Everything I Plan on Forgetting http://extraram.posterous.com notes and cool things on the stupid stuff i do posterous.com Tue, 17 May 2011 14:10:00 -0700 What I Learned from a Home Inspector http://extraram.posterous.com/what-i-learned-from-a-home-inspector http://extraram.posterous.com/what-i-learned-from-a-home-inspector

So lately, I've been considering that huge leap up the adulthood ladder: purchasing my first home.  Lucky for me, I wasn't going into this young dumb and blind.  I've put down some loot on my sister's property acquisitions, and as a result, got a peak into intermittent parts of the process, especially the hard parts.  But truth be told, my sister did most of the legwork, and nothing beats direct experience like, well, direct experience.  

What precipitated the interest in leaving the rent market?  With what I learned about financing and some of the asking prices being bandied about my neighborhood, I'm starting to figure out that some of the newer places literally have lower monthly mortgage rates than my current rent, assuming I put down a good part of my savings into the down payment.  Armed with this knowledge, my itch just grew, so I went to my sister for advice.  

As it turns out, my sister had a secret weapon in her Los Angeles area home inspector, Mr. James Kim of Apple Property Inspections.  For the first 2 months, I went on a property browsing rampage, sort of learning along the way what I was looking for.  I boiled my choices down to 3 viable selections: a condo in Santa Monica, a duplex in West Los Angeles, and a 2.5 bedroom home in Studio City.  It was time to have Mr. Kim take a look.  

So Mr. Kim found many positives and negatives in all 3 properties, any of which I wouldn't even think or have the expertise to look for.  In the condo, he found a sinking foundation line, which was of not immediate issue, but would require an expensive fix 5-10 years down the line.  No wonder the price was so good!  The duplex was an older property, and he found troubling signs of possible mold and insect damage in a crevice I didn't even think could physically exist in that home.  Lastly, he took one look at the newly remodeled Studio City home, literally knew the construction company to be reputable, and gave me an engineer's tour of the house, explaining exactly why he thought the contractor did everything right.  

I felt like Goldilocks when that 3rd property got Mr. Kim's inspection.  Alas, I was handily outbid for that Studio City property... and now I suspect they must have hired Mr. Kim as well!  

Anyhow, unless you're bidding on the same home as me, I highly recommend a James Kim home inspection.  It's rare when I get great service so I like to acknowledge it when I get the chance.  Check out his website and qualifications (he's a real civil engineer!) on his official website: www.homebyjames.com, and send me your thanks in the comments!

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