Good Morning!

Good morning all, 

    This morning I have decided to re-start my blog after several years off. Let's face it the pandemic and subsequent changes in everyday functioning are my only excuse for my time away. The changes in the economy and specifically the interest rates have made real estate buying more difficult than ever. This also makes what we do even more important. I talk to people every day that are more nervous than ever making that largest purchase of their lives and more and more of them are planning on re-financing in two to three years down the road. Not a bad plan but that also makes it more and more important to have the house inspected by a competent experienced professional. It is not one important that you get into a sound house now but equally important that it will appraise properly for that anticipated re-finance. We at WestCoast Home Inspections are prepared to help and can give you advice on repairs or improvements that you can/ should make to be sure your plan works out. We have been looking at houses for 25+ years and have looked at over 10,000 houses (some more than once!). We don't think the current conditions should keep anyone out of the market but you should lean on experienced, trained and logical professionals. If we can help you please don't hesitate to call and let's chat. Kerry can schedule anytime at 253-380-5949 and I love to talk houses at 253-380-2922. I have added some photos as always for you to enjoy. 

Sincerely, Matt Sorensen: License #499 Pest License #57661

Still finding LP siding after all these years. Replacement will cost tens of thousands. 

The third one claimed to have a new roof!

Holiday Weekends are the Best!!!

 

  

           What an amazing summer we have had here in the great Pacific Northwest.  The weather has been great, real estate has been moving and the Seahawks are playing!  Next comes school, fishing, the fair and oh ya, some maintenance on that biggest investment you likely own… your house.  It’s easy to ignore the place you come home to ever day after work, have dinner in and go to bed every night in when the weather is great and we have so many better things to do, but some simple upkeep will save us all a lot of money in the long run. 

At this point in the year our inspectors including myself have looked at over 300 homes and the most common repairs we come across throughout the year are actually pretty easily prevented.  Those that know me and see me often know that I harp on these simple measures every day at inspections but I’m going to share here again anyway.   Here goes…….

1.    Clean those gutters!  More damage is caused by faulty gutters around these parts than almost anything else we see.  Cleaning includes the downspouts by the way and making sure all joints and corners are sealed at the inside to prevent leaks.  Also make sure they are directed at least five feet from the house.  You can clean them this time of year with a leaf blower by the way.

2.    Clean your roof while you are at it.  Moss comes off your roof pretty easily once it’s dead so get some moss killer on it.  I use Moss-Out but there are plenty of choices out there.  Do not and I repeat Do Not let anyone (including yourself) pressure wash your composition roof.  All this does is shorten its life despite what some folks with pressure washers in their trucks will try to convince you.   

3.    Trim your plants and trees off your house.  We always recommend at least a foot of clearance between your house and any vegetation to prevent damage and keep bugs from infesting.

4.    While walking around the perimeter of your house trimming plants notice any missing caulking at windows, doors and joints and come back and fill them.  Also touch up any missing paint to prevent moisture damage over the winter. Touch up any missing paint or stain at decks and porches as well and make sure to eliminate any wood/ soil contact.  Don’t stack anything against your house either. 

5.    Lastly you must check for any openings to the crawlspace or attic.  Grab a good flashlight and look at the vent screens not only at the foundation but at the soffits and gables as well.  Check the crawlspace access cover as well.  It may look like it fits tightly but make sure you look at it from ground level.  That’s where the pests are looking at it from by the way.  Take the time to look under your house at the same time to make sure no one has moved in this year.  Keeping pests out is cheap while cleaning up after them is not.  The average bid we saw so far this year for rodent clean up in crawlspaces has been over $4,000 dollars.  Yep you read that right I said four grand! 

I hope this advice finds you all well and that you find it helpful.  I did all of this myself just this last weekend and it hardly took anytime at all (I swear it didn’t).  Have a great holiday weekend and remember as always that is you just can’t force yourself to crawl under your house with all the spiders and such you can always call us.  We have plenty of people who will gladly do it for you!!!

 

 

                              Sincerely, Matt Sorensen…..

 

 

                       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 If you don't keep that crawlspace sealed up tight you could end up living over something that looks like this........

 

            I was asked this last week by two different clients why so many of the REO properties that they have been looking at appear at first glance to be in good condition by turn out to be crap.  Great question I think and I tend to agree with what they are saying.  I also have a theory and here it is. 

           During the early part of this decade when it seemed that everyone was buying and flipping around properties at an amazingly fast rate, no one really seemed to care what they were doing or what their skill level was.  No one watched what was going on or cared.  They put lip stick on any old house they could find and put it up for sale.   The people buying these houses paid way too much for them and didn’t find the issues till around the time they could no longer afford them and no longer cared about them.  Now they have been abandoned, stripped for parts and put on the market by the banks that started the practice in the first place. 

           These houses are now back on the market and still have the same issues that no one wants to pay to fix.  If you are going to shop for these REO properties make sure you hire a reputable inspection firm to come out and go through it for you before you buy.  Permits were rarely pulled for these homes and we find all kinds of interesting issues and hazardous conditions. 

           It might be a good deal or it might be someone else’s problem.  While I always agree that everything in a house is fixable, it always comes with a price and as was always true it should be a price you are prepared to pay not a surprise.  Check out the pictures below.  The owner of this “remodeled home” now is selling and had no idea what was over her head for the last seven years.  It came as quite a shock to her (no pun intended).  She was sure permits had been pulled for her home because that is what the seller told her.  Not the case here.  Check it out. 

 

 

 

                              Sincerely, Matt Sorensen…..

 

 

                       

 

 

 

The owner of this house claimed that all proper permits had been pulled and all work completed by a licensed contractor.  I’m guessing she never looked up in the attic.  Properly re-wired is not how I would describe this one.  Watch out when house shopping.  This could be you.

 

WestCoast Home Inspection                                                                                    Phone:           253-380-2922

903 291^st Street                                                                                                        Scheduling:         253-380-5949

Roy, WA 98580                                                                                                                     Fax:        253-843-1807

Good Holiday Weekend.

 What a great weekend of inspecting.  I hope everyone fared as well.  I had an opportunity to take a trip up to Seattle on Saturday to look at a condo on Lake Washington (and I mean it was on the lake).  The wind was blowing hard and the lake was angry but I had a great conversation with a friend about the condo business in Seattle.  Turns out it is a niche market where prices are up and inventory is low.  He took the time to explain to me some of the ins and outs of Seattle condo sales and what walking indexes are.  The amount of time and effort he puts in is inspiring and paying off. 

           Sunday I took a look at a bank owned property for a young couple buying their first house.  I know, I know yet another bank owned un-financeable bank property, but no.  Fannie May has decided to start selling sellable houses!  Shocking as that is it is true.  Not just paint and carpet but a serviced furnace and most other items repaired as well.  A government owned house that will qualify for government financing?  What’s going on here?  It was great the client couldn’t be happier, and for a change everyone gets paid.  It feels like business again. 

           I have very high hopes for this year.  It started out well even with having to take a week off in January (huge storm here-no power) and it only being mid-February.  I am reminded why I got into this crazy real estate business in the first place and my thanks go out to the listing agent for the clean government owned house, the selling agent for showing up on Sunday and to the mortgage broker for the referral.  To the agent in Seattle I thank you for the inspiration and reminding me that sometimes it’s ok to step outside the box and buck current trends.  I hope you all have a great Presidents day and enjoy some time off.  Me, I’m off to look at another house……

                              Sincerely, Matt Sorensen…..

Pictures this time are of pressure washed roofs.  You should not pressure wash a composition roof ever.  It causes more damage than anything else I see.  You can quickly turn a roof that had several years of remaining life into a roof that needs to be replaced.  Don’t do it!

Fall is for more than carving pumpkins.

 I can’t believe its October already.  Where has this year gone?  I swear summer started here only three weeks ago and now were right back into the rain, shorter days and lower temperatures.  With these fun changes come some maintenance items to think about.  Along with the pumpkins to carve, cornstalks to place and fake spider webs to hang there are some things around the house to take care of.  I started with cleaning the gutters and spreading the moss killer on the roof.  This is an easy one to take care of and will prevent rot in the fascia and soffits.  Make sure that the downspouts are also clear and not loose from the gutter or house.  Let’s keep that water flowing.  The next thing I took care of was trimming all the landscaping away from the house.  Plants touching the house trap moisture and can lead to rot and infestation.  Make sure to take a good look at the trees around your house as well.  Once the wind starts blowing they can damage the house as well as clogging the gutters. 

I also took a look in the crawlspace under the house.  I know there are spiders and other yucky stuff under there but you really need to take a look at least once a year (you can always hire a pro!) for signs of infestation, plumbing leaks and openings that a rodent can use to get in and get comfortable.  Check out the plumbing pipes for insulation while you’re down there as well. 

Next I called my HVAC tech. to come out and inspect and clean the furnace.   This is especially important if you want to stay warm over the next 4-6 months and if you are burning fossil fuels this extremely important for your health and safety as well.  The last thing I did was head out into the garage and trip the GFCI and ARC fault breakers to test them and make sure that they operated properly.  I tripped the ones in the bathrooms and kitchen as well.  I checked out the weather stripping on both doors in the garage as well.  You have to be diligent about keeping those rodents out as they are looking for a warm dry place to live right now. 

My jobs are all competed and all done before lunch time.   I hope you all take some time to maintain your houses as well this fall.  Prevention is cheap and easy while repairs are expensive and difficult.  I look at houses every day that end up costing sellers thousands of dollars at the most inopportune times when some simple maintenance and early detection could have prevented the damage in the first place.  Have fun with it and remember your really just paying yourself. 

                                                            Sincerely, Matt Sorensen…..

While maintenance is a good thing and can be handled by most everyone, some home projects require professional help.  This deck covering was obviously installed by the home owner and I am not sure what is keeping it up.  It is cantilevered out from the house over twenty feet and the joist hangers are the only thing holding it up.  By the way most of the hardware attaching the hangers turned out to be sheet metal screws.  Wow!

                            

 

Investors: Our Kind of People....

 Ok, it is mid-July and the inspection business is in full swing.  We keep hearing that there is some kind of heat wave going on in the country but here in the Great Pacific Northwest it is once again raining and sixty two (62) degrees.  Still waiting patiently for summer and in the meantime just working away.    It seems we eat breath and live real estate here at the Sorensen household and there is nothing we enjoy more than helping other investors who have caught the fever.  Recently buying, renovating and re-selling real estate has started to really heat up again here in Washington and we couldn’t be happier to see it.  With the bank-owned properties and short sale properties on the market at great prices there is once again a profit to be made turning properties.  Over the years we have helped an awful lot investors get off to the right start with renovating properties and continue to do so.  With the bottom line more important than ever and the margins getting tighter, you definitely cannot afford surprises in your investments especially after your budget has been set.  Even if you are buying properties at auction you still need to hire a professional inspector to look over the property before you buy it and set a budget.  Even with these greatly reduced prices, you can still lose money.  My wife is the “flipper” in our house and even though we have been in this industry for many years and my wife thinks she has seen it all, she still hires me to inspect any properties she has an interest in before buying.  Even if she is going to strip the house down to the studs and start over she still hires me to inspect it and give her a complete list of repairs to take to her contractors. 

           So, if you feel that you need to take advantage of the current prices and invest in real estate it doesn’t matter if it’s your first time or hundredth time hire the right professionals and make it a fun and rewarding experience.  Start with a great real estate agent and then hire a professional inspection company to let you know what you’ve got and what it really needs.  If we can help, just give us a ring.   Have fun out there and remember that the house you renovate, you may want to keep!

                              Sincerely, Matt Sorensen…..

WestCoast Home Inspection                                                Phone:           253-380-2922

903 291^st Street                                                                                     Scheduling:         253-380-5949

Roy, WA 98580                                                                                 Fax:                     253-843-1807

This bank owned house was very typical of what I see day in and day out.  The bank hired a contractor to make some minor improvements to get the house sold including re-painting the exterior.  They did not bother to replace the worn out roof coverings and rotted sheathing throughout the soffits however.  Even if you looked this one over thoroughly, you likely wouldn’t see this damage unless you brought a ladder along.  Give us a call we would love to help.  

Monday Again.......

 It is another rainy Monday morning here in the Pacific Northwest after a beautiful weekend of sun and pleasant temperatures.  We here at the Sorensen household had two full days of gardening, sun-catching and barbequing.  We loved it and enjoyed it to the fullest.  It was everything we waited all winter for and it couldn’t get any better.  This morning it is raining and windy and pretty much looks like winter all over again.  My daughter got up and ready for school but was no longer smiling (the other one still in bed), my wife also not smiling and me sitting inside at this darn computer.  Now we all know that the sun will be out again in a couple of days, but in the rain it’s hard to see that well known fact.  This got me to thinking about several of the recent transactions I have been involved in.  I know I’m covering some highway to make this correlation but bare with me.  

           Recently I have had several clients who are really excited about the house that they have found and made an offer on.  They waited a long time to save up the money, raise good credit ratings, qualify for a loan and shop for the perfect house.  Offer accepted and their time line progressing nicely they call us to inspect it for them.  The sun is finally out and shining on them.  Now WE all know that there is no such thing as a perfect house and that issues will be found but the clients are pretty much convinced that their dream house is perfect.  The inspection of course reveals the need for some repairs. Some are minor and some are more serious but all are fixable……and the rain starts.   Lately we have had a rash of buyers just backing away and looking for another house at this point even though most of the repairs are simple and common without even giving the sellers a chance to repair them.

           The highs and lows of real estate can definitely be hard to take for all of us at times but if the house is what you want, where you want to be and at the price you want isn’t it logical to at least give the seller an opportunity to correct the issues and you still have your dream house?  Just because we found some issues doesn’t mean the seller was hiding them, that is should have shown up on the form 17 or that there must be massive hidden defects with the house.  Sometimes if we just hang in there the sun will come out again and shine on our dreams.  Just a thought on a rainy Monday morning.  What do you think?

Sincerely,

                              Matt Sorensen……       

I found it very strange that I would see this twice in the same month.  Romex cable pushed into an outlet to power an exterior light.  Come on folks, at what point did this seem like a good idea and how did you get it in there without shocking yourselves?  Please call an electrician when you need to add to your electrical system.