Check list Home Inspections have almost become a thing of the past, but unfortunately some buyers are being duped into using these antiquated reports just to close the deal.
Read below and give some thought to what your home inspector is doing for you 🙂
By Carlito Pablo, September 15, 2010
Ed Witzke noted a lot of crappy stuff about the house on Rutledge Street in Victoria in his inspection. But what he observed about the washroom was particularly striking.
“A big fat fellow like myself only gets 1/2 bum on toilet seat,” the Vancouver-based home inspector wrote in his report to his client.
To illustrate his point that it was difficult to sit on the main-floor toilet because it was too close to a wall, Witzke even drew an image of an individual on the throne. A large portion of the person’s bottom was hanging off the seat.
As well, Witzke reported to Rajan Reddy, the prospective Victoria home buyer who hired him, that the “acoustics in [the] bathroom is very poor—you can hear all body noises.”
The purchase didn’t go through, and Reddy’s realtor, Gord Hoshal, felt that Witzke was full of crap.
On July 7 of this year, Hoshal filed a complaint against Witzke—a UBC-trained architect with more than four decades of experience as a home inspector—with the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of B.C., accusing him of being unprofessional.
But Reddy is pleased with the service rendered by Witzke.
“He showed me all that crap and, basically, I feel that if Ed [Witzke] okayed the house, the sale would have gone through and I would have ended up with a piece of crap,” Reddy told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview from Victoria.
In his report to Reddy, Witzke stated that the property is “all bulldozer ready”.
Reddy says he’ll hire Witzke the next time he looks at a property.
“It had a suite downstairs, and there was a beam missing,” he said of the house he hired Witzke to inspect. “It looked like there was some water damage downstairs. The plumbing was in bad shape.”
Reddy said that Hoshal has been his realtor for some time. “He sold me my first house 10 years ago,” the Victoria resident noted.
Hoshal declined to talk about his complaint when reached by the Straight.
But in his complaint addressed to ASTTBC registrar John Shortreid, Hoshal said about Witzke: “After going on his website I found many things stated that lead me to believe he is somewhat jaded for whatever reason towards my profession and indeed a troubled soul, but that is no excuse for his lack of professionalism.”
Hoshal has it right about Witzke’s feelings toward realtors.
According to Witzke, many realtors want to control the home-inspection process so that sales go through swiftly and they can get their commissions. He claimed that realtors usually recommend to buyers inspectors they’ve had “luck” with in previous transactions.
“The more thorough the report is, the more they may have to reveal to the next prospective party buying the place, or the more they now have to work because they have to go back to the other realtor and back to the owner and say, ‘Look, these things were discovered,’?” Witzke told the Straight in a phone interview.
He noted that many realtors prefer a “checklist inspector”—one who doesn’t look closely at a property except to make sure that it has a roof, doors, and windows.
“For, I don’t know, $350 or whatever, the client gets a three-ring binder, a nice glossy three-ring binder saying that everything is okay, and once they move in, then I get the phone calls saying, ‘Guess what? This whole inspection process seems to be a fraud,’?” Witzke said.
In response to Hoshal’s complaint, Witzke wrote Shortreid on August 13. He noted that the case isn’t about a client who wasn’t happy with his services. According to the home inspector, it’s about “a realtor who lost a sale”.
As ASTTBC registrar, Shortreid acts as the prosecutor of complaints filed with the regulatory body.
In a phone interview with the Straight, Shortreid explained that a practice review panel makes recommendations to a member who’s facing a complaint. He said that if those recommendations are accepted by the member, the matter is deemed closed and is not subject to a disciplinary hearing.
Shortreid wasn’t able to say when the complaint against Witzke will be resolved.
Witzke has been through this before. According to him, Hoshal’s complaint is the fourth filed by a realtor against him. He said that except for one that has been resolved in his favour, the complaints are still pending decision.
Caveat Emptor: Buyer Beware: It is the home owners duty to research information prior to making a purchase. A knowledgeable consumer is a smart consumer. I try to convey this message to all my clients and protential clients so that they may better protect themselves.
Fallacy: Some consumers assume the Ontario New Home Warranty Program (ONHWP) offers blanket warranty coverage.
Truth: For a fee, new home buyers receive a (comprehensive) financial and construction defect warranty.
This warranty program provides $100,000 total maximum coverage on each home or condominium unit and deposit loss, not exceeding $20,000. It also offers protection against delayed closings, delayed occupancy and substitutions made without your agreement if the items of construction or finishing were specified in the agreement of purchase and sale. Remember to read the fine print, new home builders often have escape clauses allowing them to delay delivery of new home if they run into problems.
New home owners are supposed to receive a one-year warranty against defects in work materials and Ontario Building Code violations. Often they will hardly do anything if it involves a lot of work or replacing a product. For example I have seen many wood stairs with filled holes from wrong placement of guards and the builder refused to do anything even though plugs were clearly visible.
For homes enrolled on or after Jan. 1, 1991, the builder provides a two-year warranty against: water penetration through the building envelope including the basement or foundation walls; defects in the electrical, plumbing and heating delivery systems; protection against health and safety Ontario Building Code violations. Materials and work in the exterior cladding, caulking, windows and doors must also be defect free.
New homes enrolled on or after Jan. 1, 1991, have major structural defect coverage lasting for seven years while homes enrolled before that date are covered up to five years.
Fallacy: Many home owners believe the warranty program’s warranty coverage has an unlimited time period. Unfortunately, new home owners only realize their mistake after they lodge a complaint of claim when the warranty on the particular problem has expired.
Truth: New home owners should document all problems in writing before the warranty period ends. The warranty program can not pay claims if we don’t have notice of the problem within the warranty time lines. Forward copies of this documentation by registered mail to the builder and the warranty program. Home owners should note giving notice on the Certificate of Completion and Possession is not sufficient
Truth: Always get all your defects and missing items on your Pre-delivery Inspection Document. Some builders try and persuade home owners to wait and list items on their 30 day list, but then you have been in the home for a month and there could be some conflict as to when the damage or defect occurred. I have encountered this many times and my best advice is to always list everything on your Pre-delivery Inspection.
Truth: Since the program’s warranty coverage is transferred with title and does not remain with the owner, some resale homes are covered by warranty. The program’s coverage takes effect from the date of possession and remains in effect on the house or condominium unit even if it is sold before the end of the warranty period to a new owner.
Fallacy: Once they move into their new abode, home owners can sit back and let their new home warranty work for them.
Truth: Proper maintenance of a new home not only protects a home owner’s major investment but ensures they receive all the warranty coverage offered by the warranty program. Problems caused by home owner neglect, such as allowing caulking to wear down leading to moisture damage, are not covered.
Fallacy: Home owners who encounter problems in the homes only need to contact their builder. Fact: If home owners discover a problem they should fully document it in writing and send it to the builder and a copy to the warranty program prior to the end of the warranty period. This documentation defines and dates the defect. In your letter describe the problem and ask the builder to correct it. Include the home’s enrolment number, the complete address, the lot and plan numbers or the condominium address and unit number.
The warranty program will stand in the builder’s shoes if the builder is unable to correct the defect.
Fallacy: Some new home buyers, lawyers and real estate agents believe that HUDAC still exists.
Truth: The acronym HUDAC stands for the Housing and Urban Development Association of Canada, an organization founded in 1971. It administered the voluntary warranty program until 1976 when the provincial government passed the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act making the program mandatory. HUDAC continued until 1983 when the program took on its new name, the Ontario New Home Warranty Program.
The facts regarding the program and new home warranty are explained in the booklet, What Every New Home Buyer Should Know but you should talk to a professional and at least get some advice for free even if you don’t want a complete inspection.
Tarion CEO asked to Resign
Canadian News has reported that the Auditor General has asked CEO of Tarion to Resign
Created 43 years ago to help buyers of new construction homes, the Ontario government now says Tarion Warranty Corp. has become an agency that favours builders over consumers and has subsequently asked the company’s CEO to step down.
“I want to be clear, this is going to be a major overhaul,” the Minister of Government and Consumer Services Lisa Thompson said Thursday.
When a new home buyer had a problem, they could go to Tarion for help, but the auditor general’s report released Wednesday slammed the home warranty program, saying it was spending millions of dollars on bonuses for its executives but not paying attention to disputes raised by new homeowners.
Between 2014 and 2018, almost 9,700 requests to Tarion for help from consumers were dismissed because of restrictive deadlines.
“We have heard loud and clear that real, meaningful change is needed to the way we administer and enforce and Ontario’s new home warranties and protection program,” Minister Thompson said.
In proposed legislation released at Queen’s Park on Thursday, the government said it wants to restore consumer trust, reduce the influence of builders, make the program consumer-focused and enhance the dispute resolution process.
The minister also said the board would no longer be stacked with builders and developers.
“The proportion of new home builders and vendors on the board will be limited to no more than one third,” Thompson said.
The NDP Critic for Consumer Protection issues, Tom Rakocevic, said that the changes are a long time coming. “Buying a new home should be a dream and not a nightmare and new home buyers need existing warranties to be honoured fairly,” Rakocevic said.
The government had previously announced that it would establish a separate regulator for new homebuilders — something that has been handled by Tarion, and which critics have called a conflict of interest.
General Definition of Due Diligence : Measure of prudence, responsibility, and diligence that is from, and ordinarily exercised by, a reasonable and prudent person under the circumstances.
Individuals investing in Real Estate have to take some of the responsibility of ensuring that the property they are buying meets their expectations. You can only rely on third party information and guidance if they are truly experienced and a seasoned professional in their area of expertise.
I fully sympathize with buyers who were lead down the “garden path” by inexperienced real estate professionals, which also includes home inspectors. This is where common sense should prevail when so many people are jumping into the real estate profession and the home inspection industry anxious to start making the quick dollars. We have all seen the advertisements for the home inspection industry. You can attend part time at our local college, pick up a couple of basic courses, (Home inspections is the busiest course they have) or even go to a local strip mall where they are teaching the course and after a brief period of instruction, you are a Professional Home Inspector . On-line courses start at under $500.00 for at home study and a certificate upon completion.
The Home Buyer must do his or her due diligence on choosing their professional representative, where a real estate agent or home inspector. This is usually one of most peoples largest investments and should not be entered into blindly.
In the past month alone I have turned down three home inspections. The reason why is that they were all requests for re-inspections of houses inspected by local “Professional Home Inspectors”. I have the best price in our area for home inspections but I can only maintain that through the volume of business that my $199.00 price generates. I do not have time to be involved in litigation over some individuals’ failure to perform a proper home inspection. I do not like to be involved in instances that reflect badly on our profession and in all cases have recommended that the buyer contact the individual to allow them to reconcile their differences.
I continue to receive calls every week from concerned individuals, who have bought a home, and when going through their “checklist” inspection report, have come across something that either scares them or worries them so much they have to phone someone to have it explained. Most cases are simply explaining the wording that was used is a “cover your ass” type of “blanket catch phrase”, typical of the in-experienced Home Inspector in an attempt to defend his in-experience from future lawsuits. This is not limited to just my local area, I received a call from an individual from Pennsylvania last month who was concerned about the inspectors comments on his air conditioner. He had no clue that he was calling Canada, just read one of my articles and called the number.
Please ensure that when your buyers are looking for a home inspector that they are aware of the importance of doing “Due Diligence” when hiring someone to inspect their investment. Some guidelines recommended by Canada Mortgage and Housing are to verify how long they have been in business, check references and ask what they professional qualifications are. Some web sites provide certificates for everything imaginable by doing a 20 minute online course, you then get a professional looking logo to plaster on to your website. Look for original content on websites, those syndicated “magazine type articles” should be a “red flag” shouting out, “inexperience.” I personally recommend that you look for third party credentials that are building related. Common sense should guide you here. A “block layer” is not much of a credential when most homes are poured concrete. Nothing against block layers but when the foundation walls are up, their finished. Many “in-experienced inspectors” claim that they don’t quote building codes. Well your home was built according to the Building Code that was current at that time. If you don’t know the appropriate building code how could you possibly ever identify what is wrong with the construction of the home. Your span tables give you the required size of floor joists, how many nails are required is covered, and how much of your beam is required to be on supporting structure. It just goes on and on and if your home inspector has the bare minimum requirements, thats the type of inspection your receiving.
Well, that was my rant for today. I feel badly for those individuals who have called, but unfortunately it is too late to help them. I believe it is the duty of true professionals to help educate and protect those who rely on our expertise to guide them through the process of buying real estate.
Successfully Selling Your House Tips
Before you can start packing up clothes and furniture for a big move, you must first prepare your home to be sold. Since you want to sell your house at a fair price, the surest way to bring in what it deserves is to present your house at its best.
First off, you are going to want to remove any clutter or junk from the house. If you need to, rent a storage unit to put some items in or extra furniture. You probably do not need all the furniture you have, and you can certainly make the house look more spacious without all of it.
As a rule of thumb, keep in mind that if you have not used something in over a year, you probably never will. Get rid of everything you do not use or need by either donating or throwing it away. If you are feeling especially ambitious, you may even consider having a yard sale, which will help offset the upcoming costs of moving.
Never leave around too many of your personal belongings. People tend to have too many of these things and you want to keep your home as neat as possible. If these items are strewn about your home, potential buyers may get turned off.
If you have any personal items lying about your home, you should put them away for potential buyers. Not everyone shares the same opinion and views on certain topics, so it is best to avoid debates or anything that may turn the potential buyer off. If you want to take that extra little step, go ahead and paint the walls a neutral color.
Organize your cabinets, drawers, closets, and medicine cabinets. Remember that homebuyers often open these to check how much space there is. Again, you want to present your home at its best, not its sloppiest. Line items up neatly and label boxes and containers appropriately.
Finally, maintain the outside of your home. Keep the lawn mowed and foliage trimmed. Touch up any spots on the house that need paint. Consider planting flowers to spruce up your yard and pull weeds.
Try to make your place as attractive as possible. It should feel like a place prospective buyers want to buy. Remove anything that may make them second guess their purchase, especially very personal items, like photos, so they can imagine what it would be like as their new home.
