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March 4, 1979
"Analyze Your Home Before Your Buy" By Donna Vallieres So you're going to buy a house. You call a realtor, check out the classifieds, then start the actual inspections. You finally find your dream house, one that meets every requirement on your checklist - the right size, neighborhood, price range; the number of bathrooms your family needs; plenty of storage space; and lots of extras, like a fireplace in the living room and an extra bathroom. But look closer. That dream house could turn into a nightmare if your heating bills are astronomical because of poor insulation, the foundation starts to lift, or the plumbing and wiring are faulty. Pete Salmon of Calgary decided there were too many people buying houses without knowing exactly what they were getting, so he recently began a service he felt was long overdue in the housing industry. Home-Alyze Limited offers home inspections by qualified construction experts using a step-by-step procedure with more than 300 check points. Salmon was in the construction business for 10 years building subdivisions, townhouses and single family houses before starting Home-Alyze, which he says could be the only service of its kind in the country. As often as not, people are skeptical, especially if they are first time home buyers, Salmon said, whether they are buying and older or a brand new home. Often a person notices a few potential problems but is not sure how serious these are, or how many flaws he may have overlooked. For example, floor joists can be installed upside down ("crown down" in construction terminology). This will result in no more than a slight dop in the floor, or a slight squeak, both of which are easily corrected. Unless of course there is not a parallel bearing partition above, which could be more serious. Cracks in the foundation are another indication that there could be something seriously wrong, or may be simply cosmetic flaws. Few laymen can correctly identify these things. The Home-Alyze inspector spends about 2 hours inspecting a house, armed with his checklist which he uses as a guide to point out specific areas of concern. "The inspector goes in with his knowledge, not only a book," Salmon stressed. Although his inspection staff is still small, Salmon said he would hire inspectors as the business grows, and will only hire people with a good background and knowledge of construction. Working from his checklist and more detailed observations, the inspector will make up a typed report, several pages long, which will indicate each problem, its probable cause and the most effective way to correct it, all in laymen's terms. The main headings are concrete floor, foundation walls, construction of sub-floor, structure of upper levels, roof structure (inside and out), heating system, plumbing system, electrical system, interior finishing, layout and serviceability, and exterior. A Home-Alyze report is not just for home buyers. If you already own a home and want to make some improvements, it can give you a pretty good idea where to start. Another service Home-Alyze will provide is contract inspection if you are building your own house. They will also be offering an instruction course for the do-it-yourself builder, which Salmon describes as a no-nonsense program on construction procedure, hiring and controlling sub-trades, buying materials and being your own inspector. The Home-Alyze service differs from an appraisal in that an appraisal is concerned with the dollar value of a home rather than its physical condition. Salmon said he hopes to be able to work in conjunction with real estate companies, but he added his company would be working strictly for the client and would have nothing to gain from the information they pass on to the client. "We're a third party that has no interest in whether the house is sold or not," he said. Salmon emphasized he was not critical of contractors or sub-contractors in the building industry. "Quality in housing construction has always been a simple matter of economics," he said. "The big production builders compete in the market on a price basis. They must keep construction costs down and production time is short as possible to minimize interim finance costs. "I'm not saying that every house is affected by this economic tightrope," Salmon said. "There are many well-built homes, but there are also many poorly-built homes, and just like every other product the odd time you get a real lemon." Home purchasers are still subject to the principle of "caveat emptor," or "buyer beware".
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