I’m
Still Surprised at What I See
By
Frank G. Ross
I guess when you have
been in this business long enough you should not be surprised at
what you run across. Here are a few examples of what I am talking
about.
I was inspecting a home
that had been repossessed and the owners had moved all their things
out. As I walked into the living room/dining room area I noticed
that the walls were painted two different colors. I could easily see
where the entertainment center, the sofa, loveseat, china hutch and
book shelf had been positioned. Someone had not bothered to move
them, but simply painted around these items!
In a kitchen one time
as I was looking under the sink I suspected I had found someone’s
stash from an automotive store. The drains were all composed of
radiator hoses and duct tape!
Dogs are not any fun to
run into. I pulled up at the curb in front of one home and while I
was getting my gear together I could hear behind me a barking dog
that sounded like it was getting closer fast. Turning around I faced
a very upset and mean-looking dog coming at me as if to tear my leg
off. A woman in a robe was gently and casually calling for the dog
in a sweet voice. Meanwhile I was looking for a weapon of some kind
to use for self defense. The dog approached to arm’s length still
looking like a graduate from a Police K-9 training facility. All
the while this woman strolled towards the dog calling in her sweet,
tender voice for it to come to her. After counting the dog’s teeth
and seeing they were all sparkling white, I decided to get back into
the truck. The woman ended up putting a leash on the dog and taking
it to the backyard. Later she remarked to me not to mind “Fido” as
he “just has to get used to strangers.” I wondered if Fido had to
get “used to strangers” the same way someone would get used to
eating spicy food - one tiny bite at a time!
One home I inspected
had a concrete tile roof with the heating/cooling unit mounted on
the roof. In the area of the unit the roofing was asphalt shingles
which is common. From the ground I could see some patching had been
performed. So I got onto the shingled portion of the roofing to
carefully inspect the silicon seal and tar repairs. In the blink of
an eye my left leg went through the roof all the way up to my hip. I
would liked to have had a video camera recording this as I never
felt myself going through the roof and then getting back up on my
feet. It happened so fast it was like a rattle snake strike, just a
blur. When I was on my feet again I felt a minor pain in my small
finger on my left hand, and found that it was bleeding from a small
cut. My left hip hurt as well and the next day huge, black bruise
appeared.
The resulting hole in
the roof was about the size of a watermelon and I told the home
owner, an elderly woman what had happened. The home was in a PUD so
she said she would call the Home Owner’s Association president. I
told her I had taken photos from the outside and needed to go up
into the attic to see this area from the attic side. Once in the
attic I could see, to my horror that a huge area of the roofing had
been leaking for a long time. I determined that I was just lucky
that only one of my legs went through the roof. With the hole
thoroughly photographed I returned to the kitchen where I printed
the photos and presented them to the HOA president. I explained what
had happened and upon seeing the photos he said something to the
effect of “That #@!#$%%@# handyman! I will have a roofer come out
right now and get this roof fixed and then go have a talk with that
%#$@$@@# handyman!”
Another day as I was
inspecting a quadplex, I began to remove the breaker panel to check
the wiring and connections inside the panel, when sparks shot out of
the panel around the screw I was taking out. I immediately stopped,
located the manager and informed him of the sparks. He replied, “Oh,
I can fix that.” Then he proceeded to remove the panel, while I
watched from 10 feet away - amazed at his daring deed. He removed
the panel, found that the screw had nicked a wire inside the panel
(the screw was an improper type for an electric panel) and then to
my wonderment he got some electric tape and wrapped it around the
nick, all without killing the power to the panel! Turning to me he
said, “There. Now it is ok.” Not in my book! I wrote it up in my
report recommending a trained electrician inspect this panel.
At about 8:00 am a
couple of months ago, a Realtor and I arrived at an occupied home
but the owner was supposed to be out of town. I inquired of the
Realtor regarding the vehicle in the driveway, asking if the owner
was indeed home. The Realtor confirmed that the owner was gone, but
to be safe we knocked and rang the doorbell before entering and
since the home was quite large we hollered to anyone in the home,
“We are here to do a home inspection.” There was no response so we
proceeded to walk around inside the home getting an idea of how the
home was laid out while keeping an eye out for occupants. Seeing no
one, the Realtor left and I set up my laptop and printer in the
kitchen. About 20 minutes later as I walked down a hallway out of a
room came a man wearing a t-shirt and holding his under shorts in
his hand, looking like he just woke up, and asking if I was the
inspector. Yes, I am. I asked him where he was while we checked the
home and hollered. He stood there with nothing on but the shirt and
his under shorts still in his hand and said that he had been in the
den sleeping on the couch. It was just my luck that the den was the
one room we did not check for a sleeping person!
Well, that brings to
mind another story. Ringing the door bell, I waited on the doorstep
when a younger woman with wet hair and a small towel wrapped around
her opened the door asking, “Are you the inspector?” Uh, yes and if
you don’t mind I will begin with the outside of the house and the
roof. I will be coming inside in 45 minutes or so.
Doing home inspections
are what I love to do best, next to spending time with my family.
Each home is a new experience, each one tells a story and the people
I meet are mostly wonderful. And those who aren’t are rare. For the
most part, the people I meet make my day. Dogs are a challenge, but
I still just about told that mean dog “Fido”, “Go ahead punk, Make
MY Day!”
Frank Ross is a Certified Utah Home Inspector for Pillar to Post
Professional Home Inspection a full member of the National
Association of Certified Home Inspectors and a member in good
standing with the Utah Better Business Bureau. Readers may contact
Mr. Ross at (435) 867-6400 or
frank.ross@pillartopost.com
