Everything started out as usual. 
 
Client called asking about my inspection choices, prices and qualifications.  Set the inspection for a couple days later at 5:30PM per the client's request (he didn't want to take a day off work).
 
Began the inspection with my usual "rap" about what to expect during the inspection.  The agent chimed in that this was a "pre-offer inspection".
 
The back-story is that this client had an offer accepted on a previous home (foreclosure) and decided not to complete the deal (he didn't get into details of why).  Apparently, he had to jump through all kinds of hoops to get his earnest money back. This must have been last fall, as his previous inspector did not renew his license (IL renewal was Nov 31, 2008). 
 
He and his agent thought that having an inspection BEFORE they made an offer on this property (a short sale) would alleviate the headaches if this property also was not up to the clients needs.
 
With the abundance of foreclosure/short sale properties out there, I was wondering if anyone else had used this method and what y'all think of it.

Check out, http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home1280.html You can pick out a crayon drawing by kids (thank you card) and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq . You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services.  No personal info, email or financial info needed - just a name and hometown. 

It is FREE and it only takes a second.

Wouldn't it be great if the soldiers received a bunch of these?

Imagine how cool it would be for a soldier, perhaps missing his own kids, to get a card made by a kid!

Regardless of your opinion of the war, our soldiers need to know we are behind them. This takes just seconds to do and it's a wonderful way to say thank you. Please take the time and please take the time to pass it on for others to do.

Thanks for supporting our troops.

Kali was found in a plastic bag along with a few other kittens 10-11 years ago.

My wife took in Kali (the others also found good homes).

As a youngin' she used to take great joy in stalking and attacking (mostly in play) the two older cats (both gone now). She would lay in wait and at the right time, jump and pounce on them. The older cats, Skittle (mother) and Gucci (daughter) put up with it for a while and even played along at times.  As they got older, though, they tired of it and wouldn't play with Kali anymore.

When my son was around two, he heard me call Kali a beast, and started chasing her calling " Beastie! Beastie! "  The name fit, and it stuck. Beastie was never one who liked to be picked up, hated the kitty crate and would let some people pet her until she'd had enough. You'd know she was done being petted by the quick bite you would get. As time went on, and she was the only cat, she developed quite an affinity for me.  I don't know why - guess she didn't know I wasn't really a "cat person" before I met my wife.  Our play was her trying to "attack" my hand, but only while she was rolling around on her back.

I made the mistake, one day, of giving Beastie a little piece of chicken a couple years ago.  What a monster I created!  'Meeooooow, Meeeeeeeeeooow, MEEEEOW!" Every night she would sit next to me and meow and meow until she got a tidbit.  On chicken nights (her favorite) she would paw at my leg also.

About two years ago, she became very fond of my then 5 year old son.  She was his breakfast buddy - rubbing on his legs while he ate breakfast purring the whole time.  If Jacob was laying on the floor, she'd come up and rub and snuggle with him and purr.  Boy, what a motor that cat had, you could hear her purr from across the room!  Rubbing her head would set off the purr machine and even after you stopped she would purr and purr and purr.

As big as she was, it was hard for her to jump up on anything.  She loved boxes, and any time we bought anything that came in a box (of any size) we'd have to leave the box out for a few days (weeks) for her to lay in, on and around.  A few months ago she managed to jump onto the couch (an amazing feat if you knew Beastie).  The back of the couch became a regular nap spot for her - it was right in the sun, ya know.  One night she made a bold leap from the couch to my recliner and that also was a favorite spot.  Sometimes the arm rest, but mostly the footrest.  She'd lay there as long as I did - and every now and then rub her head on my feet.  We did get into a couple "arguments" (me talking, her hissing) about her taking up so much room and me having nowhere to put my feet.  Invariably I lost those squabbles.

Beastie wasn't really a friendly cat, she wasn't mean either - although my niece (who's 16) is terrified of her. She was a part of our family (kinda like a cranky aunt) up until tonight.

Right before Thanksgiving, I noticed that she was moving kinda slow.  I thought, at first, that she may have strained something jumping onto the couch.  When it continued the next day, I was worried.  She stayed under the bed and was quite thirsty, only coming out to drink and use the litter box.  When she didn't even come out for the Turkey, I knew something was seriously wrong.

After two days at the vet we found out it was a kidney problem.  We took her home, still awaiting the test to come back to see if it was simply an infection or if her kidneys were failing.  She was doing better at the vet, I knew because the nurse said she was so calm the first day, but now, and I quote, "She doesn't like us very much".  I thought I was getting my cranky cat back!  We gave her fluids through a needle and some pills as the doctor told us.  I won't go in to the "fun" I had trying to give her her pills.  If she wasn't so sick, I would've taped it for a funny video show.  The vet said the big thing was for her to eat.  She gave us some special food that would help, especially if it was just an infection.  Well, after a day of not eating we got the news.  Her kidneys were indeed failing.  She did perk up a bit after getting her fluids (she even purred a time or two), but she didn't eat a thing.  She was in so much pain today (I still hear that awful meow), I almost wish we had taken her in yesterday.

After a dog and two other cats, you'd think that last trip to the vet would get easier, but it doesn't.  I think it gets harder.

Good -bye, Beastie. 

We love you.

We miss you.

With the change of seasons, it's nearly time to change the smoke alarm batteries.  Well, the seasons and the fact that I was "advised" by the wife to start getting Christmas stuff out (UGH!).  Holidays usually consist of using electricity in ways it wasn't meant to be. 

Where is that special outlet thingy so I can plug in 72 strands of lights? 
I swear I had 12 extension cords last year, how can i make due with 10?

I thought I'd share a tidbit from my inspection report concerning smoke alarms.

Smoke alarms

Smoke alarms save lives, we all know that.  Sixty-five percent of home fire deaths happen in homes with no smoke alarms at all or no smoke alarms that work. When there is a fire, smoke spreads fast and you need smoke alarms to give you time to get out.

In order to save lives they need two things - power and a functioning sensor.  The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends replacement of smoke detectors every 10 years or sooner if they do not respond properly. (See all smoke detector safety tips from NFPA)  Presumably, this is because the sensors will become less effective over time (they are mechanical and subject to failure).

It is beyond the scope of a home inspection to determine the age or sensor sensitivity of a smoke alarm.  I recommend everyone change the smoke alarms at time of possession and at the interval recommended by the manufacturer.  Smoke alarms are relatively inexpensive these days.  Isin't that expense worth it to positively know that your smoke alarms are brand new?  To me, it's much better than guessing how old they might be.

Some common smoke alarm tips:

• Install smoke detectors in each bedroom and on each floor of the home (follow manufacturers instructions).
• Interconnect smoke detectors so that when one sounds, they all sound.
• Use both ionization smoke alarms and photoelectric smoke alarms (or a combination alarm)
• Test alarms monthly by using the test button
• Change batteries twice a year

For a full list of smoke alarm tips, as well as general fire safety tips see www.nfpa.org

My son just started second grade and all of the kids in his class are excited to learn to write in cursive.  Never mind the fact that he is still trying to master printing - he can't wait to get started.  The cursive begins after New Years, and we were informed that in third grade they are to write exclusively in cursive.

I haven't written anything in cursive in years - decades, maybe - and wonder if I'm ahead of my time or way behind.  When I do write the old fashioned way (pen and paper) I always (and I rarely use the word always) print - signature excluded (and my signature is a big scribble - or so my wife says).  

Seems to me that in this day of word processors, email and texting that the "art" of writing is fading fast.  I am 99% certain that my son's first attempt at writing in cursive will be far better than any cursive I were to attempt,

My questions to you, my fellow Rainers are...

• Do you write the old fashioned way (pen and paper)?
• Do you write in cursive?  
• Do you print?  
• Does it matter?

If you print, like me, try writing something in cursive.  Go ahead, right now - try it - I did (and now I am 100% certain that my son will write better in cursive than I do).  Yes, it probably looks funny, but if you can't laugh at your own writing, what can you laugh at!

With apologies to Pink Floyd.

Moment of silence, please.

Ok, I am AMAZED at how fast AR has grown.  I have been "Active" for around a month and have seen the membership jump from 102,000ish to 109,401 in that time.  I hope the continued growth has helped everyone meet new friends and grow their business.

At this moment there are 18,387 Rainers on now!

I have never seen that stat over 6,000!

WOW! WAY TO GO ACTIVE RAIN!

Sometimes, during the course of an inspection I see things that defy logic.  Often it's homeowner "fixes" that make you scratch your head.  On occasion it's a contractor who baffles me by their workmanship (or lack thereof).  When looking at and reporting on some things, I will often refer to the manufacturer's installation instructions. 

Some manufacturers have realized that people do not always read all of the instructions and will take extra steps to make sure that certain parts of the installation instructions are followed.  Usually if you see a large warning label, it is safe to assume that this is something that is more prone to failure which could cause serious injury (and lawsuits).  Some still, do not pay attention.

In this instance (pull-down attic stairs) the manufacturer clearly calls for a nail, yet the installer thought a screw would do.  Now, I'm no rocket scientist or big city lawyer, but seems to me that the manufacturer has spent many hours and many dollars to verify that their installation instructions meet the safety requirements in order to protect the consumer (and keep them out of court).  

Yet the installer knows better?

I don't know exactly why they specify a nail (I wasn't in on that meeting - darn!) - It most likely has something to do with the shear strength of a nail vs. a screw - but that's really immaterial.  They went the extra step to try to "idiot-proof" this particular part of the installation, and apparently failed.

In today's society, where spilling hot coffee on yourself can get you big bucks, why wouldn't you just follow instructions?

My 7 year old convinced my wife to stay up past his bedtime tonight (I needed no convincing). 

He wanted to check the Cubs score and saw that Zambrano had a no hitter in the 7th inning. 

The deal was, one hit and he was off to bed. 

Luckily Zambrano completed the No-No.

What a thrill it was to watch the end of that game with my boy!

In part III,  I said that Google pays special attention to URLs and page titles.  AR gives us some room to use this to our advantage.  Your Blog Title (What you type in the title box) becomes part of the URL AND your page title.

Here is an example - A fellow inspector - I mean, Property Consultant (sorry Russel) - did a blog titled, "Need Help Paying your Mortgage?"

Before I show you how powerful titles can be, just think about how many businesses would like to ask people that exact question these days.  Probably millions.  Let's Google that phrase. 

Just as I suspected - right near the top.  (ok, you caught me - I looked before I decided to use that example)

Now, the actual blog post isn't about refinancing, loan or grant programs or anything of the sort but the power of his title got him to the top for that phrase.

I know some of you are thinking, "Who would actually do a search for that exact phrase?"  Good question.  The answer is probably no one.  I used that as an example of the power of titles.

Here's another example:

I did a blog titled "Recalled Sony VAIO laptops".  That may actually be a term someone searched for. 

My blog entry comes up on page 3 for that phrase.  Check it out.

I know, not such a good placement if I wanted to be the top dog for recalls.  But, page three puts me in the top 30 or so of the thousands of web sites that were putting out that information.  Think Sony, CPSC, Best Buy, Circuit City, Sam's Club, etc.  All of them are much larger and dedicated to the tech industry in general. There are probably a ton of blogs about the recall too, but I beat 'em all (or most) simply because of my title.

So, now we know that a title is a very powerful thing.  How can we use that to benefit our blog's SEO?

Simple, be sure your keywords are in your title.

Just to make it clear - Be sure your keywords are in your title.

AR is kind enough to start all of our blogs with "Real Estate Blog" as the first part of our blogs title.  I do want to take a minute to make sure we're on the same page.  I am referring now to individual blog posts, NOT your blog in general (which will have many posts).  We should refer back to the list of keywords we made in part II. Since we have Real Estate in the title already (courtesy AR) we will want to add our other keywords (city/town anyone) along with Realtor or Real Estate Agent.  Yes, put the words Real Estate in again, but not at the front of the title.  Something like "Schaumburg Home for sale call your real estate agent today". 

You also have to ask yourself an important question for each blog, "What is this blog supposed to do?"

Not all blogs should be designed to get to the top of Google.  You can blog for a number of reasons; readership, points, fun, sharing experiences, asking questions, etc.  Those blogs may also reach the first page of Google.  If, however you want to design a blog to see it on page one of Google, you are dealing with a different animal that takes more work.

Keep your keywords in mind before you write your blog.  You should include them early and often (kinda like voting in Chicago) in your post.  There's a fine line between producing a good SEO blog and writing a blog that can actually be read.  You don't want to end up with a post at the top of Google that simply says "Schaumburg Realtor" 298 times.

If you have a hard time deciding between using a keyword or not, I would generally go with what's easier to read.

I hope this helps, I'll have more ideas later - much work to do now!

The CPSC released a recall today for certain Sony VAIO Laptops.  Seems some of the internal wiring can short out and cause a burn hazzard.  The recalled notebook computer models are the VAIO VGN-TZ100 series, VGN-TZ200 series, VGN-TZ300 series and VGN-TZ2000 series. Not all units are affected, so contact Sony if you have one of these models.

For the full report from CPSC, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08392.html

From sony's website: http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/news-item.pl?template_id=1&news_id=272

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