Archive for category Home Maintenance
Whose responsibility when a tree falls?
Posted by thunsicker in Home Maintenance on May 24, 2012
Happy last day of school for almost everyone! I now have a 2nd grader – hard to believe my baby is going into Second Grade next year. Well he’s ready to begin summer right now! He only has 2 hours today.
On the way to school this morning he saw this house that I’ve had listed on and off, its rented right now. He had the mom call to let me know. I drove over as its around the corner from me and I took this picture and emailed it to my client who lives in New York. My friend’s first comment was, “This will be complicated, as its the neighbors’ tree”.
I’ve had a lot of experience with trees and its actually pretty clear cut, if it falls on your property its your problem. The neighbor is responsible for cutting down dead trees and you have the right to notify them in writing if there’s a dead tree that poses a risk to your property, but the only way you can get them to pay “legally” is to have proof that they were notified that there was a dead tree. That part is difficult, it would need to be a certified letter or some sort of official notification.
I had a tree fall on my rental property a year or so ago and it didn’t hit the house but broke the fence in the rear of my property and cost me close to $1,000 to remove. I put a friendly note in the neighbor’s mailbox to let them know and gave them a copy of the bill – nothing…
Legally they didn’t have to do anything as I didn’t know it was dead and hadn’t notified them of such. Now I will say, its a common courtesy to help out in these situations, but there is not a legal responsibility. I am not an attorney, so I will add a disclaimer that you should always contact your attorney or insurance company for your particular situation and this is all Georgia specific. Also, its good to check your insurance policy, as my experience tells me that if it doesn’t land on the house its not usually in the policy for any kind of protection, so that $1,000 to remove was totally on me.
In the case of this house on Randall Farm, the insurance company will most likely cover the damage to the house, but not the tree removal. Again, we all hope the neighbor realizes what happened and comes to the rescue, but I can tell you more times than not, they don’t…
Just wanted to let everyone know what I’ve learned from my experience. If you’ve had success getting the tree owner to pay for your damage, please let me know and how.
Update: The neighbor did take responsibility and the tree is already removed, an example of common courtesy! When you have a good relationship with your neighbor they usually do take responsibility for their trees. My clients’ insurance will need to cover the damage to the house.
Protect your family from scalding hot water
Posted by thunsicker in Home Maintenance on May 15, 2012
At one time or another, we have all turned on a hot water faucet and been caught unaware by steaming hot water. In fact, you may have been lucky to pull your hand out of the flow just in time to prevent a burn. This situation creates real danger for small children who can’t react in time.
The accompanying chart shows how fast excessively hot water can burn. Residential water heaters should always be set to a temperature not to exceed 120 degrees F. Measure the water temperature with a thermometer at a faucet after establishing the flow of hot water.
If the temperature is too high, you can make a simple adjustment at the water heater. A gas water heater has a dial on the front of the gas valve that can be set to a lower temperature. If your home ha an electric water heater, you’ll probably need to remove a small access cover and adjust the thermostat with a screwdriver. When in doubt, look for the instructions or seek help from an expert.
In addition to making your hot water supply safer, lowering the water heater temperature can use significantly less energy and save you money on utility bills.
This information was provided to Real Vinings | Buckhead by Chuck LeCraw of The Cornerstone Inspection Group, Inc. www.CornerstoneInspectionGroup.com.
Spring Cleaning
Posted by thunsicker in Home Maintenance, Preparing Your Home For Sale on April 16, 2012
Since I help clients buy and sell homes for a living, I’m always approaching the maintenance of my home like I have a punch list. Spring is a natural time to get the cleaning done and this past week I started! So far, I’ve knocked these things off my list:
- carpets cleaned
- the exterior patios, driveway and sidewalks all pressure washed
- some painting done (more needs to happen)
- and touched up black paint on iron fencing
- and the list goes on
I was just reading a blog I like on Saturday morning (it was so beautiful in Atlanta on Saturday!!) and I came across this Spring Cleaning list from LilBlueBoo.com.
“The Mother of All Spring Cleaning List” has some ideas that I didn’t think of. Everytime I tried to think of one to add – such as vacuum refrigerator coils it was there. It is organized like this:
Start Big and At the Top
Example: Clean behind and under the washer, dryer and other large appliances.
The Bedrooms
Example: Launder all pillows, bedding and mattress pads.
Run Cut Lemons Through Disposal to sharpen the blades and freshen. Photo from AcuteDesigns.org
The Kitchen and Pantry
Example: Run cut lemons and ice through the garbage disposal.
The Bathrooms
Example: Clean or replace toothbrushes. Soaking these in hydrogen peroxide is quick and easy!
Finishing Up the Inside
Example: Switch direction of ceiling fans to counterclockwise.
Outside the House
Example: Check the dryer exhaust pipe.
Important Extras
Example: Update your family emergency kit.
I do have a little tip that I’ve just started doing with my ice maker. The intake is so hard to clean that I’ve bought filters to put on the exterior in front of the intake that I can easily replace without taking the grill etc off. Its so low to the ground no one can see it and with a pet in the house (even though he supposedly doesn’t shed), there still seems to be alot of hair and dust that get sucked in there and it seems like I have to have it repaired every year, so maybe this will help.
So after reading this blog I decided others may like this list as well. I’ve already done the closets with summer coming so early this year and have started the summer flowers, but there are alot more things to do.
Take a look and I always welcome other ideas and may add some myself as I continue on my spring cleaning.
Click here to open and print the Mother of all Spring Cleaning Checklist.
Radon levels in Georgia
Posted by thunsicker in Data and Statistics, Home Maintenance on March 20, 2012
I found these charts below about radon levels in Cobb and Fulton Counties and found them interesting. There are also websites that show the areas with the highest levels. Of course, mitigation systems remain a way to address this and I still have all my clients test for radon and remediate prior to purchase of a home.
I continue to get higher radon readings all throughout Atlanta in the fall than I do other times of the year.
Radon is a radioactive element that is part of the radioactive decay chain of naturally occurring uranium in soil. You can’t see, smell, or taste radon gas, but it can kill you. Unlike carbon monoxide and many other home pollutants, radon’s adverse health effect, lung cancer, is usually not produced immediately. Thus you may be exposed to radon for many years without ever suspecting its presence in your home.
Radon levels for Cobb County. The average indoor radon levels of Cobb County, as determined by radon test results from Air Chek, Inc, is 1.7 pCi/L
Fulton County Radon Levels. The average indoor radon levels of Fulton County, as determined by radon test results from Air Chek, Inc, is 2.3 pCi/L
Radon has been found in homes throughout the United States. It typically moves up through the ground to the air above and into your home through cracks and other holes in the foundation. How does radon enter your home? Houses act like giant chimneys. As the air in the house warms, it rises to leak out the attic openings and around the upper floor windows, creating a small suction at the lowest level of the house, pulling the radon out of the soil and into the house.
Fortunately, there are other extremely effective means of keeping radon out of your home. Some houses have tested as high as 2,000-3,000 pCi/, yet there hasn’t been a single house that could not mitigate to an acceptable level. Mitigation usually costs between $800-$2500.
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the US, after tobacco smoking. It is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers, and kills more than 22,000 people each year, 600 of them in Georgia. Protect your family from this dangerous carcinogen. Test your home today. You can prevent and reduce entry of radon into your home!
Vinings home located in the Chattahoochee flood plain under contract on Cochise Drive
Posted by thunsicker in Home Maintenance, State of Real Estate Market, Under Contract and Sold Homes, Vinings on December 8, 2011
Vinings home under contract at 3642 Cochise Drive.....the first home in the flood plain to sell since 2009.
3642 Cochise Drive, Atlanta, GA 30339 is under contract.
This is big news for a couple of reasons:
- This is the first house in the flood plain in Vinings to sell since 2009.
- The bad news is the price it took to sell.
I had this home listed pre-flood at $1,350,000 and here at the end of 2011, the last list price before it went under contract was $624,000, and I assume they got it for slightly less than that.
Also, it was a corporate sale so the price was reduced consistently over the past year plus that its been on the market. My client who lived there was relocated to Chicago and shortly thereafter their company bought the house from them, so all is good for them but the company had quite a shortage I’m sure.
I’ve heard the buyers are local Vinings residents and the house was a great deal.
The kitchen and bathrooms were all new in this home under contract in Vinings.
The kitchens and the baths are all completely new as is the basement – which is the area that will flood. It is all tiled now so it can be hosed off in case of another “event”, but can be used as a great family room in the mean time.
A tile floor on the terrace level was installed in this post-flood home that is under contract in Vinings. Very practical!
A cooler roof: radiant shingles and radiant barriers
Posted by thunsicker in Home Maintenance, Preparing Your Home For Sale on October 3, 2011
I put a new roof on my house last year and installed radiant barrier under the shingles. I can feel the difference in my upstairs rooms. Check out the article below from Chris Curles and Associates of InfraRED Home Inspections of Atlanta.
There are several ways to keep your cool when electrical bills make you a little hot under the collar during warm weather months. A cool roof lowers electrical bills and keeps a home more comfortable by reducing the amount of heat that is transferred inside. Cool roofs are designed to maintain a lower roof temperature while the sun is shining.
There are a number of ways a cool roof can be created, including the installation of radiant barriers within the attic as well as radiant shingles on top of the roof.
Radiant heat travels in a line and heats anything solid within its path. When the sun heats a roof, it is the sun’s radiant energy that makes the roof hot. A large portion of this heat is conducted through roofing materials to the attic side of the roof. The hot roof material further radiates the heat energy onto the cooler attic surfaces, including the air ducts and the attic floor. This heat will continue to be conducted down through a home’s walls and ceilings into the rooms below.
Radiant barriers in an attic.
A radiant barrier in the attic can reduce the amount of heat that is transferred from the underside of the roof to the other surfaces in the attic. Such a barrier is effective because of its ability to reflect back the radiant heat rather than allow its further transmission to areas below. Most barriers available today have a reflectiveness of 95 to 97 percent.
Radiant barriers are more effective in hot climates than in cool climates, especially when cooling air ducts located in the attic. Some studies show that radiant barriers can lower cooling costs between 5% – 10% when used in a warm, sunny climate. The reduced heat gain may even allow for a smaller air conditioning system.
And the greater the temperature difference between the sides of the radiant barrier material, the greater the benefits of a radiant barrier can offer. In cool climates, it’s usually more cost effective to install more insulation than a radiant barrier.
Some of the most popular names in radiant barriers/solar foil include Attic Foil, eShield, Prodex, Green Energy Barrier, SolarGuard and Reflectix.
Landmark Solaris™, a new solar reflective roofing shingle.
Reflective roof shingles can also greatly reduce the warming effects of the sun by reflecting heat upwards. Although white materials tend to be good solar reflectors, colored roofing materials can also be made to reflect more sunlight.
More than half of the sunlight reaching the earth is invisible to the human eye, and even though it is visually undetectable, this invisible sunlight still beats down on and heats our roofs. A colored surface that reflects much of the invisible sunlight is called a cool-dark color, or cool color. A cool-dark color reflects more sunlight than a similar-looking conventional dark color, but less than a light-colored surface. For example, a conventional dark colored surface might reflect 20% of incoming sunlight, a cool-dark colored surface, 40%; and a light-colored surface, 80%.
Currently, Landmark Solaris, Owens Corning, GAF, and 3M, among others all manufacture reflective roofing shingles in cool, dark colors. Both radiant barrier material and some reflective roofing shingles qualify for an energy tax credit of up to $500 under the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010.
Top 5 Landscaping Tips
Posted by thunsicker in Home Maintenance, Preparing Your Home For Sale, Vinings on August 10, 2011
When I show homes to clients, the front landscaping as well as the architectural look and proportions are the first two things a prospective client sees. I am a big believer in NO deferred maintenance but also first impressions.
One mistake I often see people do is save their landscaping till the last thing they do in a home…even after interior decorating. Or they leave things “natural” instead of landscaping which doesn’t help exhibit the size of the lot.
Often when I show property to a married couple, I notice the husband will immediately checks out the backyard, basement or garage (while the wife focuses on the first floor flow and kitchen).
Before you consider remodeling inside, look at your yard and try to see it from a potential buyer’s eyes.
This Vinings home for sale features beautiful, lush landscaping. Please click on the photo to see this home listed by Tina Hunsicker of Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby's International Realty.
Landscaping Tips
1. In a very high percentage of situations most homes need “some” yard.
Yard can be achieved in a number of ways. Atlanta has so much topography that we are used to being creative. The “yard” doesn’t have to be in the back, it can be on the side or front, but it should be screened for privacy.
2. No matter how long you’ve been in the home, now is the time to do the privacy screening.
Leland Cypress trees are a great way to have an economical and private yard. They are called the "green fence".
Even if they are little Leland cypresses or magnolias, in 10 years your home will have privacy, so start now while it’s relatively cheap.
3. Get started now!
Don’t wait to do the huge master plan as too often that just doesn’t happen.
You can add things every spring or fall that aren’t expensive and in several years you’ll have a fabulous yard.
4. If you own a “mature” yard, screening is probably great, but you may lack sun.
I like to see a yard with great screening as long as the plantings look fresh and manicured. That may mean chopping large plantings back dramatically in winter to keep a groomed appearance.
5. Don’t allow bushes to cover windows from an aesthetic and safety perspective.
Often when I list houses I have to have them do major chopping back of plants. Also, it’s helpful to check back there for deferred maintenance, especially wood rot.
I have now lived in my house in Vinings for over 10 years, and every year I take a look and try to determine what would need to be done if I were to put my home on the market. An annual home review provides a fresh perspective and keeps maintenance up.
If you want a second opinion of your home, or are unsure of the maintenance areas you should concentrate on, ask me for a referral to a home inspector. They can make a punch list for you and point you in the right direction.
