I'm teaching a group of Advanced Home Inspectors in Columbus 12/14 - 12/18. Looking forward to to a great class.

For the right person, Home Inspection can be a very rewarding career. If you are considering the field, please feel free to email or call. At Hondros College, I help to train the best Home Inspectors as they enter the field.

Either the housing market is making an about face, or I'm really doing something right with marketing. 2009 has been the busiest summer on record! I'm very seriously considering adding an employee or contract inspector. Any interest? Email me.

For those thinking about entering the industry- I think the time is right. The dabblers, for the most part, have been unable to penetrate the market. Those who were willing to put up some marketing cash and due-diligence are finding success.

I just held a Realtor CE course at Hondros College last week. It was great to have a well attended class with brokers and agents wanting learn and share information with a Home Inspector (instead of wanting to string him up!)

I just wrapped up our special session with the Mansfield General Motors group. I've got to thank the students for a great experience. It was my pleasure getting to know you. I've seen a lot of faces since I began teaching. As a whole, I can't remember a nicer group. A special thanks you to Belinda and AJ for making their homes available, and their spouses amenable for our on-site class. Feel free to email if you get hung up, and remember, GFI's have nothing to do with water! Oh yeah... Terry, Salvador is bringing the stuff at midnight. Rock on. 

April is shaping up to be a busy month. As usual, when spring is springing, the phone starts ringing. For those who are just getting started- you need to be beating the streets now. It will be very hard to penetrate the market in the summer. Remember- everybody is ill-at-ease. Sellers are nervous, Realtors are hungry, and buyers are cautious. It's up to you to not let the choppy waters change your course. Hold to your S.O.P. and your business plan. Maintain your fees. Practice professionalism and plain dealing.

JC

For most people, a home purchase is the single greatest investment they’ll ever make. If someone is willing to spend $200,000 to $300,000 or more for a home, a home inspection fee of $300 to $400 is small change by comparison. Yes, compared to the purchase price, an inspector’s fee is only a pittance. Yet, too many home buyers forego this vital service. Why? Remember the old adage  ” penny wise and pound foolish”?
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Too often, folks buying a new, never lived-in house assume nothing could possibly be wrong with a brand new house. This is a dangerous assumption! I recently inspected a beautiful, new house for a client and among my findings were these these:
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1.The framed walls were not anchored to the masonry foundation.
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2. The main water cutoff valve was located far under the house and could only be accessed with great difficulty.
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3. The main plumbing drain was not vented to the exterior.
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4. The two air conditioning condenser units had no electrical disconnects. These were all serious defects and the repair cost was substantial. Without a professional inspection, the buyer would have been completely unaware of these important and potentially dangerous deficiencies.

Generally speaking, older homes do present many more problems to the buyer. This is especially true if repairs by previous owners were substandard. Older homes are like used cars. With age, things break and wear out. The quality of repairs become a critical matter.
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Selection of the inspector is key to a competent analysis of a property. Ideally, the buyer will want to find someone with a significant background, preferably hands-on, in residential construction. How many inspections has he completed is a factor. A minimum of 1000 inspections under his belt is a good benchmark. Certification by a nationally-recognized organization of home inspectors is also important. The two best known such groups are the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors(NACHI) and the American Society of Home Inspectors(ASHI). Finally, the report form should be comprehensive yet easy to read and understand.
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Newswise — Visible mold exposure early in life may be a strong risk factor for early asthma development, but exposure to mold components with no visible mold present may have an opposite effect according to a study published this month in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI).

Investigators from the University of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Childhood Allergy and Air Pollution Study (CCAAPS) found children at age 3 years with high visible mold in the home during infancy, evaluated through home inspection, were 7 times more likely to have a positive Asthma Predictive Index (API) criteria. In contrast, those with exposure to fungal components – or (1-3)-β-D-Glucan, a measure of biologically active exposure – were at a decreased risk. The study included a birth cohort of children born to atopic parents.

Previous studies have shown that home dampness and visible mold are associated with the severity of respiratory symptoms in children, but few studies have investigated whether exposure to dampness or visible mold enhance risk for development of asthma in young children, Yulia Y. Iossifova, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues report.

“The unique aspect of this study is that we did not rely on parental reports of mold,” said Tiina Reponen, Ph.D., professor of Environmental Health at the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio. “Instead, the homes were evaluated by trained teams before the child’s first birthday. After this, the children were prospectively followed by annual clinic visits to evaluate their respiratory health.”

According to the authors, using standardized evaluation of visible mold, the study “prospectively demonstrates that exposure to high visible mold during the first year of life is associated with higher risk of asthma. This study also shows that an increase in exposure to high (1-3)-β-D-Glucan concentrations (>133 μg/g), component of mold, may decrease the risk of future asthma based on the API.”

Of the 483 children in this study, almost half (7 of 16) with high visible mold at home had a positive API, and one-third (4 of 11) had atopic wheezing. Of the total cohort, 203 children (42 percent) had aeroallergen sensitization and 19 (3.9 percent) had mold sensitization. Mother’s smoking was the second strongest predictor of future asthma based on the API.

Researchers conclude that “home remediation measures to remove visible mold and parental smoking cessation may prevent asthma development in high-risk children.”

Patient information on allergic diseases, including asthma, is available by calling the ACAAI toll free number at (800) 842-7777 or visiting its Web site at www.acaai.org.

The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) is a professional medical organization headquartered in Arlington Heights, Ill., that promotes excellence in the practice of the subspecialty of allergy and immunology. The College, comprising more than 5,000 allergists-immunologists and related health care professionals, fosters a culture of collaboration and congeniality in which its members work together and with others toward the common goals of patient care, education, advocacy and research.

Citation: Iossifova YY, Reponen T, et al. Mold exposure during infancy as a predictor of potential asthma development. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2009;102:131-137.

Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology is online at www.annallergy.org.
http://www.homewiseinspections.com

An Uplifting Experience

Truss uplift has nothing to do with plastic surgery or girlie under- garments. It is a phenomenon common in homes built with roof trusses as opposed to rafters. If a house suffers from truss uplift, the top floor ceilings literally lift off the interior walls in the winter. They drop back down in the summer. Needless to say, this is a bit disconcerting to the homeowner. At first glance, one might assume that the floors have settled. Actually the ceiling has gone up - sometimes creating a gap of as much as two inches where interior walls meet the ceilings.

What is a Truss? Trusses are prefabricated structural assemblies which hold up the roof and the top floor ceilings. Trusses tend to be a stronger lighter and less expensive approach to roof framing. Trusses are strong because they make use of the most efficient geometric shape we know of - the triangle. Trusses are a series of triangles fastened together with gusset plates. The outside members of a truss are called chords while the inner pieces are known as webs. 

Why Truss Uplift?

While the bottom chord is warm and is drying out, the top chords are doing just the opposite. The cold winter air has very high relative humidity. The top chords absorb moisture from the air causing them to elongate. With the top chords growing and the bottom chord shrinking, the truss arches up in the middle causing the ceilings to lift off the walls. In the summer, the cycle reverses itself. 

The Problem?