Arizona inspectors

I would love to pick the brain of some of our Arizona home inspectors. Merry Christmas and thank you in advance.
I’ve been a home inspector in the Seattle area for the last twenty-five years. I have good credentials; but, I’m smart enough to look to my fellow inspectors who are in the local trenches every day for advice.

My youngest son is purchasing his first home, which is in the west valley. I am going to fly there and inspect it for him and his wife on the 26th.

  1. I assume there are no statutory issues having a father inspect a home for his son, for free, in Arizona?
  2. What are some of the possible wood destroying insect problems in the Surprise area, drywood termites??
  3. Do banks/underwriters typically require a pest or termite inspection?
  4. The home was built in 2006 and is slab on grade. Would I expect to see a post tension slab or reinforced concrete?
  5. Are there known expansive soils in that area or any other common geological problems?

I encouraged my son to talk with the neighbors; given his gregarious personality that wasn’t a problem. Four nearby neighbors had very good things to say about the neighborhood, the builder and the HOA.

The home was on the market for about ten months which is red flag; my antennas are curiously twitching a little bit. It’s said to be due to being overpriced, according to the young inexperienced agent. They beat the seller (who is an investor) up pretty good on the price, so we’re looking at mostly a pass/fail inspection due to that. Due diligence is what I’m about right now.

The southwest is quite different from the northwest. Any heads-up or advice you can offer would be very much appreciated.

The property address is:
17337 N 185th Drive, Surprise AZ 85374

  1. not sure… if there is no written report it is probably ok

  2. Termites…

  3. It depends, a termite inspection is $50 to $100

4.Post tension is quite common

  1. yes… Surprise is way the frick out there…

1 Arizona is a Licensed / regulated state for home inspectors so make sure your son does not use the words Home Inspection in any documents/ replies/BINSR/ or cancellation.
2. Sub Terranean termites are a fact of life here and in most cases it is a matter of when not if. A WDIR from a licensed professional will not only document Termites but also conditions conducive.
3. Even if the mortgage company does not require it you are crazy not to spend $50 having one done.
4. If it is post tension there will be stamps most likely at the garage entrance on the floor.
5. Expansive soils are very common here so Grading, landscape watering placements etc are very important.
Last you did not ask but why not hire a local expert and spend the entire inspection with him or her 2 sets of eyes are better than one.
Make sure he or she inspects / tests the landscape watering system, that is a very common item here that requires lots of maintenance / repairs. Our water is very hard so checking shutoff valves is a must!!!
AS a non licensed inspector I assume you will not be walking the roof like a licensed inspector would so you will miss many defects trying to inspect from eaves.
Last I am not trying to get the job I only go to Surprise for a few select Rock Star Realtors. I spend mot of my days in the east valley.

Since we are a licensed state, make no mention that it is an inspection.
Please, get a termite inspection. Here it is not if but when a house will get them.
Like others have stated, there will be a stamp in center of garage floor by the rollup door if there is a post tension slab.
Most inspectors here do not check sprinkler systems without an additional charge as we have drip lines, bubblers, spray nozzles and such. It can be time consuming to track all the lines and outlets and verify plants are getting water at the rate they should.
Look out for worn out flat roof if the home has one. They usually last 8-10yrs before needing work.

Jess
a number of deficiencies are evident with the stucco application based on the listing photos
call me if you’d like to discuss

Thank you for all the helpful information!

The generous replies from: Brian Kelly., Steven Bartolomei, Jeffrey Moore and Barry Adair are all useful and appreciated. I had an informative conversation with Barry on the phone. Barry is quite knowledgeable and intelligent; he emailed me some excellent resources, which I’m thankful for.

I would love to schedule a termite inspection for the morning of December 26th; is anyone here interested or do you have the name/number of someone you could refer?

We have four days on the backside of the inspection contingency to hire an inspector or other professional; I really want to carefully go through the place first, then me and my son can determine what direction we need to go from there in regards to hiring other professionals.

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas as we celebrate the birth of Christ. I hope you can enjoy some special time with friends, family and loved ones.