As a home inspector I love sharing tips and information with home owners and I ran across an article that listed several of the top home improvements that could be done for less than five hundred dollars.  When you’re trying to sell your home one of the best things to check is your curb appeal. 

1. Wall paper just one wall in a room - this alone can change the appearance of a room dramatically and yet still be affordable. 

2. Kitchen roll outs - take out the out dated shelves and add kitchen roll outs.  This is one of the most satisfying upgrades you can do.  It brings everything that was tucked away into sight.  (Don’t tell my wife, I can just see this being added to my honey do list!)  They say this only takes 15 minutes per rollout, Let me know your opinion.

3. Track lighting - this is another addition to our home that my wife wants to add.  Track lighting lets you put the lighting exactly where you want it.  My wife has an island that she wants to add this to.  (I see my list growing.)

4. Closet organized - The name of this one says it all.  Wire shelving is inexpensive and easy to install.  Organization is the key to happiness. 

5. Add curb appeal - transform your front entrance with small accents and minor changes. 

There you go 5 top home improvements that you can do without a lot of hassle and it won’t take a fortune to do it.  Now that I’ve given you this list I had better go get started on my own.  For your pre listing inspections be sure to give your Atlanta Home inspector a call today at 404-788-2581. 

Now if you’re like my wife, if I did all five of these to get it ready for sell, we may be rethinking the idea.

David Lelak of IHI Home Inspections serves Canton, Alpharetta, Roswell, Cumming, Woodstock,

Atlanta and all of North Georgia.  Call David today at 404-788-2581 to get your dream home

inspected.

We are proud to offer our new FREE Home Concierge Services where one call does it all,

Satellite, Internet, Cable TV, Home Security, and Phone.  Call 1-866-594-4871 and provide

them with access code 1008126.  Call our Free Home Concierge Services to save time, save

money and simplify life!

You can also schedule your own home inspection today online.

We create Peace of Mind ONE Home Inspection at a time. 

Also download our free report “How To Avoid The Blind Home Inspector” and a sample of our

inspection report.

As the Atlanta Home Inspector I am constantly looking for home owner tips to help out new and old home owners alike.  I ran across this one from a guy by the name of Kent Keith from Fort Worth Texas. It was called cheap wall paper remover and is definately one of those things that I have never heard of. You use old fashioned windshield washer fluid, check out the rest of his Kent Keith’s blog for more information.

David Lelak of IHI Home Inspections serves Canton, Alpharetta, Roswell, Cumming, Woodstock, Atlanta and all of North Georgia. Call him today at 404-788-2581 to get your dream home inspected.

We are proud to offer our new FREE Home Concierge Services where one call does it all, Satellite, Internet, Cable TV, Home Security, and Phone. Call 1-866-594-4871 and provide them with access code 1008126. Call our Free Home Concierge Services to save time, save money and simplify life!

You can also schedule your own home inspection today online.

We create Peace of Mind ONE Home Inspection at a time.

Also download our free report “How To Avoid The Blind Home Inspector” and a sample of our inspection report.

When you make a written offer on a home, you should insist that the contract state that the offer is contingent on a home inspection conducted by a qualified inspector. You will have to pay for the inspection yourself, but it could keep you from buying a house that will cost you far more in repairs down the road. If you are satisfied with the results of the inspection, then your offer can proceed.

As a home seller I would prefer to go ahead and get the pre listing inspection done a few months a head and then pick and chose those things that I want to repair.  Then I would get an estimate on the other items and adjust my house price accordingly.    Now a lot of folks don’t want to think this way, but the truth of the matter is most buyers are going to have a home nspection done and the details will come out either way, against you or for you.  Which would you rather, a pre listing inspection done before there is a deal on the table or after the deal is there at which point it could scare the buyer off, depending on who your home inspector is.  As a home inspector, I try to convey my findings in a neutral manner, but there are some out there who pride themselves on being an alarmist - deal killer. 

David Lelak of IHI Home Inspections serves Canton, Alpharetta, Roswell, Cumming, Woodstock, Atlanta and all of North Georgia. 

We are proud to offer our new FREE Home Concierge Services where one call does it all, Satellite, Internet, Cable TV, Home Security, and Phone.  Call 1-866-594-4871 and provide them with access code 1008126.  Call our Free Home Concierge Services to save time, save money and simplify life!

You can also schedule your own home inspection today online.

We create Peace of Mind ONE Home Inspection at a time. 

Also download our free report “How To Avoid The Blind Home Inspector” and a sample of our inspection report.

As the Atlanta Home Inspector I am constantly looking for ways and information to help home owners, and I ran across the following article:

Five Ways to Save Money While Improving Your Home’s Energy Efficiency

The warning letters have already started filling mailboxes across the country. This winter, Americans will face higher utility bills than ever before. While many will see their bills double, some costs will actually triple due to factors such as increased gas and oil prices and greater global demand.
While these factors are beyond your control, there are some steps you can take to improve your home’s energy efficiency; and reduce your costs.

1. Improve your home’s air quality and ventilation.
If your home does not have a ventilation system that provides for adequate air movement, add one that introduces fresh air to increase your comfort and adds to your energy efficiency.

Without adequate ventilation, your home’s heating and cooling systems need to work harder, meaning more energy and more money is required. Furthermore, uncirculated, stale air allows moisture, odors and pollutants to linger in your home. However, there is a solution.

You can eliminate all these problems effectively with the addition of a spot Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) which will provide tempered supply air, making the home more comfortable, while also efficiently yielding energy savings. The Panasonic WhisperComfort Spot ERV is the first ceiling insert ERV in the United States. It exhausts stale air from inside the home and replaces it with fresh air from outdoors, providing builders and homeowners with an affordable way to efficiently meet spot or whole house ventilation requirements.

For more information about the very affordable Panasonic WhisperComfort ERV,, visit www.panasonic.com/ventfans.

2. Check the insulation levels in your attic, exterior and basement walls, ceilings, floors and crawl spaces.

3. Check for holes or cracks around your walls, ceilings, windows, doors, light and plumbing fixtures, switches and electrical outlets that can leak air into or out of your home. Caulk and insulate these energy wasting areas.

4. As appliances break down, replace old and inefficient models with ENERGY STAR rated units that require less energy to run. Also look for the ENERGY STAR rating when replacing heating and cooling systems.

5. Study your family’s lighting needs and usage patterns, paying special attention to high-use areas such as the living room, kitchen and outside lighting. Look for ways to use lighting controls, like occupancy sensors and dimmer switches to reduce lighting energy use. Also remember to systematically replace incandescent bulbs as they burn out with more energy efficient compact fluorescents and LEDs.

For more advice on how to save energy in your home, feel free to contact David at 404-788-2851 with IHI Home Inspections. He is a certified Energy Tune Up Inspector and provides Home Energy Inspections for a very reasonable fee.

David Lelak of IHI Home Inspections serves Canton, Alpharetta, Roswell, Cumming, Woodstock,

Atlanta and all of North Georgia.

We are proud to offer our new FREE Home Concierge Services where one call does it all,

Satellite, Internet, Cable TV, Home Security, and Phone. Call 1-866-594-4871 and provide

them with access code 1008126. Call our Free Home Concierge Services to save time, save

money and simplify life!

You can also schedule your own home inspection today online.

We create Peace of Mind ONE Home Inspection at a time.

Also download our free report “How To Avoid The Blind Home Inspector” and a sample of our

inspection report.

As an Atlanta home inspector I am noticing a high trend of town homes going up every where.
People are wanting the easy of living without a lot of maintenance and yet they don’t want to be in an apartment. They want to own property without owing the hassles of the up keep. I ran across the following article and thought it was pretty interesting.

What’s Hot in Town Homes

The key to reaching this growing target market, say the Walthalls, is making people feel pampered within a budget. They put their theory to the test by developing a 64-building community of four-unit town homes near Kansas City. The two- and three-bedroom units have been selling briskly, particularly among people with active lifestyles – young professionals, empty-nesters, couples without children and others looking for the flexibility and maintenance-free living afforded by a town home.

Buyers looking for affordable luxury are responding to the upscale touches at Tuscany Hills. Details such as:

* Exterior finishes that marry stone accents and maintenance-free vinyl siding that mimics the look of hand-stained wood, like warm, rich Timber Oak Ascent vinyl siding.

* Storm doors and dusk-to-dawn lighting outside homes.

* Interior details such as crown molding, bronze lighting fixtures, Hunter Douglas blinds, fireplaces and, in some cases, custom cabinets and flat-screen TVs.

* Fiber-optic networks that allow users to connect quickly to the outside world, making it easier than ever for retirees, career-changers, entrepreneurs and others to work from home.

David Lelak of IHI Home Inspections serves Canton, Alpharetta, Roswell, Cumming, Woodstock, Atlanta and all of North Georgia. We are proud to offer our new FREE Home Concierge Services where one call does it all, Satellite, Internet, Cable TV, Home Security, and Phone. Call 1-866-594-4871 and provide them with access code 1008126

You can also schedule your own home inspection today online.

We create Peace of Mind ONE Home Inspection at a time.

Also download our free report “How To Avoid The Blind Home Inspector” and a sample of our inspection report.

I was just wondering around and ran across this great article by Kristi Ghent on Active Rain. Her article states that there are new requirements for the FHA Home Inspection and that you need to have these in place for your home inspection wheather you are buying or selling your home.

David Lelak of IHI Home Inspections serves Canton, Alpharetta, Roswell, Cumming, Woodstock, Atlanta and all of North Georgia.

You can also schedule your own home inspection today!

We create Peace of Mind ONE Home Inspection at a time.

Also download our free report “How To Avoid The Blind Home Inspector” and a sample of our inspection report.

Here is a great tip for making your home inspection go smoother from David Lelak an Atlanta Hme Inspector.

Find out how simply lowering your grade around your house can help with selling your home faster and with less hassel or why you want to maintain the grade level and what this prevents….

David Lelak of IHI Home Inspections serves Canton, Alpharetta, Roswell, Cumming, Woodstock, Atlanta and all of North Georgia.
You can also schedule your own home inspection today.

We create Peace of Mind ONE Home Inspection at a time.

Also download our free report “How To Avoid The Blind Home Inspector” and a sample of our inspection report

Did you know that as an Atlanta Home Inspector I check around 2000 items on each and every home inspection. So many times we are asked to cut our prices, give discounts and other things. The average home inspection takes me 3 to 4 hours to do the job properly, without being rushed. This does not include the time that I spent going over the report with the client or answering any questions they might have. So I thought I would give you an example in a series of some of the things that I check.

When I first arrive I stand back from the house or cross the street and look at the entire home. One of the things I look for is sloping sagging or anything that does not look just right. I also check the other homes in the subdivision to get an idea of age and if the one I am inspecting has been well maintained.

The next thing I begin to look at is the grading and drainage checking to make sure that all drainage is appropriate and not draining towards the house.

I also do a through check of the exterior walls, siding, openings (windows and doors) steps, decks and balconies.

David Lelak of IHI Home Inspections serves Canton, Alpharetta,