Home Inspection
Information From
Alban Home
Inspection Service

February '03

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THE SELLER
And the Home Inspection

By working with the seller during the home inspection process, you can help to provide a very positive real estate experience

The answer depends on the condition of  the home and the maintenance of its major components. 
Advise your home sellers that disclosure
laws and customary real estate practices vary. Regardless of what the inspection may reveal, it is always best to allow the inspector to do his job quickly and efficiently, with a minimum of problems. To assure a smooth and successful inspection, the seller may wish to follow these tips: 
1. Leave the Premises – Real estate agents should volunteer to "show" the 
home to the inspector, allowing the owner to go elsewhere. The agent is familiar with both the house and the process, so he is able to act as the owner’s representative. 2. Be Courteous – The home inspector is not the seller’s enemy. He does not intend to find fault with every aspect of a home. Instead, his role is to offer the buyer a fair assessment of the home. He should be treated as a professional. Don’t keep him waiting on your doorstep. If access to the home is not possible at the scheduled time, be sure to call and reschedule – don’t make the inspector take the trip to a house for nothing. Allow at least two hours for the inspection.

 

3. Don’t Argue During the Inspection – Inspectors don’t appreciate being followed around by argumentative sellers or agents. The time to explain and negotiate will come after the inspection report is written and received. 
4. Don’t Make Statements Beyond Your
Knowledge – This isn’t the time for guesswork. If a seller doesn’t know when an appliance was installed or how many layers of shingles are on the roof, admit it. The same caution about misrepresentation applies to questions concerning remodeling permits, square footage of the home, or any other question that may come up. 
5. Allow Access to All Living Areas – It’s
the inspector’s job to look over all aspects of the home. A seller should be advised to allow the inspector to do this job. After all, if access to an area is blocked, it will be noted in the home inspection report and will surely be looked upon with suspicion by the potential buyer.

6. Make Agreed-Upon Repairs Promptly
– The buyer may ask the inspector to approve any repairs completed as a result of the inspection. The sooner these repairs are made, the sooner this contingency will be met – and the home inspector’s job will be completed. Delaying the repairs until the last minute will not stop the buyer from having the areas re-inspected. However, it could delay the closing of escrow.

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From the desk of . . .
     Arthur S. Lazero
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An Alban Update

Saturday night, January 16 was our company’s holiday dinner party. We returned to Mealy’s in New Market, Maryland, since their private dining room can hold our thirty some employees and spouses. Great food and an upbeat attitude produced a terrific evening. More than anything else, it is the quality of our people that makes Alban Home Inspection Service such a superb service company. So it is with great pleasure that I can announce two new inspectors joining George Ash, Rudy  Rudacil, Roberto Montiel, Russ Narkie, Lee Eyler and me. 
Rodney Shull is heading our northern
Virginia office. Living in Orleans, Virginia with his wife Donna, Rod had 22 years of  construction experience, from the classroom at Massanhutten Votech to full charge residential construction superintendent, before joining Alban. He is a fully trained home inspector, participating in ASHI, and has enjoyed is initial work with Alban clients.
Marty Blackwood, living in Olney with his wife Cathy, is a licensed architect with
twenty-five years experience in design and construction management for real estate developers. He has already passed the national home inspection examinations and will soon qualify for his national ASHI accreditation. Marty adds to Alban another layer of technical competence and professional education, all of which will greatly benefit our clients and their Realtors.

 

 

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