Michael Reel's (mdrihi) Blog

Hello Folks, It is that time of the year from the mid-west to the east coast. It never hurts to be reminded of the "Sting" that Mother nature can inflict upon the unsuspecting (mere mortal) Home Inspector. This is not me. It is from about three years ago and it came from the Columbus Ohio area. B...

The work week is complete and I am ready to rest a bit. The WV market seems to be weathering the roller coaster ride as if it were a kiddy ride instead of the Space Mountain ride at Disney World, and we are quite thankful I might add. I sympathize with those of you who are having to ride the big ...

We live in an alarmist society. (That's my take on it) It seems as though if it is not ALARMING it is not news..... Recently on the "Today Show" (NBC) they interviewed two Radon professionals who did an admirable job of telling people what Radon was and that EVERYONE had it. They explained that t...

I think, too often, as mere mortals we wait for the "if only" to happen in our lives as if someone else has to do something before we can get up and get moving. Living is an action and the living of this life requires action on our part. If we wait for "if only" then we are just reacting to life ...

As someone said yeserday on AR, "sometimes it is hard to keep from laughing out-loud in the face of the seller". Now, we never want to make anyone feel bad about what they have been able to accomplish. This young homeowner was so pleased with the new kitchen he had installed "ALL by Himself". Oh,...

As Inspectors we perform visual evaluations of reasonably accessible areas and are bound by "Standards" to disclose condition and not recommend repair. However we need to know what conditions percipitate our recommendation to call in an expert in a particular situation. Foundations can be difficu...

As it (the weekend) approached I had a few delusional thoughts..... Peace and quiet, Rest and relaxation, a little time for my wife and me to maybe just "Chill" as the kids would say. Or maybe they have a different phrase now? I have empathy for those of you located in the depressed markets. I am...

Amoung the many bills and rules submitted to the West Virginia State Legislature is one that will bring increased attention to Smoke detectors in existing dwellings. We all know what the codes state re: the installation of smoke detectors in new construction and even existing rental units and you...

It happened two days ago! The CALL."You did my inspection and my roof is now leaking and my roofer said it was your fault and I need a new roof and HOW MUCH INSURANCE DO YOU HAVE?" Send a chill up your spine? I still have long underwear on and my insulated "carharts" as well. After I caught my br...

In West Virginia last year there were 79 Fire Fatalities from home fires. Very unfortunate, absolutely, preventable? YOU BET! The problem is that only 28% of those homes were found to have smoke detectors and only 20% of those had batteries installed. As home inspectors we HAVE to tell people of ...