|
|
||
August 17, 1979
"Basement snoop charges fee" By Diane Hill Peter Salmon spends his days crawling through people’s attics and snooping in their basements – and charges money for it. His Business called Home-Alyze Limited, is Calgary’s only private house inspection service. Most of his customers are lawyers or realtors who want an inspection of a house done before it’s purchased or sold – or homeowners who want a rundown of repairs their house may require. For a written analysis of everything from hairline cracks in the basement floor to the quality of the heating system, pipes and wiring, the condition of subfloors and roof structure and an analysis of finishing work inside and our, Salmon charges $100, plus $1 for every thousand dollars of the house’s value. Three hours For an inspection of an $80,000 house, that works out to $180. “It takes about three hours to do a house, but after that there’s not much I don’t know about it,” says Salmon, a former construction superintendent and project manager. It was a television program, he says, that inspired him to start an inspection business. “I saw a documentary about some poor guy in Toronto whose house was falling apart. The New Home Certification Program (which offers a five year warranty against most major faults in new houses) wasn’t covering the repairs. “I thought, hey, here’s something I can do.” Since January, when Home-Alyze started up, Salmon and a part time helper have completed about 60 house inspections. Several of his clients have been new-house builders who want an inspector to do a “walk through” with them, so any structural problems can be pointed out. For lawyers or real estate agents who make up the bulk of the business, the inspection is usually to fulfill conditions attached to a potential buyer’s offer to purchase property. And in a few cases, his clients have needed an inspection report as evidence in lawsuits against a building contractor. The lack of government standards for building inspectors, he says, poses “a problem” when it comes to giving court evidence. “You don’t have to pass any examinations to be an inspector – or even a contractor or construction superintendent,” says Salmon, who logged 10 years in construction management. “It’s something you learn through experience.” The inspection business now limited to a handful of small operations across Canada, could begin to boom if used – house warranties, similar to those that come with new houses, are introduced. It’s an idea that Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has been tossing around for five years, but a deductibility limit for claims and a limit to the age of houses to be insured under a used-home warranty program are still under discussion. Cost factor Another major question mark, according to real estate spokesmen, is the cost of a used-house program. In Salmon’s view, a used-home guarantee would be workable, if the houses around Calgary he’s inspected are indicators of general construction quality. “I’ve found most problems with maintenance, as opposed to original construction problems,” he says. “The houses that are being built now aren’t bad. And the ones that are 15 to 20 years old have had any major problems fixed.”
|
||