Safety In The Home

January 11, 2011

SAFETY IN THE HOME   This month we’ll discuss conditions in and around the home which can cause harm to you and your family.   First, let’s talk about the obvious-smoke detectors. I can’t tell you how many homes we go in where this item is missing, disconnected or inoperative. A fireman friend recently told [...]

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What Happens When We Miss Something?

December 12, 2010

WHAT’S AN INSPECTOR TO DO? What happens when an inspector misses something during an inspection? Many parties to the real estate transaction think that inspectors, like many other professionals, carry some sort of insurance for any oversights made in the course of their work. This was not the case until 2007 ! Now, when we [...]

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Arc Fault Breakers and Water Heater Expansion Tanks

November 17, 2010

New Home Inspection Requirements If you think you’ve seen some pretty odd write-ups lately from inspectors, you’re not imagining things, it’s true! Starting this past Spring, TREC has req’d inspectors to write up additional items. Some were being written up anyway, except for two: expansion tanks at water heaters and arc fault breakers in living [...]

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Buying Rental Property (long but WORTH IT!)

October 11, 2010

Buying investment real estate This is for anyone wishing to purchase investment real estate, all of whom I hope end up with at least one or two pieces of rental property…It’s a relatively EZ way to build wealth and make extra income. Why you should invest: -it’s the ONLY investment someone else buys for you [...]

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Energy Audit Factoids

September 19, 2010

This may scare you… I recently got certified to do energy audits and boy, did I learn a lot about a/c that I didn’t know! I’ll share some of it with you today. The four most significant facts I wasn’t aware of is that virtually ALL systems are oversized (because houses are so leaky), work [...]

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Foundation Movement

August 14, 2010

Anybody connected with the real estate business who has seen this word on an inspection report or an appraisal knows they are in for an interesting day. Specifically, foundation movement can be anything from a hairline crack in the garage floor to major structural problems requiring piering up the foundation and mud jacking. I recently [...]

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Done This Lately?

July 17, 2010

DONE THIS LATELY ? Modern homes don’t require much maintenance but they do require SOME. Are you keeping up? Test your smoke detectors and gfi outlets on a regular basis (push the “test” button). These items DO fail and when they do, they don’t wave a red flag in front of you to tell you [...]

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Water Damage

July 8, 2010

Water Damage The most damaging substance to buildings of all types is WATER. Whether it’s from rain or your plumbing system, water getting into the wrong places can cause havoc, and quickly. Today we’ll discuss how your plumbing system can be your biggest enemy. Awhile back I asked my insurance agent what the 3 biggest [...]

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What’s Wrong With Your Home?

June 12, 2010

WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOUR HOME? I have to chuckle whenever I enter a home for an inspection and either the agent or owner informs me that, “this home is in excellent condition, so we doubt you’ll find anything wrong”. My advice on these type of comments is: 1. NEVER say this to an inspector (he’ll [...]

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Termites

May 31, 2010

TERMITES & TREATMENT It’s been a while since we had an article on these pesky bugs and a lot has changed since then. First, a comment on “conducive conditions”. The pest control operators find these as much as a nuisance as the Realtors however we are required by our licensing act to inform the consumer [...]

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