Early Rising - How Would You Like An Extra Month Every Year? - 02/28/09 07:00 AM
I am an early riser.  And always have been!  Most people are shocked by how early - I am usually up by 3am, though I sometimes sleep in until 4 or so.  The morning is my favorite time of day.  It is my quiet time.  I can think.  I can plan.  And I can do so unfettered by phones and interruptions.  I can get a lot done.
One of my pastimes is collecting antique books.  I love reading them, learning how people used to think and write.  One thing I have discovered is that people 100 or 150 years ago were … (37 comments)

Is An Outhouse Illegal? What About An Inhouse? - 02/23/09 07:11 AM
It's been a long time - are outhouse laws still on the books?
There are Port O' Potties everywhere, albeit temporary.  I have seen them in people's yards.  Hopefully they are there for a short-term reason.  But I don't know about outhouses. 
Do sellers try to hide things?  Interesting construction, booby traps they set for inspectors, illegal installations?  Yes!  Yes they do!  Well, some do.  This is something I ran across well over a decade ago, but thought you might find it, shall we say, unusual!
This was a ranch house, with a full basement.  There was an unfinished side, with … (25 comments)

These Stamps Aren't Made For Mailing - 02/18/09 07:31 PM
It was a lovely home, very large, bricked, huge hip roof with a gabled window on each side, and beautiful, newly-installed cedar shakes.  Gorgeous!  Outside and then inside.  And for $1.5 mil it should be!
My client and I had a good time.  There was little to speak about really - for a new home I was pleasantly surprised.  The supervisor beamed.  He had done a good job.  My client was impressed and very happy.
It was time for the attic.  The pull-down stairs made it easy as the ceilings were 10' high.  There was lots to see in the attic … (20 comments)

My Weirdest Inspection Ever - Can You Top This? - 02/17/09 09:31 AM
Recently I was asked about the weirdest inspection I have ever done. That was an easy one!
Years ago I pulled up to a very well maintained property. Not much unusual at first glance – white siding, black roof, black shutters, window and door trim. As is my custom, I looked at the outside and met my clients when they arrived to walk around again with them. It was time to go inside.
The Realtor opened the door and everyone invited me to go first. I wondered about the nervous giggling behind me. They wanted to see my reaction.
The door … (33 comments)

You Can Do It Cheap, Or You Can Do It Right - 02/12/09 06:58 AM
An entire inspection of a foreclosure recently was spent with my buyer client and her "contractor."  I use the quotes around the word contractor intentionally.
Not realizing I speak Spanish, in each room they were discussing the best way to hide this, or cheaply repair that, or cover this or clean the mold off of that.  I listened and understood.
I did my thing, they did theirs.
Please understand -- my thing is to provide the best service I can, no matter what the outcome.
Their thing was something entirely different.
Finally, in the master bathroom, there had been serious leaking … (70 comments)

Correct Principles And The Extra Mile - 02/09/09 07:13 AM
I have thought a lot about the term “correct principles” since Charles Buell and I had our somewhat tedious exchange on the subject.
You can read it here – http://activerain.com/blogsview/922326/Is-your-belief-a-Bully
And you might as well, no one else did… But I digress.
A very important question Charles asks is, outside of religious contexts, how one goes about “sorting out exactly what constitutes 'correct principles'?"
Our word “principle” comes from the Latin words “principium”, meaning “source,” and “princeps,’ literally meaning “he who takes first place.” We derive many words from those etymological roots. The principal is the source of a loan. The … (16 comments)

Is your "belief" a Bully? - 02/07/09 08:14 PM
I love Charles Buell! He invites me to think! I wish to develop some different thinking on his post… and I include some of his words.
Belief against belief – that’s what we call war? Here’s a question! Could that be what caused the war in heaven? Or was it something else?
This is a considerable thought! Could one’s belief bully another’s? Is belief handed down? If beliefs were handed down generation to generation, I would be quite a different person. Values should certainly handed down from parent to child and to the next child so that generations do not have … (1 comments)

How To Eat An Elephant - 02/05/09 04:32 AM
Sometimes when I am outside the house with a client we see indicators of what may be a problem once we get inside.  Such was the case on this particular house.
Outside along the rear of the house, a driveway had been added years after the house was constructed.  The bricks at that location were disturbed, sagging, the mortar had been patched, apparently more than once, and water was pooling next to the foundation. 
Once we got inside, and after moving some artfully arranged (hiding a problem?) boxes, this is what I found!
Yes, that is poly-foam!  And only a portion … (17 comments)

 
Jay_light_ar_photo Rainmaker_large

Jay Markanich - N. Virginia Home Inspector

Bristow, VA

More about me…

Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC

Address: 12315 Sherborne Street, Bristow, VA, 20136

Office Phone: (703) 330-6388

Cell Phone: (703) 585-7560

Email Me

An experienced home inspector's look at current home inspection events and conditions along with his useful recommendations.


Listings

Links

Archives

RSS 2.0 Feed for this blog

Find VA real estate agents and Bristow real estate on ActiveRain.