tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-139119262012-01-30T13:25:02.954-06:00Everyone seems to be curious about the adventures of a home inspector. I'm hear to blow the myth out of the water. Our life is just as mundane and ho hum as yours! Thank you for reading and please, feel free to ask questions or make comments.TxDonnoreply@blogger.comBlogger191100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13911926.post-26103419023936093282008-07-29T21:15:00.005-05:002012-01-30T13:19:35.868-06:00

Forbes magazine has come out with their list of the most expensive cities in America. Good Ole Houston Texas came in number 8.The biggest reason Houston came in Number 8 is because of the sprawl here. This in turns drives up transportation cost for people living outside of Houston and driving into work, or vice versa!Of course, if you live here in Houston, none of this comes as a surprise to you.

TxDonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13911926.post-20595081924457671002007-02-08T22:16:00.000-06:002007-01-09T21:37:16.937-06:00

Don't know if anyone caught this on the news. It was a short section on the late news one night.Anyway, it seems that City Code Enforcement were caught using city equipment and time to plan a gambling trip. Time they could have been using to pass/deny permits or....imagine this....inspect residential buildings!!! (I know, crazy thinking)But I give credit where credit is due. Someone down at City

TxDonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13911926.post-29929242160784356452007-01-09T21:08:00.002-06:002012-01-30T13:25:02.965-06:00

As you can imagine, we hear some pretty wild things out in the field.If you've read my website then you know that I rant about Builder salespeople not being licensed by the State of Texas.They can tell you anything they want without recourse. What I truly don't understand is how the state can allow them to sell a home and not require a license yet strictly enforce real estate laws and licensing

TxDonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13911926.post-69736025888540507572006-12-14T21:12:00.001-06:002008-12-20T21:21:44.396-06:00

Chris Prickett has some thoughts about the disposable homes built today.Ever wonder why there are no knobs on your cabinets or why they do not trim windows with wood these days?Click here to read Chris's blog and find out why. I couldn't agree with him more if I tried!

TxDonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13911926.post-70925595523285915602006-12-13T23:26:00.000-06:002006-12-13T23:41:33.384-06:00

Cracked slabs in new Houston area homes are becoming more and more of a problem. Do the Builders rush right in and fix things? NODo the Builders take responsibility? NOWill the Builder work with you on another home or give your earnest money back? Maybe, but don't bet on it!Case in point. Just looked at this home the other day for this nice couple. Found one rather large crack on one side of the

TxDonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13911926.post-838647043832705862006-12-03T21:47:00.000-06:002006-12-03T22:04:21.305-06:00

How did the Builders third party inspector miss the leak in the whirlpool tub? Like I've always said, Builders use the third party inspectors more for marketing to unsuspecting consumers than they do for quality control.Just take a look at this.This is what happens when a whirlpool tub leaks. You'll hardly ever see it from the inside because the perimeter of the tub is caulked. It leaks out the

TxDonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13911926.post-14294902382550834502006-12-01T09:57:00.001-06:002008-12-20T21:29:09.253-06:00

I was looking at a new home in Magnolia the other day. After I was done my Client made the comment "We moved out here and had a custom home built because we thought they were built better than ones in Houston."I hear that a lot. For some reason homebuyers think that by moving out "in the country" or out to "Montgomery County" they're automatically going to get a better home. That's far from

TxDonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13911926.post-74225528698303474452006-11-16T08:25:00.000-06:002006-11-16T08:29:53.651-06:00

You'd think if you paid over $300,000 for a new home in Houston, that the Builder would put decent appliances in. Not in this case.The dishwasher was a low end dishwasher that you could hear upstairs. The Client kept telling the Builder that she did not want the dishwasher because it was too noisy. He kept making excuses, so finally she'd had enough! Donald

TxDonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13911926.post-29053429291095624692006-11-14T06:43:00.001-06:002009-01-13T06:54:10.005-06:00

It seems that one of the most popular places to put a flat panel TV is over a Fireplace.However, check your warranty real good. Many manufacturers of these TV's will void the warranty on TV's placed over fireplaces. I've talked to a few Clients who've had Service Tech's come out to work on their TV's and when they see that it is located over a Fireplace, the owners were told that the warranty

TxDonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13911926.post-1162301946581161802006-10-31T07:32:00.000-06:002006-10-31T07:41:26.180-06:00

You know, every once in a while I come across something that just makes me laugh. Then, I stop to think about it, and it makes me frown.Take for instance this label on a breaker box. Now, if the electrician can not spell, do you really want to leave something as serious as wiring you home up to him?Sadly, I see things like this all the time!Take a look for yourself,Donald

TxDonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13911926.post-1147207597266728942006-05-09T14:54:00.002-05:002008-12-20T21:36:26.391-06:00

Man, do I have a lot to talk about today!Any one who knows me knows that I don't like the quality (or lack of) in new construction homes. I think it's a shame how these builders take advantage of so many new home buyers. Now having said that, I can tell you that since the TRCC has put out their "Performance Guidelines", the quality of new homes have really tanked to levels I never thought

TxDonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13911926.post-1136554692123443772006-01-06T07:30:00.000-06:002006-10-31T07:41:25.990-06:00

New Years Resolution: To keep my blog updated more! LOLWell, I'm really gonna try to keep that one!Anyways, back to the good stuff. I'm going to start this year out with a rant about a pet peeve of mine.Inspected this 3300 sf home the other day and it was like walking through a landfill! This home was in The Woodlands, in a very nice and upscale neighborhood. My first thoughts were, "Geez, if you

TxDonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13911926.post-1121862544953232682005-07-20T07:25:00.000-05:002006-10-31T07:41:25.936-06:00

Just thought I'd share this little treasure of a find with you.This is not the first time I've run across this.Tomorrow they'll probably be framing someones house.Donald

TxDonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13911926.post-1121861771467231112005-07-20T07:00:00.000-05:002006-10-31T07:41:25.883-06:00

It never ceases to amaze me at the differences of the homes I inspect and how much difference they can be from one builder to the other and even from the same builder in different subdivisions.For example. Monday I inspected a 4100 sf custom home in The Woodlands. This home had all the bells and whistles. It was very beautiful and nicely laid out. However, once I got below all the cosmetics of

TxDonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13911926.post-1120881887631474012005-07-08T22:55:00.003-05:002012-01-30T13:21:26.488-06:00

Well, you know the old saying about how the Cobblers children have the worst shoes in the village? I have to admit, I've failed to take my own advice!Lately I noticed that our A/C was not cooling as good as it should. I always intend to have it serviced by a HVAC Company each Spring, just like I advise my Clients to have it done. Somehow, it has always escaped me to have it done.Well, it got to a

TxDonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13911926.post-1120781927554456422005-07-07T19:17:00.001-05:002008-12-20T21:21:20.975-06:00

It has been a few weeks since my last post.The last weekend in June I attended a one day seminar on Foundations. The Instructor was John Cahill from Dallas. He is an excellent instructor and I picked up a few things from him plus it was reassuring to see many of the techniques he uses and reporting style he uses on foundations is the way we do it also.I was off a week for the 4th. Every year my

TxDonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13911926.post-1119641326409421422005-06-24T14:25:00.001-05:002008-12-20T21:20:40.525-06:00

Well, I'm packed and headed to Dallas today. I'll be attending a 1 day seminar dealing with foundations and foundation failure! It will be a hoot of a time!I can usually hang with the best of them until after lunch. Then it becomes very, very hard to stay alert unless there is a great instructor. I'm told this instructor is one of the best so I can't wait to find out. If not, there is always the

TxDonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13911926.post-1119576344491592122005-06-23T22:22:00.001-05:002008-12-20T21:20:00.084-06:00

Okay, I finally did it. I hope that everyone who encouraged me to start a blog is happy! I'm still not real sure what a blog is or how it's suppose to work. I guess I'll figure that one out in time.So for now, I'm going to sign out and explore this blogging thing a little more!I'm not even sure how often I should post. I've heard everything from every day to once a month. Hey, I have an idea....

TxDonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13911926.post-1119579969556206192005-06-23T21:26:00.001-05:002008-12-20T21:19:18.292-06:00

Okay, now here it is several hours later and I'm still playing with this damn blog thing. I'm the type that will not leave it alone until I have figured it out. Slowly but surely things are getting clear (unlike some of the help files on blogger).I've been trying to find out how to add a link in case I wanted to send ya'll to a cool website. Looks like I just figured that one out also. You'd

TxDonnoreply@blogger.com