No active utilities at home? No problem!

[ejones2]

Would you guys do this? http://www.advertisertalk.com/home-i...ia-10863.zhtml

[Steven C. Waskewicz]

Hell no.
.
This is preservation work, and I know guys who do this for banks, mortgage companies, etc.,
and they charge a lot for each service...

[mnahrgang]

If I knew what I was doing with it I would...But I'd have permission and a hold harmless agreement with the sellers. I'd also charge more for the service.

But I don't have a clue as to how to do that so I won't.

[James H. Bushart]

I encourage ALL of my competitors to at least try it.

[David A. Andersen]

I want to know who their insurance provider is!

[John Martino]

Wow I never heard of such a thing. Often when I inspect bank owned properties the utilities are off. this really hinders the inspection and I usually end up going back for a re-inspection after hey have been turned on. I think his liability would be greatly increased here. I'm not sure how it would even work. Does he have a water tank on the truck? Sounds as if its a gimmick really. If I miss it I pay for it? Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. Where does that stop and start. Even the best inspectors are not infallible. How does he get E&O and at what price?

http://www.looksmarthomeinspections.com

[Doug Edwards]

When you, as the inspector start "installing" or physically attaching things to the electomechanical systems of the home it stopped being a visual inspection. If anything goes wrong you were the last one to perform essentially mechanical changes to the system(s) therefore you just owned it. I am not 100% certain but at least in FL you had better have licenses in the trades for all those systems you modified so you could inspect /check them. One of the major reason we do not turn on valves (water or gas) is we do not know the history of the home and are not certain as to why those systems have been turned off or secured. IMO this violates the SOP plus opens the inspector and his company to some serious liabilities....in CA no less.
I would not do this for no amount of money.

[ejones2]

Originally Posted by dedwards

When you, as the inspector start "installing" or physically attaching things to the electomechanical systems of the home it stopped being a visual inspection. If anything goes wrong you were the last one to perform essentially mechanical changes to the system(s) therefore you just owned it. I am not 100% certain but at least in FL you had better have licenses in the trades for all those systems you modified so you could inspect /check them. One of the major reason we do not turn on valves (water or gas) is we do not know the history of the home and are not certain as to why those systems have been turned off or secured. IMO this violates the SOP plus opens the inspector and his company to some serious liabilities....in CA no less.
I would not do this for no amount of money.

I think the story mentions he was a member of NACHI.

[Gary Farnsworth]

How would these guys know if there was a problem underground? I bet the citys and utility companies are licking their chops over this one. Liability movement at it's best for the utililty providers.

[Sean Fogarty]

This post is already in another section. I know the power company frowns upon removing meters and clipping on with jumper cables and a generator. I personaly can't get Natural gas in tank form here, maybe the land of fruits and nuts is different with modern stuff like cars that run on it. I would think the liabilaty would be huge when you start providing personal power to somone elses property. You would also need one h**l of a generator to keep a large a/c running.

[Doug Edwards]

Originally Posted by ejones2

I think the story mentions he was a member of NACHI.

Doesn't change my opinion.

[Chuck Forman, CPI]

I don't know what they are doing to supply power, but if they are doing it without a transfer switch wired in the utility company is going to have a hey day with this guy. I was in the emergency power generation industry for years, and powering up a house without a means of being able to guarantee a complete disconnect from the main system is against the law. If he powers that up and electrocutes someone down line I hope he has a lot of insurance. Just saying.

[Steven J. Wessler]

Answer you question! NO. If you could get Insurance.
To many things can go wrong, too quick.

[Sean Fogarty]

You have to pull the meter. When I lived in Fl a few people did it to power the houses after the hurricanes. I shut off my main and made a drop cord that ran into the 50 amp welder plug in the garage. We could only use one thing at a time with the size of the generator. You keep all other circuits shut off. First the stove to cook and then the HWH to have warm water.

[Kevin M. Leonard]

Originally Posted by ejones2

Would you guys do this? http://www.advertisertalk.com/home-i...ia-10863.zhtml

No way. That is an accident waiting to happen.