The Bare Minimum Code in New Homes Being Built in South GA.

In Thomasville, GA. it looks like what buyers are looking for is new cheaply built homes and some of these homes unfortunately for the buyers are built to bare and below minimum code. It seems like people don’t care for quality or a home built right and above minimum code and thinking about it they will not understand the cheap price until they are in the home and notice things starting to go wrong. The type of construction in some of these new homes in South GA gives new meaning to bare minimum code, but the real estate industry doesn't care because the bigger the home and their cheap price are selling it doesn't matter if they are badly built homes as long as they can be sold. The worst part is that they are being built by a person that has no building background, knowledge and no building license and is MIA from job site the subcontractors run the project as they see fit because even if they do it wrong nobody that knows about building is there to tell them otherwise. With the construction industry still trying to come back very few homes are being built by qualified builders with quality materials and qualified sub-contractors and framers, not by out of working people charging $1.25/sq.ft. claiming to be framers and roofers charging under $20/square. I giggle when I see a home construction and from the street I see so many things done below minimum code and worse to see how the home is being built against Residential Building Code. But at the same time, I feel pitty for the buyers because they have a future of problems with the home they think they got at a steal of a price. I simply say "You get what you pay for" Due you expect to buy a FORD with the luxury of a Mercedes? Dream on.

Beware of Richard BigBird Claming to be a builder!

If you’re buying a new home in Thomasville, GA. make sure it is not built by Richard BigBird he is not a builder he does not have a building license he is working under someone else's license with no building knowledge on how to build a home to minimum code. These homes being built in Thomasville, GA. are cheaply to bare and below minimum code. Now if your realtor shows you these new cheaply built homes I would run and run fast. Georgia Law, states a licensed builder CAN NOT let another use his license to build homes. And it is happening in Thomasville, GA. 

  More Images

The Bare Minimum There seems to be a consciousness on building codes recently. I myself have been a little more focused on codes of late. This is probably because I have inspected a fair number of newer homes and homes with additions recently. The one theme that recurs when speaking of building codes is that they are minimum standards, the absolute lowest allowable acceptable parameter. When you stop and think,

does anyone really want something done to a

minimum standard? The only minimal thing I like is a bikini, but I digress. A minimum must exist because a standard needs a benchmark. This is the place to start when designing something like a house. You can go along the mark or better yet above, but never below. But what about standards for home inspections. Most people in the real estate business are aware that inspectors are governed or in most cases regulated by a set of

(This image shows no ice & water on valley and duct tape
on plywood joints. Told the home owners that he knows
 how to build Energy Efficiency. WOW!)

standards of practice (SOP). The home inspection SOP is the minimum or benchmark to which a home inspection is to be performed. Would anyone really want a minimally done home inspection? Image from a local home built in Thomasville, GA. Yet there seems to be inspectors and builders who see nothing wrong in providing the very least to their clients. I have heard more times than I care; "It meets code" as an explanation for a defect in a home. I also hear; "The SOP says I do not have to inspect that" There would appear to be a lot of effort by some put into not doing more than is defined as necessary.

I am continually amazed at the amount of discussion by inspectors on what can be done in the course of a home inspection. Listening to these discussions it is apparent that great thought goes into deciding what one can and can not do based on the SOP. This of course all boils down to seeking to limit ones liability. It occurs to me that going above the SOP would better limit ones liability than seeking to skate along the benchmark. Wrapping ones self in the SOP like a shield is not in the long term going to prevent clients from being dissatisfied. Not inspecting areas or items by using the SOP as a "reason" (excuse) will, if done enough times, grate on a client. Clients, and we are all clients, want nothing more than our best effort. Our "A" game. They also want someone who is competent. To accomplish this end takes personal effort. Not minimum effort, but maximum effort. Excuses are in many cases simply a lack of effort. And who really appreciates minimum effort?

 http://activerain.com/blogsview/1372657/the-bare-minimum

Extreme “GreenWashing” “DON’T GET GREENWASHED”

This is a perfect article for those in the real estate profession in Thomasville, GA. who keep advertising homes for sale as green or energy efficient without any documentation or third party verification. This would be “GreenWashing.” And without any documentation this would be false and misleading consumers with this type of advertising and against the code of ethics that is upheld only to specific members. As a buyer, I would look at words like “by owner” which is loosely used because it is thought as releasing “real estate professionals” from liability. So, by just showing the buyers an electrical bill does not proof anything. The owner of that home my not even be living in the home and they can also be showing you a bill from winter when the A/C unit is not used as much. In a nutshell “Show me the third party verification.” It looks like most local realtors don’t read much on educating themselves on their own profession when it comes to new real estate trends or marketing their own listings correctly.

his is the fourth article in a series designed to help you make sense of the green landscape as a real estate professional. REALTOR® Magazine’s Styled, Staged & Sold blog and I are excited to be covering green home trends in America. In the previous article, I provided a quick guide to green home trends. Here, we’ll highlight green home ratings and certifications.

As we discussed in the last few articles, when discussing green homes it’s important to avoid generalizations or greenwashing, and stick to specifics. As real estate professionals, we should always insist on third-party sources of reliable and verifiable information wherever possible.
When people make “green” claims, we need to know exactly what they mean.
Below are the most widely recognized national green building and/or energy efficient programs nationwide. Keep in mind there are local and regional green building programs as well.
For instance, the Austin Green Building Program was not only one of the first programs in the country to develop a regional green building standard, but it is still considered to be one of the very best programs and models.
Commonalities Among Green Programs
All green building programs should ideally share some common attributes, namely:

• Third-party verification;
• Performance (points) and/or a prescriptive path designed to set green “targets” in several green categories;
• Documentation;
• A resource center for the builder and the consumer.

The point to note is that a standard is followed, documented, measured, and verified. We all know what happens when standards are “self enforced” with no accountability (think latest mortgage crisis).
Also, notice below the various categories of green, what each certification addresses, and recall that green homes do more than address just energy use. While very important, energy is not the only measure of green or sustainability in a home or building.
Green homes also encompass indoor air quality, water efficiency, materials use/selection (recycled or reclaimed), community and environmental impacts. Keep in mind that most green building programs address new construction or major renovations. Each organization often publishes guidelines for remodeling, but remodeling projects may or may not meet the qualifications for the green building program under consideration.
Green Organizations
Each excerpt below is quoted directly from the Web site of the organization.

• LEED (United States Green Building Council): www.usgbc.org

“. . . LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. (Levels attainable are Certified, Silver, and Gold & Platinum.)”

• National Green Building Certification (National Association of Home Builders):  www.nahbgreen.org

“. . . NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelineswere written by a group of builders, researchers, environmental experts, and designers to provide guidance for builders engaged in or interested in green building products and practices for residential design, development, and construction. The Guidelines were also written to serve as a ‘baseline’ so that NAHB members could easily develop local green building programs. Divided into two parts, the Guidelines cover seven areas, or guiding principles: Lot Design; Resource Efficiency; Energy Efficiency; Water Efficiency, Indoor Environmental Quality; Homeowner Education; and Global Impact. The Guidelines offer three levels of green building- Bronze, Silver, and Gold.”

• Energy Star Qualified Home (U. S. Dept of Energy & U.S. Environmental Protection Agency): www.energystar.gov

“. . . To earn the ENERGY STAR, a home must meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These homes are at least 15% more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC), and include additional energy-saving features that typically make them 20–30% more efficient than standard homes.”

• Environments for Living (Masco Home Services, Inc.): www.environmentsforliving.com

“. . .is able to offer the limited guarantee on energy used for heating and cooling your home because  the combination of special framing techniques, improved insulation systems and efficient ductwork helps manage the energy you use to heat and cool your home. The Environments for Living Certified Green program includes building science features from the program, plus additional requirements in areas such as indoor water efficiency, lighting and appliance efficiency, and indoor environmental quality.”

• Energy Assessment/Audit and the HERS Index (Residential Energy Services Network): www.natresnet.org

“. . . RESNET Ratings provide a relative energy use index called the HERS® Index – a HERS Index of 100 represents the energy use of the “American Standard Building” and an Index of 0 (zero) indicates that the Proposed Building uses no net purchased energy (a Zero Energy Building). A set of rater recommendations for cost-effective improvements that can be achieved by the Rated Building is also produced.”

http://styledstagedsold.blogs.realtor.org/2009/09/11/making-sense-of-green-home-certifications/#more-859

Lead-Based Paint and Asbestos Abatement

What we find interesting is that all of the homes in Thomasville, GA. even built as far as the 1800th that have been remodeled not one has come back with any type of lead paint or asbestos. Thomasville, GA. must be the only city and county that is immune to these bad materials because every home that has been remolded comes back with no lead paint, mold and asbestos found. WOW! Thomasville, GA. must be the luckiest town on the map or is it, because any one remodeling an old home be it a builder or home owner has no knowledge or clue of any of these harmful materials found in these old homes.



LEAD IN HOMES
Lead is a highly toxic metal that was used for many years in products found in and around our homes. Lead may cause a range of health effects, from behavioral problems and learning disabilities, to seizures and death. Children 6 years old and under are most at risk, because their bodies are growing quickly.
Research suggests that the primary sources of lead exposure for most children are:
- deteriorating lead-based paint,
- lead contaminated dust, and
- lead contaminated residential soil.

EPA is playing a major role in addressing these residential lead hazards. In 1978, there were nearly three to four million children with elevated blood lead levels in the United States. By 2002, that number had dropped to 310,000 kids, and it continues to decline. While we still have a significant challenge, EPA is very proud of how federal, state, tribal, and private sector partners have coordinated efforts with the public to better protect our children.

Since the 1980′s, EPA and its federal partners have phased out lead in gasoline, reduced lead in drinking water, reduced lead in industrial air pollution, and banned or limited lead used in consumer products, including residential paint. States and municipalities have set up programs to identify and treat lead poisoned children and to rehabilitate deteriorated housing. Parents, too, have greatly helped to reduce lead exposures to their children by cleaning and maintaining homes, having their children’s blood lead levels checked, and promoting proper nutrition. The Agency’s Lead Awareness Program continues to work to protect human health and the environment against the dangers of lead by developing regulations, conducting research, and designing educational outreach efforts and materials.

Did you know the following facts about lead?
FACT:  Lead exposure can harm young children and babies even before they are born.

FACT:  Even children who seem healthy can have high levels of lead in their bodies.

FACT:  You can get lead in your body by breathing or swallowing lead dust, or by eating soil or paint chips containing lead until you start removing it.

FACT:  You have many options for reducing lead hazards. In most cases, lead-based paint that is in good condition is not a hazard.

FACT:  Removing lead-based paint improperly can increase the danger to your family.

If you think your home might have lead hazards, read on to learn about lead and some simple steps to protect your family.   Facts about lead

Health effects of lead
Where lead is found
Where lead is likely to be a hazard
Checking your family and home for lead
What you can do to protect your family
Are you planning to buy or rent a home built before 1978
Remodeling or renovating a home with lead-based paint

Health Effects of Lead*Childhood lead poisoning remains a major environmental health problem in the U.S..*
*Even children who appear healthy can have dangerous levels of lead in their bodies.*
People can get lead in their body if they:

Put their hands or other objects covered with lead dust in their mouths.
Eat paint chips or soil that contains lead.

Breathe in lead dust (especially during renovations that disturb painted surfaces).
Lead is even more dangerous to children than adults because:

Babies and young children often put their hands and other objects in their mouths.  These objects can have lead dust on them.

Children’s growing bodies absorb more lead.

Children’s brains and nervous systems are more sensitive to the damaging effects of lead.

If not detected early, children with high levels of lead in their bodies can suffer from:
Damage to the brain and nervous system

Behavior and learning problems (such as hyperactivity)
Slowed growth
Hearing problems
Headaches

Lead is also harmful to adults. Adults can suffer from:
Difficulties during pregnancy
Other reproductive problems (in both men and women)
High blood pressure
Digestive problems
Nerve disorders
Memory and concentration problems
Muscle and joint pain
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——————————————————————————–
Where Lead is Found*In general, the older your home, the more likely it has lead-based paint. *
Paint.  Many homes built before 1978 have lead-based paint.  The federal government banned lead-based paint from housing in 1978.  Some states stopped its use even earlier.  Lead can be found:

In homes in the city, country, or suburbs.
In apartments, single-family homes, and both private and public housing.

Inside and outside of the house.

In soil around a home. (Soil can pick up lead from exterior paint, or other sources such as past use of leaded gas in cars.)

Household dust. (Dust can pick up lead from deteriorating lead-based paint or from soil tracked into a home.)

Drinking water. Your home might have plumbing with lead or lead solder. Call your local health department or water supplier to find out about testing your water. You cannot see, smell, or taste lead, and boiling your water will not get rid of lead. If you think your plumbing might have lead in it:
Use only cold water for drinking and cooking.

Run water for 15 to 30 seconds before drinking it, especially if you have not used your water for a few hours.

The job. If you work with lead, you could bring it home on your hands or clothes. Shower and change clothes before coming home. Launder your work clothes separately from the rest of your family’s clothes.

Old painted toys and furniture.Food and liquids stored in lead crystal or lead-glazed pottery or porcelain.
Lead smelters or other industries that release lead into the air.
Hobbies that use lead, such as making pottery or stained glass, or refinishing furniture.
Folk remedies that contain lead, such as “greta” and “azarcon” used to treat an upset stomach.
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——————————————————————————–
Where Lead is Likely to be a Hazard*Lead from paint chips, which you can see, and lead dust, which you can’t always see, can be serious hazards.*

Peeling, chipping, chalking, or cracking lead-based paint is a hazard and needs immediate attention.

Lead-based paint may also be a hazard when found on surfaces that children can chew or that get a lot of wear-and-tear.  These areas include:
Windows and window sills.
Doors and door frames.
Stairs, railings, and banisters.
Porches and fences.

Note:  Lead-based paint that is in good condition is usually not a hazard.
Lead dust can form when lead-based paint is dry scraped, dry sanded, or heated. Dust also forms when painted surfaces bump or rub together. Lead chips and dust can get on surfaces and objects that people touch. Settled lead dust can re-enter the air when people vacuum, sweep, or walk through it.

Lead in soil can be a hazard when children play in bare soil or when people bring soil into the house on their shoes. Contact the National Lead Information Center (NLIC) to find out about testing soil for lead.
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Checking Your Family and Home for Lead

*Get your children and home tested if you think your home has high levels of lead.*
*Just knowing that a home has lead-based paint may not tell you if there is a hazard.*
To reduce your child’s exposure to lead, get your child checked, have your home tested (especially if your home has paint in poor condition and was built before 1978), and fix any hazards you may have.

Your FamilyChildren’s blood lead levels tend to increase rapidly from 6 to 12 months of age, and tend to peak at 18 to 24 months of age.

Consult your doctor for advice on testing your children.  A simple blood test can detect high levels of lead. Blood tests are important for:

Children at ages 1 and 2.
Children and other family members who have been exposed to high levels of lead.

Children who should be tested under your state or local health screening plan.

Your doctor can explain what the test results mean and if more testing will be needed.

Your Home
You can get your home checked in one of two ways, or both:
A paint inspection tells you the lead content of every different type of painted surface in your home. It won’t tell you whether the paint is a hazard or how you should deal with it.

A risk assessment tells you if there are any sources of serious lead exposure (such as peeling paint and lead dust). It also tells you what actions to take to address these hazards.

Have qualified professionals do the work. There are standards in place for certifying lead-based paint professionals to ensure the work is done safely, reliably, and effectively.  Contact the National Lead Information Center (NLIC) for a list of contacts in your area.

Trained professionals use a range of methods when checking your home, including:
Visual inspection of paint condition and location.

A portable x-ray fluorescence (XRF) machine.
Lab tests of paint samples.
Surface dust tests.

Note:  Home test kits for lead are available, but studies suggest that they are not always accurate.  Consumers should not rely on these tests before doing renovations or to assure safety.
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——————————————————————————–
What You Can do to Protect Your FamilyIf you suspect that your house has lead hazards, you can take some immediate steps to reduce your family’s risk:

If you rent, notify your landlord of peeling or chipping paint.

Clean up paint chips immediately.

Clean floors, window frames, window sills, and other surfaces weekly. Use a mop, sponge, or paper towel with warm water and a general all-purpose cleaner or a cleaner made specifically for lead. REMEMBER: NEVER MIX AMMONIA AND BLEACH PRODUCTS TOGETHER SINCE THEY CAN FORM A DANGEROUS GAS.

Thoroughly rinse sponges and mop heads after cleaning dirty or dusty areas.

Wash children’s hands often, especially before they eat and before nap time and bed time.

Keep play areas clean. Wash bottles, pacifiers, toys, and stuffed animals regularly.

Keep children from chewing window sills or other painted surfaces.

Clean or remove shoes before entering your home to avoid tracking in lead from soil.

Make sure children eat nutritious, low-fat meals high in iron and calcium, such as spinach and dairy products.  Children with good diets absorb less lead.

In addition to day-to-day cleaning and good nutrition:

You can temporarily reduce lead hazards by taking actions such as repairing damaged painted surfaces and planting grass to cover soil with high lead levels. These actions (called “interim controls”) are not permanent solutions and will need ongoing attention.

To permanently remove lead hazards, you must hire a certified lead “abatement” contractor. Abatement (or permanent hazard elimination) methods include removing, sealing, or enclosing lead-based paint with special materials. Just painting over the hazard with regular paint is not enough.
Always hire a person with special training for correcting lead problems–someone who knows how to do this work safely and has the proper equipment to clean up thoroughly. Certified contractors will employ qualified workers and follow strict safety rules set by their state or the federal government.
Contact the National Lead Information Center(NLIC) for help with locating certified contractors in your area and to see if financial assistance is available.
——————————————————————————–
Are You Planning to Buy or Rent a Home Built Before 1978?
Many houses and apartments built before 1978 have paint that contains lead (called lead-based paint). Lead from paint, chips, and dust can pose serious health hazards if not taken care of properly.
Federal law requires that individuals receive certain information before renting or buying a pre-1978 housing:

Residential Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Program

LANDLORDS have to disclose known information on lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards before leases take effect. Leases must include a disclosure form about lead-based paint.
SELLERS have to disclose known information on lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards before selling a house. Sales contracts must include a disclosure form about lead-based paint.  Buyers have up to 10 days to check for lead hazards.

More information on the disclosure program.
——————————————————————————–
Remodeling or Renovating a Home with Lead-Based Paint
*If not conducted properly, certain types of renovations can release lead from paint and dust into the air.*
Many houses and apartments built before 1978 have paint that contains lead (called lead-based paint). Lead from paint, chips, and dust can pose serious health hazards if not taken care of properly.

Federal law requires that contractors provide lead information to residents before renovating a pre-1978 housing:

Pre-Renovation Education Program (PRE)

RENOVATORS have to give you a pamphlet titled “Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home”, before starting work.

More information on the Pre-Renovation Education Program.

Take precautions before your contractor or you begin remodeling or renovations that disturb painted surfaces (such as scraping off paint or tearing out walls):

Have the area tested for lead-based paint.

Do not use a belt-sander, propane torch, heat gun, dry scraper, or dry sandpaper to remove lead-based paint. These actions create large amounts of lead dust and fumes.
Lead dust can remain in your home long after the work is done.

Temporarily move your family (especially children and pregnant women) out of the apartment or house until the work is done and the area is properly cleaned. If you can’t move your family, at least completely seal off the work area.

Follow other safety measures to reduce lead hazards. You can find out about other safety measures in the EPA brochure titled “Reducing Lead Hazards When Remodeling Your Home”.  This brochure explains what to do before, during, and after renovations.

If you have already completed renovations or remodeling that could have released lead-based paint or dust, get your young children tested and follow the steps outlined to protect your family.

http://www.1stpriorityinspections.com/phoenix-home-inspection-services/lead-asbestos-testing-arizona/

Americans Love to Hate These Professions -- and No Wonder

These so-called realtors and builders that live in Thomasville, GA. have no imagination when it comes to home design building or real estate marketing. They like to copy others because they have no education and defiantly no creativeness. They are amateurs! I found this article interesting because it talks about a few professions and the one that stood out for me the most was the real estate agent and one that is not mentioned in this article is home builders, they are a few people building homes in Thomasville, GA who should not be building any type of homes. These so-called builders like to use different names and address for every home they pool a permit for, so all of these bad built homes can not be traced to the same person. These people think they are smart by trying to hide the paper trail, but they are not, so you see the problem is not the profession it is the low-life’s in these professions and Thomas county for being a small town has more then it’s sure of these low-life’s.  Buyers beware!!!!

----------------------------------------------------
Members of Congress, lobbyists, and car salesmen edged out telemarketers as having the worst reputations for honesty and ethical standards, according to a Gallup poll taken at the end of 2011. Other professions that ranked low on the trustworthiness scale include business executives, stock brokers and real estate agents.

What makes these professions so maligned by the average American? Not all people in these industries are cheaters, liars or flat-out crooks. But while there are bad seeds in every industry, those seeds really bloom in these professions. And it all boils down to bad incentives -- incentives riddled with conflicts of interest that allow (encourage, even) people to rationalize bad, unethical behavior.

Here's a look at how misaligned incentives affect the behavior of professionals in five fields Americans distrust.

Congress members and lobbyists are frequently embroiled in scandals, often involving lobbyists paying our elected representatives to push through policies that promote their business's interests.

Recall the Jack Abramoff scandal, which implicated government officials, including Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio), in receiving lavish gifts in exchange for political favors. While it's now illegal for lobbyists to offer personal gifts to politicians, lobbyists and the organizations they represent still have the power to make campaign contributions through political action committees, or PACs.

Source: Center for Responsive Politics.

Defense companies like Honeywell and Lockheed have a clear incentive to make campaign contributions and create a quid pro quo relationship with politicians who make decisions about defense spending. Similarly, telecom companies like AT&T and Comcast have an incentive to encourage government spending on infrastructure that benefits their bottom line.

And the legality of campaign spending through PACs gives them a perfectly legal means to promote their agendas, even when those agendas may not be consistent with the country's overall best interests.

Stock Brokers Making You Broker

When people think of stock brokers, they usually think of full-service brokers who offer investment advice in addition to transacting trades. And how do many of them earn their money? From commissions on those trades.

If you could add some extra padding to your paycheck by clicking buy or sell a bunch more times, would you keep your finger off the button? It's a compensation system that gives stock brokers an incentive to encourage frequent trading, even when it is not in their clients' best financial interests. This incentive system takes the focus away from offering good financial advice and puts it squarely on inflated fees.

Business Executives Watching Their Own Bottom Lines

Executives in the C-suites have a lot of power -- the kind of power that creates many opportunities for them to push their own agendas, even when they undermine the business's long-term success and work against the best interests of customers and shareholders.

A lack of an adequate system of checks and balances on executive behavior increases the likelihood of such misconduct. In many businesses, a single person acts as the CEO and chairman: That's like being your own boss. In these cases, CEOs have a great deal of influence over the board of directors charged with evaluating their performance and determining their pay package. And it can be tempting even for the best CEOs: Apple's (AAPL) Steve Jobs, a widely admired CEO, got into trouble for backdating stock options after the company became more profitable.

The Real Motivation of Real Estate Agents and Car Salesmen

The pay structure for real estate agents creates a misalignment of their own interests and the interests of their clients -- the actual buyers or sellers of homes. Real estate agents get commissions on homes they sell, encouraging them to hike their pay by pushing the most expensive houses on their clients rather than helping them find the best fit for their needs and budget.

But if the selling agents want to sell the most expensive houses, this should be good for home sellers, right? Nope. To maximize their pay, real estate agents also have to worry about volume -- that is, they want to speed up the sales process to increase their own pay per hour. This means that an unethical agent could stoop to selling houses for less than they are worth if it means getting a quick commission and moving on to the next house on the block.

Car salesmen get a bad rep for similar reasons. Like real estate agents, they get commissions on the cars they sell. This not only encourages them to push the most expensive cars on their clients, but to also trick customers into buying a bunch of unnecessary add-ons.

The Upshot

Americans love to hate these five professions -- but not because there's anything inherently wrong with them. Rather, the common theme is that the professions' incentives are frequently misaligned with the interests of their customers and stakeholders. Consumers and investors alike would do well to pay attention to the way business's incentives and systems are set up so they can protect themselves from manipulation.

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Motley Fool contributor M. Joy Hayes, Ph.D., is the Principal at ethics consulting firm Courageous Ethics. She owns shares of AT&T. Follow JoyofEthics on Twitter. The Motley Fool owns shares of Lockheed Martin and Apple. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of and creating a bull call spread position in Apple.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/04/19/americans-love-to-hate-these-professions-and-no-wonder/

Realtors who are assholes sell more homes

WE HAVE MORE THEN OUR SURE OF THESE TYPE OF REALTORS IN OUR AREA.....

Do people who lie, cheat, and steal always do better than the rest of us? Apparently in some professions they do. Obviously, in criminal professions, the people who get ahead are the ones most willing and able to violate the rules. In professions with shades of gray, and real estate sales has some dark fringes, living on the dark side of the shades of gray has financial rewards that seduce many. Real estate sales offers a chance for quick riches with little or no accountability and few educational hurdles to overcome. The profession does attract some good people, but it shouldn’t be surprising that such circumstances also attracts the dregs of society.

The most odious characteristic of the National Association of realtors is how they seek to legitimize bad and unethical behavior by labeling it “sales,” or as I prefer to call it, “bullshit.” To the NAr and many of the agents who adhere to their marketing tactics, the truth has no meaning. There is a narrative, somewhat loosely tethered to reality, that is designed to create false urgency among buyers in order to generate sales commissions. realtors simultaneously want to be recognized as experts yet held harmless when their expert advice is revealed as bullshit, often with costly implications for the buyer who relied on the inappropriate expert advice.

Acting badly in your name

Many people employ obnoxious real estate agents because they know that agent will do and say things the client would never do or say. People want the advantages of bad behavior but none of the responsibility or guilt for it. People will conveniently ignore the lies agents tell in their name because they want the extra money they believe this atrocious behavior will get them. What most fail to realize — mostly through willful ignorance — is that anything an agent says on their behalf is a reflection on them. Lying through a surrogate is still lying. Think about it, if you hire a hit man to kill someone, aren’t you still guilty of murder?
The agency relationship creates responsibilities on both parties. Clients need to know and take responsibility for what the agent says and does, and clients also need to take responsibility for knowing when their own agent is lying to them as well. Many people trust real estate agents far too much to their own detriment. Some of this is foolish gullibility, but some of it is willful ignorance as many people want to be flattered. The agent needs to take responsibility for the veracity of the information given to their clients as well as statements they make to the general public. Most don’t.
I described the dilemma this way in Urgency Versus Reality: realtors Win, Buyers Lose:

With Expertise comes Responsibility

Bad realtors want to have their cake and eat it too; they want to be recognized as experts on real estate and real estate markets, but they want no responsibility when their expertise is confirmed as chicanery, a conundrum with no resolution. realtors are responsible for their representations that buyers rely on. If they say prices are going to the moon, then who is to blame when that doesn’t happen? Buyers for relying on the experts? Or the experts for making stuff up that people rely on? All of this just gets worst when working with a dual agent. There is very little accountability in South Georgia with bad dual agency practices.

Does this make my butt look fat?

Perhaps this analogy is politically incorrect, but… Imagine you are shopping for clothes in a high-end retail outlet. You are trying on an outfit, and you are concerned about its appearance, so you ask the salesperson, “Does this make my butt look fat?” What is the salesperson to do?
If the salesperson responds, “Yes, that is not flattering to your shape,” they fear they will not close the sale, so even if the garment does, in fact, make your butt look fat, the salesperson is probably not going to tell you. As a customer, you asked a question hoping for accurate information to help you make a purchase decision. What you are likely to get is a self-serving answer that makes the salesperson money.
If a buyer walks out of the store with ill-fitting or unflattering clothes, who is to blame? Is the buyer responsible for failing to see the conflict of interest, or is the salesperson at fault for dissembling for dollars?

Unfortunately, in the world we live in, agents who act irresponsibly and even nefariously often get rewarded. As the story below explains, realtors who are assholes sell more homes. This is either a sign that unethical behavior is the best way to accomplish the task, or its a sign that far too many unethical realtors dominate the field. You can tell me which one you think it is.

http://ochousingnews.com/news/realtors-who-are-assholes-sell-more-homes

DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER PROTECTION

Thomasville, GA is A Dual Agency State, and most of all Real Estate agents count on making full Commission by trying to sale their own listings. Realtors Only have one agenda and it is to sale their own listing and if they can’t they go for the listing with the highest commission and disregarding the buyer’s interest. They do not show all available listing at all. Today I sow a local realtor with buyers pass by a listing in the same subdivision, and same street because the commission was not up to her standards, she passed right by a house listed by a competing broker. I am wandering what she told those buyers, because the home is not overpriced for the area. And the reason I say overpriced is because local realtors when they do not want to show a particular listing because they do not like the listing agent of that home or the commission is not to their standards they will not show it. WOW! I really hope that those buyers do not regret the home they end up with because the local realtor did NOT show all available listings and from what I have seen and heard about our great local realtors they will end up regret the purchase.

Dual Agency

If a real estate agent working on the sale of a particular home also represents a client who might be interested in buying that home, by law, the agent must provide both the seller and the potential buyer with a "Dual Agency Consent Agreement" form to sign.

A sales agent is supposed to work only for the seller, but by signing the Dual Agency Consent Agreement, the seller waives that right and agrees that the agent is free to represent both buyer and seller in the deal.

The form outlines the process to be followed to ensure that the sale is completely fair to both the seller and buyer.

Neither seller nor buyers should agree to Dual Agency if they feel it's not in their best interest.

IMPORTANT: Some agents urge clients to sign a Dual Agency form (as “just a formality”) when they sign the agent up to sell their home. This is not a fair practice. Consumers should not sign the Dual Agency consent form in advance. A seller should sign the form only if and when another client of their sales agent is ready to make an offer on the seller's home.

http://www.ct.gov/dcp/cwp/view.asp?a=1629&q=502402

The ONLY True Green Smart Energy Efficient HOME in Thomasville, GA.

Our homes are the only True Custom built above Minimum Code in Thomasville, GA.

A COMPLETE THERMAL ENCLOSURE SYSTEM

You want your home to be comfortable no matter what room you’re in or what the weather is outside. Comprehensive air sealing, properly installed insulation, and high-performance windows work together in an ENERGY STAR certified home to deliver better comfort, better durability, reduced maintenance costs, and lower monthly utility bills. During construction, ENERGY STAR builder partners must meet all of the requirements of EPA’s comprehensive thermal enclosure system inspection to ensure that-

Your new home is tightly sealed to reduce leaks and drafts; and thermal bridging across walls is minimized.

 Correct levels of insulation are selected to provide whole-house comfort.

 Insulation is installed properly to deliver the best performance.

When builders meet these rigorous requirements, you get a home with a complete thermal enclosure system—a better approach to building a better home.

A COMPLETE HEATING ANDCOOLING SYSTEM

Your home’s heating and cooling system should do more than just provide cooled or heated air. It should keep you comfortable and provide better moisture control, improved indoor air quality, and quieter operation as efficiently as possible. This can be done by ensuring your HVAC system is installed properly. New homes that meet ENERGY STAR guidelines require proper installation of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment.

Home Energy Raters then verify the system’s installation through completion of their own checklist that involves quality inspections and tests. This helps ensure your system was designed specifically for your new home so you can be confident that it is functioning efficiently and effectively.

A COMPLETE WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

ENERGY STAR certified homes include a comprehensive package of water management practices and materials that help to protect your home from water damage and reduce the risk of indoor air quality problems. During construction, ENERGY STAR builder partners must meet EPA’s comprehensive water management requirements to prevent rain and moisture from building up in living areas, attics, basements, crawlspaces, or behind walls. These water management requirements help ensure that-

Water is directed off the roof, down the walls, and away from the foundation.

 Your home is built with moisture-resistant barriers to prevent water damage.

 Building materials are protected during construction to minimize the possibility of mold and rotting.

 When builders meet these rigorous requirements, you get a home with a complete water management system—a better approach to building a better home.

ENERGY–EFFICIENT LIGHTING AND APPLIANCE

The lighting and appliances in your home come with two price tags—the purchase price and the cost to operate and maintain them. ENERGY STAR qualified lighting and appliances meet strict energy efficiency guidelines that deliver better performance, provide better quality, and help reduce home operating costs through lower monthly utility bills, while creating the style you are looking for in a new home.

During construction, ENERGY STAR builder partners often select efficient lighting and appliances to create a complete energy-efficient package that meets EPA’s rigorous guidelines-a better approach to building a better home.

INDEPENDENT INSPECTIONS AND TESTING

When you’re choosing a new home, you want to know it will be as comfortable, durable, and energy efficient as possible. With an ENERGY STAR certified home, you’ll know that you’ve made a good decision for you and your family. Homes that earn the ENERGY STAR stand above other homes because they must meet stringent energy efficiency requirements set by EPA. The better performance and better quality built into every ENERGY STAR certified home is independently inspected and tested by a Home Energy Rater. Home Energy Raters work with ENERGY STAR builder partners throughout the construction process to ensure that—

Your new home has the appropriate energy-efficient features that fit your climate region.

Critical construction details are verified at different building stages.

The key systems in your new home are working properly to deliver better efficiency, durability, and comfort.

When builders work with Home Energy Raters to meet rigorous ENERGY STAR requirements, you get an energy-efficient home built better from the ground up—a better approach to building a better home.

http://www.ecohomesga.idxco.com/idx/4644/details.php?idxID=301&listingID=902243

We really hope that local realtors in Thomasville, GA. take a few minutes to read this small description of the steps needed to build a true custom smart energy efficient home, and how a true energy saving home is documented by a third party, because right now on some listings it looks like local realtors are adding the key word “energy saving” without having any clue or documentation on the actual energy savings, would be considered misleading and by adding “AS PER OWNER” does not remove the responsibility of the listing agent. If these agents need help we would be happy to explain it to them like if they were a two year old. “We can work with Ignorant, We can’t do much with Stupid”

Think you’re safe from problems when you buy a new home? Think again

Video Now imagine. New Homes being built in Thomasville, GA. by an unlicensed person and that person also claiming to be a builder with no building experience, project management or construction experience working under someone else’s license. Building of these homes continuous. Buyers beware. Cheap Short Cut Homes = Cheap Short Cut Homes with more then just roof leaks. badly built homes. Now is it worth under $80/per square foot? NO!

August 2, 2012 News Flash….It looks like this person building these bad homes is not permitted to build in Cairo, GA. and other cities around Thomasville, GA. But these homes are being built around the City and County of Thomasville, GA. With all of the roof leaks and other problems these homes have been having they should not be allowed to be built and this person should not be building without being a licensed contractor, and not till people and buyers that you are a contractor.  He is still building these bare to below minimum code homes in really nice subdivisions around Thomasville, GA. By selling these bare to blow minimum code homes at $80/per square footage local Realtors are degrading other homes built above minimum code by asking other true builders and existing home sellers to lower the price of their homes to the value of these cheaply built new homes. Homes that are built better, above minimum code and with quality should not have to lower their price to be comparable to these cheaply built homes. Ask the Realtor that is showing you these cheaply built homes, why is the “WORD Quality” is not being used on these homes?  Realtors should stop showing, listing and selling these bare to below minimum code homes built by these unlicensed person. Now it looks like the wife is also a builder.

June 19, 2001
2 - News Flash:::: After less then one year of ownership, the owner of one of these cheap built homes with short cut is SELLING. I wonder why? I am not surprised. I saw these cheaply short cut square box's being built.

Dave Prosser and Sylvia Potter bought their brand new home just three years ago, for a few hundred thousand. It was supposed to be their dream home, but instead they’re living a new home nightmare. In their first year of ownership, Dave and Sylvia compiled a list of 106 complaints to submit to their new home warranty provider, Tarion.

"This was going to be our last home,” Dave tells Marketplace’s Wendy Mesley. “You buy a new home, you think it’s not going to break right away.”

Down the street, the same story. A new house built by the same builder and lots of problems.

Joanne and Joe West spent their lifesavings on their new home, but two weeks after they moved in part of their basement floor actually caved in. They compiled a long list of problems too, and the builder did eventually fix a few flaws -- but others, not at all.

Joe has worked in construction for over 20 years, so he began to fix things himself. But it means he has to spend tens of thousands of dollars of his own time and costs for materials and equipment needed to complete the work.

Marketplace calls in TV contractor Mike Holmes to drop by and check out Joanne and Joe’s problem home firsthand.

He finds a problem in Joe’s garage – there’s no sheathing along that wall. Mike says the house should be condemned, meaning “they’ll put a condemned sign on the front door, you get to live in a hotel and until this house is fixed, you are to stay the hell out of it. “ The City of Hamilton is supposed to watch over builders by issuing building permits and checking plans. Every house should have a permit for Joe and Joanne's house before the shovel hits the ground. We do some digging of our own and find out the City of Hamilton didn’t issue a permit until five months after construction began. And at Dave and Sylvia’s? No permit till the day they took possession. In fact, a whopping 18 houses on their street were started without permits, all built by a Hamilton builder, Brett Wright.

In an interview with Wendy Mesley, the City of Hamilton’s Chief Building Inspector, John Spolnik says it’s supposed to issue permits and then follow up with all the inspections:

Spolnik: It’s up to us to enforce that requirement. We need to make them get a permit.

Mesley: So it would be illegal, then?

Spolnik: It would be contrary to the Ontario Building Code to construct without a permit.

Mesley: 18 of [the homes], the permit wasn't issued until after construction began? Until after inspections were done? If there's no permit, how can they follow standards?

Spolnik: They’re looking for as much as they can that is obviously not in accordance with the Code.

Mesley: You're almost facilitating the process by saying, looks pretty good. Next. Keep building.

Spolnik: No, we’re not facilitating it.

Mesley: But that's what it seems like, if it's not a real inspection.

Spolnik: It’s an inspection better than zero… as advised by our legal department, we are better off to find as many things as we can through that process.

Three years in, both couples are now suing the City of Hamilton and their builder, and both couples are tens of thousands out of pocket for private inspections, repairs, and legal fees. And that’s just the beginning, their case could take years to resolve.

So how does this happen? “When the system fails the people, that’s how it happens,” says Holmes. “It’s not properly inspected and if it was these guys should be smacked silly. If it was government inspectors that actually inspected this, they should be fired. Never mind the builder should be put in jail. He’s built a house that has devastated so far two people on this street, financially devastated, emotionally devastated, and where is he right now? Let me guess he’s building another house.” We dig around and discover he is. Brett Wright is building a half-million dollar home just outside Hamilton.

Every province has a new home warranty program – in some it’s mandatory to join and can cost almost $800. In Ontario, the program is called Tarion.

When the homeowners started having problems, they turned to Tarion. It initially offered Dave and Sylvia a few thousand dollars to fix a couple of problems, but other issues were denied altogether.

“They would you know, say not warranted, not warranted, not warranted, by item," says Sylvia. "And we'd say, well wait a minute!"

Desperate to prove their case, Sylvia and Dave spent $7,000 hiring their own private engineer. That’s on top of thousands spent in legal fees and costs to have things fixed.

Tarion had over $300 million in its war chest, so why so stingy? Wendy interviews Tarion President Howard Bogach.

Mesley: They feel or felt that Tarion was there to protect them, and in the end, they ended up feeling you were there to protect the builder.

Bogach: I can assure you, I have home owners that are upset with me. I have builders that are upset with decisions that we make along the way. Ours is to try and be completely impartial and try and call them as you see them along the way.

To find out more about Tarion, we talk to Real Estate Lawyer, Bob Aaron:

Mesley: In the past, people have complained about Tarion's Board of Directors... so who were they there to protect?

Aaron: The assumption is that they were there to protect builders who actually controlled the program… the board is stacked with builders.

But that might be changing. Aaron’s just been appointed by the Ontario government to join Tarion’s board.

But why is the builder Brett Wright still building?

Tarion licenses builders in Ontario, but there’s no indication in their builder’s database that they’re trying to revoke his licence. And what about that brand new house? Tarion told Wright a year ago to stop building. Instead of using his company name, he stayed under the radar by building under his own name – as the owner. Seems he knows how to work the system.

Mesley: They had to hire their own inspectors, their own engineers, their own lawyers – it took them years. They had to fight you at every turn.

Bogach: I absolutely agree with you on that point. I can only apologize. I think there were things that happened on those files that created issues and confusion along the way. I hope we would never treat somebody like that in the future. Issues happen, mistakes happen, that’s the nature when you deal with 450,000 homes. Some things will fall through the cracks, and our objective is to try and make sure we pick up on those things and they don’t become significant.

Try telling that to Joe and Joanne and Dave & Sylvia. After lowballing them offers, Tarion finally comes through with much larger settlements. Dave and Sylvia receive $85,000. Joe and Joanne can't discuss their settlement amount with us. But it’s still not near enough to fix the problems with their new homes.

For Mike Holmes, the big problem is still the builder Brett Wright.

“He got away with the whole system,” Mike says. “He’s not back here, he’s not fixing this, the government’s not fixing this, the new home warranty’s not fixing this, and you’re left holding the bag so – as far as I’m concerned, you have been so screwed.”

We spend weeks trying to talk to Wright. He doesn’t agree to an interview, so we track him down.

Mesley: Mr. Wright? We're with CBC Marketplace. We've talked to people who've had to spend tens of thousands to fix the homes you've built. You have nothing to say to them?

Wright: I’ve got nothing to say to you or them.
Mesley: Why do you keep building homes that have all these problems?
Wright: That’s a matter of opinion not mine.
Mesley: Well, Tarion has agreed. They've settled with them for a lot of money. And you're still building. What is your opinion about the situation?

Wright: I haven’t got one.
Meanwhile, the Hamilton families’ dream homes are still living nightmares.

Link to full artical
http://www.cbc.ca/video/watch/Shows/Marketplace/ID=1354322711

I'm going crazy thinking about the lead paint in my house

Hi All,

This entry is a bit long-winded, but I think that this is a very important topic for all. I’ve been a faithful This Old House magazine subscriber for years. I’ve enjoyed reading about all of the fantastic remodels and old house restorations, but as far as I know (and let me know if I'm wrong), there is not one article about the dangers of removing lead paint. Most of these renovations and restoration jobs require that you disturb walls/paint. I used to get very motivated reading about people who uncovered beautiful wood underneath layers of paint they removed.

Personally, I had a very bad scare last year. My husband and I have been restoring our 115 year old house for the last 6 years. We were not planning to have kids, so just like the poeple in This Old House, we went ahead and stripped the paint off of all of our mouldings. The floor was painted too, so we hired a floor professional to sand them. 6 years later, the house was still not finished, and lo and behold, I got pregnant. We had a healthy baby girl, and with the encouragement from our pediatrician, we had our house tested for lead. The numbers were off the charts, so I immediately had the baby tested. Luckily, the tests came out negative and we were VERY relieved to say the least. We have her tested every 6 months due to the risks and so far, she is clean.

I am in my 40s and I know that people in my age group and older have been exposed to lead paint. My husband remembers eating paint chips (and he's still a smart cookie).

The city where I live in is filled with rows and rows of old houses. When the renovation boom came along, most of the houses on my block were gutted and re-done. Where did all of the lead-laden debris go to? Answer: The landfills. When I was redoing my kitchen, I consulted with a lead abatement spe******t and for a 400 square room, he quoted me $7,500 to take down 4 walls!! We definitely could not afford that. When I asked him why the price was so high, he replied that he has to contain the lead paint in a special metal barrel where it will be incinerated at a special facility. It just didn't make sense to me - so how about the other houses when they did their demos? Did they place their debris in special metal drums too? I don't think so.

"Property disclosure form" "lead paint" "unknown" when looking at an old home that has been remodeled. Please take a look at the “property disclosure form” most likely you will see under LEAD PAINT “UNKNOWN” this to me means it was not checked or removed without the proper removal company and you may have lead paint spores in the air from the incorrect removal and this goes for asbestos also and mold.

I also talked to the City’s top lead spe******t, and he offered to do a lead test in my home. He said that if he finds any lead in my house, he will close my house down and won’t let me in until I perform lead abatement - this could cost over $20,000!! How about the other houses? All of them have lead too. Shouldn’t he close those houses down too? He had no comment about that.

I was reading about how ingesting one micron of lead can screw up a child's brain development, and how a neighbor's house gut job can affect you as well since their lead dust can land on your property. If this is true, my child's lead levels should be sky high. Several of my neighbors have gutted their houses and I know that there are more than several hundred micron particles of lead dust stuck somewhere between our floor boards due to our prior work removing paint and sanding the floors.

In my house, there are several doorways where the hacked up mouldings have peeling paint - they desperately need replacing. I'm stuck because prying off the moulding would disturb the paint and produce lead particles, but not removing the moulding is bad too because the paint will continue to crack and fall off. I can't imagibe spending $2,500 per doorway for a lead abatement company. So what do I do? Move out?

I literally walk around with a spray bottle of Ledizolv (a cleaner that dissolves lead particles - used by lead abatement companies), and I'm making myself crazy thinking about all the lead particles that are hiding in the nooks and crannies. I cringe when my daughter plays on the floor, and I am constantly washing her hands. My question is for the old house owners out there - has anyone else been in the same shoes? If so, how did you deal with it? The bottom line is that lead is everywhere (and I mean EVERYWHERE), and believe me, I am fully aware of the dangers of lead. How do you live in your house without going crazy thinking about that?
 
https://advice.thisoldhouse.com/showthread.php?t=14415
 
Thomasville, GA has really old homes that have been

Remodeled ASK FOR DOCUMENTATION of these bad materials removed. Lead, Asbestos, Mold. 

Any home built before 1978 has some type of lead base paint; also do not forget the likely chance of Asbestos and mold. Any home from 1978 and 1900 and 1800 should be tested by a company that specializes in removing Lead, Mold, and Asbestos and they should provide documentation of no findings of these types of hazards and dangerous materials in any old home. No documentation buyers beware. As a real estate agent I would not show this type of property or list without proper documentation.

Check Lead and Asbestos Presence Before Buying Older Homes

Many home buyers are enticed with older homes because these properties have great structure, facade, design and integrity. These homes foster durability may be due to the materials used in building them. Asbestos and lead are two ingredients that possess many practical physical attributes suitable for long-lasting building. On the other hand, health problems were later on discovered to be brought about by lead and asbestos. As a present home buyer, it is your responsibility to seek proper measures in determining whether these elements are existent in the old home you are looking into.

A lot of residential unit developers and builders from early 1900s to late 1970s were convinced to use materials containing lead and asbestos. Lead was a common ingredient for paints, drying agents and external coverings of roofing joints because of its qualities of malleability and corrosion resistance. Asbestos was used in cement, flat sheet, shingles, pipes, vinyl tiles, flooring felt and some paints for textured painting. This mineral is known to maintain proper insulation and slow down fire.

Despite the wonderful construction attributes these elements have, they pose health problems as well. Lead can trigger many undesirable conditions for people. Once this is inhaled or ingested, the blood stream will be poisoned. And lead poisoning can lead to poor mental, nerve and motor functioning and permanent learning and behavioral disorders. A pregnant woman also endangers the normal growth of the fetus once she is exposed to lead. Abdominal pain, headache and anemia are common symptoms of lead poisoning.

Asbestos is commonly associated with respiratory problems such as lung cancer, Mesothelioma and asbestosis. The second condition refers to the cancer of the mesothelial lining of the lungs and chest cavity, abdominal cavity or a sac surrounding the heart. The third one is the scarring of the lung tissue which can later on affect lung dysfunction.

Older homes with these elements still pose risks until today. This is because the lead and asbestos content in the materials can be scattered as dust particles or through microscopic bacterial fibers. Thus, a lot of countries have implemented total bans and/or usage and manufacturing regulations regarding lead and asbestos in home products and building materials. Other measures like here in the US instigate proper management and assessment of lead and asbestos presence in older homes. Government bodies such as US Environment Protection Agency and Housing and Urban Development strongly advise home buyers and owners to hire professionals who would conduct inspections and testing of home areas. Expert services are required as these elements need specific equipment for detection. These are invisible to the naked eye, cannot be smelled or tasted.

Once the inspections present alarming traces of lead and/or asbestos, the affected areas should be immediately removed and replaced. Eco-friendly alternative materials from non-toxic renewable natural resources are available. Cotton fiver, lycnene foam and cellulose are green materials that can be used to replace insulation, piping, siding or roofing materials that contain asbestos or lead. While you are augmenting the healthy environment in the property, using green substitutes may mean financial gains for you as well. Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, home owners who purchase such materials can be rewarded with tax incentives.

http://www.realestateproarticles.com/Art/13368/283/Check-Lead-and-Asbestos-Presence-Before-Buying-Older-Homes.html

Thomasville, GA has really old homes that have been

Remodeled ASK FOR DOCUMENTATION of these bad materials removed. Lead, Asbestos, Mold. 

Any home built before 1978 has some type of lead base paint; also do not forget the likely chance of Asbestos and mold. Any home from 1978 and 1900 and 1800 should be tested by a company that specializes in removing Lead, Mold, and Asbestos and they should provide documentation of no findings of these types of hazards and dangerous materials in any old home. No documentation buyers beware. As a real estate agent I would not show this type of property or list without proper documentation.

"Property disclosure form" "lead paint" "unknown" when looking at an old home that has been remodeled. Please take a look at the “property disclosure form” most likely you will see under LEAD PAINT “UNKNOWN” this to me means it was not checked or removed without the proper removal company and you may have lead paint spores in the air from the incorrect removal and this goes for asbestos also and mold.

“Cleaning Up Lead, Asbestos, and Other Hazards”

Raveen and Allison Sharma thought they knew what they were getting into when they decided to buy and overhaul a handyman's special, circa 1940, in Auburndale, Massachusetts. Given that the house—the subject of This Old House TV's Fall 2010 project—was built at a time when asbestos was still considered a miracle fiber and lead paint was par for the course, they weren't surprised when a home inspection revealed the presence of both. And since termite damage is the bane of existence for many an old-house lover, they weren't exactly shocked to learn the front sill had been devoured.



What the Sharmas weren't prepared for was the extent of these ills. The asbestos turned up all over the house, the lead paint coated the entire exterior, and the termites had already moved on from their appetizer of sill to the main course of studs. "We were just relieved that we didn't have any mold," Allison says.


The Sharmas faced some big decisions about how far they wanted to go—and how much they wanted to spend—to address all these issues. Their story may well help you tackle those decisions at your own old house.


Shown: The 1940s Colonial Revival will undergo major surgery, including the addition of a gabled garage roof, new entry, and an open, family-friendly kitchen.


Make your offer contingent on the home passing a complete inspection, then cough up the extra cash for your own inspector; NEVER use the one the real estate agent recommends. (I also have him/her go along with a contractor that I've hired on an hourly basis. That way, I get a real idea of what's needed.) Make sure he's a bulldog, and go with him WITH a list of your own and questions. DO YOUR HOMEWORK; this is the biggest investment of your life.



I just assume that the seller is an idiot, the agent is a crook, and the house is a piece of junk until I learn differently. There are other houses out there....


"If you live in a house built before 1978, assume it has lead-based paint," says TOH general contractor Tom Silva. The question for the Sharmas, whose house was built decades before the 1977 ban, was: How much lead was there—and where, exactly? Lead abatement became a budgetary issue for anyone hiring out a renovation last April, when the Environmental Protection Agency introduced its Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rules. These require every contractor who comes into contact with lead paint to complete an eight-hour certification and follow strict new guidelines that make the work more time-consuming, labor-intensive and, as a result, expensive.



Now, even a plumber installing a shower—or any project encompassing more than 6 square feet of lead-painted surface (20 square feet outside)—must wear a HEPA-filtered respirator and meticulously contain and clean up paint debris by sealing off the entire room with plastic and duct tape. The paint removal still has to be done in a way that eliminates dust, and, just to be safe, everything from tools to coveralls must be cleaned before leaving the contaminated space. Ignoring the rules can lead to hefty fines.


Shown: TOH general contractor Tom Silva inspects a window frame for lead paint with homeowner Raveen Sharma at this season's TOH TV project house.


Of course, lead is far more than just a cost concern for the Sharmas, who have two kids; children are particularly susceptible to lead poisoning's effects, which can range from chronic headaches to brain damage. The danger occurs when they ingest paint chips or chew on "mouthable surfaces" containing lead, such as painted moldings, or inhale lead dust embedded in, say, floor cracks. If lead paint is in good repair, and not pulling away from surfaces, the EPA says it's safe and acceptable to encapsulate it with special primers, such as Child Guard, which seal in the toxins and have a bitter taste to deter children. If you choose to undertake lead abatement yourself, be sure to follow the same precautions as the pros. (Check out epa.gov/lead/ for more information.)



Shown: Cutting into the wood allows him to see whether lead is present in deeper layers of paint.


Since the Sharmas were tackling a major renovation, encapsulation wasn't a viable option. To minimize the RRP work inside, they called in Covino Environmental Associates, which used a type of X-ray machine to scan the walls. As in many old houses, which were often wallpapered, lead paint was discovered only in the kitchen and bathrooms, where moisture was a concern.



Once Tom and crew removed that paint, the renovation could continue unimpeded. Outside, Tom identified lead paint on the windows and wood shingles with Lead Check, a DIY testing kit. That meant they were going to need an awful lot of plastic and duct tape to replace the windows and repaint the house. "In the old days, guys would go up there in shorts and T-shirts and start sanding away," says Ron Peik, owner of Alpine Environmental, which helped with the Sharmas' abatement. "Lead is the new asbestos."


Shown: Tom uses a chemically activated swab, called LeadCheck, to test for lead on the house's old windows.


The Sharmas knew they had asbestos to contend with after their home inspector found it in the insulation of the boiler as well as some 9-by-9-inch basement floor tiles. But it was only after Covino completed a full test that they began to fret. "There was a lot more than we bargained for," Allison says. Asbestos also turned up in the 12-by-12-inch floor tiles in the kitchen and bath, wall panels surrounding the boiler, and joint compound in the basement drywall. Left undisturbed, asbestos is harmless. The boiler insulation was friable, meaning it would've crumbled if touched, but luckily the whole unit was being removed anyway. For the rest, the Sharmas were told they could just tile over the asbestos flooring and leave the drywall alone.



Shown: After asbestos was found in the basement's resilient tile and wood subfloor, the Sharmas had a choice. They opted to have Tom rip out everything down to the aggregate and pour a new concrete subfloor rather than cover the contaminants.


Removal:Largely for peace of mind, however, they wanted the stuff completely eighty-sixed from the house. They called in an army of men decked out in Tyvek suits to seal off the asbestos-contaminated rooms, rig a vacuum system to capture floating fibers, and then scrape it off, double bag it, and haul it to a landfill licensed to handle asbestos. (See epa.gov/asbestos/ for more on asbestos removal.) The Sharmas' entire job took only a couple of days but, together with the inspection, cost more than $8,000. Allison says it was worth it: "The patient was already opened up on the operating table—so why not get all the bad stuff out all at once?"


Termites:
Termites aren't necessarily bad for your health, but they are for your house, causing billions of dollars of damage to American homes each year. By the time the Sharmas moved in, termites had already devoured about 35 feet of the front sill. It was only when Tom started demo work that they saw the pests had worked their way up to the studs, too. Tom had to install a new sill and replace the damaged stud sections. To ward off the pests in the future and safeguard their children's health, the Sharmas decided to go with Green Planet Pest Control, a local company, which applied a borate-based solution to the new sill.

Shown: Tom checks out the replacement for a termite-ravaged sill.


Testing for Termites:
Green Planet also baited the area around the foundation with cylinders containing wood briquettes to guard against renewed attacks. If the wood ever shows signs of nibbling, the company will lace the briquettes with insecticide, serving up a hearty last supper for the little gluttons. (Go to thisoldhouse.com/bonus to see a video of Tom Silva taking on termites.)

Shown: A wood stake set 18 inches off the foundation will tell you if termites are present. If they are, "they'll have a party on that," says Tom.


Mold:
One nightmare the Sharmas didn't have to face was mold. "That surprised me," says Tom. He figured moisture found while demolishing the sunporch would lead to more bad news, but he saw none of the telltale signs, such as water stains and deteriorating fascia boards. That's a good thing, considering that mold can feed on the cellulose in wallboard, mineral-fiber or wood ceiling tile, and even wood studs, resulting in significant property damage. Worse, molds reproduce by releasing spores that can provoke allergic reactions ranging from itchy eyes and coughing to severe skin rashes and worsened asthma. It's wise to check your home for mold in basements, attics, and other poorly ventilated areas a few times each year. On hard surfaces, isolated mold outbreaks (less than 10 square feet) can be cleaned up with diluted bleach or soap and water. Anything larger should be handled by a pro. (Check out epa.gov/mold/ for more on mold.)


To the Future:
It's no coincidence that most firms doing abatement of lead and asbestos also handle mold. These are the three biggest health hazards in older homes. For the Sharmas, now that the toxins and termites are gone, they can start focusing on the fun stuff—with a truly healthy outlook.


http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20428889_20852632,00.html

Thomasville, GA has really old homes that have been Remodeled ASK FOR DOCUMENTATION of these bad materials removed. Lead, Asbestos, Mold

Any home built before 1978 has some type of lead base paint; also do not forget the likely chance of Asbestos and mold. Any home from 1978 and 1900 and 1800 should be tested by a company that specializes in removing Lead, Mold, and Asbestos and they should provide documentation of no findings of these types of hazards and dangerous materials in any old home. No documentation buyers beware. As a real estate agent I would not show this type of property or list without proper documentation.

"Property disclosure form" "lead paint" "unknown" when looking at an old home that has been remodeled. Please take a look at the “property disclosure form” most likely you will see under LEAD PAINT “UNKNOWN” this to me means it was not checked or removed without the proper removal company and you may have lead paint spores in the air from the incorrect removal and this goes for asbestos also and mold.

Hazard Materials