Thread: How A Home Buyer Saved $40,000 Last Week

According to Michael Del Greco, President of www.AccurateInspections.com a client was buying a home in a town where real estate is still hot and the prices are still high. During the home inspection the client indicated the attraction of the home was that it was affordable and had four full bedrooms.

While inspecting the home there were three real bedrooms on the second floor. The converted attic contained what appeared to be a bedroom with one very notable exception. There was no way to get out of the attic in the event of a fire.

Fire egress window specifications are very specific. While it may not be "fair" to hold an old home to a standard that might not have existed when it was built it is very "fair" to look for what is and what is not reasonable.

Modern fire egress windows must be within 44" of the floor have a minimum opening of 20" wide by 24" high, minimum opening of 5.7 square feet. Where lacking installation of windows that comply with modern requirements is recommended in order to avoid being trapped in the event of a fire or emergency. The problem was due to the configuration of the roof and location of the chimney on the exterior gable wall there was no way to add the vital safety upgrade.

According to Del Greco, the only way to add reasonable fire egress was to either raise the roof (if allowed by the municipality) install a second stairway (would have cost too much floor space) or reconfigure the bedroom, bathroom and then install some type of a fire escape.

The listing and selling Realtors as well as the owner of the home were quite annoyed to hear these problems that did not come up when the current owner bought the home. Del Greco sent the buyer to the municipality who only had the home home listed as a three bedroom. It seems the upper bedroom was installed illegally and the Realtors forgot to check municipal records.

All home buyers are advised to contact the municipality to determine if all required permits, approvals and inspections were obtained for all additions, renovations and changes that have been made to the home and on the rest of the property and that home is serviced by a public sewer (if it is not obtain an open pit inspection of the private waste disposal system by a professional engineer prior to the expiration of your contingency period.)

All buyers must be aware they must protect their own interests because nearly all parties to a real estate transaction are only paid if the transaction closes.

Home Inspector Michael Del Greco is President of Accurate Inspections, Inc., a New Jersey Home Inspection firm. He has performed thousands of home inspections in New Jersey. He has taught the New Jersey Home Inspector CEU & Licensing classes and help in developing questions for the National Home Inspector Exam.