From the category archives:

Home Inspection

Toilet kills $1.2M home sale

Thumbnail image for Toilet kills $1.2M home sale June 23, 2010

Friends of mine called me to share their latest adventure trying to buy a house in the Washington, DC area. At the inspection of a house they had agreed to pay nearly $1.2M for they discovered that the toilet in the basement wasn’t connected to the plumbing in the house! The toilet turned out to [...]

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Numerous Chicago homes built with split-face concrete block have problems

June 18, 2009

I just listened to a story on WBEZ 91.5 (Chicago Public Radio) about numerous Chicago homeowners facing huge repair bills for their homes constructed with decorative split-face concrete block that wasn’t installed correctly.
Even through City of Chicago inspectors had approved the construction, the homeowners are on the hook for repairs since they now own the [...]

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How do You Test an Invisible Fence Without a Dog?

May 9, 2009

How do you test an invisible fence, if you don’t have a dog with you? That’s the question some buyers and I pondered at a recent home inspection.
One of the buyers, Deeya Pavelle, was willing to model the electronic dog collar (shown left), but I couldn’t persuade Deeya to take a walk in the back [...]

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Consider Testing for Radon When Buying a Home

May 2, 2009

This week one of my buyers had the house she is buying in Lake Zurich tested for radon levels. As I previously wrote in, “Radon Testing Guidelines & Disclosure for Illinois Home Buyers“, last year the State of Illinois started encouraging home buyers to have homes they were considering for purchase tested for radon levels. [...]

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3 Hidden Costs of Buying Foreclosures

April 29, 2009

I had an interesting question yesterday from a new buyer about the costs of buying a foreclosure. She asked who was responsible for compensating the Realtors when it’s a bank selling the property. Compensation works the same way regardless of who the seller is. If the foreclosure is listed with a broker, the bank pays [...]

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Why New Homes For Sale Should Have Inspections

April 6, 2009

Today my buyers of a new duplex condo in Lakeview had their home inspection. Even though they are buying a new home with a 1 year warranty, they wisely chose to have a home inspection before continuing with the purchase.
1. By getting a home inspection during an inspection review period, buyers have the option [...]

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New Home Inspection Test for Granite Countertops

January 2, 2009

This year I will be recommending that my buyers perform a new test during their home inspection. While I recently visited the new condo of some of my buyers in the South Loop, they shared with me that they discovered after they moved in that their granite countertops weren’t properly sealed. Their kitchen countertops were [...]

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Why Home Inspections are Even More Critical for Foreclosed Homes

November 6, 2008

Normally when you buy a home in Illinois the sellers must provide disclosures about their knowledge of any defects or safety issues. However, such is not the case for foreclosed properties. Since the seller (the bank) didn’t reside in the home, they aren’t obligated to complete disclosure reports such as the Illinois Association of Realtors [...]

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New Home Orientations are Challenging in the Dark!

September 4, 2008

Yesterday I attended a new home orientation at the Library Towers condo development in the South Loop. My buyers got their first opportunity to inspect their new condo and have a home inspector check it out as well.
Unfortunately, several lights in the condo didn’t work so it was harder to spot imperfections. I normally carry [...]

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How a Plumbing Inspection Paid for Itself Many Times Over

July 29, 2008

A month ago I wrote about a buyer’s inability to have a house’s plumbing tested during the home inspection in “Inspecting a Winterized Home for Sale in Aurora“. The city of Aurora had turned off the water since the seller hadn’t paid the water bill.
After the seller’s agent paid the bill, the agent, an [...]

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Inspecting a Winterized Home for Sale in Aurora

June 30, 2008

I spent a good part of today at a home inspection in Aurora. My buyer is purchasing a home for sale “as-is”. Thus, the seller won’t fix any issues, but my buyer can back out of the deal, if the inspection reveals more issues than the buyer is willing to accept.
The house was foreclosed [...]

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How to Avoid Unresolved Home Inspection Issues at Your Final Walkthrough

June 12, 2008

One of the purposes of a final walkthrough is to give home buyers the opportunity to confirm that any home inspection issues the seller agreed to fix are fixed before the closing. Unfortunately, some buyers of mine found several unresolved issues during their final walkthrough in Highland Park last week.
Here are a couple of lessons [...]

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Graciousness in Forest Park

June 6, 2008

This morning I arrived at a final walkthrough in Forest Park a few minutes before my buyers. Not only had the sellers taken care of all the issues from the inspection report, but the colorful plant shown left was in the kitchen. It was a gift with a lovely note from the sellers to [...]

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A Tale of 2 Home Inspections

March 27, 2008

A couple of weeks ago, my buyers for a house in Naperville had a home inspection. What appeared to be a house in need of exterior painting turned out to be a house with a rotting exterior. The total estimate for repairs needed was $26,000! The sellers only offered a $2,500 credit. My buyers [...]

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Radon Testing Guidelines & Disclosure for Illinois Home Buyers

January 8, 2008

Starting January 1, 2008 home buyers signing a sales contract for a home in Illinois must receive from the sellers the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) pamphlet entitled “Radon Testing Guidelines for Real Estate Transactions” (or an equivalent pamphlet approved for use by IEMA) and the Illinois Disclosure of Information on Radon Hazards.
Radon is [...]

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Sellers, Don’t Lock Buyers Out of a Final Walkthrough

November 24, 2007

Last week a couple of my buyers had a closing for a house they bought in Bartlett. We scheduled a final walkthrough the night before so that they could verify that inspection issues had been resolved and that the house was in the same condition as when they last saw it.
I arrived a few minutes [...]

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