Know your Flow: Well Flow and Water Quality Testing for your Home
The EPA reports that more than 23 million Americans rely on wells for their home’s water. Because these properties aren’t on water systems managed or maintained by local government agencies, extra testing is required to insure there is sufficient supply and pressure for laundry, washing dishes, nightly bubble baths, cooking, or drinking. Vancouver-based home inspectors from Details Home Inspections offer well flow testing throughout Southwest Washington, the greater Portland area, and beyond.
Their simplified well system inspections and well flow tests are non-invasive processes which don’t require taking things apart or complicated, muddy maneuvering. Inspector Brian Ross explains that both are designed to estimate the amount of water you’ll see coming through internal fixtures like sinks and showers. There are minimum requirements for this flow rate and results are important, for example, to buyers looking for their first, next, or forever home.
Avid watchers of HGTV have seen many house hunters test the pressure in kitchens and bathrooms. Water isn’t just pumped from point A to point B; it travels through an unseen maze before reaching you. If, at any point along the way, there are trouble spots, it’s important to know about them quickly so costly repairs—and lengthy dry spells—are avoided.
“Production is affected by the well, water pump, water tank, pump controls, supply piping, height of the building, strainers, and the condition of the fixtures,” says Ross. After their initial inspection, homeowners can decide if additional testing is needed by a specialist.
During the well flow test, the team estimates flow-rate capacity of your home’s system. This documents the ability of your well pump to adequately do its job. “However,” says Ross, “this estimate is impacted by a number of variables, such as the size/type of fixtures, strainers, faucets, pipe diameters, pipe clogs, the buildings distribution piping and the pump size, pressure tank, and water storage tank.”
Well flow testing does not include water quality testing but Details Home Inspections does offer that service. Remember, says Ross, “in most counties when you buy or sell a home with a private well, the county health or planning department, or the lending institution involved, may require the seller to provide water-sampling results to show the water is safe to drink.”
Lenders and realtors may instigate or ask for testing as part of the home buying process. Industry experts say that “Getting a well inspection before you purchase a home can save you a lot of time, energy, and money. For instance, if you discover a well needs expensive repairs or the water isn’t safe to drink or use, you may want to reconsider your purchase. Or you could negotiate a lower deal with the seller.”
For buyers, the experts advise that “you’ll likely only have to worry about a well inspection if you’re purchasing a home in a more rural area. Many rural homes aren’t connected to public water services. This means should anything go wrong, you won’t receive help from the city. You’re on your own for any repairs or added filtration systems.”
When you’re ready to know your flow, schedule an appointment with Details Home Inspections online, call 360.823.3034, or submit your questions and someone from the team will get back to you ASAP. Don’t wait until components fail or you could find yourself washing dishes with a trickle or showering drop by drop. Our homes are a vital supply of water. Laundry, dishes, sticky kids, stinky pets, cold drinks, and happy goldfish are just a drop in the bucket. Let Details Home Inspections keep your water flowing.
Pre-Listing Home Inspection: It’s Always Better to Know
We’ve all heard that home is where the heart is, and where our story begins. Home means pretty things to the makers of inspirational signs, bumper stickers, and fuzzy blankets. But hire a licensed home inspector to survey the property before listing it for sale and you’ll realize there’s plenty going on beneath the surface of your picture-perfect home sweet home. Brian Ross and the team at Vancouver’s Details Home Inspections offer pre-listing inspections to keep costly surprises at bay and bring in those top dollar offers.
Bankrate explains that during a pre-listing inspection “a professional home inspector examines your property to identify any potential problems or repairs that need to be made. Think of it as an opportunity to know what the buyer might request before an offer is made or a purchase agreement is signed.”
At Details Home Inspection, interior examinations include heating, plumbing, electrical, visible piping, faucets and fixtures, attic/crawl/basement areas, kitchen, walls, floors, ceilings, and windows. Outside they’ll look over your roof, chimney, flashing, valleys, siding, trim, windows and storm windows, driveways, patios, decks, porches, and any exterior air conditioning units or heat pumps.
While a pre-listing inspection isn’t always required, it’s always a good idea. Potential buyers will use even the smallest issues to drive down price or wrangle adjustments to closing costs and fees. Inspecting things beforehand streamlines the process and in today’s red-hot market, that can be the difference between getting top dollar and scrambling to make repairs before the contract expires.
Pre-listing inspections can also expedite closing schedules. Having that inspection in hand lets the buyer know what to expect and shows that the seller has nothing to hide when it comes to their listing. In real estate, time is always money.
“Let’s say your pre-listing inspection turns up some issues with the home’s plumbing,” say Bankrate’s industry experts. “If a buyer finds those same issues and asks for a $3,000 credit or concession, you’d ultimately be making less on the sale. With a pre-listing inspection, you can fix it yourself and potentially build those repair costs into your list price.”
With Details Home Inspections, pricing is based on square footage and the age of the home. You can also choose to add on or arrange for stand-alone services like radon testing, sewer scoping, water quality testing, and energy score rating. They provide quality home inspections across Southwest Washington, the greater Portland Oregon area, and surrounding cities.
In some ways real estate has its own language. When buying or selling, it may seem like home inspection and home appraisal are interchangeable terms. But, says Bankrate, “It’s important to note that neither type of inspection [pre-listing versus standard home inspection] is a substitute for an appraisal. An appraisal is an assessment of the fair market value of your home, which includes external factors such as the neighborhood and local real estate market. In most cases, a mortgage lender will require one in order for the buyer to obtain a mortgage.”
When you’re ready to take the next step, contact Brian Ross and his team or schedule an appointment online for current availability and pricing. They’re happy to answer questions, explain common terminology, or provide a sample report to look over in advance. Still unsure? Read through the many positive reviews and recommendations from families like yours then book your home inspection today.
You’ve decided to sell, that’s the hardest part. Now let Details Home Inspections do the dirty work so you can move on to your next—or forever—home. Big or small, vintage or new construction, condo or manufactured home, they’ll tackle it all.
Pre-Listing Inspections
Pre-Listing Inspections
Details Home Inspections offers pre-listing inspections. In this market this will separate you from others. Want to win more listings? Want to make your listing stand out to more buyers? Want to have more control over repairs and price? Schedule now with current availability.
Board Meetings
We get together each month to have a board meeting to discuss ideas on how to improve the inspection process. We discuss quarterly goals, new services, building relationships, networking events, continuing education, and much more. Here’s a few photos from meetings we have done.
Continuing education at the internachi house of horrors in Boulder, Co. We learned a lot, and it was great to get everyone together and discuss ideas.
We got together and had lunch to set yearly goals. Then went indoor skydiving to build team relationships.
Met up with the team to build dream boards, to set goals for the future.
Breakfast to go over our report writing and layout. We’re always taking feedback from clients, and making improvements. Then off to some team bowling.
Lunch to discuss new services and growth opportunities in the inspection process.
Manufactured Home Foundation Certifications
If you are a Realtor, Lender, Buyer or Seller in need of a HUD Foundation Certification or Addition Certification we can help.
We pair with MFD Home Certifications in the process. We will go on-site and gather required data, and submit it to the engineers at MFD. They will do a full report on what’s required based on HUD guidelines. We offer this service with a full home inspection or as a standalone service. Schedule Now
What are HUD Guidelines?
The current HUD Permanent Foundation Guide for Manufactured housing is dated September of 1996. The guidelines specify many things in regards to the construction of Manufactured Homes. Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards mandate federal standards for design, construction, and installation of manufactured homes to assure the quality, durability, safety, and affordability of manufactured homes.
Nature of Program: HUD issues and enforces appropriate standards for the construction, design, performance, and installation of manufactured homes to assure their quality, durability, affordability, and safety. The construction and safety standards preempt state and local laws that are not identical to the federal standards; they apply to all manufactured homes produced after June 15, 1976. HUD may enforce these standards directly or by various states that have established state administrative agencies in order to participate in the program. HUD may inspect factories and retailer lots and review records to enforce such standards. If a manufactured home does not conform to federal standards, the manufacturer must take certain actions, including possibly notifying the consumer and correcting the problem.
The statute generally prohibits selling, leasing, or offering for sale or lease, homes that do not meet the standards. Civil and criminal penalties may be sought for violations of the statute.
HUD also administers programs regulating the installation of the homes, reviewing the installation standard programs that 35 states have, and administering a federal installation program in the other 15 states. HUD also reviews the administration of state dispute resolution programs in 35 states and administers a HUD dispute resolution program in the other 15 states.
What is A HUD Permanent Foundation Inspection?
A HUD engineering foundation inspection is:
To conduct a structural inspection for determining:
If the manufactured home is permanently tied down, and
That the home would not float off the piers or foundation,
That the drainage of the house will not flood the crawlspace or basement.
What about Engineering Inspections of Additions?
Decks, porches and room additions are regulated by the construction codes for each state and/or local housing authority. If the property has an addition attached after the home was sited, the attachment is not regulated by HUD Standards or Regulations. If an addition has been added to a manufactured home, it may take the home out of conformance with the Standards.