Blog
Philip Smith, Certified Inspector NACHI, CREIA, IAC2
Philip Smith is a home inspector with certifications from InterNACHI, CREIA, and IAC2. Having a passion for inspecting homes, I joined The Real Estate Inspection Company after owning and operating an inspection business for 15 years. I have been a Certified Home Inspector since 2004 and have inspected well over 4,000 properties in San Diego, […]
Pool Safety Requirements
Sadly, the second largest cause of death in California is drowning. In 1996, California introduced the Pool Safety Act. This Bill required several safety measures to help prevent accidental drownings. It has been revised several times, and in it’s most recent revision requires at least two of seven safety devices. Also in 2018, it became […]
Buyer and Agent Survey
Buyers and Agents Differ on What Inspections are Important We recently conducted a survey among home buyers and real estate agents who have hired us for home inspections in the last 6 months. Below are the results of the survey. The goal was to find out what additional services, beyond general home inspections and drain […]
Were There Pets in That House?
Are you allergic to pets? What about your clients? It may be difficult to tell if pets were living in a house. There may be no odor and the house is spotless. However, dander (dead skin) can be present in the carpet, curtains, ducts, and under appliances, if pets were ever living in a house […]
How Septic Systems Work
Thousands of houses throughout Southern California have septic systems. These include rural houses or those on large properties. Hooking these houses up to a municipal sewer system may be cost prohibitive, so a septic system is a perfect alternative. Septic systems are underground wastewater treatment structures, commonly used in rural areas without centralized sewer systems. […]
Dryer Flues Are a Major Source of House Fires
There are so many items in a house that require regular maintenance. As homeowners, we often ignore maintenance on items that are working properly. Why spend money on a problem that doesn’t exist? If your garage door opener is working, why would you have it tuned up? Just like your car regular scheduled maintenance is […]
A colonoscopy for your house
Why everyone should have a drain line inspection when buying a home Should you consider getting the drain line inspected at the house you are buying? Nearly 2/3 of the drain lines we inspect require $3,000 in repair or more. This applies to new houses as well as old. Many of the problems found […]
New 2018 Legislation Adds Liability to Inspectors, Realtors
California SB 422 – Pool Safety Act As if selling real estate didn’t have enough liability, it has now become part of a home inspection to check certain safety features of a pool no matter what. If your home inspector is not certified, insured, or accustomed to inspecting swimming pools it could transfer extra liability […]
Understanding Firewalls
Firewalls are one of the most important, yet least understood safety items that a home inspector checks. It is one of the many passive safety features built into a house that is often overlooked during a home inspection. Just like the airbag in your car, we hope that it is never needed. The intent of the […]
Why Smoke Detectors Beep at 2:00 AM
There I was laying in bed at 2:00 AM this morning listening to my smoke detector Chirp. OK, I’m guilty. I did not follow the simple routine of changing my smoke detector batteries when I changed my clocks back a few weeks ago. So I guess I deserve it. Before I explain why the smoke […]
