Lobao Construction Blog

Cheap Home Inspections?

Posted on 03/29/2011

I had a customer call me the other day and asked me what a standard home inspection would cost.

I told here $425 for a standard size house. See said “do you have a cheap inspection”

I told her you do not need a cheap inspection, you need a good inspection.

There are a lot of home inspection companies out there and some will do an inexpensive inspection for you ,but be careful, this is really a case of “you get what you pay for”

Most companies employ inspectors that do not have the experience or knowledge to give you a complete and unbaised inspection.This is how they are able to do “cheap inspections” and keep costs down.

Don’t be fooled!

A standard size house takes from 2 to 3/12 hours at the home and another 2 hours to write it up, that’s the minimum time.

There are even some pest control companies that will do both the pest control report and a home

Inspection for $500. How is this possible??

The real estate company thinks this is great, but the homeowner (you) that ordered the inspection does not realize they are being given a substandard inspeciton.

 

You need a pest control person to do his job and unbiased home inspector to do his, in that way

A good analytics of the property is achieved.

So, if you need a home inspection, be sure to hire someone who has the experience and knowledge to do a complete and unbaised one. 

Jim Lobao

Lobao Construction

ARE YOU READY FOR THE NEXT EARTHQUAKE?

Posted on 01/26/2011

We all know it's coming. We just don't know when. Is your home ready?

Your home will stand a better chance of getting through the next earthquake with less property damage if you check now to see if you need to any retrofitting.

If your home is not built on a concrete slab, chances are it’s built on a raised foundation. This means the home was built on a system of posts, beams and cripple walls. Cripple walls are short wood-framed walls running underneath & around the perimeter of the home. These homes typically have crawl spaces underneath them. They are susceptible to damage because the supporting structure under the house may not have been built to resist seismic forces & thus is considered a weak area. Past earthquakes have shown that these areas are highly susceptible to structural failures.

Garages are vulnerable areas in the home due to the large garage door opening and large open areas. And there are benefits to seismic upgrading your home. Two examples are:

1) Retrofitting your home may lower earthquake insurance premiums
2) Strengthening your home can add resale value So, check your home, do repairs if needed and you can sleep at night knowing your home at least is ready for the next “big one”

Jim

membershipsLobao Construction serves the San Francisco Bay Area and Peninsula, including the cities of Atherton, Belmont, Brisbane, Burlingame, Colma, Daly City, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Half Moon Bay, Hillsborough, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Palo Alto, Pacifica, Portola Valley, Redwood City, Redwood Shores, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Francisco, San Mateo, South San Francisco and Woodside.