Home Inspection 101

Lenders, brokers, agents, investors, tenants and property management firms may all be involved in the sale of commercial real estate. For each, finding the right property inspector can be essential to making the right purchasing decision. It's not always easy to do. Because most commercial inspec...

With pots on the stove, most people wouldn't think of straying too far from the kitchen. Danger signs are everywhere. Pets and kids can knock pots off the stove. Fires can start if grease gets too hot. But the stove is not the only appliance using high heat in the home. Clothes dryers use heat to...

Saving money by reducing home energy costs just makes good sense. I follow home energy saving tips sent by my local utility. I change my furnace filters regularly. I recently installed a high-efficiency air conditioning unit. I decreased the temperature of my hot water heater, and I installed pro...

When professional home inspectors assess the current condition of your home, they are searching for safety issues, as well as providing you with a comprehensive review of the status of hundreds of components in the home. Because a home inspection focuses on the current condition of all items, it ...

All forms of home heating - be it a furnace, stove or fireplace - also produce by-products that must be removed from the home. This is accomplished using some combination of chimneys, flues and vents. • A chimney is a vertical structure made of masonry or metal that surrounds one or more flues, a...

Stop and take a look at the outlets in your home. If it's of newer construction, it stands to reason that in areas where water is often used, such as the kitchen or bathroom, outlets look a bit different than in other areas of the home. Outlets in these areas may have black and red test and reset...

All heating appliances or systems - no matter what fuel is used - produce toxic fumes and gases as a part of the process of creating heat. One of those gases is carbon monoxide.Carbon monoxide is sometimes called the "silent" killer because it is colorless and odorless. The symptoms of CO poisoni...

Snuggling up in front of a roaring fire may seem like a great, and economical, way to spend a winter evening, but you may end up burning more money than you think. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, conventional fireplaces are one of the most inefficient heat sources, exhausting as much ...

A fresh coat of paint on wood siding or trim can give a home some needed sparkle before an open house or sale. Fall, when weather is cool and dry, is a great time for this improvement. Here are a few tips if you consider painting the exterior of your home:Use neutral colors.If using a paint spray...

Fall Clean-up TipsThe leaves are turning color. That's good sign that it's time for some end-of-season clean-up in the yard. When checking off things to do before winter, consider the following: Are garden tools clean, and stored out-of-reach until next year?Are outdoor toys and furniture in good...