HOUSING INSPECTOR

The below information was not provided as final and defenitive mold spore level specifications because health responses to mold spore exposures differ from person to person. Also, health responses to mold spores can be affected by the length of time you are exposed to spores, the size or type of spore you are exposed to, the levels of dust mite and roach allergens, individual sensitivity to allergens, emotional stress, general health, as well as other substances and factors that have not yet been discovered by mold inspectors. Thus, as a result mold spore levels alone at your property cannot always be relied on to always answer questions such as “Are molds in my environment making me sick.”

The following information is just offered as some general helpful information and should not be relied on as any type of medical advise, see your doctor if you feel sick.

”Guidelines on Assessment and Remediation of Fungi in Indoor Environments” published in 2000 by the New York City Department of Health.”

The most widely accepted guideline by mold inspectors to help determine if indoor mold spore levels are indicative of a possible mold problem is the comparison of indoor and outdoor mold spore levels. Indoor mold spore levels should be similar to or lower than levels found outdoors, and the types of mold spores found indoors should be similar to types found outdoors. Most mold inspectors, certified indoor environmentalist, and industrial hygienists also will generally support the above mentioned comparison method and have determined that indoor mold spore levels should be similar in number and type to outdoor mold spore levels and types. The below listed organizations and governing bodies also support the above view.

ACGIH 1989, Canada M&H CO. 1991, ACGIH 1993, OSHA 1994, and Brazil 2000.

Burge 1990

If indoor microbial aerosols qualitatively differ from outdoor, and indoor levels are consistently more than double the outdoor levels and exceed 1000 cfu per cubic meter of air, investigate.

The following are additional helpful general guidelines all from well known and respected industry experts.

They show actual numbers of spores or coloney forming units per cubic meter of air.

Remember that> means greater than so

> 1,000 contamination means greater than 1,000 spores per cuic meter or air indicates indoor fungal contamination.

OSHA 1992 findings

> 1,000 Contamination

ACGIH 1993 Findings

> 1,000 High

American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists

(Air Sampling Instruments for Evaluation of Atmospheric Contaminants 1995)

100 cfu or less per cubic meter of air is low.

100 cfu to 1000 cfu per cubic meter of air is intermediate.

1000 or more cfu per cubic meter of air is high.

Much of the below information is from Worldwide Mold Exposure Standards for Mold and Bacteria, Robert C. Brandys, PhD, MPH, PE, CIH, CSP, CMR and Gail M. Brandys, MS, CSP, CMR:

Brazil Government Findings 2002

100-500 normal indoor mold spore levels per cubic meter of air, can be higher in summer.

Norway Government Findings
2,000 Health complaints.

American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology/National Allergy Bureau findings 2002

1 - 6,499 Low- Only individuals extremely sensitive to these pollens and molds will experience symptoms.

6,500 - 12,999 Moderate - Many individuals sensitive to these pollens and molds will experience symptoms.

13,000-49,999 High Most individuals with any sensitivity to these pollens and molds will experience symptoms.

50,000 Very High - Almost all individuals with any sensitivity at all to these pollens and molds will experience symptoms.

Extremely sensitive people could have severe symptoms.

Please note that the above National Allergy Burear findings are not trying to indicate what are expected spore levels, but what levels may effect various populations if exposed to such levels outdoors. By no means should you try and use the above findings to determine what moderate indoor spore levels are. They they are not talking about indoor spore levels but outdoor spore levels. Your indoor levels should in most cases be several times lower than outdoor levels.

Caoimhin P. Connell

As a general rule, the normal indoor total fungal spore counts across the central portion of the U.S. (bounded by a latitude of, say, 35° north to 45° north), for healthy buildings (buildings not experiencing fungal problems) is usually less than 500 counts per cubic meter (counts/m3); with indoor concentrations exceeding 900 counts/m3 less than 15% of the time.4

According to my database, the viable fungi concentrations of non-symptomatic, healthy environments is not dissimilar; 383 colony forming units per cubic meter of air (CFU/m3), with a 95% probability that one sample in five (21%) samples will exceed 900 CFU/m3.

The above information is from Caoimhín P. Connell. who is a Colorado area mold expert with over 20 years experience as an industrial hygienist, he is also a law enforcement officer specializing in the identification and processing of clandestine drug labs.

He has served on three of the ASTM International Standards Committees: D22 (Indoor Air Quality), E30 (Forensic Sciences) and the E50 (Environmental Assessment, Risk Management and Corrective Action).

Recommended References Materials on Indoor Spore Levels For Mold Inspectors
*Worldwide Mold Exposure Standards for Mold and Bacteria, Robert C. Brandys, PhD, MPH, PE, CIH, CSP, CMR and Gail M. Brandys, MS, CSP, CMR

If you want to buy a house for sale philippines, you might want to check out what a housing tenure is first.

Housing tenure refers to the financial arrangements under which someone has the right to live in a house or apartment. The most frequent forms are tenancy, in which rent is paid to a landlord, and owner occupancy. Mixed forms of tenure are also possible.

The basic forms of tenure can be subdivided, for example an owner-occupier may own a house outright, or it may be mortgaged. In the case of tenancy, the landlord may be a private individual, a non-profit organization such as a housing association, or a government body, as in public housing.

In other words, a house for sale philippines, is simply a piece of real estate with a tenure.

Surveys used in social science research frequently include questions about housing tenure, because it is a useful proxy for income or wealth, and people are less reluctant to give information about it.

There are several types that encompasses the term “Housing Tenure”. These are as follows:

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Owner Occupancy - or owner-occupier, is a person who lives in a house that he or she owns. Owner-occupancy is therefore also called home ownership. The home of the owner-occupier can range from condominiums, apartments, to housing cooperatives. The immovable property, which includes the home and the land it sits upon, is known as the real estate.

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Tenancy - or Leasehold Estate, is an ownership interest in land in which a lessee or a tenant holds real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Leasehold is a form of property tenure where one party buys the right to occupy land or a building for a given length of time.
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Cooperative - or housing cooperative, is a legal entity (usually a corporation) that owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings. Each shareholder in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit, sometimes subject to an occupancy agreement, which is similar to a lease.
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Condominium - A condominium, or condo, is a form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate (usually of an apartment house) is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights associated with the individual ownership and controlled by the association of owners that jointly represent ownership of the whole piece.
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Public Housing - is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local.

If you want to learn more about housing tenure or you just want to buy house for sale philippines, then visit any online brokerage company or real estate broker in the philippines.

The most common type of mold encountered by certified mold inspectors are penicillium and aspergillus, These two genera (large groups of closely related types) each has has nearly 200 species.

Because penicillium and aspergillus spores look the same under the microscope both groups are lumped together in lab reports and simply referred to as pen / asp. In healthy persons with allergies these molds often cause allergic reactions, in unhealthy persons these same molds can in rare cases even cause infections especially lung infections.

Aspergillosis Information

According to various scientific studies and this mold investigators personal experience, Aspergillus species are by far the most common molds found in water damaged homes. It is very often green or sometimes brown, or black, and it is not uncommon to find white varieties growing on clothes in humid closets.

If you have cancer and are undergoing chemotherapy, are taking high doses of steroid medications, have lungs damaged by previous TB infections, or have a weakened immune system, you may be more likely to develop Aspergillosis, which is the non invasive growth of aspergillus fungus balls in the lungs. These fungus balls are about 1/8 to 1 inch or so in size and are round or shaped as a half-moon. Sometimes, an infected person will cough one up since they are usually loose or will have allergic reactions to the mold in the lungs. The condition can be very serious and should be diagnosed by a doctor usually via biopsy or X-rays. Treatment may involve various antibiotics. In 2004, I conducted a certified mold inspection on a property in West Palm Beach, Florida where the tenant had aspergillus niger growing in her lungs. In the same year, I did a mold inspection on a doctor’s moldy condo unit in Ft Lauderdale Florida. One of the doctor’s patients, had a serious and rare case of aspergillosis, where the mold became invasive and thus has started to grow not just loose inside the lungs, but was spreading deep into the lung tissue and other parts of the body.

The three most common causes of this condition are the following species of mold growing in the lungs all three are commonly encountered growing in homes by certified mold inspectors:

1 Aspergillus fumigatus
2 Aspergillus flavus
3 Aspergillus niger

Aspergillus flavus

Aw 0.78.Conidia dimensions 3-6 microns or 3-5 microns. It grows on moldy corn and peanuts. It can be found in warm soil, foods and dairy products. Some strains are capable of producing a group of mycotoxins - in the aflotoxins group. Aflotoxins are known as an animal carcinogen. There is limited evidence to suggest that this toxin is a human carcinogen. The toxin is poisonous to humans by ingestion. It may also result in occupational disease via inhalation. Experiments have indicated that it is teratogenic and mutagenic. It is toxic to the live and reported to be allergenic. Its presence is associated with reports of asthma, and can be found in water-damaged carpets. The production of the fungal toxin is dependent on the growth conditions and on the substrate used as a food source. This fungus is associated with aspergillosis of the lungs and/or disseminated aspergillosis. This fungus is occasionally identified as the cause of corneal, otomycotic and nasal orbital infections.

Aspergillus fumigatus

Aw 0.82; Optimum 0.97. Conidia dimensions 2-3.5 microns. This is the major cause of aspergillosis. Both invasive and allergic aspergillosis are caused by this organism. Aspergillosis affects individuals who are immune-compromised. It is considered a human pathogen. It grows well at 35 degrees C and is commonly found outdoors in compost piles with temperatures higher than 40 degrees C, in mild to warm soils and on cereals.

Aspergillus niger

Aw 0.77; Optimum 0.97. Conidia dimensions 3.5 - 5 microns or 4 to 5 microns. This is a less common cause of aspergillosis. It has a musty odor. It is commonly found in the environment on textiles, in soils, and on grains, fruits and vegetables. It has been reported to cause skin and pulmonary infections. It is a common cause of fungi-related ear infections-otomycosis. This is one of the most common aspergillus species encountered by this certified mold inspector in severely water damaged buildings. For most certified inspectors, it is the only species of aspergillus that can be specifically identified under the microscope by species. The spores look like sea urchin shells without the spines.

If you can’t make the monthly payments on your house loan you will face a house foreclosure.  This is a situation where the lender wants his money and if he doesn’t get it, he takes back the house to make up for the payments.  It is hard to believe that the very people who fought so hard to give you a loan can so easily take your house through a house foreclosure.  The cold fact is it’s not your house until it’s paid for.  Credit seems wonderful until there comes a day when you can’t pay it back.  In a house foreclosure, you lose out completely.

If you are in a situation of a house foreclosure, it’s important you don’t become too emotional.  If you want to make the best of a bad situation you must think clearly and do what is best for you.  The lender is only interested in getting back his money; He can easily do this by selling ‘your’ house.  Before the lender sells your house it is technically in a pre-foreclosure state.  This means you still have time to try and get some money back.  To do this, you must try your very best to sell your property before the lender does.  The lender has no motivation to try and get the highest price; He only wants to cover his losses.  This means a house that is sold will be sold at a lower price.

A lender charges interest on money borrowed.  This is why house foreclosure is a last resort.  The lender makes a greater profit from the interest than from selling the property to cover costs. For this reason, you actually have a chance to negotiate.  A lender would rather strike a deal to enable you to keep paying for your home; in this way he makes even more money.  Don’t hesitate to speak to the lender about negotiating a deal in order to keep your home.

If you can’t re-negotiate with the lender there is another option.  There are individuals or companies that specifically purchase properties in pre-foreclosure.  An offer to purchase will stop the foreclosure from happening.  In this way, you can at least get some of the cash for yourself.  There are buyers who will allow you to stay in the house which means you and your family won’t go through the trauma of having to move out of your home and neighborhood.  The difference is, you will have to pay rent.  Remember, you would have to pay rent to live somewhere else anyway.  At the very least this is more convenient for the time being.

If your home can’t be sold then the lender will sell it at a special auction.  Your house will be sold to the highest bidder even if the bid is under market value.  All the lender wants is to get the debt off its books.  The very last stage is if there are no bidders.  The lender (bank) will have to buy the house.

One of the most important things any homeowner needs to do is purchase insurance for their house. House insurance is also mandatory with almost all mortgage lenders if you are financing your home through their services.  House insurance is sometimes referred to as home insurance, and generally refers to any type of insurance that is used to protect your house in the event that it is damaged or has any of its contents stolen.  It is crucial for everyone, whether you own your home or you’re just renting.

Insurance policies and costs will vary between the different insurance providers and are dependent on the contents of the house and the total value of the house with its contents. The premium to be charged on house insurance is also usually decided depending upon the risk that is involved in insuring the property and the likely hood of an event actually occurring. In states like Florida where floods and hurricane occur often the property owners have to pay large sums of money as premium to the insurance companies to cover their property.

A home insurance policy gives coverage to all the belongings of the house, that include the house, the various contents of the house, loss of goods in the house, any form of damages that may occur to the house, damages that may occur due to the regular use of the house etc. This is spelled out in the home insurance policy, which can be a very long document and lists all the contents of the house and the all things that the person wants to insure as part of the insurance for their house.  Most homeowners choose to buy a house insurance policy to cover the cost of rebuilding their home should disaster strike.  A good homeowner’s insurance policy will also cover the possessions in the home against theft and damage.

You can use the power of the internet to research a variety of house insurance policy companies and obtain free quotes. Get at least 4 free quotes to compare and be sure to compare pricing and coverage with your current homeowner’s policy to see if you can save some money for the same amount of coverage.

Matching your home insurance coverage with your personal needs is also important.  Since the largest part of homeowners insurance is coverage for the house itself, many people refer to homeowners insurance as house insurance.  But whether you call it house insurance or homeowners insurance, its valuable protection and you should check your coverage at least once a year or more often if you make changes to your home such as remodeling or putting on a new roof.  And you should always shop and compare for the best value for your homeowners insurance needs since rates can vary by hundreds of dollars from company to company for the same coverage.

Most of the home buyers are facing a dilemma when deciding to move. They have to choose between two major categories - whether to buy a brand new home or a resale home. There are many advantages and disadvantages to new houses as well as for resale houses. The list of the differences is long, but for a rough comparison, we will list just the most major and bolted ones. A good real-estate agent might also help the buyer to distinguish the differences between those two categories and give a better understanding of the market, in order to reach the right decision that would suit them better.

The first conspicuous difference is that a new house is a new house. Like a brand new fresh car, there is no replacement to the feeling of having a new product that no one has used before and moving in to a new house is like starting a new chapter in life. Furthermore, with a new house, most chances that the buyer will not suffer of any major problems that might occur due to wear of its components and systems (such as leaks, for example). Most people who’s this is a major concern, are not willing to compromise on this issue and initially go on buying a brand new home. Another reason that some home buyers prefer to buy a new home is a financial reason. When buying a house at an early stage, while the construction has not yet started and the development might even be in a late planning stage, most chances are that the price would be attractive comparing to other existing homes with similar characteristics in nearby locations. The simple explanation for it is that in the first few years after the construction has ended; the new neighborhood is being developed, the trees have grew up, the amenity areas, shopping centers, schools, libraries and public transportation are already exist. However, it is not always known from advanced which kind of public services would be in the area and therefore, the buyer has to do self investigation in order to revile those thing, as this information will not be provided at the sales office. A well developed neighborhood increases the value of its houses because the other side of the equation, those home buyers who prefer to buy resale houses, are ready to pay more just in order not to suffer from the lack of basic services until the development of the neighborhood is completed.

On the other hand, home buyers who rather buying a resale house, located in an established neighborhood, have a different priority order. They take into consideration that they might be exposed to future unknown repairs that might appear and therefore they try to minimize this risk by hiring a home inspector. At this point, it is important to mention that a home inspection is not a guarantee that no unexpected problem will pop up after moving in, however, it gives the home buyers a better understanding and more information about the property they intend to purchase. A second point that worth knowing is that most home inspectors are not engineers and cannot evaluate or diagnose structural problems that the house might have. Therefore, it would be a wise idea to hire an inspector who is also a licensed Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) in Ontario. An inspection conducted by a professional engineer might cost more than an inspection conducted by a regular home inspector but this additional expense is negligible comparing to other expanses while purchasing a house and may pay itself in the long run.  Nevertheless, buying a resale home has many advantages. For example, unlike new houses, which in most of the cases are sold by the builder with a basic package of upgrading, the buyer of a resale home may enjoy many improvements, which the previous owner has added to the house, such as the developing the landscape, better appliances, upgraded bathrooms and kitchens, upgraded windows ext. All those extra thing, which the buyer gets a part of the property, might cost tens of thousands of dollars and therefore should also be a major parameter in the calculation.

In conclusion, the decision between buying a brand new home and a resale home is tough for most of the home buyers. There are many parameters,which have to be considered before making a final decision. In order to assist with those conflicts, it would be a good idea to prepare a table that lists all important factors that are important for the home buyer. A visual comparison may help organize the buyer’s thoughts and help to reach the optimum decision.

Take a Cold Look at Your House

Whether in Limerick, or anywhere  else for that matter, every house seller wants his/her house to sell quickly and at the highest price. The way to achieve this is through careful planning, knowing how to professionally enhance your house, and, just as importantly, developing an unemotional view of it.   Once you decide to sell, you  need to treat your house as a product that can make money for you, not as a home.  Concentrate on the fact that soon this house will no longer be yours. Don’t look backwards, look towards the future. The reason you want to make your house appear as an anonymous showhouse is because you want buyers to view it as their potential home. Potential buyers can imagine themselves living in it, without being reminded of anyone else’s involvement in the house.

Remove as many personal possessions as possible from view. Pack up those personal items and family photographs. Buyers can’t see beyond someone else’s personal belongings, and you don’t want them to be distracted. Make it as easy as possible for buyers to imagine themselves living in the house. You want potential buyers to be able to say to themselves: ‘I can see myself living here.’  Get rid of clutter and junk.

Pricing Your House

Once you have decided to sell your house, you obviously want to get as much money as possible for it. It’s very easy to get caught up in the excitement over choosing a sales price. More money means you can afford to buy a more expensive house, buy a new car or treat yourself to a long overdue holiday.

But in reality, it doesn’t matter how much money YOU think your house is worth. The only person whose opinion really does matter is the buyer who makes you an offer.

Putting a value on any house is part art and part science. It involves comparing similar properties in your area of Limerick, allowing for the differences among them, tracking market changes and taking account of how many houses similar to yours are for sale. All this information is needed come up with a range of values, an educated opinion. This method is the same way a valuer decides how much your house is worth. And no two valuations are ever exactly the same; however, they are generally close to each other. In other words, there is no hard and fast price tag to put on your house. It’s only an educated guess and, no matter what figures are suggested, it’s the market that will dictate the price. If your house is dramatically above the going market price, few people will waste time viewing it. Their time is better spent previewing houses that are priced realistically.

Photographing Your Property

Try to take the exterior photos of your property in the middle of the day when the sun is shining and try to get a blue sky background. Remember, you can replace the images you have placed with your property advertisements, so if you take a better photo later, you can still include it.

For outside shots of the front and back of your house, put away rubbish bins and remove anything that will distract from the view of your house. Remove any cars from the driveway, and  try not to include telephone poles, wires and other houses in the scene. Trim your photos so that potential buyers can concentrate on your house.

For apartments, include shots of amenities in the area. For all properties, you should include photos of scenery that may interest potential housebuyers.

On a national retailer’s loading dock, a 450 pound compressor was being unloaded from a truck when the dolly on which the compressor was riding fell on a worker’s leg. The employee suffered a broken leg and a dislocated ankle. A safety inspector’s report showed that the retailer failed to ensure that material, articles or things, including the compressor, required to be lifted, carried or moved, shall be lifted, carried or moved in such a way and with such precautions and safeguards, including protective clothing, guards or other precautions as will ensure that the lifting, carrying or moving of the material, articles or things does not endanger the safety of any worker; a failure to obey safety regulations was issued. The court agreed with the investigation and found the retailer guilty and fined it $75,000.

What could have been done to prevent this accident and court proceedings? A working health and safety plan. Health and safety plans and procedures only are effective if they are practiced. A daily, documented inspection of this dolly and loading procedures would have prevented this accident. ABB Safety Net provides aid in maintaining a health and safety program. E-mailed notices are provided as reminders of up and coming events to keep a health and safety program legal. Proper documented training and a daily safety log of the dolly would have prevented this case from a fine and would have diminished the accident from occurring in the first place.

A working program will:

1) Improve employee morale-shows care in their well being

2) Reduce revenue loses-fewer accidents keeps employees working and reduces insurance premiums and also can lead to rebates on insurance

3) Give a boost to the customer-having fewer accidents means all employees are available for work

Writing a health and safety program is a huge and frustrating task. Where to start? ABB Safety Net can help. ABB Safety Net will issue a written plan with your company’s name for your company. Secondly ABB Safety Net will provide a self hazard assessment for your company (nobody knows your company better than you). Further ABB Safety Net will research requirements for your region to make your program complies with legal requirements such as: “do you need a formal committee?”, “need first aid training?”, “what needs to be posted?”, or even being “certified?”

Now, the written plan is ready what’s next? You must live and maintain the plan. Documentation is everything for your and your employee’s protection. ABB Safety Net will provide an employee’s safety manual and a form to sign. ABB Safety Net will also provide simple forms for daily start-ups, monthly walk-throughs, quarterly meetings, and annual meetings. To aid in maintenance for your health and safety plan, ABB Safety Net will e-mail these forms as a reminder of the occurrences when they are due. ABB Safety Net will even e-mail a random fire drill to test for fire safety.

What happens when an accident does occur? With a working plan in place you will have all needed forms and you will have all documentation in place. You will even have an investigation procedure in place to aid in preventing the accident from occurring again. In case an accident does occur, an investigation would have taken place by you and not by the safety inspector. You would have come to the conclusion first and would have the report ready before the safety inspector stopped by.

Now, how would you answer these questions from a safety inspector “Where is your health and safety plan?” “Here is our plan that we are very proud of and our accident rate has almost become zero.” “Where is the safety documentation of this injured worker?” “Here is all of the safety documentation of training. It was a misfortune that this accident did occur. Here is our accident investigation report and our conclusions on how to prevent this from occurring again.”

Give ABB Safety Net a call at (416)276-0017 or drop us an e-mail at ABBSafetyNet@gmail.com for help in your health and safety plan and maintenance today.

Some people like dogs; you love them. You don’t understand how anyone could possible have just one dog. And now, you’re considering new cedar dog houses for your pets. Your main problem, of course, is that you don’t just own one dog. You have three basic choices. You can buy individual cedar dog houses for each pet. You can buy one large house where the dogs sleep together. Or you can buy a doggie duplex, which divides a single house into compartments, or “rooms,” for each dog.

If you have considered individual cedar dog houses for each pet, you have probably discovered that the price can add up quickly. Perhaps the price is your main objection. You might also object to multiple houses littering your yard. You love dogs, but you don’t want your neighbors calling you every time they go on vacation because they think you’re running a kennel out of your home. Maybe your dogs enjoy being together, and you feel bad separating them. In any of these cases, individual dog houses may not seem like a good option to you.

In this case, you might consider one large house where your pets can rest and sleep together. When you visit a pet store, the puppies that share a space seem happier than the ones who stare with drooping eyes from their lonely cages. But every dog should have room enough to stand up, turn around, lie down, and stretch out fully inside the dog house. You might be afraid that if the dogs pile into a house together, they might step on one another and get into a growling, tangled knot. Or maybe they might hurt each other, you fear. You have another option for your pets.

Cedar dog houses come in duplex models. These houses have internal dividers that split the house into individual compartments, or “rooms.” If you compare the prices of two small cedar dog houses and one small cedar duplex, you will find that the price of the duplex is more affordable than the price of two individual cedar dog houses. Duplexes also reduce the number of houses in your yard by half. They allow your dogs separate breathing space but keep them close together.

You will want to take note of the measurements listed in the product specifications. The measurements of the compartments in a duplex may not exactly match the measurements of an individual house’s inside, even when the products come from the same manufacturer. Ensure that the room in each compartment will be adequate for each dog. Also compare your dogs’ measurements to the door openings. Dogs should not have to crouch and crawl into their homes; neither should they need to bend their heads much to enter.

You may have considered both individual dog houses and large dog houses for multiple pets. If you have decided that neither option meets your needs, check to see if your favorite style comes in a duplex model. You could save money on a duplex and keep your dogs happy and comfortable.

A question that comes up from time to time and warrants comment is something like, But I thought you were going to find everything, or words to that effect said by a client and from time to time an agent while doing a commercial or industrial real estate inspection.

I have done over 6000 inspections. I am one of the best. I will not find everything. Nobody will. There are inspectors that will spend many hours listing out very minute details with the express reason of giving the client as much ammunition as possible to renegotiate the price of the inspection. I personally feel this is a disservice to all parties involved. Not everyone feels this way and thats ok.

There is an industry standard for a property inspection. It is very clear that the purpose is to find Material Defects. Significant issues in the major systems. It states that cosmetic issues are not part of the inspection. I feel strongly that this is the proper view to do inspections.

To try and find every defect in the property would be like trying to count how many hairs a person has on their body. It is just not realistic. Some standard needs to be set and agreed upon so that there is a level of expectation that can be met.

In the state of California there are some generally agreed upon standards. One is from the California Real Estate Inspection Association (CREIA). Another is the PCA Property Condition Assessment standard for Commercial Property Inspections by ASTM. The American Society of Testing and Materials. ASTM is considered the yardstick in the industry of commercial and industrial real estate inspections.

It has a very detailed description of what acceptable practice is for a commercial or industrial real estate inspection. It has many levels and degrees of involvement that can be done. It can encompass review of documents by qualified professionals such as an architect at the local Department of Building and Safety to having professionals examine every system and do detailed reports for these. It also lists out the minimum level Base Line for a site visit and review of a building and the associated parking structure. The base line inspection is generally the agreed upon inspection. It is done almost 100% of the time.

I bring all this up for a few reasons but the main one is to help clear the air and to try and help prospective buyers and real estate professionals understand what an inspection really is and is not. This will establish an agreement as to what it is we as professional inspectors do and do not do.

What we as a company do is look at the site while paying particular attention to the Plumbing, Electrical, Heating and AC, the Structure and Roofing. We look at the site and comment on immediate drainage issues. We look for material defects, safety issues and comment on the expected useful life of systems per industry standards. We do these things from a general visual stand point. We do not disassemble anything. We do not do any destructive testing. We test things on a representative basis. We do not check every plug or window or door or fixture. We look at things from a general visual standpoint. We spend from 1 to 6 hours depending on many variables on the site taking pictures and taking notes. You get a written report that can be well over 50 pages of information and pictures that show what we have found.

The amount of information in the report is extensive. It greatly increases the buyers knowledge of the building(s) and site. It will allow for a much more informed decision.

You will get a RISK Assessment tm. This will take the major systems as listed above and let you know:

1. What the expected useful life left in each system.

2. What immediate repairs or maintenance is needed or recommended for each system.

3. What expenses you should expect to pay over the next five years other than routine maintenance for each system.

After many years and thousands of inspections I have personally found that the above fits almost every buyers needs. It puts them in a much more informed position to make their decision as to the best way to proceed from there.

On rare occasions we have done detailed specialty inspections. These involve having professionals such as a Structural Engineer, Plumbing contractor, Electrician, Roofing contractor, Heating and AC specialist, Architects, Phase 1s, Termites examine the building and grounds and do detailed reports.

These usually take from 2 to 4 weeks to complete. The cost starts at approx $10,000 and can easily double that depending on size and complexity. This is very rarely needed or wanted. In fact I have done only 2 in all the inspections I have been involved in. I personally do not find them necessary nor do they warrant the expense in almost every circumstance.

The general visual inspection for the vast majority of commercial or industrial sites will give the usual buyer and agent sufficient information to determine if they need or want a specialist to take the examination further in a specific area such as roofing or the HVAC. Recommended further review is most often in the fields of the major systems as listed above.

My personal experience is that over 99.9% of the time the general visual inspection will increase the information and understanding of the building and site to the point that all parties feel comfortable with the best way to proceed.