What do homeowners need to look for and worry about when purchasing a new house?

Shameless plug for a long dear friend of my mine, Harry Levinson. He is a HMU certified 5 Star electrician who has designed and worked on some of the most complicated and innovative show stopping performances in the history of the Las Vegas Strip. He has years of experience working on commercial and industrial electricity and he knows residential services like the back of his hand. As a licensed electrical contractor for the greater Vegas metropolises (He kind of sounds like Batman doesn't he? Harry Levinson fighting against the scourges of evil and unlicensed, shoddy electrical work! But I digress) I figured as an electrical professional he would be best suited for answering this question: What do homeowners need to look for and worry about when purchasing a new house?

Here is Harry's Top 5 Pieces of Advice for checking out a homes electrical system:

1) Home inspectors are generalists! They know a little bit about everything. Due to liability concerns they won't try and figure out why stuff isn't working. So, when you get your report on electrical problems in your house, it could be a minor thing, or it could be a $3000 penalty you get stuck paying. Always have your real estate agent insert a clause in your bid to allow you the flexibility to hire other specialist contractors to examine the homes primary systems. Don't just rely on the advice of a generalist!

2) Beware of remodels! I can't tell you how many homes from the 60's that have been remodeled in the 80's and has suffered electrical problems as a result. If you think a homeowner/ handyman has been in there before you and after the house has been built.... TREAD CAUTIOUSLY. Mis-wired wall receptacles will cause a computer to short out. Poorly grounded electrical systems will shock you. Overloaded circuits will equal EXPENSIVE remodel costs because all the old wire has to be ripped out due to damaged insulation. Oh yeah, and your house might burn down.

3) Bring your house up to code! The NEC (National Electric Code) is a fickle thing. What is standard and acceptable in one generation of houses, is absolutely prohibited in the next. In the 60's it was perfectly OK to not have GFCI's in the bathrooms. Now, it has to be on every receptacle in a wet area or you face big fines. But the NEC doesn't make you retrofit the receptacles unless they need to get replaced. It just makes sense to spend the money, bring your house up to the 2008 NEC standards. It's for your own safety

4) Aluminum Wiring! Bad! Be Careful! Call a professional!

5) Contractors! You as a homeowner are calling a contractor because you don't know whats involved in pulling a permit, getting the job done correctly, what a fair price for the job is. ALWAYS shop around, it doesn't hurt to spend some time and call 3 or 4 contractors in to bid the job. I know it's a tight economy but spend the extra money, get the job done right, and you'll never have to worry about it again. Hire an unlicensed amateur and you'll have all sorts of problems. But beware! The lowest priced contractor isn't always the best contractor! Ask for references, ask for written bids, find out what he includes for that $65 an hour. Is it just him? Or is he working with a team of apprentices that will help him get the job done quicker? And finally, if it's a big job (upgrading a service panel, moving the service lines, etc) ALWAYS get a permit!

Harry Levinson

President

(702) 656-2100

www.fx-electric.com

harry@fx-electric.com