Free Termite Inspections are Usually not Guaranteed!

Often, home inspectors will offer “a free termite inspection” included with their pre-purchase home inspection price. Almost always, home buyers aren’t aware that such termite inspections come with no guarantee whatsoever! When a licensed pest inspector prepares an inspection report, most often the inspection is guaranteed, so that if termites are discovered after the home is purchased, the purchaser is protected against paying for related repairs.

Newsday published an article on this subject and outlined how real estate lawyers will recommend an independent termite inspector:

“The engineer found no termites, but when he wouldn’t give a guarantee, I suggested [the buyers] bring in a licensed pest controller,” Minella said. With a written guarantee, buyers would be protected against paying for repairs in case termites were found after they moved in.”
 
When I offer a bid for a home inspection, I will recommend a choosing a licensed pest inspector who will prepare a separate termite report. These inspections and reports are usually competitively priced because the inspectors anticipate that some of these inspections will lead to work down the road. As a matter of fact, this gives them an incentive to make an extremely thorough inspection in order to find infestation. In one case, a termite inspector found a clean house but found infestation under a log right next to the house. In this situation, treatment was recommended in the report.

In a number of cases, licensed termite inspectors found massive infestation problems and these reports were used as negation tools because the buyers wanted the houses regardless. The slightly higher cost for a separate termite inspection is worth it for a number of reasons.

Termite photo by Scott Bauer from Wikimedia Commons, at this link

Tags: Long Island termite inspections, Home inspectors offer termite inspections, Hamptons NY termite inspectors

List of Hamptons NY Real Estate Brokers

The following is a list of real estate brokers in the Hamptons NY area. All real estate agents are required to work under licensed real estate brokers, so all professionals in the field are hopefully covered somewhere in this list. If you are a real estate broker in the area and are not on the list, I can add you if you let me know. If you are in need of a local Hamptons home inspector, check out Southampton Home Inspections.

Beau Hulse Realty Group

http://www.hulserealty.com/html/

Corcoran Hamptons, NY
http://www.corcoran.com/hamptons

Douglass Elliman Hamptons
http://www.elliman.com/long-island/hamptons

Halstead Hamptons
http://www.halstead.com/agents/hamptons-office/

The Morely Agency
http://morley.hreo.com/

Nest Seekers Hamptons, NY
http://www.nestseekers.com/Sales/hamptons/

Saunders
http://www.hamptonsrealestate.com/

Sea Shell Real Estate
http://www.seashell-realestate.com/

Sotheby's Hamptons, NY
http://www.sothebyshomes.com/hamptons
 
Southampton Village Real Estate
http://www.southamptonvillagerealestate.com/

South Fork Realty
http://www.southforkrealty.com/


Tags: Real estate Hamptons NY, list of real estate brokers and agents in Hamptons NY, Hamptons NY real estate listings, buy house hamptons

New Video of East Hampton Home Inspection

I recently completed a home inspection in East Hampton and because it seemed to be a typical Hamptons Style home I thought it would make for a good home inspection video. The house had the Hamptons Martha Stewart-esque decoration style and both the purchaser and owner were easy to work with as we walked through the house. Though I warned both of them that the inspection would likely take two hours, they were both very interested in the inspection process and going through the entire house together. I asked the seller if I could go back to the house to film a couple of key areas and he agreed. As a matter of fact, the owner said he would recommend my services to someone in his family who is looking to buy a house in the Hamptons.

The home purchaser seemed to know a lot about the house buying process and I was impressed when she asked the seller, "Do you know of any buried fuel oil tanks in the yard?"  This is a great question because buried and unused oil tanks are a nightmare to deal with, especially when they are found and documented by the city. The owner seemed to know how to buy a house in the Hamptons and wanted to be as thorough as possible. The seller immediately began addressing and repairing issues that were pointed out. I believe the detailed report helped to save the purchaser thousands of dollars and peace of mind. A home inspection is necessary and wise aspect of buying a house in my opinion and the purchaser seemed to hold the same view.

The following video is a very brief summary of some noted key points in the home inspection. Keep in mind that a two-hour inspection has been reduced down to about five minutes.




Tags: Home inspection in East Hampton, what to do when buying a home in the Hamptons, how to buy a home in the Hamptons, what is a home inspection? Is a home inspection necessary?

Best Value in Hamptons NY Home Inspections

Recession buster – drop in fees. Now a $425 guarantee for any home inspection of up to four bedrooms anywhere in Suffolk County with no hidden costs!

For prompt and courteous service, call 631 377 2046

Suffolk NY Home Inspections (SHI) offers the best service with immediate responses in Suffolk County for the guaranteed best value!
 
How do experience, integrity and value come into play with home inspections?
 
There are many different home inspectors out there but very few with the experience and knowledge that SHI offers. As the owner and inspector, I’m trained in architecture at Cooper Union in NYC and I also have been trained specifically for home inspection work. I offer more than just a quick and minimal inspection, I examine the yard and drainage, the heating and cooling system, the electrical system, and SHI also tests for such things as moisture levels and EMF radiation levels in microwaves and any nearby transformers or major power lines.
  


The following is a summary of SHI advantages:
 
• Available for immediate service every day except Sunday.

• Guaranteed low price with no hidden costs!

• Most competitive rates in Suffolk County.

• You do not need to be present.

• Licensed and insured for all NY State.

• Includes schematic plan of main house HVAC components.

• Includes moisture testing and EMF radiation testing.
 
In terms of inspection integrity, SHI is not affiliated with any real estate brokers and maintains objectivity while performing all inspections.
 
Look through the SHI website and, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call 631 377 2046 or send an email to Warden [at] consultant.com
 
“Test all things and hold onto what is good.”
 
List of most recent SHI home inspections:
 
165 Springville Rd Hampton Bays, NY
 
18 Bay View Rd Southampton, NY
 
52 Hilltop Rd, Southampton, NY
 
1937 North Sea Rd, Southampton, NY
 
15 Club Dr, Southampton, NY
 
Recent recommendation:
 
My name is Borislav and I am the owner of Hamptons Fine Carpentry. I have had the opportunity of getting to know Mr. Warden when he inspected my house this winter. Mr. Warden was extremely efficient and detail oriented when it came to the examination of my house. I strongly recommend Mr. Warden to all.
 
If you would like to see a video outlining SHI services, click this link.
 
Tags: Home inspector Suffolk NY, best home inspector Suffolk NY, East End home inspectors, Long Island home inspectors South Fork home inspector, North Fork home inspector, License #16000053978

Don't be Afraid of Networking

Because we live in the "Information Age," also known as the "Internet Age," there is a lot of attention being paid to social networking and Internet marketing. Though it seems a bit obvious that businesses and individuals can work together to achieve mutually beneficial results, there is often a hesitancy to incorporate new and creative networking ideas because people may feel it is manipulative or disingenuous somehow. The key is to consider the manner in which your business is beneficial to others and to keep these positive aspects of your product or service in mind. Not only is networking natural, recent studies show that plants generally network with other species of plants sharing valuable information. So, if plants can utilize networking techniques, you probably can also!

Increased Home Inspections After Hurricane Sandy

There have been some aftershocks of Hurricane Sandy in the real estate market that have been noted in the aftermath of the storm. For example, homes that had already been inspected have been reinspected - just in case there were any fresh damages caused by the storm. A press release from the Business Journals site describes the situations:

"Many home sales as well as contracts that are in progress will be put on hold until homes can be inspected or re-inspected for damages caused by the hurricane.  If you're selling your home, don't be surprised if a buyer interested in your property wants a second inspection of your home.  And if your home is under contract, be aware that properties in areas impacted by the hurricane may require another appraisal by the mortgage lender. Estimates at property damage range from $60 billion to as much as $90 billion to date on homes in seven states."

How to Winterize Your House: It's Not Too Late

According to CBS News, about 150,000 homes on Long Island, New York still do not have power. The storm was on the 29th of October. Today is November 11th. That's about two weeks without electricity. I'm quite certain that most of those 150, 000 homeowners who still have no power have considered every possible manner of winterizing their houses for maximum warmth. And, even if you have have no break in your electricity, it's never too late to winterize your home.

There are a number of websites that offer good advice on why and how to winterize various aspects of your house. Rather than reinvent the wheel, I've outlined what some of the top-rated articles have to offer and then added my additional two cents worth in the summary.