​Every motivated seller should have his house inspected.
With a pre-listing inspection he creates an advantage and gains serious leverage. Hope is not a strategy, and nobody wants to experience a “Oops” a few days before closing.
 
Both, the seller and the perspective buyer, look for a needle in the haystack, but of course each has a different opinion about it. The outcome depends on how the whole deal is set up. Sometimes it’s strongly advised to have professional help.
A motivated Real Estate specialist can be extremely helpful. She has the knowledge and expertise, and now she gets the best possible selling tool – a pre-listing inspected object.
 
How many times should a potential buyer pay for different home inspections? He certainly will appreciate a pre-listing inspection. Now, we have a motivated seller, a motivated Real Estate agent and a motivated buyer.

Are you afraid of having your home inspected? Then you should ask yourself why, because sooner or later, it will be inspected, and then it might be too late for corrections.
 
We give our customers the best possible deal.
We charge $299 for a home inspection up to 2,000 sqft, no driving fee,
no reporting fee, available 7 days a week – no extra costs. All of Tennessee for the same price.
 
Every good Realtor knows about the best deal in the industry, and we are the best deal for home inspections, and this is how homes should be sold. 

​Bottom line is, it depends on your job, your lifestyle and your financial situation.
 
Let’s go a step further and say a lender will finance the house you want.
Next step would be to have it inspected to make sure you minimize the risk of unpleasant surprises. 

The home inspection report points out the issues you should correct
and you also receive some information about necessary maintenance work. Based on this information you can get an estimate for
​repair and/or replacement costs. Let the experts help you.
                            

Next:

• Ask your Real Estate expert about the closing costs
• Figure out if you have to pay any home owner association fees or similar fees.
• Double check if the new sales price will affect the annual property tax – this can go both ways.
• Check how much your home insurance will be.
• Try to calculate the costs for regular maintenance work, like cleaning gutter, staining, painting. Keep in mind, a wood siding or wood shingle roof involve much more maintenance than a steel roof or a concrete house. Don’t forget the pool in case you have one.
• Let’s take a look at the utilities: What are the monthly payments for electricity, water, sewer, gas, internet you have to expect.

 
​At this point most buyers drop the ball, because it’s not easy to figure all this out. 

You should ask the seller for a copy of the utility bills for the last 12 months.
In addition -  look at your home inspection report. Usually it gives you information whether the house is well insulated and if the heating and cooling equipment is outdated or very efficient.
 
A high efficient heating and cooling equipment and sufficient insulated house can save up to 50% on utility costs.
Of course, what makes more sense – invest in insulation and new heating equipment, more efficient appliances or pay higher utility bills? The answer is clear, looking at it over a longer period of time of several years you should invest instead of just paying. If you have any doubt about what the best approach might be, have an energy audit done for your dream home. Keep in mind, just because you have really low utility costs right now doesn’t mean it’ll be the same in the new house.

​Most people think that Craigslist is just scam; this is not true.
 
There is a lot of scam, it always goes back to the people who post the scam-posts.
We bought and sold several properties by using Craigslist; and it worked.
​I like it, because the service is free and you reach lots of people worldwide.
But you have to be careful, you have to know what you’re doing. There are a lot
of weirdos and scammers out there.
And believe me, all of them will contact you! Sometimes it can be very entertaining.

​Prepare yourself, protect the information you provide, do research and if it’s too good to be true it’s most likely a scam. Nobody will pay several Million for a cheap property. I always love it when you receive an email “what’s your best price?” before they even saw the place.
 
Also, if you want to sell or rent out – be honest, post lots of good picture, maybe even link to a YouTube movie; don’t try to overcharge. Respond immediately to any questions and inquiries and make sure you have the basic information together.
 
If you want to buy or rent, sooner or later you will end up with one of the Management companies; most of them are scammers. If they ask you to fill out an application before you receive information or see the property, be careful and do NOT give out your SSN, do NOT pay any application fees at this point. Unfortunately, most of these companies prey on easy victims, some of them are not even representing the owner of the property.

Do our research, check public files for taxes, value, positives and negatives, compare different places.
 
If you are not really on top of this, you should ask for honest, professional help. Sometimes it’s a good investment to pay a good professional to help you.
 
Craigslist – you love it or you hate it! 

​Unfortunately, laws and regulations are not always followed or cannot address every situation. Let’s do what’s necessary to avoid these silent deaths.

If I do a home inspection and there is a pool present, we look very careful:

• Is the barrier high and sturdy enough?
• Do the spacing and openings not exceed the maximum?
• Can a child climb over it?
• Does the gate close? Is the automatic alarm working?
• And what about the pool drain? Is it safe?
• Or the electric system in the pool area? You know, water and electricity are not a good match.

Yes, there is a long list to check with a pool inspection, and our priority is to keep our clients and their family safe. Of course, it doesn’t stop with the family.
Please take our concerns, the laws and regulations serious. If necessary, call an expert to install a save barrier and correct any issues. 

​There is a lot of information available. Check the swimming pool and pool barrier guidelines for your State and area, to make sure your pool is and always will be a happy place.
If you are not sure, we will be more than happy to help you with an inspection in this matter. We charge $129 for a pool inspection, no driving or report writing fee. 

​
Mold can be a serious problem.
The Internet is full with information about how it can affect our health and what can be done to remove it.
 
Well, the question is – how can it affect a Real Estate transaction? It can be a deal breaker.
 
Mold is always the result of one or several problems. It can be a leak in the plumbing system, water infiltration from the exterior or something simple like sweating pipes or a fish tank.
​
Cracks or openings in the envelope of a building, this can be the walls or the roof, are always red flags, because rainwater enters the structure and this is perfect for mold growth.
Also, wet basements or crawlspaces are always the result of somebody cutting corners or that some materials failed. A big problem is always when vent ducts are ending in the attic or crawlspace.
 
This house has no mold problem! Are you absolutely sure? When was the last time you inspected all areas in the attic, the crawlspace and all the cabinets?
 
So – mold is no big deal and you just clean it up with some bleach – Right?
 
NO – if you don’t take care of the moisture problem, the mold will grow back immediately. You might be able to clean up hard surfaces like, glass, counter tops etc., but it’s almost impossible on porous surfaces, like drywall, furniture, rough cut wood – just to name a few.
 
If mold is detected, don’t panic, but action is highly recommended. A specialist, and I mean a good remediation company, can give the necessary advice, clean up the mold or remove the affected parts. But again – you have to take care of the moisture problem.


During a home inspection I discover sometimes areas with some stuff growing on them.
At this point the I don’t call it mold, it is an unidentified substance, or a mold like substance until identified by a laboratory.




​So, should a client order a mold inspection when he orders a home inspection? Not necessarily.
 
A home inspector usually finds problems that are the source of the mold, and if this is the case, a mold inspection is justified.
If I do a home inspection and I face a situation like this, I automatically collect a sample and state this in my report. Now the client has the choice if a laboratory should do an identification, or if I should perform a very detailed mold inspection. Either way, it’s not a bad idea to consult a remediation company. Most times they can clean up the affected area really quick and inexpensive. Don’t forget, the source of the water infiltration needs to be corrected too.
This means there are no obstacles to proceed with the Real Estate transaction, and this makes everybody happy.
 
Is my service of taking the sample free? No – but it’s already included in my $299 inspection deal. An identification by the laboratory will cost $49 per sample