Tim's Atlanta Real Estate Blog: Tim Maitski "Video Agent Guy" (HomeAtlanta.com)

Scott was a husband and proud father of three. Nothing was more fulfilling than the day he was approved for a home loan. His dream of providing a home for his family was finally a reality. He would soon be a proud homeowner, inviting his friends and family over at every opportunity he could to show off his pride and joy. One day Scott's perfect world came crumbling down. Scott developed a destructive plan to counter his unforeseen fate. Who would have thought this law-abiding citizen would mastermind such a heinous crime…

The new crime in REO: Deliberate and catastrophic acts of vandalism bringing destruction and disaster throughout America. Who is committing these vindictive acts? You probably would be shocked to find out. They are the baseball coach, the schoolteacher, the doctor, the accountant, the computer tech, the neighbor who proudly displays the American flag on the front porch. They are homeowners who feel they are the victims of greedy and gluttonous banks preying on the dreams of the American family. They feel they have been “suckered”and deceived by the slick talking snake who magically found their dream home and negotiated a deal of a lifetime. They want their voice to be heard. They have been cleverly deceived only to find their dreams snatched away. They are leading a silent revolution against the system that destroyed their future by, in return, destroying the very thing that represents what was taken from them… their homes.

Yes, American homeowners are sabotaging their foreclosed homes with destructive acts of vandalism… the consequences of this could be far worse than imagined.

One of the most common acts of vandalism we are seeing involves water lines. A disgruntled occupant manipulates a water line to explode upon instant water pressure. Once the water is turned on, the house is flooded within hours. The cost to repair: thousands, and that’s just in repairing the obvious drywall and flooring damage.  There will also be health issues associated with mold growth. Run your HVAC system, then the mold spores could contaminate the entire house, unbeknownst to the innocent family buying the house, they get to breath the spores until they figure out why they are taking their children in for respiratory issues every 2 months. That my friends, leads us to an entirely different issue concerning agent disclosures, liabilities, etc. 

A worse scenario…. imagine an ill-tempered and impassioned occupant rigging a gas pipe to leak gas and when triggered by an “electrical defect” (also rigged) an explosive charge ignites the house. With the close proximity of homes to each other mixed with the dry landscape, we have recipe for disaster. One house fire could potentially endanger an entire city.

We have all seen the regurgitated debris coming from the foreclosure virus spread throughout our nation. It’s tangible, visible, stinks, and is pretty much a straightforward issue dealt with hard working clean out crews, dump trucks, lots of trash bags.

Unfortunately, the visible is not our worst enemy. The problems caused by the ploys and vindictive tactics of occupant vandalism are serious and could cause immediate health and safety issues. Realtors need to be educated on these tactics and deal with them head on.

Agents should rely on licensed contractors who are trained to properly inspect all service lines prior to turning on the main power switch and water valve. 

Those involved in the REO business, or any real estate for that matter, need to place high priority on the health and safety of community. The REO landscape has changed the world we live in. We can no longer avoid the giant purple elephant in the room.

TRUE STORY THAT HAPPENED TO US YESTERDAY:

We were called by an agent this week with a cry for help. He was checking on one of his REO's just in time to spot the beginnings of what would be a destructive flood caused by a manipulated water line, obviously sabotaged by the previous occupants. If we had not caught this in the time we did, we would be replacing dry wall and the flooring... for starters.

The agent actually blogged about it.. read it here.

 

 

 

Hi folks. Let's talk a little bit about professional courtesy. I hear this term quite a bit on AR and in my business. Usually, it goes something like this:

• "The listing agent should have told me he had other offers on the property, as a professional courtesy".

• "Even though my buyer's offer was a low ball the listing broker should have gotten back to me before the offer expired, as a professional courtesy."

You get my point. Anyway, let me see if I can shed some light on this professional courtesy "thingie". First, I want to say, that anyone who has ever worked a deal with me will tell you that I am very professional in all that I do. I treat my peers with respect. I am always willing to help "newbies" in anyway I can and if I say I'm going to do something, I do it.

But, and it's a big but, sometimes what you are expecting me to do, as a "professional courtesy", is completely against what my customer/client is telling me to do or not do. Last time I checked, I work for my customer/clients NOT my peers.

My job, as a listing broker, is to look out for my Sellers and do everything I can to get their property sold in a reasonable amount of time and for a reasonable price. Sometimes, that may require my Seller and I to "sit on" your Buyer's offer. We may even choose to ignore it completely. We can do that. We may even use your offer to negotiate a better deal with another Buyer. We can do that too.

And you know what? I don't have to tell you I'm doing it. There is nothing unprofessional about that. Your Buyer is NOT my concern. What may seem like my lack of action or response, from your perspective, may very well be a negotiating strategy from my Seller's perspective. Don't jump to conclusions about my professionalism or lack of.

I completely agree that we should all work together and that we do not have to work in a disrespectful manner. We should be professionals in all we do. If you want to be a professional then please remember who you are working for and who is paying you. Your "professional courtesy" could very well jeopardize your customer/client's position. How professional is that? What say you?

Bryant Tutas
Broker/Owner
Tutas Towne Realty, Inc
Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker
http://CentralFloridaShortSales.com

http://ShortSaleSuperStars.com

Are you a Florida REALTOR(R) looking for a change? Check it out.

CENTRAL FLORIDA REALTOR(r) OPPORTUNITIES

Copyright © 2009 http://www.brokerbryant.com/ | All Rights Reserved

Originally posted on The Massachusetts Real Estate Law Blog

Today, Massachusetts Land Court Judge Keith Long reaffirmed his controversial ruling made back in March 2009 that invalidated foreclosure proceedings involving two Springfield homes because the lenders did not hold clear titles to the properties at the time of sale. A copy of the decision can be found here.

As I outlined in my prior post on this case, the problem the Land Court dealt with in this case is what happens when modern securitized mortgage lending practices meets outdated foreclosure laws. When mortgages are packaged to Wall Street investors, the ownership of a mortgage loan may be divided and freely transferred numerous times on the lenders’ books. But the mortgage loan documentation actually on file at the Registry of Deeds often lags far behind.

The Ruling

Judge Long ruled that foreclosures were invalid when the lender failed to bring  the ownership documentation (known as an assignment) up-to-date until after the foreclosure sale had already taken place. An assignment is a legal document confirming that a mortgage loan has been transferred from one lender to another. Assignments must be recorded with a registry of deeds so anyone researching a property’s title can track the loan’s origin and ownership. Oftentimes, as in the Ibanez case, lenders will sell bundles of loan and record backdated assignments with an effective date before the first foreclosure notice. Judge Long effectively prohibited this practice.

Despite the lender’s attempt to convince him otherwise, Judge Long came out (again) in favor of consumers:

The issues in this case are not merely problems with paperwork or a matter of dotting i’s and crossing t’s. Instead, they lie at the heart of the protections given to homeowners and borrowers by the Massachusetts legislature. To accept the plaintiffs’ arguments is to allow them to take someone’s home without any demonstrable right to do so, based upon the assumption that they ultimately will be able to show that they have that right and the further assumption that potential bidders will be undeterred by the lack of a demonstrable legal foundation for the sale and will nonetheless bid full value in the expectation that that foundation will ultimately be produced, even if it takes a year or more. The law recognizes the troubling nature of these assumptions, the harm caused if those assumptions prove erroneous, and commands otherwise.

Judge Long also had some choice words for lenders:

[T]he problem the [lenders] face (the present title defect) is entirely of their own making as a result of their failure to comply with the statute and the directives in their own securitization documents… What the plaintiffs truly seek is a change in the foreclosure sale statute (G.L. c. 244, § 14), which can only come from the legislature.

What Now?

That’s a good question and one not readily answerable. To be sure, the current state of flux and confusion surrounding foreclosure titles affected by an Ibanez issue will remain intact until an appellate court considers the case or some action by the Legislature (which may be unlikely). Given the importance of the decision, I predict that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court will take the unusual step of taking the case directly from the Land Court.

As for what happens in the year or so the case may be in appellate limbo, I asked an in house counsel for a leading title insurance company, and his response was essentially that it’s going to take a fair amount of time and research to figure this one out. If there’s an existing title insurance policy on the property, some but not all of the title companies may be willing to insure over the problem. If there’s no title policy in place, affected parties are going to have to ride this one out for awhile.

Once title insurance companies offer some further guidance, I will post it here.

 

 

Is The FDIC Killing Short Sales?

As some of you already know, I blogged recently about being interviewed recently by our local NBC news affiliate.  To read the blog, click here.  Basically, IndyMac Bank (now OneWest Bank), is holding one of my clients hostage, demanding a $75k promissory note, or they will proceed to foreclosure.  For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why they were doing this.  The BPO came in at the contract price of $275k, with a net to IndyMac of $241k.  What advantage could there possibly be for them to proceed to foreclosure?

Yesterday, I figured it out.  You see, IndyMac was taken over by the FDIC and sold to OneWest Bank in March/2009.  Guess who the investors are behind OneWest?  George Soros, Michael Dell, Steve Mnuchin (former Goldman Sachs executive), and John Paulson (hedge-fund billionaire).  

Now, listen to the deal they got from the FDIC....

Basically, they purchased all current residential mortgages at 70% of par value (70% of the outstanding loan amounts).  They purchased all current HELOCS at 58% of Par Value!!!

Next, in order to "sweeten the pot", the FDIC stepped in and guaranteed the following:  For any residential mortgages where OneWest experiences a loss, the FDIC will step in and cover anywhere from 80%-95% of the loss.  The loss is calculated using the ORIGINAL LOAN BALANCE, not the amount that OneWest paid for the loan.  Let's use my clients situation as an example:

Loan Amount is $478,000, plus 6 months of missed payments, for a grand total of $485,200

OneWest pays $334,600 for the loan

We have an all cash offer of $241,000, net to OneWest.

So, let's do the math, shall we?  The net loss, according to the FDIC formula is the ORIGINAL LOAN AMOUNT minus the amount of the offer.  In this case, $485,200-$241,000, or $244,200.  Next, the FDIC, according to their Loss Share Agreement, writes a check to OneWest for 80% of the so-called "net loss".  So, in this case, OneWest gets a check from Uncle Sam for $195,360 (.80 X $244,200).

Add the $195,360 to the sales price of $241,000, and you get a grand total of $436,360.  Remember, OneWest paid $334,600 for the loan.  So, OneWest puts $101,760 in their pocket, thanks to the FDIC.  Folks, that is over $100k of our hard-earned tax dollars!

So, you ask...Why does this program hurt short sales?  Because, our brilliant government offers this SAME PROGRAM FOR FORECLOSURES!  The only difference is, the government picks up 80% of the tab on all of the extra costs associated with a foreclosure (BPO's, upkeep, utilities/maintenance, legal fees, etc.)

So, If I'm OneWest, why would I want to waste my time negotiating through a Short Sale, when I can make the same amount of money (if not more) by just letting it go to foreclosure?  And we wonder why nobody can get a Loan Modification?  Why would OneWest approve a loan modification for this guy, when they can foreclose and make over $100k?  And, to add injury to insult, they have held this loan for 6 months!  Not a bad ROI, huh?

What infuriates me the most is that in my particular case mentioned above, they have the guts to hold my client hostage for a $75k promissory note, after they are already making more than $100k on the sale!!! This is his primary residence, 1st Position loan, and OneWest has NO RECOURSE!  Imagine if they could make $100k, then get a deficiency judgement!  Talk about making some big bucks!

Can you say "GREED"?

The scary thing is that over 50 banks have Shared Loss Agreements in place with the FDIC.  Some of them include:  Bank of America (go figure), CitiMortgage, Wells Fargo, etc.  

This entire agreement between the FDIC and OneWest can be found here, on the FDIC website.  It's all there, for the world to see!  They have it all layed out.  All of the formulas, worksheets, etc.  

Now, it's up to us to bring it to the attention of our elected officials and the media.  Enough is Enough!

UPDATE 9/18/09:  I JUST READ AN AWESOME ARTICLE ON THIS, THAT GOES INTO WAY MORE DETAIL THAN MY BLOG ABOVE.  TAKE THE TIME TO READ IT WHEN YOU GET A CHANCE! CLICK HERE TO READ IT.

Wait, it gets better...The FDIC just announced that it needs to start borrowing money from the U.S. Treasure in order to replenish it's deposit insurance fund (the same fund being used to pay all of these banks in the Loss Share Agreements).  Go Figure!  Click Here to read it.

 

 

 

Short Sale Strategies- Getting The Facts Straight For Sellers With Money- Case In Point

Let me set the record straight with who can get a short sale approved and who can not.

The main answer to the question is that is all depends on the lender and their policies regarding approving short sales.

Most lenders would rather have a short sale approved then foreclose on yet another property even if there is no financial hardship.
There are some lenders who will only approve short sales for financial hardships and others who will approve short sales if the terms are right for just about anybody.
Before taking on short sales you need to find out the policies of each of the short sale lenders that you will come into contact with.

It is simply NOT true when agents tell you that your clients without financial hardships can not do a short sale. In fact, just the mere fact that an agent is making a judgment call like that without knowing or trying is doing a disservice to a seller. It depends on how hard you want to fight for your sellers.

There are a lot of blogs out there where agents who say they know how to do short sales are not stating the facts correctly.

Just because your seller does not have a financial hardship does not mean they will not get approved for a short sale.

First let's get clear on what a short sale is since even after the last several years of short sales being prominent here in Florida, many states are just now beginning to experience short sales in their respective markets. A short sale is when a seller's property is worth less and will only sell for less than what the seller owes to his lender. So the seller is going to have to ask his lender to accept less than a full pay off of what he borrowed from his lender. It is up to his lender to say yes or no or yes with conditions.

A short sale is a short pay off of a loan, nothing more, nothing less. There are many terms and conditions that can be attached to a short pay off.

So now that we all understand what a short sale actually is we can look at some different possible outcomes for a wealthy seller, an investor or a non financial hardship case. There are also many cases where the seller may appear not to have any hardship but after you ask some probing questions you may discover hardships that the seller may not think of. I will write a short sale strategy post on this process.

One other thing I want to get really straight right now is that we do list and sell short sale listings and we have clients from all different financial backgrounds and situations. So the cases I will expand upon are real but I can not disclose the names to protect the identity of clients' financials. I want to make it very clear that these are true cases. I am not making this stuff up. I am not teaching out of some real estate book. I am not out in left field. I am in my own back yard, my own field of short sales. So if you want to listen to agents who don't do short sales but tell you how to do them, that is your decision. We are in the trenches. We carry a lot of listings and we close a lot of short sales.

When you first do your intake evaluation with a potential short sale client you must make certain things very clear and you must assess the client's situation. Financial hardships are relative and you can create a good case if you know the right questions to ask.

When we have clients who have money in their bank accounts or who own several to many other properties we will not take their short sale listing unless they agree to participate in the terms of the short sale. The usual way that a short sale lender treats a short sale is that the more financially strong the homeowner is, the more the lender is going to want them to contribute with a cash contribution towards the short fall and/or a promissory note.

We have closed on short sales where there is not a financial hardship for the homeowner but that something else changed in their lives. We just closed one that Broker Bryant referred to us where the sellers have great credit, they own and live in a home in another state and they no longer wanted their rental here.

They had tenants in the rental who were paying the mortgage. Their lender turned down our first short sale offer because the sellers were current on their mortgage on the rental which is the property they wanted to do the short sale on. So then they stopped paying their mortgage.

We received another offer.  You should have seen the bank statements and what they used their money for.  They were also paying off their credit card debt. They kept the rental money too. The first lien holder let them off free and clear through our negotiations with them. The second lien holder asked for a $30,000 promissory note which we negotiated down to $13,000 with payment of $110 per month and ZERO interest. This was a great offer for these sellers and they understood going into this deal that they would be required to participate in some way.

It was not our job to judge their motives or whether they were 'worthy' of a short sale approval or not. Our job was to negotiate the best possible outcome for them based on their own set of circumstances.

We never take their initial offer as fact. Everything is negotiable.

Nearly every situation where there is not a hardship case the seller is going to be adding cash or signing a note. If the sellers do not want to take part in that then we don't take the listing. There are many ways around this situation which we won't go into now- suffice it to say- you got to pay if you want to play.

On our financial hardship cases, we always get our sellers off without any payment plan or cash contributions even when there is PMI involved, which I will post on later- how to deal with PMI companies.

We have another listing where the seller owes over 2.6 Million dollars ( not disclosing exact #s). We just got approval on the short sale to close in the $600,000's. The buyer is going to pay all cash. The lender wants a $25,000 cash contribution. The buyer and seller are going to pay that contribution to the short sale lender.

Case in point- Seller has over 1 million dollars in his bank account and has some joint accounts. He was going to pay to play then changed his mind. We have been through several buyers because the lender wants a cash contribution from the seller of $50,000 but the seller does not want to take that out of his bank account. He owns several other properties and is not late on any mortgage payment except this one. This is not sitting too well with his lender. They feel he is getting off too easy. We negotiate back, saying, what does it matter, still better than a foreclosure.  Now we finally found a buyer who is going to contribute a large hunk of this and the seller now will finally contribute to make the short sale happen. We will get this closed.

Case in point- Seller owns many properties around the country. They want to short sale their rental here in Florida. They make very good money. We will only accept their short sale listing if they agree to contribute to the short sale financially.  We know their lender and they will be able to do the short sale. The seller agrees to participate financially if that is a condition. Knowing this lender- they most likely will require a contribution. The seller understands this and will participate. Investors can get short sales approved. We have one investor where we have listed and sold 4 of his properties  so far as short sales and all were approved. By the way, all of his were Countrywide loans.

Case in point- Doctors and attorneys. We list and negotiate short sales for attorneys' personal and investment properties. We have already listed and closed short sales for 2 attorneys and are in negotiations on short sales for 3 other attorneys right now.  The attorneys look great on credit and paper. It is all about selling their story. They all understand that based on their occupations alone they are going to be scrutinized and expected to play ball with cash to close or promissory notes.  Many attorneys have taken a hit in income depending on what their specialty is. So although they may be able to pay a mortgage payment of $3500 a month; they no longer can make payments of $7,500 a month. If the lenders are not going to approve their loan modification which has been the case for each of our attorney clients their best option may be to try to get a short sale approved, cut their losses and move on with their lives and businesses.

The biggest obstacle is getting your short sale file to the upper management in these cases because employees at these servicers are looking at the occupation of 'attorney' or 'doctor' and instantly judge them to be some rich people who are much better off than they are. Diligence is key here.

Hopefully this clears up some misconceptions as to who may get approved for a short sale. Please remember this is based on Florida stats, Florida laws and the way the lenders treat properties in Florida which is going to be much different than in Arizona or other trust deed states. The only constant is that rules and policies change in regards to short sales often.

For more information about Florida Short Sales- click here.

        

 

 

To  view Florida Short Sales- Click here. We know Palm Beach County Short Sales and Port St Lucie Florida Short Sales and will help you get your home Sold if you need to Sell your home and help you buy your home in Palm Beach County Florida : Call us today.

 

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Short Sale Strategies- Getting The Facts Straight- Case In Point! -was first published on South- Florida-Luxury-Living.com.

Copyright © 2009 By Katerina Gasset, All Rights Reserved.*Short Sale Strategies- Getting The Facts Straight- Case In Point!.* 

Real estate is local when it comes to market conditions and market trends. Real estate differs from region to region in styles, architecture and amenities generally speaking. For instance; in Florida fireplaces are not the norm whereas in cold winter areas such as Colorado, fireplaces are a standard addition to a home. In some areas of our country people have wood burning stoves and others have coal burning furnaces. There are areas of our country such as here in Florida where you would not dare live without Air Conditioning but in many homes in Washington for instance, air conditioning is more of a luxury than a necessity.

So when we are discussing the effects of cap and trade in your real estate business you will need to take into account the region in which you live as some areas will be more effected than others. 

Here is a really good interactive map from the New York Times. The map I posted below is the map of the votes in the House for and against the Cap and Tax bill that just passed the House. But if you click on the link of the New York Times map, it is interactive.

 

You can move your mouse over the map and see who voted, what party they belong to and their district. You will be able to see that no matter whether they were democrats or republicans if they are in the farm country of America, high manufacturing areas of America, low energy bills of America and the heartland of America- they voted NO on this bill and for very good reasons. 

"For a household of four, energy costs go up $436 that year, and they eventually reach $1,241 in 2035 and average $829 annually over that span. Electricity costs go up 90 percent by 2035, gasoline by 58 percent, and natural gas by 55 percent by 2035. The cumulative higher energy costs for a family of four by then will be nearly $20,000.

But direct energy costs are only part of the consumer impact. Nearly everything goes up, since higher energy costs raise production costs. If you look at the total cost of Waxman-Markey, it works out to an average of $2,979 annually from 2012-2035 for a household of four. By 2035 alone, the total cost is over $4,600." Heritage Foundation.

You will notice that the states where the votes were yes are also the states that already have the highest energy bills. The states that voted no are mostly states with presently low energy bills.

Instead of calling this to Cap and Trade- We can really call it the Tax On Electricity Bill.

How does this information pertain to real estate agents? If you live in the lower energy pricing states you are going to be seeing huge increases in household energy bills. If you live in states that are coal powered or oil powered you will see the largest increases ever in your energy bills because those energy sources are going to be punished with taxation.

• How is that going to effect home prices?

• How is that going to effect movement in and out of your state?

• How is that going to effect your real estate office utility bills and who is going to pay for this?

The House is at it again. This was a 1,300 page bill and again as with so many large bills was not read by most of those that voted yes or no. What is it that they don't get? The American people expect our leaders to read what they vote on.

So what else is tucked away neatly into this bill that perhaps no one knows the full implications of yet?

How about the Federal imposition and takeover of building codes? Your local planning and building offices will not be qualified for any Federal funding of any kind unless they adopt what the FEDS say is the new energy efficient building standards. This will create higher prices in building new homes which is then passed on the homebuyers and then you as a real estate agent are also effected because less buyers will be able to afford to buy a new home built . Not to mention having to wait for the Feds to come and inspect the builders and the homes.

How about the new Federal Energy Nazis Inspectors who will come and rate your home before you can sell your home. So before you can list a home for sale, the seller will have to wait for the Federal inspectors to come out. DMV lines anyone? Once that inspector comes out, he or she will give the home an energy rating. If the home does not meet the guidelines the seller will be required to do the work necessary to bring the home up to energy standards before they can sell the home! Can we say money? Does that mean that there will be homeowners who will become prisoners in their homes because they can not afford to make the energy repairs that the feds require? Is that an invasion of your privacy as well as an attack on your property rights?

Hmmm, how is that going to effect short sales where the seller has no money to make the repairs and adjustments?

• How is that going to effect your ability to get listings in a timely manner?

• How is that going to effect your seller who is about to lose their home in a foreclosure?

• How is that going to effect the seller who has to relocate for their job?
  

• How is that going to effect the estates with heirs having to do these repairs and such when there won't be any money until the estate is sold?

I wonder if our House of Representatives and our Congress men and women EVER thought to actually ask us in the field working this business day in and day out how these bills will effect the housing market?

Of course, the US will be living Cap and Tax while the real perpetrators of dirty air like China and India get off scott free. There will be an unfair advantage in pricing products and manufacturing to the point that if a US company even stands a chance of staying in the manufacturing business will have no choice but to move their company oversees which in turn will cause a massive layoff of people increasing the already high unemployment problem we are facing in our country.

• How will the unemployment effect your real estate business?
  

• How will the unemployment effect the REOs and massive foreclosures in your community?

• How will the unemployment effect home values as you get more and more vacant properties in your area?

If you are an agent in America's farmland you will begin to see farms no longer being able to produce a profit. Farms use a lot of energy. Energy use will be punished. This is why nearly every politician from a farm land state no matter what party they are affiliated with voted no to this bill. Their districts will suffer terribly. As this happens we will be buying more and more produce from other countries with far less health standards than our own. I don't trust foods, especially produce from China or other countries except Europe. But we don't import our veggies from Europe! 

• How is this going to effect your real esate business if you live and work in a farm land state?

When it comes down to the nitty and the gritty about this bill you must remember that GE is the biggest supporter of this bill. They stand to make billions of dollars from the passage of this bill. The politicians voting yes on this bill, many of them are getting paid to vote yes. And Al Gore will become the very first GREEN billionaire. It is just too bad that he is not a real capitalist. He could not become a billionaire playing fair and square. Instead, he has an unfair advantage, legislation to make him filthy rich. Not exactly the free market way. It is all about the money.

Contact your Senators now to vote NO now. Click on this link to find your Senators and contact them by email, phone and fax today. Let them know how this is going to effect your business and your community homeowners and buyers. Pass this on...

 

Okay! So we have heard the drill before. Oh, this is a new house which has been inspected by the codes department. They have issued a CO (and as we listen to the crickets chirp, birds sing and hallelujahs spring forth from the cherub sitting on the eaves) all is in a state of bliss and peace fills every nook and cranny of the property. That is until the #@%&!!! home inspector arrives.

Such as with the case of a new property that I inspected just recently in the Nashville, TN area. In this picture alone are several problems. Some like the cracked window, unpainted wood on the inside and mud spatter are quite obvious. However, the more subtile issues such as the missing sleeve on the gas line penetration at the masonry surface is not. Although you can't see it in this picture, the retaining wall does not have an adequate foundation and the wall itself is undersized for the amount of dirt it is holding back.

All in all, there were over 75 construction issues found with this 6700 sq. ft. property, and we were not being "picky". We were just doing our job. Most of these, Brother Ray could have seen. Almost all of these were just poor attention to detail, poor workmanship on the behalf of the tradesmen, or just poor supervision by the project superintendent. Which ever the case, for a new construction property, this place was a real mess from an inspection standpoint.

As the economy tightens, many builders seem to be cutting corners, or hiring tradesmen that marginalize the building guidelines. So just because the property is new and has been "inspected" by "codes", for peace of mind, have an independent set of eyes evaluate your new property. You will be amazed at how many issues a good qualified home inspector will find.

Wishing all my fellow drips and tweeps a G-r-r-r-reat day... 8-)

If you or someone you know is purchasing a home in Brentwood, Franklin, Nashville, Spring Hill or Thompson's Station in the Davidson or Williamson county area of Middle Tennessee and would like more information about getting a home inspection, give us a call at 615.661.0297. You can visit us online at www.completehomeinspectionsonline.com - Check out our monthly newletter

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