Chicago Home Inspector

Great blog from Mike Young! It's a wonderful thing when the red tape's been cut to ribbons, allowing buyers to move forward to create lasting value with their investment. 203k consultant approval in under four days Wow, HUD is getting very good at the approval process. There has been a distinct c...

The brutal winter of '13-'14 is finally, irrefutably over, but much of the damage still remains. Now that warmer weather's finally here, I'm enjoying long walks in my beautiful Chicago neighborhood of Rogers Park. I've noticed a number of small water line leaks... several in nearby Warren Park, a...

The New York Times reports that at least two are confirmed dead in a Harlem multiple building collapse today. According to this report, a resident smelled gas in the building the evening before the explosion and collapse.  It is not clear at this time if the gas company had been informed of the p...

March 11 marks "World Plumbing Day."  I'm not sure how this happened, but World Plumbing Day totally snuck up on me this year! As a home inspector, I have a deep appreciation for those tradesmen who have dedicated their lives to the mastery of their craft.   We owe a special debt of gratitude to ...

'Tis the season for resolutions! And I am NOT a big resolution guy.  I used to be, but not anymore. As I get older, I tend to make resolutions, take inventory, and make course corrections throughout the year, as opposed to waiting for the "I'm gonna change everything about my life starting on Jan...

Every so often, I'll have a call come in from someone who wants a cheap inspection. I mean really cheap.  Less than half my basic rate cheap. $150 to inspect a house cheap. That's cheap! Now, I'll admit. Every once in a while - maybe one house out of fifty - I'll go through and the place is perfe...

About 2,200 hot water boilers were recalled by Crown Boiler last month.. The reason for the recall: carbon monoxide hazard. Carbon monoxide (or CO), as you probably know, is an invisible, odorless, deadly poisonous gas. According to the Centers for Disease Control,  CO is responsible for approxim...

Flat roofs are very common on multi-unit properties in Chicago, especially 2-flats and 3-flats. It's becoming pretty rare to find the old-school built-up roofing anymore; a roofer friend of mine tells me the insurance for doing that kind of work makes it almost impossible to do - that's why we ha...

I used to be surprised by the number of leaky sinks I'd find in luxury new construction condos. Nice buildings. Overall good construction. Top-of-the-line finishes. Why the leaky sinks? I think part of it might be the way that the installers are testing them. The way that I was trained, a sink wa...

"Any double-taps?" Some of my more inspection-savvy agents will ask me this when we're at the panel. It's the equivalent of asking a fisherman if he's had any bites. Pleasant enough, I suppose, for light conversation, but the famous double-tap isn't the only thing I'm looking for. A double-tap, ...