Special offer

Ounce of Prevention . . .

By
Industry Observer with RETIRED / State License is Inactive Inactive License Oregon

EBA Portland, LLCWasn't it Ben Franklin who quipped

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" ?

No truer words were ever spoken.  I wonder if he sold property for a living?

As an EXCLUSIVE BUYERS AGENT I see houses through the eyes of my clients, the buyers.  We often scratch our heads on WHY the homeowners didn't . . .

1) Paint the fence.  It's deteriorating -- HELLO!  We live in the Pacific NW where it rains all the time.  An ounce . . . or a gallon or two . . . of stain/sealant would have worked wonders, saving them thousands of dollars in new fencing. Which is what I'm going to have to negotiate on behalf of my clients!

2) Stop the leak-- water, water everywhere.  Funny thing about water is that it will flow thru to the path of least resistance.  Kinda like some lazy people I know . . . always looking for that downhill coast.  What might seem like an insignificant drip could be pooling somewhere sight unseen.  Next thing the homeowner realizes, the inspection company who is there on behalf of my clients is writing up a report citing dry-rot found in the crawlspace.

3) Take care of your roof -- DO NOT PRESSURE WASH A ROOF!!  If moss and mildew accumulate, it will form underneath the roof shingles.  Moss can lift and break the layers of roofing shingles.  The summer sun will dry the moss, but the gaps also cracked, and weather.  When it rains . . . and it WILL here in the great Pacific NW . . . water will find a way to settle.  Might even be a little pool in some little crevice, but over time it erodes the continuity of the roofing material.  CEDAR SHAKE ROOFS LAST AS LONG AS COMP -- ONLY if they are treated and cured.  A cedar shake roof is the most expensive roofing material.  It will last comparable to a composition roof, but cedar needs to be washed, and treated.  When a homeowner fails to do this, the roof deteriorates at a much faster rate then a comp roof will.  What could have been a lovely cedar shake roof, is now an $8,000 - $10,000 re-roof POUND!

I could go on forever over the small items that homeowners fail to keep up to snuff.  Oh well . . . it's not my money!

Posted by

 

 

Carla Muss-Jacobs has RETIRED effective May 1, 2018

Representing Buyers in the Portland Metro Real Estate Market | Clackamas Multnomah and Washington Counties | Since 1999

Carla Muss-Jacobs, REALTOR®, ABR, CEBA, ePro
Principal Broker/Owner ~~ INACTIVE

Carla Muss-Jacobs' retirement became effective May 1, 2018

Direct: 503-810-7192 

 

All Rights Reserved © 

Comments (0)