A professional home inspection is a visual inspection. The inspector can’t see through walls but should find defects that a trained eye can see. What if your inspector could see through walls??? Thermal imaging allows that to happen. The varriance in temprature can show failing circuit panels, leaks in walls (due to temp difference, not… Continue reading Thermal Imaging and Real Estate Inspections?

One of the favorite phrases in real estate is that it is grandfathered in. Party sewer lines are have been included in that theory in Portland for years but no more. The City is going on a seek and destroy mission according to the Portland Tribune. Aching to address the need of widespread sewer malfunction… Continue reading Where is Grandfather Now? Portland Party Sewers

Last week, I posted about the City of Portland going after party sewers. I was going to link back to a post I had written previously but it wasn’t there so we’ll recreate today. A few years back, sewer scopes on the east side of town were part of the recommended inspections that we had… Continue reading Sewer Scopes and Party Sewers

With our accepted offer yesterday, I have 10 business days for the inspection period. I have to decide what inspections to do. The Oregon Property Buyer Advisory should be my guide. It begins: A real estate licensee is vital to the home buying process and can provide a variety of services in locating property, negotiating… Continue reading Buyer Due Diligence Part 1

A lot has been going on in the background for our project home purchase. I’m going to hold off on providing the address until after the inspection period is over. If you happen to figure it out or wish to hazard a guess, please have the courtesy not to post. At this point, the house… Continue reading Buyer Due Diligence 2: Sewer Scope Results

The house we are buying has fairly new oil furnace (2000 according to PortlandMaps’ online permits). PortlandMaps also shows an oil tank installation of a 675 gallon oil tank in 1950. Sampling the soil around the tank was a no brainer. Pray for good news, don’t expect it. We didn’t get it. I knew it… Continue reading Buyer Due Diligence Part 3: Thar’s Oil in Them Thar Ground

I’m still holding off giving the address of the house that we are buying (I want to wait until I have loan approval which will require the results of the appraisal taking place today). Without discussing the financials of the transaction, this is where we stand: We did not have a professional inspection. This is… Continue reading Buyer Due Diligence Update

Unless it has already been stripped, a 1906 home has lead based paint. The Oregon Earnest Money Agreement (the purchase contract) has a provision for testing for lead based paint separate to the professional inspection period. For you and I, the Cliff Note version is, “don’t eat the paint.” It is more serious for children… Continue reading Buyer Due Diligence 4: Lead Based Paint

Rewriting this as somehow it saved the title and nothing else. Stucco has been around for 100s of years. It’s recent history is scared by EFIS which was a synthetic stucco which has a history of failing or being improperly installed. For us, the question is less about whether it needs work or not but… Continue reading Buyer Due Diligence 5: Stucco

Alpha Environmental is working on decommissioning the leaking oil tank. At last check, the hole had been dug out about four feet beneath the bottom of the tank. The top and bottom of the tank have been cut out and the walls retained to help maintain the integrity of the hole. Standing next to the… Continue reading Buyer Due Diligence Update II