In’s and out’s of hiring a house inspector – comments from those who have learned. (via Oakville Homes)

If you are a homeowner or intend at some point in the future to become one, this is critical. I teach about this in my Business Law classes. I ask how many in the class could find termites, determine if the electrical wiring is up to code and if there is a dangerous level of formaldehyde in the wall board. Sometime, I have an electrician or a contractor but generally no one has any knowledge.

A home is the most expensive purchase in most people’s lives. An undetected problem cannot be fixed. Worst, a problem that manifests itself later can cost tens of thousands of dollars. You don’t want a home that is worth a fraction of what you paid for it and is actually dangerous to the inhabitants.

So, you should hire a building inspector. In the United States, most cities have a building inspector who checks projects to see if they are up to specs. That’s a good starting place. I recognize that spending several hundred dollars on a building inspector when you have just laid out every dime you can find on the down payment for a house. But it is vital to have that knowledge. You need as much certainty as possible when you are buying a house.

It is an unfortunate fact that there are builders who take shortcuts when building a home. Generally speaking, a homeowner has seven years after the home is built to bring a lawsuit for a defect. Once you are past that time, there is no possibility of a law suit. New homes look beautiful and your new neighbors will swear it is all wonderful, but they are as likely to have any training in assessing home problems as you are. Get the facts, then make your decisions. We can’t always make the right call, but we can up the odds.

This article, blog post, talks about the in’s and out’s of hiring a professional to look at your home. If you intend home ownership, I would read every word.

James Pilant

Thanks to Oakville Homes.

For those who have read this blog for some time, you will know that my main thrust is that no matter how new or old your potential home is, it is considered good practice to hire a house inspector to protect your investment.  New or resale, doesn’t matter.  I think, using my Mattamy experience, along with the suffering of others as an example, that I have shown, that no matter who your builder is, a house inspector is a must. Here are a few point … Read More

via Oakville Homes

Canada, we have an ethics problem in government (via Nechakogal’s Blog)

I share the concern with ethics in the field of economics and politics. It seems that economics has become, in many or most cases, little more than selling your views for the most benefits in terms of money and influence. The truth does not pay well and after a while and a little self indoctrination, it will all look all right and the conscience will clear.

I would have expected more from the academic field of economics but the politician as an animal generally is a feral creature not subject to domestication. I am not sure ethics reaches the government save as a source of amusement.

Really good post. I recommend it.

James Pilant

My thanks to Nechakogal’s Blog.

I have done several posts about economists and the stunning lack of ethics for this profession, but I completely overlooked the profession of the politician despite awareness that the state of ethics among our politicians and in the structures housing our democracies.  I was also persuaded that simply changing the party in power and the nature of how our votes are represented would result in the solution, but I am now convinced that no system wil … Read More

via Nechakogal’s Blog

Ethics (via Linear perspective)

Should a corporation be able to influence curriculum at a college to provide it with free research? Should a school forbid publication of research that might be embarrassing to a corporate donor? These are questions discussed in this posting. We might add, “Should faculty promotion be based on winning research grants?” How about, “In a free society, how much should a public college depend on corporate money to operate?”

Where does the public and private conflict? Should higher education be an informal extension of corporate interests?

Read the blog entry. It’s good. We all need to think about these things. Just letting it happen and continue by the force of inertia makes stopping or reining this influence in much more difficult.

James Pilant

Is it ethical to modify the curriculum of a subject in a graduate studies to suit the needs of an organization? We had a marketing project that required us to estimate the market size and the positioning of competitors for the parent body of the B-school. While doing this work, I felt enraged by the thought that the school had modified the deliverable of the course and was using MBA students to perform the market research. What bothered me more w … Read More

via Linear perspective