Ted did two home inspections for me. The first was for an older (40-ish) building. I was thrilled that I was getting a nicely renovated condo in a prime location for an amazing price, with nearly every major thing (exterior, roof, hot water tank, etc.) recently redone... but it turned out that the roof (which had only been redone 1-2 years before) was completely worn down, as it hadn't been done properly, and would need replacing again. And the strata had only $1K in the contingency fund per unit! I didn't buy the condo, and in the month that followed, even more units went up for sale in the building. Ted also said that the wiring was aluminum, which he said would make it hard to get insurance for fire. If I hadn't had a home inspection, I would have thought aluminum wiring was perfectly normal. When I got my second home inspection from Ted, it was a mostly positive report and I bought the place with confidence. As an added bonus, his way of walking you through the inspection tells you what to look for in a condo should you need to continue your search. He not only does the home inspection for you, he also teaches you (during the tour and the lengthy written report with photographs) how to choose and maintain your home over the years.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $780.00
- What could this company do to improve their services?
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- Company Response
Hi Anna,
Your description of the previous condo is a different version than my memory. The roof was not 1 or 2yrs old, what they had done one or 2 yrs prior was to make repairs to the roof instead of replacing it. It actually needed replacing. As with other assurances from the seller, the reality didn't measure up to the claims. FYI Aluminum wire is not a reason to run away from a purchase if everyone in the building has their wiring pigtailed. I don't think that sort of thing happens very often so as with any chain, it's only as strong as its weakest link. Older buildings have a lot of handyman wiring due to new lighting fixtures new outlets and switches which all require very specific skill and material to interface with the aluminum wiring. Most homeowners/handyman do this work as if it was all copper which could lead to overheating/fire hazards. There were other things like the copper piping being at/beyond its service life. The entire exterior had been painted but that only sets the building on a one-way course to possible destruction by Mold. Yes the building was an exercise in what could go wrong, had gone wrong and had been covered over.
Although your new home is not without its problems they are nevertheless manageable. I hope you can make your unit a happy unit and that you press for some of the repairs and replacements that we had discussed.
Wishing you: Happy trails...
Ted