Entries by firstchoice

Inspecting Old Homes

As home inspectors, we are often called up to inspect very old homes. Now my friends who live in England laugh when I refer to an old home here in the United States – the oldest homes we have are 400 years old. In England, there are homes that had stood for centuries! Anyway, I […]

Concealment / Memory Shoes

Memory / Concealment Shoes A few years ago, I inspected one of the oldest homes in New Boston, New Hampshire. The house was built in 1787 and the current owners had been excellent stewards of the home and had done some wonderful work maintaining the house. But the real beauty of an old home is […]

The Reality of Radon

Like most people, I was not an expert when it came to Radon – even as a home inspector. That is until about 3 years ago when I came across a situation involving a person with a lot of health issues. Here is the definition of Radon from the CDC website: Radon is an odorless, […]

Should a NEW construction home be inspected?

I hear this line from people time and time again: “It’s a newly constructed home, so it doesn’t need to be inspected.” That statement couldn’t be further from the truth. Here in New Hampshire, we have numerous municipalities that have no building inspector on staff, or even any oversight available. In those towns, it’s like […]

Generational Homes

We have been inspecting a lot of what I call, “Generational Homes” of late. A Generational Home is defined in most of the internet searches I conducted, as a home that has housed 2 – 3 generations of the same family. We had the honor of inspecting a home in Goffstown a month ago that […]

Compartmentalizing During an Inspection

I thought of another word the other day that applies to how a home inspector conducts a home inspection. The word I was thinking of was the word “Compartmentalize.” I found this definition on the Merriam-Webster website: “To separate into isolated compartments or categories.” I think that word actually does a great job of describing […]

Should the client attend the Home Inspection?

A popular question we are often asked as home inspectors – usually from the Realtors on behalf of their clients, is: “Should my client attend the home inspection?” My answer is always an emphatic YES! They should try and be there. Ideally, and if possible, the client should always attend the home inspection. It is […]

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Climate Change

I know this is a controversial topic, but as a home inspector, I have to say that the most popular question I get during home inspections is: “Is my basement going to flood?” I never got this question when I first got started as a home inspector 11 years ago. But now, it comes up […]

The “Practiced Eye”

If someone were to ask me what the most important trait is for a home inspector, I would say he or she needs a “Practiced Eye.” So what exactly does that phrase mean? I found several definitions online. The definitions usually revolved around the following: Having a Practiced Eye is referred to as having a […]

Blue Jays Chipping Paint Off My House

So I witnessed an odd phenomenon last  year during the winter months. And of course the phenomenon has something to do with your house, or I wouldn’t be writing about it here. I kept hearing what sounded like woodpeckers knocking on the exterior of our house. To my recollection, I couldn’t remember ever seeing woodpeckers […]