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Time to Read: 5 Minutes or Less

Routinely, agents confess how little they know about the physical product they sell…(the house). At times, they are embarrassed that they can’t answer client’s questions regarding the physical aspects of the house.

Each publication, you will find helpful comments and pictures to help build your knowledge base. This information is not to make you a home or termite inspector. It’s to increase your core knowledge to make you even more valuable to your client.

 

BEWARE......"Be Aware" of this construction method

 

There are many types of residential construction throughout the Bay Area.  From time to time, we will be presenting different architectural styles of homes that have characteristic design and/or construction flaws.  Rather than BEWARE, we recommend you simply "be aware" of the potential flaws.  Knowing of the potential problems will help prepare your client for what NBI may find during our inspections. 

In this issue, we will concentrate on the older stucco home with no eaves.  Here are several examples.  I'm sure that you've seen hundreds of similar types. 

Notice the walls protrude up past the roof line.  In most cases, they will have elevated front porches that are covered with concrete or bricks.

Some may look like they have sloping roofs but it's really a short mansard roof at the front and a flat top roof at the rear portion of the home.  Many of these homes will either have columns and/or stucco walls around the front porch.

This is a duplex with the same architectural style.  Flat top roof, stucco columns and concrete capped front porches. 

The first problem is the concrete capped porches over wood framing.  (Arrow #1)  These concrete caps would crack and water would then rot out all of the wood support members below. 

(This is a picture of the underside of duplex porch.)

Notice, there is no wood supporting the underside of this porch.  It has all rotted and fallen to the ground.  There is "nothing" holding up this concrete.  Now look at the square opening at the rear....this is the opening for the stucco column noted in Arrow #2 above. 

(Looking up inside the stucco column while laying on your back under the porch.)

Notice, there is NO wood to hold up this column. (The black stuff is the old tar paper that was between the wood and the stucco.)  The stucco is the only thing holding up this entire front porch.  YIKES! !

(The roof top above the duplex.  )

The seller just installed a new roof covering to prepare the property for sale; however, it was too little, to late.  The damage has been done.  The entire front of this property has rotted out and will have to be replaced....including a section of this new roof.  (Note:  A parapet wall is that section of the wall that extends past the roof line.) 

These roof types are quite problematic because a small pin hole in the roof covering at the wall-to-roof connection can allow water to seep down inside the wall cavities for years before it is discovered. 

The entire front of this building will have to be completely removed and replaced.  Matching the existing style could cost $20,000+. 

Be Aware of these types of construction.  When you take a listing, have it inspected immediately to eliminate those unwanted surprises. 

 

NBI produces the highest quality inspection reports in the industry.   EXPERIENCE THE DIFFERENCE! !

Like these pictures?  We provide pictures in our Home "AND" our Termite reports.  Go to www.goNBI.com for samples of NBI's home and termite reports. Click on Sample Report in the left column.

Place your inspection orders on-line, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. 


(Snippets of life from NBI)

Picture of the Week:

Woody Woodpecker becomes a wood destroying pest! 

This Novato home became "Woody's" favorite. 

Nice home...neatly maintained....nestled in a grove of oak trees.  Then you look up! !

  

At first, we couldn't figure out what it was. 

 

Holes and more holes.  They never ended.  They were everywhere! ! 

 

Soon, it became apparent that Woody-the-Woodpecker was hard at work.  He found out that the wood siding and trim boards on the house were much softer than those hard oak trees.   "This would be a GREAT place to store my acorns through the winter. " 

  

This house looked like it was in the middle of a war zone. 

Can you imagine the racket he must have made while drilling these holes?  Especially next to the metal framed windows.

Look real close.  You will see brown spots in some of the holes.   These are the acorns Woody is storing for the winter. 

What amazes me is that someone is simply painting over the holes and allowing Woody to do his thing.   Incredible ! !      

This damage will cost the homeowner MANY thousands of dollars!

Pictures by:  Jim Lowe (NBI Inspector, Sonoma County)

To the Top

NBI has only two things to sell, unequalled construction knowledge and “TIME”. We understand that we will never be able to sell “TOMORROW” again. NBI would rather give your client a GIANT discount for acting fast, than not filling an open time slot.

By ordering a “Last Minute Home and Termite Inspection”, your client could save up to $300.

Our normal rates are: (Based upon homes under 2000 sq. ft.)

Home Inspection: $375.00
Termite Inspection: $210.00
Total:.. $585.00

If you fill a combination (home and termite) inspection for the day following your call; your client will have to pay only $285.00! A $300 SAVINGS!

(Example: If you call NBI on Monday and you are able to fill an open time slot we have on Tuesday, you will receive up to a $300 discount.)

If you fill one of our time slots 2 days from your call, your client will have to pay only $385.00! A $200 SAVINGS!

If you fill one of our time slots 3 days from your call, your client will only have to pay $485.00! A $100 SAVINGS!

(Note: Our condominium inspection prices are $240, $310, and $380 respectively.)

Call our office at (800) Go-NBI-NOW (800) 466-2466 for complete details. For additional information about our company, please visits us at www.goNBI.com.

NBI produces the highest quality inspection reports in the industry.   EXPERIENCE THE DIFFERENCE! !

We provide pictures in our Home "AND" our Termite reports.  Go to www.goNBI.com  for samples of NBI's home and termite reports. Click on Sample Report in the left column.

Place your inspection orders on-line, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. 

 

Beautiful Holiday Season Story

I’ve seen this story several times over the years and it never fails to create a lump in my throat and a tear to my eye. 

Please read it….it will do the same for you.

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One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name. 

Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down.


It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.

That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.

On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know others liked me so much." were most of the comments.

No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.

Several years later, one of the students was killed in Viet Nam and his teacher attended the funeral of that special student. She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked so handsome, so mature.

The church was packed with his friends. One by one those who loved him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin.

As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to her. "Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked. She nodded: "yes." Then he said: "Mark talked about you a lot."  

After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went together to a luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak with his teacher.


"We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. "They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."  

Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. The teacher knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him.

"Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother said. "As you can see, Mark treasured it."

All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, "I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home."


Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album."

"I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my diary."

Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at all times," Vicki said and without batting an eyelash, she continued: "I think we all saved our lists."

That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.


The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be.

So please, tell the people you love and care for, that they are special and important. Tell them, before it is too late.


We at NBI, want to wish you and your families a happy holiday season.
 

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What issues would you like us to discuss in future Straight Fax Newsletters?  Electrical, Plumbing….Roofs???   Proper interpretation of pest control reports???   Let us know.

HAVE QUESTIONS or concerns regarding a potential home problem, ask NBI's AnswerMan at Answerman@goNBI.com 

Editor Notes:  Dale J. Luger founded National Building Inspectors in 1986.  Mr. Luger has purchased; rehabilitated and sold over 1000 residential units in his career.  His credentials as a General Contractor, Roofing Contractor (1976), CA Real Estate Broker (1982), Pest Control Operator (1987) make him uniquely qualified and knowledgeable of all aspects of real estate transactions.