Home Inspection with Aaron Korpaski from AK Home Inspections Kelowna – Jody Miller Royal Lepage

Jody Miller: Hi everybody. My name’s Jody Miller. I’m talking to Aaron Korpaski today, awesome home inspector, who a lot of my clients have used over the years. Done a really good job for my clients. It’s going to be a good opportunity to talk with him and pick his brain about home inspection. So, here he is. Aaron, how are you doing today? 

Aaron Korpaski: Good. How are you doing Jody? 

Jody Miller: Things  are good, right? We’re here kind of learning a little bit of new stuff. And ultimately when I put an offer together, a lot of the time we’ll include a home inspection subject, like a hundred percent of the time ideally. However, when we do that, sometimes the clients go like, is it really that important to get a home inspection? Why are we getting a home inspection? I don’t want to spend 600 bucks. Like, I’ll do it myself. My uncle’s a contractor, just weird stuff. People don’t need to do home inspections on their own. They need someone who is a professional. Who’s like does this for a living. So, that’s where Aaron comes in. But tell us about it Aaron, how does a home inspection work? Just open up on that a little bit and give the crowd or the people listening some detail. 

Aaron Korpaski: Yeah, for sure. Basically what happens is either the realtor or the client will reach out to me and want to schedule a home inspection. So, we’ll pick a time and date. When that day comes, I’ll go to the house. It usually takes three to four hours, depending on the size of the home. Once I’m there, I’ll evaluate the condition of the home. I’ll look at all the systems from the roof to the foundation and everything in between the electrical, the plumbing, the heating and cooling, interior, exterior. I’ll look for things that are unsafe, damaged things that need replacing that are out of date at the end of their life or anything that’s unsafe or just not right. So, once I’ve done the home inspection, I put it all together in an electronic report. There’ll be pictures, there’ll be explanations in it. There’ll be a timeframe when to correct these items. And from there, that’ll be emailed to the client. And then at that point, the client can then discuss it with the realtor and they can move forward from there. 

Jody Miller: So, there you have it. That’s a good reason not to try and do this yourself. That’s a ton of information already, very thorough. And then with the report and everything else, obviously you’re going to be there to help them with suggestions. If there’s some things that don’t quite look right with the host, he may say here’s a contractor that might know that better than I do, but you can definitely get them start on the right foot. And most of the time tell them if the home is in good condition for them.

Aaron Korpaski: Absolutely. It’s just basically an evaluation of the condition of the home. That way the buyer can make an informed decision. 

Jody miller: Awesome. Perfect. So now we have an idea or an understanding at least sort of some detail into how the home inspection works. But taking it to the next level, why is it important to have a qualified home inspector, do the inspection area? 

Aaron Korpaski: It’s important to have a qualified home inspector to do the home inspection because we’re part of a professional association. We have certain standards and guidelines we need to adhere to, to do the inspection properly. We’re required to update our education yearly. And we’re trained on all aspects of home construction whether that be plumbing, the roofing, the foundation, the electrical system, or so forth. You want somebody who really knows what they’re dealing with and we’ve done hundreds of inspections. So, we know what to look for and we make sure we cover all the bases when looking at all aspects of the home. 

Jody miller: Awesome. That’s good to know because I think the thing that most people are looking for is just that they have a professional, that’s going to take care of the details and clearly you’re that guy you’ll take care of the details.

Aaron Korpaski: Absolutely.

Jody Miller: Awesome. Yeah. Another question that comes up quite a bit, [inaudible 00:03:38] lots of newer properties here. Maybe somebody looking to buy a place it’s two years, three years old. They think it’s a newer house, a newer townhouse. Why bother getting a home inspection? one of my clients even bought a newer condo. They weren’t going to get a home inspection. They did. And they found out that around the toilet. There’s just been like water leaking, leaking, leaking for a year and a half and the whole sub floor was just wet and soggy. If they hadn’t gotten the inspection would have been a mess because they would’ve been responsible for that. The strata could have went after them but as it turned out that the current owner before they bought the house from them, they dealt with all that problem. So, that was huge. So, kind of like to wrap that up, long-winded question on my part is, if somebody’s looking to buy a house that’s only two or three years old, why would you tell them that they should get a home inspection? Or what would you say to that if they say we don’t need to? 

Aaron Korpaski: Yeah, a lot of people do assume that because the house is newer, they don’t need that home inspection. But you never know because sometimes the building process could be rushed. It could be deadlines and things get overlooked, maybe not every home, but on quite a few homes that I’ve inspected have been newer homes. There’s been a long list of defects and it’s good to point those out because you can get them fixed with your new home warranty. And another reason is, I mentioned things do get missed. If there’s a flashing detail done wrong on the roof, that’s a really easy fix to do now. If you let that go for five or six years, you get all that water into the roof system, your sheetings rotting, you provide conditions for mold. It’s a good time to fix those little things now before they turn into big things years later. So, any home should be inspected because things do get missed and people make mistakes. 

Jody Miller: Yeah. And that’s kind of where I was going with that too. It’s good to hear that from you because I know you’re spending a whole bunch of money to get a home inspection, but just that investment in the home inspection is great peace of mind. And also, I mean, it’s going to prevent you from finding out seven or eight years later that your roof is rotting or your subfloors rotting because you didn’t do your due diligence. 

Aaron Korpaski: Yeah. And you know what, Jody, I often find that the price of the home inspection is offset by the defects found. So, it really does pay for itself in most cases.

Jody Miller: Perfect. In a really competitive market, like we’ve experienced this year, you find that a lot of people are writing offers because they just want the house and they don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to buy the house, especially when there are other offers. So, sometimes these offers are subject free, meaning there’s not even a home inspection subject. It’s risky. I mean, we all agree on that because you’re buying something where you haven’t done your due diligence and some people it’s just something they’re willing to do. So, that could lead to surprises. And a lot of time like surprises of that nature are not good surprises. So, you’ve come across some surprises, things that are pretty concerning I’m sure. Is there anything that you’ve seen in your career that you go like one way or another, they should do their due diligence on the house before they buy it? 

Aaron Korpaski: That’s something that I see quite often to be honest. Unfortunately some of those things that I see can be dangerous things. I’ve come across live electrical wires in closets or pantries or the exposed wires have just been there. And if somebody goes to put something in there or a child grabs it by mistake, you’re going to get a shock. And other things too, like…

Jody Miller: You will not get a shock, like you might be electrocuted really, possibly? No?

Aaron Korpaski: Well, if hopefully not.

Jody Miller: It could be bad?

Aaron Korpaski: It could be.

Jody Miller: You’re just saying live wires, be careful. 

Aaron Korpaski: Exactly. You never want to mess around with electricity. And other things that are unsafe that I see along that nature sometimes are, I’ll see a partially disconnected first exhaust vent. And that means you’re putting the products of combustion from your furnace into the living space. And the one house that I noticed this on didn’t even have a carbon monoxide sensor. So, it’s always important to have another set of eyes look at things. And it could be something like a foundation crack in an area where maybe the downspouts are draining close to there, that water’s going down the foundation. And sometimes those leaks take awhile to show themselves on the inside. And at that point you’re dry walls is rotting, your installation is wet. It all needs to be ripped apart, dried out and replaced. And that’s a really expensive thing to do. So, you just really never know what you find sometimes. It’s always a great idea to get that inspection done. 

Jody Miller: Yeah, that’s huge. And just to hear that, I mean, not that I want to scare anybody, but you’re looking at buying a place, maybe you’re not doing the due diligence. And then those are things that you could have found out by doing it or finding a way to hopefully get that done. And what Aaron said about the carbon monoxide. I mean, I’ve heard stories about someone’s niece was living in the basement. They didn’t have a carbon monoxide detector. There was like whatever gas, like what’s coming out of their carbon monoxide obviously. And she had headaches for weeks and it wasn’t until the guy came to service the furnace that he realized like that had been leaking for who knows how long. And that’s why she had these headaches because this carbon oxide was just steadily flowing through the basement. So I mean, people are going to do that and they are going to buy houses possibly without a subject to get a home inspection. But there’s big, big surprises that come with that. So, kind of talking to Aaron and my experience is if you can do your due diligence, do it, don’t cut corners. So anyway, that’s just my two cents. Something I wanted to bring to Aaron’s attention and get his take on it. 

Aaron Korpaski: Yeah. Well, you know what, Jody, there’s been a few times where either the client or the realtor has told me that they regret not doing the home inspection and it’s cost them extra money down the road. So, it’s important bottom line. 

Jody Miller: Okay. So, we know that when you’re buying a house or at least when people are buying a house and it’s not something they do very often, most people do it every seven or eight years. So, maybe they’ve never even bought a house before. It’s emotional, a little bit stressful at times. The home inspection it’s everything because that’s what they’re buying. And they want to make sure that what they’re buying, it’s not scaring them or worrying them. Is there issues with asbestos and plumbing and all kinds of stuff, foundation issues until they have a home inspection, like they don’t know if the house is going to be the right fit for them or not. So, that’s where you come in.. And what did we just want to know from Aaron, like what do you do to make sure that you help them kind of relieve some of that tension so that stressed and help them make an informed decision? 

Aaron Korpaski: I want people to feel comfortable when they’re buying their home. I want them to understand the condition of the home. So, that’s what I can do. I can explain to them if there’s a certain defect that they may not understand, they might think it’s worse than it really is. So, I can explain the process of getting that fixed step-by-step. In most cases is probably a normal condition that a lot of homes have, but we want them to feel comfortable and confident with their decision. And I provide all the information they need to make that informed decision with their purchase. And if they don’t understand something, I’m always here to help them through it. If they have any questions, I just want to take the worry out of them buying the home and they’re comfortable with everything. 

Jody Miller: Okay. Yeah. And that’s it. I think when it comes down to is make sure they are comfortable and if they’re not, then maybe they don’t proceed with buying it, but you’re the guy who’s going to help them, at least with that portion with the inspection and the decision-making on the house. So, awesome. Thank you. Aaron and I often work with people who have never bought a house before known as first-time home buyers. So Aaron, tell us about your experience working with first time home buyers.

Aaron Korpaski: Yeah. First time home buyers or people I really like working with. I find that they really benefit from the home inspection more than experienced buyers. They might have lots of questions. I can help them answer those questions. I can run them through the maintenance of the house. I can help them understand how the whole house functions and something that a lot of first time home buyers like is I always offer that ongoing support. If they ever need any contractors to do any type of work, I’ve got a really good network behind me, so I can really good contractors, service people. And I just enjoy working with them because they’re excited. This is their first home and I see the happiness with them and it’s a good day at work when I work with first time buyers. One of my favorite group of buyers to work with.

Jody Miller: A hundred percent. And I feel the same way. I mean, you’re dealing with people who are excited, they’re enthusiastic, it’s their first house. And they’ve been saving for like sometimes for years or even if they’re progressing from a condo to having a first house with a yard and a basement suite and all kinds of stuff. It’s like fulfilling working with those people. So, just kind of good to get Aaron take on that too. So, thanks. 

Aaron Korpaski: Absolutely. 

Jody Miller: So, we’re here with Aaron again, I like totally bring us tools so we can check it out. And this is what he carries around all day. So, we might as well take a look at it. Any tools here, like there’s some tools of the trade. I know this is a moisture sensor, there’s one that does heat. He’s always taking pictures, but do you have any favorite tools there or anything we should know about?

Aaron Korpaski: One of the tools I really like using and it’s an important one is my moisture meter. If I suspect around the base of the toilet because the flooring’s raised or there’s some bubbles there, it could be an indication that the seal from the toilet to the drain pipe is leaking. And now that water’s getting into the flooring system. So, I can use my moisture meter and we can test for moisture. And the way it works is it actually determines how dense the surface is. So, if it’s dry here and it’s wet here on the surface, it’s not going to make any difference when I use the meter. But if it’s dry here in this part of the floor is saturated. Well, there’s going to be more density in this section of the flooring than here. So, this will put out a reading and tell us the amount of moisture in the floor. And this can be used for a lot of different things on walls, near taps. If we suspect there’s moisture in the dry wall from a basement leak. It’s a really handy tool. I use it all the time. And honestly, the other tool I like using which I have too, is my flashlight. And it’s about a thousand lumens. It’s really bright. And I need this to see maybe water marks on the ceiling. I have to get in there to deep dark areas in the basement and the attic. It is really important to have a good light because you want to be able to see everything when you’re doing the inspection.

Jody Miller: What’s this for? Detective work? 

Aaron Korpaski: That’s something do read a serial number that burning is on an old piece of equipment maybe. I don’t wear glasses, so it’s sometimes tough to see things in detail. 

Jody Miller: All right. So, all right. I know what this does. What does this one do? Plug it in. What’s the point of this one? 

Aaron Korpaski: Oh, this one here this site test sub with, I usually test one or two and every room I plug it in and it’ll light up here and tell me if it’s wired properly. If the grounds can connect it. And it also contests GFCI receptacles to make sure they are functioning properly. 

Jody Miller: So, thanks for watching our show today. You can see all Aaron’s tools. He’s got a nice black shirt but don’t go buy the shirt and the tools and started thinking your home inspector, trying to do home inspections for other people like hire professional, because there’s a lot to it. And when you see the reports and you hear the stories about home inspection versus no home inspection, it’s very interesting. So, take what Aaron said to heart, and now you know, why you get a home inspection, you know a bit more about it. Have a great day. And I hope we’ve answered some questions and hope the show has been good. Bye.