Monthly Archives: February 2009

The professional way for defects in a home’s structure, systems, components, and even features is with a home inspection. These inspections are carried out by experts that are required to follow strict regulations and industry standards, provincially, nationally, and internationally. Inspectors are either certified or licensed and highly beneficial for buyers, sellers, real estate agents/brokers, and even banks and other lending institutions. The information identified reveals a realistic condition of the property.

Obviously, of all investments that people make, real estate is the biggest so having the home inspected by a professional is imperative. For people interested in buying a home, the inspection provides a sense of confidence, knowing their financial investment and safety would be protected. With this, potential buyers can decide what repairs they might be willing to make outside of what the loan requires.

Then for the seller, the inspection reveals things that need to be repaired prior to putting the home on the market, which means having the opportunity to make changes so the home is in the best possible condition to sell quickly and at the asking price. Additionally, sellers in a hurry to sell might choose to reveal defects to potential buyers, negotiating price, and closing based on how much they have time to do opposed to what buyers would be interested in taking on.

A good home inspection would involve very specific tasks for both buyer and seller, which includes the following:

* The inspection would reveal wood rot, termites, or other problems specific to wood. While a termite inspection would be focused on termites and damage only, the inspection would show termites, as well as wood rot, and even things such as a broken beam in the attic.

* A home inspection would also look at chimneys to make sure smoke filters property, that no bricks or rock is crumbling, and that older chimneys do not have a flue liner.

* The electrical portion of the home inspection would determine the type and age of the electrical box, checking that it follows current city code. If a new electrical box is required, a licensed electrician could make suggestions as to brand and cost of replacement.

* The home’s furnace would also be inspected, which involves taking various components apart to look at the heat exchanger for cracks or malfunction. If a problem were identified, a licensed HVAC specialist would be able to provide details as to exact problem, components needing to be replaced, and any associated costs.

* If the home is older, the home inspection may also look for lead-based paint. If this were found, it would need to be removed by an abatement contractor, someone licensed and with experience removing dangerous chemicals. Lead paint is very dangerous and needs to be considered seriously.

* Another service provided by most home inspectors is to verify public records of the property, making comparisons so inaccuracies pertaining to square footage could be identified and then corrected. If the home inspection does not cover this service, an appraiser could assist or the calculations could be done by you.

* Even the type of foundation on which the home is built would be identified, raised or slab. If necessary, a foundation engineer could also be hired to determine any damage or defects such as sliding or cracking of the foundation.

* Another area that most inspectors cover is the roof, looking at the number of layers, year of the roof, and condition. This is actually a very important part of the home inspection not just from the roof perspective, but also because the structure of the room involves the chimney and plumbing. Typically, minor defects will appear on a roof between six and nine years of age although standard life of a quality roof is up to 30 years.

* The plumbing and water systems of the home would also be inspected. In this case, if problems were identified, a plumber would come in to look at the extent of the problem and if necessary, unclog or replace old pipes.

* Another important aspect of the home inspection is looking for the presence of mold, which contain airborne particulates that can be dangerous. Using special equipment, the air quality would be tested in and around the property.

Remember, these are just the primary services of a home inspector but a good inspection can reveal so much more. Whether you are the buyer or seller, it would be to your advantage to know current and potential risks rather than waiting shortly before buying or selling and only having the transaction delayed.

If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, and installing a door is a sticking point for you, you now have no more reason to fear. Figuring out how to do this will open up an entire new window of opportunity for you. The reason being that a new door can change the whole overall look and style to any room, as well as enhance the exterior of your home. Plus, and many people love this, by sealing more tightly shut can help decrease your heating bill.

Basically there are three kinds of doors. There are doors that act, as the entry to your home, there are interior doors such as for bedrooms and the all important bathroom door, and the combo storm/screen door. Replacing a door involves a few steps that must be taken, and I’ll go over those for you now.

The most difficult door is probably the entry door and once you’ve mastered this type of door all the others are pretty much a simplified process, since the locks are usually either much more simple or not even included.

Changing a combination storm/screen door will usually follow the same procedure of the entry door, though sometimes it’s a bit more complicated. If you’re unsure how to do it, look at your manufacturer’s information for more instructions, or call up and talk to a representative of the manufacturer, or the store that sold it to you.
Remove the old door.

You have to remove the old door obviously to replace it. You’ll have to open the door, and stick a wedge under the outer corner so as to take weight off the hinges. Usually, the door will have a hinge that contains a pin that you have to pop out. Sometimes after years of paint or rust this is a bit difficult. You’ll need something to tap it out upward to release it. After the hinges have been taken off, you can take the door off the frame.

You can either leave and reuse the same hinges or else take them off and use new ones. If you use new hinges, just ensure that they’re the same size as the old ones.

You may have to trim the door down to fit. You’ll want to cut along the bottom using the old door as a pattern, or else just leave a 1/8” clearance along the bottom and 1/16th along the sides and top. If it’s going to be over carpet you’ll want to go a bit more on the bottom like ¾” using a fine toothed saw, or a block or jack plane.
Prepare new door for hinges.

To replace the door put the new door in the frame, put the top and bottom pins into the hinges. Hopefully it will fit in nicely and now you’ve got yourself a new door. If need be you’ll have to install a new lock set to your door. Now you’ve put in a new door, aren’t you proud of yourself?

We all know that the most popular to time for buyers to look for a home is in the Spring and Summer. Children are out of school, it’s warm outside, and there just aren’t a bunch of commitments to work around. However, when buyers choose to look for a home during the holidays, it might mean they are serious buyers and they don’t want to waste any time. You can compare these home buyers to holiday shoppers on a mission to get those perfect gifts for family and friends in a timely manner.

If you have your home listed during the holidays, you need to keep in mind that your home is on the market-which means it is now a commodity. It must appeal to any buyer that walks through the door. Nashville, TN is a desirable city to live in. Whether a buyer is already a resident of Nashville or if they are new to Music City, you never know when they might be looking at homes for sale in Nashville with the intentions to buy quickly. Your home might just be the one!

Keep your holiday decorations simple. You do not want to overwhelm buyers. Remember it is about showing the house, not your decorations.

Keep your home clean and tidy. Anytime a home is on the market for sale, it should be kept as clean as possible. You can get a call for a showing at anytime and sometimes it can be last minute. By keeping your home clean and tidy all the time, you can be ready for that otherwise inconvenient phone call.

Be flexible. Sometimes it is not easy to schedule showings that work for seller and buyer, but if you are flexible and easy to work with, it just may pay off.

Warm it up. “Baby, it’s cold outside!” Immediately upon walking in the door, a buyer should feel warm and cozy. The emotions they feel will determine whether your home will be a consideration or not. Leave a few candles burning or through some logs on the fire.

Bake cookies and leave apple cider simmering on the stove. The smell of hot apple cider and baked goods scream “feels like home”.

Although some might tell you it’s best to wait until after the holidays to put your home on the market, you might just be able to get a head start on the competition.

If you are getting ready to remodel your kitchen, how would you like to make decisions that not only make it look better now, but keep it looking better and easier to clean in the months to come. Most people love this idea, but wonder just how they can do that while making simple decorating decisions. Well the key is in the kitchen pull selections you make.

Think about what you touch most often in your kitchen. Other than the appliances, not much gets more hands on time than the kitchen pull and knobs. You are always yanking on a kitchen pull or knob when you need to get into a drawer to get silverware or get into the pantry cabinets to get the ingredients for a great meal. Sometimes you are even getting into these cabinets and drawers when you are already in the midst of making a meal, meaning your hands are dirty, grimy and spreading that dirt and grime to the kitchen pull or knob.

While you may not change your dirty hand habits, you can change how each kitchen pull and knob deals with your dirty hands. There are all kinds of materials out there that cabinet hardware is made out of. Some of it deals better with dirt and grime than others. The more you know up front before you make a purchase, the better your chance to have cabinet hardware that looks great for a long time.

Do Your Research

The first thing you need to do is really get to know the materials that go into the kitchen pull or cabinet knob you are considering purchasing. You can find hardware made in anything from glass to wood, metal, plastic, stone and porcelain. Each one reacts differently to the environment around it.

For example, raw wood will suck in any liquids that you may get on them with your hands. So unless wood is painted or stained and sealed it may end up turning the color of that spaghetti sauce that was on your hand when you opened the cabinet.

Plastic, while many people think it is easy to clean, it is also easy to stain. Think about what happens if you pour some old colored sauces into a plastic bowl in the refrigerator for storage. Once you eat the sauce it seems that color never comes out of the plastic, does it? Well that can also be the impact on your kitchen pull.

Other materials have other problems. Metal can corrode with acidic items touching it. Porcelain can break with quick changes in temperature and can also absorb some things that come in contact with it.

All materials have their pros and cons. The key is to get to know what you are buying and how you often are in your kitchen. Know what you will put the hardware through before making a selection. Also learn how to clean it and make sure you do so regularly. Often if you wash up any dirt or grime right away it will not have time to impact the hardware and you can enjoy that hardware looking like new much longer.

With all this talk about alternative energy and the steady rising prices of fuel, there is a lot of interest in the cost of solar panels.

Now first off, solar power can be expensive – especially commercial solar arrays. It’s expensive to manufacture these and complicated engineering procedures are required. There are also very few companies that produce solar technology and this means there is less competition. As such, the cost of solar power technology is much higher because this.

But as the government and the public begin to show more interest into solar power technology, this technology is becoming cheaper.

One popular way to save money on solar panels are what’s called do it yourself panels. Basically, you can easily assemble your own solar panel arrays from kits. You can sometimes save 40 to 60 percent on the cost of solar panel technology by using these kits.

Getting solar panel technology affordable has always been one of the problems with solar technology. But prices are expected to drop steeply over the next few years.

As per the actual solar technology prices, you can expect to pay about 500 bucks for each panel. Prices can vary somewhat, but this figure includes the various electrical accessories you need with each panel. Hiring someone to install your panels will also add to the cost, unless you opt to do it yourself. With do-it-yourself solar power technology, you can probably pay about 200 to 300 per panel.

Depending on the size of your household, you will pay between 10k to 30k to convert your entire house to solar power. However, if you just want to supplement some of your power needs, you can do that in a fraction of the time.

There are many people who think of rugs as just a covering for the floors in their home. However, it is more than that. It is more than just something that people put their feet on when they walk in your home.

Rugs are made to provide comfort as well as being a conversation piece. They can enhance the way the rooms in your home are displayed. Once dull and drab, with rugs, the rooms can make a statement.

For children, they can be a learning tool, using rugs that have alphabets or numbers. Even those that have animals on them can help them to learn what the different animals are. For those children who like sports, rugs in their room can give them a sense of pride in their favorite sporting event.

If you have blemishes and dents in some of the walls of your rooms, you can use rugs to cover them up and no one will know what’s behind them, unless they decide to be nosy and look or an occupant in the house says something.

Otherwise, the blemishes and dents will remain a secret. You can find various shapes, styles, colors and sizes that will blend in with the rooms in your home to make them look unique. They will provide a sense of creativity and openness.

Rugs can also be used to reduce the noise you endure in your home. Just imagine kids fighting and screaming at the top of their lungs. They work as absorbers so that you won’t hear the loud decibels that come out of their mouths when they are screaming at the top of their lungs. There would also be less chance of you being disturbed when you are concentrating on something.

If you are trying to keep your marble and hardwood floors free or scratches, scrapes and scuffs, rugs can be used as floor protectors. These things are easier to remove if the marks are fresh. If they have been there for a period of time or they are just plain difficult to remove, then you’ll have to get those areas replaced.

Replacing them means money-money that you were not prepared to spend at that time. Also, safety is another factor in having rugs on these kinds of floors. People can easily slip and fall if they are not there.

Going online to solve these issues is a no-brainer. Of course, there will be those who prefer to venture outside of the home. However, being able to browse online for rugs is the simplest way to get the problems solved.

Are the high fees of commercial real estate brokers really justified?

It depends what you get for your money. Today’s professional commercial real estate broker provides a whole host of services and expertise that was unknown 20 years ago. Fees are not regulated, and you are free to test the open market and hire the services that you need. But there is a reason that most Fortune 500 companies have outsourced their real estate needs to a third party commercial real estate firm.

If Fortune 500 firms have difficulty developing in-house expertise with all their capital and resources, how will you fare? They know that today’s sophisticated commercial real estate market requires a level of expertise that is difficult to develop with an in-house real estate department. You are entitled to this level of expertise today, and if you are not receiving it, your real estate expense may not be justified.

Your broker should save you a multiple of the “high fees” that he or she is paid. I represented a non-profit agency some years ago that was renting their headquarters in a Class A office building. I made the case, and demonstrated it with spreadsheets, that they should purchase a building to achieve substantial savings in real estate tax expense. They followed my advice, we purchased a 25,000 square foot office building, and they are now saving over $200,000 a year. My fee was a small fraction of their savings.

In a different example, we recently represented a manufacturing company on an exclusive basis. With our client, we looked at an industrial building that seemed to meet all our requirements, and it quickly zoomed to the top of our negotiating list. I remembered, however, that there was a superfund site in the neighborhood. I made a quick call to the president of an environmental company that we have worked with for many years, and he ordered the appropriate due-diligence reports. Within a few days, I had my verbal reply, “Hands off!” The cost of the reports was under $1,000 (which we absorbed) and we saved our client the legal expense of ordering contracts, and conducting his own Phase I, and ultimately Phase II, investigation. Not to mention the time savings involved! Your broker should be bringing this sort of knowledge and expertise to the table.

Finally, many people forget that most brokers work on a contingency basis, and that the fees are necessarily higher to compensate the broker for absorbing the risk. If the transaction is not completed, you generally have no obligation to pay a broker, regardless of the work or expense incurred on your behalf. (Our firm will accept compensation in any of three ways, depending on our client’s needs and desires: on a retainer, by the hour, or on a contingency basis. Over 95% of our clients choose contingency.)

Are the “high fees” of your real estate broker justified? Make sure they are! Hire the talent you need and insist on the most up-to-date representation. Your savings will be a multiple of your broker’s pay check.

The time has arrived; we have decided that we are going to build a new swimming pool. What should we do first? Here are some ideas to get you started down the right path and on your way to your new fun filled backyard.

The best way to start the process is to locate a property survey, if available, to determine the amount of space available for your new swimming pool. Once you have reviewed the survey, scope out your property and decide the best area and location for your new pool. Try to determine the shape of your pool, where you would like the shallow and deep end, location of the steps, location of water features, equipment location and size and area of the deck. Also think about fencing which may be required, landscaping, outdoor kitchen areas, entertainment areas and yard lighting.

What is next?

The next item for consideration is which contractors will you have visit your property and offer a proposal for your new swimming pool? This is an important decision and should not be taken lightly. Choose swimming pool contractors which can offer ideas and suggestions for your new backyard oasis. Contractors should not be afraid to offer corrections and improvements to your ideas if necessary. Review contractor’s licenses, insurance and background before selecting any particular builder for your project.

One of the most important items to consider in today’s pool market is, choose a contractor who can offer 3D design pictures of your new backyard swimming pool in the completed stage. Computer software is now available to design and show your new swimming pool, spa, water features, landscaping, planters, outdoor furniture, equipment location, outdoor kitchens and deck areas. Pictures should also show fencing, the house in relationship to the pool, rivers, lakes or ponds in the surrounding areas. 3 D images and pictures can show different colors of tile, decking, pool interior finishes and lighting. Contractors should also offer different views of the pool and also be able to show various shapes and designs which would function on your property.

3D design pictures are a great way to see and predict how your new backyard is going to look. Don’t settle for a flat sketch or drawing, demand to see your new pool in its completed mode. Use the pictures to help consider other items such a landscaping and fencing which should be considered when costing out your project.

Once your contractor has been chosen and the construction has begun, have fun watching your 3D design turn into reality.

If you live in an apartment, condominium or small house one of the issues you may have is getting the furniture you want into the small area you have. Usually, the biggest problem comes in the area of dining sets. Usually, the dining room and dining sets take up a lot of space in a home. So, how do you have the dining sets you need without feeling cramped in your home? The answer is to think small.

One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is by choosing a bistro table instead of more traditional dining sets. Traditional sets include a large dining table and a number of chairs. If you have a large family this may be necessary. By, if you have a smaller family, or there are just two of you, a bistro table may be more than enough. Traditionally, a bistro table is a small roundtable that has two chairs. Sometimes, bistro tables can have four chairs just in case you need a little extra space.

Bistro tables can be put in a number of places in the home, not just the dining room. If you have a small studio apartment, you may not even have a dining room. In this case, your small sets can go in the kitchen or you could eat outside in the backyard or on the balcony so you can appreciate a meal in the open fresh air.

The next thing to think of when purchasing dining sets for a small home is the shape of the table. If you’re not sure which is the best way to go, you should look for a round dining table. The reason for this is that round tables are easier to maneuver around. Instead of having corners that you can keep bumping up against, you can easily slide around a round table in a tight space.

Additionally, consider the chairs you’re going to purchase with your dining sets. Most people think chairs are chairs. They don’t consider the added items chairs may have on them that can make a difference when it comes to the space a dining set takes. For example, dining sets that have chairs with armrests are going to take a lot more space than chairs without. Just by their nature armrests take up a lot of space. If no one is sitting at the table, the chairs usually cannot be pushed all away in because the armrests will stop that from happening. If people are sitting at the table they are going to sit back further because of the armrests, so they can get in and out of the chairs. Armrests are going to need a lot more of that precious floor space you were trying to save.

Just because you live in a small home does not mean you can’t have all the comforts of dining sets. The key is in knowing what will fit and how to make it fit to create a home environment you love.

Author Jennifer Akre is an owner of a wide variety of online specialty shops including that offer both items and information on how you can easily furnish and decorate your space. Whether it is dining room furniture for your dining room or kitchen tables for you newly remodeled home, there are many tips you can use to make any spot both functional and beautiful. Click today and indulge your senses.

Often it seems that stylish and affordable don’t go well together, but when it comes to window coverings, there are some good options available. If you are looking for window blinds on a budget, knowing what type to look for can help you to find the best values. So lets look at some of the types of window coverings to look for.

If you like the look of wood blinds, check out faux wood. These are a composite material that has the appearance of the real thing. However, they do not have the high price tag.

Roller blinds can often be an affordable option. But not only that, they can be very stylish. They can be found in many different colors and textures, so the styles can vary quite a bit. Regardless of your preferences, there is a good chance that you can find something that fits them with this type of window treatment.

When it comes to venetian blinds, the material will effect the price. Look for options that are made out of faux wood, vinyl, or metal, as these materials will tend to be relatively affordable. Vinyl is often the most inexpensive option, and there are a lot of great colors available. So you have a lot of flexibility in creating the type of style that you like.

So keep this information in mind when it comes time to purchase new blinds. For most of us, saving money is always important. So whether you need blinds for your home or for your office, remember that you don’t always have to spend a lot of money to create a stylish appearance.