The following post comes from Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty, Inc. agent, Kim Knapp. Kim is an experienced agent in Northern Florida and has a great team who has worked with countless first-time home buyers. Below is Kim’s list of questions you should ask your home inspector before agreeing to use them.

Before you make your final buying or selling decision, you should have the home inspected by a professional. An inspection can alert you to potential problems with a property and allow you to make an informed decision. Ask these questions to prospective home inspectors:

1. Will your inspection meet recognized standards?

Ask whether the inspection and the inspection report will meet all state requirements and comply with a well-recognized standard of practice and code of ethics, such as the one adopted by the American Society of Home Inspectors or the National Association of Home Inspectors. Customers can view each group’s standards of practice and code of ethics online at www.ashi.org or www.nahi.org. ASHI’s Web site also provides a database of state regulations.

2. Do you belong to a professional home inspector association?

There are many state and national associations for home inspectors, including the two groups mentioned in No. 1. Unfortunately, some groups confer questionable credentials or certifications in return for nothing more than a fee. Insist on members of reputable, nonprofit trade organizations; request to see a membership ID.

3. How experienced are you?

Ask how long inspectors have been in the profession and how many inspections they’ve completed. They should provide customer referrals on request. New inspectors also may be highly qualified, but they should describe their training and let you know whether they plan to work with a more experienced partner.

4. How do you keep your expertise up to date?

Inspectors’ commitment to continuing education is a good measure of their professionalism and service. Advanced knowledge is especially important in cases in which a home is older or includes unique elements requiring additional or updated training.

5. Do you focus on residential inspection?

Make sure the inspector has training and experience in the unique discipline of home inspection, which is very different from inspecting commercial buildings or a construction site. If your customers are buying a unique property, such as a historic home, they may want to ask whether the inspector has experience with that type of property in particular.

6. How long will the inspection take?

On average, an inspector working alone inspects a typical single-family house in two to three hours; anything significantly less may not be thorough. If your customers are purchasing an especially large property, they may want to ask whether additional inspectors will be brought in.

7. What’s the cost?

Costs can vary dramatically, depending on your region, the size and age of the house, and the scope of services. The national average for single-family homes is about $320, but customers with large homes can expect to pay more. Customers should be wary of deals that seem too good to be true.

8. What type of inspection report do you provide?

Ask to see samples to determine whether you will understand the inspector’s reporting style. Also, most inspectors provide their full report within 24 hours of the inspection.

9. Will I be able to attend the inspection?

The answer should be yes. A home inspection is a valuable educational opportunity for the buyer. An inspector’s refusal to let the buyer attend should raise a red flag.

Rendering of the mid-Currituck bridge. (N.C. Turnpike Authority)

Coastal Review Online | April 25, 2013

Legislator Says Currituck Span Would Survive Cuts

By Catherine Kozak
Coastal Review Online

A bill that would change funding for the planned Mid-Currituck Bridge and Cape Fear Skyway may be giving proponents the jitters, but even if it passes, the projects are not necessarily doomed.

An amendment to House Bill 10 would lift dedicated “gap” funds and place the bridges in the funding mix to compete with other projects.

State Rep. Bob Steinburg, R-Chowan, said he is confident the 7-mile bridge between the Currituck mainland and Corolla will survive the legislative churn.

“The project wouldn’t be dead,” Steinburg said.

To nab construction dollars, the bridge would have to rank high among top-priority projects under the state’s Transportation Improvement Program. It would, however, be prioritized according to a list of criteria that include job creation and health and safety concerns.

Steinburg said that has had assurances by Tony Tata, the state Secretary of Transportation, on the fate of the bridge.

“It is my understanding that regardless of what happens to this House bill, this project would still rank very high,” he said. “Secretary Tata told me that the bridge will be built. He didn’t say when it would be built, but he said it will be built.”

But Steinburg conceded that if costs for the bridge are revised upward, the state Department of Transportation may not look as kindly on the Currituck span.

In the works for nearly 30 years, the $660 million project would trim an hour off the drive from Virginia to Corolla and address traffic congestion that routinely clogs the roads leading to the northern Outer Banks.

Even local residents who live off back roads winding through residential neighborhoods can’t escape the weekend traffic because GPS-enabled maps direct tourists to the alternate routes.

Peter Bishop, director of economic development for Currituck County, said that traffic has become the No. 1 complaint with visitors to the Outer Banks. On a summer weekend, what should be a 1.5-hour trip from Moyock can turn into four or more hours. When Hurricanes Irene and Sandy closed N.C. 12 to Hatteras, he said, the traffic got heavier when Hatteras vacationers were diverted to the north.

And with the beaches in New York and New Jersey still damaged from Sandy, Bishop said he expects that Corolla will have more visitors this summer.

But there is growing concern that traffic congestion, already a challenge in hurricane evacuation, will make tourists go somewhere else.

“You can see how that mentally kind of builds up,” Bishop said, referring to someone crawling for hours in traffic. “They think, ‘OK, I can get to the beach four hours earlier.’ ”

Traffic counts are important in determining how the bridge ranks with competing road projects. Congestion counts for 20 percent of a project’s score. The higher the traffic count, the higher the project scores. Improving road safety counts another 10 percent. The state looks at crash rates on the highway. Road conditions, time savings for drivers, and economic benefits to the region are factored as well.

Considering the value of tourism to the Outer Banks and the state, he said, the Mid-Currituck Bridge is an economic and safety necessity. It would speed up hurricane evacuation times, increase employment opportunities on both sides of the bridge, decrease commuting time for seasonal workers, and vastly improve the travel experience for tourists.

Tourism revenue in North Carolina in 2011 exceeded $18.4 billion, providing about 188,000 jobs and $4.18 billion in wages, according to the state Commerce Department.

On the barrier islands in Currituck, Dare and Hyde counties, tourism accounts for 5.6 percent of the state’s entire tourism economy. With annual visitation of about 8 million, the Outer Banks represents $1.03 billion in visitor spending, 13,200 jobs, $203.7 million in local payrolls and about $1 billion in tax revenue for local communities.

Steinburg said that the Mid-Currituck Bridge would also play an important role in creating a new economic engine he is proposing for the northeast corner of the state, which has lost many jobs in regional industries such as manufacturing, fishing, lumber and agriculture.

A bill Steinburg has recently introduced would use the Port of Norfolk to foster enterprises in counties located within 1 ½-hours from the port that could be become part of the foreign trade market. He said the initiative could open up the region to economic development, and the bridge is an essential component.

“I am very excited about the potential we have in northeastern North Carolina,” he said.

On March 6, state Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick, sponsored an amendment to House Bill 10 that would remove the designated funds for the three proposed toll projects, including the Garden Parkway near Charlotte, and make them compete with other transportation projects. Rabon said that the amendment, which has been approved by the Senate Transportation Committee and the Senate, would prevent politics from influencing road projects.

The amended House bill passed the Senate but has yet to be taken up by the House.

Being a Republican, Steinburg is well aware of the bitterness some members of his party have toward the region and projects like the Mid-Currituck Bridge.

“I believe this is a backlash,” he said. “They’re going after this bridge because of some animus they still have for Sen. Basnight. People see this as his project.”

But Steinburg said that the bridge stands on its own merits, regardless of political perceptions.

“It’s nothing but personal,” he said about the Republicans’ distaste for Basnight, a Manteo Democrat and longtime Senate president before his retirement in 2011. “There’s a great deal of resentment of some of the stuff he pulled. That’s why, sadly, Currituck is paying the cost today.”

Whatever the outcome of the Rabon bill, said Nicole Meister, a DOT spokesperson, the projects would not be slated for elimination as some fear. Like any other transportation project, they would be ranked in priority on five-year and 10-year state transportation plans for each of the state divisions.

And even if a project does not rank high, she said, it would go back into the priority process for future consideration.

“The reason why we support this is we want to take politics out of transportation planning,” Meister said. “It doesn’t mean that they’re not going to be built, or they’re going to be built.”

Meister said that the proposed bill does not remove the possibility of tolling. But instead of being the main approach to funding the projects, tolling would one of the options considered in funding.

“It gives it more flexibility,” she said.

This story is provided courtesy of Coastal Review Online, the coastal news and features service of the N.C. Coastal Federation. The Outer Banks Voice is partnering with Coastal Review Online to provide readers with more stories of interest in our area. You can read other stories about the N.C. coast at www.nccoast.org.

What’s happening OBX? Check out Outer Banks This Week’s top picks of OBX Events to keep you busy this weekend day and night!

Daytime

Event with OBX Jewelry Artist Laura Howard • Studio 12 • Hatteras, Avon
Thursday, April 25th 2013 04:00 p.m. -

Yoga • Kena Active Wear • Nags Head, Kitty Hawk
Friday, April 26th 2013 08:30 a.m. – 09:30 a.m.

Ox-drawn Wagon Rides • Island Farm • Roanoke Island, Manteo
Friday, April 26th 2013 01:00 p.m. – 03:00 p.m.

Event with OBX Jewelry Artist Laura Howard • Studio 12 • Hatteras, Avon
Friday, April 26th 2013 10:00 a.m. -

Bird Walks at Pea Island • Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge • Hatteras, Rodanthe
Friday, April 26th 2013 08:00 a.m. – 09:30 a.m.

Sheep Shearing Day • Island Farm • Roanoke Island
Saturday, April 27th 2013 10:00 a.m. – 04:00 p.m.

Children’s Show “Luna” • Roanoke Island Festival Park • Roanoke Island, Manteo
Saturday, April 27th 2013 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Shop & Taste! • Lee Robinson General Store • Hatteras, Hatteras Village
Saturday, April 27th 2013 05:00 p.m. -

2nd Annual WineDown 5k Vineyard Run • Outer Banks Runcations • Currituck
Saturday, April 27th 2013 05:00 p.m. – 09:00 p.m.

DUCK & WINE FESTIVAL • Outer Banks Events • Duck
Saturday, April 27th 2013

The Outer Banks Wedding Show • Outer Banks Events • Duck
Saturday, April 27th 2013 11:00 a.m. – 04:00 p.m.

Sunday Funday – Brunch! • Brewing Station • Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills
Sunday, April 28th 2013 11:30 a.m. – 04:00 p.m.

Ruth Wyand – BlueJazz • The Blue Point • Duck
Sunday, April 28th 2013 11:30 a.m. – 02:30 p.m.

Nightlife

Dan McIsaac live in The Bar • The Blue Point • Duck
Friday, April 26th 2013 06:00 p.m. -

The Other Brothers • Poor Richards • Roanoke Island, Manteo
Friday, April 26th 2013 08:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.

SETH STAINBACK & ROOSTERFOOT • Brewing Station • Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills
Friday, April 26th 2013 10:00 p.m. -

Live Music with Monty Hooker • Aqua Restaurant • Duck
Friday, April 26th 2013 05:00 p.m. -

Aquarium • Trio • Nags Head, Kitty Hawk
Friday, April 26th 2013 07:30 p.m. -

VAGINA MONOLOGUES • Outer Banks Events • Roanoke Island, Manteo
Friday, April 26th 2013 05:00 p.m. -

Kevin Wilder • Peppercorns Restaurant and Lounge • Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills
Friday, April 26th 2013 08:00 p.m. – 11:30 p.m.

Live Entertainment by Pairadocs • Lone Cedar Cafe • Nags Head, Town of Nags Head
Friday, April 26th 2013 09:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.

Mojo Collins & Triple Vision – Live Late Night • Ocean Boulevard • Nags Head, Kitty Hawk
Friday, April 26th 2013 10:00 p.m. -

Red Wolf Howling Safaris • Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge • Roanoke Island, Manteo
Saturday, April 27th 2013 07:00 p.m. – 08:30 p.m.

Family Tree • Goombay’s Grill & Raw Bar • Nags Head
Saturday, April 27th 2013 10:30 p.m. -

Live Entertainment by BC • Aqua Restaurant • Duck
Saturday, April 27th 2013 06:00 p.m. -

Watson & Calhoun • Poor Richards • Roanoke Island, Manteo
Saturday, April 27th 2013 08:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.

Alan Ross Karaoke Road Show • Peppercorns Restaurant and Lounge • Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills
Saturday, April 27th 2013 08:00 p.m. – 11:30 p.m.

For a full list of events, CLICK HERE.

The OBX MLS started out much slower this year than in 2012. Everyone seems to be in agreement that 2013 will be even better than last year, just spread out a bit different. This can be attributed to the slower traffic in December – smaller pendings in December always result in fewer closings in the first quarter of the New Year. However, the pendings are up for the first quarter and there is increased activity which will result in future sales!

Recap of all Property Sold in the 1st Quarter

On a positive note, our average days on the market continues to shrink. Inventory has declined and the sellers are pricing more in line with the market which results in a shorter listing period.

For the full report, Click Here.

For the first time the Bodie Island Lighthouse will be open to the public for touring on April 19th after a three year restoration project that cost $5 million. In the past only the lighthouse keeper and family members have been able to climb the 156 foot lighthouse. There will be a re-lighting ceremony on April 18th from 6pm to 7pm that the public is welcome to attend.

Click here to read the full story from The Outer Banks Voice.

NCDOT is repairing parts of the drawbridge across the Alligator River on US 64 that could cause an extra 30 miles of travel time for some heading to the Outer Banks. Bruce Siceloff of the News & Observer reports that the drawbridge will be shut down for 12 days beginning April 2nd, to repair “the replacement of balance wheels, worn-out gears and shafts, and the pivot itself – a bronze disk 24 inches in diameter that bears the weight of the entire bridge as it opens and closes.”  To find out more about the road closures or to read the full article, Click Here.

Breaking the silence on Kitty Hawk’s beaten shore – By Russ Lay                            

We’re hearing some encouraging news from Kitty Hawk. At the town’s last Planning Board meeting, citizens were informed that Kitty Hawk is taking the threat to its beleaguered shoreline seriously.

In an April 9, 2012 article on the N.C. Bar Association web site, Stacey Carless reiterates North Carolina’s preferred “concept of maintaining natural beaches by not allowing hardened structures” on the state’s coastlines.

Ironically, that is the exact situation prevailing in Kitty Hawk today, with one glaring exception.The hardened structure serving as the last line of defense between the town’s infrastructure and the Atlantic Ocean isn’t a groin, a jetty, a seawall or an offshore artificial reef.

The hardened structure that defines the town’s boundaries between the land and sea is a road, specifically N.C. 12.

Over a decade ago the dire status of the town’s shoreline was revealed when the Army Corps of Engineers conducted a study on the efficacy of beach nourishment along Dare’s northern beaches.It was that study and an initial funding promise from Congress that prompted the so-called “sand tax” to be considered to generate the local portion of revenue needed to fund the mostly-federal project.

Even then, it was uncertain if much of Kitty Hawk’s oceanfront would be covered by a federal project. The Army Corps bases some of its qualifications for nourishment programs on the value of the infrastructure the wider beach would protect.In much of Kitty Hawk, the oceanfront infrastructure of revenue-generating rental homes had already been lost to the ocean.

Constant flooding has not only eliminated most of the town’s oceanfront — and the revenue oceanfront properties generate — it now threatens homes and businesses on the west side that no one could argue were built “too close to the beach.”Popular spots such as The Black Pelican and Ocean Boulevard have been slammed by these storms.

Uncertainty about the future is likely affecting investment decisions as far west as U.S. 158, which is also increasingly subject to flooding as the beach continues to disappear and wave energy is not absorbed until it reaches the Beach Road.

Whether the answer lies in beach nourishment, the relocation of the Beach Road, a change in the state’s position on offshore storm abatement structures — or some combination of all three — we leave to others to decide.But a basic rule of economics is that uncertainty causes more economic damage than onerous regulations and even taxes. Investors may not like rules and taxes, but they and the market can adapt.

But no business can adapt to uncertainty or silence — and Kitty Hawk has been silent about the situation along their oceanfront for too long.We are encouraged by the recent discussions on the Planning Board.Our hope is those discussions continue and advance to the Town Council and public meetings and hearings.

U.S. News and World Report has ranked the Outer Banks as the #1 Best Family Beach Vacations in the USA.  Of course, to those of us who live here, we’ve known this all along! Here is an exerpt from the article, “And each island has its own charm: The old lighthouses, rugged dunes and secluded beaches in the south couple with vacation rentals, water sports and kitschy beach shops in the north, all to form a unique seaside destination.”

Click here to read the full story

The Dare County Board of Commissioners voted on Monday to have Coastal Science and Engineering, the company that worked on Nags Head’s 10 mile beach nourishment project, pump sand and widen the shoreline in Rodanthe and Buxton. The plan and cost is unknown at this point, but should be a little clearer after some preliminary studies. The biggest unknown is how long it will take to get permits to do the work and when the work will take place. Will it be summer again like in Nags Head to avoid the uncertainty of winter weather? The details of costs, time frames, and work will all be negotiated into a contract once studies have been done.

Full story found on The Outer Banks Voice.