Has anybody come across that Holmes on Homes show? It's a contractor (I think he's in Toronto) who takes on homes with botched construction / repair / redo jobs.
I always thought, in general, that there was more regulation in Canada than in the US. One of the recurring points is that most home inspectors aren't worth much. All the shows are on houses with debacles, but it still makes you wonder.
Hi, He is good guy in my book. When area was hit with big flood in 100 years before last year, he came out and volunteered to fix one badly damaged house. Most problems occur for folks trying to save some money when renovating house or building a new house. There are bad trade people, real crooks. But if one buys a new home it comes with a 5 year warranty government backed by law. If builder goes out of business in that 5 year period, government takes care of the problem. They have pulled fund annually collected from legit builders. In my case I had 5 houses built over the years by a German fella. I could do any thing with shake of our hands with him as long as he understand what I wanted. Previous houses all sold to first buyer came around. On one house I got more than asking price. Unique custom features and excellent workmanship counts a lot. That guy is now retired. Moved down South, to Phoenix area.
Tony,
Mike Holmes is a stand up guy, I have learned alot from his program, He and I have very similar moto, His' Lets make it right, and Mine 5 more mins make a good job a great job, He has saved many people >S and made it right.
Thank you Holmes on Homes
I used to watch Holmes all the time but with cable bill creep (+$220/mo), I had to trim back the programming package level. If/when Amazon offers Holmes Ala-carte on Instant Video, I'll resume watching.
In our area, anyone can pay a $50/yr license fee and call themselves a Home Inspector. If I couldn't hire Holmes, a prospective home would be inspected by a competent licensed electrician, plumber, HVAC, and maybe a structural engineer.
The typical homeowner gets 3 bids and awards the contract to the cheapest bidder. Is it any wonder that there are so many crappy houses?
Yes, people have to learn to look at the entire package. Skill and experience are a part of the bid, not just price. Often, the best value cost a bit more up front.
Planning is an ongoing thing too. When disaster strikes, don't get out the Yellow Pages. As a homeowner, you should have been keeping your eyes and ears open all along. You'd notice what plumber or electrician or roofer the neighbor used and asked how his work was.
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