Posts tagged inspections
Securing a Toilet the Right Way! How to Prevent this Common Home Inspector Concern:
Jun 17th
Every REALTOR in Vermont has a story about that wobbly toilet causing them some tweaks of their own. Whether it’s a call from an irate seller that has now sprung a leak after the inspector put a little too much english on it during a building inspection, or the last on a long laundry list of things the buyer is going to want completed or they are going to walk, I have two words for you: “wobble wedges!”
Yes, that’s right, “wobble wedges”. If you ever have struggled to secure a toilet to an uneven or just plain stinky floor, go out to the Hardware store and say: “I’m looking for some Wobble Wedges, do ya got any of those?”
And they’ll say, “Sure! Of course, Wobble Wedges. How can anybody live without these!”
Get four of them. It might cost you a dollar or two, but when you’re done, it’ll be your favorite throne in the house. You’ll be able to hang on it like a monkey, and if you have kids, well, they’ll do that anyways, wobble or no wobble. Two, one on front right and left quadrants, and two in the back. They go under the toilet and above the floor. Now, crank down on those bolts, but not too far or you’ll crack the ol’ girl. This also requires solid underpinnings for the bolts, too. Now, cut off the protruding wedges w an xacto knife, caulk around the edge of the bottom of the toilet to fill the small gap and hide the edges, and you’re good to go!
Do this right after you buy the house, or right before you sell it! Don’t do it after a home inspection, because you might end paying a plumber to do it!
9 things first-time home buyers shouldn’t have to deal with, and how to avoid it
Dec 18th
Here are 9 things that no first-time home buyer should have to deal with in the first couple years of homeownership:
- Frozen pipes
- Total roof replacement
- House fire
- Major construction in the areas surrounding the property for more than 2 years consecutively
- Major ice dams on the roof
- Flooding in the basement
- Unruly neighbors
- Non-disclosure of major issues by seller
- Health code violations
Here’s how to prevent situations like above (some or all) from taking over your life:
- Have an inspection!!! It is foolish not to have an inspection. Your view of the potential property will change drastically, I pretty much guarantee it. You will probably save the cost of the inspection just from the helpful tips you receive from the inspector alone. Also, make sure you are present for the inspection for this reason.
- Take your time prior to writing your offer. Make sure you have all the facts PRIOR to sitting down with your agent to write an offer. Remember how big of an investment this is, and you don’t want to have regrets.
- Drive around the property. Walk around the streets. Check it out on google maps, aerial. Talk to the town for known future development. I know you think that if there’s something major going to happen that the seller will know, but usually, folks will claim ignorance, and even if it is known that there was some serious non-disclosure, do you want to put yourself in that position to have to go after somebody?
- If it is a public building as defined by vt laws, clearly spell out in the contract that the seller is to carry out fire and safety inspections and that the property is to pass these prior to closing. Trust me on this.
Especially for somebody who has not owned a property before, try to be more prudent than you naturally are inclined. This holds especially true for folks that know how to work on things and are handy, because being one of these people myself, the COST (both in time lost with family and materials) of fixing a place up is TREMENDOUS!
Give me a call, I will keep you from being “up the creek without a paddle”!
