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 […]
You’ve made the decision to sell your home; and you want the inspection to go well. After all, you’ve found the next home of your dreams or you’ve found a property for rental or flipping. No one likes surprises; and you want your home to be ready for the inspection. What do you do next?? […]
Downspouts are easy to neglect. In fact, even at my home recently, I noticed a piece of my gutter missing. With fall upon us, and leaves starting to fall it’s time to remind our homeowners to clean their gutters after leaves and acorns fall. But it’s also extremely important to remember that without fully functioning […]
One of the things we’re always on the lookout for is recalls, because homebuyers and homesellers need to be aware of these. This week I came upon an important article in CNN on a Whirlpool recall that affects 26,300 glass cooktops – all sold under the Whirlpool, KitchenAid and JennAir brands. This is an important […]
New home construction has skyrocketed again. In the suburbs surrounding Des Moines (Ankeny was listed as the fourth fastest growing city in the country by a recent U.S. Census), new homes are popping up everywhere.We often get asked why an inspection is needed. It’s helpful to know and appreciate the complexities of what we call a […]