Home inspections are at best hit and miss.... even knowing this I would not mind legislation that makes them mandatory for all sales unless the seller does "sold as-is".
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COVID and the housing market
- Thread starter mimico_polak
- Start date
If that was the route, I would like it if it became a condition of listing. A home inspection report prepared by a licensed (that will be a sticking point as there is no official governing body but internachi seems to be better than most others) and insured inspector is made available just like pictures of the property. If inspector fudges reports, they can be liable for the overlooked items. Saves a lot of hassle and encourages sellers to fix issues prior to listing.
Expect the cost of the survey to go up to cover liability insurance.
Also consider expectations. Old houses have problems. MDF is more stable than wood and the inspector didn't list every crack.
I read a few of those reports:
'I am not liable for anything inside, or not included, in this report. Not liable for any issues behind walls, tiles, etc etc etc. All observations to be verified by Buyer at Buyer's expense prior to purchase.'
Home inspections are useless. For me...I just do it with my dad and go through an online checklist.
Issues are fine. Without insurance, the report is literally useless as they can hire the local unhoused to prepare a clean report. $1000 in the face of Ontario housing prices is nothing. That's about double current home inspections so there is some extra for insurance.
Because you and I can. People need to realize what a home inspection does and does not cover. It is visual inspection only. Now, working for the seller, scope could easily increase if legislated. When working for the buyer, the inspector can't touch much as they were hired by the potential buyer but have no contract with the person that owns the house.
What any home inspection should easily catch (if done by a competent person) is major wiring issues (improper breaker/wire size, missing or tied grounds, etc), major water issues (either infiltration, leaks, drainage, etc), major mechanical issues (return air duct not connected, furnace won't fire, etc). Sadly, they aren't competent to comment on structure and that is a major problem in some houses but really hard to tie down unless you required a structural engineer to report on every house. I doubt that would ever happen.
One I saw limited the surveyor's liability to his fee being returned.
I think they all have that. Many have no training or certifications of any kind. Part of the reason I bought an IR gun was to better help people I like in the face of overwhelming incompetence. I still had a home inspection on this house but my buddy and I also did one at the same time and fed info to the inspector. If it's not in an official report, the sellers are less willing to negotiate.
I would prefer the buyers get the inspection not the sellers, but have it required to transfer the property. The liability issue is just too large (unenforceable IMO) and flippers will have their guy... Obviously lots of little details to sort.
Of course inspectors miss all kinds of things. I had to point out a bunch of electrical and asbestos to mine when I bought the current house....
Of course inspectors miss all kinds of things. I had to point out a bunch of electrical and asbestos to mine when I bought the current house....
Barrie wants to increase DC's (up to $126k for a detached dwelling). At current rates they generate $100M a year. That is over $700 for every resident in the city. If the ponzi scheme ends, property taxes need to increase by 50-100%. And that folks is why we have development. Nothing to do with douggie in the pockets of developers. All levels of government win big on housing now and municipality wins in perpetuity.
www.barrietoday.com
Residents, builders have their say tonight on development charges
'The background study proposes that the city impose among the highest development charges in the GTA,' says lawyer for local developer
www.barrietoday.com
A bit from that article:Barrie wants to increase DC's (up to $126k for a detached dwelling). At current rates they generate $100M a year. That is over $700 for every resident in the city. If the ponzi scheme ends, property taxes need to increase by 50-100%. And that folks is why we have development. Nothing to do with douggie in the pockets of developers. All levels of government win big on housing now and municipality wins in perpetuity.
Residents, builders have their say tonight on development charges
'The background study proposes that the city impose among the highest development charges in the GTA,' says lawyer for local developer
Provincial Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act of 2022, will exempt DCs for building affordable residential units and attainable residential units, for non-profit housing developments and for inclusionary zoning residential units, and include a mandatory five-year phase-in.
So the taxpayer again subsidizes someone else. Will it ever be possible for people to buy something on their own income?
Is there an educational system where reality is taught?
People get trained for good paying jobs.
A new house doesn't come with a BMW and travel coupons for a couple of weeks a year in Mexico.
How do we work towards work ethic related necessities?
The snowball has been rolling downhill for far to long. Can it be stopped?
"Affordable" does not mean what people think it does. It is something like 5% less than market price. That is still vastly unaffordable for most people. Now, there is an interesting twist that could happen (but I haven't seen it yet). As DC's make up more than 5% of the price of many dwellings, creating it as an affordable unit and not paying DC's increases profit for developers. Do that enough and you can help pull down market price by flooding with units just under market price. Now, the missed DC's have to come from somewhere as there is no way a government spends less so there will be a loser somewhere in the pile.
As for your reality discussion, these laws and fees are created by politicians. It's hard to find a group of people more detached from reality. Expecting mouth breathers to guide us to salvation is a path to disappointment. The upside to the Toronto election is Mitzie Hunter has to resign her MPP position, she can't continue to collect provincial cheques while doing zero work. Although paying for a by-election sucks, hopefully the voters will make a better choice. As a minister in team corruption, she should be banned from ever collecting public money again.
Locally things are sucking for the buyers but not as bad.
West metro TO suburbia:
1 listed at $1.498 M went for $1.558 M and another nearby listed at $1.498 M went for $1.535. Both sold in less than a week.
One had a "Coming soon" sign for a bit and then an open house.
West metro TO suburbia:
1 listed at $1.498 M went for $1.558 M and another nearby listed at $1.498 M went for $1.535. Both sold in less than a week.
One had a "Coming soon" sign for a bit and then an open house.
Another house in the hood just sold. It was a plain Jane bungalow and although livable needs the new owners personal touches. Listed at $1.4 M and sold $1.308 in about a week. The furniture would indicate older owners. Throwing a $200 K makeover at it would be instant payback if other sales are a benchmark.
Agreed. Having purchased 3 houses and a condo during my lifetime I never used an inspector.
Home inspections work , sort of , when you know nothing about a home . They won’t tell you what’s behind a tiled wall or under a floor and they often won’t climb on a roof to verify shingles . But if you know nothing it could help you .
I’ve ended up helping several people that had “ bad” inspections. First case a one yr old townhouse , inspector told gal the panel was arcing and needed changed out immediately. Specs on the metal door was arcing residue. No they did cement work in a new build with the panel door open and it was cement specs. His electrician friend was available that day.
My house in Arizona had to be inspected for insurance, timber frame house and the inspector found termite holes around the 10x10 foundation beams . General contract looked and said yes woodpecker holes when this beam was still a tree , and the house was at 5,600ft elevation, termite don’t live at 5,600ft . That inspector had a bug guy on speed dial.
Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
I’ve ended up helping several people that had “ bad” inspections. First case a one yr old townhouse , inspector told gal the panel was arcing and needed changed out immediately. Specs on the metal door was arcing residue. No they did cement work in a new build with the panel door open and it was cement specs. His electrician friend was available that day.
My house in Arizona had to be inspected for insurance, timber frame house and the inspector found termite holes around the 10x10 foundation beams . General contract looked and said yes woodpecker holes when this beam was still a tree , and the house was at 5,600ft elevation, termite don’t live at 5,600ft . That inspector had a bug guy on speed dial.
Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
Another example of people expecting the market to always go up…and then shocked when it doesn’t…
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www.theglobeandmail.com
Looking for blood: Condos nearing completion with mortgage appraisals less than investors paid
They bought presale at the top of the market. Now, with completion near, mortgage appraisals are coming in at less than they paid. The sharks are circling
www.theglobeandmail.com
Mikedezo44
Well-known member
Pretty sure that was posted a couple weeks ago. Love how the realtors act all innocent now, saying it is an investment that can go up or down, don't blame them....a year or so ago they were all saying buy buy buy it will NEVER go down, such a great investment blah blah blah.
It's all timing, it will go up eventually so everyone is right.
It always does...just a matter of how long the timeline is. 1-3 years is iffy, 3-5 is pretty much good to roll, 5+ and you're def going up over that timeframe, unless something REALLY REALLY bad happens.
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