One of the wisest moves a homeowner can make is to safeguard their home against preventable incidents that cause extensive – and expensive damage.
It is always better to err on the safe side, and a few simple precautions around the home can save headaches, heartaches and costly repairs. Here are some easy fixes you can do to minimize the occurrence and water damage.

Fit water alarms. They work like smoke detectors but warn of leaks from toilets, water heaters, overflowing baths and sinks. Simply place near any water source and a high pitched alarm alerts you to water leaks. From as little as $15 a unit.

Install stainless-steel braided hoses where possible, they are only about $20 and less likely to deteriorate than plastic hoses. Dishwasher and washing machine hoses should be inspected and replaced every 3-5 years.

Use a rain barrel. It keeps rainwater out of overloaded storm sewer infrastructures and provides you with water for your garden. Check if your municipality has a program that offers subsidies for a rain barrel purchase.

Bathroom caulking prevents leaks around fixtures, and must be checked regularly. Caulking costs less than $5 and is an easy D-I-Y project that can prevent costly repairs to surrounding walls and cabinets.

Connect an eavestrough downspout extension. Extend it at least 6 feet from foundation walls to prevent water from draining into your basement, and direct it towards the street. Downspout extensions cost around $15.

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Patricia Livingstone Kelowna Real Estate May 2012 Newsletter

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Posted by Gail | Filed under Home Buying

While I was shooting the TDDUP Home Editions, I noticed an alarming trend among the people I was working with: they skip a home inspection or, having had one done, they completely ignore the report. Whazzup with that?

It makes no sense to put good money down without getting a professional opinion on the property you’re considering. It is very important that you get a GOOD home inspector. If you’ve watch Mike Holmes, you know that inspectors are a dime a dozen and some of them are downright awful. But a good one can help you feel confident in laying down your buck-sixty-two.

‘Course, home inspectors won’t find everything. First of all they don’t have psychic powers so they can’t see behind walls. And if there’s been a recent mold cleanup just ahead of the inspection, there may be no signs of that. Mice droppings under floorboards won’t be spotted either.

But working with a good inspector means you’ll get a heads-up on what will need replacing, when, and approximately what it will cost. That’ll help you decide what you’ll need to set aside for home maintenance. If there’s a big cost coming, like the replacement of a roof or furnace, you can use that information to negotiate the sales price down. (Yeah, I know, not gonna happen in a seller’s market. But at least you’ll know there’s more money going out the door in the not too distant future so you can plan for it.)

When you’re hiring a home inspector know that they come in various shades and styles: from highly educated and accredited to not so much. Ask about their experience. Check to see if they are members of associations. And ask to see what their inspection report looks like before you buy from them. You do get what you pay for; if you’re coughing up less than $350 for your home inspection on a 3,000 sq. ft. home, you’re probably not getting the best advice.

Your home inspection should take three to four hours. You should be present every step of the way. And you should end up with a very detailed report that shows all the deficiencies and comments on all the features of your home that may need attention.

If you have children, hire a home inspector that has some environmental and child-safety experience. While neither environmental nor child safety issues are typically covered in a home inspection (you usually have to hire specialists for this) if your home inspector has some experience, they could at least let you know that you need to go the next step. And as you walk around with them ask every question that pops into your head. Don’t worry about looking stupid. You’re never going to see this man or woman again. Suck every drop of info that you can out of the inspection experience.

At the end of the day, the home inspection should provide you with peace of mind in terms of the big things that need to be addressed when you’re buying a property. Depending on the season, there may be things you just can’t check. When I turned on my outside taps in the spring, my inside line was leaking. But there was no way for the home inspector I worked with to know this since I bought the house in the dead of winter. I just sucked it up and got it fixed.

Agnes O’Connell knew she had to hire a property inspector and was anything but thrilled.

The last inspection had been a joke and O’Connell was skeptical this one would be any different.

“The first inspector we got whizzed through, gave me a fancy big book, charged me about $600 and left,” she said. “After I moved in I discovered half of my electrical outlets didn’t work, the roof leaked, and various other things were broken.”

The inspector said the dishwasher was broken but it was simply unplugged.

“I tried phoning the guy to complain but I never got a reply so I just wrote it off as a bad experience,” she said.

Fast forward to 2012, when the sale of O’Connell’s home hinges on a comprehensive inspection by C4U Inspection’s Lloyd Kenzle.

“I’m thinking of my God, here we go again, but Lloyd was totally professional and I was more than pleased with his work,” she said. “He didn’t provide me with a big book but he didn’t need to.”

The C4U inspection revealed faulty wiring and a foundation held up by two bolts, however the sale went through.

“I took care of the rewiring and the buyer said he’d fix the foundation,” O’Connell said.

Realtor Brent Couves has also hired C4U and has nothing but good things to say about Kenzle.

“He is a personable guy who certainly knows his stuff and is good at explaining things to clients in layman’s terms.”

People don’t buy houses. They buy homes. That’s why it’s so important sellers make theirs a ‘home’ potential buyers can see themselves living comfortably in. Here’s some simple ways buyers can increase chances of a speedy sale.

Start by walking through your home to scrutinize every room from a buyer’s perspective. Carry a notebook and record anything that needs to be fixed or updated.

Repair, improvement and decorate
• Repair cracks, holes, and chipped paint
• Tighten anything that jiggles including loose knobs, towel racks, switch plates, and outlet covers
• Fix tight doors and windows, squeaky floorboards, and loose banisters and handrails
• Repair caulking, clean around tubs and sinks, and fix leaky faucets. Remove water stains.
• Paint walls with light, neutral colours
• Repair cracks, holes, and chipped paint

Clean, organize, and furnish
• Wash everything and anything from floors to walls, windows, ceilings, trim, and blinds
• Steam-clean your drapes and shampoo carpets, especially if you have pets
• Scrub kitchen and bathroom tiles
• Make sure all appliances and countertops are cleared and spotless
• Throw out or give away anything you don’t need
• Tidy up cabinets and closets and neatly store toys, books, and knick-knacks. Consider renting
offsite offsite storage temporarily to store items that will clutter your home
• Make sure there is a place for everything and that everything is in its place. That’s means
cleaning and organizing the basement, attic, garage, and shed
• Pull up old carpets and remove area rugs covering hardwood floors
• Remove personal items on display
• Remove items you’re taking to your future home, like chandeliers and mirrors (no sense having
potential homeowners fall in love with something they can’t have)
• Furnish empty rooms

Increase your home’s curb appeal

• Make yours the best kept on the street. That means sprucing up the lawn, porch, and entryway.
Consider planting flowers, patching dead lawn, trimming shrubs, and removing yard debris
• Paint doors, shutters, fences, and siding
• Fix or replace broken windowpanes and torn screens
• Fix damaged roof shingles
• Clean gutters and downspouts
• Wash the driveway, sidewalk, and patch any cracks or holes
• Make sure the outside lights and doorbell work and that your house number can be seen from
the road

If last year’s Hurricane Irene taught us anything, it was that with extreme rain events come wet basements.
The vast majority of insured losses caused by Hurricane Irene were caused by wet basements. Many of the losses could have been avoided, or at least mitigated, if homeowners had prepared their homes for the inevitability of a Northeast hurricane.
With spring arriving this week, now is a good time to look at ways that homeowners can help prevent losses from water damage.
For example, if your home requires a sump pump or French drain to help keep the basement dry, water infiltration may be a problem. It could just be a high water table, but in times of heavy sustained rainfall, water from the ground can rise and the sump pit could overflow. During Irene, many homeowners reported that their sump pumps simply could not keep up with the amount of water coming in.
In addition, power outages are common during large storms. Without a backup power supply, sump pumps will do no good.
The land surrounding many homes often slopes toward the house, which can create a rush of water into the house during a heavy rain. This is particularly problematic for homes with below-grade windows or doors.
Also, if the rain gutters and downspouts are clogged, the rain will be redirected toward the home’s foundation instead of away from the house.
Even if you’ve done everything to keep the water out, it sometimes makes its way into the basement. If this happens, you can mitigate your losses by making sure valuables kept in the basement are stored off the ground.
Finally, it’s important to have flood insurance, particularly if your home is in a high-risk flood zone, as most homeowners insurance policies will not cover damages caused by flooding.

Scott Spencer is senior vice president, Chubb & Son, and worldwide appraisal manager, Chubb Personal Insurance.

Clean gutters to protect your siding and landscape plantings, and prevent thousands of dollars of damage to your foundation.

Leaving debris in your gutters can damage them and force freezing water under your shingles.

In a downpour, a clogged roof gutter sends a cascade of water down the side of your house, making canyons of your flowerbeds and saturating your foundation. Clean gutters of leaves and debris to help prevent damage to your landscaping and siding, and to head off expensive repairs to your foundation that may cost $10,000 or more.
How often to clean gutters
Clean gutters at least once a year—twice a year if you have overhanging trees. Also, clean clogged gutters after big storms. Clogs often occur where downspouts join the gutter system—check these areas closely.
How to clean gutters
Wear a shirt with long sleeves. Wear rubber gloves.
Have a good extendable ladder available. Standoff stabilizers (ladder “horns”) are ideal to keep the ladder from damaging the gutter.
Use a small plastic scoop to remove gunk. Buy a gutter scoop from the hardware store ($25) or try a child’s sand shovel.
Spare your lawn by dumping the stuff onto a plastic tarp.
After you’ve cleared the muck, flush the gutters and downspouts with a garden hose—also a great way to spot any leaks.
Cost of a professional gutter cleaning
If climbing ladders is not your cup of tea, you can hire someone to do the job for you for between $50 and $250, depending on the size and height of your house.
Gutter covers
Interested in an ounce of prevention? You can slow clogging by installing gutter covers in the form of mesh screens, clip-on grates, or porous foam. However, the cost can be more than the gutters themselves and covers need regular maintenance to keep them clear. Expect to pay $6 to $8 per running foot for gutter covers, installed.

Read more: http://goo.gl/2mO1y

1. Keep your home well-maintained on the outside.

Burglars want an easy target. Stand on the street outside your house and ask yourself: Does my property look neglected, hidden, or uninhabited? A front door or walkway that’s obscured by shrubbery offers crooks the perfect cover they need while they break a door or window. To improve security, trim shrubs away from windows and widen front walks.

2. Install motion detector lights.

All sides of your house should be well-lit with motion-activated lighting, not just the front. Simple motion-activated floodlights cost less than $50 each, and installing them is an easy DIY job if the wiring is already in place.

3. Store your valuables.

Thieves want easy-to-grab electronics, cash, jewelry, and other valuables, though some are not above running down the street with your flat-screen TV. Most make a beeline for the master bedroom, because that’s where you’re likely to hide spare cash, jewelry, even guns. 

Tour each room and ask yourself: is there anything here that I can move to a safe deposit box? Installing a home safe ($150 to $500) that’s bolted to your basement slab is a good repository for items you don’t use on a daily basis.

4. Secure your data.

While you probably won’t be putting your home computer in a safe anytime soon, take steps to back up the personal information stored on it. Password protect your login screen, and always shut off your computer when not in use (you’ll save energy, too!) Don’t overlook irreplaceable items whose value may hard to quantify, like digital photos.

5. Prepare ahead of time in case the worst happens.

Take a photo or video inventory of items of value in your home, and store the file online or in your home safe.
Check that you’re properly insured for theft. Note that high-ticket items in your home office, such as computers, professional camera equipment, or other business essentials, may require an additional rider or a separate policy.

Read more: http://goo.gl/nSAZS

A national measure shows housing became more affordable in the fourth quarter of last year, the second improvement in a row, Royal Bank of Canada’s quarterly release showed Wednesday. It found all housing categories became more affordable, led by the two-storey home category.