C2 - Sunday, April 10, 1983 - North Shore News

A detailed report, but no advice

FROM PAGE C1

“Most people, if they find
out something is_ really
wrong with a house simply
re-negotiate the price,” he
says, “There was one man
who came to me three umes.
He was thinking of buying
the worst clunker I'd ever
seen, a real handyman’s

delight. He decided against
it.”

Lowes says his
relationship with the real
estate sales community 1s
good. They realize that one
of Lowes’ reports can settle
the mind of an undetermined
buyer.

“Though there was one
real estate agent,” he says,
“who said he’d take me to
court if I ever lost a sale for
him. I told him [d love the
publicity.”

7

Since Lowes places no
buy/don't buy recom-
mendation on his reports,
there is no danger of his
being sued.

In 1972, Lowes started the

inspection business. He
apprenticed as a carpenter in
England when he_ was

fourteen, and decided that
what was at the time thirty

NEWS photos Eric Eggertaon

ROBERT LOWES points out cracks in a beam. These are the sorts of things the
average home owner or buyer would not spot but which Lowes, an experienced
carpenter and contractor points out in his report, although the cracks are not

necessarily a bad sign.

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expert. But the insanity of
the 1973 Vancouver housing
market ended it.

“People were
anything. on first view.
Nobody cared about the
building’s condition. It was
the land that counted.”

With recent housing
market improvements,
Lowes sees a new demand
for his services. Young
people can afford to buy first
homes again. The rise in the
number of divorced women
with families adds to this
demand, as some women
having little background in
construction are seeking
now affordable homes.

For such individuals, just
entering the confusing world
of real estate, knowing who
to trust is tricky. The real
estate agent, however
decent, wants his com-
mission, the seller wants to
get the sold sign in the front
yard.

People looking to buy in
West Vancouver should be
particularly careful, Lowes
says. Any home over twenty
years old could easily have
been someone's summer
cottage, winterized, but not
well built.

“There was no municipal
building inspector in West
Vancouver until 1957,"
Lowes says. “You can run
ito wiring totally unfit for
modern appliances, poor
plumbing.” He adds _ that
some houses built in West
Van when property values
soared there, can also be
disappointing. Buyers can
find themselves with pnme
land and a house that ts all
flash and no substance.

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While Lowes has many
harsh things to say about the
quality of work some
contractors will try to slp
past an uneducated public,
he stresses that he is not in a
house to be super critical.

“People start apologizing
for the house when I walk in,
is messy or old or small. I

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PHONE 926-4818
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DN & One to One Dass

1401 Lonsdale Ave
601 West Broadway
4200 No 3 Road

2929 Bamet Highway 464-6911

say, ‘Look, this is your
home. [I'm not here to
criticize your home. I just
want to report on what it’s
made of.”

Robert Lowes can be

reached at R&F Building
Inspection
Hornby St.
684-2764.

Lid, 611-1333
in Vancouver

980-2606
879-0961
270 7554

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