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Fall Maintenance Checklist:

 Fall cleaning is necessary to keep your home's appearance in top notch shape and keep it in good overall condition.

Start now to prepare your home for fall and winter.  This important fall maintenance checklist will help you ease into the cooler months ahead:

• You should have a certified HVAC to clean and inspect your furnace once a year.

•   During extra cold temperatures, turn up the thermostat and now is a good time to insulate       exposed water pipes.

• Many people overlook something as simple as checking and replacing the furnace filter.  Furnace filters can get clogged up and won't push warm air into rooms.  This is an easy and inexpensive way to cut down on energy consumption and save on your energy bill.

All flammable materials should be kept away

from the water heater and the wiring,

 including all lawn and power equipment

 that are kept in common areas

such as the basement, utility rooms and garage area.

• Keep debris from accumulating on the roof, gutters,  and downspouts.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Clean these areas out periodically to prevent damage to these structures. Remember this important tip during fall when leaves can build up inside of your gutters.

~Check to make sure caulking is not deteriorated around windows and doors. If it has, re caulk these areas. Also check for weatherstripping.  Replace if needed.~

  Your chimney should be cleaned & kept up once a year by a professional chimney technician.

The exhaust duct and space under the

dryer accumulates lint, dust,

and pieces of strings/ material. 

Now is a good time to clean these areas.

Frayed wires or loose fitting plugs can result in potential fire hazards from your electrical outlets. Be sure not to overload electrical outlets, fuse boxes, extension cords or any other power service.

Keep a multi-purpose fire extinguisher accessible              

 that is filled and ready for operation.

  Smoke detectors should be maintained and checked once a month for proper usage. Make sure that there is one on each floor of your home

.

When extreme cooler months arrive, close and drain hose bibs. 

Rake debris away from side of house and other structures.  

Check and note any cracks in your brick, rock, or stucco foundation.

Examine septic system drain field for flooding, odor; have tank pumped yearly or as needed.

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With this fall maintenance checklist, you can be on your way to an easy and enjoyable new season ahead.  The wonderful season of fall!

 Brought to you by your friendly home inspector at EXAMINER HOME INSPECTIONS,LLC.

 What do you think?  I would like to get a general opinion of what realtors think about home inspectors?

• Are we too picky, do we really cause you the loss of a sale?

•  Or are we helpful in being truthful to your homebuyer??

ANYONE THOUGHT OF USING THIS AS A LOGO??

THE HOUSE HUNTER SUPERMAN!

OUR SUPERHERO, HE CAN SAVE YOU!

ALTHOUGH THIS IS DIRECTED MORE TO REAL ESTATE AGENTS,  IT CAN REALLY APPLY TO US ALL!

• "I have to have a raise in my commission," the agent said to his manager.

              "There are three other companies after me."

• "The electric company, the telephone company, and the gas company."

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   YOUR NEW HOME!! 

A client bought a new home and the broker wanted to send flowers for the occasion.
They arrived at the home and the owner read the card; it said "Rest in Peace".

The owner was angry and called the florist to complain. After he had told the florist of the obvious mistake and how angry he was, the florist said. "Sir, I'm really sorry for the mistake, but rather than getting angry you should imagine this: somewhere there is a funeral taking place today, and they have flowers with a note saying, "Congratulations on your new home".

Your Body Needs Maintance Checkups And So Does Your Home! (edit/delete)

This Post Is An Excellent Review of Why We Need Home Inspections.

Brought to us by the Home Improvement Place.

Professional Home Inspections

A professional home inspection is an examination of the current condition of a house. It is not an appraisal. We go to the doctor for physical exams and we have our cars checked up. There is no reason why we would not have our houses or homes checked also for upkeep and maintenance. A home inspection gives us an assessment of the condition of the house, its structural soundness, and the condition of its mechanical as well as electrical systems. The reports will guide us through the aspects of the house which may require expensive repairs, as well as those areas which may pose as fire, safety, and health hazards.

If we are buying a house, a clean bill of health helps us make that proper decision and gives us confidence that the money we shall be spending will be worth it. As a seller, the reports shall inform us in advance any problems that need to be resolved before closing the sale. We would not want our buyers to be asking for costly fixes or concessions. They should also feel good about their purchase too.

By keeping records of house inspections, we can fix problems on our terms for far less the cost compared with what we will likely spend if we will wait for major problems to erupt. This will also keep our house valuable.

As homeowners, we all need to think about ways to help make the most of the use of our heat.  Below are a few tips that have been devised to help you winterize your home and make it more cost efficient and heat efficient:

REVERSE YOUR CEILING FAN DIRECTION:  By reversing the ceiling fan direction, from blowing cooler air in the summertime to pushing warm air downward and recirculating it in the wintertime.  To check for the correct operational direction, the blades should be turing clockwise when you look up at them.

PREVENT OUTSIDE HOSE BIBS FROM FREEZING UP:  To keep pipes from bursting, make sure the water is turned off to your outside hose bibs and drain the water from the lines completely.

CHIMNEY CLEANING:   Call in the chimney sweep. Wintertime is the time to make sure your chimney is free and clear of birds, and other animals that can cause problems in the fireplace draft. Another tip is to buy a chimeny cap with a screen to prevent this from happening in the first place.

DUCTWORK SEAL UP:  Make sure your ductwork is well insulated and connected correctly. Ducts aren't always easy to find, but mostly are found in the attic, crawlspace, and basement.

CHECK THE FURNANCE: Make sure the heat exchanger doesn't have any cracks. Check the fuel line that runs into your home for any leakage. Check to make sure the thermostat is working properly.  Also change the filter regularly for maximum benefit of heat output.

ADDING INSULATION: Adding insulation to the existing insulation in the attic is a great tip.  Adding more or replacing new insulation can benefit it's ownself in cost of purchase to cost of use on your heating bill.

FIX  LEAKING AIR:  Walk around your home to feel for cold drafts from outside.  Check mostly by electrical outlets, windows and doors.   Outlet gaskets can be installed by electrical outlets, extra caulk and draft stoppers around windows and doors.

CLEAN THOSE GUTTERS:  Make sure any leftover leaves that had not previously finished falling are cleaned out of your gutters. This is very important when winter rains, and excessive melting snow has no place to run down. Also, this is a good time to make sure your downspouts are piped away from you home's foundation to prevent puddles and damage to the foundation.

With these easy checklist tips, we can all be on our way to a happy and warm winter.

EXAMINER HOME INSPECTIONS, LLC

http://www.examinerhomeinspection.com/

Okay, It's Friday. I know how you feel.  Found this nice website of songs for your rest and peace of mind.

 These are soft easy listening gospel songs.  Sounds like it is straight from the One who knows all about your troubles and sorrows.   http://www.songsofrest.com/

Ever wonder how to go about submitting a news media release to help promote your business?

I have discovered some very helpful tips in writing the perfect news release about your business and best of all, if your article is chosen to be printed as a help to the local public, the cost is free!

• Most everything is done electronically nowadays.  Email your article to your local newspaper titling the subject line "Media Release".
• NOt sure how to find out the email address? Just find the website for your local newspaper and click on contact us.  A list of contacts will appear.  Most letters are sent to the Editor of the newspaper.
• Use a company letter head to make the article look professional. 
• Be sure the article is written directly in your email page.   Not many people will open attachments or links due to the high number of computer bugs that can be contracted so easily. 
•  Never try to "sell" to the news paper editor. You have to be wise as to how you word your article in order to keep it from being a sales pitch.  Keep it limited to useful information about what you have or know.
• Start out with something catchy like.... Homebuyers now have a better way to buy their dream home thanks to ________________________.
• Keep your article limited to 6-8 lines per paragrahp.  Keep each statement in the paragraph short but STRONG.
• Always include your Name, telephone number, email address and the date of the letter.

**Thanks to some much appreciated advice from some Active Rain Members, I have added these items on the list of press release advice.

• Useful topics could read something like " 5 Steps to....." or if you have added a new associate or your busines has performed a big accomplishments, these are good to write about also.
• A good press release will always tell who, what, when, where, and why.

By following these easy steps that I have researched and composed, your news article can be underway in no time at all.  Just remember, not everyone is interested in the things you have to sell to them.  Don't be disappointed if your article doesn't get printed the first time.  Keep trying. It is alright to keep submitting several different articles such as "how to's" or "advice from your local__________".   Being passionate for what you believe in may pay off in time for you.

You should have a certified HVAC technician to clean and inspect your furnance once a year.

All flammable materials should be kept away from the water heater and the wiring, including all lawn and power equipment that are kept in common areas such as the basement, utility rooms and garage area.

During extra cold termperatures, turn up the thermostate and now is a good time to insulate exposed water pipes.

Keep debris from accumulating on the roof, gutters, and downspouts.  Clean these areas out periodically to prevent damage to these structures. Remember this important tip during fall when leaves can build up inside of your gutters.

Check to make sure caulking is not deteriorated around windows and doors. If it has, recaulk these areas. Also check for weatherstripping.  Replace if needed.

Your chimney should be cleaned and kept up once a year by a professional chimney technician.

Many people overlook something as simple as checking and replacing the furnance filter.  Furnance filters can get clogged up and won't push warm air into rooms.  This is an easy and inexpensive way to cut down on energy consumption and save on your energy bill. 

The exhaust duct and space under the dryer accumulates lint, dust, and pieces of strings/ material.  Now is a good time to clean these areas.

Frayed wires or loose fitting plugs can result in potential fire hazards from your electrical outlets. Be sure not to overload electrical outlets, fuse boxes, extension cords or any other power service.

Keep a multi-purpose fire extinguisher accessible that is filled and ready for operation.

Smoke detectors should be maintanced and checked once a month for proper usage. Make sure that there is one on each floor of your home. 

When extreme cooler months arrive, close and drain hose bibs.

Rake debris away from side of house and other structures.

Check and note any cracks in your brick, rock, or stucco foundation.

Examine septic system drain field for flooding, odor; have tank pumped yearly or as needed.

With this fall maintance checklist, you can be on your way to an easy and enjoyable new season ahead.  The wonderful season of fall!

 Brought to you by your friendly home inspector at EXAMINER HOME INSPECTIONS,LLC.

Do you perform a full home inspection?  This is a question often asked by many potential clients. What they are referring to is:

Do you test for mold?  Do you test the water?  Do you perform a termite inspection?  Do you test the septic?  Do you test for radon? Do you test for asbestos?

These additional tests can run the cost of a simple home inspection way up.  So the answer to my potential clients is....not usually on a typical home inspection do I test for these.  In other complicated situations, such as a homeowner relocating and for their convience, I will have these tested for him.  But more often, the case is that I do not perform these tests and this can save you greatly on added inspection fees.

Why? 

Mold and water can be tested by a local health department.  A simple form can be filled out and a small fee paid at your local health department for the environmentalists to come out and take samples, returning them to a lab, and receiving results back for you in just a few days to a week.  The fee is rather small, way less than the $75-$120 that an inspector would charge to call the environmentalist out to perform the test on his behalf.

Damage by termites are fairly easy to spot and determine.  On my inspections, I probe the area for possible infestations and note if this exists on my report.  Along with the notation, I request that the new homeowner have a termite specialist come for further examination and to terminate any findings.  An added $50-$70 expense on your full course home inspection, which could be saved by calling them out for yourself once termite infestations have been determined. 

As far as septic tank testing goes, there is a fairly easy way to spot problems.  Does the tank bubble out of the ground or have a foul smell.  If not then there should be no problems with your septic tank. Septic testing could be complicated. Any inspector could charge you an extra $40-$60 to test your septic tank by dropping in tabs and looking at the reaction of the tank (if the water bubbles or not).  Honestly the only sure fire way to test a septic is to remove the tank's lid and have it reviewed.  This is NOT a home inspector's job nor does he specialize in septic tanks.

Radon testing is another issue.  Extra money out of your pocket can be salvaged by ordering a radon testing kit for $15 online yourself.  These take 5-7 days of continuous testing to determine if radon exists.  A complete full inspection with a radon test included could add $$75-$100 more to your home inspection bill.

The Bottom Line:  Most tests offered by a home inspector for an additional fee, can be saved on your pocketbook/wallet by calling for these tests to be performed yourself.  Health departments will offer to test water, mold, and septic for as little as $15 each where as an inspector would charge you $up to $120 more, sometimes $50 each for these additional tests. Termites should be tested by a specialist (if potential problems appear) and radon tests can be performed by you sent in for results.  

Why am I disclosing these facts to you.  Home inspections can be rather pricey and additional costs unnecessarily charged. My motto is "Working to protect our client" and this includes extra expenses too.