What Constitutes a major

[nsimpson]

Originally Posted by Kevin Luce

Gloria, where are you located in Indiana? I'm located in Lake County, Indiana. I might be able to help you from what is written by GNIAR.

Kevin,
I sent you a private message.
Thanks
Gloria

[Kevin Luce]

Originally Posted by nsimpson

Kevin,
I sent you a private message.
Thanks
Gloria

Ditto

[William J. Decker]

Originally Posted by Gloria Simpson

I have a few questions about major deficiencies in your reports. Do you all say what is a major? And if you do, what guidelines do you use in order to make an item a major. Also, has anyone considered just doing an inspection and letting the realtors hash out what the majors are?
Thanks!
Gloria

1) Major: Do you mean a defect that will cost a lot to repair, but poses no real hazard to the property or safety hazard to people, but is cheap to fix?
2) If there is a significant risk of property damage or personal injury, I would call that major (our state HI law does as well). Most times, in my experience, these type of defects are relatively low cost to fix (GFCIs, 13.00, furnace filters, AFCIs,, metal foil dryer vent pipes, etc.)
3) Around my area, they let the lawyers hash it out. Realtors are much too interested and invested in the sale to be objective, to excersize proper 'fiduciary responsibility'.
4) I see major as a) High priced to fix, even if it doesn't pose a safety hazard and b) poses a safety hazard, even if it can be fixed for not too much money.

I would like to talk to you about these definitions. Please call me (office) below.

[David A. Andersen]

I used; Safety Concern for those issues Will.
I rate a Safety Concern above any Major Repair.
Even if it is a Minor Repair!

[Eric C. Van De Ven]

Originally Posted by rray

I wanted to think that way when I started six year ago, but certain business advisors convinced me that the closet door floor guides that are missing, but cost $1.99 at Home Depot, is far, far different from a roof that is past the end of its useful life and will cost $50,000 to replace.

I thought the same way since 1988, it is either right or wrong. Let the Clients determine what is major or minor to them.

I had a guy whose entire home needed re-wiring. Major? Not to him, he was an electrician. Another guy needed a roof, Not major to him. He was a roofer.

On the other hand,one house had a few cracks in the exterior walls. That lady ran from that house so fast that there are still vapor trails!

My advisors told me to "Let the Client decide".

[Russel Ray]

Originally Posted by evandeven

I thought the same way since 1988, it is either right or wrong. Let the Clients determine what is major or minor to them.

I had a guy whose entire home needed re-wiring. Major? Not to him, he was an electrician. Another guy needed a roof, Not major to him. He was a roofer.

On the other hand,one house had a few cracks in the exterior walls. That lady ran from that house so fast that there are still vapor trails!

My advisors told me to "Let the Client decide".

That's why using a dollar amount is so useful. I don't differentiate in my report—everything simply gets listed—but when the Client calls three months down the road wanting to know why I missed the closet door floor tracks, well, that's not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for major defects, defined in my contract as requiring an expenditure of $1,000 or more to correct.

I had a Client whose house was falling down the hillside. They got foundation repair estimates ranging up to $67,000. Major defect? Yes. Major to her? Nope. She had three brothers, a father, and two uncles who were engineers, three of them specializing in foundations and structures. If I had not mentioned it, I guarantee you that they would have been suing me for $67,000 and more.

On the other hand, I had one Client who had a virtually perfect home except that every screen window and door in the place had been removed and sold because screens interfered with the views. My Client, from Boston, backed out of the sale due to lack of screen windows. Now any good Realtor, seller's or buyer's would have spent $1,000 buying new screens for the place, selling at around $800,000 and with 3% commission for both brokers. That wasn't the issue though. I did another inspection for the Buyer about six weeks later—same model and floor plan, same view, same street except two blocks away. It had screens, and they bought it. I found out that the problem was that they had a young toddler fall out of the third-story window of their Beacon Hill brownstone. Everyone, including themselves, blames them for not having screens on the window, so when the house they were buying here had not a single screen window, psychologically they couldn't handle it and needed six weeks to recover. That simply confirmed to me what I had already known from being in real estate for 25 years: Never presume why a Client is or is not buying, what his financial wherewithal is, or why he decided to buy or not to buy after the inspection. Simply document the condition of the property, educate where necessary (TPR valve, for example, or Zinsco electric panels), and disclaim when necessary (couldn't get into the garage due to excessive furnishings and storage). Etc.

Courts, however, like numbers that begin with a dollar sign, so the best way to determine for the inspection what is and is not major is to assign a dollar sign to the numbers. This protocol is what allowed me to develop fourteen different types of inspections for different Clients in different circumstances, and at different prices. Choices, choices, choices. Speaking of which, this is on all the gas pumps at ARCO here: "24 drink flavors, 4 cup sizes, and ice or no ice. Now there's choice!"

[Blaine Wiley]

Originally Posted by rray

Hey, Blaine.

Wasn't it $500? It's $500 now, and has been since at least October 2001. I raised it to $1,000 since the cost of living is higher in San Diego. I believe the other California HomeTeam franchises are now using $1,000, but Greg says I was the first to raise it higher than $500.

Well, in the mid 90's it was $1,000, because I questioned it while I was in Cinci. Home-Pro, which was the biggest in my area at that time used $500. Paul Spires told me I could lower if if I wanted to to meet market concerns, but that he recommended a grand.

Greg wasn't with HomeTeam until after I bought a franchise, and he started in franchise support. First time I met him he was on field duty and came to my house.

[Peter Doane]

My inspection is a report of the "condition of the whole property" I'm hired to find potential issues that need attention. I point out things that are either safety related, defective, need preventative maintenance or items that need immediate attention. The home may have only one major item and 15 marginal things. BUT these 15 marginal things, individually, may be minor dollar wise, but as a whole can add up to a substantial cost, and the client needs to know about them or I didn't do my job. To help them make an informed decision of the home they wish to purchase.

[Bruce A. King]

Deciding major or minor is not smart on many items.
Calling something major is fine but don't ever call something minor unless you have thought of all possibilities.

Here is one scenario:
Some dripping condensation and rust on a 14 year old airhandler.
You list as a minor repair and typical rust.

An HVAC guy comes out and spends 45 minutes looking inside the unit, testing etc. and maybe a new issue pops up or he just finds more rust. His estimate includes replacing the entire split system with a new Seer 13 for $4200.00

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

Originally Posted by jpope

I don't differentiate between major and minor repairs- it's all relative. . .

Jeff and Brian, I know you're using InspectVue which includes a summary- what criteria do you use for what goes into the summary? It seems to me having a summary as part of the report means you are forced to differentiate to some degree.

[Brian E. Kelly]

If it needs repair or further evaluation I put it in the summary Kenton. Outlet cover, fix it, new roof, fix it. Al branch wiring, evlauation by electrician, big foundation cracks, evaluation by foundation contractor with remedy as necessary.