ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS
2013
"Results are obtained by exploiting opportunities, not by solving problems." Peter Drucker (1909-2005) Exploit is a good word. Often used in a negative context, it is not a negative word at all. Oxford says exploit means "to make good use of a resource." It comes from the Latin word explicare, ...
07/29/2013
Consider this: should the Washington Redskins change their name? Or, better stated, should the Washington Redskins be forced by the language police to change their name? We have all heard of the movement, proposed by a very small percentage of people, that when considered under the dark shroud...
07/27/2013
Sometimes occupants choose to build a house around a tree. And sometimes a tree chooses to build a house around an occupant. This is what happens when occupants choose to build a house around a tree. Apparently cutting down a 120 year old tree would have caused too much stress. Not wanting to exp...
07/26/2013
52
Comments
Can I say it again - what a difference a year makes! A year ago I did a final inspection on a new condo and just the other day the one-year warranty inspection. This is my blog about the final inspection here. There were a number of things in the report, but two main things that I found dangerou...
07/25/2013
What you say, a final answer to the age-old question - can air conditioning (and heat) exit through a bathroom vent? Well, in a word YES! But even if you already knew that, here is proof! After seeing what is in this photo, I had to prove it to my client. That bathroom vents its exhaust into the...
07/24/2013
"There is only one boss. The customer. He can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else." Sam Walton (1918 - 1992) From the book "Made In America" More or less an autobiography, Sam Walton's book, Made In America, is also a treatise o...
07/22/2013
53
Comments
I didn't understand this installation from the moment I saw it - it was an HVAC system looking to kill. Really. This new system was installed in 2011. Not using the grill returns in the ceiling in favor of a new media filter in the unit (those are the 3" or 4" thick ones), in order to get to th...
07/21/2013
18
Comments
Coming from a distance I arrived about 45 minutes early to my inspection. The house is a ranch tucked into the wood, near a large body of water and off the path. I liked the house immediately. Nobody was home and my client hadn't arrived, so I helped myself to the outside and the large crawl spa...
07/20/2013
67
Comments
Whenever the features list in a home or on the MLS states "No Maintenance!" remember this: No maintenance is a misnomer! It's easy to say that! Very little is not NO maintenance. A more appropriate phrase would be "Low Maintenance." Take this house for instance. It is a brick home and in recent...
07/18/2013
"Capital isn't scarce; vision is." Sam Walton (1918-1992) In economics, the word "capital" can mean many things. It does not necessarily mean money. As a home inspector my capital includes my inspection experience and knowledge, coupled with useful tools. But what did Mr. Walton mean when he use...
07/16/2013
Rainmaker
2,016,931
2,016,931
Jay Markanich
Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia
Service Areas
Real Estate Resources
Recent Posts
ActiveRain Community
over 4 years ago
ActiveRain Community
over 4 years ago
Home Buying
over 4 years ago
An experienced home inspector's look at current home inspection events and conditions along with his useful recommendations.