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Are our homes falling apart?

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Warren Home Inspections

Lately I've noticed that there's a lot more wrong with the homes I look at. Why is that? I didn't get new glasses so I'm seeing things the same as always. I haven't changed my philosophy about home inspection. I still look at each home the same way, but the defects are piling up. Why?

 

I believe that we (today's homeowners) are not doing our jobs. We're ignoring the basic preventative maintenace that every home requires. As a result our housing stock is in a state of neglect. Simple repairs aren't getting done. Seasonal and yearly upkeep is skipped. The result is obvious. Longer home inspections. Longer inspection reports. Angry home sellers.

 

As I've said before, don't shoot the messenger. Instead, go fix up your home. It's crumbling around you as we speak!

Clean the gutters.

Paint the trim.

Service your heating system. Change those filters. It says every 30 days, not sometime next year.

Have you flushed your water heater? It might help.

How old is your roof? When will you replace the shingles? After the big rainstorm puts a few hundred gallons of water into your living room?

Have you looked at your attic lately? We have found mold in over 50% of the homes we have inspected this year. Do you know where to look?

How about pest control? Do you have any mice in your home? You know you do. Now do something about it. Soon it will be ant season. Termites are here also. A preventative program is a great idea.

These are only a few of the things that need to be done on a regular basis to keep a home in good condition. Do you have the time to check these things? Who does?  We can help. Contact Warren Home Inspections and we will arrange a Home Maintenance Checkup for you. You'll find out what needs to be done. If you're a handy person you can do the work yourself. If not we can show you who you can trust to help get those jobs done correctly at a reasonable price. 

 

Give us a call. You'll be glad you did.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Margo Currie
Exit 1 Stop Realty - Saint Augustine Beach, FL

Good advice. We just had a terrific inspection on a property. It was due to exactly what you are saying... keeping up with routine maintenance!

Feb 28, 2010 11:51 AM
Rory Warren
Warren Home Inspections - Hopkinton, MA

Thanks Margo. I hope more people read this and do something to keep their homes in good shape.

Feb 28, 2010 12:01 PM
Bill Gassett
RE/MAX Executive Realty - Hopkinton, MA
Metrowest Massachusetts Real Estate

I suspect as a whole we are a society that is on the go all the time and the home takes on all that neglect! Simple maintainance can go a long way to saving some big $$$.

Feb 28, 2010 10:50 PM
Lynne Hofmann-Ritucci
Century 21 Commonwealth - Holliston, MA

Good Advice! A home inspection before a seller even lists their home can also save $$$ if the work is done in advance vs. trying to renegotiate an offer after something comes up in inspection - or even worse, lose an offer over something that could have been avoided by taking care of it up front.

Mar 01, 2010 09:19 AM
Anonymous
Liz Provo

I'm going to print your post and put it on our fridge.  We are all getting a bit lazy in the home maintenance department, I'm afraid.  My parents worked all week, then puttered around making home repairs and doing maintence all weekend.  We never had a vacation.  We didn't have organized sports in those days. I've watched our neighbors skip their kid's soccer games to mow the lawn and wondered where their priorites were.

We never missed a basketball game, soccer game, track meet, concert or other activity when our kids were in school.  Sadly, our home has felt neglected.  Now that they are in college we are attacking all these neglected maintenance issures one at a time -- after all, we have no life and plenty of time to putter, at least until camping season arrives.

Of course, if we were to think about selling our home, the first thing we would do is to make sure everything is in good working order and that's the same thing we tell our for-sale-by-owner sellers.

Great post - I'd love to have you participate with us as an expert on MA4salebyowner.com and share your wisdom with our buyers and sellers. 

Mar 03, 2010 09:40 AM
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Rory Warren
Warren Home Inspections - Hopkinton, MA

Liz

Sorry for the delay in responding. It's been crazy around here. I'd be happy to make my blog posts available to you and your clients. Feel free to share them with anyone.

Rory

Mar 14, 2010 11:15 PM
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Aug 15, 2011 01:51 AM
#7