Litigation Support & Second Opinion Inspections


Houston - Galveston Coastal Home Inspections I Infrared Thermography


	Litigation or Second Opinion Support The building, buying and selling of houses can sometimes be a contentious business, often leading to conflict. When the condition of the property is in question a third-party is necessary to help sort it out. In most cases, the inspection report content is tailored for your specific needs and we must know beforehand the scope of the work and what information to include. In the last 4 years there has been an explosion of real estate sales in Texas and lots of money being made. It's a dog eat dog business. The human resource end has been torn apart to meet the volume by any means necessary. Buyers and sellers are steered to facilitate a closing as fast as possible. The only claim to being an inspector is to take some courses by a for-profit school, pass a test, take 16 hours of continuing education a year with no testing requirement and pay the state an approximate yearly fee of less than $100.00. The quality, experience and talent is not plentiful. If all a person has is a simple TREC license then they are not qualified. They are not an expert and do not have the credentials. We are recognized as one of the most qualified, detailed, thorough and credentialed real estate inspectors in Texas by our peers, builders and the few top real estate professionals. You will not find us on a pre-determined sales agent list when you purchase property. We actually inspect and follow the standards. We do not accept all work. Like others we need to pre-consult in order to make a decision as to our ability and involvement. (limitations may apply) Our inspection services are paid for either before or at the time of inspection. Additional fees are for depositions and potential court appearances.

Typical Problems

Did you use a provided short list of inspectors? These always omit the names of the more thorough, credentialed and experienced inspectors. These aren't the ones' agents may use for their home, family or friends. Everyone knows "the favorite inspector

Were you told to shop for the lowest price? Inspections and inspectors are NOT the same. You can't compare apples to apples in the inspection industry. The experience and talent is not prevalent. The only similarity is the use of a standardized inspection format. Cheap gets you nothing except maybe a pig with lipstick.

You were not told of the importance of attending the whole inspection?
Some inspectors do not want you present. You bother them, may ask a question and cetainly slow them down to get to the next inspection. The upper end professional inspectors agree that one can't do multiple inspections a day and comply with the standard.

Did you get a checklist inspection? In the industry we refer to tham as Checkbox Chimps. The inspection is only limited to the parts your inspector pre-determined were going to be inspected. Nothing more. It offers a volume inspection business model. Homes are not similar so they cannot be pre-determined. Such inspections are questionable as to meeting the required minimum inspection standards.

If you bought a home full of defects you probably didn't have a qualified inspector. The Texas Inspection Standards of Practice are considered nationwide as very broad and detailed. If the inspector was qualified and took the time to inspect you would most likely have a different outlook and less of a surprise.

Home warranties do not apply to the structure and some of the mechanical systems. Those who push warranties know what the limitations are but forget to pass it along. No warranty covers pre-existing problems or appliances clearly near the end of their life or code violations. Home warranties do not cover what you may think they cover. How can a warranty company stay in business warranting old or broken appliances?

ICC/IRC Combination Code Certified R5 Inspector - 5188826
(ICC) Residential Building Inspector
(ICC) Residential Electrical Inspector
(ICC) Residential Mechanical Inspector
(ICC) Residential Plumbing Inspector

Southern Building Code Congress International
SBCCI Combination Code Certified, Legacy

County (IRC) Building Inspections - Texas HB2833

Texas Dept. of Insurance
Residential Property Inspector 16708061031

Texas Real Estate Commission
Professional Inspector 1646

Texas Real Estate Commission
Licensed Continuing Education Instructor for Inspectors 23

Texas Real Estate Commission
Qualified Sponsoring Professional Inspector

Texas Residential Construction Commission Inspector
Combination Code Certified, Dispute Resolution Inspector; Legacy

Texas Professional Real Estate Inspectors Association #435 -MI

Coastal Inspections; Bulkheads, Piers, Docks, Boat Houses

Member of International Association of
Certified Home Inspectors - InterNACHI

InterNACHI - Certified Property Inspector (CPI)

InterNACHI - Certified Home Energy Inspector

"Don't worry honey, it's a 30 year roof". Wrong!

When a home is built the usual builder has a one-year warranty. That includes the roof. The roof covering manufacturer does not warrant the installation or for roof leaks. If someone makes such a claim then they are usually trying to sell you something. Shingles do not have manufacturer tags or markings on them. Who are you going to call anyway? Additionally, roof contractors are not licensed in Texas. Anyone can be one today and gone tomorrow.

Welcome to the southern United States hot/humid climate. Generally, asphalt (composition) shingles have a typical lifespan of 12-15 years in hot/humid environments and regardless of its material age and condition insurance companies tend to have their own idea of shortened lifespan when it comes to insurability and/or depreciation. With lack of proper attic ventilation you can take off 3-5 years of estimated life and lack of proper ventilation voids any manufacturer material warranty.

From Dallas to Galveston, El Paso to Beaumont many home inspectors may spend an hour and a half on a home when it should take around 4 hours or so to properrly follow the statewide inspection standards. These inspection flippers usually do not want you at the inspection and the experienced inspectors know why. Whether they own a ladder or even use one is questionable. At least reputable inspectors will include roof photos in a report as documentation that they were on the roof.

If you live in a coastal Texas county then you have the added Texas Windstorm Insurance Association that, if you watch the news, may be somewhat evil when it comes to paying windstorm claims even on new roofs. Roofs blow off in high wind zones. Shinges are not listed/rated/warranted for high windspeeds. (Shingles in coastal area may be limited to 110 m.p.h. speeds based on a 3 second gust. If you live in a 120 or 130 wind zone then you exceed the shingle listing/rating/warranty.)

What wears out the composition shingle? The actual life of a composition roof will vary, depending on a number of interrelated factors besides the quality of the material and the method of installation such as but not limited to; exposure to sunlight, slope of the roof, ventilation of attic spaces, and color of the shingles; (dark shingles achieve lower life spans) and biological attacks. Dark shingles have a significant amount of thermal mass. They soak up the sun’s heat. The darker the shingle the hotter the roof gets.

Additionally the thicker the composition shingle the more heat it absorbs and stores and is negatively affected by this heat. This means that not only do they soak up the sun’s heat like a sponge, but they also hold a tremendous amount of this heat to after sunset and then release this heat into the structure at night. Testing done by Florida Solar Energy Center showed that over 20% of the typical home cooling load comes from heat gain. The average 2000 sq. ft. roof can receive over 24 million BTUs of the sun’s radiant heat per year. (That equals 2,000 tons of air-conditioning!)

Additionaly with dark colored shingles the minimum standard of attempting to ventilate (i.e. cool down) an attic space and rood deck may be unrealistic which has a shortening effect on shingle life.

Granule loss of shingles starts from the time of installation and increases with age from heat and erosion from water running down the roof slope. The granules are designed to deflect the deteriorating ultra-violet rays of the sun and heat and provide a fire-resistance. The fire-resistance of shingles decreases with the rate of granule loss. Roof rock granule loss, exposed fiberglass matrix at edges and brittleness of the roof covering is indicative of the roof covering in its last stage of serviceable life and you are recommended to budget for replacement.

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