5 Hard-To-Find Home Improvement Necessities

Here are a few items you should order in advance when improving your home.

We’ve all been hearing about supply chain issues throughout our economy. How do these problems impact your home purchase or sale? Today I want to answer that question and share the top four hard-to-get items you might need when you buy or sell:

1. Kitchen and laundry appliances. If you think you’ll need these appliances in your new property, I suggest you buy them now. You can still find the expensive ones, but they’re hard to find if you’re looking for a deal.

2. Lumber. It is not as expensive as it has been in the past few years, but it still costs a lot and is hard to find. If you’re planning to build a deck or start another project that requires lumber, put in an order right away. 

“Start ordering these items 90 days ahead of time.”

3. Flooring. Whether you want carpet or hardwood flooring, it’s hard to come

by. Solid wood floors are particularly tough to find because of the lumber shortage.

If you’re thinking about remodeling before you sell, you should start buying the

flooring now, even though you might not need it for a few months. 

4. Adhesives and glues. If you’re changing out insulation or anything else that

requires an adhesive, be aware that adhesives are hard to find. 

5. Drywall. Maybe you want to fill in, change, or finish a room in your house. You

can still get drywall, but it will take a bit of time. 

If you’re thinking about remodeling or buying a home, you should start ordering

these items 90 days in advance so that you have them when you need them. 

If you want some help finding these materials or have any real estate questions,

feel free to call or email us. We’d be happy to help!

Why You Need to Visit a Home on a Rainy Day

Here’s why it's not so crazy to inspect a home on a rainy day.

Should you look at a home you want to purchase while it’s raining? I know it sounds crazy, but it might actually be a good idea. Today I want to talk about the different reasons why you should inspect a home on a rainy day. 

Water is often the No. 1 problem in any given house. Water eating away at foundations or cultivating mold in your new home are huge problems, so check a property thoroughly before moving forward with your purchase.

When you visit a property in the rain, check the gutters, downspouts, and drainage. In our area, landscaping often keeps water up against the house, which causes the water to drain towards the property. This can lead to major issues over time, so watch out for water pooling around the home. 

“Basements are common in our area, so check for standing water in them.”

Your inspector will certainly check for these problems, but if they do their

inspection when it’s dry, they’ll have no way of knowing about them. If you

check for these issues, you can tell your inspector about them so that they

can investigate further. 

Make sure you visit the crawlspace or basement during your rain visit to look

for standing water. This is a red flag for mold and other issues.

If water is seeping through into the basement, it could lead to foundation

issues down the line. 

I know it doesn’t sound fun to visit a property in the rain, but I highly recommend

it. The agents on my team can help you with this visit and anything else involved

in buying a home, so reach out to me via phone or email if you have any questions.

I look forward to hearing from you!

New Construction Homes Need Inspections Too

Here’s why new construction buyers should have a home inspection done.

Should you have a home inspection done when you’re buying new construction? People often skip this step for new homes; only around 14% of new construction homebuyers actually do a home inspection.

I think that’s a mistake—just because a home is new, that doesn’t mean it’s flawless. Around 25% of new construction homes sold have had big-ticket issues. Ten years back, I was walking through a new construction house with a home inspector who was checking out the HVAC system. On the outside, the system looked shiny and new, but the serial number was from 10 years earlier than the property’s build date. We had no idea where that system had been for those 10 years. As a buyer, I’d want to know the whole story before I purchase that property. 

“Just because a home is new, that doesn't mean it's flawless.”

Home inspectors also check for safety issues when examining a home. Most

new construction houses have some sort of ground-fault wiring that hasn’t been

done properly, for example, so it’s always good to make sure that the final

product is safe for you and your family.

To be sure, you should go through a punch list of items to check with your builder

when the construction is done, and you should do a final walk-through as well.

However, I strongly recommend that you go the extra mile to have a professional

home inspector check out the nuts and bolts of the property.

If you’d like a recommendation for a home inspector to take a look at your new

construction property or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to give me a

call or send me an email. I’d love to help you.