I did an inspection as a follow-up favor for a realtor client. It seems her listing had an inspection which revealed moisture in the corner of a basement wall.
It is a 30 year old house and the seller is an older, single woman without much money. She needed to sell the house for financial reasons. I said I would look at the wall with my IR camera, no charge. The realtor is a long-time client and has sent me lots of business. The whole visit took not much time at all. The buyers were demanding that a "dry basement" company work up a solution to this "huge" problem.
Boy, did they work up a "solution!" They diagnosed a cracked block foundation. After suggesting much ditch diggage, French drainage, foundation wall sealage, indoor slab breakage, and new sump pumpage, they offered different prices for different "solutions." The prices ranged from $6K to +$20K. You know the drill, kill an ant with a sledge hammer.
My IR camera revealed moisture from what later proved to be a very slow, slight drip from a previously stubbed-out hose connection, no longer visible on the outside and apparently hidden when the house was re-sided. The foundation wall was not insulated and the drip was going straight to the sill plate.
I do not know if the "dry basement" company used an IR camera to diagnose the problem. I wonder what they would have done if they discovered the real cause of this moisture. Maybe they did! However, theirs was no solution at all and certainly very expensive. The true problem is easily corrected. There was no foundation crack.
My analysis was objective - I had no financial gain in providing a diagnosis/solution to this problem. The seller is happy. The buyers are happy. Both agents are happy. I have picked up a new client and further solidified an old one. You can give a happy-ending sigh now. A lot of business capital was purchased with very little effort.
Good story. There are lots of con artist out there today. It's always wise to get a second opinion.
Jay, It just goes to prove that an objective, well informed opinion is always the best. Nice story.
Thanks Jay, you sound like a great inspector to have on the team!
Rob
www.RobKellyColorado.com
www.DenverForeclosureTour.com
Twitter: @RobKellyCo
Good job. I've got a nagging roof leak in my home where my inspector friend used an IR camera. Unfortunately we still haven't found the exact cause. Chimney guy coming next!
Jay, sometimes when we exhaust all the possibilites we can think of we come to conclusions that are not necessarilly accurate----great story.
THIS is good business! Done the RIGHT way! Wish there were more like you...by chance, are you moving to Everett, WA any time soon?
Jim - I have a son in Seattle - does that count? He is a lawyer for Microsoft, though, not an inspector.
Charles - I had to conclude what I did not see - that there used to be a hose bib there because there is one in that spot on all the other houses. That's just experience speaking when one thinks something that should be is not. There was new siding - why the hose as crimped I don't know. But, once the drywall was removed it proved correct.
Gabe - sometimes it takes more than IR. Some demons are only exorcised by fasting and prayer...
Thank you Rob.
James - there was a little bit of subjective extrapolative semaphore thinking there to say there should be a hose bib in that spot - where is it?
MIke and Cindy - it was a desperate call from a broker that got the second opinion there! I can tell you the other company was not pleased.
Jay, I have done that same thing with buried outside receptacles on townhouses.
Jay - Inspectors amaze me. I can't imagine doing what you guys and gals do. Good story and keep contributing good info from your side of the Real Estate equation.
thanks jason! i, on the other hand, can't imagine what you guys and gals do on that side of the real estate equation!