U.S. Inspect Blog

I am a first-time home buyer and this is my Tale. It all began with our (my and my wife's) decision to buy our first home. You can read the previous chapters in our tale here. Our story continues below...

Being "Ready"

With the first day of spring fast approaching (we hope), many of us are starting to plan out our spring gardens and landscaping. If your ideas this year include planting a new tree or large shrub next to your home, then planning ahead is especially important. They are a great addition to your property and they are beautiful, but every plant or tree is different and has different needs in order to thrive--and maybe most importantly--every plant has a unique requirement for space. They certainly need room to grow.

Last month I had the pleasure of attending our first RFMA Conference. RFMA stands for the Restaurant Facilities Management Association and this event brings together several hundred facility managers for national and regional chain restaurants and their vendors. This was one of the best run and friendliest conferences I have ever attended. With so many conferences, service providers (vendors) are pushed off to the exhibit hall and are almost treated as a necessary evil. Not so with RFMA.

Recently, I performed a home energy audit here in SE Michigan. The customer was bothered by many cold spots throughout the house. I set up my blower door in an entry door to test for air leaks. I turned on the blower door and then went hunting for those air leaks. I found air leaks at some electrical outlets and switches on the exterior walls.

Here is a great post about GFCI outlets from one of our North Carolina Inspectors, Alan Brown--thanks Alan!

What is a GFCI you say?  Well, let me explain. GFCI stands for Ground Fault Circuit Interrupt. You probably have some in your home. If not, you need some! GFCIs can be in the form of an electrical outlet or a circuit breaker. They both have test buttons on them. The outlets have a reset button too.

Dependability is extremely important. Countless people--including our clients, real estate professionals, co-workers, and even our families and friends--depend on us every day. How we rise to the challenge of not letting down those people in our lives who are important to us, is what separates us from the crowd.

I am a first-time home buyer and this is my Tale. It all began with our (my and my wife's) decision to buy our first home, then we checked out the Money Matters, and now the house hunting begins. Read all about our first day out below.

House Hunting Begins

OK, I'm tired of winter and even though there is a foot of snow outside my house right now, I have decided it is over. Alright, so maybe I still have at least another 20 days, but I've already begun to mentally prepare for spring's arrival.