YES!

End of blog.

Jk, here are some reasons why you absolutely should inspect your potential new condo.

Condos can be a great option for first time home buyers, or people that don’t want to mow the lawn, or maintain a pool, etc. There are many benefits to owning a condo, there are also some cons. Every condo association has a set of rules, and fees. You will want to get a hold of these documents before putting in an offer on your new condo. Having a good real estate agent will help a lot with this process.

The rules are laid out in what is called a Master Deed, or the Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&R). The master deed will lay out how the condo association is governed and the policies for how things run. The CC&R will lay out rules ranging from: Pets, parking, outdoor grills, hanging laundry, changing exterior designs, roofing, maintenance, quiet hours, etc. There can be many rules.

With almost all Condos there are monthly fees. These fees go into the budget for maintaining certain things around the common areas of the condos. Landscaping, plowing, roof replacement, decks, balconies, siding, etc. Most associations want the units to all look great which will keep the value of the units up and the tenants happy. If the roof on one condo has seen the end of it’s days, the association will replace it and use the money from everyones monthly fees to do it. This can be a great thing for a condo owner. If the roof leaks and damages the inside of your attic and the insulation, most of the time that is covered. However, if the pipes burst in your upstairs bathroom and damage the ceiling in your kitchen, that is not the responsibility of the Condo association. This is why you want a home inspection. Having an inspection will help you to determine what is and is NOT covered by the HOA and what issues may be inside your condo, or what issues may come up in the future. Repairs are not a matter of if, but when.

Here is a leak that was found inside a Condo using thermal imaging.

Without thermal imaging this leak would never have been seen, it cam from the refrigerator water line from the unit up above. Without an inspection this buyer could have bought this unit and walked into a condo with an active leak above head and a bill to fix it right away.

Knowing what is and is not covered by the HOA (Home Owners Association) is not the job of a home inspector. A good inspector will inspect the roof of a condo and the common areas associated with the unit being inspected. Knox Home Inspections treats a condo the same as any other house.

Here’s an example…

That is the main entrance to a 6 unit, garden style condo building. There are 2 electric code violations going on here and these people walk by, and over it every day. The junction box directly below the door should not be in an area that has foot traffic, it should be off to the right and out of the walkway. This is for safety. The second violation is the circuit that is running into the gutter and up to the 3rd story flood light above. The gutter is acting as a conduit for the circuit, it is also draining all of the water from the roof above. Water and electricity DO NOT mix. This whole situation should be re configured by an electrician ASAP. This is a tricky situation for my client who is buying this unit. My recommendation to them was to have this corrected by a professional. Is this the responsibility of the buyer or the HOA? That is where you want to read all of that paperwork we mentioned above and determine what to do from that.

Some HOA’s have zero fees. Maintenance on these units can fall on the owners themselves and can be tricky with repairs and the cost of those repairs. See the picture below of a Condex split down the middle.

All new vinyl siding on the right, and original wood siding on the left that is peeling badly. The roof has been replaced on the right side and they wove it right into the old side on the left. There is a lot of moss and lichen on the left side and that whole side needs to be replaced. Also the dryer vent has no cover on it, it’s between the AC unit that is leaning over and the bulkhead. That is direct access for critters and moisture, which can lead to damage. The deck on the left is the original wood and the deck on the right is all new Trex material and is very nice. This is clearly a situation where the HOA does not cover repairs on the exterior of the units. Again you must read the CC&R to determine what is an is not covered for repairs. Inspecting this unit was tricky because we could not inspect the other half of the house. All we could do was inform them of what was seen from the outside and how that may effect there side.

Arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible before buying your condo. Get a copy of all of the documents you can and read them all. And don’t forget the home inspection…

March 14, 2017

Thermal Imaging – See the Heat

Home Inspections

That’s not a new Snapchat filter. That’s Thermal Imaging with a professional FLIR Infrared camera. There are many different uses for an infrared camera like this. It allows the user to capture differences in temperature, the dark purple is cold and the bright yellow is hot. When choosing a Home Inspector make sure to choose one that uses this technology. Many areas of the home are inaccessible to the eye and without thermal imaging a lot of issues can go un checked.

This tool can help to identify air intrusion and extrusion, moisture intrusion, plumbing leaks, roof leaks, insulation gaps, overloaded electric circuits, HVAC leaks, and much more. A quick scan with the thermal camera is a great addition to any Home Inspection.

Some people seem to think that a thermal camera can “see” through the wall or through clothing. This is NOT true. The camera captures radiation from whatever it is looking at. For example, thats me in the picture at the top. It was a cold day and I took my jacket off and all the heat radiated off my body and was captured by the camera, but you can’t see through my shirt.

Above you can see a missing section of insulation in the wall and heat is escaping. This day was very cold and the heat loss really popped off the camera screen.

From the inside of another house. To get the best thermal images I turn the heat way up to get a better Delta T (Difference in Temperature). Windows lose a lot of heat, but those cold spots creeping up the wall from the ground are moisture. This is called “Rising Damp”. Moisture rises up the siding and causes damage and possibly mold.

Lastly is a heat lamp in an attic directly above a bathroom. There is so much heat it looks like it is on fire! There is zero insulation around the lamp which is leaking very warm air into the cold attic. Warm air + Cold Air = Moisture. Not good for an attic without proper ventilation.

These are just a few of the things I have seen using Thermal Imaging. I use the thermal camera on every home inspection because it allows me to see things that I could never have seen with my naked eyes.

Energy Efficiency is a breeze with a thermal camera. You can hunt for heat loss and gaps in heat supply piping. A quick scan of a home on very cold or very warm day can narrow down areas where small improvements can make a big difference on the heating and electric bill.

If you have questions about thermal imaging just contact us and we will be glad to help.

February 6, 2017

What’s an Ice Dam?

After all the snow we have gotten this week it’s the perfect time to talk about ice dams.

What is a Dam? A barrier constructed to hold back water and raise it’s level.

What is ice? Frozen water.

Why do Ice Dams form on roofs? Heat leaking from the interior of the house raises the temperature of the roof and melts snow, the snow then falls down the roof to the eaves and soffit area where it is colder and freezes into ice. This ice blocks the water coming down behind it and causes a reservoir of water to grow. This water can then seep through the shingles and into the house causing a leak. Roofing and shingles are not designed to retain water on top. They are designed to shed and repel water down and off the roof. Here is the “textbook” picture:

Ice Dams are most common on the northern side of houses and also at the bottom of a roof valley. Roofs with low slopes and wide overhangs are more prone to damming.

A good inspector will recognize the signs of an ice dam even in the summer when it is warm. Stains on the ceiling and in the attic are a common sign.

If your roof dams up it is not the end of the world, there are several different options to prevent future dams, such as:

Improving attic insulation and ventilation
Adding eave protection
Adding electric cables.

Those are long term solutions. The shortest solution is a roof shovel. Use a long one and be careful. Don’t get up on the roof if you don’t have too. This can cause unnecessary damage and a much bigger problem than the one you had before.

For more information visit: Knoxinspect.com