When buying an old home that may still be energized by some (or all) knob and tube wiring, what do you need to know? What should you do? By now most home buyers know that insurance companies, as a rule, don’t like knob and tube wiring. Most will want it removed. Some will give you …
Recently I inspected a tenanted property north of Toronto where I discovered a live uncapped gas line peeking out from behind a small corner cabinet in the living room. It was the kind of line one usually sees with a stand-alone gas fireplace or similar appliance. The quarter turn ball valve operating the line was …
How do you find a properly qualified home inspector? One would think this should be easy – after all, how difficult could it be with so many guys out there calling themselves home inspectors? Unfortunately, a big problem that many home buyers aren’t even aware of is that the home inspection industry in Ontario (and …
In part one of Reno-to-Flip Homes I talked about the open house. Part two focused on the cosmetics of the renovation; that is, the things that typically attract homebuyers to these houses in the first place – mostly shiny new kitchens and baths, some new flooring, freshly painted walls and lots of potlights. With the …
What the heck is going on this year? In my 10 years as a home inspector, I’ve never seen so many “reno-to-flip” disasters on the market as I have seen this spring. If you’re buying a home that falls into the reno-to-flip category, you’ll have to use extra caution to ensure you’re not getting a …
Reno-to-Flip Homes, Part Two – The Cosmetics: Sizzle or fizzle? Read More »
This particular blog post started out as a simple expression of my frustration as a professional home inspector continually coming across bad reno-to-flip homes being unleashed on a largely unsuspecting home buying market. However, it quickly morphed into a multi-part topic designed to help home buyers recognize and avoid these problematic homes that are frequently …
