Archive for the ‘Home Inspections’ Category:

The EPA rates radon as the number two cause of lung cancer.  This is the PSA video they published regarding radon.  It’s a little long at 13 minutes but it has some serious information presented in a lighthearted way.  Radon has been around longer that real estate but only recently has radon become one of the requisite tests a buyer should perform when buying residential real estate (it is and has been on the Oregon Property Buyer Advisory (pdf or web). I think that’s largely because of the improvements in the testing equipment. Watch the video and tomorrow we’ll look at some radon levels measured around Portland. (more…)

Even in the world of “seller to make no repairs” oil tanks are something that we’ve even seen banks take care of prior to closing when revealed during the inspection period.  PortlandMaps has always been the first place to begin the investigation as to whether or not a property has a below ground oil tank (note that just because there is no record online doesn’t mean there is no tank).  Click on “historic permits” for the given property and scroll down.  The picture is of the 1952 permit for one of our properties. (more…)

We’ve started making a transition to non-paper fliers at our listings.  Replacing the flier box with a 11×15 sign.  We are still putting paper fliers inside the property.  The weather-proof sign solves some common paper flier problems:

• Damp/soggy fliers
• Waste (the sign backing can be reused)
• Out of date information
• Complete lack of information if the box is empty (more…)

The graphic above is a snapshot of an interactive graphic in this article at MSNBC.

The article begins: (more…)

According to a press release issued today by HUD, using the $8000 first time buyer credit as your down payment is back on:

For Release
Friday May 29, 2009

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 offers homebuyers a tax credit of up to $8,000 for purchasing their first home. Families can only access this credit after filing their tax returns with the IRS. Today’s announcement details FHA’s rules allowing state Housing Finance Agencies and certain non-profits to “monetize” up to the full amount of the tax credit (depending on the amount of the mortgage) so that borrowers can immediately apply the funds toward their down payments. Home buyers using FHA-approved lenders can apply the tax credit to their down payment in excess of 3.5 percent of appraised value or their closing costs, which can help achieve a lower interest rate. (more…)

Sewer scopes reveal all sorts of things: cracks, roots, clogs, transitions from terracotta to cast iron, and even completely shattered or nonexistent lines.  This was a new one for us: the yellow conduit at the top of the sewer houses an active gas line! (more…)

I’m almost finished with writing a post on a different subject but this is more important. In real estate, we test and test and test through the transaction; oil tanks, radon, pests, and the list goes on. Oregon real estate law has a provision for smoke detectors. Carbon monoxide? It’s rarely mentioned in real estate. But it killed a family of four Thanksgiving weekend in Aspen. The Oregonian and other news outlets have reports on the story. (more…)

If you look closely at the lower left wire, you’ll see why I ran off on Tuesday rather than writing a long post about Case Shiller. We’d had PGE out last year to our rental property when the electrician said whatever was going on was a PGE issue; they came out and fixed. When things went bad last week, PGE received the first call. One leg of the power service was complete burned through under the meter base (click the image to enlarge). Some of the paint outside the meter based had bubbled. The repair is the homeowner’s (my) problem.

We have an American Home Shield Warranty on the property (renewed annually) so the next call is to them- if you have a potential claim and call them after the fact, your claim will be denied. They paid about $1800 to repair the service. I paid about the same to upgrade the service to 200 amps and replace the panel ( I also paid a $60 deductible). I couldn’t see the point of keeping a lesser service as I still would have paid a portion of the bill since the repair was over the limits of what the warranty covers. (more…)

We’re just a week away from closing and though nothing is official until it is recorded at the county office, I am comfortable saying that Sapphire Development LLC’s new rehab project is at 2356 NW Hoyt in the Alphabet District. It is a 1906 home that has been largely untouched and certainly not remodeled recently. It retains much of its original charm.

The house has been the subject of the Buyer Due Diligence series of posts that I have written in the last month. The oil tank is now completely decommissioned but we are still undecided what the overall heating/cooling picture will look like.

I am in the process of writing the application for the State Historic Preservation Office’s Special Assessment program and have met with Earth Advantage at the property (more on that soon). (more…)

Alpha Environmental is working on decommissioning the leaking oil tank. At last check, the hole had been dug out about four feet beneath the bottom of the tank. The top and bottom of the tank have been cut out and the walls retained to help maintain the integrity of the hole. Standing next to the dumpster, you can smell the diesel.

Western Architectural inspected the stucco and has determined that it can be repaired as needed and is not failing.

I talked to Urban Forestry about the horse chestnut street trees. Even though they have cracked the sidewalk, destroyed the sewer and, in my personal opinion, are the wrong trees for their location, they will remain. I’d happily replant with more appropriate trees given the opportunity. I couldn’t apply for a permit to take them down until we are the legal owners even with the seller’s permission. You can apply for building permits at BDS with the seller’s permission prior to taking ownership which we will do once we have the drawings complete. I will be satisfied if we can get a permit for a curb cut to create off street parking. There is evidence that there may have been a curb cut previously. (more…)