EMAIL or call 503-913-1281
email or call 503-913-1281
Have you had a home inspection or radon testing through Home Gnome? Are you a real estate agent that we’ve worked with in the past? We finally have a central location for leaving reviews! Please leave us a review here on Angie’s List.
As always, real estate agents can save their clients $25 off the first inspection with me!
I’m new on Redfin! Read my latest reviews right here. I really don’t like asking people for testimonials or reviews, but luckily Redfin does a great job of gathering them for their users. Redfin requires their real estate agents to provide information on every person involved in the transaction.
Thanks Jennie, Trevor and Redfin! Visit my Redfin page here.
I recently had the ducts and furnace cleaned at my house. Why, you ask? Here are 6 reasons to clean your furnace & ducts:
1. The life of your furnace. Dirt slows down air movement and creates more resistance so that your furnace has to work harder, reducing the life of the equipment and ultimately costing you more money. This dirt gets stuck inside your ducts, furnace and a good portion gets stuck to your filter. (That means it is VERY important to change or clean your filter so that your furnace doesn’t have to work so hard to push the air through a filthy filter!)
2. Allergies and cleaner air. Even if you don’t have allergies, whatever is blowing around in the air can tickle your nose and get into your lungs. AaaaaahCHOO!
3. Breathe your own air. Especially if you’re moving into a new home, you don’t want to be breathing in someone else’s dust or dead skin, allergens/pollens, dirt and pet hair from 12 years ago. When years of build-up is camped out in your furnace and ducting, a lot of it can just be re-circulated into the air you breathe. Ewwwww!
4. Mold! Air has moisture. Moisture likes to stay in cozy areas. Cozy areas provide a nice home for mold. Where is pretty cozy in your house? Your heating ducts!
5. The secret is the filter. Have you done a remodeling project lately? Has there recently been road construction nearby your house? Any thing that increases particles in the air of your home means that at the very least, your filter probably needs to be changed. Those particles can fill up a filter faster than you think. Depending on how often you use your heating/cooling system, the depth of your filter, your family’s daily life (smoking, allergies) and if you have pets, it should be changed every 1-3 months. When in doubt, change it out. It is MUCH cheaper to clean or change your filter regularly than to pay for a new furnace.
6. Less dust. If you’re like me, you have little time or energy left after a busy week to clean. Let your filter do the work- you can sit back and relax.
The following are photos of my furnace blower and return air duct the before and after it was cleaned. If I inspect a house and I see a dirty blower or ducts, I recommend cleaning. If I don’t see maintenance records for the furnace, I recommend a complete service.
Furnace blower after cleaning
Furnace blower before cleaning
clean return air duct
Return duct before cleaning
Wishing you all a merry holiday season and an even better 2015! Thanks to each one of you who have referred business to me, gave me the gift of kind words or encouragement, listening to me vent, made cake pops, sat on a golf course with me on a summer day, offered advice, edited copy, photographed someone who’s clearly not a model, written an unsolicited testimonial or positive “thank you” email, given me feedback (positive and negative) on my reports, answered my questions or even just smiled at me on the street. I cannot express my gratitude enough. Cheers to another amazing year!
I attended the radon presentation at the Architectural Heritage Center this past weekend- what a great event! AHC always puts on great educational programs and this one provided some fun radon facts. If you don’t already know about radon, it’s an odorless, colorless, tasteless radioactive gas that occurs naturally in our soil and water. Buildings trap escaping radon, forcing us to breathe it unknowingly. Radon is the #2 cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. Levels of radon are different for every home. If you don’t know what the radon levels are in your home, get a home testing kit or call me and I will test for you!
I learned so much about radon that I thought you might want to nerd out with me… here we go:
The chemical element radon comes from uranium & thorium, which decays into radium and then into radon. Uranium and thorium are the two most common radioactive elements here on earth.
Radon by zip code, Oregon
Still want to know more? Check out the EPA website or the Portland, Oregon radon website. And watch this Oregon Field Guid Radon video.
Probably the most difficult part of my job is the news that clients’ hearts are broken about a house they fell in love with… But I know that this is much more heartbreaking for those clients. I received the following email from a couple that I’d recently done a home inspection for. It makes me so proud of my business but it totally breaks my heart too:
“I wanted to write you a quick note to say thank you for your thorough inspection…. The roof ended up needing to be totally replaced, which the sellers were unwilling to do. Although we are bummed that this did not end up being the right house for us, we are so thankful to you for your thorough inspection and we will definitely use you when we find another great house that will hopefully be ours. Thank you again!” -R.M., Portland, Oregon
…But imagine if they had bought a house with a bad roof that they had to pay to replace themselves.
I wish I could warn home buyers before their house search begins that the home buying process can be emotional and will probably hurt. Sometimes you don’t get the house you fall in love with (and it hurts more and more the further you get into the process of buying- I’ve been through it myself), whether it’s because of something from the inspection, something with funding or any number of scenarios. Whatever it is, it’s usually out of your control and causes heartbreak for everyone involved- including me!
The good news: it’s ok. The house that was meant for you is out there and that one wasn’t it. There is a better, more perfect home waiting for you around the corner. Literally. Sometimes patience is painful. But the wait is worth it. I promise.
I love events like this… you show up, get free information, classes, repairs and prizes and leave knowing that you are a better homeowner. What could be better than that? The Fix-It Fair is a FREE City of Portland event where you can learn simple ways to save money and connect with resources. Join your neighbors and talk to the experts about how to spend less and stay healthy. Fix-It Fairs in Portland are coming up:
November 22, 2014
Parkrose High School
12003 NE Shaver St, Portland, OR 97220
January 24, 2015
Rosa Parks Elementary School
8960 N Woolsey Ave, Portland, OR 97203
February 21, 2015
David Douglas High School
1001 SE 135th Ave, Portland, OR 97233
What will you find and learn at a Fix-It Fair? Ongoing exhibits and hourly workshops on such topics as:
Plus:
For more information or to receive email notification for future Fairs call 503-823-4309 or email fixitfair@portlandoregon.gov
Visit Fix-It Fair on Facebook to get more information from them and the community.
Visite nuestra página web en español.
We offer radon testing! Radon is an odorless, colorless radioactive gas that may cause cancer. It can be in the water, soil and air you breathe. It gets trapped inside buildings, increasing your risk for exposure. Be sure the air you breathe is safe. Get your home tested for radon!
Golf tournament success! This was a great fundraising event put on by the Portland Chapter of Women’s Council of Realtors! The weather was perfect and I met so many awesome people. I feel so lucky to be surrounded and supported by all these amazing (men and) women in the real estate industry. I can’t wait until next year’s golf event!
An an extra round of applause to the WCR ladies who organized the event- I’ve done fundraising events like this and I know how much time, energy and effort goes into it and you all did a splendid job. Nice work.
And a million thanks to all my gnomies who made this event possible for me: Jenn W., Kristy, Christine, Chris and Heidi. You guys are the BEST.
See all the photos here.
“It’s so expensive to do all the “green” things I want to do with my house!” While most of the greening things that get publicity are quite expensive such as solar panels, extra insulation or new windows, there are several things you can do that are affordable and easy. Here are just a few:
1. Paint with Low or Zero VOC paint. Cost: 20-50% more than conventional paint. “VOC” stands for Volatile Organic Compounds…which doesn’t sound like something I want in my house! Low- and No-VOC paint takes longer to dry (be especially careful about painting window sills and touching them with decor or window coverings), but doesn’t off gas. That means you’re not breathing in toxic chemicals when you walk into the room! VOCs are in many other products (several types of flooring/adhesives, upholstery fabrics, air fresheners, etc.), so the more you limit them from you house, the healthier you’ll be.
2. Change the filter(s) in your heating/cooling system. Cost: $4-$45+. Changing your filter regularly will help you in three ways. First, it will help your heating/cooling equipment to run more efficiently which prolongs the life of the system. It also saves energy (which saves you money) by not having to work so hard to push air through the system. Lastly, a clean filter does a better job of filtering out nasty stuff in the air you breathe. You don’t want to be breathing in allergens and dust from months ago, do you? It’s best to follow manufacturer’s recommendations when it comes to the frequency at which you should change your filter, but it also depends on if you have pets, how much you use the system, etc. For an average household, I suggest changing filters once every two months. (More frequently if you have pets, allergies or if you use your system constantly.)
Lightbulb color temperatures- cooler to warmer
3. Use Compact Fluorescent or LED lightbulbs. Cost: CFL $7+; LED $25+. Incandescents are dead! Using more efficient bulbs simply saves energy which saves you money! Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) have a longer life (up to 10x), but are more expensive. Do you want to use energy efficient bulbs but hate that it makes your room look blue like WalMart? Your bulbs are too cool! Look for warmer bulbs- 2500K color temperature or lower. The higher the color temperature number, the more blue and stark the light is. A lower “K” number is better here.
4. Get a free Water Conservation Kit from Portland Water Bureau. Did I mention this is free? You can customize your kit to fit your needs or just order the whole shebang if you’re in the Portland area: call 503-823-4527 or email conserve@portlandoregon.gov
5. Install a programmable thermostat. Cost: $35+. It doesn’t have to be fancy. as long as you can set the temperature to be different at different times of day and for different days of the week, you’ll save money and time by not babysitting the temperature. Don’t worry- you can always override the programmed temperature. A new thermostat may seem complicated, but it’s really quite simple- there are rarely more than 4 buttons to deal with and once you set it, you can forget it. Cheers to a healthier house!