JUS4U Blog:: Just for your reading pleasure!
Some home owners just don’t realize they are being taken advantage of until the check gets cashed….then it is too late.
I had a customer refer me to one of their friends who needed a little handyman work done. When I completed the task, it turned out that a different contractor had previously remodeled her bath room and she began telling me her story. However, her new bath tub moved every time someone would get in and out of it. The caulk joints kept separating and she never understood why. After looking into it a little deeper, I discovered some blocking was installed incorrectly and her floor was separating from her tub. I told her that we would have to open her ceiling below to see exactly what had been done.
After exposing the structure under her tub, I than found the previous contractor had left rotted out floor joist in her floor. It wasn’t pretty. The job called for a header to be made to support her tub around all of the plumbing and four floor joists to be installed. Upon exposing all of the wall areas in effect, it was discovered that the main sewer trunk line going up the wall had a 3ft crack in it and had been leaking sewage water in the wall and under her carpet. When I ask her about contacting this other contractor, she said she had tried several times, but never got a return phone call.
This was back in 2009.This young lady still calls, “ JUS -4- U” whenever she has something that she needs to have done. To this very day, she is one of our best customers.
Termite companies are a great investment for your home. Until you find out that after 20 years of having termite treatments you have $20,000.00 worth of damage. Then the termite company tells you, “We’re terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but you have these termites because you ( the home owner) didn’t caulk around your windows and every time it rains you are letting water get into your walls. Termites then go for the water. So, your claim is denied and we find it is due to the neglect of the home owner. Therefore, the cost of these repairs will have to be at the owner expense.”
I have been that contractor who had to stand in the middle of those conversations, homeowners in tears because they trusted someone who they thought was a reportable company. Looking down at a brand new tile floor not 3 months old, asking me, “When you jack up my floor, will you be able to do it without breaking any of my tile?” “What about my cabinets and counter tops, when you do all of this work under my home will it affect any of these brand new installations?”
How can a termite company come out and treat your home for termites and tell everything looks good for years on end, only to turn up one day and say, “We didn’t see them and it is the fault of the home owner.” I guess what I am trying to say is, “Even the pros make mistakes, but don’t put all of your eggs into one basket. Find a good contractor to check your home even if you have a termite company.” A $250.00 independent inspection is definitely cheaper than thousands of dollars in repairs later.
When buying a home a “Home Inspection” is almost always required by the buyer or the seller. However, more times than naught, especially to first time home buyers, the “Lingo” of the home inspection is not explained to them. A comment such as: “Traces of activity were apparent around both rear and front doors of home.” Ok, but does that mean that there “is” activity or does that mean, there “was” activity?
If the home inspection is proposed by the seller, the home inspector is working in favor of the “seller”. The inspector will reveal what was seen, but will not dig any deeper than a visual inspection. If the realtor who is selling the home is working for both the buyer and seller or is from the same company as the opposing realtor…watch out! Chances are they will be working together to some degree and someone is going to be left with a home that is going to end up costing them more than they ever dreamed it could. But you don’t have to believe from me. I can left you talk to real people who have had this exact experience.
Come back later and we can talk more.
Things every homeowner should know....
