Category: News

A pre-listing home inspection can uncover previously unknown problems – major and minor – allowing your sellers the opportunity to make repairs, updates or replacements as needed or as they wish.

By addressing issues before the home goes on the market, you can list a home with greater confidence about its condition. This can mean cleaner offers and a smoother transaction for both parties. And a home in better condition will normally sell for more than one with problems that could have been corrected.

Homes that are already on the market can be at a disadvantage if problems are revealed during a subsequent home inspection. Issues that you and the seller were previously unaware of could keep a property from selling at its highest potential price, when it’s too late to address them.

The Pillar To Post Home Inspection includes a comprehensive report, complete with photos, printed on-site so there’s no waiting for results. With this valuable information in hand, your sellers can decide on next steps prior to listing. In the end, having well-informed sellers and buyers will work to everyone’s advantage, including yours.

During the process of buying or selling a home, your clients often learn about recommended or required repairs and upgrades. This can happen as a result of the home inspection, or you may make suggestions based on your knowledge of the local market and comparable homes. Of course, the first thing your clients want to know is, “How much will that cost?”

The Pillar To Post Construction and Remodeling Estimates Cost Guide puts this information at your fingertips. It provides estimated cost ranges for the repair and/or replacement of major systems and components in a home including heating and cooling, roofing, plumbing, electrical and much more. It also includes general guidelines for the life expectancies of those systems. This information can help your clients make informed decisions when they’re considering home repairs or improvements and is valued by buyers and sellers alike.

For complimentary copies of our newly updated Cost Guide, please contact your local Pillar To Post Home Inspector or download it here.

Here in the middle of winter, it’s worthwhile to address a potential hazard caused by fuel-burning appliances such as furnaces, water heaters and stoves: carbon monoxide (CO). These items are designed to vent CO to the outside, but harmful interior levels of CO can result from incomplete combustion, improper installation, or blockages, leaks or cracks in the venting systems. Very high levels of CO can lead to incapacitation or death, with victims sometimes never having been aware they were being poisoned.

Homeowners can take action against potential carbon monoxide poisoning by taking the following steps:

• Never use a gas stove or oven to heat the home, even temporarily.
• Have all fuel-burning appliances professionally inspected annually.
• These appliances include gas stoves and ovens, furnaces and heaters, fireplaces, water heaters and gas clothes dryers.
• All such devices should be properly installed and vented to the outside.
• If repairs are necessary, have them performed by a qualified technician.
• Do not start a vehicle in a closed garage, or idle the engine in the garage even when the garage door is open.
• Never use gasoline-powered generators or charcoal grills indoors.
• Install a CO detector (either battery operated, hard wired or plug-in) and learn what to do if the alarm activates.
• If anyone in the home experiences fatigue, dizziness, blurred vision, nausea, or confusion, everyone should leave immediately and seek medical attention. If no symptoms are felt, open doors and windows immediately and shut off all fuel-burning devices that may be potential sources of CO.
• Installation of working CO detectors in residential properties is now required by law in most Canadian provinces.

Stay safe and enjoy the comfort of home this winter and all year long.

Prolonged exposure to unsafe levels of radon increases the risk of lung cancer; in fact, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking, and can cause cancers in pets as well. Any home can have a radon problem – old or new, well-sealed or draft, with or without a basement. An estimated 1 in 6 home in the U.S. is affected by radon.

WHAT IS RADON?

Radon is a naturally occurring odorless, colorless, radioactive gas formed by the ongoing decay of uranium in soil, rocks, sediments, and even well or ground water. While radon that escapes into the atmosphere isn’t harmful, dangerously high concentrations can build up indoors, exposing occupants to possible health risks.

HOW DOES RADON GET INTO A HOME?

Openings or cracks in basement walls, foundations or floors are common avenues. Sumps, basement drains, and spaces between gas or water fittings can also allow radon into the structure. Other possible entry points include gaps in suspended floors and cavities within walls.

HOW CAN I MAKE SURE MY CLIENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES AREN’T AT RISK?

We encourage homeowners to add radon testing to the home inspection process. Your Pillar To Post Home Inspector will set up monitoring equipment and report on the results. If an elevated level of radon is detected, steps can be taken to reduce the concentration to or below acceptable levels inside virtually any home. These can include a relatively simple setup such as a collection system with a radon vent pipe, which prevents radon from entering the home in the first place. Professional mitigation services can provide solutions for a home’s specific conditions.

Request radon testing when you book your next home inspection with Pillar To Post Home Inspectors.