bram Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 Hello All:I am purchasing a new home, if you have had a positive experience with a home inspector please let me know.Any recommendations for companies dealing with blinds and painting will do me a world of good.Any inputs are appreciated.Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlt1988 Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 I am a buyer's agent and can recommend any of the inspectors at this URL: Most on this list have done thousands of inspections. I especially like Doug Haubold (AATCO) and Joe Gonzales (Horizon). And I commend you for having new construction inspected. Always the right thing to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1fd Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 (edited) Hello All:I am purchasing a new home, if you have had a positive experience with a home inspector please let me know.Any recommendations for companies dealing with blinds and painting will do me a world of good.Any inputs are appreciated.ThanksI suggest you have it inspected several times throughout the construction process. The majority of important things are hidden as the construction process proceeds. Edited July 6, 2006 by jm1fd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJones Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 I agree with jlt, don't trust the salesman to show you your new home, In his mind, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the house, and will try to convince you, "HEY, it's new construction, you have nothing to worry about !" Don't you believe it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trophy Property Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 (edited) Hello All:I am purchasing a new home, if you have had a positive experience with a home inspector please let me know.Any recommendations for companies dealing with blinds and painting will do me a world of good.Any inputs are appreciated.ThanksI have used Fred Brock with Aim Inspectors 4 times now and he is great. I recently went through Houston Shutters when I purchased Plantation Shutters and Wooden Blinds. They did a fantastic job. Probably 10% higher than 3 Day Blinds but at least they want to work with you. 3 Day Blinds SUCKS really bad.Also, I use Service Magic when looking for contractors. Once you sign up they will have 3-4 contractors contact you when you want a specific job done. For Instance, you need the trees pruned and trimmed. You fill out a request and they will email 3-4 names with contact info who do that exact work. They also get your info. I usually sit back and wait for the hungry guys to call me. They are usually more apt to cut you a deal and want the work. You can also do research on these guys and see what other members say. Edited July 6, 2006 by Trophy Property Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackdog Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 I had very good luck with the engineers at Professional Engineering Inspections:http://www.profengineering.com/I used them 4 times, for different houses that we were interested in buying; they really saved us from making some big mistakes: one seemingly beautiful house where the entire front of the house had internal water damage (and had to be replaced) and one house where the framing wasn't even close to spec. The third house just had the usual litany of roofing problems and funky wiring in the kitchen. The fourth house, we bought! They aren't cheap, but they're thorough.-bd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bram Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 I had very good luck with the engineers at Professional Engineering Inspections:http://www.profengineering.com/I used them 4 times, for different houses that we were interested in buying; they really saved us from making some big mistakes: one seemingly beautiful house where the entire front of the house had internal water damage (and had to be replaced) and one house where the framing wasn't even close to spec. The third house just had the usual litany of roofing problems and funky wiring in the kitchen. The fourth house, we bought! They aren't cheap, but they're thorough.-bdThanks for the replies guys, i appreciate your help.SincerelyBR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trophy Property Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 I had very good luck with the engineers at Professional Engineering Inspections:http://www.profengineering.com/I used them 4 times, for different houses that we were interested in buying; they really saved us from making some big mistakes: one seemingly beautiful house where the entire front of the house had internal water damage (and had to be replaced) and one house where the framing wasn't even close to spec. The third house just had the usual litany of roofing problems and funky wiring in the kitchen. The fourth house, we bought! They aren't cheap, but they're thorough.-bdThat is the beauty of a great inspector. Fred Brock is the same way. We inspected 3 houses with him before we settled on a 4th home. A test that most people do not think of is a hydrostatic test. This will test for water leaks under your house. If you have a leak it can be tens of thousands to fix. One house we looked at was in great shape, but I decided to splurge on the hydro test. It was $150 I believe. They found a water leak and it was going to cost the seller $13k to fix. He brought in his own guy would was willing to do it for $8k. The seller wanted to split it with us and we backed off. He ended up doing the work before he could sell the house. He was forced to disclose it to other buyers. Of course if you are building a house this test might not be neccesary as all the work is brand new. We were looking at 35-50 year old houses. Shifting slabs can cause leaks...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston Agent Posted July 15, 2006 Share Posted July 15, 2006 My husband's pretty darn good! www.alltexhomeinspections.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flipper Posted July 15, 2006 Share Posted July 15, 2006 A test that most people do not think of is a hydrostatic test. This will test for water leaks under your house. If you have a leak it can be tens of thousands to fix. One house we looked at was in great shape, but I decided to splurge on the hydro test. It was $150 I believe. They found a water leak and it was going to cost the seller $13k to fix. He brought in his own guy would was willing to do it for $8k. The seller wanted to split it with us and we backed off. He ended up doing the work before he could sell the house. He was forced to disclose it to other buyers.Did the inspector inform you that 50 year old drain system is not designed to withstand the pressure of a hydrostatic test? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trophy Property Posted July 17, 2006 Share Posted July 17, 2006 Did the inspector inform you that 50 year old drain system is not designed to withstand the pressure of a hydrostatic test?No I was not infomred of this. First of all the house was about 38 years old. Secondly, on advice from my agent I asked the inspector if he recommended doing the test. He told me that it was a good idea, but that most people do not do the test because they do not want to spend the extra money. Thirdly, I called three different plumbing companies and inquired about this work. All three recommended the test (of course they want to earn fees, but not one asked about the age of the house.) I am not sure how else you are to test the underground plumbing of a house (any age). Basically what happened was the plumber filled all the pipes with water and watched to see if the level went down. The faster the drop in water level the more severe the leak. The house in question had a sever problem. At that time It was question time. Do I proceed with test and find the exact location of leak (done with a small camera) or do I walk away from the house. The owner was a general contractor (he had bought the house, remoldeled and was flipping). He agreed to pay for the cost to locate the leaks. Bottom line is that there were many different professionials involved in this process and not once was it even mentioned that age of the pipes makes a difference. Maybe if the house was 50 years or older a red flag would have been tossed. Please ellaborate on your statement. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldogg Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 I am sort of perplexed by flipper's comment as well.. I've done hydrostatic tests on houses around 45 yrs old without any problems... I don't see how plugging the line and filling it with water would be too much for the system... as for inspectors... I've been very happy with the Fox Inspection group.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1fd Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 I am sort of perplexed by flipper's comment as well.. I've done hydrostatic tests on houses around 45 yrs old without any problems... I don't see how plugging the line and filling it with water would be too much for the system...Maybe he's confusing it with a test where you would pressurize the line and look for leaks.Just filling it with water and letting gravity work its magic is what happens every time you flush the crapper.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trophy Property Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 (edited) Maybe he's confusing it with a test where you would pressurize the line and look for leaks.Just filling it with water and letting gravity work its magic is what happens every time you flush the crapper.... Maybe so. Maybe I got the name wrong. At any rate, I am glad you two agree with me. I took offense becuase earlier in the post I had reccomended Fred Brock with Aim inspections and Flippers post seemed to be calling out my inspector as an amatuer. Which of course is false. Edited July 19, 2006 by Trophy Property Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1fd Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 Maybe so. Maybe I got the name wrong. At any rate, I am glad you two agree with me. I took offense becuase earlier in the post I had reccomended Fred Brock with Aim inspections and Flippers post seemed to be calling out my inspector as an amatuer. Which of course is false. He's probably bitter because hydrostatic tests and inspectors have given him grief on his flips... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flipper Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 (edited) Sorry... I always forget to check this forum. My apologies, I was in fact thinking of a different test. I was probably so enranged with bitterness that I wasn't thinking clearly > jm1fd, We've actually never had a buyer do a hydrostatic test on a house we've done. We do run cameras on all of the drain lines in the houses we do and fix problems that we see though. All the best, flipper Edited July 20, 2006 by flipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trophy Property Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 Sorry... I always forget to check this forum.My apologies, I was in fact thinking of a different test. I was probably so enranged with bitterness that I wasn't thinking clearly > jm1fd, We've actually never had a buyer do a hydrostatic test on a house we've done. We do run cameras on all of the drain lines in the houses we do and fix problems that we see though. All the best, flipper No Worries. thanks for the follow up though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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