On 15 Dec 2005 13:25:15 -0800, "autonut843"
wrote:

Thanks for the input.

One thing your realtor may request. Instead of the notes, just swap
out the modified smoke detector with the correct one so nothing has to
be declared. It'll make the sale go easier. You really don't want to
mess it up. It's not like your mod will be the deal clencher that
makes the buyer choose your home. It very well could be the thing that
makes the buyer walk away.

Think about it, if you were buying a house from, say, Steve Wozniak (a
known good electrical guy, think Apple computer) and he said, 'by the
way, I modified the smoke detector so it would...' Would you trust
the life and safety of your family with it or would you want it swapped
out?

Also, considering all the horror stories there are about the 'buyer
from hell' (I know someone personally that had such a buyer, what a
major hassle it was and it cost lots in legal fees but that is another
story. Their buyer just wanted to back out after the time frame but it
still cost the seller legal fees just to clear up the mess.) do you
really want that in the mix?

Let's say your buyer gets your notes, is a dream buyer, all is well,
and then 3 months later the house burns or something like that. Now
you have given them written descriptions of what you did. Who do you

I agreed with t he rest of your post, but you really got me with this
part. How about if I cut the two wires I soldered to the original
smoke detector, and cut off any stubs on the detector itself, and tape
the relay wires and roll them up and stuff them away. That puts
everything back the way I found it, eletrically at least. Do you
think that will leave me safe?

Then what if I leave a note about what I did, so the new owner can put
it back the way I made it. Or is that looking for trouble?

think the law/insurance is going to come after? What if they aren't
such a dream buyer and they modify your mod and it burns. Now what?
Now their insurance company and your insurance company have you on the
stand and you say, 'I just added *this* relay, I didn't do *that* to
it!". I just don't see the gain here.

It's idealism, believe it or not, and I guess some vanity.. I've
improved on the original, and I'd like to see the improvement last.

The warning on the smoke detector is to keep the smoke detector people
from being sued, in the case of those who don't know how to do a
proper modification. But I started doing stuff like this 50 years ago
when I was 8, and after model trains, wall switches, radio, tv, house
wiring, more tv and a little bit of other various things, by now I
know how to do something simple like this..




Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let
me know if you have posted also.