Inspect First, Dream Second Are you looking to buy a house? Springtime has more house buyers entering the marketplace and to provide some sound advice to everyone hoping to buy a house, I would like to repeat part of a story I just told in a previous Going True Green Blog titled, Equivocator In The Attic.
The reason is because this message is a great lesson for house buyers. Even if you find your dream house, you must always get an engineer's report done before going to the Closing. There are many reasons to spend $500 plus for this type of report. For example, unbeknownst to you, there can be a silent threat lurking in the attic. Wouldn't you take swift corrective action once you learned of that threat?
Yet, that is the Rub, without an engineer's report on the house you may never know about the problems. Problems such as the ones that could be lurking in the attic. Problems that will manifest year after year and will cost you more and more money.
An example with the attic is a dilemma regarding the insulation and if the job was done correctly. At times, the errors with attic insulation made by professional contractors, handymen, or fly-by-night individuals, is almost an epidemic.
Below is just another TRUE story that proves we must always live by the adage: Buyer Beware
I was contacted by an attorney for a couple looking to buy a house. Their Engineer's Inspection Report came back stating that the insulation in the attic was installed upside down. The foil Vapor Barrier had to be on the floor of the attic or in other words, at the bottom of the insulation. When the Vapor Barrier is on the top of the insulation, moisture will be trapped in the insulation, thus sacrificing the integrity of the product. Mold and mildew will accumulate to the point that after so many years, the insulation has to be removed and replaced. Eventually, the integrity of the wood floor beams will be compromised if not corrected.
The couple's lawyer, who is familiar with my work at GoingTrueGreen.com, queried me on the response he was given by the current home owner's representative. Our conversation went like this:
"So Bill, he told me that the insulation was installed correctly and to code at the time the work was done so many years ago. Based on our conversations over the years, I said that I never heard of the Vapor Barrier being approved in a different position no matter what year the insulation was installed."
I replied by saying, "They are telling you a lie, hoping that you would accept what they are saying and that you would take no more action."
Many times we find it hard to believe what kind of world we live in. Rest assured, this world is still God's Green Earth. So help with taking care of our world by getting an engineer's report on the house before you buy. Also, if you want GoingTrueGreen to do an environmental and energy report, we are just an email away.
Remember, you are shopping to buy a HOUSE, a product, you are not buying a home. A HOME is where you are and what you make of the shelter that you have. Let that shelter be a glacial erratic known as Shelter Rock in North Hills, and used by the Matinecock to shelter from the elements as early as 1,000 B.C. or the Pritzker Estate in Beverly Hills.
Don't let your emotions or future visions of a HOME overrule what needs to be done when buying a HOUSE.
Best wishes to all the new house buyers.
Bill Lauto, at Going True Green
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!
The reason is because this message is a great lesson for house buyers. Even if you find your dream house, you must always get an engineer's report done before going to the Closing. There are many reasons to spend $500 plus for this type of report. For example, unbeknownst to you, there can be a silent threat lurking in the attic. Wouldn't you take swift corrective action once you learned of that threat?
Yet, that is the Rub, without an engineer's report on the house you may never know about the problems. Problems such as the ones that could be lurking in the attic. Problems that will manifest year after year and will cost you more and more money.
An example with the attic is a dilemma regarding the insulation and if the job was done correctly. At times, the errors with attic insulation made by professional contractors, handymen, or fly-by-night individuals, is almost an epidemic.
Below is just another TRUE story that proves we must always live by the adage: Buyer Beware
I was contacted by an attorney for a couple looking to buy a house. Their Engineer's Inspection Report came back stating that the insulation in the attic was installed upside down. The foil Vapor Barrier had to be on the floor of the attic or in other words, at the bottom of the insulation. When the Vapor Barrier is on the top of the insulation, moisture will be trapped in the insulation, thus sacrificing the integrity of the product. Mold and mildew will accumulate to the point that after so many years, the insulation has to be removed and replaced. Eventually, the integrity of the wood floor beams will be compromised if not corrected.
The couple's lawyer, who is familiar with my work at GoingTrueGreen.com, queried me on the response he was given by the current home owner's representative. Our conversation went like this:
"So Bill, he told me that the insulation was installed correctly and to code at the time the work was done so many years ago. Based on our conversations over the years, I said that I never heard of the Vapor Barrier being approved in a different position no matter what year the insulation was installed."
I replied by saying, "They are telling you a lie, hoping that you would accept what they are saying and that you would take no more action."
Many times we find it hard to believe what kind of world we live in. Rest assured, this world is still God's Green Earth. So help with taking care of our world by getting an engineer's report on the house before you buy. Also, if you want GoingTrueGreen to do an environmental and energy report, we are just an email away.
Remember, you are shopping to buy a HOUSE, a product, you are not buying a home. A HOME is where you are and what you make of the shelter that you have. Let that shelter be a glacial erratic known as Shelter Rock in North Hills, and used by the Matinecock to shelter from the elements as early as 1,000 B.C. or the Pritzker Estate in Beverly Hills.
Don't let your emotions or future visions of a HOME overrule what needs to be done when buying a HOUSE.
Best wishes to all the new house buyers.
Bill Lauto, at Going True Green
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!
