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Artesia, NM Real Estate News

By Clint Mckie, Desert Sun Home, Comm. Inspection 1-575-706-5586
(Desert Sun Home, commercial Inspections)
Home Inspection, Electrical issues Artesia New Mexico. Desert Sun Inspections. When adding electrical so called needs for a home. It's best to leave it up to the pro's to do the job the right way. In most cases the electricians do it the right way. At Desert Sun Home Inspections in Carlsbad, New Mexico. We find a lot of electrical issues that should not exist. Every family has an "Uncle Bob", This guy thinks he knows how to do most anything in and around the home. But in reality, all he is doing is increasing the possibility of a catastrophic failure. The sellers want to blame the inspector for calling out these issues. Some call and want me to explain why they are issues. For this home that used to have a double garage and one side was turned into a workshop. Electrical modifications w...
Comments 39
By Clint Mckie, Desert Sun Home, Comm. Inspection 1-575-706-5586
(Desert Sun Home, commercial Inspections)
I saw you naked, now I feel like yelling. Why would you be naked? Everyone knows that there are some things we just don't want to see. Like stepping into the bathroom and seeing grandma getting out of the shower reaching for a towel. That would not be a good thing for anyone. That would be an image burned into your mind for years to come. At Desert Sun Home Inspections in Carlsbad, New Mexico. When inspecting homes, there are home with residents still living in them and ones that are empty. I really like the empty homes. This was we have access to everything. Nothing is hidden behind furniture and the owners or renters goods. Getting back to the naked parts of this post. The last Two homes I had the pleasure of inspecting had issues, but nothing like being in the attic and finding a "Na...
Comments 26
By Clint Mckie, Desert Sun Home, Comm. Inspection 1-575-706-5586
(Desert Sun Home, commercial Inspections)
Hey, Mr. Inspector. You cost me $10,000. Not cool at all. I was in a Realtors office last week when I was standing there waiting for a Realtor to answer a couple of questions, There was a gentleman who walked in. He took one look at my hat and shirt. Then calmly said, "Hey Mr. Inspector, you cost me $10,000 on the sale of my home". I asked him "How did I do that"? And what home are we talking about. He told me the address and then I could vaguely remember the home. Of course it had been months since I had been to the home. He told me this. Because of your inspection, I had to replace the electrical system. It was one of those Federal Pacific panels. I had to replace the incoming service because the lines were only rated for a 40 amp service. And you said in your report the service was n...
Comments 139
By Clint Mckie, Desert Sun Home, Comm. Inspection 1-575-706-5586
(Desert Sun Home, commercial Inspections)
Agree to disagree with the roofer. No the roof is fine, no replace it. At Desert Sun Inspections in Carlsbad, New Mexico. I pride my self in my home inspections. I do know what I am doing when it comes to inspecting homes and roofs on those homes. I did a home inspection in Artesia New Mexico last week. There was some roofing issues. Like the pipe penetrations needing to be re sealed at the boots. The owners of the home sent out a "Rooing expert" to inspect the work to be done. The estimate comes back for a new roof. What a surprise. The agent told me in a call from the buyers agent that the roofing company said there are three layers of roofing on the home and this do'es not meet code. Really? In Artesia, there is a lot of homes that are roofed this way as follows. They start with the ...
Comments 31
By Clint Mckie, Desert Sun Home, Comm. Inspection 1-575-706-5586
(Desert Sun Home, commercial Inspections)
Fresh paint makes me a little worried. What else was done to this home? On a recent home inspection for an out of town buyer. I got the opportunity to see first hand on "what not to do" when painting your home. At Desert Sun Home Inspections in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Every seller, well most sellers want a good looking home to offer when selling their home. Curb appeal means a lot. But what about when the Home inspector shows up for the buyers? Are there any red flags? When using a sprayer to paint the exterior of your home. Caution needs to be taken to assure you don't paint what is not supposed to be painted. Take a look at the electrical service to the home and what was done to prevent any paint from getting onto the electrical service panels. Nothing like painting "without" taking to ...
Comments 124
By Clint Mckie, Desert Sun Home, Comm. Inspection 1-575-706-5586
(Desert Sun Home, commercial Inspections)
Adding a "Man Cave"? Good thing or bad Idea. Never in the garage. On this home built in 2011. The owners wanted to add a "Man Cave" for the family's pleasure. At Desert Sun Home Inspections in Carlsbad, New Mexico. If you are wanting to add a "Man Cave" to the garage of your home then there are some steps you have to take to make the so called Man Cave a proper man cave. The garage now needs to become a living space. This means that the garage door cannot operate normally. The door has to be fixed into position and or removed from service then an exterior wall installed. When ever you have a fully functional garage as intended by the builder. Then that's what it is. Not a "Man Cave". Take a look at what I found when I inspected this home for a buyer. Big screen T.V. set up in the garage...
Comments 31
By Clint Mckie, Desert Sun Home, Comm. Inspection 1-575-706-5586
(Desert Sun Home, commercial Inspections)
Naked and alone. No not the show but a home inspection in Artesia, N.M. Many times when inspecting attics for a potential client, I find issues that are existing but has never been taken care of. Why is that? Not like the owners didn't know of the issues at hand in advance of the home inspection. At Desert Sun Home inspections in Carlsbad, New Mexico Many, many attics are left for dead. One of those  "Out of sight out of mind things".  There are a ton of issues that can be in an attic. No insulation is a really big one. This 1,600 Sft home has not been insulated since uh never. Built in 1925 and never been up graded. the electrical had been, the furnace had been but never has the attic seen insulation. So there I was in the attic. it was naked and I was alone doing my thing as I stood t...
Comments 26
By Clint Mckie, Desert Sun Home, Comm. Inspection 1-575-706-5586
(Desert Sun Home, commercial Inspections)
Electric and water will not mix. Take a look at panel in bathroom. This home has issues. Not a lot of issues, but enough for a concern. At Desert Sun Home Inspections in Carlsbad, New Mexico. We are all about safety. It is the number one priority for the homes condition when inspecting. Here we have an electrical panel in the closet of a bath room. It is not allowed to be there. This 3/4 bath was added after the fact. After the home was built then remodeled. It probably never crossed their minds as to the panel beig in the bathroom after the remodel. Here is a look at the panel from the bathroom. Then we a better look at the panel. Oh My not again. A "Federal Pacfic Electrical panel". Not good at all. Notice the shelf at the lower section of the panel cover. It is in the way to get into...
Comments 34
By Clint Mckie, Desert Sun Home, Comm. Inspection 1-575-706-5586
(Desert Sun Home, commercial Inspections)
Is this home for short people? Home inspection in Artesia, New Mexico. On a recent home inspection for a buyer in Artesia New Mexico. Desert Sun Home Inspections from Carlsbad, New Mexico found several things that were not quite right with the home. The main issues were the rear patio area of the home was low, and do I mean really low. The rear patio's roof framing was at a height of only "Five foot Ten inches". I had to duck under the framing when inspecting the patio areas. Was this a home that was build for short people? And to make matters worse, the paito cover was not installed correctly. Take  look at how the framing was attached or not attached to the home. There were no Simpson (R) or similar strong ties used anywhere in the framing of the patio cover. Some nails and some screw...
Comments 13
By Clint Mckie, Desert Sun Home, Comm. Inspection 1-575-706-5586
(Desert Sun Home, commercial Inspections)
Home made electrical. Home inspection in Artesia, New Mexico It's not everyday we find homemade electrical services in a home. But at the inspection yesterday we did.At Desert Sun Home Inspections in Carlsbad, New Mexico. We get to see all the ingenuity by home owners who think "this is going to work". Not. I don't think the owners ever think they were going to sell a home or they passed away and never planned on anyone ever seeing the contraption they called modified electrical service. Here is what I found on a wall of the home when inspecting. Simply put. "WOW" This home made electrical panel, if you could call it that was in a utility room close to the pantry. Wide open for anyone to touch. Here we have a quick look at the attic and the nightmares it brought when inspecting it. Elec...
Comments 34
By Clint Mckie, Desert Sun Home, Comm. Inspection 1-575-706-5586
(Desert Sun Home, commercial Inspections)
Those forgotten things can cost you in the long run. Home inspections. At Desert Sun Home Inspections in Carlsbad, New Mexico. It's not what is right but what is wrong when inspecting homes. Often over looked is some things in the attic areas of the home. Not many people go up there to "Inspect or check it out" when buying a home. This is also true when the home is getting inspected for the final inspection before the "Certificate of Occupancy" gets released and the new owners can move into the home. But what about the items that gets overlooked when everyone has inspected the home and all seems just fine? When we inspect a home we are on the lookout for just those issues. Things that you and I know were not even looked at when the home was passed for the C of O. Case in point. If there...
Comments 30
By Clint Mckie, Desert Sun Home, Comm. Inspection 1-575-706-5586
(Desert Sun Home, commercial Inspections)
At the risk of ticking every one off, changing the wording in reports. What's right is right and what's wrong is wrong. It's no simpler than that. But not in the eyes of the builders and the local inspectors. At Desert Sun Home Inspections in Carlsbad New Mexico. I am still finding new homes with what I'm calling a crappy and I do mean crappy venting installation for the attic's. After going round and round with the local building inspector, the builder the Realtors and even the buyers an sellers. I have changed the wording from "incorrect installation" to "More venting required for the attic". Take a look at what I ran into at a recent home inspection. Home built in 2011. Even after the local building inspector had issued the "C of O" the issues with the venting remain. There was a tot...
Comments 31
By Clint Mckie, Desert Sun Home, Comm. Inspection 1-575-706-5586
(Desert Sun Home, commercial Inspections)
Before and after pictures. The plumber steps up and corrects issues. All I can say is kudo's for the plumber. I hope to never see this kind of work again. It was not correct and the home owner didn't have a clue if it was right or not. At Desert Sun home Inspections in Carlsbad, New Mexico. We Help client's with issues. Safety is foremost when it comes to inspecting homes. The first post about the plumbing issues for this home owner can be linked right here. Just click on the link. Home for sale, pre listing inspection. Plumbers behaving badly. Here are the before and after pictures when the repairs were made. Then where is the cut off? Behind the wall on the other side.   Her we have the issued resolved for the home owner. This is the way it should have been done in the first place. It...
Comments 14
By Clint Mckie, Desert Sun Home, Comm. Inspection 1-575-706-5586
(Desert Sun Home, commercial Inspections)
Roof inspection in Hobbs, New Mexico. Uncle bob is back in business. Uncle Bob has returned to the land of enchantment. At Desert Sun Home Inspections in Carlsbad, New Mexico. There is hardly a day that goes by when I don't get to see the handy work of Uncle Bob. For those of you that don't know who Uncle Bob is, he is the person in the family that will attempt to fix anything in the home no matter how important it is to have the repair done by a professional. It seems that every single family of any size has an Uncle Bob in their family. And it seems he has returned to New Mexico with a vengeance. I got to inspect a home yesterday that was purchased by the now owner Five years ago. He did'nt get a home inspection when he bought the home. And was present at the time of the inspection. H...
Comments 28
By Clint Mckie, Desert Sun Home, Comm. Inspection 1-575-706-5586
(Desert Sun Home, commercial Inspections)
All eaten up over this home inspection. Termites and what they can do. When I got to this inspection I could clearly see why the home owners did'nt want to have a termite inspection. I was told by the listing agents that the seller had put off having a termite inspection for months. Was it because they "KNEW" or was it a case of  "I want the buyer to pay for the termite inspection." I normally ask if a termite inspection had been completed by a pest management company before I ever get to the home. In many cases the termite inspector is on my heel's as I inspect a home, being there just before or just after I had been there. I ask about the inspection for the simple rule of what if I see termite damages and the inspector had rendered a full bill of health for the home. Then what? In the...
Comments 29
By Clint Mckie, Desert Sun Home, Comm. Inspection 1-575-706-5586
(Desert Sun Home, commercial Inspections)
Well this is one way to vent a crawl space. A different look. We get to see all kinds of peoples "Ideas" when it comes to their take on how to do something with their home when building it. At Desert Sun Home Inspections in Carlsbad, New Mexico. We try and stay on top of all the latest trendy things people try and incorporate into their homes. Some are good and some not so good. Here we have a crawl pace under a home that is built at ground level. So how do you ventilate the crawl space? You get very creative when doing so. At least they did think of venting the crawl space when they built the home. Here is a look at the venting for the crawl space. There were or are a total of eight vents for this crawl space. There is only Two issue's I have with this type of venting. 1. The vent is n...
Comments 27
By Clint Mckie, Desert Sun Home, Comm. Inspection 1-575-706-5586
(Desert Sun Home, commercial Inspections)
New furnace install. So what's wrong with this picture? Everything. When inspecting homes for Desert Sun Home Inspections in Carlsbad New Mexico. We find all kinds of things that should not be the way they are. Lets take a look at a new furnace install that was not to code nor was it installed to the manufacturers installation recommendations. Just because you don't get a permit for this furnace, you should still install the furnace the right way. Heating and cooling contractors think that they can save the $60.00 permit fee and no one will be the wiser. But when I show up and perform a home inspection on this home, I find what they thought would be a "out of sight and out of mind install". This makes me upset, the owners of the home was relying on the contractor to install the new furn...
Comments 24
By Clint Mckie, Desert Sun Home, Comm. Inspection 1-575-706-5586
(Desert Sun Home, commercial Inspections)
Health inspections in Carlsbad New Mexico. What to do now. Mold anyone? On the Day I got back from my road trip I was very tired. The next morning I had a inspection about a home owner that had been getting sick. I arrived at the home to find It is a geodesic home. Pretty cool unless you have to roof the home. A contractor had done just that about Two plus years ago. At Desert Sun Inspections in Carlsbad, New Mexico. We pride our selves with finding the issues at hand. I think we did just that with this inspection. Since then the owners have had nothing but issues with the roof and the contractor had been back several times at the request of the owners. But look at the repairs made to the roof..... Notice the roofing materials used on the low or almost flat slope above the front door? C...
Comments 20
By Clint Mckie, Desert Sun Home, Comm. Inspection 1-575-706-5586
(Desert Sun Home, commercial Inspections)
When is the right time to upgrade the homes plumbing parts? Uh ..Now. I have been inspecting homes for a long time. I get to see what the owners don't see even when they live in the home. At Desert Sun Home inspections, I always have the buyers best interest at heart when inspecting for a potential buyer. It's my job to point out all the defects with the home. No matter how small the defect may be. That get's me back to the original question of... When is the right time to upgrade the homes plumbing parts? It's a pretty simple answer that many if not most all home owners don't know the answer to. It's when ever the upgrades are needed, that means the parts will eventually fail. When they do and they will, they need to be upgraded. There are very few home owners that actually inspect the...
Comments 3
By Clint Mckie, Desert Sun Home, Comm. Inspection 1-575-706-5586
(Desert Sun Home, commercial Inspections)
New furnace install. Do it the right way please. When inspecting homes for desert Sun Home inspections in Carlsbad New Mexico, I run into all kinds of new mechanical units like the water heaters, furnaces and water softeners. Many are not installed correctly. Not at all in some cases. In fact many are not installed the right way. You would think installing a furnace would be a "no brainer". I mean how hard is it to install a simple water heater or a simple furnace? Here we have a new furnace installed in a home, not a big deal happens every single day right? Here is an new furnace stack coming out of the old furnace stack. Really? There needs to be protection for the vent standing there waiting for anything to enter. But are the units being installed the correct way. In most cases not a...
Comments 31
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