Entry 0009 - April, 2011

Why Are We Here?

Inspectors, it’s a good time to bring up a question that sparks debate everywhere we go and every time we meet new home inspectors. Why are we here? Many home inspectors have a real passion for what they do but passion is only part of the equation. The other part is purpose.

Why do we do what we do? I know the answer for myself. I love what I do (passion) and I make good money doing it (purpose). I think a lot of you would agree.

But let’s ask the question from a different perspective. Why does your customer think you are here? Err... there.

For the average customer, there is no concept of your passion and purpose when it comes to their home inspection. In fact, for almost all of them, there is no real understanding in any regard for why you are there.

We can get into some real trouble because of this.

I live in a state where my purpose (from the perspective of the home buyer, and many inspectors as well) is not defined. There is no law that says what I must inspect or how I must inspect it. There is no minimum standard of practice by which I must abide and there is no code of ethics that I am legally obligated to follow.

You can see from my point of view that it could be quite difficult to know why I am here. Never mind the point of view of my client.

But alas there is an answer (for me) and I hope for you as well. Regardless of the presence or lack of any standards, codes or laws, I know that I am here to establish peace of mind for my clients. When I drive off into the sunset with my client’s check in my hand, I need to know that I have accomplished this goal. I’m here to make my clients happy.

When we part ways, my client doesn’t think I’m just another technician or bug guy whose name they’ll forget within 10 minutes of my departure. My client knows I’m an important part of the home buying experience. I’m their guide through the world of repair, maintenance and happy inhabitance of a used home.

 How do I do it?

I do it by telling them what I’m going to do for them before I do it. I do it by establishing an expectation in their mind of what I’m going to do, and then I meet (and often exceed) that expectation.

Many inspectors, and this is understandable, assume that their clients already know what they should expect from their home inspector. Unfortunately the truth is most home buyers have no idea what a home inspector does. But they think they do. The most common misconception is that we are there to inspect every square millimeter of the home they are buying and tell them every single thing that is wrong with it.

Any inspector who follows any standard of practice knows the previous sentence does not accurately describe our job. And it’s when we inspectors have assumed that our clients know what to expect from us without making sure their expectations are in line with what we are actually going to do that we put ourselves in jeopardy. In this line of work we either make friends or we make enemies. There is no gray area. We make friends when we meet our client’s expectations, and we make enemies when we don’t.

As a species with the ability to communicate, we have total control over this. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt when I leave a home inspection that my client is happy, every time. That’s because I made sure my client understood what I was going to do and that it had value, and then I did it.

This is usually a five or ten minute phone conversation. Occasionally, it’s twenty. And to me it’s worth every single minute.

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Entry 0008 - April, 2011

Learn about Social Media

This new topic is getting a great deal of attention lately. Let me help you guys gain some insight on social media.

What is social media?

There are a ton of promotional methods out there. Maybe you’ve heard of PPC, banner exchange, link exchange, joint ventures etc. However, all these lack an important element: Consumer Interaction.

Social media allows you or your business to directly communicate with your customers (existing and potential). This can be done through the big guns of social media, Facebook, the giant of video, Youtube or even social bookmarking sites like Digg or Delicious.

The need for social media

The Queen of England is on Facebook, Britney Spears and President of the United States are too! It’s a really great way of building a fan base. Your profile can be set up within minutes and you can also set up a page for your business. Inviting your customers to your page is a breeze. It’s not rare at all to see happy customers leaving positive reviews on a particular business page which in turn brings in a wave of new clients. So if you treat your customers right, it’s all the more reason to have a Facebook page!

Social media for beginning inspection businesses

Hearing about Flixter, Flickr, Digg, MySpace and thousands of other platforms can make a new home inspection marketer quite befuddled and frustrated.

Understand this. You will never be able to build a dominating presence in ALL the social media platforms that exist. But you should also understand this. You’ll experience vastly superior results by dominating 2 or 3 social media platforms than by having a scarce presence on all of them. Translation: Having 1 or 2 fans or members in your group on 100 platforms is much, much worse than having 100 fans on Facebook.

So, sign up with Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn and test out the waters. Add friends, create groups and special topic pages. Follow people in your niche. Create a presence. Provide some value (an informational post, or a link to one). Also have your contact info displayed and if you can, invite previous happy customers.

Build your community. If your business is about home inspection, provide tips on proper maintenance of a lawn sprinkler system... or anything else pertaining to home maintenance. Your followers and fans will love you for it, will comment on these and your products and services will get spread out all over the internet.

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Entry 0007 - April, 2011

GREIA Now in All 50 States!

GREIA is now able to offer its fantastic Insurance program and membership benefits to every state in the U.S., including Alaska and Hawaii.

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Entry 0006 - April, 2011

Inspector General introduces new combo insurance program for La., Fla., Tenn., - New and better coverages with better rates than ever!

Louisiana, Florida and Tennessee inspectors are now able to purchase a combo insurance package through the GREIA membership. This combo package includes Errors & Omissions Insurance and General Liability Insurance.

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Entry 0005 - April, 2011

Inspector General on his way to California!

Jim Russell (the Inspector General) will be meeting with home inspectors in California.

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Entry 0004 - April, 2011

Inspector General addresses La. Board of HI. with four main reasons why inspectors get sued.

In a recent trip to Louisiana, the Inspector General introduced the four main reasons why home inspectors get sued to the Louisiana board of home inspectors.

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Entry 0003 - April, 2011

The Facts about Chinese Drywall

The Product

Chinese Drywall refers to defective or tainted drywall imported from China from 2001 to 2007 which emits sulfur gasses which usually (but not always) creates a noxious odor and corrodes copper and other metal surfaces, thereby damaging your air conditioner, electrical wiring, copper plumbing, appliances and electronics.  Chinese drywall can also cause adverse health effects, although experts disagree as to whether these effects are merely irritants or present a more imminent or chronic health hazard.  Not all drywall manufactured in China is defective.

While the material source of the problem is known, a complete understanding of the cause of the problem remains unknown (i.e., we do not know what materials in the Chinese drywall are triggering the release of sulfur gases).   

Initially, the most common theory was that the drywall was manufactured in gypsum mines in China which used fly ash, a waste material that is a byproduct from power plants using coal. Samples of Chinese drywall tested by United Engineering; however, consisted of 5-15% organic material, which contradicts the theory that Chinese drywall was made of waste from coal fired power plants. Some now believe that the tainted drywall from China comes from mined gypsum, not synthetic gypsum which is made from coal ash. Mined gypsum contains high levels of strontium, which is visible as
inclusions in electron scanning microscopy.   

Another theory is that Chinese drywall contains bacteria, possibly from the water source used to manufacturer the drywall which is degrading iron and sulfur compounds to produce sulfur odors, although the CPSC's recent report disputes this theory.   

Much of the problem is due to China’s failure to cooperate.  Indeed, to date, Chinese manufacturers have yet to disclose the chemicals put into their drywall or the manufacturing processes.

The Problem

Chinese Drywall is a health and safety issue involving defective drywall manufactured in China and imported by the United States starting in 2001. Laboratory tests of samples for volatile chemicals have identified emissions of the sulfurous gases carbon disulfide, carbonyl sulfide, and hydrogen sulfide.

Chinese drywall was found by Lawrence Berkley National Laboratories to emit hydrogen sulfide up to 100 times greater than non-Chinese produced drywall.  Hydrogen sulfide is a hazardous gas which, in high concentrations, can be fatal. These emissions, which have the odor of rotten eggs, worsen as temperature and humidity rise and cause copper surfaces to turn black and powdery, a chemical process indicative of reaction with hydrogen sulfide. Copper pipes, wiring, and air conditioner coils are affected, as well as silver jewelry.

The ability of this product to cause the corrosion of copper electrical wires poses a significant safety and fire hazard.

There are few studies exploring the effects of long-term low-level exposure to sulfur gasses. However, it is believed that short-term exposure, over the period of a few hours, can result in sore throat, eye irritation, coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain and nausea. Long term exposure, over a period of weeks, is believed to cause chronic fatigue, insomnia, loss of appetite, dizziness, irritability, headaches, and memory loss.

The Center for Disease Control, in collaboration with The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry released a guide indicating the residents of affected homes reported irritated and itchy eyes and skin, difficulty breathing, persistent cough, bloody noses, runny noses, recurrent headaches, sinus infection, and asthma attacks.

Strontium sulfide may be dangerous to developing children; it affects bone growth.  
Chronic exposure to these gases may affect the central nervous system (including visual and sensory changes), cardiovascular system, eyes, kidneys, liver and skin.

Infants, children, the elderly and infirm (particularly those with heart and lung disease and diabetes) and pets may have an increased vulnerability to these gases and the particulates that are released from the drywall. To date, the Florida Department of Health still maintains that the levels found in Chinese drywall are not high enough to present “an imminent or chronic health hazard at this time.” Many experts disagree.

The ability of this product to cause the corrosion of copper electrical wires poses a significant safety and fire hazard.

Early reporting raised concerns about the presence of phosphogypsum, gypsum formed as a by-product of processing phosphate ore into fertilizer with sulfuric acid. Phosphogypsum is radioactive due to the presence of naturally occurring uranium and radium in the phosphate ore. The substance has been banned for use in U.S construction since 1989. Tests of drywall samples by the EPA and the Florida Department of Health showed some radioactivity, but at levels no higher than those ordinarily found in the natural environment.

Identification

Chinese drywall is typically mixed in with untainted drywall, which is why people should not assume that their home is fine if they find U.S. drywall.   Moreover, U.S. drywall may have been manufactured in China and re-branded.

Remediation

Chinese drywall is very friable, which means it is in a state where small particles can easily become dislodged with little friction.  For this reason, even after Chinese drywall is removed, the toxic drywall particulate may remain unless property removed.  Further, the particulate from Chinese drywall may invade and adhere to other building materials in the home's structure and personal objects within the home. Thus, cross-contamination should be factored into any remediation protocol. According to the Florida Department of Health, it is possible for gasses to absorb and re-emit from porous materials such as drywall and fabrics. The effectiveness of cleaning these materials is currently unknown.  It is also unknown whether there is any effect on concrete and lumber.

Cost Recovery

Controversy has arisen over whether the damage will be covered under the insurance policies for home insurance or general liability insurance. In March 2010, a New Orleans judge ruled that the damage was covered under a home insurance policy. It is unknown whether the general liability insurance will cover the claims. The standard policy contained an exception to an exclusion for pollution which allowed coverage if the pollution came from the products of the insured, but insurers had revised the policies to incorporate a "total pollution exclusion" which has no exception. Even without a total pollution exclusion, around 2005 insurers began inserting another provision to deny construction defect claims. Whether or not insurance coverage will be granted generally depends state law and a state court's interpretation, but in this case may be determined for multiple states under the Louisiana multiple district litigation (MDL) overseen by a federal court.

On September 30, 2010, the Internal Revenue Service announced it would provide tax relief for homeowners affected by property damage caused by imported Chinese drywall. The IRS has categorized the copper corrosion from the sulfur gasses emitted by the imported drywall as “casualty loss”, and is in a similar category to property damage after a catastrophic event, such as a hurricane. However, homeowners can only claim a deduction after repairing the affected area(s), and much controversy has arisen because of the great out-of-pocket expense to affected homeowners.

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Entry 0002 - April, 2011

The difference between an Energy Audit and an Energy Assessment

Many home inspectors and consumers are confused about what an an energy audit is. Many don't know there is another type of inspection called an energy assessment. While at first glance, the two might seem the same, they are quite different.

An energy audit is a low cost (often free) service that identifies obvious energy conservation defects in a home. An energy assessment is a technically exhaustive identification of everything an inspector can find that may be reducing the energy efficiency of a home. These assessments require special tools and equipment to perform and are required (twice) in order to obtain a HERS rating for a home.

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Entry 0001 - April, 2011

All inspections are the same...Every house is different.

All inspections may feel different but this is simply an illusion produced by the differences between one house and another. While we may end up with a 12 page report on one house, and a 65 page report on another, the inspection process is the same for both. We can only look in six different directions no matter where we are; up, down, left, right, forward and backward. We can only write so much about the problems we find in a home; what we observe, what our concern is and what our suggested remedy is for each problem.

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Entry 0000 - April, 2011

Who is the Inspector General?

Jim Russell - President of GREI of America

Builder/ Remodeler since 1976.  Licensed Real Estate Agent since 1981. Founded FMG Southern Services Advertising, Marketing, and Public Relations in 1985 for the purpose of promoting Builders, Developers, Real Estate Projects and Real Estate Brokers.  Customers included Johnston Properties, Pulte Homes, Royer Realty, Cornerstone Properties, King and King Attorneys, Servox, Ltd., Peachtree Painting, Applied Foundation Technologies, and Mister Sparky.  Founded The GREIA Institute for Home Inspectors in 1997. Founded The General Real Estate Inspectors of America in 1998 to recruit, train, develop and promote the best home inspectors in the Country.

Licensed Insurance Agent

ICC Certified Residential Building Inspector

ICC Professional Member

ASHI Affiliate Member