Monday Morning Motivator

Good Morning Active|Rain...

"True hope dwells on the possible, even when life seems to be a plot written by someone who wants to see how much adversity we can overcome. True hope responds to the real world, to real life; it is an active effort. "

~ Walter Anderson

This motivational moment has been brought to you as a courtesy of

Complete Home Inspections, Inc. | Brentwood, TN 37027

Join my birthday alarm. It is fast painless and the best part of all, you will be helping me out.

This post is included in one of AR's newest groups Blogs Happen... . We are a friendly lot of bloggers. Check it out and join. You will be glad you did...

PS ~~ Be sure to enter the contest to win 1000 AR points...

Michael

Copyright © 2008 by Michael Thornton of Complete Home Inspections, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

Occasionally home inspectors run into situations that they kinda wish that they hadn't or at least wish that they had Superman's X-ray vision before entering. One thing that I run into quite often here in the south is wasps that have built nests in exterior electric  panels such as this one. Although both parties were startled at first, I quickly put the lid back on this box of stinging meanies and let the buzzing angry beasts alone.

The danger here is that some people are allergic to wasp stings and there are several cases that bee or wasp stings have killed people. I certainly have lost my tolerance to stings as the last time I encountered a nest of wasps, my hand and arm were swollen for several days and I had to get several injections. I don't know which was worse, the shots the DR gave or the dang wasp stings... ,

Looking for a chance to win 1,000 Active Rain Points?

Well here's your chance. All this week, the Blogs Happen group is running a contest where we are giving away 1000 AR points to the winner and 200 points just for entering. That's doubling your blog points for one blog!!! How cool is that??

Fuzzy, the current logo for one of Active Rain's newest groups Blogs Happen... needs to be given 'Da Boot'. Not that I have anything against Fuzzy but he's gotta go and is on his way outta here... Click Here for contest rule and details on how to win these points!!!

Be creative! Almost Anything goes. Photos do not have to be of animals, they can be of anything that depicts life or blogs happening!

I do want to thank everyone who has submitted entries so far. Put on your thinking caps and most of all JUST HAVE FUN!!!

Have a great weekend Y'all....

Michael

Copyright © 2008 by Michael Thornton of Complete Home Inspections, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

People who live in small houses often shove washers and dryers all the way back against the rear wall to have a little room to put in the clothes baskets and close the doors. After looking behind the dryer, I had to ask the seller if she was having any problems with her dryer. She did admit that  she had to dry the clothes twice. She just thought that the dryer was going out and was going to replace it after she moved.

Well, as you can see, the problem was not the dryer. Kinked or damaged exhaust vents can cause dryers to waste energy and overheat resulting in laundry room fires.  Dryer vents need to be periodically checked for damage and cleaned every three years to keep your dryer working properly.

Looking for a chance to win 1,000 Active Rain Points?

Fuzzy, the current logo for one of Active Rain's newest groups Blogs Happen... needs to be given 'Da Boot'. Not that I have anything against Fuzzy but he's gotta go and is on his way outta here... Click Here for contest rule and details on how to win these points!!!

Join my birthday alarm. It is fast painless and the best part of all, you will be helping me out.

Michael

Copyright © 2008 by Michael Thornton of Complete Home Inspections, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

As we all know, new home buyers are nervous and are apt to balk at any time during the home purchase process. I was a witness to this behavior the other day. Our office received a call from a first time home buyer who needed an “emergency” inspection on a property that she was purchasing.

Being only three days out from closing, the buyer put the brakes on the closing. The house she was purchasing was an owner/agent rehab, the inspector was recommended by her agent and she felt pressured by her agent to go ahead and purchase the property. Somewhere in the process, it seems as if the agent failed to gain the trust of the buyer and the whole process broke down.

I was surprised that her real estate agent did not come out to the property to unlock the door or even check on how things were going. To me, that was very telling. The client was young enough to be my daughter, and seeing that she was nervous, I took extra time to walk her step-by-step through the property. I took the time to explain to her that many of the issues were consistent with older properties and was to be expected. I took the time to tell her what needed to be addressed by the rehabber and what she would 'inherit' due to the age of the house. The impression that I got when we left was that she was going to go ahead and purchase.

Most likely, I will never hear from this agent. So what went wrong during the original transaction and why did it take someone from outside the circle to “save the deal”? Did she feel safer because I was outside the transaction process and was not related directly with the property transaction in any way? I may never know, but I am glad that things worked out for everyone.

Looking for a chance to win 1,000 Active Rain Points?

Fuzzy, the current logo for one of Active Rain's newest groups Blogs Happen... needs to be given 'Da Boot'. Not that I have anything against Fuzzy but he's gotta go and is on his way outta here... Click Here for details on how to win!!!

Join my birthday alarm. It is fast painless and the best part of all, you will be helping me out.

Michael

Copyright © 2008 by Michael Thornton of Complete Home Inspections, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

I have a fear of gas. Having been around several explosions in my life, anything that goes BOOM!!! or has a potential to go BOOM!!! scares the ever living crap out of me. Having been inspected twice by two other local inspectors and not being mentioned in their reports I could not help myself, I had to say something about this potentially unsafe condition. Even though there is a gas shut-off installed, shut-off valves can leak and get jarred. Any time a gas line has been disconnected from the appliance, it is mandatory that the gas line be capped to prevent leakage. If a leak develops and this condition goes unnoticed, this $750K property could become one expensive pile of ashes...

BTW the other reports were lying on the kitchen counter. I read through them.  More on another post...

Join my birthday alarm. It is fast painless and the best part of all, you will be helping me out.

This post is included in one of AR's newest groups Blogs Happen... . We are a friendly lot of bloggers. Check it out and join. You will be glad you did...

Michael

Copyright © 2008 by Michael Thornton of Complete Home Inspections, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

There is a lot of debate between home inspectors as to whether bigger is better. Having been a long time believer in the train of thought, that bigger was better, I have come to the realization that is not always the case. Although some real estate agents like big or long reports, I have found that most like short ones as they seem to be less intimidating not only for them but for the buyer as well...

After studying my competition and talking to real estate professionals, I an learning what is successful in the market place and what does my client want and need. Armed with this knowledge, I embarked on an aggressive business plan to shorten my 45+ page report and get down to basics. I have come up with a report that adheres to ASHI and the State of Tennessee Standards of practice. The result was a 12 - 17 page version that addresses what is necessary and the comments are short, concise and succinct. ie. "The widget that is attached to the gazinta is broken. Repair as necessary."

After much debugging and beta testing, the final version of the reporting software is being launched today. Hopefully, no more flying computers...

Join my birthday alarm. It is fast painless and the best part of all, you will be helping me out.

This post is included in one of AR's newest groups Blogs Happen... . We are a friendly lot of bloggers. Check it out and join. You will be glad you did...

Michael

Copyright © 2008 by Michael Thornton of Complete Home Inspections, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

Monday Morning Motivator

Good Morning Active|Rain...

"Sometimes it's important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it's essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow. "

~ Douglas Pagels

This motivational moment has been brought to you as a courtesy of

Complete Home Inspections, Inc. | Brentwood, TN 37027

Join my birthday alarm. It is fast painless and the best part of all, you will be helping me out.

This post is included in one of AR's newest groups Blogs Happen... . We are a friendly lot of bloggers. Check it out and join. You will be glad you did...

Michael

Copyright © 2008 by Michael Thornton of Complete Home Inspections, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

Last week, a friend of mine, Larry Brewer wrote a post on Brentwood Deer. Well this morning while I was in the kitchen getting a cup of coffee to get these old bones moving, I glanced out the kitchen window and saw 2 does and spotted fawns out at the farm pond behind the house. I snapped a few frames to share.

Brentwood is one of those unique cities that is a great blend of both city and country. When the city carter was set up, subdivision lots had to be an acre or have enough acreage of 'common' area set aside to make up the difference. This additional acreage is a great habitat and refuge for wildlife.

This post is included in one of AR's newest groups Blogs Happen... . We are a friendly lot of bloggers. Check it out and join. You will be glad you did...

Have you joined my birthday alarm? It is fast painless and the best part of all, you will be helping me out.

Michael

Copyright © 2008 by Michael Thornton of Complete Home Inspections, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

Home inspectors don't have all the answers to all of the challenges encountered during the inspection process. Sometimes we have to rely on 'subtitle' clues, and take the SWAG (Scientific Wild A$$ Guess) approach to reach a conclusion as to what the problem could be. While inspecting a 'challenging' property in another county, I had to use the above technique to determine if just maybe there might have been a drainage issue going on with the plumbing for the sink. What do you think?

Post included in Blogs Happen... Group. Check it out and join this new group...

Have you joined my birthday alarm? It is fast painless and the best part of all, you will be helping me out.

Michael

Copyright © 2008 by Michael Thornton of Complete Home Inspections, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

Hurricane Fay brought some 2" of much needed rain to the middle Tennessee area the other day, helping relieve some of the drought conditions here. As I was getting ready to do my evening walk, I was able to capture a few frames of the last of Fay as she left and moved north. The double rain bow formed a perfect arc in the eastern sky and lasted but a few fleeting moments...

Have you joined my birthday alarm? It is fast painless and the best part of all, you will be helping me out.

Because I need your help, subscribe to my blog.

Michael

Copyright © 2008 by Michael Thornton of Complete Home Inspections, Inc., All Rights Reserved.