Special offer

Is your house wearing it's seat belt?

By
Home Inspector with B4 U Close Home Inspections&Radon Testing (www.b4uclose.com)

As I was writing another blog this morning

Do you snicker when Inspectors mention anti-tip brackets?

I used one of my favorite analoogies about a lot of the stuff I find when performing Central Kentucky Home Inspections.

I decided it rated a blog of it's own, so here it is!

======================

A lot of the stuff home inspectors find wrong is like the seat belt in your car.  You hope you never ever need it, but there's a good enough chance that we will need it, so we wear it when we drive.

When you're driving down the road and suddenly say to yourself, "Oh goodness, I think I'm going to have an accident!" (actually, most of us use a shorter two word phrase starting with "OH"), it's way too late to reach for your seat belt.

You hope you never ever need it, but when you do, it's too late to reach for it.  It needs to already be in place.

Same with a lot of the safety stuff in your home.  You may never, ever need it.  But, enough of us have needed it, that it should be there and in proper working order.  Examples include:

  • Kitchen stove anti-tip brackets
  • Fire extinguishers in the kitchen and garage
  • Replacing smoke detectors that are over 10 years old
  • Replacing carbon monoxide detectors that are over 5 years old
  • Replacing batteries in both of the above at least annually
  • Grippable handrails on steps
  • Deadbolts that have holes deep enough to actually let the deadbolt become a deadbolt
  • Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) protection for outlets in wet locations
  • Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters on bedroom circuits
  • Child proof outlet covers
  • Child proof cabinet locks
  • Blind cords that won't strangle a child
  • A wrench at the gas meter so you can turn it off in an emergency

You can't put duct tape on every sharp corner.  You can educate your children about safety in and around the home.  You can provide safety measures to help protect yourself and your child.

Is your home as safe as you can make it?  Can you think of other examples of safety stuff in and around the home?

-




Posted by

=====================================================

 

Erby Crofutt
KY Lic# HI-2041
B4 U Close Home Inspections & Radon Testing
Georgetown, KY
www.b4uclose.com
502-570-4054
859-797-3873
877-513-8235

 

B B 4 U Close Home Inspections serves Central, Northern & Eastern Kentucky real estate buyers & sellers

with Kentucky Licensed Home Inspections & Certified Kentucky Radon Testing
A
ppointments available 7 days a week -  7 AM to 9 PM. 
Phones answered during same period.
 

Call NOW for your B4 U Close Home Inspection appointment!!

Why should you hire Erby to inspect your home?  See what past clients have to say!!

Here's what a couple of B4 U Close clients say: (Clicki the line above to see others)

I think the current owners are a little angry about the thorough inspection you did. They didn't have one done and it cost them $18K.  I, my loan officer and my agent think a home inspection is well worth what I paid.

Nathan, Morehead, KY Inspection  (20101012B)

Thank You for the outstanding job you did on the inspection.  We bought and sold 9 houses and this was the only inspection that was ever done properly.  It was helpful and we will use it to do the repairs with a system, instead of the guess work we usually do.  Thanks again

Mike & Barbara, Stamping Ground, KY Inspection (20050603

See a B 4 U Close Home Inspection sample report by clicking the report picture below



Comments (9)

June Piper-Brandon
Coldwell Banker Realty - Columbia, MD
Creating Generational Wealth Through Homeownership

Erby, as the human race evolves it's amazing the generations before ever lived as long as they did.  There are some great safety tips here to keep the current generations alive a lot longer. 

Nov 18, 2010 09:45 AM
Lizette Fitzpatrick
Lizette Realty - Richmond KY - Lexington, KY
Lizette Realty, Lexington KY MLS - Kentucky Homes

OK...it's my second reminder to go get Mom a new carbon monoxide detector. It's way over 5 years old. I just changed out all the smoke detector batteries last week at my house.

Nov 18, 2010 10:41 AM
Erby Crofutt
B4 U Close Home Inspections&Radon Testing (www.b4uclose.com) - Lexington, KY
The Central Kentucky Home Inspector, Lexington KY

June, maybe I should have included my grandma's tip for long life.  "Every kid should eat a peck of dirt before they turn 18".

Lizette:  Third time will be the charm.

Nov 18, 2010 11:39 PM
Dawn A Fabiszak
Private Label Realty ( Denver metro area, Colorado - Aurora, CO
The Dawn of a New Real Estate Experience!

Arby ~ I just had a house inspected for a buyer and the seller had to replace the Arc fault interrupter in one of the kid's bedrooms.  Inspections are so important.

Nov 19, 2010 05:53 AM
Erby Crofutt
B4 U Close Home Inspections&Radon Testing (www.b4uclose.com) - Lexington, KY
The Central Kentucky Home Inspector, Lexington KY

Dawn.  I don't get into "WHO" has to do repairs or even whether or not the repairs "HAVE" to be done.  My bailiwick is educating the buyer about the physical condition issues.  It's the buyers decision with your negotiating skills that determine "WHO" repairs what and what repairs "HAVE" to be done.

-

Nov 20, 2010 01:56 AM
Barbara-Jo Roberts Berberi, MA, PSA, TRC - Greater Clearwater Florida Residential Real Estate Professional
Charles Rutenberg Realty - Clearwater, FL
Palm Harbor, Dunedin, Clearwater, Safety Harbor

There is always so much to learn from posts made by home inspectors - thanks!

Nov 20, 2010 09:29 AM
Don Wixom
RE/MAX Executives Nampa, ID - Nampa, ID
"Looking out for your next move..."tm

Great reasoning & an excellent analogy! Some of these items seem pretty trivial before closing, but when the time comes & you need them... Look out! Thanks for a good article!

Dec 29, 2010 03:36 PM
Vickie Nagy
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate - Palm Springs, CA
Vickie Jean the Palm Springs Condo Queen

Wilbur Lloyd did a re-blog of this post that I caught. Wanted to stop by and tell you how much I enjoyed it!

Dec 29, 2010 03:46 PM
Erby Crofutt
B4 U Close Home Inspections&Radon Testing (www.b4uclose.com) - Lexington, KY
The Central Kentucky Home Inspector, Lexington KY

Barbara: Thanks for stopping by and learning.  Glad I could share it.

Don:  As you said, it's only a small thing until you need it!

Vickie:  Glad to see you stop by.  Glad you enjoyed it.

Dec 30, 2010 02:53 AM