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Home Inspector San Diego – The San Diego Real Estate Inspection Company

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Archive for January, 2009

Inspections of Bank Owned Homes

Wednesday, January 7th, 2009



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What a great time to buy a house! Deals are everywhere, and people are getting great prices on the home of their dreams. Whether you are buying that home from a bank directly, at auction, or a short sale, most of these houses will be sold as-is. That means that you get what you get and the seller, the bank, will not do any repairs. So why should you get an inspection? The bank won’t fix anything anyway, right?

Well, it is true that you may not be able to use the inspection report as leverage to lower the price or get certain items repaired. But you should know what you are getting into. Will the house cost you a fortune right after you move in? Will it be safe for your family to occupy the house? Can you afford the repairs after paying a downpayment, closing costs, appraisals, etc. ? A new furnace can be $5,000 or more. A new water heater can be $1,000. A new roof is $5,000-$20,000. And what about the cast iron drain pipes in that charming bungalow? Replacing those can be $7,000. Yikes!

A thorough inspection can answer these questions. The inspector can confirm that the furnace works, The roof is serviceable, the water heater has some life left, etc. If it turns out that these items require replacement, it may be better to pass on the house instead of running the risk of loosing it to the bank due to insurmountable repair bills.

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Danger: Unattended Candles start fires

Wednesday, January 7th, 2009

Unattended Candles are a major cause of house fires. Never leave candles burning unattended. Candles should only be placed on a non-combustible surface such as a ceramic plate. Never leave candles burning after you go to bed. You should not use candles if you have house pets. Pets can knock candles over, or worse, cats can catch fire and spread it throughout the house. On 11/25/08 a house fire started causing severe injury to a teenager.

A teenager is hospitalized Tuesday morning following a house fire in Southcrest. The flames broke out around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Fire investigators say a candle left burning in the back bedroom started the blaze. It took 35 firefighters 20 minutes to put out the flames.

The family got out, but the teenage son suffered severe burns and was transported to the hospital.

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