Steve Nations has been inspecting homes for 21 years. As a veteran home inspector and Oak Park resident, he has plenty of experience in evaluating vintage homes for clients. He has two crucial pieces of advice: Even in a fast-moving real estate market it’s never a good idea to skip the home inspection, and experience matters when it comes to choosing someone to inspect a home.
Nation emphasizes that no matter where you are in the negotiating process, home inspections are extremely important. “This is likely to be the biggest purchase of your life – so take the time to explore it with an expert,” he said.
According to Nations, there’s not a lot of training required to become a home inspector – just a two-week course followed by a multiple-choice exam. Nations, who has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, said that background experience matters when you’re asking someone to evaluate what is most likely your biggest asset.
What to expect
When clients hire Nations to do a home inspection, he makes sure they know what to expect. A typical local inspection takes 3-5 hours, depending on the size and condition of the house.
Nation explained it this way: “A buyer should expect to get a fair bit of exercise during the inspection – you’ll want to follow the inspector as much as possible. I understand that for some people the literal nuts and bolts of a house just aren’t very interesting, but this is your best chance to learn about the house from a knowledgeable professional, and you should take advantage of that opportunity. You should ask questions, and your home inspector should be telling you about some of the important features of the house. If your home inspector doesn’t want you to ask questions during the inspection, then I think you’ve chosen the wrong inspector.”
Nations said a good inspector knows how to put everything into the proper perspective.
“I don’t want to just hand my clients a list of problems without putting them into perspective. All houses have problems, and even most very nice houses have lots of problems. So, the question often times isn’t really ‘What are the problems?’ The question is ‘How does this house compare to other houses in this area of this type and vintage?’ The buyer needs to understand that if they don’t buy this house, they will find most of the same problems at another house for sale in the area.”
Particularly for older homes, like the housing stock in Oak Park and River Forest, Nations said, it’s important to have an understanding of how much the original plumbing and electrical systems have been replaced, and how that compares to neighboring homes.
He noted that this is a skill that comes with experience. “An inspector who just got their license can’t answer these questions, and they don’t have any perspective,” he said. “It can take a long time to see enough houses to have this perspective.”
Important areas
A home inspection should be a thorough examination of the entire house, and Nations said that clients want to know about any possible financial outlays they may be facing with repairs. In older homes, it’s important to look at all of the major systems to see what has been updated or replaced, and it’s also important to consider red flags.
Electrical systems and windows are one big area that buyers should look at in older homes, as upgrading these areas can be a major expense.
“I always tell my clients, water is your home’s number one enemy,” Nation said. “I am always looking for any evidence of any kind of water problem – plumbing leak, roof leak, or foundation seepage.”
He also assesses the age and condition of the HVAC system, looking for any kind of safety problem with the venting systems of the gas-fired appliances.
Other areas of focus include the condition and ages of the major appliances, overall safety issues and even small annoyances, like a door that won’t latch.
Old house issues
Two areas of concern that pop up frequently in old housing stock are asbestos and lead paint. Nations said that all home inspectors disclaim both items because you cannot know for sure whether an item is asbestos or contains lead paint without lab testing. That said, he tries to make sure clients know if items are likely to contain asbestos or lead paint so that they can make the safest choice going forward.
A good home inspector will also know about codes. Many older homes will not meet modern code standards. Nations said inspecting things like water pipes, electrical wiring, glass and stair dimensions are key in older homes so that clients are willing to accept these issues or prepared to spend the thousands of dollars it might take to fix them.
Tools of the trade
Historically, Nations says that home inspections are “visual inspections,” and tools were limited, but he has a few in his toolbox that give him added insight.
An infrared camera helps him find problems with insulation and water problems. A borescope helps him look through very small holes behind walls and above ceilings and he can use a drone to inspect some roofs.
The importance of the report
While a good home inspection report can allow a buyer to negotiate for a reduction of the purchase price of the home, it can also be a great resource to refer back to. “It can be a roadmap to repairs that should be made or maintenance items that should be addressed,” he said.
Surprises for the inspector
Nations has his share of stories of interesting finds in old houses and says they keep his work interesting.
“I was in a crawl space one time and saw that the main beam of the house was being supported by a car jack that was sitting on a piece of flagstone,” he recalled. “It was kind of scary being under there.”
“Some of my most memorable moments have been watching water gush into a basement through the outside door during a heavy downpour, and seeing the look of horror on my clients’ faces.”
There was also the time that he got shocked when inspecting transformers that had their hot and neutral wires reversed.
Luckily, not every inspection has surprises like these, but when they do, it just adds to his knowledge base, which is a valuable part of being good at his job. “It can take a long time to see enough houses to have this perspective,” he said.
