January is National Radon Action Month.  Don’t get me wrong, radon wasn’t discovered last year.  But over the last few years, it has become on of the most common Portland real estate inspections buyers have and one that often yields results that need attention.  Radon is not isolated to one part of town.  We had… Continue reading 2009 Real Estate Recap Part Two: Radon

The Oregon Senate passed “Heat Smart” Bill 102 last year in an effort help clean up the environment by exorcising over 300,000 non-certified wood burning stoves  from Oregon homes. The latest revisions to the Oregon Property Disclosures look like this regarding wood burning stoves: Stoves that are not certified or installed without a permit must… Continue reading Oregon Wood Burning Stoves Go Up In Smoke

Oregon DEQ records are the most solid evidence that an oil tank has been removed and decommissioned.  Buyers of any Oregon real estate become the responsible party for soil contamination at closing which makes finding out if there is/was an oil tank an important part of buyer due diligence during the inspection period.

The home inspection is a standard part of most Oregon real estate transactions.  The buyer has the right to waive the contingency but it is highly recommended that the home inspection takes place as soon as practical so that other inspections can be scheduled if there are areas of concern.  The Oregon Real Estate Agency… Continue reading What Professional Real Estate Inspections Should I do?

If you are a regular reader of the Portland Real Estate Blog then you should see a theme developing: scope your sewer! We’ve come across yet another sewer issue that would have been discovered with a $95 scope: the sewer line is not connected to city sewer but to a (now very full) septic tank,… Continue reading More !@#y Portland Sewer Situations

Last week I wrote about the Oregon Home Buyer’s Advisory and the section on Sewers & Septic Tanks.  There are over a dozen buyer due diligence items in the Advisory so it makes sense to go through all of them in the next few weeks.  Today: “Death, Crimes and External Conditions:”

I’ve started writing a series on the  Oregon Home Buyer Advisory.  We’ve covered  the sections on Sewers & Septic Tank and Death, Crimes and External Conditions.  Today we’ll go to the beginning of the Advisory and cover the Professional Home Inspection:

Continuing our series on the  Oregon Home Buyer Advisory.  We’ve covered  the sections on Home inspections, Sewers & Septic Tanks, and Death, Crimes and External Conditions.  Today we’ll cover pest and dry rot:

Over the years we have seen just about every type of electrical panel installed with just about every degrees of competency.  Just because a panel is new doesn’t mean that it was installed correctly.  Make sure you have it inspected.  Here’ are four samples of what you might see in order of oldest to newest:… Continue reading Electrical Panels in Home Inspections

After you’ve gotten your offer accepted on a home, the next step most buyers take is going through the different home inspections that you need to make sure the home is truly the dream home you’re hoping it is.  Inspections are entirely voluntary though, and with the market as hot as it has been recently, some buyers are choosing… Continue reading How Much Are Home Inspections Going to Cost You?