Ep #9 Inspection Insider: Desiree Williams on Property Purchasing Secrets

Introduction: 0:13

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Jacquelyn Jackson: 0:47

Hello everyone and welcome to TDJ Equity Funding Insiders podcast. I'm Jacqueline Jackson, your co host for today, and today we have another co-host guest, which is Desiree Williams. She's a building inspector from Nevada. What we've found out, and I feel as loan brokers, is that a lot of time, people are not prepared to really go out to funding. So what we do is try to bring people in. They can add some insight that can actually help us getting funding better. But today we have a special guest because she's actually talking about the property itself and what you need to do is for is when you're looking at it to be inspected, when you're looking for it to be inspected, you have some things that you need to look out, look as well as a potential buyer or the rehabber, basically what that is. So if we could, let's welcome our guest today, desiree Williams, to our show. Welcome to our show, desiree. We appreciate you being here today.

Desiree Williams: 1:43

Hey, thank you for having me. I am enjoying being here. I love sharing the information.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 1:49

And I know from time that we've talked and spoke before. You have a lot of information, so let's start out today with your discussion One. Tell us about yourself and then tell us about what you actually do as well.

Desiree Williams: 2:02

I am a building inspector regional building inspector for a major investment company right now. So I do a lot of the West Dallas area actually the whole Texas Denver, salt Lake and I do venture into East Coast and the central markets as well, just so I can expand my knowledge. I've been a building inspector. I got my degree as a building inspector out here at college, so I do that. I'm also BPI certified for energy sustainability and I also am infrared certified so I could look at different mechanical devices to see if something is going to fail, like fuses, motors and things of that nature.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 2:41

So I've been dabbling in inspection in every area in inspection for the last 20 years, 20 years so you come to us with a lot of experience, and so what we want on this show today is actually we talk to business owners and real estate investors, so I know yours is going to be your topic today. It'll be more catered to our real estate investors that are looking at purchasing homes as well, as we have an audience of people they're looking at to buy and purchase homes as well for themselves. So that's why our team was really excited about you coming on today, because you could actually get some in light. So, with that said, let's start off with our first questions that we have, which is with your association with the funding industry, because you actually help people to purchase things or whatever. However, we're asking you how does your expertise help with people getting funding and why does your expertise help?

Desiree Williams: 3:34

It helps with getting funding because when you're looking at a property, you at least know your price point and when you're going in to do an inspection on a home or to look at the house, you will know if that house is actually going to be feasible for you or if there's some things that you can deal with and you can use those as bargaining tools for the price of that house and you can negotiate the price on the house. So you need to know what you're looking at so you can actually know how to negotiate. When you're going to lending, or if you're talking to an orilliter, or if you're talking even to an adjuster, they at least know that you know what you're talking about so they don't try to give you the you know the little off one off and think that you don't know if, when you actually know what you're speaking about, they actually talk to you like you understand what you're speaking about and actually give you more information than giving you less.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 4:24

Okay, so tell us what is it that I should look at if I want to purchase a house. What are some things? As building inspectors, as I expect, I know we're not building inspectors, you guys are but as a buyer, what is it that I need to be looking for when I get ready to purchase property? What are some of the main things you see that I need to watch for?

Desiree Williams: 4:45

one. You want to look for location. You want to make sure that you're in the right location, depending on the walkability, if that's important to you as far as schools, shopping areas, things of that nature that's close to you there. You also want to look at the roofing. The roofing on the house is really important because those are high ticket items. So a lot of the high ticket items are really what you want to focus on, which is for Dallas and Texas area.

Desiree Williams: 5:08

The foundation is really big out there because of the fact that the soil is so soft. You want to really check the foundation. You want to check the roof, you want to check your assets, which I call your HVAC system, the condenser, the air handler, you want to check the water heater and you also want to check the appliances inside the home. But definitely the foundation is the big one. It's a big ticket item.

Desiree Williams: 5:30

A lot of people kind of slide that through, but you can spend anywhere from 10 to 40 thousand dollars just to fix the foundation. So you want to look at that as well as the roofing. That can anywhere run you from eight to 12 thousand even more just just for your roofing. So if your roof is damaged, your foundation is damaged. You really are looking at a really high ticket item without even getting inside the house to see if it needs paint flooring. If you're looking at the kitchens and bathrooms or your high ticket dollar items, does it have water damage? What are you actually replacing is the plumbing bed and you're messing with the foundation. You're actually going to be messing with the plumbing, depending on what kind of plumbing it is, on the age of the house. So the age of the house is the first thing you want to look at to see if there's something that you want to get into okay as well, basically.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 6:19

So, if we're looking at, let's say this, and I know from us, having experience with real estate investors too, and you know this as well that one thing a lot of people think sometime they might bypass the process of having it professionally inspected. Okay, we do run across what people think oh, I can just go in there and let me just see what I think and feel it and go from there. Now, what we want to tell you, because we want to give you the best information, is that having a building inspector is something we see that's really important, that covers you and it covers the deal, as itself basically does. But what's important? That is some things that I think that's what you were saying early.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 6:53

You need to notice yourself, you need to look for things yourself. So, like you said, the foundation. So how is it? I go in and I look at a house and can tell just by looking. Besides, I'm going to read it on a report when, because I'm going to get an inspector but what are some things that give you indication that something's wrong with that foundation?

Desiree Williams: 7:10

that stands out if you walk around the outside of the house, you'll start seeing. At the, the footing of the house, you'll start seeing cracking. If you see horizontal cracking, that's really bad because it's shifting and it's breaking from the foundation itself. But if you see the vertical cracking, there's different types of cracking. Yeah, stair step cracking that goes up through the brick veneer on the houses. But if it's breaking directly through the bricks which the crack is going through, the middle of the bricks, that's an indication. It's a foundation issue. Then you want to see what is the width of the crack. Is it a really fine crack or is it cracked that you could stick a quarter in? You stick in quarters in a crack like that. That's a problem. So that's your first indication.

Desiree Williams: 7:48

Your second indication you're going to go in the house and you want to look at the doors and the windows. Do they have vertical cracking from the corners of the doors and the windows? If so, that's an issue you want to carry a ball with. You set the ball on the floor, see if the ball rolls towards one direction or another. Then you know that the, the foundation is really bad, because now the house is starting sinking areas and then you'll also see the foundation cracking under the flooring if you took the flooring up. But your key indicators is going to be outside of the house and you want to go inside the house and look at the doors and the windows. Do the doors close all the way? Sometimes the doors won't close. Sometimes they close by themselves because of the the gravity is going to pull the door closed because of the sinking in whatever area it's going of the house. So those are areas that you want to look forward to make sure for foundation issues are cracking.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 8:39

If it's really bad, you're going to see that and you know, just you're saying that I hadn't thought about it. So basically you say, because you know you're going to look at the house, they have all the doors open and everything looking like. I have never thought about pulling each door close just to see how that and I mean that's smart. So it's things that we can do as consumers. We don't have to have the professionalism for the license or whatever it's as the builder, but it's some things we can come in and do ourselves, which I think, like you said, the ball. So if you're looking at houses or looking at property, take a ball, which we say like a tennis ball or something like that it could be any ball smooth rolling ball, tennis ball.

Desiree Williams: 9:13

It could be like those little blue balls I forgot what they call them with the which game it's for but just get you a ball and then it could be a. It could be a. It could be just like a kickball or anything like. You just want to sit on the floor and see if it just starts to roll in one direction by itself because it's not supposed to roll right.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 9:30

That's what you're saying.

Desiree Williams: 9:31

No, it's not supposed to roll you don't want to roll it and then start hitting walls because it's rolling like that. Okay, you know what? There's a problem over here right whatever direction the ball is rolling. Look at the windows and doors in that area or close to that area, because that's going to be the side of the house that's going to actually give you that indication.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 9:50

Right, that's that problem and I know you're right, it is money. I've had it where we have investors. When you go into a property and everything is good, and you find out later that there's a big foundation problem, and when I tell you, eating up your budget instantly because you have to take care of it, I mean because you're going to have inspection. So you're stuck with it and you're the one that got to repair it. So that's where it's really important even to do those preliminaries that you have. Whether you're a homeowner or real estate investor, you're still going to be responsive, correct, we still going to be responsible for it.

Desiree Williams: 10:22

So now if you're purchasing in the West and I'm not talking about California West, like Arizona, nevada, one of those states they don't have foundation issues. So because the ground is a lot harder and it's not, it doesn't rain a lot out in those areas, so you don't have those foundation issues. Okay, so just keep that in mind too. If you're purchasing and you're looking for real properties that you want to have with less issues, you got to want to look at either a new house in the Midwest and, like this, East Coast. But if you're coming to the West Coast, you won't have those issues unless you hit California.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 10:52

Right, and on that let's say something, because I know you and I have talked before. There's one thing that's important about people purchasing property in different cities that they're not familiar with you had mentioned. I definitely want you to talk on it. Where you have, the areas are different as far as how they affect the homes, and I think you said you need to figure out how that is affecting that home. What's going on in that area? Am I correct? So if you could talk a little bit more like that, I definitely think that's something good I listeners should hear.

Desiree Williams: 11:19

Okay, so like, let's say, you're purchasing in Arizona, nevada. They don't use veneer, they don't use like the brick veneer, they don't use siding, they don't use like shingles as much, they use tile roofing and then they use stucco. And you want to watch the stucco because a lot of times when the builders are building in those areas like that and they're they're tacking in or nailing in the stucco, the chicken wire in the phone for the stucco, they also hit pipes. So you have the pecs or the PVC and they hit in those pipes. It's going to cause a little water leak or you have those leaks in your wall and you won't find out two years later and that's something is really hard to look for and you really can't just like check for it. But you want to look at the stucco to see if it's changing different colors. You could tell that underneath that it's wet. If you're looking on the other side of the wall, you might see a little discoloration in the paint, which didn't also the indication that something is wet behind that wall.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 12:15

Oh wow. So let me ask you this Will I get that on my report from my builder inspector, you think from the home inspector? Would that be something we will see? No, it won't be.

Desiree Williams: 12:25

It will be it depends on the home inspector. All of them are different. I've actually hired some home inspectors to do due diligence inspections, which is for investors. Okay, they are two different types of inspections. You have a home inspector which pretty much, they're going to be siding with the realtor and broker to make sure that they can sell the house, so they may not disclose every single thing to you, because if they do too much, you may not purchase the house and they lose to sell.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 12:50

Or I want to discount, I want more money, right, right.

Desiree Williams: 12:54

But if you're out there and you and you're an investor, like most of you are, you get a due diligence inspector to do. Diligence inspectors going to go. They want to tear that house up to find every inconsistency or something wrong with that house, to make sure you know everything, or even commercial property. You want to know everything that's wrong with the property so you'll know how much money you need to invest. It's not even going to be just as far as you going in to do the improvement or the tenant improvement, the TI on it or the remodel on it. You want to know before you start renovations. This is my renovation cost.

Desiree Williams: 13:27

But you don't want to have a lot of unforeseen where they missed a lot of things, because now that's going to not only eat up your budget, but now you got to try to figure out how to flip this house. If you're going to flip it or get rid of it, you got to figure out how to flip it and still make a profit. And if you're going to have a tenant in there, what are those tenants going to be complaining about once they get in that house? Because if they have a lot of maintenance issues and complaints, you're going to actually lose your tenants and you want the longevity of your tenants to be in those properties. You don't want them there for one lease term, you want them there for multiple terms. You want them there for the long term.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 14:00

Okay, so we definitely want to do that. So if we're looking in different areas, where could I go and ask the questions about the climax, I guess, or the environment, or where I can tell, like I'm here in Texas and I know you're in Nevada but I want to buy a house in California, I might want to check to see how that you know how the houses are and what they go by compared to Florida. Where would I go to find that out? You can Google it.

Desiree Williams: 14:24

I mean it's full of information right, you can go and you can Google the areas. I've done a lot of searches on California because I was going to move to California at one point in time and there's a lot of information on YouTube that you can get just Googling it.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 14:39

So what do we say when you say Google it? What do I say to Google to get it started? What do you suggest?

Desiree Williams: 14:45

Like where is the? I like I'll do a search just random shirts on what is the best areas to buy in California. What are the most issues with houses in California? What should I look out for for house home purchases in California? So when you start looking for California home purchases issues, it's going to do an algorithm on there to give you a like a lot of the issues that they've been having in that area.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 15:08

Okay, so we can do a lot of homework or do diligence before, as well as having inspectors, which I think, like I knew home buyers and you and I again had talked about this that when people are new home, they're only looking at what's good about everything. I'm going to give me a house, I'm going to give me a house, and they don't understand once you get that house, whatever problems it have, you have merit those problems and they are yours. So that's something I think, what you're saying, and we want our people that's actually looking at getting homes, or those who probably already have them to for your next one that you will actually take a pay attention at, especially as investors right, they need to pay attention to that.

Desiree Williams: 15:45

Because even new houses have issues.

Desiree Williams: 15:47

And the reason why they're having issues is because of the fact that the employment market is a little sketchy. Okay, so there's not a lot of people working, so their crews are thin and they're still pushing because they buy these houses, they buy the land for those houses for years out, so they have to finish those houses. Because of utility easements they have to finish them. So a lot of them they're putting them up super quick. I've seen a lot of it in Dallas, san Antonio, houston, austin, even where they are actually brand new houses with issues Nevada. I've seen issues out here. Matter of fact, a friend of mine. She didn't get an inspector and I was traveling I travel like almost like every week so she I wasn't here available for her, but she ended up having a can in her plumbing for her washer. So when she actually started the washer it backed up and flooded her downstairs of her brand new townhouse.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 16:41

Oh my goodness, a can.

Desiree Williams: 16:43

A can was in the plumbing and she didn't know, so she went in and you get excited when you get a new house.

Desiree Williams: 16:49

She's like I got a brand new house, it's mine, I can do all these things to it, but I've actually walked in brand new houses where the walls were messed up and needed to be fixed, where the cabinets were swinging on the wall, they're loose, they didn't have everything put in, they didn't complete the plumbing or they didn't have the inspections. And when you're going for a new house you want to make sure that they have those inspections completed before you actually do your orientation for your house. Once you do the home orientation, where they can explain the house to you, go and tear that house up, go and move stuff, open windows. I've had houses brand new houses where I've had to have the builder change out the windows because the seals were broken.

Desiree Williams: 17:31

I've had to change out brand new doors because they were cracked and all you could do is you could take a door handle and shake the door and you can feel the difference between a door with no issues. When did a door with issues? So you have to be a genius to like check the doors and the windows and things like that. But those are issues.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 17:48

So basically, when you say, like I'm shaking a door, if I shake the door and what it moves, that's a problem or what I'm looking for, You're going to feel it feels odd, like I understand.

Desiree Williams: 17:58

I know how it feels because I've been doing it so much. But when you shake the door it feels like something is loose or doesn't feel like it's a solid door.

Introduction: 18:07

Okay so.

Desiree Williams: 18:08

But when you, when you take a regular door and you just wobble it and kind of shake the door by the handle and just Move it back and forth like open, close, open, close, like moving really fast back and forth, if it feels solid you're going to know the difference, and when it doesn't feel that way, you really going to know that something is wrong with the door.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 18:24

Okay, I got you and that is some wonderful advice, because we have people that are beginning out to be real estate investors and and these are little bitty things they don't look at, but you know, to actually replace all the doors and a window in a house, that's a budget that if you don't right and if you don't already have that budget, it it's hard, it's very, very hard to do. So that's why we was so excited about you coming to our show, because you are a builder inspector and these are the small things people don't think about, even when they're purchasing their home for themselves or they do it as investment property. They don't look at all of that. Now, something you mentioned to us before, where you talked about, I guess, as the kickboard, you say something again, something simple we can do. So we want to know what is that. When you say do the kickboard, you call it something, but I definitely want to talk about that it's a toe kick.

Desiree Williams: 19:15

It's basically the the four inch trim that's under the cabinets, that hold the cabinets off of the floor.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 19:20

Okay, okay.

Desiree Williams: 19:21

So usually when you have water damage, water runs down because of gravity. Smoke runs up. So I always tell, like all of my inspectors I have a team of 17 inspectors Um, that I manage and I always tell them you need to look up. It's because smoke rises. You can see when nails pop and when you have a nail pop, a nail pop through the paint, it's like a little Pimple or bubble, like a little bump in the paint. You'll see that nails popped, which means it got hot enough. The nails kind of popped through the paint. Um, and if you are looking down low enough, you can see where water ran down. The toe kicks will get messed up. The side of the cabinets are messed up. Look inside the cabinets. It's always look inside the cabinets, under the sink, close to the dishwasher, and that's where your damages are actually going to be at right now.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 20:07

You know I've noticed some home that we looked at for is our real estate investing company that it actually had like mildew under the sink. We could smell it mildewy. And then you know my contractor cause. He said there's a leak somewhere, been a leak somewhere.

Desiree Williams: 20:20

You know, and then you usually have microbial growth, which is mold that people don't like to say. So we usually use microbial growth and it's going to be in the wall, but you got to take the cabinets off to even get to it and fix it.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 20:30

Wow, right, see that that's money, that's money. So basically, that's what we're saying. Okay, so let me ask you this then so what is talking about the inspection, how important it is? What would be your top Inspection advice you can give to our listeners? What would be one of your top?

Desiree Williams: 20:48

my one top is look for DIY and home editions, because everybody is out there watching every social media channel that there is and coming up with all kind of DIY do-it-yourself projects in their home and Everybody don't know what they're doing.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 21:07

Okay, wonder what you're gonna say. That part Okay.

Desiree Williams: 21:10

Everybody don't know what they're doing. I've had. Actually, I went and walked the house last week and I noticed about 24 different light Can lights that I knew didn't come at the house because of a couple different reasons I don't go get into because you actually have to see the pictures but they have so much additional electrical In that house so I went to the service panel, opened up the electrical panel, looked in it. They didn't add any new fuses, which means they actually Tie them in to electrical less close to where but they were tying it in that which that could be a fire hazard.

Desiree Williams: 21:44

It can be an overload. It can, you know? Pop your breakers and it keeps tripping your breakers. You have a lot of electrical issues and the last thing you want is to have to spend $10,000 for an ibuprofen for an electrician to come and figure out what somebody did wrong in that house right, that's the one thing, man.

Desiree Williams: 22:03

Electric electricians hate that. Plumbers, you want to look at the plumbing? Also, look at the angle stops which are under the sink where you you could turn the water on and off to get to any faucet or the toilet. Okay sometimes they have them some that look like a circle and then they call it push, pull Okay push it in or see it out those.

Desiree Williams: 22:23

Actually, if you have those in your house, I suggest, especially for an investment property, just change them out, because those those are more susceptible to leaking. Then the quarter turns, which are the ones that look like a Uh uh, like a oval shape, and you could turn it halfway and then turn it back to turn it on and off. Right, you want those because those are a lot more secure and create less leaks.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 22:47

Okay, so that's a great suggestion that you're giving everyone you know for their homes to actually look at that and upgrade that if they need to, and it's something that's a small amount compared to what it could turn into if you don't do it, if I'm correct.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 23:00

So, that's what we want to do.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 23:02

So, basically what we're saying like today and what's so good, that we'll be offering suggestions from our inspectors our building inspector yourself that'll be basically in our Facebook group, because TDJ equity funding insiders have a Facebook group and we put information in there as well as ask question answer questions that people have as well.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 23:21

So we definitely want to invite our listeners to go there and we'll get more information from Desiree to actually let us know some tips that we can actually have. So we'll try to give those to them as well. Because, again, you're out here and people think they're by themselves and they're not, because when you come to buy your home, you have the realtor that works for the buyer, you have the realtor that works for you, you know, or the seller, and sometimes they may not look out for you. So we try to give people information where you can look out for yourself and that's what I want to appreciate you coming in. So, to wrap everything up, if you would, what is something that you definitely would like to say, some advice that you'd like to give everybody on a conclusion of our show today?

Desiree Williams: 24:03

Make sure that, if you don't know, just research it. It is so much information out there. Take your emotions and show your emotions, because you can get emotionally attached to the newness of something that's coming or the fact that I'm an investor and I'm doing all these things and you're feeling great about it and you want to go and purchase a lot of houses and that's great. But you really want to just remove your emotions and look at what you're doing. And I know you did mention commercial, the biggest thing, a commercial you want to make sure that there is the fire stop in the fire cocking, because if somebody else is you and it catches on fire and it's not, you know the fire, it cooking and the fire dampers and all that is not up to cold and something is wrong with it.

Desiree Williams: 24:46

You're going to actually create a loss of your own. You know you don't want to do that. You want to protect yourself, your building, yours, your, your space from everybody else's space. Right when you're, when you're talking about commercially, you want to make sure you're looking at all the like, the HVACs, the structures. You want to look at all of those things in commercial but also in residential. You want to look at the structural too, because people go in there and add on a section to the house or to whatever unit, and they did it on their own and they also damaged the integrity of that house.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 25:19

Exactly and you don't know, and that is so true.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 25:22

And I mean honestly, like I said, commercial is something we do want to talk about, which I tell most of my guests anyway, that we definitely going to have to have you to come back, because we can't cover everything, but we definitely.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 25:32

That is definitely something more that we can talk on.

Jacquelyn Jackson: 25:35

So we do want you to come back and you will be coming back sometime where you can kind of discuss a little bit more with that with us. But in the meantime, we do want to thank you for coming out to talk to us today and giving us some insights and we want to welcome you to come back with us as well, like I said, and so if it's any kind of question that you all have, we want to, like I said, let's thank you first for coming. Thank you, thank you, thank you, my pleasure, ok, and so if it's any questions that the listeners have or anything like that, you know you can email us at podcast, tdjequeryfundinginsidersnet, and we'll make sure that we get those questions over to Ms Desiree and she's welcome to you, like I said, to kind of answer some questions, to kind of guide you guys as well. But in the meantime, we want to thank you all for coming to our show today. We ask that you guys take care and until next time we'll see you later.

Introduction: 26:27

We hope you enjoyed this episode of TDJ Equity Funding Insiders podcast. If you'd like to be a guest or get in touch with us, please visit our website at tdjequeryllcnet, forward slash podcast or email us at podcast at tdjequeryfundinginsidersnet. Until next time, take care.