All Forum Posts by: Mike Hasson

I commend the the proactive approach you are taking, and while I don't have an exact list per se, I can tell you what I did with the house I'm currently selling. I had done as much work as was feasible, to make the home presentable for showings, but there will always be more to fix and work on and improve, so as soon as picture day for the listing came, that's where I pulled the plug on any more projects, and accepted that any further work would have to be requested as part of negotiations. Then I accepted an offer with a VA loan, so I looked up the VA requirements and realized there was a few more things I could do to make the VA appraisal go smoothly. Probably minor, and might not have even been noticed (they arent inspectors), but in an effort to keep the transaction smooth I just did it. That appraisal was 2 weeks ago and I haven't received any repair requests so I believe it to have been worthwhile. Hope that helps!

What's your goal with the checklist? Making repairs? Getting financing approval? Maximizing value? Cleanout for your buyer? Getting ready for openhouses? Or even pre appraisal?

these all might have different approaches, for example I'm a fan of pre listing inspections to get a leg up on repairs, but keep in mind the things the inspector find are different from what an appraiser will look for (and the appraiser is the one who ultimately determines the value), and nobody will should expect a home to be free from the defects an inspector will find. Furthermore FHA and VA loans will have their own requirements for getting a loan approved so you may want to focus on those factors.

Understanding your goals will help us to provide useful guidance

I just had some similar damage repaired by installing steel i-beams at about 5' intervals along the damage. The cost ran about $1000 per beam, and are designed to be adjusted over time to gradually straighten the wall. 

have you found anything new or gotten any quotes since this was posted?

I just Had some foundation repairs done involving the foundation walls shearing off the footing. The repairs Involved bolting steel I-Beams in place about every 5', and cost around $1000 for each beam. 

Your foundation and issues appear different than the ones I just repaired. Also I can't say for sure from the pictures, but it is unlikely those 2x4s are sufficient, even if temporary. I'm buying a property now which had some 2x4s placed to support sagging floors, and one of those 2x4s is so bent that im suprised it hasnt snapped, its basically C shaped lol. Don't wait until that happens to yours!

But most hardware stores sell adjustable steel columns that are easily installed. Though those are generally considered temporary repairs, but can hold far more load than the 2x4s. Those adjustable steel columns are usually less than $100 each and may be a suitable substitute until you can get an engineer approved permanent repair completed. 

But no matter what you do you'll want to controll the water first. 

Let me know what your engineer prescribes, I'm curious to their solutions.

Not sure what the foundation damage looks like or the extent of the damage, there are different types, such as step cracking (broken mortar diaganolly), shearing ( foundation moving horizontally off of the footing), horizontal cracking (usally near the frost line), to name a few. Each type of damage you'll also want to address the cause which could range from settling to tree roots, but are almost always water related in some way. Then repairing the damage to the structure is next. 

I just had some foundation repairs done on a Property in Ohio that had almost all of it. Engineer prescribed steel I-beams installed about every 5 ft to stop the movement and can be adjusted over time to straighten the walls. 

Just make sure to price it into the deal and get an engineer involved to make sure it's all done right. Another thing to keep in mind though is that sometimes financing can be difficult on properties with foundation damage. But sometimes being able to repair the property is where the value is. 

I'd recommend to consult with an engineer, your lender, and get a few quotes to decide if it's something you want to take on. Foundation issues can scare away a lot of buyers so that may give you some leverage in the deal. Good luck!

Also, you mentioned a challenge you're facing to househacking was that you are already in a lease. So was I when I bought my first home! I ended up buying it from my landlord so I didn't even have to break the lease (or move). Couldn't hurt to mention your goals to your landlord, maybe selling is on their mind?

A respectable approach and one that I took myself! Like you, I became a home inspector for several reasons; to make myself a more knowledgeable investor, to fully immerse myself in real estate, and to network and meet others in real estate. 

I see a few key differences however, as I did come into it full time, and am going at it solo, essentially building a business from zero, which is no easy feat. Also probably not recommended if you are already earning well with your W2, it may be counterintuitive. 

As with starting any venture, inspection or otherwise, you should expect to make no money for the first 2 years. The road is full of ups and downs and countless unforeseen challenges, including building trust with your referrers (which takes considerable time and energy that you will not get paid for), and all of the other behind the scenes of building a business; websites, social medias, accounting, marketing, etc etc etc. 

As @Hamp Lee III suggested, it may be wiser for you to join an existing company, but a major tradeoff there will be that you will likely sacrifice control over your time, as you'll be at the mercy of your new (or second) employer. But keep in mind a vast majority of inspectors are solo and there a number of reasons for this that are beyond the scope of this topic.

Also worth considering: how much familiarity to you already have with building systems? Will the coursework and exams be mostly review for you? Or will you be absorbing all of this content from scratch? 

I had already flipped a few homes when I took the plunge, so a lot of the material was familiar to me already, and STILL learned a ton. It really is a lot of material, and the licensing exams aren't particularly easy. You will be expected to know a lot of material, and be able to apply the information with practical applications. I've copied the NHIE (National Home Inspector Exam) textbook table of contents below for your convenience. You should know this material front to back before taking the licensing test. 

Volume 1 Contents; Mechanical Systems

Volume 2 Structural & Business

There are also 120 (minimum) hours of education required. As well as needing to perform actual inspections (aka parallel inspections) under the guidance of a licensed inspector before being granted a license. Here's the full requirements laid out in more detail:  https://www.nachi.org/licensin...

If you are serious and determined, and make it through the education requirements, I would be open to helping you with the parallel inspections & peer review portion of the requirements. 

All that said, I have found the experience to be extremely rewarding, both personally and professionally, and the satisfaction that comes from helping my clients understand their homes and navigate the defects discovered makes it all worthwhile (One of my inspections just saved a client $42K on their deal price!) Not to mention the fact that when I look at my own homes to purchase, I  know exactly what to look for and this knowledge will be with me for a lifetime.

Wouldn't It cost less just to buy a new mobile home?

The thing about mobiles is they depreciate, while site built homes appreciate. Are you basing the ARV for refi by comparing to similarly sized built homes? If so, that would be a mistake. Banks do not value mobiles the same as site built homes and neither should you.

Details aside, based on your final question "Should I listen to my partner who has been doing this for over 20 years or take a chance" that you already know the answer. 

A fair question, but I'd answer with a question for you - how are you making offers without first understanding at least a rough idea of rehab costs?

Inspections are only a part of the estimation as @Edward Stephens pointed out, we won't be looking at aesthetics or cosmetics, so you should already have a good idea if you need new floors, finishings, etc well before inspection.

Check out the Book on Estimating Rehab Costs by J Scott, that should be very helpful for getting started, and with practice it will become second nature to look at a property and know what it will need. Though some things are fairly obvious and you can figure will need replacement without the help of an inspector.

Even if you are 100% percent relying on your contractor for bids, it seems like it still might benefit you understand what exactly they do and how they do it, so you can clearly communicate your needs and expectations. Most contractors aren't investors and so we must be diligent about our budgets and scope of work to keep projects profitable.

This might be high labor cost for that work here in Ohio, but looks like you're in San Diego, so actually seems spot on for the area (which might be too much, but everything there costs too much!)

Source: I lived in socal 35 years

If you're struggling with this you may want to ask yourself a few questions. Have you looked at the cost of subcontracting it out to licensed tradesmen and overseeing the project yourself? Do you think you'd spend less or more doing that? How far out are those people booked? How much of your time would that take to manage? How much more downtime will the unit have by coordinating multiple contractors? What is your own time worth to do this stuff yourself? What did you originally budget for turnover costs?

Answering these questions might give you a better idea of how to value their service vs your expectations. 

Of course we all like to save money here and there, but what is the real cost? Are we stepping over dollars to save pennies? I don't think there's a right or wrong answer here, only one that works best for you.