Staying Afloat in Lake Union

I would love to perform every home inspection on a houseboat. Why?...Going to work everyday on the Lake would not be such a bad thing! Want to own a unique piece of real estate? Now may be the time to buy! The Washington State Department of Ecology is pestering Seattle to update the Shoreline Master Program to include stricter guidelines that would prevent “overwater residences” from harming aquatic wildlife. The Seattle Floating Homes Association conducted their own study and found that the floating homes had little effect on salmon’s well-being because the fish don’t come near their shores. There should be a compromise set in place. Seattle PI reported there are about 500 houseboats left in Seattle today that’s considerably down from the 2,000 inhabited in the 1930s. As we all find the Seattle houseboats to be endearing snapshots heritage and novelty, the aquatic life should not be compromised. I hope we find a solution that will not sacrifice either party.

The Buzz On Common Electricity Installation Problems

FPE Panel

At home inspections it’s common for us to find faulty electrical wiring. Novices or home owners trying to save a buck will attempt to install wiring resulting in serious problems. Insufficient electrical service to the home, poor overload protection, use of unsafe wire materials and splicing errors all may cause potential fire hazards. How old is your house? It’s very common to find aluminum wiring, knob-and-tub wiring, overloaded circuits, limited service panel capacity, insufficient number of outlets and inadequate feeder lines in older homes. FPE and Zinsco panels while very popular at one time are obsolete now. Here’s a tip. Make sure you acquire the proper permits when having work done on your electricity. This will prevent the chance of municipal penalties and keeps a record of your upgrades for future needs. Only hire licensed and bonded professionals that come with a recommendation.  If you live in the Seattle area, Wenatchee or Leavenworth give us a call for recommended professionals.

Get Ready for the Inspector

You can keep putting off those minor maintenance issues for that rainy day, but your procrastination could lead to headaches. Peeling paint, rotting decks, leaky faucet, broken fixtures, squeaky appliances, leaky shower door and poor caulking all pose larger threats if not handled in a timely fashion. Insufficient caulking around windows and doors may cause your utility bill to sky rocket. The leaking shower door may start rotting the floor in your bathroom. We don’t want to be the bad guys, so here’s what you do. Go through your home once a year and mark all the items for your “honey do” list. Make a plan and start fixing the problems before they get out of control. Most tasks can be done in a couple of hours, so why put it off? Believe me, our home inspectors want nothing more than to give you or your clients a clean inspection report! In Seattle we see a lot of old homes that just need a little TLC. Take care of your investment and it will take care of you.

Buggin' Out

Termites are pesky little critters.  They eat dead plant material including wood which makes them a threat to any home.  Termites can be a huge problem in certain geographic areas.  Termites love tropical and temperate zones.  Cold weather keeps them away from extreme northern and southern latitudes. Different types of termites are found on every continent except Antarctica.  In the U.S. dry wood termites are only found in the southern states from Virginia to California.  In Washington we share the problem of damp wood termites with coastal California, Oregon and Florida.  So, what's the problem with these guys?  They can destroy wood components of a home.  If not treated termites can turn a strong support beam into a fragile twig.  But have no fear, if you live in an area of termite threat you can hire pest inspectors to treat your property so termites will not be able to thrive in your living space.  Other wood-destroying organisms to be aware of are:  powder post beetles, carpenter ants, carpenter bees, anobiids, lyctids, bostrichids, shipworms, wood-boring wasps, borers and orchard mason bees.  At AMS, we include a structural pest inspection in every home inspection because wood destroying organisms can be found in Seattle, Wenatchee, Bellevue, Issaquah or even hot and dry Yakima.

Gutter Clutter

Clogged gutters and neglected downspouts are a common problem seen on our inspections. Gutter maintenance is a small chore that if done regularly and properly has a huge impact on the overall care of your home. Gutters perform a significant duty in protecting the home by diverting water for the exterior while the downspouts push the water from the foundation. Most homeowners clear gutters in early spring and late fall when the snow has melted and after the leaves have fallen. While it seems like the gutter clutter isn't big deal, it could be causing big problems like siding rot or foundation cracks. Water will always find a way whether it's down your clean gutters or overflowing out your clogged gutters and down your beautiful home's wood siding. Another thing, trim those tree limbs away from your home. Prevention is so easy!

The Ferry: My Weekend Office

Weekends are always very busy for home inspectors.  Buyers like to be present for their inspections (and we like that too!), so usually that means we work Saturday and Sunday.  I had a really busy weekend and was driving all over the Puget Sound area from Port Orchard to Seattle, Redmond, Bellevue and Kirkland.  I decided to take the ferry from one appointment to the next and was so happy with my decision.  I was able to setup my computer at a table and have an ocean view office while commuting to the next inspection site.  I probably would have spent the same $12 on gas driving around too.  Multi-tasking made simple via WA State Ferry.

Paragliding Competition in Lake Chelan

Our lead home inspector and owner, Aaron, is a paragliding enthusiast.  He took a day off of work this week to volunteer at the nationally sanctioned Chelan XC Open where about 100 pilots take off of Chelan Butte for several days performing "tasks" in a timely fashion.  Aerial Paragliding, a Cashmere-based paragliding school, produces the event with the help of numerous sponsors and volunteers.  If you were in the area this week you probably noticed 100 small colored dots clustered in the sky.  Those were pilots receiving coordinates to complete tasks to their destination.  The competitors use SPOT, a messenger tracking device that retrieves coordinates.  Once landed the pilots use the device to alert all "followers" that they are safely down and then a volunteer driver picks them up at the given location.  Results are in!  If you are interested click on the links below.  Chelan also hosts the N. America's Paragliding World Cup next week, so check it out if you're in the area.

Chelan XC Open Results
Chelan XC Open Details
Aerial Paragliding
Paragliding World Cup in Chelan

Yakima Housing Market: Positive June

Yakima is showing postive peformance. The local market produced an 8% increase in home sales from May to June 2010 and an 18% increase from June 2009 to June 2010. That rounds out 5 months in a row of increased sales. Are we seeing some recovery in Eastern Washington?  Our home inspection company still gets more calls for the Seattle area.  The Leavenworth market is flooded with 200 homes on the market in the small Bavarian village.  Wenatchee seems to be slowly performing as well.

Growing Foreclosures in Seattle

Freddie Mac is responsible for nearly one-fourth of current mortgages in the U.S. and about 4% of those homes are in foreclosure.  In May Seattle foreclosures increased by 17% including all of King County.  Pierce County came in second place.  Someone's misfortune means another's opportunity.  Websites are popping up all over the place advertising foreclosed home searches.  Some are free and other charge a monthly fee to view the listing details.  How do you know which ones are legit?

Source:  http://www.realestateproarticles.com/Art/19274/265/Lists-of-Freddie-Mac-Foreclosures-Growing-in-Seattle.html

July 12th Realty Report

There's a lot going on this week.  Mortgage rates are at a record low of 4.57%.  Apartment vacancies have declined the first time in 3 years.  Refinances have increased 9% this year meaning owners are freeing up cash.  Some of the top markets including Seattle are starting to show action.  Are we starting to see recovery?  For this Seattle-Wenatchee based home inspection company, we hope so!

Seattle & Leavenworth Home Inspection Reviews

We like reviews.  We've started pointing our clients to Yelp and LinkedIn asking for them to share their experiences.  We perform inspections in 10 counties throughout Washington State including Seattle, Wenatchee and Lake Chelan areas.  With so much area to cover we rely on our clients to help us spread the word.

“Aaron is my top choice for home inspectors and pest inspection. He is very personable, a good communicator, does thorough inspections, takes lots of pictures (a picture is worth a thousand words!), keeps clients updated throughout the process and produces helpful, detailed but user friendly reports. I don't hesitate to refer my clients to Aaron.” June 28, 2010
Eric Kossian , Owner , Leavenworth Insurance

“I have worked with inspectors in the past but none as thorough as Aaron. He took his time and went where many would not of gone...ie a huge bee hive in the attic. I am also someone that asks a LOT of questions and Aaron was patient enough to take the time to answer all of them. I highly recommend anyone in need of a home inspection to first call Aaron.” May 27, 2009
Derek Beals hired AMS twice for home inspections.

“Aaron is a very thorough and thoughtful inspector. I recommend all of my clients call Aaron for their inspection needs. When I was considering a home purchase, Aaron was the first person I called. His reports are meticulous. My clients have always been so impressed with how much Aaron does whether the house is brand new or a total fixer. I feel confident recommending Aaron to any agent or homebuyer, because I know they will be completely satisfied with what they receive with his services.” April 17, 2009
Cassie Daughtrey, Real Estate Agent , Lake & Company Real Estate

Reviews from LinkedIn.com

Home Buyer Credit Extension to Sept. 30th

Those of us in the real estate industry were starting to feel that the economy was turning around in the spring. Then the home-buyer tax credit expired and May & June were tough once again. Late Wednesday night Congress extended the deadline by three months for those buyers that had signed contract on a purchase by April 30th. Their deadline to close now is September 30th. The incentive pays out up to $8,000.

Buyers that were sweating the original deadline of June 30th are more than relieved. With the stricter lenders and higher presence of short sales, the real estate transaction has become a much longer process and this extension will help those buyers that were in this sort of situation. I’ve seen buyers get approved for financing with contingencies to pay off a certain amount of debt and then running against the clock to finalize the deal.

The National Association of Realtors estimates that the extension would assist about 180,000 people nationally and that 4.4 million people have received the credit including 2.9 million first-time buyers and 1.5 million repeat buyers.

National Assocation of Realtors article

IRS article