Consumer Survival Kit; 110; The Dreamhouse Nightmare

Consumer survival kit number one hundred ten. The dream house nightmare in Maryland Center for Public Broadcasting. One or more public broadcaster. This program is funded by public television stations the Ford Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Here is a case where the ground is too high in regard to the level of the wind to sell it here at the basement window and a heavy rain or heavy snow water could actually run under the wind. We would recommend that a metal window well be placed around this window sill to prevent water getting under the window as well as Termite entry into the wood frame or the wood sill of this basement window.

Home by next on consumer survival kit. Hello I'm Larry Lohmann. The purchase of a house should be the most careful purchase of our lives. But it's not unusual for consumers to commit thousands of dollars representing years of savings after a 20 minute tour of a house. Buyers Remorse often sets in later when the basement floods and the plumbing backs up. Tonight Sandy Harden will show what professional home inspectors look for when they check out a house. Bob Smith has some advice about real estate agents and friend Joe Hanson as our survival kit. We'll take a musical look at the virtues and vices of new and old houses. And we'll have some tips on unusual places to find mortgage money. But first there's a fundamental lesson to be learned about affairs of the heart. When you're. In the first moment I ever laid eyes on you.

You A For me it was a good apples. To my. Kids. And wife a few suspicious. You know. She resents you. And I don't want to hurt her anymore. It's times like these if you're just one of the chips fall where they may. Ice crazy plays tricks on you. Hell is it. About you that attracted me to you. You'll feel the go go. I know it was. A solid dignified. Confident look at you. Look at it. That's the truth. Oh I know you have flaws and I'm not perfect.

Groups. I know your silly old gobblers this board. As it were. Has been ceilings as I mean. And Ethel. She took one look at these frogs and she said they're dead dead she's dead. These are alive. Bike. And I'm not star gazing and I am not blinded by love I've been there. I saw it all. I saw the cracks in the foundation the water in the basement even the. Pop bottles that were worth and left in the furnace. It mean to. See I'm wise clearheaded old Jack. I saw that the deeper truth of you the quality of you. You're into cars. And you're wall to wall carpeting in that red flag or paper in the living room. Here

but don't you worry Pat. I promise I'll be back and I'll stand right on that front lawn and I will look you straight in to your big picture when I was younger. You know what I'm going to say. Is look at you. Kid. The moral of that story. Don't let your emotions take over when you look at houses. Be objective be rational Be careful. Now for a few questions. Number one it's usually better to shop for a house in the winter. True or false. Number two voltage is the most important consideration in judging the electrical adequacy of a house. True or false.

Number three and FHA approval means that a house is in good condition. True or false. Let's see how you did. Number 1 is true. It is usually better to shop for a house in the winter. What is the off season in the housing market. Fewer people are out in the cold looking around the houses and prices are generally lower. And of course in the weather you're not as reluctant to test the heating system as you might be during the summer with the leaves off the trees with no garden in bloom to enhance its appearance. A house won't look as good in the winter but for the bargain hunter It's the best time to buy. The first few warm days of spring bring out hordes of householders and prices usually go up. Number two is faults. The most important consideration in judging electrical adequacy is amperage not voltage. We'll have more on this later. Number three is false and approval does not indicate a house is in good condition. The FHA does have minimum property standards but the keyword is

minimal and will not necessarily be the strongest structurally and the equipment may well be of second rate quality. Don't let an FHA approval convince you of the quality of a house. You should go one step further and inspect the house carefully yourself or hire an expert to do it for you. If you're in the market for a house somewhere along the line you will have to decide between old and new. Did you see the new house. It's safer for the

little three of us and it'll be 15 years before there is. If you're so smart what's so great about it. Oh an old house seldom cost as much money. More floor space for your dollar. It's the House for us. It's solid and it's dignified. It's got a look that signifies it's put together well in the sense of history an old house may retain the cares about history it cost a fortune to maintain its end of the established neighborhood the sewer lines are in with just a little painting. It'll look like. Hardwood floors. Your house and I like a nice behind Summer Breeze a house that's nice. Oh oh oh oh yeah I want to talk about it any more.

I'm leaving you. The National Association of Home Builders has begun a program to protect new homebuyers from poor workmanship. It's called How the home owner's warranty. And here's how it works. You pay a small fee for a 10 year warranty for $40000 house the fee is $80. During the first year the builder is responsible for correcting problems caused by faulty workmanship or defective materials. For the first two years the builder is responsible for defects due to faulty installation of plumbing heating and electrical systems. You must also correct any major structural problems for years three through 10. The home is protected against major construction defects through insurance coverage arranged by the home owners warranty corporation. The whole program is new and no one yet knows how well it will work but it is a step in the right direction. If you're interested in a new home ask if the builder is a member of this voluntary

program in some parts of the country you can purchase a warranty for old and new homes. Some of these warranties include a disclosure aspect that is the house is inspected and the buyer is given a written description of the condition of the house or those elements of the house judged to be sound are then covered by a warranty for up to 18 months. I once found to be defective or not covering most of these programs are offered through brokers. So ask your real estate agent about them and. Oh hi folks. Just playing a little solitaire here. Hold on now. I got a three bedroom ranch earn two town houses for can just come up what a colonial not. Well you can't win them all. Oh these aren't ordinary cards. There are multiple list cards. Cards you'll get from your broker when you. Wait a minute I'm

getting ahead of myself. First let's talk about brokers. First of all do you need one. Probably agents can save you a great deal of time and effort especially if you're moving to an unfamiliar city. They can give you information on a wide number of houses in a few minutes. Information that would take you weeks to accumulate. Next how do you find a good agent. I ask around get recommendations from friends and coworkers and your employer may be able to give you a list of reliable brokers. Generally a good agent should be able to answer any questions you have about taxes zoning future plans for development the near-misses school stores public transportation and what have you. If you can answer these questions directly and shows little interest in finding the answers for you dumping. He's more interested in the commission than in finding you the right house. Most real estate agents can help you find financing but you should do some checking just to make sure you're getting the best deal. Call around to different banks. Tell them the deal your agent was able to arrange and see if they can do

better. In most cases if you're willing to discuss your financial situation candidly on the phone the bank will gladly give you details about any terms they can offer. When you're spending tens of thousands on a house it pays to do a little comparison shopping on mortgage terms. Now for these cards. In most big cities houses are multiple listed. That means that all the real estate agents in the area have access to all the information about each house for sale. Now there's a lot of information on these cards and none of it is guaranteed to be true. Now if you want to sell your house you are making glue a little wouldn't you. Sure. Our human nature. So be short of verified information about taxes and heating costs. Now what have you now on this card. You will find the age of the house. How can you verify that. I'm glad that you asked me

because I have a simple method. It's called the consumer survival kit commode a test you see up until just a few years ago. Your common commode worse they have to get their data manufactured right in the porcelain and they were usually installed within a few months of that date. So all you gotta do is find that stamp and you've got the construction date of the house and I know what you think you were saying to yourself the folks with the big TV. Larry think I'm going to go around stick in my own head into that giant reverent stranger be cool in there. We don't give out tips because the date is right here on broke lid. No muss no fuss. Now you know how old the house is. For an hour. Could I interest you in a game of five split level stud. For the bargain hunter there are ways to save money in purchasing a house and most

of them involve using this. The classified section of the local newspaper. Some people don't like to bother with listing their home for sale because they'd rather not pay the real estate commission of 6 percent and up. The owner will sometimes sell the house for less since he's not paying the commission and you can take advantage of that reduced price. If you're working without an agent you'll have to do more legwork on your own. But some people find that the savings are worth it. If you do buy a house this way. Make sure you have competent legal advice before signing anything. You can also check your newspaper for its state auctions and for repossessions. Both of these are sources of bargains if you're willing to do some digging and looking around on your own. Again make sure you've got a good lawyer. Now when you look at a house your biggest concern should be to make sure that it's in good structural condition. Sandy Harden talked to John Hein a professional home inspector to find out what to look for. John where do we begin.

Well as a professional inspector we normally begin only outside of the property. We'd like to see how the house sits on the property. We prefer it to be higher than the street than lower than the street. Normally you can determine that by the driveway does a driveway run up to the house or does the driveway run downhill toward the house which very often causes water problems in the basement. Gutters and downspouts are a very important part of house inspection and I notice that this downspout is lacking a proper elbow at the bottom of the downspout elbows are real important to direct the water away from the foundation. I've seen waterproofing company estimates for $2000 $3000 to crack the damp basement when in fact all that was really needed was a $2 or $3 elbow on the bottom of a downspout to take the water away from the corner. I'm glad to see that this house does have a seam and splash box that will help direct the water away. But it should have an elbow on the bottom of the downspout. Look at any water

signs around the house and here is a rusted water stain on the patio which as I. Notice up above comes from a rusted galvanized rain gutter whose normal life is 15 to 20 years. This one is in need of replacement the rain gutters are in need a replacement now. We recommend aluminum rain gutters and downspouts because they will be rust free in the future. What should a prospective home buyer consider when he's examining the roof of the house. Be sure to check what type a shingle is used on the roofing surface. This house has asphalt shingles which are good for about 15 to 20 years before they start to wear very thin and in many cases blow off the roof. I see there are several missing shingles on this roof to reroof this house which the purchaser will have to do in the very near future it will cost a possibly a thousand dollars. But to avoid any water penetration through the roof. John I notice that there's a crack in the foundation what does this mean.

Well the majority of houses that we inspect we normally find a settlement cracks of one sort or another. Now this is a foundation crack. I would recommend that you check carefully when you go inside the house to see if this crack goes all the way through the wall or not. Most cracks we find are normally on the surface of the stucco and aren't that critical. What's the best place to look for water damage in the basement. The best place to look is in the corners of the basement. Especially the joint where the floor meets the wall. Be sure to move any objects away from the wall so you can get a clear look at the situation. And I notice at this point that the floor tiles show water stains and some deterioration caused by water seepage. No doubt a result of the lack of elbow on the downspout at the outside corner of the house causing seepage against the foundation wall. This is a gas fired hot water heater for your hot water use in the house. It has an information plate on it that will tell you

how many gallons it holds. We'd like to see 10 gallons per member of the family. In other words six people in the family 60 gallon tank this tank is a 40 gallon tank. Also check the bottom of the hot water heater tank to see if it has any excessive rust. This particular heater. It. Does have a good bit of rust which means it will need replacement in the near future. That will cost approximately $200 to replace the size heater. This house has a 100 amp service and you can tell that because it's normally one inch in diameter the cable coming into the meter older Alice is very often still have the original 30 amp service which is a half an inch in diameter which is not adequate to run modern appliances and you would have to increase the electric service to that house. New houses. Especially all electric houses should definitely have in

the range of 200 amp service cables which measure an inch and a half across the diameter of it. If you have to increase the service from our 30 amp to 100 amp service it will cost approximately three or four hundred dollars to increase the service. This is the way we test for proper air circulation and a forced air heating system. Most houses today have a forced air heating system and it's important that you get circulation across the room to draw all the air back to the furnace to be reheated again. It's unfortunate turn on all the plumbing fixtures in the Fast Draw one to make sure that they operate but also to make sure you have proper water pressure. Too many people buy houses where they turn on one fixture and there's no water coming out of the other fixtures which is a great inconvenience and a great nuisance to most

families. At Home With want to wall carpeting. The best place to check for proper flooring is in the closet. They don't normally put carpeting in the closet. I'm glad to say that this has hardwood flooring which we consider the strongest type of flooring material. Before you buy any house check out its structure carefully. You may want to take the added step of having a professional inspector look over your prospective home. He'll give you a written report on the condition and some companies guarantee their work. The cost about one hundred fifty dollars. It may be the added ounce of prevention you need to keep your dream house from becoming a nightmare. According to a new law banks cannot discriminate on the basis of sex or marital status in deciding eligibility for a mortgage. Now if you run into this kind of discrimination complain to your State Banking Commission your state Human Relations Commission or call the Department of Housing and Urban Development toll free number to file a complaint.

Dial 800 for 2 4 8 5 9 0. That's 800 for 2 4 8 5 9 0 0 0 to file a discrimination complaint. When money gets tight mortgages can be hard to get. Here are some tips that may help try the seller's present mortgage holder since he's lent money on the property already. He's less likely to say that he doesn't like the House or the location. You can also try the Commercial Bank where your employer does business. Sometimes a good word from your employer can do wonders. You can also look into assuming the present mortgage on the house. This is rather tricky legally and in some states you can't do it at all but it is worth a try. Most FHA and V.A. loans are easily assume the problem is you usually need a big down payment. The personal touch can give you a competitive edge when you're looking for a mortgage. When you apply do it in person. Sell yourself to the lender is the kind of person to lend money to. It's harder to say no to people you've met and talked with and your personal appearance may separate you in the

banker's mind from the faceless names on scores of other applications. So much for the cold facts on mortgages. Here's some heartwarming information on furnace. My. Heating. You know having a good heating system isn't going to be in good condition. Know any. Different kinds of system and make your case. They usually a thermostat in each room. Eterno Anyway I don't like it. What are any of them anyway. And then there was like me. Each system has its good. But there are a lot of us with force there.

Matter of fact I found in most home. Bible. Or electricity and we warn. You. Now it is very important to burn aside as you use. British thermal unit. That's bt you not be UTI. Anyhow. Here's a good rule of thumb. You should have 35000 you input for each thing. That means a three bedroom house should have a 110 but I doubt. That. And if you're wondering. It's written on. I. Love showing it off. When you go. You're

going. To. Make sure the furnace in your prospective home is in good condition and make sure it's big enough to heat the house properly at least thirty five thousand BT use per bedroom as a good rule of thumb and 50000 is an even better idea. There are many ways to go wrong when it comes to buying a house but fortunately there are ways to go right to and all of them are in this week's survival kit. Our kit includes a

summary of tonight's show plus an article from Better Homes and Gardens on how to choose a real estate broker from the National Association of Home Builders. We have information on the tax advantages of home ownership and from Money magazine an article on how the resorts for home buyer can get a mortgage. Regardless of economic conditions we also have a checklist of dozens of items you should consider before you buy a house. Everything from landscaping to quiet space is covered and understandable explanation of closing costs is also in the kit along with plenty of information on how to inspect the house. We've also got information on homeowners warranties the ins and outs of homeowners insurance and a list of items to check periodically in your house to head off expensive maintenance to get your survival kit on home buying. Send $1 to cover reproduction costs postage and handling to home buying consumer survival kit box 1975 Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. That's $1 to home

buy consumer survival kit box 1975 Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. If your dream house does become a nightmare. There are places in your own community that may be able to help. If you're a real estate agent misrepresented any information contact your state real estate commission. If your builder is at fault try the Home Builders Association of your state. Some state chapters can help resolve consumer complaints. Your state consumer protection agency is also a good source of information on how to handle housing problems. The nearest Housing and Urban Development Office may also be able to help look in your phone book on the U.S. government. None of these tactics work. Seek legal help. Most state bar associations provide lawyer referral services. You can sit down with a lawyer for a half hour discuss your case and get a legal opinion of your chances of winning. All for 5 or $10 it's worth it.

There's no question about it. For most of us the purchase of a house is the biggest single purchase we'll ever make which should be reason enough to take every precaution possible for the informed consumer who proceeds carefully problems can be avoided. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you next week on consumer survival kit. You. Know what I mean.