Understanding the "Product" you sell (This information could save your clients THOUSANDS of dollars) *Protect your clients from being "ripped off".  Last Minute Inspection Discount Offer NBI's Tidbits (Snippets of life from NBI)  *Picture of the Week *"Selling the Positive" A little Humor to brighten your day *Married Humor 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. In 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.     Protect your clients from being "ripped off".    Mechanic:   "I found a problem in your trunk.....but I can fix it for $1850.00. " Consumer (without looking at the problem):   "DARN, I hate it when I have problems....OK....Fix it" Would you authorize a mechanic to fix an "unknown" problem in the trunk of your car without you thoroughly understanding or even seeing the problem?  --------------------------------------------------------------- As incredible as it sounds, THOUSANDS of home sellers and buyers are doing EXACTLY that every day in California.  Routinely I read termite inspection reports that state: "Fungus damage was noted in the subarea as noted on the diagram.  Remove and replace the damaged wood."   Cost to repair: $2200. Amazingly buyers or sellers hire that company to repair an UNKNOWN problem without knowing the extent of damage or the exact amount of work that the termite company is going to perform.   YIKES! ! ! Allow me to demonstrate the importance of clear, concise inspection reports.  Notice how additional information in a report dramatically changes your interpretation of the problem. EXAMPLE #1:  "Fungus damage was noted in the subarea as noted on the diagram.  Remove and replace the damaged wood." Do you know what the damage is to?      NO! Do you know how much damage existed?     NO! Do you know know the extent of repairs to be performed?   NO! -------------------------------------------- EXAMPLE #2:   (Let's add more information.) "Fungus damage was noted to the rim joist and subfloor at the right rear corner of the house.  Remove and replace the damaged wood." Now you have a little better understanding of what is damaged and where it is. But, you still don't know the "extent" of the damage. ------------------------------------------- EXAMPLE #3:   (Now, let's add the repair cost.  Notice how a repair price completely changes your perception of the damage.) "Fungus damage was noted to the rim joist and subfloor at the right rear corner of the house.  Remove and replace the damaged wood." Contractor will repair all damage for ......$125.00 VS: "Fungus damage was noted to the rim joist and subfloor at the right rear corner of the house.  Remove and replace the damaged wood." Contractor will repair all damage for ......$2125.00 The wording is EXACTLY the same.....but notice that you have a "completely different image" of the extent of damage.   The damage in the first item was quite small....however, the damage in the second item "must be" quite substantial.  Notice that the contractor or termite inspector never said anything different in either of these findings but YOU completely changed YOUR interpretation simply by the repair price.  The contractor or termite inspector never said the damage is more extensive, nor did they say they were going to perform more work.   They simply allowed YOU to assume there was more damage and that more repair work was going to be performed. ----------------------------------------------- EXAMPLE #4:  (Now look at the value of adding a picture to the report.) "Fungus damage was noted to the rim joist and subfloor at the right rear corner of the house.  Remove and replace the damaged wood." Notice how one simple picture creates its own image.  You don't even need repair prices.  You can see the damage is minor and that the repair should be relatively inexpensive to repair.       "Fungus damage was noted to the rim joist and subfloor at the right rear corner of the house.  Remove and replace the damaged wood." This picture shows substantial damage.  You know it's going to cost far more to repair than the previous picture.  -----------------------------------------------     EXAMPLE #5  (Repair prices WITH pictures creates an even better image.) "Fungus damage was noted to the rim joist and subfloor at the right rear corner of the house.  Remove and replace the damaged wood." Contractor will repair all damage for ......$125.00 Comparing the picture with the repair price, you would feel quite comfortable with the repair price.        "Fungus damage was noted to the rim joist and subfloor at the right rear corner of the house.  Remove and replace the damaged wood." Contractor will repair all damage for ......$2125.00 You can even understand why this repair price is as high as it is when you see this picture.    ----------------------------------------------- EXAMPLE #6  (Would this picture and repair price raise a RED FLAG???) "Fungus damage was noted to the rim joist and subfloor at the right rear corner of the house.  Remove and replace the damaged wood." Contractor will repair all damage for ......$2125.00 Receiving a bid of $2125 to repair this minor amount of damage would surely cause you to question "How could that damage cost so much to repair"?  Are you starting to see the value of having pictures included in your report??  I'm the first to agree that pictures don't show everything; however they are far better than no pictures.  LESSONS TO BE LEARNED: 1.  Hire ONLY un-biased inspection companies.  I'm continually amazed, even after 20 years, that agents still hire inspection companies that "make their living based upon the corrective recommendations made during their inspections".  Hire an un-biased inspection company and then hire a qualified contractor to perform the repairs recommended.  (This will save your clients $$THOUSANDS$$.) 2.  REQUIRE your inspector to provide pictures of all damage that isn't readily accessible...such as in the subarea or on the roof.   If they don't provide pictures.... move on to another inspection company. (With today's technology, there is no reason they can't provide pictures.   Maybe they have ulterior motives NOT to provide pictures.) 3.  DO NOT accept firm repair bids for "hidden" damage.  Looking at this picture, NBI would be concerned about the "cause" of the fungus.   Fungus is caused by moisture.  We would want to determine the source of the moisture and be sure the contractor fixes the "source" of the moisture as well as the damage.  We would also be concerned that damage is extending up inside of the wall cavity.  No one (I mean NO ONE) can see inside of walls; therefore, there is NO WAY to know how extensive the damage is.  The ONLY way to deterine the extent of damage is by "opening" the walls in the immediate area. The damage may be only 2 sq. ft. at the base of the wall.     Or it could extend all the way to the roof.         Or somewhere in between.           There are only two ways a contractor or termite company can provide you with a "firm" bid. Open the walls to determine the exact extent of damage.   OR.... Charge you for the WORST possible case.   (In 20 years, I've never seen a contractor refund money to the client in the event the damage was not as bad as originally thought.)  -----------------------------------------------   Remember, a termite report that contains a bid to perform the work is a CONTRACT!  If it isn't clear as to EXACTLY what work is to be performed for the bid price ..... DON'T sign it! ! My favorite corrective statement goes like this...... "Fungus damage was noted to the rim joist and subfloor at the right rear corner of the house.  Damage is going into inaccessible areas. RECOMMENDATION:  Remove and replace all of the damage as is necessary.  If damage extends past where we expected, an additional charge will be incurred! ! Contractor will repair all damage for ......$2125.00 HA! !    You have no idea of how much work is going to be performed for the first $2125.... Maybe he only "expects" to repair two square feet of stucco.   Based upon his contract, your client could be charged for anything more than two square feet.   YIKES! ! ! Use a simple rule and be careful.    DON'T sign any contract where you don't know the total extent of the repairs being performed for the price given.  HOW CAN WE DETERMINE EXTENT OF DAMAGE??? Many of you are probably saying...."that all sounds good....except in real life.  How can we determine the true extent of damage before we get a "firm" bid?" ANSWER: Each real estate office should create a relationship with a "handyman".  (Most agents don't generate enough business to create a "loyal" handyman .....but the entire office does.)  Whenever a client is concerned about hidden damage; hire the (less expensive) handyman to open all of the walls within the immediate areas.  The extent of damage will become clearly evident.  Now that you know the extent of damage.... have the quality contractor give a "FIRM" bid to repair the "known" damage.    This method will save your clients (sellers or buyers) a tremendous amount of money. _____________________________________________ PLEASE, PLEASE, have your listings inspected prior to entering into a purchase contract.  NBI's non-biased inspections will offer your clients the very best value.   We don't have a vested interest in your client's home; therefore if there are repairs to be performed, we can offer you the most practical repair methods... rather than those that are the most profitable for the repair contractor.  Call our office at (800) Go-NBI-NOW (800) 466-2466.  Place your inspection order NOW! ! Place your inspection orders on-line, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.  To the Top       (Snippets of life from NBI) Picture of the Week:   “Selling the Positives"     (Overheard comment from agent)    "Look at that beautiful tree.  The shade from it will dramatically reduce your utility bills.   Trees that large are worth $$$THOUSANDS$$." .       | | | | | | | | | | | |     Well..... OK.   That is one way of looking at it.    To the Top We need your help! ! Our records are showing that thousands of our emails are being swept out to Sea by overzealous spam filters that filter on graphic text and pictures.  If you feel that NBI's newsletters are informative and helpful, we would really appreciate you jumping up and down, waving your arms during your next sales meeting asking all of the other agents in your office to put us in their email address book.  They are missing out on very worthwhile information. Thank You FREE Termite Inspection ! ! ! 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 Inspection”, we will include NBI's famous "Non-Biased Termite Inspection for FREE! ! Our normal rates are: (Based upon homes under 2000 sq. ft.) (Prices may vary between market areas.) (San Francisco and Fresno County prices are slightly different.  Please call our office for exact fees.) Home Inspection: $395.00 Termite Inspection: $240.00 Total:.. $635.00 If you order a home inspection and fill a vacant time slot for the following day; your client will receive a FREE termite inspection! (Example: If you call NBI on Monday and you are able to fill an open time slot we have on Tuesday, you will receive a FREE termite inspection.) (Note: Our condominium inspection prices are $240, $310, and $380 respectively.) LIVE UPDATE! ! NBI has created a "Last Minute Inspection" web page so you can instantly check to see if we have any "next day" time slots in your area.  Open this web page and drag the Icon onto your desktop.  Each time you need an inspection...simply click on our web page.  It doesn't get any easier than that. Call our office at (800) Go-NBI-NOW (800) 466-2466 for complete details. For additional information about our company, please visit 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.  These pictures add a tremendous amount of clarity to our findings.  Click here for a Sample Home Report.   Click here for a Sample Termite report.  Place your inspection orders on-line, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.  Have you missed previous Straight Fax Newsletters?  Click HERE.  We have many posted for your review.  They contain a lot of great information. To the Top Married Humor The most effective way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once. ---------------------- Young Son:      "Is it true, Dad?   I heard that in some parts of Africa, a man doesn't know his wife until he marries her?" Father:        "That happens in every country, son." ---------------------- (The woman applying for a job in a Florida lemon grove seemed way too qualified for the job.) Foreman:     "Look Miss, have you any actual experience in picking lemons?" Woman:     "Well, as a matter of fact, yes!   I've been divorced three times." ---------------------- The man approached a very beautiful woman in a large supermarket and asked .... "I've lost my wife here in the supermarket. Can you talk to me for a couple of minutes?" Woman:   "Why?" Man:     "Because every time I talk to a a beautiful woman, my wife appears out of nowhere." To the Top Like NBI's Straight FAX Newsletter?   Nearly 500 new agents per month are asking to receive our newsletter.  Encourage everyone in your office to register for this worthwhile information. Send to, Answerman@goNBI.com. 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.