| Integrity Engineering, LLC | P.O. Box 3350 | 8508 Ventnor Ave. 1st fl., Margate NJ 08402 | Phone/fax (888) 272-6999 |
The home you are planning to buy is an investment that you hope will last many trouble-free years. A pre-purchase home inspection by a licensed home inspector gives greater assurance that a material defect, if there, will be uncovered. Many homeowners with material defects in their homes are not even aware of them. Problems with moisture damage and structural deficiencies accumulate over time. Often, problems can be found only when looking into places many homeowners have not seen for many years, like crawl spaces and unfinished attics. In New Jersey, a homeowner is not required to disclose defects known to them. A real estate agent representing the seller must rely on the owner to provide an accurate report of known deficiencies, in lieu of having a licensed inspector retained by the seller report on the conditions.
Having a licensed professional engineer and licensed home inspector perform the inspection gives an extra level of assurance. An unlicensed home inspector may focus on issues that are not critical while overlooking the seriousness of major defects. (In New Jersey, a currently practicing home inspector need not become licensed until December 30, 2005. Many part-time or casual home inspectors will likely not seek licensure at that time because of the requirements for education, training, experience, and insurance).
You've made the decision to sell, and perhaps have found the perfect replacement home. You've selected an agent or plan to sell it privately. How can you make sure your house goes under agreement quickly, and that nothing will happen to jeopardize the path to settlement?
A sellers inspection will provide you with a report card of the condition of your house BEFORE your buyer's inspector goes through. Armed with this information, you can properly plan what you want to correct, have an opportunity to obtain competitive bids from contractors, and take care of the issue. As an example, one major issue that has ruined many a settlement here at the shore is underground oil storage tanks. Insurance policies written today usually have exclusions for environmental damage caused by leaking underground tanks. Rather than ignore the possibility that one exists on your premises and learn at the 11th hour that you have a buried tank, being proactive and having a home inspection can save you costly delays or lost buyers when one is discovered during the buyer's inspection.
A home inspection for an existing property is like a medical exam for you. If you miss the symptoms of a medical problem, the result is usually a costly emergency down the road. Considering the investment you have in your home, it makes sense to have a periodic inspection that will result in problems being detedcted early, before they become major cost issues. Integrity Engineering, LLC, will give your home a professional inspection every three months, looking for emerging problems such as moisture, structural issues, roof problems, heating system faults and carbon monoxide and gas leaks, and electrical defects that can crop up at any time. If you believe in periodic health screenings for your family and maintenence programs for your vehicles, consider the same for your valuable real estate. Click here for a list of our fees for quarterly real estate inspection services.
You've heard the vacation home horror stories - burst pipe due to freezing temperatures, storm damage to siding and windows, heater fails, water heater leak, break-in. In the winter, any of these items if left in disrepair can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars in cleanup costs. Now that your vacation home is a valuable asset, you'll want to consider protecting it with a winter inspection program. Integrity Engineering, LLC provides a service to vacation homeowners who would rather spend time in the comfort of their home than run down to the shore to see if their property fared the latest winter storm. Your vacation home will be visited by a bonded, insured inspector at least once a week between Labor Day and Memorial Day, to check the following:
| space heater operation | water heater operation | sinks and toilet function |
| security lighting operation | roofing, siding and gutters | exterior door knobs function |
| window glass integrity | mold/mildew formation | birds, rodents taking residence |
Our fee for this service pays for itself in saved trips to the shore and cost savings due to and quick action on damage and maintenence issues, let alone the peace of mind you will have that your shore home is being routinely examined during the off-season.
Isaac G. Lilienfeld, PE, CEM, NJ Licensed Home Inspector serving Atlantic and Cape May Counties
