December – this month brings the joys and celebrations of the holiday season, but also cold weather and harsh winter storms. And considering it’s only December 6, we’ve already had our share of weather extremes. This week in Iowa we had snow and tornadoes all in one week! Everyone is busy, so if you only […]
It’s that time of year when we’re looking at ahead to the week’s activities: buying the Thanksgiving turkey, pulling out the favorite dressing recipe and planning when we’re going to put up all the Christmas decorations. Is it me or have people put up their outdoor lights extremely early this year? Me – well, I […]
I was recently asked by a new widow to come educate her about her sump pump. It was great to be able to show her a few things about her sump; and also good to know that she was being proactive, in part because she had dealt with flooding issues in her basement at a […]
It’s not often that you get a phone call from your local news station asking if they can do a news clip later that day. Well, maybe for some people it is. Given the sudden turn of temperatures this past week here in Des Moines and much of the Midwest, homeowners have found themselves scrambling […]
We’ve had a wet summer – and a wet fall. and when seasons are wet we hear a lot of complaints about wet basements. Customers always call after a heavy downpour. Even if your basement is totally dry with no signs of water intrusion, you must have proper maintenance of grading, gutters and downspouts. There […]
It’s National Home Eye Safety Month Every month we celebrate something. For the past many years we mostly recognize October as the month that everyone wears pink for breast cancer awareness month. We love seeing all the pink around town! But today we’re going to talk about eye safety around your home. Here’s a few […]
It’s that time of year. The weather is turning colder, but the few warm days we have remind us we need to get our homes ready for winter. Here are a few quick items for your checklist: Be sure to schedule your yearly furnace check-up. If you don’t have a company that you call regularly, […]
Ever wonder how inspectors decide what to charge for an inspection? There are a lot of variables we look at: First, we look at the going price of inspections in our area. Typically most inspectors who have been around awhile have similar pricing. Some will charge more; some will charge less. When inspectors are new […]
Why are we sharing this valuable information? Because we inspect homes regularly where the smoke detectors are no longer working. My mother (Chuck) was killed in a house fire three summers ago. It’s a tragedy that could have been prevented. During Fire Prevention Week, October 6 through 12, the National Fire Protection Association has some […]
Realtors have a tough job. They need to educate first-time homebuyers. They have lots of paperwork to shuffle. They have to learn how to navigate a very up and down real estate market. And they often deal with challenging clients. We hear time and again that many clients don’t understand the value of a home […]