THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT!

Home Safe, Smart Home Buyer Seminars
Presented by Tom Corbett of Tomacor Incorporated

What: A free, fast paced seminar with (pending) ASHI continuing education credit that is jam packed with information for anyone interested in buying residential, commercial, or industrial properties. Get all of the information you need to negotiate prices and reap financial rewards! 27 year veteran building inspector, Tom Corbett is renowned for his no nonsense, straight forward style and you won’t believe how much you can learn in just one hour! Tom will cover topics such as “Choosing a Team of Advocates” and “Negotiating Strategies”. If you’ve ever thought about purchasing property, this is a seminar you don’t want to miss!

When/Where:
Buying Foreclosed Property Without the Pitfalls
Saturday, October 22, 2011 12:00pm-1:30pm
Chicago Public Library – Logan Square Branch
3030 W. Fullerton Avenue
Chicago, Illinois, 60647

Thursday, November 10, 2011 6:00pm-7:30pm
Chicago Public Library – Roden Branch
6083 N. Northwest Highway
Chicago, Illinois 60631

Become a Home Detective: Ten Distinctions to Avoid When Buying a Property
Thursday, December 1, 2011 6:00pm-7:30pm
Chicago Public Library – Roden Branch
6083 N. Northwest Highway
Chicago, Illinois 60631

Space is Limited! Please email coco@tomacor.com to RSVP today!

Why: The market is down but YOU should be up! Tom Corbett is committed to educating the public about the myriad of issues which can arise when buying, living in, owning, or selling a home. This education, in turn, empowers people to make educated decisions regarding their property.

During this economic crisis the housing market is suffering, and many are pessimistic about buying and selling properties. After 27 years Tom Corbett has learned all that you need to know to get quality property at affordable prices. He would like to share this wealth of information with the public, empowering them to purchase property and, in turn, stimulate the market.

How: Tom Corbett of Tomacor, Inc. will speak at a one-hour seminars on topics relating to buying properties. His goal is to empower the consumer by giving them the education and the tools needed to make informed decisions about purchasing within the real estate market.

During medieval times young people were sent to learn trades or skills and were said to be indentured servants to the artisans and manufacturers they worked for. In some cases, children were sold and tied to a particular trade or craft. In the United States we also struggled with an unfair system.

Today, American citizens in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and in your town, are indentured to their homes and mortgages. Many of my clients are sick from what appears to be mold (a fungus) that is growing throughout their condominium or split faced block home. It is our experience that evolving building sickness is reaching epidemic proportions in some communities here immediately in the Chicago area.

People are afraid to call the City of Chicago while attempting to get their developers to fix the problems because they don’t want their property address listed in a lawsuit which would prohibit its sale. Others are afraid to call City and complain about poor quality workmanship because they know the City will turn around and blame them for taking possession of a property which was damaged or significantly deficient. They now would have to pay for the repairs. Now, people are making the argument that the responsibility for the deficiencies lies with the developers and/or subcontractors. Most often, this is the case. What can we do to help correct the problem that so many Midwestern and national families are experiencing?

Mortgage fraud is also rampant throughout the real estate community. What do you think the fix is? How do we stop mortgage fraud and improve the quality of the very homes we live in and raise our families in?

At Tomacor, we want to know your experience and hear your story. We are not interested in your address and you don’t even have to use your real name although it may help should be turn to the City or State for assistance. Tell us your story.

This hour and a half long seminar, part of our Home Smart, Home Safe seminar series will include all of the important steps in locating a property, picking a team of advocates, inspecting the property (demanding specific conditions be met by the seller for the inspection) and dealing with the monetary negotiation involved with the seller over the deficiencies discovered. It will also include powerful suggestions on picking an attorney, a home inspector, an appraiser and finding the right mortgage.

Conflicts of interest will be discussed and a clear and powerful direction will be defined for the buyer. Negotiating strategies which reduce the purchase price of the home will be emphasized, as well as the overall quality of the home and local building codes, providing a broad and clear framework for the buyer to make his/her choice. It is understood that the marketplace is full of ambiguity. This ambiguity will be removed, reducing the buyer’s choices in relation to clear and fundamental questions; affordability, condition, conflicts of interest, choice of neighborhood, and environmental issues will be discussed.

We see this seminar as critical for anyone who plans to buy any kind of residential property whether it’s foreclosed or not. We guarantee that the home buyer will reduce their purchase price or make powerful choices to walk away from the property based upon the information discovered during this presentation or during the inspection. After attending this seminar attendees will be equipped with the knowledge to avoid being forced or fooled into a property purchase saving them money, time and sanity.

Will you be there?

Here are the details:
Buying Foreclosed Property Without the Pitfalls
Saturday October 22, 2011
3030 W. Fullerton Avenue, 60647
12:00pm -1:30pm
Event Website

Dear Mr. Smith,
I appreciate you taking the time to review my blog and follow up with your comments. My comments and opinions are not based in my real estate sales or brokerage degree, but simply on my 27 years of experience in the field watching how this game is played out. As a managing broker, I understand how your interests are to represent one side or another of a deal, yet they are also best served by “making the deal happen”. It is this dynamic I am witnessing today more than ever. I readily admit I am not familiar with “Cap Rates” or “ROI” Illinois brokerage licensing laws, yet I am deeply steeped in the sales tactics so commonly used in the real estate profession.

Your comments appear to assume that the real estate market is complete but static, simply waiting for banks to loosen their criteria for lending for the market to be active. I could not more completely disagree. There has been a fundamental loss of faith and serious breach of trust in the market which is causing a new paradigm to emerge. Here it is:

1. Real Estate agents often work very hard to “outlast” their buyers. When a committed, qualified buyer comes to the market and I get a chance to meet them, they usually complain of their agent’s failure to listen to what they want, and being pushed into a transaction. A significant percentage of my buyers simply drop out of the market due to real estate buyer’s exhaustion (REBE). The new real estate paradigm will listen to and serve buyer’s needs, not frustrate them.

2. It is common knowledge that real estate attorneys in the Chicago marketplace who serve the industry are referred by real estate agents and they are stuck to a flat fee. Have you heard their complaints? After long conversations with these attorneys, and at least one presentation for the Chicago BAR association Real Property Committee, I have learned that the attorneys are frustrated. They want out of the market and far away from taking instructions given by agents who refer them work. These attorneys feel obligated to help their referring agents and obligated to help their clients. They are left in dual agency. Attorneys will begin to charge hourly rates for their services.

3. The 11,000 or so clients I’ve met are not concerned with whether the house has two or four bedrooms. They want a good location, a good school district and a house free of major structural, electrical, mechanical and plumbing problems. The market is shifting from location, location, location to condition, condition, condition. Buyers deserve this.

4. Home buyers don’t know their rights, and this is changing. All you’ve got to do is look at what’s happened in the real estate market in the last six years to understand that. We recommend that you and all professionals in the field teach buyers their rights. Ninety percent of the condominiums that I’ve inspected are represented either on the buyer or seller side by real estate agents who refuse to provide access to the common areas or roof. These are areas that belong to the homeowners and must be inspected. Tomacor says teach your buyers about how important the common areas are. Will you take that on?

5. Buyers are rethinking their notion of what a “good experienced agent” is. Of course their agent should know the market and the value that an inspector brings. Professional inspectors always include budget figures for repairs. We know this kind of information will be helpful to buyers. After 27 years in the inspection business and 10 years in the construction business, I know, and certainly you do too, that contractors’ proposals are all over the market, and buyers don’t have time to get bids. Repair budgets are available from any home inspector that is interested. Simply look up R.S. Means or Neighborhood Housing for budgets. Tradesmen do not provide accurate budgets or contract figures for homeowners and they shouldn’t. They don’t know what’s behind the walls. That’s why R.S. Means is helpful. Home inspectors are licensed and follow a code of ethics. Our opinions are professional. Buyers will demand budget figures.

6. You mention my desire to stereotype agents. They stereotype themselves. Restoring faith and integrity in real estate includes “raising the bar”. This means going to work for home buyers and sellers to provide the best possible service with the clearest information to help them make a choice, without sending them an inspector, a mortgage broker, or telling them they can’t go on the roof. This cannot be done when we hide behind the notion, as you have, that “numerous others have helped cause the real estate meltdown.” What are you going to do? Responsibility needs to be taken. Buyers want commitment from their agents. They’re looking for a commitment that exceeds the law because they demand it. Buyers are looking for agents who can spot problems that are major and suggest that they look at another property. At Tomacor we are committed to working with buyers who are treated fairly and humanely in the business marketplace, not just another check.

Of course there are good real estate agents out there; of course there are good inspectors. We do respect agents as human beings that work hard. Given what we’ve been through as a country it’s time to raise the bar and hold real estate agents accountable on both the buyer’s side and the seller’s side for their honesty, their ethics and their integrity to provide a high quality, informed, practical service for their clients.

Here’s Mr. Smith’s original comment:

Just like all professions there are good and bad agents as well as inspectors. I only hope that you find a way to respect those agents that are hard-working, honest, knowledgeable and provide a valued service to their clients.

1. Significant portions of the properties have been treated for or are currently infested with termites or wood destroying organisms.

2. Before the year 2000 the preferred termite treatment product was Chlordane. Go ahead and Google Chlordane but don’t be surprised by the toxic results.

3. Lots of Lincoln Park houses still have their original roofs. After two or three layers installed over cedar shingles there’s not much for the nails to bite into anymore.

4. Most of these properties sit low compared to their surrounding area or grade. Water and ice will be drawn to the foundation area causing a trip and fall hazard or water infiltration problems.

5. Nearly all of these buildings are energy inefficient. I mean real gluttons for energy. If you are committed to Lincoln Park, commit yourself to the environment by insulating after you’ve had a energy audit

Paying special attention to these deficiencies, among others, when purchasing your Lincoln Park home will eliminate many of the common issues faced by Lincoln Park homeowners. My advice: buy a bungalow and be happy

Today I received a complaint about Tomacor’s service. “Oh my god,” I thought—Then, I read further into the complaint. Okay, now I get it. Another unhappy home seller who chooses to cover asbestos piping with tape and then explain to the home inspector that the brown water mark throughout the basement did not represent a flood line but “the remnants of her Irish Wolf hound’s shaking after a bath.”

Although we are sympathetic to every building owner and have rarely seen any community work as hard for its money as real estate agents do, confusing the facts, belittling the information and hiding the evidence are not good ways to sell property. In fact, they are tactics which lead us into this real estate recession in the first place. Frankly, I think it is time to restore the integrity of the marketplace.

“Location, location, location” usurped by “condition, condition, condition.”

The problem in the real estate business is its basic lack of integrity. The problem in the real estate industry is too many people have been sold poor quality overpriced homes. The industry has left hundreds of thousands of people in bankruptcy or foreclosure based upon ignorant and short sided sales practices for quick profits in a short term economy.

Qualified professional home inspectors intent on full disclosure will bring the real estate economy back full circle to the vitality it once enjoyed. Now is the time for home inspectors to work their hardest to represent their buyer’s interests. People are buying homes for their families. They aren’t simply investing. Buyers everywhere are at risk for the possibility of a further declining market especially if significant repairs are missed during the inspection. Every home needs repairs and if those repairs are misdiagnosed or not seen, the result will be to encourage the downward economic spiral which we are already in. Homebuyers deserve a good deal.

If you are in the market to buy a home or income property, spend the money to get a professional property inspector who quotes budgets for repairs. Hire someone your real estate agent doesn’t know or is upset about. Check his/her credentials thoroughly. All Illinois home inspections are visual in nature. Better inspectors are more experienced, the best inspectors include budget figures for repairs. Make sure you can afford to repair the property before purchasing it. The property’s condition can be more important than its location. At Tomacor, we have 27+ years of experience and include pricing for all of the repairs needed.

Ten minutes later, we were in the room, the walls were covered with fresh drywall and paint. With the agent out of the room, and not able to see the small amount of damage I inflicted on the new wood trim, I stuck my screwdriver inside the door jam and pulled the trim away from it. With the assistance of my 100 watt flashlight, I found thousands of little white insects crawling over each other. The seller had earlier failed to sell the “termite house” and was now covering up the problems that were disclosed. The buyer and I left the house. The deal was dead; again. Another lucky buyer bought it.

Carpenter ants and termites do tremendous damage to buildings in the United States yearly. Millions of dollars are spent trying to eradicate their destructive behavior while we attempt to kill the colony. In almost all cases, the treatment is unsuccessful over a five to ten year period. This is because the insects are so pervasive and adapt well to changing environmental conditions and toxic chemicals; They know how to survive.

Termites are moisture dependent so they create their own habitat with mud roofs. If you enter a building with wood framing, you can check for termites by looking for mud tunnels on the wooden structural walls or on the surface of the wood. These mud tunnels look like half round cigarette ashes and they usually begin at the ground level and work their way up over the building’s foundation and wood assembly. When the termites inside the tunnels find an area that they want to eat, they go into the lumber and devour the soft summer wood grain.

If you have seen lots of insects flying around the inside or outside a building within the past weeks, you probably have a termite infestation. If you treat it right away, you can remove the insects and the colony before they do major damage to your building.

The Chicago Tribune published an article entitled Home warranty leaves family sweating about a family that suffered through this hot, sweltering summer without an air conditioning unit in their new home. The unit in the home quit working and, because it was warranted, the homeowners expected to be cool in no time. Unfortunately, this “warranty” failed the family as they waited weeks for the new air conditioning unit.

If you pay lots of attention to the Real Estate news you will note that this family is not alone. Other companies like Home Owners Warranty have failed to pay claims over and over again. This warranty has nothing to do with age or condition of the equipment it is more often used to help agents sell houses because they can say “It’s warranted”. If your inspector is requested and shows “old” or “noisy” and damaged equipment you may get $0. Buyers must do their homework and read all the details of their purchases. Buying a home requires more attention than buying a pair of shoes.

After 2 months of negotiation, my client settled on a price and confirmed the inspection time with the real estate agent insisting that all common areas be inspected. Unfortunately, as the inspection progressed, I realized that his agent was not going to allow our access to the common areas.

The first common area we approached was the electrical closet and of course the agent denied us access, exclaiming, “I’ve never heard of an inspector who wanted to see the electrical switch gear room!” My client remained persistent and the agent dropped her jaw and looked thoroughly panicked as we insisted that she get the key from the property manager. Unfortunately, she could not get in contact with him during the inspection.

The buyer was furious because he had been so adamant about inspecting the common areas in this nearly $500,000.00 purchase. The only credible response that we got from his agent was, “When you said you wanted to see the electrical closet I thought you meant the electrical in the closet”.

In all honesty, this is not the first time that an agent has interfered with my inspection of the common areas by, “forgetting to get the keys” or “misunderstanding the definition of a common area”. I’ve come across dozens of real estate agents who were outright angry when I asked to look at common elements. What buyers and real estate agents need to understand is that the inspection of the common areas is just as important as the inspection of the units. Once a buyer takes ownership of a condominium, they take ownership of the common areas as well. If the lobby springs a leak, the condominium association (comprised of unit owners) is responsible for funding the needed repairs.

A good, thorough inspector will insist on evaluating the common areas in an effort to protect their client and provide them with as much information as possible. This will assist them in their purchase decision. After all, wouldn’t you want to know if the condo you are about to purchase shows common areas with hundreds of thousands of dollars in needed repairs?

What will it take to bring the real estate industry to a full and reasonable disclosure standard? Will it take two or three more real estate recessions? When do buyers get the respect they deserve? I say today.

-Tom Corbett

…requires the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to modify its existing housing counseling programs to include more robust advice on home inspections, including the importance of an inspection, its advantages, and where and how a future homeowner can obtain one”

This is great, terrific, and extraordinary! In a market like this one where, “location, location, location” is being replaced with “condition, condition, condition” it is essential that new homebuyers are informed about the importance of obtaining a home inspection. It is about time for the real estate industry to realize that the new kid on the block, the home inspector, actually holds the most important cards in the deck. We address the most important question to ask when purchasing a home: what’s it going to cost to make this place healthy and habitable?

While real estate agents show you the glitz and attorneys the head work, the home inspectors tell you what you are in for and when to back off. These are the most important issues in this recession economy. Any major repair can push people over the edge in these times of deflating salaries and increasing costs. The home inspector can keep them from falling over the edge.

Thanks to ASHI and Obama for this great leap toward a better real estate market.