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 we have the priviledge of finding all kinds of things inside homes we inspect.  Here is a picture that I found in a home while doing a home inspection for Peggy Smith - an Alparetta, Cumming and North Metro Realtor. 

I looked at this and it took a minute to figure out what it was since I was looking at it from the backside. 

Can someone else tell me what it is besides just an airplane inside?

I was thankful to have the priveledge of working with Peggy Smith and if anyone needs a great Realtor in the Northern area be sure to give her a call at 770-887-5135.

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.

Just recently the HB 1217 which set up the licensing of Home Inspectors in Georgia was pasted by both the House of Representatives and by the Senate. Governor Perdue chose to veto HB 1217. What does this mean to the average consumer? It means that anyone can claim to be an inspector without any training or knowledge. It also means that you as a consumer may call one of these inspectors and you will have no clue of their knowledge until they finish the report.

All four of the organized home inspector groups fought for this legislation because they understand that they cannot prevent harm coming to the consumer by untrained inspectors.

When calling an inspector for your home inspection, be sure and ask the questions located in our “7 Ways to Avoid the Blind Home Inspector” report.

I have been trained through Kapland ITA and passed the National Home Inspectors exam. I am a member of Nachi (National Association of Certified Home Inspectors) and attend continuing education classes often. I may not be the cheapest inspector in town, but I’m very comparable when you compare my pricing to others who have been trained and certified.

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.

As an Atlanta Home Inspector I have seen alot of things, and I have always been amazed at someone who could tear something apart and put it back together again without having any parts left over. My brother in law who lives right here in Canton is someone who can take any piece of equipment apart and put it back together in working order without any trouble at all. But for those of us who seem to be left scratching our heads and wondering why we have pieces left over here is a great idea to help solve the problem.

Use your digital camera to take pictures of the process while taking the item apart. This way if time lapses or you can’t remember exactly which order things go in, you have your digital pictures as your memory.

I did this with a barn that was located in Cumming, GA that we decided to tear down and rebuild on our property up in Canton. Needless to say, without the pictures, there is no telling what my barn would have looked like. It took me quite a while to rebuild it and there is a shed area that I still need to get back on. It’s a good thing I have the pictures.

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 online 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.

David Lelak, an Atlanta Georgia Home Inspector protects himself and your investment by wearing protective gear into the attic. You might ask “How does wearing protective gear in the attic protect my home.” He protects your investment by not tracking insulation all over your home. If he tracked insulation out of the attic and down into your home, it is now in the air and settling onto your valuables. He wears a protective suit also to protect himself from getting the fibers into his skin. He goes to each and every corner of the home to look for things that would decrease the value of 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 online 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.