Tag Archives: Kansas City Home Inspections

Termite Inspections And Their Role In A Kansas City Real Estate Transaction

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Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market

Do you have to do a termite inspection when buying a Kansas City home? If not, should you do one anyhow? The answer to the first question is maybe. Some lenders require a termite inspection be done on any home on which they’ll be providing a loan. If the lender doesn’t require it though, it’s up to the buyer whether they do one. But I can’t imagine any scenario where a buyer wouldn’t have a termite inspection done on the home they’ll be purchasing. For less than $75 in most cases, you’ll get the peace of mind knowing that termites haven’t eaten up the structural supports – or done other damage – to a home.


Per the base Kansas City Residential Real Estate Sale Contract, we refer to the inspection as “Wood Destroying Insect”. It’s the politically correct way to not single out just termites. I know you’re dying to hear the other types of wood destroying insects that might be present. Termites and carpenter ants are of primary concern but you can also check out this list of wood damaging insects. The inspection paragraph of the real estate contract states that termite treatment is the ONE thing that a seller is agreeing to address up front, if a wood destroying insect inspection finds evidence of any active infestation. The buyer doesn’t have to ask, demand or negotiate a treatment at that point. The seller would have to treat the property — as long as the inspection report is delivered to the seller within the inspection period.

So we’ve determined that a buyer would have to pay for the inspection and that a seller would be required to treat for the termites if any are found. But what if there’s damage to the structure from the termites? That’s open to negotiations just like any other item that may be found during a buyer’s standard home inspection. A buyer can ask for repairs to all, some or none of the damage that may be found. But a seller can also agree to make repairs to all, some or none of the damage that’s found. The inspection process sounds like a lot of fun, doesn’t it?

As one of my preferred home inspectors always tells buyers, it’s not a matter of IF you are going to get termites, it’s a matter of WHEN. Termites are hungry year round and over time will migrate to untreated feeding grounds (like your home). Here’s a great article on termites, what to look for, do-it-yourself tips and considerations to addressing a termite problem. Many home inspectors will include a termite inspection as part of the home inspection process. If you are a homeowner needing an inspection that’s not a part of the real estate process, most termite treatment companies will come and inspect your home free – with the hope that they DO find evidence of termites.

Here’s a list of some local Kansas City termite treatment companies…

Gunter Pest Management
Everett Milberger Pest Control
Orkin
Ragan Pest Control
Terminix
Weaver’s and Son’s Exterminators

Posted by Jason A. Brown

4 Out Of 5 Kansas City Listing Agents Recommend Double Jeopardy To Their Sellers

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Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market

4 out of 5 listing agents surveyed say Kansas City home Sellers should have their homes pre-inspected. Here’s an opinion from the 1 out of 5 group. I believe pre-inspections are a bad idea for Sellers because they leave Sellers facing a double jeopardy situation in dealing with inspection repairs. One of the main reasons many Kansas City real estate agents recommend pre-inspections is because it allows a Seller the time to get multiple bids, thus saving them money on necessary repairs (versus having to deal with them in a rush during the Buyer’s inspection process). Although it’s possible a Seller could get repairs done for less if found during a pre-inspection, there’s usually enough time to deal with inspection repair bids during the alloted contract time frame — so this isn’t reason enough for me to recommend pre-inspecting.

Another reason I often hear is that pre-inspecting can help prevent contracts from falling apart later. While it’s possible that pre-inspecting could prevent a deal from falling through, it could also prevent Buyers from ever even making an offer on the home — depending on the issues, addressing repairs may not be enough to ease a buyers concerns that the issues were present in the first place. Some agents say that Sellers should pre-inspect because doing so allows the Seller to choose the inspector and that a Buyer may not even follow-up with doing their own inspections. But why would they trust a report that was ordered, paid for and, most likely, completed under the influence of the Seller? And don’t forget the reports aren’t free – they will cost Sellers several hundred dollars.

So what do I recommend Sellers do? Sellers should complete repairs to all issues of which the Seller is already aware. Sellers, by law, must disclose all known defects. So they’re better off disclosing completed repairs than having to disclose the problems unaddressed. Also remember that the inspection burden is on the Buyer, not the Seller. It’s a Buyer’s inspectors job to work at uncovering unknown defects. I’d let the Buyer’s inspector do their job and avoid double jeopardy when it comes to home inspections. Sellers who go through with pre-inspecting should plan to fix ALL items listed on the pre-inspection report. Otherwise, they’ll be giving Buyers reasons to NOT even make an offer on the home. Also keep in mind that no two home inspectors are alike, so Sellers should prepare to  open their checkbooks a second time after going under contract.  If you want to read more (much from the 4 out of 5 agents,) here’s a forum thread with agents discussing pre-inspections.

Note: most homes I deal with are less than 40 years old. Homes that are 50, 60… 100+ years old may make sense to pre-inspect — then again, I could make a good argument that pre-inspecting older homes could be even worse for Sellers. Also, the 4 out of 5 agents is a reference  to the old dentist commercial and no one was really surveyed.
Posted by Jason A. Brown

Kansas Home Inspection Process Is In For Big Changes in 2010

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Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market

It was just a matter of time before Kansas started requiring home inspectors to get licensed to continue performing home inspections. There are many great home inspectors out there but the truth is that the main thing Kansas City home buyers had to rely on when choosing a home inspector was a good reference. Other than that, you could check to see if the inspector was a member of  trade group like the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASSHI). But that would be similar to me saying I’m a qualified real estate agent because I’m a member of the National Association of Realtors (NAR).  There are minimum requirement to be a member of ASSHI though. For instance, you had to have 250+ home inspections under your belt and that’s certainly worth something. But there were no actual Kansas, Missouri or federal laws regulating home inspectors or the home inspection process. So for many Kansas City home buyers, the best they could hope for was a good referral to keep the process from turning into a wing and a prayer.


This month the home inspection process is in for big changes — on the Kansas side of the state line, at least. The  Kansas legislature Bill HB 2260 went into effect on 1-1-10 and the new law requires home inspectors to register with a newly created state board — the Kansas Home Inspectors Registration Board (KHIRB). The KHIRB’s purpose will be to regulate the Kansas home inspection industry. It prevents home inspectors from continuing to state a limit  of liability to less than $2,000 (on a particular home inspection).  The other meat and potatoes of the new law calls for all Kansas home inspectors to register with the state, complete 80 hours of classroom education, pass a licensing examination, complete 16 hours of yearly continuing education and follow professional standards when conducting home inspections — all in the name of protecting home buyers in Kansas. Some of the other requirements include home inspectors being at least 18 years of age, having a high school diploma, and maintaining $100,000 in general liability insurance. Home inspectors who can show an extensive inspection history could get grandfathered in without having to take the initial licensing exam.

Some other important aspects of the bill include capping a  home inspector’s liability at $10,000 on an inspection. This seems reasonable as in my experience, home inspectors do a thorough job. I’ve never had a situation where a Buyer sued at all, much less for a situation where there were $10,000+ in damages. Thinking back, I’ve had just a couple situations where I thought the home inspection could possibly lead to some type of litigation. But of those, one involved a Buyer with unreasonable expectations and another was a situation completely brought on by the Buyer himself after closing (burying the gutter downspouts without day-lighting them anywhere — brilliant!). To help buyers understand the purpose of a home inspection, the KHIRB indicates a “home inspection is to identify material defects that are visible and in readily accessible areas of the home… An inspection will not necessarily expose all defects or eliminate all risk associated with purchasing a home… a home inspector is a generalist and is not conducting a technically exhaustive inspection… When appropriate, your inspector may recommend further evaluation or review by others”. If you’re interested, you can review the entire Home Inspection Standards of Practice.

Home inspectors will be issued registration cards showing their license number. For example,  home inspector Drew Gordon has a new license number of KS #0110-0055. So look for a number like that to ensure you’re getting a Home Inspector that is licensed in Kansas. It’s now the law and there’s no gray area in this regards. You can view a complete list of licensed Kansas home inspectors and always be sure to get a recommendation from a real estate agent or home buyer who has experience working with the home inspector you’re considering.

Posted by Jason A. Brown

Inspection Negotiations Are Just As Critical As The Original Contract Negotiations

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Hands On The Heartland
Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market

Getting a Kansas City home buyer and home seller to come to terms on a Resolution to the home inspection process can be a daunting task at times. Usually the home inspections I’m involved with – whether representing the buyer or  representing the seller – go just fine. But there’s that 1 out of 10 that seems to get off track. Either the home inspector is an alarmist or would rather cover his butt by calling for three additional inspections by “licensed professionals”, or a buyer or seller have an unrealistic outlook. I ALWAYS take the time to explain to my sellers up front that they’re going to have to open their wallet if a buyer’s inspector finds major structural or mechanical issues with the home — oh, and if a radon test comes in above a 4.0, it’s going to cost the seller upwards of $1,000 to mitigate the radon to below a 4.0 reading. Simply explaining this up front allows a seller to somewhat factor in the possibilities during the original contract negotiations. When representing a buyer, I tell them that they can absolutely ask for every item on the report to be repaired, but the seller has the right to tell them to stick it… well, you know.

Kansas City Home Inspections

Kansas City Home Inspections

Nothing can make an inspection negotiation go haywire like a buyer asking a seller to replace something trivial — like a $1 broken door stop. Yes, I’ve seen that happen. Or how about tightening up a loose towel bar.  I nearly had a deal fall apart over just that. You can’t predict such things and just have to roll with the punches when it happens. To prepare both buyers and sellers, I advise up front that a buyer can ask a seller to correct all, some or none of the items on an inspection report. The seller can of course respond by agreeing to fix all, some or none of the items requested. It’s a complete renegotiation.

I’m also a firm believer that a buyer should never ask for something to be corrected that was blatantly obvious PRIOR to the home going under contract. If the driveway is cracked that should have been factored into the original contract negotiations! Another good example is a mini-retaining wall on a split level home I recently sold. The wall was leaning out  slightly and certainly wasn’t in perfect condition. But anyone with any kind of decent eyesight could see this wall was leaning because it was right in front of you as you walk up to the stairs leading to the front door. Well the inspector properly noted it on his report, as he should have. The problem was when the buyer decided  the seller should pony up to rebuild the wall. Without giving you too much details, I’ll just say the neither myself nor the seller were having any part of that scenario and the buyer quickly backed off.

Posted by Jason A. Brown
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