A Seller's Market

For the first time in five years, the Kansas City housing market is being called a "Seller's Market" for existing homes, based on the January and February 2013 sales and inventory numbers. If you're selling your home, that's great news. But, how do you make your property stand out from all of the rest and make it more attractive to potential buyers?

A great sales tool is to have your home inspected BEFORE you put it on the market. That gives your prospective buyers the peace of mind that comes from knowing the condition of your home at the time of the inspection. It may save them money since they won't need to have the property inspected themselves. It makes your disclosure form very complete and detailed. And, it may be the difference that helps them choose your house instead of the others they've looked at.

Further, the April issue of Money magazine talks about how, in today's economy, many home buyers don't have as much savings left after their down payment to pay for improvements, and suggests that sellers smooth out their home's rough patches before listing the property. The magazine advises, "Repair that leaky roof and address other obvious structural problems, or you'll have to subtract the cost of doing so from your price." So, you may be saving yourself money in the long run by being proactive now.

Give yourself a competitive advantage in this Seller's Market. And avoid getting any surprises when your prospective buyers have the property inspected. Have Complete Home Inspection do a Kansas City home inspection on your property BEFORE you list it.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

The Drought and Radon Gas

Yes, the drought continues to plague us here in the Midwest. Now, deadly radon gas is finding new ways to get into your home. You can't smell it, you can't see it, but for about three out every five homes tested in our area, it's there and at dangerous levels. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment now recommends that you test your home's radon gas level every two years. And it's particularly important to do when you're buying a new property.

Radon is a naturally existing radioactive gas found underground. Due to the extended drought we've experienced, the ground has been moving, shrinking, and cracking around and under your home's foundation. That opens up new pathways for radon gas to escape the soil. And, the movement of the earth can cause new cracks to form in your foundation, which opens up new pathways for radon to then get into your home.

Keep in mind that since things have changed during the drought, "we had it tested a few years ago and it was fine" just doesn't apply anymore. In Kansas, your home must be tested by a certified radon tester. Missouri has no certification program as of yet, but it simply makes sense to have a trained professional handle your test for you.

I'm a Kansas certified radon tester and have been certified by the NRPP (National Radon Proficiency Program) for years. Complete Home Inspection uses a continuous radon monitor that takes samples over a period of two full days. The test unit is placed in the lowest livable level of the house. Windows are kept closed throughout the time of the test.  The test results are then averaged into an overall number for your final report. If the radon level is higher than 4.0piC/l, then it should be fixed, or "mitigated". Inexpensive do-it-yourself test kits are not what you want to rely on when it comes to your family's health and well-being. Instead, rely on the knowledge and competence of a certified radon tester.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

The Drought and the Big Meltdown

With about two feet of snow melting around you this week, here are some things to check on  in order to protect your house from water seepage. Even though 24 inches of snow may melt down to only about two inches of water, last summer's drought may have caused some problems for your foundation - problems that will start showing up now.

First, make certain that your downspouts are clear and flowing well. And, if a downspout is usually connected to an extension of some sort, make certain that is connected now. You want to keep the snow melt water flowing away from the foundation of your home.

Next, make certain that water does not pool up behind a wall of snow that melts at a slower rate. If you shoveled snow into a pile as you cleared a walkway, for example, that pile might now be trapping water between it and the foundation. Since the drought caused dirt to compact and often shrink away from foundations, there may now be a gap between the foundation and the fill dirt surrounding it. Water loves to find gaps like that, so do your best to keep it away from your foundation.

Finally, check your basement wall for signs of water. The drought caused many foundations to shift as the ground receded and moved last summer. And that shifting may have caused new cracks in your basement wall to form and may have worsened existing cracks. If you find signs of water entering your home, make a mental note to do something about it in case we get our usual spring rains in Kansas City. Make a note to perhaps seal cracks that you find are leaking. And definitely make a note to change or improve your "yard slope", as they call it, to keep water flowing away from your foundation and out into the yard for drainage.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

New informative video for you

We've added a new informative video for you to our web site - www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

This video shows how your needs will be met in your Kansas City home inspection when you hire Complete Home Inspection to do your inspection for you - both what you need, and what you DON'T need. Here's the video link on the web site - http://www.completehomeinspectionkc.com/kansas_city_home_inspection_012.htm.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your own Complete Home Inspection,. 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

Reason #6,437 to have your home inspected

Here's something you wouldn't have noticed until well after you bought the property and moved in.

Fire damage in the attic. When you're shopping for a new home, you look at the floor plan, curb appeal, kitchen layout, and the like. You don't go into the attic and look for signs of damage from a previous fire. That's why you hire Complete Home Inspection. We do that for you.

Unless you're thinking of converting the attic space to living space, you would never even look there. Since this fire damage was not on the seller's disclosure form, my client would have completed the purchase completely unaware of what was lurking overhead. My discovery was quite a surprise to the home buyer and to the realtors involved.

You have so many things on your mind when you're looking to buy a home. And there can be so many pitfalls for you along the way. Get the peace of mind that comes from having Complete Home Inspection do your Kansas City home inspection for you. It'll be one less thing for you to worry about.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your own Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com. 

The very real danger of radon gas

Radon gas, a colorless, odorless, tasteless radioactive gas, could very well be present in the home you're looking to buy. Statistically, on either side of the state line in the Kansas City area, one of every three houses tested is found to have elevated radon levels. Radon gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. For non-smokers, it is the first. What is the level of radon in your house? The only way to know is to have it tested. And that's why the State of Kansas has gone so far as to name January Kansas Radon Action Month.

In fact, the secretary for the Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment says that homeowners "...should test their homes, address any elevated radon levels and use radon-resistant construction techniques when building new homes." That's how serious a threat to your health radon gas is.

Miki Mertz is a certified radon tester, certified by both the National Radon Proficiency Program and by the State of Kansas. A radon test conducted by Complete Home Inspection costs only $100, and uses a continuous radon monitor that takes samples over a period of two full days. The test unit is placed in the lowest livable level of the house. Windows are kept closed throughout the time of the test.  The test results are then averaged into an overall number for your final report. If the radon level is higher than 4.0piC/l, then it should be fixed, or "mitigated". Inexpensive do-it-yourself test kits are not what you want to rely on when it comes to your family's health and well-being. Instead, rely on the knowledge and competence of a certified radon tester like Miki.

Fortunately, radon is a fixable problem. A small suction fan is installed in a pipe that goes through the basement floor to suck out the radon from under the house and vent it to the exterior of the house. That way, the radon gas isn’t in the breathing air inside the house. The system becomes a permanent part of the house and uses about the same amount of electricity as a clock radio.Such a radon mitigation system costs about $700-900 in the Kansas City area. If you are buying a house, test for radon as a part of your home inspection process.  If the test shows a high radon level, you might negotiate with the seller to correct it. If it comes in low, you have peace of mind knowing that you’re buying a healthier house.

Regardless of whether you're in the process of buying or selling a house, have the level of radon gas tested in the house you're living in. It's too important to your family's health to be put off for some other time.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, complete with a radon test, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.

Would you go in the crawl space?

Of course you wouldn't go into the crawl space when you're looking to buy a house. That's why you hire Complete Home Inspection to do your complete Kansas City home inspection for you. You're too busy looking at the floor plan, figuring out who gets which bedroom and where to put the couch and the piano. But look what you may miss if you DON'T have your home inspected by Complete Home Inspection before you buy it.

These photos are from the crawl space under a home I inspected recently. These first two show that one of the floor joists, seen here from two different angles, has been eaten all the way through by termites. And a very poor repair has been done to try to shore up the joist. Damage like this may cause the floor above it to sag since the joist is there to support the weight of the house. And that can cause many other structural problems to develop over time in this part of the house. I also like to run a simple test when a floor looks like it slopes one way or the other - putting a ball on the floor and seeing if it rolls by itself.

This third photo shows the roughly 2-inch crack in the found- ation wall that was also revealed during the crawl space inspection. A crack like this can cause even more structural problems to develop over time. It's not something that you would see when you're looking at the property, deciding if the kitchen is big enough, and if there's room for your mother-in-law to live with you. But it is definitely something you need to be aware of before you buy. Armed with knowledge like this, you can make a more-informed purchase decision. And you have the peace of mind that comes from knowing the condition of the property at the time of the inspection.

That's why it's worth your while to make a home inspection from Complete Home Inspection a part of your home purchase. You just don't know what you might be missing otherwise.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we can do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.