Category: News

With these easy steps, your clients will enjoy the comforts of home all season long and know that they’re protecting their investment, too.

1. Caulk around exterior door and window frames for a tight seal. Look for gaps where pipes or wiring enter the home and caulk those as well to protect from water, insects and mice.
2. Check the roof for missing or damaged shingles. Water, wind, ice and snow can cause serious damage to a vulnerable roof, leading to a greater chance of further damage inside the home. Always have a qualified professional inspect and repair the roof, but binoculars can be used to do a preliminary survey from the ground.
3. Clear gutters of leaves, sticks, and other debris. If the home gets heavy leaf fall, this may need to be done more than once during the season. If the gutters can accommodate them, leaf guards can be real time-savers and prevent clogging. Make sure downspouts direct water away from the house.
4. In cold-weather climates, drain garden hoses and store indoors to protect them from the harsh winter elements. Shut off outdoor faucets and make sure exterior pipes are drained of water.
5. Have the furnace inspected to ensure that it’s safe and in good working order. Most utility companies will provide basic, no-cost furnace inspections to their customers. Replace disposable furnace air filters or clean the permanent type according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
6. A wood-burning fireplace can be a real pleasure on a chilly fall evening. For safety, have the firebox and chimney professionally cleaned before use this season.

Pillar To Post is always committed to the health and well-being of our clients. This is especially true during this time of Covid-19 and Realtor Safety Month. We remain committed to providing the highest quality home inspection while adhering to the strict safety and cleanliness guidelines provided by the CDC and local governments. We also encourage you to learn about precautions you can take to keep yourself and your team safe while showing homes and in the office. Realtor Safety resources are available at:

www.nar.realtor/safety

www.beverlycarterfoundation.org

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.