New: "Open House" Inspections

T.H.E. Company realizes the market has changed, in some cases still requiring immediate buying decisions. To respond to this frenzied marketing, Ted Gilmour will accompany you through an Open House showing.

During and after the inspection Ted will discuss the findings including cost estimating and remedial advice. You will also be given a captioned photo summary of his investigation.

Note: The inspection will not be as exhaustive as my regular inspections but will focus on the critical components which may affect your purchase decision. Example: undersized elec. service and old wiring, roof is toast and previous leakage, drain tile requires replacing, plumbing is old and leaking, mold, asbestoses and other health & safety concerns, grow-op, rot and or insect damage, structural deficiencies, Heating and Hot water are failing, etc.

Fees will vary depending on access time and length of time required to inform your decision process.

Average fee for this service is $500 for smaller size and condition to $650 for larger homes or conditions.

T.H.E. Open House Inspection process exceeds most other standard inspections.

Call or email Ted for an estimate. 604-618-0499 or email to theco@shaw.ca

Note: Last year many of the hottest properties had some of the most effective cosmetic upscale appeal of below standard homes and cosmetic quick fixes of otherwise bulldozer fodder that I’ve ever seen. The homes are often listed at below market value; agents focus all their customers to arrive at these open houses at the same time in order to create a panic bidding war -- sort of a shotgun approach to selling. An otherwise econo-built home or disastrous money pit gets sold at above average market value.

Homework: watch “Flip this House”, “Flip That House”,” Sell This House”, etc. on HGTV , A&E & Discovery

Don’t be fooled by cosmetics or promised lifestyle gimmicks. Make no mistake: many of these properties are “staged” for impulse buying and would not suffer a critical inspection. But in the odd case I’ve found a viable fixer-upper with good bones, perhaps overpriced but then location, location, location can be a deciding factor.

NB: This new service is only for Open House showings.

For Full Service Inspections: Go to "Fee Schedule"

Ooops.... we purchased without any professional scrutinizing!

It's never too late to exercise your due diligence. If they did not disclose a known deficiency... it may well be negotiable even now! (The seller wouldn’t want to be accused of fraud.)

That newly staged basement may flood this winter and may have some undisclosed flood history. This is the time to find out exactly what you purchased, if for no other reason than to make repairs to safeguard your investment.