Nobody can deny I’ve got a thing for houses. When I visit friends, I ask the kind of questions that earn me blank looks, shrugging, and an occasional eye-roll over my obvious excitement for the things many people, well… just don’t care much about. But nobody beats out a Home Inspector when it comes to an eye for detail…
If you’re a real estate agent in LA, you probably know David Salvato- with DHI Home Inspection. He’s one of those people that seems to be everywhere, a featured Home Inspector on Active Rain, and I love his juicy updates on Twitter describing conditions good and bad in homes all over Los Angeles.
Today I grill David in honor of first time home buyers using the tax credit- and giving them some sound advice, with a quick Q & A followed by some of David’s Home Inspection Deal Breakers.
@EvangelistaLA: David… I’m guessing you either have to be OCD or majorly methodical to be a home inspector. What makes you so thorough?
@FollowDHI: I get my patience by remaining focused on the task at hand. I inspect every home as if were one I was buying for myself. As the owner of David Home Inspection my name is on every inspection and I take that very seriously.
@EvangelistaLA: How do you feel about buyers who want to be present for your inspection?
@FollowDHI: I love it! I guess I must have been a teacher in another life or something. I truly enjoy sharing the details of the home inspection with the potential buyers.
David caught a gas leak on this inspection
@EvangelistaLA: Gimmie the dirt. What’s the worst thing you’ve seen on an inspection?
@FollowDHI: I would have to say by far the worst thing I’ve ever seen was a complete cutaway of a roof truss system to make room for a non-permitted bonus room. The roof could have collapsed on the occupants. The Home was deemed uninhabitable by the local building department. It took an investor to remove all the damaged trusses and rebuild it.
@EvangelistaLA: Woah. I’m guessing with banks taking ownership of so many homes you’re seeing some wild conditions in REO properties. What’s the deal with that?
@FollowDHI: Conditions vary with location- and the amount of time the home is left unattended. It’s not uncommon for a Home Inspector to find things like the Heating and Air Conditioning systems removed. Vinyl doors and windows missing. Copper plumbing and electrical wires pulled out. I recently inspected a home where the $6,000 pool equipment had been stolen!
Your bonus: DHI’s Top Ten Reasons Homeowners Tend to Walk Away:
- Foundation cracks that are beyond normal. Small hair line cracks are considered normal – caused by the shrinking and settlement of the concrete itself. Larger cracks are sometimes caused by large tree roots or poor soil conditions.
- Mold. At times mold will come up on the report. Mold in large amounts can be caused by long term roof leaks, plumbing and irrigation damage- and the health effects attributed to major mold exposure may be serious.
- Asbestos. Any home built before 1978 will contain asbestos of some type, unless it’s been removed already. In older homes where the new owner wants to renovate, it is best to know where the asbestos laden products are and call a pro to remove them. This can impact a renovation budget heavily.
- Lead. For young families with small children a home with lead paint can be a big issue. Many times I find paint peeling or flaking off- leaving small bits of paint that can be ingested by children. The lead paint removal process is a expensive, and takes time.
- A Bad Roof. The roof system is one of the most important parts of the house. Replacing a roof can cost thousands and in some case even over ten thousand. Wood damage under the roof will cause the replacement price to escalate quickly.
- Wood destroying insects and organisms. Subterranean termites are the most common termite in the United States. A mature colony has from 80K to 400K workers. (eek! Something tells me they’re not lazy either…) The average colony can consume a one foot length of 2×4 in 118 days. Other unfriendly suspects inclue the Powder post beetle, the Carpenter bee, and the Carpenter ant. Long term infestation by any of these pests can lead to the loss of structural integrity.
- Household pests. (uh. Yuck…) Rats and mice are the most common finds in Southern California homes. This is especially true in homes that have a lot of fruit trees and date palms. Rodents can cause thousands of dollars in damage to the homes systems and equipment. They can eat the insulation off electrical and control wires, can nest in and destroy HVAC ducts as well.
- Missing or damaged systems and equipment. Plumbing, electrical and HVAC equipment are some of the first things taken. Many homes are being sold as is- Bank Owned. When homes are left unattended they are subject to thieves removing HVAC equipment appliances, copper wire and plumbing.
- Signs of past fire damage. Even after repairs have been made many people can’t get past the feeling of bad luck that comes with a home that’s been involved in a house fire.
- Death or Murder in Home. (major eek!) We saved the worst for last. Everyone has seen Amityville Horror. Never met anyone who went through with the purchase of a home after this kind of disclosure.
Seen something wild at a Foreclosure? Bought or sold a house somebody died in? Shoot us a comment!
As you know, I love seeing what’s on the market. Not only does it help me hunt for gems for my clients who are looking to buy a home, but it satisfies my geeky obsession with tile, beautiful finish work, and meaningful updates that can be done to a Los Angeles home to make it a better space to live in.
This week’s goodies are no exception: when I tell you I’m ready to chuck it all and move into this home I’m so not kidding – the closets and bathrooms alone had me living there in my head – lovingly storing all my sweaters Martha Stewart style in the cedar lined closet! (…ask my caravan buddy Irina – she had to drag me out!)
I’ll show you what I mean.
The downstairs library shows off the beautifully stained wood windows and floors. And check out the peaked built in bookcases! Who couldn’t get a little work done in here…
People can go way overboard with tile and fireplaces on occasion. I’d say this is a beautiful example of a simple, classic tile layout on the hearth, with eye popping colors that perfectly tie into the fireplace, and a Herringbone brick pattern inside. I’m seriously in need of a book, a blanket, and a coffee to further take in all it’s glory. Um, waiter?
I love this little nook just off the kitchen. It feels like a tiny spot to pay bills, display books and art, and a perfect place to leave your keys. The floating wood shelves just show the care this home was redone with, and a recessed light inside this nook actually makes it functional.
Parent Alert: With a mudroom like this, half your kid’s hockey team could leave their stuff here and you’d still have space to walk. I think I sat here for ten minutes, dreaming about my Wellies living here in color- coordinated glory.
I could go on forever about whoever laid the tile in here. I looked. Closely. And I think they did an incredible job! The grout colors set off the beautiful tiles and accents in a way that shows someone really thought carefully about the feeling they wanted to evoke in these bathrooms. Every single one in the house showed similar love.
The vintage style hardware in the bathrooms makes all the new updates feel like they’ve been hanging out here all along, and are in keeping with the style of the home.
Check out the Saltillo tiles in the entryway. Not to be a stickler, but the tile and the hardwood floors align in smooth, loving perfection in all the spots they meet. As a project manager and a designer, this signifies to me that the contractor and designer though about how you flow from one room to another, and calculated for seamless transitions in the flooring. It would seem like a simple thing, right? (it’s not) Again, impressive stuff.
The quality of light that beams into this home is really enchanting. It doesn’t hurt that all the windows are custom, historically relevant, have killer hinges, and display views of the historic specimen tree in the front lawn, and the well manicured property on all sides.
Seeing Cedar lined closets makes my sweaters itchy to relocate. Move over, Martha Stewart… I’ve got a folding board and I’m not afraid to use it! Even the doors are made of Ceadar. Talk about attention to detail…
LOVE, love the addition of a laundry chute. This cute little cabinet door in the hall whisks away Mom’s ‘wandering around and muttering to herself’ routine. Just tell the kids it’s a basket ball net and let ‘em shoot away! (clothes and linens only, please. No siblings…)
I’ll end the tour here in the Master bathroom. Yes, that’s me sitting on the floor taking this picture – this is where I staged my protest and didn’t want to leave! Your eyes do not deceive you – this room really is that big. No camera tricks here… just an impressively sized and well-laid out Master bathroom.
There you have it: And if you want to wander through and fall in love yourself, the official site to the professionally shot images lives here. For the record – the stager did a beautiful job too of showing off the rooms. (Did you stage this home? Hit me up here so we can link to you!)
You could shoot Mark Ogden a call too – he’s the listing agent. (626) 396-3908
Tell him you saw it here at Improvemental.com! Think he’ll buy me a coffee if you buy it?
Have a cool property you want me to come drool over? Let’s talk!
What’s in a detail…
A heavy iron lock, with a skeleton key. Beautiful bricks, tumbled, uneven, and worn. An elegant wooden curve, tucked under a winding staircase – begging your fingers to run over corks and bottles… taking time to pick the very right one.
Four C’s of Condo Living: Cosmetic, Color, Curtains & Clutter
You Can’t Take It With You, People: When it comes to living in an apartment or a condominimum, many people instinctively want to update and work on it in ways that just don’t pay off in the end. To make sure you don’t over improve, I like to think in terms of the Four C’s of Condo Living: Cosmetic, Color, Curtains, Clutter.
Cosmetic, you ask? Unless you have a pretty amazing Landlord, willing to reimburse you for the cost of work you do, all work and updates to a condo should be cosmetic, or surface changes.
Some of my favorite cosmetic changes are: Changing knobs in kitchen and bathrooms on drawers and cabinets, changing out a light fixture like a chandelier over a dining area, and hanging a TV on the wall to clear space for more storage and furniture below.
Save the knobs you have taken off (in a handy plastic baggie to wrangle all the screws) and label them by room for when you part ways with the condo and need to put them back on.
This method is super handy for that ugly, nipple shaped light fixture (does anybody else see this??) that landlords love to put in the kitchen/dining area. Bag it up, shove it in the back of the closet, and have an electrician replace it with a cute, inexpensive light fixture with some personality. You can get some smoking deals online and in stores like this one. Consider taking it with you go, and give your landlord back his nipple… Ahem.
Mounting your TV on the wall in a condo or apartment can be a bit trickier. Sometimes you luck out and a previous owner has already done the work for you, or units in a newer building might have built and wired with your slick TV in mind. No such luck?
Assess your walls, furniture placement, and outlet locations carefully. Also, if your cable/satellite TV has already got a hookup in a wall somewhere, it’s good to know where it is located. Aim for as little mess/deconstruction as possible, with the smallest distance for your wires to be visible between the TV and your components.
Color: Nothing changes a space like surrounding yourself with the colors that please you most. Think hard on what you want your space to do for you – warm colors are invigorating, exciting. Cool colors are calming, relaxing. Neutrals are cozy, and can make a great backdrop for changing accent colors by season, should you have the ‘design bug’ like some of us…
Color enters your space in lots of ways. Paint is the most obvious, either painting entire rooms or selecting accent walls to highlight with a bolder color. It’s always good to really look at the ‘shape’ of the wall you’re planning on painting an accent color. Aim for a wall that’s relatively square or symmetrical, so that you don’t have funny little slivers of color around odd shaped architecture in your home.
Bring home swatches from the paint store, and get a sample of the paint and try it out before you commit. (seriously) Check out the color in the morning, middle of the day, and at night before you go for it.
Your flooring (often carpet) is another color to consider. Most units have some sort of beige/tan/gray tone that you have to work with when you are planning your paint colors, and furniture purchases. It shouldn’t rule your life, but it’s worth thinking about it when you’re plotting.
Furniture, rugs, pillows, bedding, and artwork all add color and life to your place. Think about what you’ve already got, and making everything look as good as possible. Have a subtle art collection? Perhaps a bolder color wall might balance out a black and white photography display. Have wild Rock and Roll posters from the 60’s and a Velvet Elvis? They might speak well for themselves on a more neutral background.
Curtains: Most apartments and condos come stocked with noisy, plastic-fantastic hanging blinds that make a bunch of noise and take me back to the 70’s (when I suspect somebody thought they were cool.) uh… gag. While they do block light, and they survive multiple tenants, they do positively awful things for your mental state.
Consider taking them down and replacing them with colorful, interesting curtains to add some life to your pad. Shove the plastic ones under your bed or in the back of a closet to be reinstalled for the next tenant.
Don’t have the dough for the designer curtain panels you want? Try a staging trick: Measure the height you want, adding a few inches for a rod pocket at the top, and a hem at the bottom. Find a more affordable fabric you like and have your local dry cleaner sew a pocket in the top for the rod and hem the edges. Hit Lowes or Home Depot and have them cut a dowel rod to length for you to stand in for a curtain rod. Then nail your dowel (and curtain) to the wall at the desired height. Viola! Custom ‘curtains’ without the custom price.
(Author’s note: this approximates a ‘dummy panel’ or a curtain that doesn’t open and close. This works great in a space that doesn’t have sunlight issues, or need to be blocked off for privacy. You can, of course, do the same thing and make real, operable curtains, but that requires a lot more fabric and can drive your budget back up in the range of premade curtains.)
Clutter: We all know about the Clutter Monster. In a smaller and or shared space, clutter can kill the open feeling you had when you walked in and decided to rent the condo in the first place. My good (and incredibly tidy) friend John Trosko of OrganizingLA shares lots of ideas for keeping the chaos at bay here.
Multi function storage can really be helpful in a condo. Find seating with storage tucked away inside of it for blankets and extra clutter. Inexpensive closet storage units and correctly sized interlocking plastic storage boxes with wheels can also go a long way toward keeping your space streamlined.
Craving some design? Personalize inexpensive storage boxes to match your space. You can get fun magazine storage like these here.
Need some ideas for how to spruce up your condo on a budget? Shoot us a tweet! Have any condo living tips of your own? We love comments…
