Recently, I've been inspecting more and more homes that are being foreclosed on. As I walk through these properties, I usually notice a few photographs lying on the bedroom floor or some toys strewn around the backyard, either waiting to be packed for the move or just left behind. In the wake of ballooning foreclosure rates across the country, I've noticed dozens of advertisements touting the inexpensiveness and profitable investment of a foreclosure. While this may be true in some cases, homes that sit vacant for too long can develop a laundry list of problems.

Turn on the power
A recent topic of discussion among inspectors is about how a home is prepared for the sale, or at least the inspection. Some inspectors will not look at a home that has no power, gas or water. If we can't see exactly what is happening with the home, we can't provide an accurate report to our client. I have been called out to so many properties where I was told that everything was working, only to find that everything had been turned off.

Sometimes I could visually see a problem, even though I could not test the equipment. This prompted me to contact the Texas Real Estate Commission. My question to the commission was: How do I properly inform the buyer of an issue when I know that I did not fully inspect the equipment?

The moment that I indicate an item is in need of repair, there is an assumption that I checked it. The commission's response to my query was that I picked a gray area to question them on. As a result of my correspondence with state officials, I decided to place a note at the beginning of each report letting my client know that I will look at equipment even if I cannot truly inspect it and inform them how the problem could possibly affect them.

Respecting the buyer
But the issue with foreclosures is that most lenders don't even bother to turn the utilities back on for inspections. This practice is becoming common with sellers too. During this down housing market, we find ourselves with fewer buyers, and the least sellers can do is make sure the home is properly prepared for a potential buyer. In a real estate auction, you have to buy a home as is, but in all other real estate transactions this rule doesn't apply. I'm amazed that there are sellers who don't care how their home looks or what condition it's in before they put it on the market.

If I were buying a home, I would want the utilities turned on so I could get a better sense of how the home operates. Even if I was not going to obtain an inspection, I'd want to kick the tires of the home just to be safe. When my wife and I were looking at homes, we immediately crossed off properties from our list that looked like the sellers didn't put any effort into trying to sell them. By a simple glance, you can sometimes tell that a home has not been cared for properly. Sellers should think about the impression they want to make to a prospective buyer.

Consider this: If the lender can't even be bothered to turn on the utilities in a home, and you found a problem after you moved in, what makes you think the lender would be responsive to fixing the problem. Hopefully, I have given the buyer and the seller something to ponder while they are on their adventure.

Frank Schulte-Ladbeck, Professional Real Estate Inspector