Case Applied Home Services

01/03/2024

08/23/2022

Seller's Market, Buyer's Gamble

We are in a "seller's market", meaning the party selling the home sets the terms of the sell. The terms for many sellers is that they want to bypass the inspection and close the deal. By bypassing an inspection you are giving up your right to find any problems with the home, request repairs, or to negotiate better terms.

Inspections act as a quality assurance for the buyer. They are also educational. You should learn the repair history of your home, find the major safety features, the water shut off valve, the gas shut off, whether the thermostat works properly. Not only have prices gone up but you are gambling to pay out of pocket for repairs the seller may or may not know are needed. This is not in your best interest under the best of circumstances, even new homes have problems.

Have your inspection now so that you can plan around when the appliance failures may happen, plan for that new roof, fix that leak, or find the rotting wood under the flooring beside the tub before you literally step through the floor.

08/11/2022

The standard joke about KY weather is that we have it all, usually in one day.

Your home takes a beating from the weather, it is supposed to, but there will be parts that give over time and usually in a spot you won't notice. The roof, around the chimney, in the basement or crawl space.

Send me in. Let me find your problem areas before they become major projects.

Quality assurance for Kentucky families buying homes.
Mid-own inspections: every 3-5 years, check-up

08/11/2022

Okay. General feedback here: lot of words.
The Tl;dr: lots of bad can happen in attics and crawls because no one goes in to check them. Like a Dr’s appointment, your home needs a check up too. Ky is hot, cold, wet, humid, and full of bugs. Usually all in the same day.

Every 3-5 years. Have it checked before your floor rots away.

https://www.caseappliedhomeservices.com/

08/08/2022

Why have an inspection before selling your home:
Every home has hidden problems, even brand new homes. Prior to putting your home on the market have an inspection and know what needs to be fixed and the cost. Plan that into the selling price and disclose.
Don't be surprised by receiving a list of needed repairs from a buyer or one that wants to lower their bid by several thousand dollars under the expected/accepted price. The more knowledge you have the smoother the negotiations will be.

Photo: a small, previously unknown water leak under a shower that ate the subfloor.

Book an appointment now or call with any questions you may have. My info and website are on this page and I can be found through Google!

08/08/2022

Water intrusion:

The exterior parts of your home re designed to repel water but it will find a way into your crawl space if it has a way in. Once it is in, it will create and environment where mold, fungus, and termites thrive.

This isn't what you want to be doing on your weekend. There are spiders in there. Let me. Book an appointment through my website now.

08/08/2022

Why investment properties should be inspected more often:

Tenants will not report every problem to their landlord and landlords will not fully inspect their places before renting to the next person. They will fix what is obvious and not think about the home again until there is a reported problem.

Landlords should have their rentals inspected more often because there will be more wear and tear because renters will not have a financial interest to pay out of pocket to fix issues.

Ask the landlords and rents you know to schedule an appointment. Protect your investments and know your legal liabilities before there's a problem.

07/31/2022

People live in their homes for years and some never enter their attics or crawl spaces.

It is easy to think of our homes being safe and warm and comforting. As long as there are no issues showing then there are no issues, right? Wrong. Out of sight, out of mind is not how you want to think of your home. Your home is expensive and requires upkeep. Many mortgages require insurance (even if they don't you should have insurance anyway) because your home is a very large investment for you, for the bank, and for your future.

Attics and crawl spaces breathe. They heat and cool with the environment more than any other part of the home because they are typically not insulated. They are protected by the roof but the insulation stops at the ceiling. The same goes for your crawlspace and most basements. In these areas moisture and pests/animals can happen. Crawls/basements can easily have water intrusion that seeps through the walls due to a problem with rain drainage. Siding moves and shifts with the weather, nails can rust or expand and contract, leaks around sinks, toilets, pipes, and exterior spigots (especially in the spring), shingles come off, all are common ways that water or pests can entry the envelope of your home and all are ways that a small issue can become large problem. All are also easily missed when you are used to the common, everyday happenings around your home.
What you don't want is a small problem to become a large, expensive issue. The time to discover the problem isn't when there's a water spot showing on your ceiling or water pooling in the kitchen, or a floor starts to sag. By then it is likely too late and that relatively cheap solution could be in the thousands of dollars. Fungus and mold growth, wood eating organisms can not only lead to expensive consequences but can also have consequences to your health as well. Something as simple as not having a plastic v***r barrier in your crawl space can make the difference.

I recommend having a home inspection once every 3-5 years to catch anything that you are unaware of in the places you never go in your home and with large, expensive components that most home owners aren't aware of how they work, they only enter consideration when they stop working.
You get a yearly check-up from a doctor because your health matters, why shouldn't your home get a check-up as well?