7 Home Repairs You Just Can’t Ignore

Owning a house can be expensive, which is why so many homeowners procrastinate on repairs. Some fixes, however, should never be delayed. Ignoring these problems can result in much more expensive repairs later on - or even injury and death.

I've attended hundreds of inspections with the buyers I represent. Here’s what home inspectors say you should be on the lookout for:

A water leak -- anywhere
A stain on your ceiling. A toilet that rocks. White powdery stuff that grows on your bricks or foundation. A musty smell in your house.

Whatever the source, the culprit is water, and the damage can be severe. Left unchecked, leaks can lead to rot, dry rot, mold and termite infestations. Water can cause roofs to collapse, foundations to buckle and all manner of expensive repairs. What’s more, water-related problems can get your home blackballed by insurance companies worried about the soaring number of mold related claims nationwide.

The fix:
Stop the leak by any means necessary, repair the damage and take the required steps to make sure the problem doesn’t reappear. Minor roof leaks, for example, can be patched with roof cement, but if your roof is aged and failing, you may need to have it replaced. That’s expensive, but not as bad as replacing the trusses and underlying roof structure that can rot away if not protected.

Flickering lights
Do your lights dim when the fridge switches on or you crank up the microwave? You may have bad wiring or too many appliances hooked on to one circuit. Either one can cause a fire. Flickering lights also can be a sign of failing connections in aluminum wiring, a feature in homes built in 1965 and 1973.

The fix:
You can try to distribute power hungry appliances more evenly, by not running more than one at a time or by plugging some into another circuit. But the best fix is a cure: Get an electrician to upgrade your wiring, add more circuits, or both. If you have aluminum wiring but can’t afford to upgrade, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends making your wiring safer by using special crimp connectors rather than the usual twist-on style.

Rodent incursions
If you hear the pitter patter of little rodent feet, don’t turn up the stereo to drown them out. It’s not just that rodents can carry disease and make a mess nesting in the tax records you’ve stored in the attic. Rats, mice, and other vermin love to chew through insulation and wiring, and are suspects in many house fires.

The fix:
Use traps and bait products or call in an exterminator. Mice droppings can carry the deadly Hantavirus, and rodents themselves can carry everything from salmonella to the plague, so professional help might be the wisest course.

Soaring fuel bills
If you are paying a lot more for gas or oil and there hasn’t been a rate hike recently, the culprit could be problems with your furnace. This is more than a pocketbook issue, since poorly functioning systems can cause deadly carbon monoxide buildup in your home. The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates about 200 people die annually from carbon monoxide exposure in the home, typically from malfunctioning heating systems.

These are just some of the problems that arise. If you would like more information or a personal home consultation please contact me.

Do You Know West Seattle Neighborhoods? Part 2

As discussed in a previous post West Seattle like all of the different areas of Seattle is made up of different neighborhoods. 

The West Seattle peninsula is a very diverse area of Seattle.  The Delridge Valley is the corridor of growth because of the availably of property zoned for multi-use purposes.  To the east of the Delridge Valley is Highland Park with its nice and varied residential neighborhoods.  Riverview along with parts of Highland Park have a more rural feel which means less urban villages to within walking distance but afford privacy and space. Highpoint is an award winning green development with a diverse population, pea patches and a strong community organization. Roxhill has shopping centers and various activities as well as nice affordable homes. 

North Delridge includes Youngstown, near the steel mill, is conveniently located with easy access to the West Seattle Bridge and the freeways. Youngstown was one of several small communities, along with Alki, Freeport, and Admiral, that made up West Seattle a hundred years ago.

These wonderful neighborhoods along with the west half of WS, which was featured in a previous post, make up a wonderful mosaic of people and homes. That is why thousands of West Seattleites, including newcomers, 2^nd and 3^rd generations, proudly love to call West Seattle home.

Oh How Times Have Changed

The real estate industry, like many others, has drastically changed the way business is conducted. Flash back to 1975, when I started out in my career, there were no fax machines, cell phones, I pads, or computers. When we had a buyer make an offer to a seller who lived in another area we simply hopped in the car and drove to present the offer to the seller. I’ve driven to Ocean Shores, Bellingham, Snoqualmie Pass and other destinations to meet with the seller. Then came the use of Western Union whereby the seller would send a short telegram of acceptance which would be followed up with the original documents being mailed out for signatures.

 Nowadays to keep up with the changes in the real estate business we have information literally at our fingertips. In fact buyers have the updated listings instantly. Here are a couple photos of the old listing books which came out weekly then bi weekly before the computer age made them obsolete. Keep in mind this information was outdated the day we received it. Each morning a courier would deliver the updates in the form of a bulletin. As Bob Dylan wrote many years ago…the time’s they are a changin. The only thing that doesn’t change is change itself.

Do You Know West Seattle Neighborhoods?

West Seattle like all of the different areas of Seattle is made up of different neighborhoods. Names describing the neighborhoods like Genesee, Seaview, Gatewood Hill, and Arbor Heights are used in marketing. Most people I know, including Realtors, don’t know the boundaries of each area. The map below defines the various and unique districts that we call West Seattle. This map is a benefit to you when you are looking at ads for homes that include descriptions like “North Admiral Charmer” or “Fauntleroy View Home”. This is the west half of West Seattle. Next time the focus is on West Seattle’s east half.

A general rule of thumb is the farther west and north areas are the expensive areas because of the desirable amenities within the area. North Admiral has some of the first homes were built in WS about 100 years ago, shopping, restaurants, services, and viewpoints are an easy walk. The access to the WS viaduct and Interstate 5 is just down the hill.  The Alki neighborhood has the beach and beach community.   Arbor Heights, another wonderful neighborhood, is a bit farther from the amenities. However it has an easy access to highway 509 and 99 which merges onto Interstate 5 near Southcenter thereby bypassing the more clogged area of Interstate 5 closer to Seattle.

I’ve lived in WS since 1966 and intimate knowledge of the area. If you have any questions at all please let me know. I’ve only described a few neighborhoods but if you want to really know them then you would find it very beneficial to take my One Hour Tour of West Seattle.

Owning a Home is More Than Just Owning a Home

Owning a home provides much more than just a roof over one’s family. It is the single biggest asset most people have at retirement time. It connects you to your community. Owning a home is more than just owning a home. It provides stability, education of values, prices, contracts, and maintenance.  Making your monthly investments provides stability and improves one’s credit standing.  The homeowner has the security of knowing the loan conditions are set because as long as the payments are made the home is yours. The tax savings is significant. A renter will face rental increases throughout the years and the landlord may want possession of the home.

Home ownership improves citizenship, and independence. Owning a piece of land, your own home, means not having to ask your landlord for permission to hang pictures. I remember buying my first home when I was 22 yrs old and thinking how it was mine. If I wanted to get up one day and tear down a wall I could! Even though I didn’t I could and didn’t have to ask anyone for permission. Home ownership helps build character by learning to maintain your home as well as foster your creativity in remodeling, fix up, and landscaping. Finally, it is just fun having a place that friends gather and meet. They do that at your home which gives the chance to showcase and be proud of your home. These are some of the reasons they call it Pride of Ownership.