there was always look inside the dishwasher before you turn it on. Same thing with an oven. Tessa: The oven. [chuckle] Reuben: Yeah, yeah… Always check. So I was really glad he was at that expectation. Tessa: Oh, my God. Who stores their laptop in a dishwasher? Reuben: They thought it was a secure spot, they didn’t want their laptops getting stolen on showing. Bill: When we come back, we’re gonna dig into a little bit about the classes themselves and some of the content that you guys are presenting to help make everybody’s lives a lot easier. You’re listening to Structure Talk. I’m your host Bill Oelrich alongside home inspector extraordinary Reuben Saltzman and building science guru, Tessa Murry. Okay, welcome back for everybody. Bill Oelrich here alongside Tessa Murry and Reuben Saltzman and, we’ve just been talking about some classes that have been developed by Structure Tech to help agents meet some of their continuing ed obligations. So, Reuben can you tell me briefly just what classes are available and how long they are? Reuben: Sure, we’ve got a one-hour class on water intrusion. This is all about stucco homes and looking at water lines and figuring out where water comes into the walls. Bill: Stucco home? Reuben: It’s focused on stucco but we also talk about vinyl siding, and wood siding, and stone veneer. Bill: Okay. Reuben: It’s basically water intrusion. So that’s a one hour class. The other one hour class is new construction where it’s just a bazillion slides of stuff that we’ve found that has gone wrong on new construction homes. And after you sit through this class, you would never consider having your clients buy a new construction home without getting a home inspection. That’s really what it is, is to let people know all the stuff that can go wrong. The two hour class we’ve been digging into, that’s Hassle-free Home Inspections. The three hour class… Gosh, this has gotta be one of my favorite classes of all time, this… The old houses class. And I have morphed this into a class for home inspectors now. And I thought it was gonna be… I thought I could cut it down to two hours, oh no, it’s a four hour class, when I teach home inspectors. Tessa: It’s longer. Reuben: But that one is fantastic. It’s everything related to old houses. Bill: Yeah, there’s plenty of stock in Minneapolis, St. Paul. Reuben: Yeah. The last one is a four hour class called Home Inspection Horrors and that’s just all the most common home inspection stuff that we find. And it’s digging into home inspection myths, it’s covering all the stuff that people say is a big deal, and we’re explaining why it’s really not, and then in some cases, vice versa. We’re taking things that sometimes people just brush over, or they say, “Well, that’s not a big deal.” And we’re saying, “Well, actually, it really is a big deal, and here’s why.” So, it’s busting a lot of home inspection myths. Bill: Great. And so, Tessa, you’ve been teaching these for about the last year. What’s your favorite class? Tessa: Well, I like teaching the Hassle-free Home Inspections. I also like teaching the New Construction Defects. That’s a fun one. And that the Water Intrusion one is fun too. There’s a lot of good information in the Home Inspection Horrors and the Old Homes class, but a full hour class is a really long class. It’s a lot, isn’t it? Reuben: Yeah. That’s a marathon class, it is. Tessa: It is a marathon class, yeah. Reuben: By the end of my class, I’m like, “I’m ready to go home… ” Tessa: Me too. [chuckle] Reuben: And relax, and take a throat lozenge, seriously. Tessa: Losing your throat after four hours. Bill: So Tessa, you mentioned that there was actually somebody riding along with you last week. Kinda talk about that a little bit because education is a big part of this company. Tessa: Yes. Bill: It’s kind of a core value. What did you do for that particular person? Tessa: Yeah. Well, so at our company, if you are a home inspector looking to become a home inspector, you can go on our website and we offer training, so you can shadow our inspectors on an inspection, and you can do it once, you can do it twice, however many times you want. But we had a guy who was interested in becoming a home inspector who wanted to see what we do, who was just with me that day. Bill: Okay. Tessa: Yep. Bill: Okay, sounds good. And Reuben, I have one more question that kind of going back to the buyers being at the inspection, I assume this is something that’s evolved over time. Maybe, you have always done it this way, or is this something that you decided as you became more and more involved in the home inspection business that I need these people there the whole time. So tell me, what’s the evolution of that at least at Structure Tech? Reuben: It certainly did evolve. Back in ’97 or so, we used to have our clients show up for about the last hour, but when people were showing up at the beginning of the inspection, it seemed as though people were getting a lot more value out of being there the entire time, and those are really the people who were the happiest with our services. And at some point, something just clicked for us and we started to realizing people learn a lot more when they’re there the entire time because this is how they get the most value. Bill: It’s not an industry standard by any stretch. Reuben: No, it isn’t. I think the majority of home inspectors have their clients show up at the very end of the inspection. And from a home inspection perspective, it would make my life easier to just have a client show up at the very end. We don’t do this for ourselves. This is absolutely a client-driven procedure. Tessa: Yeah, that’s a great point that you brought that up Bill ’cause when we’re teaching this Hassle-free Home Inspection class, we’re talking about who should be there, when they should show up. Most agents are surprised if they haven’t worked with us before that we actually want the buyers there for the whole thing or after the first 30 minutes. Bill: I assume you hear that a lot, it’s like, “Maybe I’ll start doing that now.” Tessa: Yeah. Reuben: A lot of raised eyebrows. Tessa: Yeah, yeah. Bill: Got you. So, is there anything else you wanna add to this that you think would be valuable that would help an agent make their business model more efficient? Reuben: Alright, one more is agent attendance at the inspection. Should the agent company the inspection or not, the one who’s representing the buyers. Tessa: The buyer’s agent. Reuben: Yeah. And I’d say, you’re more than welcome to come to any home inspection. I know I’ve read articles out there saying agent shouldn’t come, and these are written by attorneys who are scared of agents getting sued for saying something inappropriate at the inspection. I’d say, as long as you have appropriate behavior and you’re not gonna be the inspector, and contradict the inspector, and try to steer things towards the deal going through, and you’re just gonna be objective, by all means, come to the inspection. Tessa: It’s a great learning opportunity too for… Maybe, if you’re a new agent, just to learn about a house so that you can help find your buyers the best house for them in the future. Bill: Well, I imagine. As a home inspector when I was doing it, I don’t do home inspections any longer but you learn something everyday. Everyday there’s some new nugget that you can pick up. And so, I think it’s valuable for any agent to be there during the process. You’ve been listening to Structure Talk, a Structure Tech presentation. Thank you, and we’ll catch you next time.

Benefits of a home inspection

2020-02-28T22:26:02.000+00:00

There are plenty of reasons on why a home inspection is absolutely mandatory. Here are a few.

Get objective and comprehensive data to decide next steps

To a buyer/seller, a home inspection provides objective and comprehensive data about the home in question thereby enabling the buyer/seller to take the right steps – whether it is fixing the issues found or negotiating a right price for the house.

Get a professional opinion about the home

Before entering a real estate transaction, which is usually the most expensive investment one can make, it is always essential that an expert look at the home and provide his/her professional opinion. Trained eyes know what to look for. Give them a chance.

Find obvious and hidden defects with the home

No home is perfect. The number of defects that is found is directly proportional to the expertise of who is looking. When an expert looks at a home, he/she is guaranteed to find many more issues than the common man.

Save future repair and maintenance costs

A stitch in time saves nine. This saying is extremely relevant in the context of homes. Repair and maintenance costs go up all the time. Add to that the cost of material also keeps increasing all the time. Last but not the least, the amount of inconvenience caused by a repair job is the highest after someone has moved in. Be wise and get an inspection before you move in.

Detect unsafe areas of the home

Safety is one of the key aspects that a home inspector focuses on during an inspection. Just wanting to determine whether a house is safe or not is enough justification for a home inspection.

Create a quality baseline of the home

Getting inspections done on a periodic basis gives the homeowner an idea as to how the quality of home is vis-a-vis time. This information can be used for preventive maintenance purposes. To summarize, a home inspection is one of the most important things that needs to be done BEFORE you take possession of a house. Make sure you don’t miss this.

What to Expect from Your Home Inspection

2020-02-28T22:26:01.000+00:00

You made an offer and it was accepted. Your next task is to have the home inspected prior to closing. Agents often recommend you make your offer contingent upon a clean home inspection. This contingency allows you to renegotiate the price you offered for the home, ask the sellers to cover repairs, or in some cases, walk away if challenges arise. Your agent can advise you on the best course of action once the report is filed.

How to Choose an Inspector

Your agent will most likely have a short list of inspectors they’ve worked with in the past to recommend to you. HGTV suggests you consider the following five areas when choosing the right home inspector for you: 1. Qualifications – Find out what’s included in your inspection and if the age or location of your home may warrant specific certifications or specialties. 2. Sample Reports – Ask for a sample inspection report so you can review how thoroughly they will be inspecting your dream home. In most cases, the more detailed the report, the better. 3. References – Do your homework. Ask for phone numbers and names of past clients who you can call to discuss their experiences. 4. Memberships – Not all inspectors belong to a national or state association of home inspectors, and membership in one of these groups should not be the only way to evaluate your choice. Membership in one of these organizations does, however, often mean continued training and education are required. 5. Errors and Omission Insurance – Find out what the liability of the inspector or inspection company is once the inspection is over. The inspector is only human, after all, and it is possible they might miss something they should see. Ask your inspector if it’s okay for you to tag along during the inspection, so they can point out anything that should be addressed or fixed. Don’t be surprised to see your inspector climbing on the roof or crawling around in the attic and on the floors. The job of the inspector is to protect your investment and find any issues with the home, including but not limited to: the roof, plumbing, electrical components, appliances, heating and air conditioning systems, ventilation, windows, fireplace and chimney, foundation, and so much more.

Bottom Line

They say, ‘ignorance is bliss,’ but not when investing your hard-earned money into a home of your own. Work with a professional you can trust to give you the most information possible, so you can make the most educated decision about your purchase.

We believe every family should feel confident when buying & selling a home. KCM helps real estate professionals reach these families & enables the agent to simply & effectively explain a complex housing market. Take a 14-Day Free Trial of our monthly membership to see how we can help you!

'Cursory at best': Botched home inspection results in $113K damages award

2020-02-28T22:26:00.000+00:00

A former Edmonton politician has been held jointly liable for $113,000 in damages after a judge ruled he botched a home inspection. Lance White was found to have “failed to meet the standard of care of a professional engineer” when inspecting a home ahead of its sale in May of 2010, according to an Aug. 28 ruling from Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Anna Loparco. “His inspection was cursory at best and did not meet the standard of care expected of a structural engineer." In her ruling, Loparco attributed 75 per cent of the damages to White, with the other 25 per cent to the sellers of the home, Patrick MacDonald and Rhonda McEachen. The three were sued for damages by the new homeowners who alleged MacDonald, McEachen and White voided the home sale contract's warranty by misrepresenting the condition of the house. “Mr. White was hired to investigate a specific structural concern,” she wrote. “The Buyers relied on his expertise to their detriment.” White served as an Edmonton city councillor between 1983 and 1992 and as a Liberal MLA from 1993 to 2001. He has been a licensed engineer since 1974, holds a P.Eng designation and has specialized in working on house foundations since about 2004, according to court documents. His lawyer declined comment when reached by CTV News.

CRACKS AND MOULD

The case stretches back to May 2010 when MacDonald and McEachen reached a deal to sell their Parkallen home to Edward Kent and Teresa Tomsky. An initial home inspection found a half-inch wide crack running along a basement wall. The inspector advised it was a structural concern and recommended contacting a foundation repair expert. White was hired by MacDonald and McEachen on May 15, 2010 to perform another inspection. Court documents show White wrote in his report that the crack occurred “relatively early in this foundation’s life” and that the home “far exceeds the definition of a structurally sound house.” White’s report addressed the buyers’ concerns and the sale went ahead and closed on June 30, 2010. By October, Kent and Tomsky began noticing a musty odour, the presence of mould and discolouration of a basement wall. Two months later, a handyman noted more mould as well as a crack that spanned three basement walls, eventually forcing the homeowners to replace an entire foundation wall and portions of two more. A further inspection in September of 2011 found mould on all four basement walls and significant concrete spalling where the material breaks down into small pebbles. At trial, White agreed his inspection fell short. “Mr. White conceded the crack was not inconsequential or minor,” Loparco wrote. “After reviewing the photos taken after the drywall was removed, he agrees that the foundation suffered deleterious effects due to water damage. Had he known about the spalling, his recommendation would have been to regrade the property immediately.”

PRIOR INSPECTION ISSUES

Also at issue was a 2005 home inspection that MacDonald and McEachen had received when they purchased the home in 2006 that outlined issues with the basement’s concrete. Loparco chastised MacDonald for knowing the report existed, but failing to provide it to the buyers, believing that he didn’t have it and it was irrelevant given subsequent inspections, including White’s. “If his searches turned up empty, he should have at least advised the Buyers that there were issues identified in the report.” Loparco ruled that failing to produce or even indicate the report’s existence constituted negligence, and assigned MacDonald and McEachen a quarter of the $113,064 in total damages, plus costs and interest. “The Sellers failed to disclose the existence of a report detailing a structural issue with their Home by omission,” she wrote. “The Sellers and Mr. Lance White are jointly and severally liable for the damage caused to the Home.” Both Kent and his lawyer declined to comment on the ruling. MacDonald and McEachen’s lawyer did not respond to emails from CTV News. Any appeals must be made before Sept. 29.

Home Inspection Tips and Checklist Before Possessing a New House

2020-02-28T22:25:58.000+00:00

I come here to look at you, You look clean and safe and alive, Sorry that I need to check, A few things before I move in, Allow me in, dear house.

There are a few things you need to check before you venture into possessing your house. Check if the builder has provided amenities which he promised. For eg, water harvesting, a pool in the apartment block, a well developed security system, wifi connection etc.

The switches
How can you ignore the switches and plug points. Check if they are all working. Turn all of them off and on a few times. Check if all the holders and sockets are connected to the main supply. The next thing which is very important for you to check on is the A.C ducting. Check whether the outlet for A.C is good. Bad ducting can cause seepage in your walls.
Piped Gas
Check if the LPG pipeline is properly fitted and you can also go in for tests to check its proper functioning and there are no leakages and the connecting pipes are also not leaking in anyway. The brand should also be ISI marked.
Leakages
You have to ensure that the bathroom fittings and the kitchen countertops are not leaking in any way. The floor must have a slight incline to ensure its flow into drains and does not also accumulate in any corner. Ignoring this will cause problems later. Enquire Now for Modular Kitchen Next we come to the MCB. Which is the miniature circuit breaker of your home. This should be of good quality. Then there are low voltage, medium voltage, high voltage MCBs in the market. You have to see which one is needed in your home. Make sure that the one which is applied is suitable for your house. Check for the DTH service provider for your society or colony. The builder has to tie you up with tata sky, airtel etc. Repair and other services are provided free by these companies. Make sure such facilities are provided in your society. Check for good mobile phone network. Check if the broadband or the wifi service is available. If the pipe gas facility is available, check if the tubing is ISI marked.
Safety Features
Make sure that all the features provided for your safety like the smoke detector, fire extinguisher etc. are working properly. Gadgets like the geyser must have a thermostat and checked to see that it is working properly. Check the ventilation. There should be no seepage in the walls. No termite eaten windows and doors.
Roof problems
Roof problems can be very dangerous and may make you drop out of your house in no time. Especially if they are old roofs. So check the roof for leakages, seepage and any other such problemStructural work on the chimney Chimneys can be a very costly affair. Check the inner lining and the masonry work must not have cracks or be corroding. Enquire Now for Kitchen Chimney
Water drainage and distribution
You must check that there is no water accumulation or a sump or water inside the building walls or floors. This will cause seepage, mouldy walls and at some point can disturb the foundation of your house. Get infrared camera investigation for your home to check out the blindspots within the building, what the eyes cannot see. This is another area that should be carefully checked, especially in the bathroom and the kitchen. See if all the drainage outlets are working well there. We don’t want any clogged drains. That includes checking your gutters and spouts, because if they aren’t functioning properly, it can damage the foundation. Water is the biggest enemy of your home. Countertops in the kitchen also can be checked and also check in the rooms. The water flow should be there. For that there should be a slope in the room and water must not accumulate in one corner. Negligence in this can cause problems later.
Electricity System
Check if the electrical wiring in the house is of good quality and with no points naked so that you and especially small children in the house are not amenable to trouble in the future.
Foundation
You want to make sure the house’s foundation is stable. . Foundation issues can be extremely expensive.
Quality of the flooring
The flooring must be very strong and have no access by the way of wood-destroying insects..That can be carpenter bees, carpenter ants, powder post beetles, and, of course, termites. Check for soft spots in subfloors if there be any. Check for mouldy and musty smells because this could mean wood rotting somewhere.
Noxious gases
You could do yourself a favor by checking for dangerous, poisonous gases like Radon which sometimes are present in the precincts of ignored buildings. These can be bad for health. Sometimes certain gases like Radon could be present in some area. This can be removed by placing a container which would check for the gas in some lower portion of the house. The house must be kept closed for 24 hours at least before the process begins,and the doors and windows must be closed. Make a quick entry and exit if you need to visit. Enquire Now for uPvc Windows Being sure about everything will save you a lot of trouble when you shift to a new house. By checking on all these specifications, you can be sure about everything and relax while your dream home is taking shape. But you must not forget to make a final checklist before taking possession of your flat.

Home inspection fail files: wrong house

2020-02-28T22:25:57.000+00:00

How could a home inspector inspect the wrong house? It’s not as tough as it sounds. I’ve done it twice myself, and at least one other person on my team did it recently. Possibly several inspectors on my team, but only one that I know about ;-).

Wrong Home Inspection

My second ‘wrong home’ inspection happened in 2008. I knew that I was supposed to inspect a home listed by Re/Max, so I drove down the street looking for the Re/Max sign. Boom. There it was. The home had a manual lockbox code of H-O-T or something like that, and it worked, so I proceeded to inspect the home as usual. You can guess what happened, right? The house that I was supposed to be inspecting was about four houses away. Same agency, same lockbox code. Luckily, my clients called to ask where I was about an hour into the inspection. That’s the last time I ever made that mistake. Lesson learned: Double-check the darned house number. Just because the lockbox code works doesn’t mean you’re at the right house.

Wrong Truth-In-Housing Evaluation

The first time I inspected the wrong house was for a Truth-In-Sale of Housing (TISH) evaluation, which is a pre-sale listing inspection that’s required in Minneapolis. It’s also known as a “City Inspection” because we do these on behalf of the city of Minneapolis. The year was 2005, and we received a lot of referrals from an agent who would order inspections on behalf of her Spanish-speaking clients. She ordered a city inspection for a property located on Columbus Avenue, but I went to the same house number on Chicago Avenue, which is one block away. I knocked on the door and was greeted by Spanish-speaking occupants. They seemed confused and unsure of why I was there, but that was par for the course and I didn’t let it stop me. I cheerfully introducing myself as the Truth-In-Sale of Housing Evaluator, showed them my city ID card, and proceeded to inspect the home as usual, repeating “ees ok” as needed. The occupants followed me around, looking confused and irritated, but I powered on through. There were people sleeping throughout the home, and I did my best to not wake them up. After I had been there for about 25 minutes, I received a call from the real estate agent asking where I was. I quickly figured out that I had bulldozed my way into the wrong house. I sheepishly apologized and left in a hurry. The occupants looked very relieved to see me leave. Lesson learned: everyone seems much more believable when they have an ID badge and they believe themselves.

Wrong New Construction Home

For new construction developments, the streets typically aren’t mapped out by Google right away, so we have to find these homes the old-fashioned way. No, not with a Hudson map book; we have to get directions. That’ll be a very confusing concept to my kids by the time they’re old enough to drive. So anyway, earlier this year one of the inspectors on my team was supposed to inspect a new construction home located at 7648 Archer Pl. He mistakenly ended up at 7648 Archer Pt, which was only one block away. Oh, and wouldn’t you know it, that house was also listed for sale. Same agency. Same lockbox combination. We inspected that entire home from start to finish before getting a call from our client asking where we were. Ouch. At least our inspector hadn’t driven home yet. Lesson learned: While Pt and Pl look very similar, they’re not at all the same street. I decided to blog about this topic after commiserating with some other home inspectors from across the country. This kind of thing can happen to anyone, and it has happened to a lot of people. Hopefully, it only happens once. So why did it happen to me twice? I must have a high tolerance for self-inflicted pain. Author: Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections

Help Your Clients Pick the Right Home Inspector

2020-02-28T22:25:48.000+00:00

Your clients are the lifeblood of your business. You are looking for life-long customers, not just a one and done relationship. One way you can solidify this type of working partnership is by assisting them through the home inspection process. You can streamline the steps by helping them find a home inspector who is reliable, ethical and, most importantly, thorough.

Where to Begin

You have your own recommendations, of course, but if clients want to strike out on their own, then the best thing you can do is give them good advice on finding someone trustworthy. First-time buyers especially can be unsure about finding a good inspector for a home, but that’s where you act as the superhero and put their worries to rest.

Word of mouth is a powerful tool. Ask other realtors and previous customers if they have any recommendations. Encourage your clients to do the same by asking their family and friends if they know a dependable inspector.
Don’t let clients ignore credentials. There are 18 states in America that don’t require licensing for home inspectors, so asking about licenses and certifications from a reputable institution is an important step.
Advise anyone searching for a home inspector to read reviews online. Facebook, Yelp and Google reviews are all ideal places to find real-life evaluations from previous customers.

What to Expect

Educate your clients on the home inspection procedure before sending them into the great unknown by themselves. It might be a little shocking for them to hear what the inspector does and does not check, as well as what the potential costs will be. Let them know upfront what they can expect, being clear on what is and what is not required by law for inspectors to look over. For example, it’s par for the course for an inspector to check the HVAC unit and crawlspace. However, let your clients know that things like home security systems and swimming pools are not necessarily going to be inspected. The home inspection is the last blast before the finish line in the home buying process. Resist the urge to “let them handle it.” Even if this is not their first home, it is nice for them to know you are available to attend the inspection and to go over the findings with them. We would like to earn your trust and be the inspection company you recommend to others.

Seek Thermal ShotPRO camera: a home inspector's review

2020-02-28T22:25:47.000+00:00

Seek Thermal has a relatively new pocket-sized infrared camera called the ShotPRO, which retails for $699. This camera offers a new feature from Seek, which they call SeekFusion. This gives the ability to blend infrared with real images, which promises to give images a better context. My preferred infrared camera for home inspections is the FLIR E6, so I compared the ShotPRO to that one several times in this post. I also did a video review.

The Basics

The ShotPRO is shaped like a mobile phone, much like FLIR’s C2 and C3 cameras. It’s a bit chunkier than a mobile phone, but it has the familiar feel of a lens in the front and a screen on the other side, and it has a touchscreen as well. There are only two buttons on the device; a power button and the image capture button. This is perfect. It’s even thicker on the side of the capture button to give you a better grip on the camera. The outside of the camera is covered in what feels like hard rubber, making it very ‘grippy’ and making it feel durable. The menu options are limited and basic, and that’s fine with me. I don’t need a huge list of menu options to use it for a home inspection. The menu options were also very intuitive; I quickly figured out how to blend images and adjust them so they looked right. No user manual needed for this camera. This camera has a USB-C charging port, which I love. Everything ought to be USB-C. Images are stored in JPG format, and they’re all 512 KB, 640×480. It has an internal memory of approximately 3.5 GB, which means you have room for over 6,500 images. That’s great, provided you only take images. This camera also records MP4 video in 640×480 format. A 4-second video recording was 64 MB, and a 1-minute recording was also 64 MB, so go figure. This camera comes with a built-in LED light, which turns on and off with a touch of the power button. I love that. This is great design. On the not-so-bright side, the light is comparable to what you’ll find on a mobile phone, making it useless for home inspection work. We need more light.

Image Blending

What really attracted me to this camera was the image blending option. My hope was that this would be a more affordable alternative to competitor FLIR’s MSX technology, so I was excited to test this camera out. You simply move a slider on the side of the screen, and it adjusts how much infrared vs visible image is displayed. The animation below, which I boosted from Seek’s website, shows how this works: Unfortunately, the slider is very difficult to operate. Occasionally, it will respond to my finger, but most of the time it doesn’t. I have to touch the slider over and over again to get it to respond. I took a video to demonstrate how the slider worked, but it took me over 30 seconds to get the slider to respond in this clip. When I finally got it to work, I wasn’t doing anything differently. [embedded content] Let me reiterate, I took this video to demonstrate the functionality of the slider. Not to show how poorly it functions. That part was an accident. I only boosted the animation from Seek because I couldn’t get the slider to work properly. The image blending is nice to help give images context, but it’s not nearly as nice as FLIR’s MSX, which basically draws white lines on the edges of everything in your infrared image, giving it a superior image.

Resolution, sensitivity, and field of view

Just like Seek’s Reveal Pro, this camera has a resolution of 320×240, which is four times the resolution of the E6 (160×120). The thermal sensitivity of this camera is listed at <70mK, which equates to <0.07°C. The lower the number, the better. For comparison, the E6 has a thermal sensitivity of <0.06°C. This camera has a 57° field of view, while the E6 has a 45°. The quality of the image suffers because of the wider field of view, but I’m ok with that. For home inspection work, I prefer the wider field of view.

Image Comparisons

I went around my house and took a bunch of images with the Seek ShotPRO and the FLIR E6. I turned on the image blending feature for the ShotPRO, and set it to what felt like about 80% infrared. Just enough real image to give stuff context. Click on any of these images for a larger version. For commentary on the images, check on my video above. Just for fun, I turned off the image blending and MSX on both cameras for this last image. All that you’re seeing is infrared. You can barely see the wall studs with the ShotPRO, but they’re pretty obvious with the E6. The image quality of the ShotPRO rivaled that of the E6 in some situations, but it couldn’t hold a candle to the E6 in other cases.

Conclusion

The ShotPRO is a decent camera. It feels rugged and it’ll get the job done, and I would choose this camera over Seek’s Reveal Pro camera any day. When compared to the E6, however, it just doesn’t measure up. The images are generally darker and more difficult to understand. Not only that, but while the resolution is four times that of the E6, the images don’t look any better. Also, the poor responsiveness of the image slider would eventually make me chuck this camera out of a window. This camera delivers good value for $699, but it’s going to remain in my tool bag as a backup to my E6. ps: hey infrared camera manufactures, would you like to make a camera that completely dominates the market? Put the E6 into the shape of the ShotPRO/C2/C3, add a good light, and fix the E6’s memory problems. Maybe even a good flash? Go ahead and charge $2,000, because we’ll pay it. You’re welcome. Author: Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections

5 Things This Health Inspector Wants You to Stop Doing at Home. Immediately.

2020-02-28T22:25:45.000+00:00

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How often do you scrutinize your home kitchen with the intensity of a certified public health inspector? Our guess is not as much as you should, but don’t worry — we’re totally guilty of it too. Sure, no one’s giving our kitchens a letter grade or writing a make-or-break review in the local paper about the cleanliness of our countertops, but that doesn’t mean they only deserve a once-over.

That’s why we’ve consulted a health inspector for some expertise regarding the worst things we do in the kitchen that we should put an end to ASAP. We tapped Robert Acquista, a supervisor for the Public Health Food Protection Program in Columbus, Ohio, for more than 30 years, who inspected our Editor-in-Cheif’s kitchen a few years ago! As you can probably imagine, Rob knows a thing or two about food safety in the kitchen.

Here are his top five kitchen no-nos.

1. Assuming food is done.

2. Forgetting to wash your hands.

“Even if you wash your hands, you’re probably not washing them enough,” Rob says. Make sure you use soap and warm water, and scrub for at least 20 seconds. That includes the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails, too. Related: 5 Ways to Make Your Guests Wash Their Hands

4. Using your bare hands.

“Try not to use bare hands while working with food. Use utensils, deli tissue — anything but your hands. On the commercial end, we say no bare hand contact.” Obviously, we’re not gonna tell you to start wearing gloves in your home kitchen, but think as if you are. Whenever you’d need to change or take off the gloves, it’s time to wash your hands. (See above!)

5. Cross-contaminating food.

“Keep raw foods away from ready-to-eat foods,” Rob says. This principle applies to grocery shopping, too. Keep proteins like packaged meat and raw eggs away from produce and pantry items in your shopping cart, and do the same when you unload into the fridge and cabinets at home. Related: Why You Should *Never* Put Eggshells Back in the Carton

What would a health inspector say about your kitchen?

Keeping it up to code: Dispensary, grow house inspections now cities' job - KFOR Oklahoma City

2020-02-28T22:25:37.000+00:00

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ENID, Okla.- Medical marijuana businesses across the state are now required to submit a certificate of compliance to the OMMA from the municipalities they are located in. The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority shared this on their website:

Starting August 30, 2019 all business applicants will be required to submit a Certificate of Compliance from the political subdivision that has jurisdiction where the business is located (usually a city or county). Businesses located within Oklahoma City may submit the Certificate of Compliance provided by Oklahoma City. Businesses are encouraged to contact their city or county for more information on this process before submitting their application.

The City of Enid's commissioners passed a $150 fee on Tuesday night for these inspections. Enid Assistant City Manager, Scott Morris says current code inspectors use a checklist covering a variety of compliance requirements. “There’s one for zoning, there’s safety codes and fire, electrical and plumping. They’re just trying to make sure that there’s a safe place for the product and a safe place for whatever people will be in there, just to satisfy the compliance certifications that the state put on,” said Morris. Morris says so far they have done 14 inspections as of October 2nd. "They have about 20 that they believe they’ll be doing throughout the remainder of the year and an estimation of 60 to 70 by the time it gets to mid-year next year, and that includes dispensaries and groweries," he said. The inspections will be required each time a business license comes up for renewal from the state. The City of Moore also charges a $1,200 commercial medical marijuana business license fee that is due each year. The City of Oklahoma City charges different fees based on what type of business, for instance, a dispensary is charged $615 while a grow facility is charged $750.

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Coronavirus: State officials found COVID-19 spread throughout Holyoke Soldiers' Home in 1st inspection - MassLive.com

Do you recommend getting a home inspection?

Why do you recommend getting a home inspection?

Want another reason we recommend a home inspection?

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What if I don’t want a home inspection?

Who should I use for home inspections?

Tips For Hiring a Home Inspection Service

Woman charged after allegedly pointing gun at home inspector - Las Cruces Sun-News

How to Handle Home inspection Hurdles Brought on By Coronavirus

Get familiar with local ordinances related to coronavirus

Home inspection precautions and minimizing contact

How to communicate with buyers, sellers, and inspectors about COVID-19

Workarounds to postponed home inspections

How can pre-listing inspections help prevent coronavirus roadblocks?

Add a coronavirus addendum to the contract

Podcast: When the seller attends the home inspection

Benefits of a home inspection

Get objective and comprehensive data to decide next steps

Get a professional opinion about the home

Find obvious and hidden defects with the home

Save future repair and maintenance costs

Detect unsafe areas of the home

Create a quality baseline of the home

What to Expect from Your Home Inspection

How to Choose an Inspector

Bottom Line

'Cursory at best': Botched home inspection results in $113K damages award

CRACKS AND MOULD

PRIOR INSPECTION ISSUES

Home Inspection Tips and Checklist Before Possessing a New House

The switches

Piped Gas

Leakages

Safety Features

Roof problems

Water drainage and distribution

Electricity System

Foundation

Quality of the flooring

Noxious gases

Home inspection fail files: wrong house

Wrong Home Inspection

Wrong Truth-In-Housing Evaluation

Wrong New Construction Home

Help Your Clients Pick the Right Home Inspector

Where to Begin

What to Expect

Seek Thermal ShotPRO camera: a home inspector's review

The Basics

Image Blending

Resolution, sensitivity, and field of view

Image Comparisons

Conclusion

5 Things This Health Inspector Wants You to Stop Doing at Home. Immediately.

1. Assuming food is done.

2. Forgetting to wash your hands.

4. Using your bare hands.

5. Cross-contaminating food.

Keeping it up to code: Dispensary, grow house inspections now cities' job - KFOR Oklahoma City