New home inspections Are they really needed? No say's the brokers. I was making my usual rounds yesterday. I did get to meet with Two of the four brokers. Both told me that they were selling a lot of the new homes in the subdivisions they represent. I told them, that I have not received a call from a single agent that was requesting a home inspection for these "Sold Homes". The only homes I have been inspecting from those subdivisions were the buyers calling for the home inspection because they found me online after they were told the home did not need a home inspection and the agents wanted them to sign a waiver for the home inspection. When talking to one broker. He told me that the homes come with a One year warranty. Really? A one year warranty that covers the structural integrity o... 01/28/2014

Draw inspections in Hobbs New Mexico. Desert Sun Inspections Carlsbad New Mexico. The self imposed deadline for the home to be finished was December 31 of 2013. When the owners gave me the deadline I told them that there was no way they would meet the dead line. There was just too much stuff to get done. This latest request was more of the same. With a large portion of the flooring been installed. The electrical was in and running and the cabinets/ counter tops were in place with a few exceptions. This was due to the tile flooring not being completed in Two of the Four baths yet. The carpeting will wait till the final item to get installed. Let's take a look at what was completed in the home since my last visit. The stucco is now about 70% complete. But they have a long way to go to get... 01/26/2014

Attic Electrical issues.  Home inspection in Hobbs New Mexico. So many times when Desert Sun Home Inspections inspects a home there are issues with the attic electrical system. These out of sight and out of mind places like the attic and the crawl spaces really are the places that I find have a number of electrical issues. I would bet money that the installer was thinking that the electrical work done in these areas would never be inspected by any one. Take a look at this area of the attic that was a "new source of power". This fan was replaced, but not attached correctly to the power supply. Who is going to see the issues in the attic? The home inspector that's who. This plug under the sink is not on a GFCI or GFI circuit. Plus the cover is missing. How many times do we find issue's li... 01/19/2014

Commercial Inspection in Hobbs New Mexico. Behind schedule. Not good. Staying on schedule is a top priority when trying to get a commercial project finished and get the property open for business. Desert Sun Commercial Inspections reports just the facts. I have not read the ins and outs of the contract, but there is a Thirty day window for this project. This means they cannot go over the allotted Thirty days. As of Wednesday, They were 15 days behind schedule for the collision center. The collision center was to be open for business on the Fist week of 2014. But it still has a couple of weeks work left to get it open for business. Here is where the building sits as of Wednesday. As you can see the front of the building is not finished as of to date. The Stucco is being installed but the... 01/16/2014

Hiding the electric meter can cause issues. Home inspection Hobbs, NM. It is simply amazing what we find when inspecting homes for buyers. This home was doing great till the owners decided to add a screened in back patio area. The it was closed up at a later date. This may look O.K. to the buyer. But there is an issue with the electric meter. It's inside the room. The owner was there and told me that the electric company needs to call them each month when they want to read the meter! Every month? What if they are not home or on vacation? Then what? Plus top add insult to the screened patio area. The dryer vent was never ran to the exterior of the enclosed room. It was clear that the owners that bought the home without a home inspection Two years ago was not paying attention to what matt... 01/13/2014

Are the good days really over for good? Home inspection Hobbs N. M. #2 When there are issues with a home that gets a home inspection there becomes the quandary of what to do next. The issues become in most cases an issue the selling agent or listing agent needs to deal with sooner or later. Even though Desert Sun Home Inspections in Carlsbad New Mexico likes to find those "Ah Ha Moments when inspecting". It creates a possible nightmare for the listing agent. Like in the first post see it here. http://actvra.in/49jP The contractors used on this home were not in focus when they did the work to the home. Let's take a look at the new roof that was installed a couple of years ago. Number one issue is that they did an overlay. This will save costs for the owners, but it will have a effect on ... 01/11/2014

Are the good days really over for good? Home inspection Hobbs N. M. This has been a really frustrating couple of weeks for Desert Sun Home Inspections in Carlsbad New Mexico. I was contacted to perform a home inspection on a home in Hobbs New Mexico. This inspection should have been one of many that was a simple inspection. But when arriving at the home there was issues from the get go. This home has been "worked on by three different contractors since 2008". When inspecting the furnace I noticed it has issues. Installed in 2010. The furnace installer did not install the unit properly. The furnace flue stack was falling off spilling C O gasses into the home. This is a issue that just should not exist. Then to make matters worse the A/C condesent line was wrong. Plug the drain was open t... 01/10/2014

Access able washer connections. What if there is an issue? I like to list Issues I find when inspecting a home for a buyer or seller. By like I mean when I find an issue, I want to make sure it makes it into the report for the client to review with their agent. At Desert Sun Home Inspections in Carlsbad, New Mexico. We do just that. List the issues for the client to hash out with the seller. But what of the seller say's what you listed in the report is not right? I hear this from time to time and end up finding the right answer for the seller. In this case the utility room was in an addition on the east side of the home. The washer was installed correctly. But the drain was missing. At least not visible where the connection as in the wall. This is what I found and wrote up as an issue f... 01/04/2014

Crawl space issues abound. Desert Sun Home Inspections Carlsbad N.M. When inspecting homes for buyers, I often run into a crawl space or attic's with multiple issues. Out of sight out of mind I often say. In many cases the plumbers and electricians never expect an inspection of their work. This leads to less than a professional job. Starting off with the entrance to the crawl space we can see the entrance is in dis repair and needs to be replaced. Getting into this crawl space was a challenge. There was only about 12 inches between the floor joists and the ground. But the visit was well worth the effort when it comes to the report for the buyers. In this shot you can see there is a corroded water line that was re worked in a recent plumbing upgrade. But there is a leak in the corroded f... 01/02/2014

What kind of stucco is it. Buyers wants stucco inspection in Hobbs NM. At Desert Sun Home Inspections in Carlsbad New Mexico. We get all kinds of calls for all kinds of inspections and questions. This call was for a stucco inspection that is all the buyers wanted. The buyers asked if I could inspect the home to see what kind of stucco the home had on the exterior of the home. Not a problem I told them. I wanted to know of theywanted to get a full home inspection. They told me no the home has already been inspected. REALLY! My next question was "Why the home inspector did not state in the report what kind of exterior stucco was on the home". The buyers told me that the home inspectors in the Hobbs area will not inspect the exterior stucco. They calim the liability is too great. Seems I h... 12/21/2013

Worthless venting. If it's wrong, why vent. Home inspection Hobbs N.M. At Desert Sun Home Inspections in Carlsbad, New Mexico. It's all about the homes condition when we inspect a home. There are a number of inspectors out there who do not inspect a home in it's entirety. At Desert Sun Home Inspections we do just that. When we get the call for a home inspection we don't know who has been to the home in the past nor do we care. We are there to do a home inspection for the buyer or seller and that's what we do best. We met the agent and buyer at this home. They were anxious to find out if there were any issues with the home. They wanted this to be a fast closing. The home was inspected just two weeks prior by a local inspector. The issues listed were very minor and the home was said to be... 12/16/2013

Commercial inspections in Hobbs New Mexico. Desert Sun Inspections. There is a reason lenders have the best in the business handling their risk's for commercial loans in Eddy, Lea and Chaves Counties in Southeast New Mexico. They know that their investment will be monitored by a very good on time and very knowledgeable Inspection company. That Company is Desert Sun Inspections. Based in Carlsbad, New Mexico. This $6.5 Million dollar project in Hobbs New Mexico. Is on time and on budget. The cold weather has slowed the exterior process a little but the progress continues in earnest. This project consists of Three major buildings and Seven acres of property. I have posted about this project in the past and here is the latest in the progress this commercial property. The owners want to hav... 12/11/2013

Home loans and draw inspections. Desert Sun Inspections in Carlsbad NM This is a continued post about home loan draw inspections. Many times the home owner wants to get the money without having the proper amount of work being completed. There are a lot of times the contractor put pressure on the home owner to request the draw prematurely. I do believe this was the case in the inspection that was completed on Sunday. The contractor stated they wanted to get more funds. Imagine that. When I would and was building homes and making draw requests. We had a criteria for doing just that. In the homes construction phases, there must be a certain amount of the work done to even consider a draw request. The flooring tile was requested at 99% done. But there was an issue with the amount requested.... 12/02/2013

It was a little early for this draw inspection. Desert Sun Inspections Carlsbad New Mexico. When i get the call for an inspection I just get the inspection scheduled and don't question of the home owners are ready. When I was contacted about this draw inspection for a home loan I simply called the owners of the home to schedule an draw inspection. I generally don't ask "how much has been completed" before I show up. But when the client wants a draw inspection we go and get it done. This home was in the third stage of completion. Only the fourth to go now. Take a look at the issues that still reamin. The service to the home is still not in place. I told the owners back a long time ago that they needed to contact the service company to get the proper load calculated for the new service. (... 12/01/2013

And there are MOLD issues. Desert Sun Inspections Carlsbad, New Mexico. When getting a home inspection in Southeast New Mexico. Many times I hear from the buyer that they are concerned about a certain place in the home that may or may not have a mold issue. I listen intently when I am talking to the buyer. Their concerns are number one when I inspect a home for their purchase. Their concerns are now my concerns. Let's take a look at the homes issues. Here we have three of the four exhaust vents in the attic that are not connected to the exterior as intended. Notice the duct tape? This is never a good idea when in the attic where tempratures can reach as much as 180 degrees. Notice the mold growth by the rafter? Here we have a chimney that is leaking. There is a small anount of mold on t... 11/30/2013

Home improvement loans, Desert Sun Inspections Carlsbad New Mexico. More and more home owners are remodeling their homes. Some for re sale next year and some for the upgrades. Even these types of construction loans need to be verified by an independent party. That's where Desert Sun Inspections comes in. We have been performing many construction loan inspections for many lenders. There needs to be verification that the loans are being used for what the loan was intended. On this home, it was meant to be a loan to increase the size of the home and to totally remodel the entire home. The only thing not added onto was the existing foundation. Every thing else was new and improved. On this inspection the drywall was installed. There is still a long way top go till the home is finished. This... 11/29/2013

EFIS stucco. Maintain it. Home inspection in Carlsbad New Mexico. When the builders build a home and install a Exterior Foam Installed Stucco. They are installing a product or application of a product that has a history of failing. The cracks that form in the exterior applied stucco needs to be repaired as soon as they are found. Water penetration is the leading cause of hidden damage to a home. This damage can end up costing the home owner hundreds if not thousands of dollars in repairs. Maintaining the homes exterior applied stucco is very important. Take a look here at the condition of the stucco on this home. No repairs had been made to date when the home inspection had been completed. Not taking care of the damage will cost the owner more if not taken care of when it is found. Insp... 11/13/2013

Exterior electrical, pay attention. Home inspections Hobbs New Mexico. When inspecting homes we inspectors run into all kinds of issues that just should not be a issue from the start. I many cases the issues are simply the way the items with a home were done incorrectly. I know many home owners want to save money when adding a few extra items to the home as they live in the home and think they need to add as they go along. This will come back to haunt you when and if you ever try to sell the home in the future. Most homes are sold at one stage or another in the life of the home. Many homes are sold over and over again. This has a detremental effect to the home when each new buyer wants to add a little something to the home. Take into account the addition of the exterior electrical that ... 11/12/2013

Commercial Project moving forward. Desert Sun Commercial Inspections. Desert Sun Commercial inspections keep the project moving ahead nicely. This major commercial project in Hobbs New Mexico is being completed on time and on budget. The first building is up and being completed with the interior being the focus of all the framing and block walls being installed. The second buildings footing is in and the slab will be poured next week after all the rebar gets installed and set in place. The third buildings slab and footing is in and ready for the steel to be erected. This will start next week as well. Take a look at the progress made between inspections. This building will be used as a new Collision center. The interior is being completed at a torrid pace. The bock walls are being instal... 11/08/2013

Another "What the" day. Home inspections in Hobbs New Mexico.  At Desert Sun Home Inspections in Carlsbad New Mexico. We find issues with homes that we simply should not find. Take for instance this home. Stat's on the home. An adobe style flat roofed home with 2,500 square foot. Full ten foot ceilings in the home. This home was built in 2008. C of O was issued in 2008. So why should there be any issues with this home? There is only one explanation on why the home has issues. This home is a clear example of the local building inspectors not doing the job they were hired to do. Lets see what isd going on with this home. there are Three bathrooms. Two of them have a exhaust vent. The master bath has no exhaust vent. The master bath has no operational window either. If a bath has no operat... 11/04/2013