Time Sneaks By....

You know its funny how life sneaks up on you when you are not paying attention.   About six months ago a great colleague and friend of mine calls to share her idea for a new blog she is putting together.  "It will be a great source of information for others" she says as she gives me the details.  "Would you be willing to write articles and submit them to me for posting?" she asked.  Sure why not, just let me know when you want to start and I'll put something together.   Fast forward to now and I am sitting here asking my self over and over "what have I gotten my self into?".   Well since I have committed to a weekly blog (what a strange term) I guess I am going to make the most of it.  By the way my name is Matt Sorensen and I own and operate WestCoast Home Inspection.  We have been looking at other peoples houses for the last twelve years when they decide to sell them.  Inevitably we give them bad news in the form of a list of repairs and they inevitably ask "how did this happen?" so in keeping with the life sneaking up on you theme here's how it happens.   You buy a house that is in good condition and move in.  You get a promotion at work or move to a new job; the landscaping grows tirelessly all spring thru fall; your wife goes to work and kids go to school; in the fall leaves fall and land in the gutters; the kids start sports and the weekends are shot; winter comes with winds blowing and storms brewing; holidays and vacations come and go; pests take up residence in your crawlspaces; and then its spring again.  Where did the year go?  There never seems to be enough time for anything let alone home maintenance.  Now repeat this process five to seven times (average years between moves) and what happens?  Well the plants are now on the house and quite possibly behind the siding trapping moisture and leading to rot and infestation.  Clogged gutters won't drain and lead to rot in the trim, fascia and even roof sheathing and siding.  Storms lead to damaged roofs, siding and screens that lead to leaks and other damage.  And pests in the crawlspaces lead to all kinds of damage and issues.  Ultimately lack of maintenance leads to unnecessary damage and large repair bills.  All of these things are avoidable and don't take much time really.  This is the time of the year when you should be trimming those plants off the house and cleaning the gutters and roof.   Check all of the screens both at the crawlspace under the house and at the attic.  Repair any that are damaged.  Get up on that roof and make sure there are no missing or damaged shingles.  The small amount of time or money that you invest in your home now will pay off in spades when its time to sell and move on.  That home inspector going through your home in the end could be positive and make you feel good about what you have done instead of a scary reminder of what you didn't.  Well that's all for this week and my hope is that I will have something useful and interesting for you each week going forward.   I'm off to look at another house.