Do You Need A Public Adjuster for Your Insurance Claim?

After a major storm or a freak accident that ends in massive amounts of property damage, you’re probably going to feel two things essentially at once: you’re going to be overwhelmed with the amount of damage that was caused and you’re going to wonder how you’re going to get the mess cleaned up.

A call to your insurance company will summon an insurance adjuster to help estimate the extent of the damage, but you have no say at all in who assesses the extent of the damage to your property or how much your policy should pay to help you rebuild.

Hire Your Own Adjuster — Problem Solved

If you’ve filed a claim before for a car accident, you’ve met an insurance adjuster employed by the insurance company that you’re filing on. This isn’t the guy you need when things get really hairy. Although he’s not out to get you, he’s working for the insurance company and trying to minimize their pay-out. That’s his job.

However, you can hire your own guy, known as a public adjuster, to help you navigate the complicated situation that comes around when a bicycle is flung through your garage door and then breaks out the back window of your car during a bad storm. Public adjusters receive the same training as those working for the insurance company, but instead of walking between two parties, the public adjuster you choose is working on your behalf exclusively.

Who Pays the Public Adjuster?

Many homeowners are hesitant to call a public adjuster because they think the fees will be significant. Of course the public adjuster needs to get paid, but many will take a percentage of your settlement rather than demand fee after fee. Anywhere from 10 to 20 percent of the final settlement is typical for the market.

It can be a lot of money, there’s no joke about it, but the difference between the insurance adjuster’s figures and your public adjuster’s figures can more than cover their costs. According to Bankrate’s research, a study of one Florida insurance company showed that the homeowners who used a public adjuster’s typical settlement was $22,266 where those who let the insurance company take the wheel only got $18,659.

To put those numbers into perspective, let’s assume the public adjuster had a 15 percent fee. On $22,266, the fee would be $3,339.90. Even once that fee is taken out, you’re ahead of the insurance adjuster’s payment of $18,659 by $267.10. If the public adjuster only has a 10 percent fee, that number gets even bigger — a whopping $1,380.40 in money you might have left on the table.

Working With a Public Adjuster: Best Practices

Just like working with any professional, there are better and worse ways to go about it. Unlike most other professions, most people know nothing about public adjusters, leaving them ill-prepared for how one works. Let’s talk about the claim cycle and how your contributions can speed up the insurance claim process.

* The Loss. Your house has the roof taken to Oz, a big tree in your yard crushes your car, a dirigible crashes into your picture windows — whatever happens, this has to happen first. If you call a public adjuster before you have a loss, it’s going to look mighty suspicious..
* First Contact. Who you contact at this stage is vital. You definitely need to let your insurance company know there’s an issue, but this is also the best time to get a public adjuster into the mix. If they begin at the beginning of your claim, they don’t have to hold up the show trying to get up to speed.
* Checking Your Docs. Find all your insurance papers and have them ready for your public adjuster. Your insurance documents double as a contract between you and the insurance company, it’s a really good idea to know what they say before you go into battle. Your public adjuster will be doing more in-depth research while you’re finding your papers.
* Documenting Your Claim. For personal property, this is generally most easily done with a video camera, but you’ll also need estimates for rebuilding your home. This is one of the many things a public adjuster can do for you if you don’t have the time or energy to line up the necessary talent.
* Submitting Your Bundle. Once everything’s put together, all your damages documented and the cost to get your life back together put down in writing, your public adjuster will give the packet to the insurance company for their consideration.
* Negotiating a Settlement. Finally, your public adjuster will stand in your corner and defend your claim with all they have. If there’s room for negotiation and you’ve given them permission to do so, the public adjuster may counter a lower offer from the insurance company on your behalf.

Since public adjusters get paid a percentage based on the amount your insurance company settles for, it’s in their best interest to get as much money as they can. They’re on your side, but they’re kind of on their own side, too.

Looking for a Public Adjuster, Insurance Agent, Contractor, Roofer or Other Home Pro?

In the moments after a massive hit to your property, you won’t be able to see beyond what’s in front of you, but when your head clears, you’ll need to figure out who you need to help you build your insurance claim. Luckily, your HomeKeepr family can set you up with all the home pros you need. Adjusters, contractors and so many more have already been recommended for you, just pop in and say hello to the people your Realtor trusts most.

October newsletter

Welcome to Fall!! College football is in full-swing, NFL football has started again, high school football is more than halfway finished already, daylight is waning, and the temperatures are falling...and most importantly, pump-spiced everything is BACK! It must be Fall!

We hope if you have school-aged children that you have settled back into a routine and that the kids have adjusted well to new teachers and maybe a new school.

Our kids have done just that and we find Ana having quite a bit more homework than last year. Couple that with her ballet lessons and Indianapolis Children's Choir practices and performances, school show choir and the school play, she is a busy, busy girl. Tali still enjoys her gymnastics 3x/week and competition season comes in November.

Brigid has been traveling quite a bit more lately with her job making juggling all of these activities even more challenging.

Jack and Mary Anne were to go to the east coast on vacation last week, but had to cancel due to the hurricane. They did go to the Smokies this week and are enjoying the lush and green all around them.

Kylie and Julia are still doing great and have been a huge help with us moving our office into a newly built-out section of our floor. It will take some getting used to, but it will be a good move in the end. It is but a small inconvenience compared to what we put our clients through when selling their homes!

Lots going on in the upcoming months and some schedule changes, so please read on...

Our first-ever Fall Client Appreciation Party is coming up NEXT weekend on Saturday, October 6th at Sundown Gardens in Westfield. We will have pumpkins for every family to decorate and there will be several presentations on fall decorating, plantings, and tree-trimming. It is absolutely FREE to attend, but we do need RSVPs by tomorrow, Friday, September 28th. The entire family is invited! RSVP today to Kylie@Welcome2Indy.com!

Don't forget our 6th Annual VIP Client Appreciation Event on December 1st from 8:30AM-11AM at Hamilton Towne Center. We are serving a light breakfast and are showing the brand new Disney movie Wreck It Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks The Internet. You should have received your Save The Date in the mail. Reservations are required. NEW this year is a caricature artist will be on hand to draw your family. RSVP today to Kylie@Welcome2Indy.com!

Thank you to everyone who has attended our Monthly Happy Hours!! We had a big group this month and would love to see you next month! Due to Fall Break and then Thanksgiving, we are changing the dates of the last two Happy Hours of 2018 (we don't have one in December). Our October Happy Hour will be on Wednesday, October 24th from 5-6:30PM at Matt The Miller's. Our November Happy Hour will be at the same time and place, but on Wednesday, November 14th. Look for your evite soon to RSVP!

As for the real estate market, things have still been slower than in the spring and summer. They are starting to pick back up a bit from the annual back-to-school lull, but not as much as we expected, especially for houses priced over $300,000. See below from updated stats from MIBOR (August 2018 vs. August 2017). The biggest takeaway is that home prices are trending up at 6%/year while median income has only increased 2.6%/year. This gap cannot continue to be supported forever, especially in the middle to upper-middle markets.

New listings-UP 9.5% to 4,569 units
Pending sales-UP 19% to 3,731 units
Closed sales-UP 8.0% to 3,802 units
Median Sales Price-UP 9.0% to $179,000
Average Sales Price-UP 5.3% to $216,003
Percent of original list price received at sale-UP 0.3% to 96.2%
Total active listings available at month end-DOWN 18% to 8,059 units
Months supply of inventory-DOWN 18.2% to 2.6 months

Click here to read our October newsletter

Click here to access coupons and discounts at places you shop every day

Click here for the most powerful real estate app available

Click here for a 1-minute market update video

Click here to learn about how we can help seniors

Click here to read some testimonials about our service

Your friends in real estate,

Steve, Jack, Kylie, & Julia

P.S. Please don't keep us a secret!

Smart Sprinklers

You’re all alone at home when you hear it. Sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-shhhhhhhh… and it seems to be coming from outside. You look around, very puzzled and a little afraid, then it comes again sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-shhhhhhhh.

Oh! It dawns on you suddenly. “Alexa, turn the sprinklers off.”

Smart devices are popping up everywhere, even on your front lawn. And while many seem kind of silly, like voice controlled outlets, others, like smart sprinklers are very likely the smart device you never realized you needed.

The Basics of Smart Sprinklers

Sprinklers have been becoming increasingly smarter over the years, but those standard sprinkler systems still can’t hold a candle to a smart sprinkler. These babies are so efficient that in research studies, they’ve been able to save up to 70 percent of the water a traditional sprinkler will use. That’s not just good for the environment, your driveway and your neighbor’s cat, it’s great for your pocketbook.

Smart and Not As Smart Sprinklers

There are two different types of smart sprinklers on the market right now. The main difference is in how they determine when they need to be running (if you let them do their thing instead of programming them directly). Those are:

Sensor-based. This type of sprinkler relies on one of several types of soil moisture sensors to figure out just how wet the soil is. When it’s wet enough, the sprinkler stops. They can either check the sensor on a schedule, watering or not watering depending on the moisture, or they run automatically when the moisture in the soil is out of a programmed range.

The down side to sensor-based sprinklers is that they can literally only measure the moisture around the sensor. If your lot is uneven or unusual, these may not really do much for you and could end up wasting a lot of water.

Weather-based. Also known as a signal-based or evapotranspiration controller, these controllers are actively scanning for weather reports so they can adjust the amount of water they let loose on your lawn. Some systems also consider historical data for your region, others collect on-site weather information to make the most accurate calculations.

Weather-based smart sprinklers are amazing, there are no two ways about it. But they can also get very expensive very quickly. That being said, over the long term, they’ll save you more money because of the increased precision, but if you’re not willing or able to let the computer take control, these are not for you.

For Extra Bang, Add a Flow Meter

Some smart sprinkler systems can be fitted with an optional flow meter, which can prove to be a huge help down the road. You can use a flow meter to measure the amount of water that your sprinklers are putting out, but generally, your smart sprinkler can also do that. What they can’t do is tell you if the pressure is too high or too low, indicating a problem in the system.

For a lot of systems, the optional flow meter is a less than $50 upgrade. When compared to the water bill a broken sprinkler line could cost you, it’s not much in the way of an investment.

Smart Sprinklers May Be Covered By Utility Rebates

Although they can be a pricey initial purchase, the cost of a smart sprinkler system will often be rebated to you by your water utility. Because of the amount of water saved and the run-off that’s eliminated, more and more utilities and municipalities are issuing rebates for these smart devices.

Check with your utility company and the EPA’s WaterSense site to determine which devices are covered in your area.

When You’re a Little More Indoorsy..

Just log into your HomeKeepr community to find a landscape expert who can help you choose the right smart sprinkler system for your home. You can trust they’re going to do the job right, after all, they’ve been recommended by your Realtor.

Waste less water. Grow more grass. Do it all from a smart device app in your phone!

3 Reasons You Need A Permit

It all started with a shelf.

You just bought your home and, though it needed a little surface work, you were pretty proud of it. It was yours, to do with as you wanted. So the first thing you did was run out and bought some lumber to construct a custom, built-in shelf system in your living room.

Oh, man, that was a breeze, you thought to yourself as you sat watching television and admiring the shelving. That was when you realized how much your house would benefit from knocking the wall out between the kitchen and the living room. After all, if Vanilla Ice can do it, surely you can.

If you had to look back and pick the moment when everything went south for you, that would be it. Thanks, Vanilla Ice. Thank you.

Instead of getting a permit for this major structural modification to your home, you just started smashing. After all, they don’t get permits for this stuff on television, so why bother with it?

Now you know why. Oh, now you know.

Many DIY Jobs Require a Permit

Whether you’re a trained carpenter or a DIYer that binges HGTV, there are certain kinds of home remodeling that will always require a permit. This ensures that someone is looking over your shoulder to make sure that you’re doing the work correctly.

Advanced jobs in plumbing, electrical, HVAC and other specialty fields always require a permit to ensure that the home is and will remain safe for the occupants. Other jobs, like those that involve making structural changes, may or may not need a permit. That’s usually at the discretion of the permitting body.

You’ll want to speak to your municipal planning and zoning department to determine whether or not your job needs to be permitted. Typically, getting a permit requires that you describe the work you plan to do and pay a small fee that covers, in part, the cost of having expert inspectors ensure that your worksite is safe and your repairs are done correctly.

This is Why You Need a Permit

It can be a pain to go down to P&Z (or planning and development in some areas), but it’s really worth the effort in the long run. Despite the amount of documentation these can require, depending on the complexity of your project, you’ll find that going through the process properly will force you to really think about each step in your process.

Of course, that’s just one reason to get a permit, there are plenty more, like:

1. Avoiding serious legal ramifications. In any municipality that requires permits, there’s some kind of severe punishment for not getting one.

For example, in Dallas, Texas, the ordinance reads like this: “Punishment. Any person who knowingly violates a provision of this chapter or the codes is guilty of a separate offense for each day or portion of a day during which the violation is committed, continued, or permitted, and each offense is punishable by a fine not to exceed $2,000. (Ord. 26029; 26286).”

Or, if you’re in St. Paul, Minnesota, you can be charged with a misdemeanor — along with a stiff fine — for any work exceeding $500 that hasn’t been permitted first. Do you really want a criminal record because you wanted to install a bay window where two tiny windows used to be?

2. Being confident the work you’ve done is done right. Unless you have an expertise in construction, you probably have a lot of gaps in your knowledge base, including how to tell if a wall is a load-bearing (aka. structural) wall. This sort of mistake is more common than you might imagine and can be devastating to a home.

For example, when you pulled that wall down in the opening scenario, you didn’t know it was a structural wall. Now, months later, you’ve been noticing an increasingly deep sag where the wall used to be and the floor tiles are cracking here and there. The reason? Your house is under a lot more stress now because you took out a wall it needed and didn’t replace it with something to help carry the weight.

Had you sought a building permit, a housing inspector would have come by to check your work and advised you to put a 10-inch header up to make the project work without compromising the house’s structure. Inspectors aren’t always there to bust your chops, they can actually help.

In addition, when you go to sell your home, you will now have to disclose that you did this work without a permit and that it has caused some pretty serious problems. It’s a complete no-win and it’s going to be costly to have an expert come in and fix what your demo saw or sledge destroyed for peanuts..

3. Ensuring that all work is safe and up to code. If home pros shared some of the most terrifying things they’ve ever seen in homes, you would understand in an instant why permits keep you and your neighbors safe. These are the times when you can’t do much besides shake your head and laugh, because human ingenuity plus human sloth makes some really crazy work arounds.

Had these creative types of work been inspected, of course they wouldn’t have passed. Today’s building inspector and the permit office attached can prevent tomorrow’s house fire, ceiling collapse, or rapid structural degradation.

Not Sure If You Need a Permit…?

If you don’t know if you need a permit, call the authorities that issue building permits for your area. This is typically Planning and Zoning or Planning and Development within your city or county’s offices. They can explain what’s permitted and what isn’t, or at very least, send you some literature.

When the permit process seems impossible, the actual work you have planned may be more than you really are ready to handle. This is a great time to reach out to your HomeKeepr community for help. Recommended pros like general contractors, electricians and HVAC experts are ready to take up the torch, including getting that permit you need.

You don’t need more stress in your life. Relax while trusted pros make your house into a home.

Finding & Fixing Leaks in Your Home

Anything in your home that’s attached to the water supply runs the risk of springing a leak. That also includes anything that drains water away. With so much riding on your pipes and appliances holding all their water inside, you’d think it would be easier to locate something leaking in your home. As it turns out, it can be kinda tricky. So, grab a flashlight and let’s start sleuthing!

Ask Yourself: Is it Really a Leak?

This may sound like common sense, but when you’re new to homeownership, or even just to leaking stuff, you may mistake condensation for leaks. There’s a good reason for this. Older pipes do sometimes condensate so hard that they drip. This is especially common in high humidity areas like basements and crawl spaces.

Before you panic because your pipes are leaking, take a hard look at where that water is coming from. Is it intermittent? Just when it’s muggy? Run a dehumidifier near the condensation pipe and, like magic, your condensing pipes will be no more! If the problem is in a crawl space, try opening up your foundation vents so outside air can move in and push built up humidity out. Adding pre-formed foam pipe insulation in both locations will also help fight the drip.

On the Hunt for Leaks

Usually, a homeowner will stumble across leaks on pure accident. They’re rarely loud, raging rivers, most are gentle trickles at best. In fact, you could have a leak for months and not even realize it! So how do you go about tracking one down?

Look for signs of moisture damage. A leaking toilet, for example, will almost always leak at the wax ring that creates the seal between the stool to the drain pipe. When leaking happens here, it’s common that the water goes under the flooring and causes it to bubble up or soften.
Smell around. This sounds ridiculous, but if you can’t see any damage, you may be able to smell the distinctive scent of mildew and moisture. Follow your nose to the source of the problem.
Listen for dripping sounds. Even a tiny leak can sometimes be heard, especially if the leak in question is dripping into a closed area. For example, an air handler with a clogged or rusted condensation pan may drip into the space below, until a significant amount of standing water collects. The drip, drip, drip you hear when you walk by the utility closet could be a warning sign.
If your basic senses fail you, it’s time to start a systematic search. When you just know there’s a leak, but you can’t quite find it, make a list of all the things in your house that use water, including appliances like the dishwasher and the icemaker. Don’t forget all the drains, which can be really frustrating since a leaky drain literally comes and goes as it fills with water.

Fixing a Leak

Fixing your leak is going to depend heavily on where it’s located and what kind of materials are involved. For a basic homeowner-level repair, limit your efforts to plastic pipes and screw-on braided cables like the water lines to the toilet and sinks. Copper, galvanized steel and cast iron require special tools and specific expertise to fix.

Then again, your leak might not even be related to pipes — it could be coming from a backed-up condensation line at your air handler. In that case, running vinegar through the line will loosen the clog and let water flow freely again. If it’s a rusted condensation pan, though, you’re going to need a pro. The same goes for a hot water heater that’s leaking out the bottom.

Ultimately, leaks are huge pains, but many can be repaired easily with a few bits and pieces from the hardware store. It’s more important to know when you’re in over your head because it’s easy to make the problem worse. If you can’t fix the leak, make sure to put the shut-off valve into the “off” position until a pro can help.

Where Do You Find a Pro?

You found the leak. It’s in the copper water line under your sink. You have no idea how to get started on that and everything you’ve read on the internet has just got you more confused. Hey, it’s ok. Your HomeKeepr community has your back. Just pop by and check out the recommended plumbers in your area. They have the training and equipment to make that little leak disappear for good!

How to choose the right paintbrush for your project

There comes a time in every homeowner’s life when they just can’t take that color on the wall anymore and they absolutely have to do something about it. If you’ve reached your breaking point, it’s time to make some serious decisions. Obviously, you’ll need to plan a new color scheme, but after that you’ve got to get the right hardware. Number one on the list? Your brush!

A Brush is a Brush, Isn’t It?

No. There are as many varieties of paint brushes as there are fibers in your carpet. Well, that might be an exaggeration, but not by a lot. The type of brush you choose will need to match the project you’re doing, as well as the type of paint you’re using. Here are some guidelines, not hard rules, you can follow to make it easier to choose the right tool.

Size

You’d think that bigger is better, but that’s not always true for paintbrushes. There’s such a thing as too big and too small when it comes to painting, and although the size you need for your objective may vary slightly, you can generally assume these sizes for these jobs:

Under Two Inches. Typically, a brush this size is used for trim and other detail work. The shape will ultimately determine how easy the brush in question will make your job. If you’re handy enough with a paintbrush, these little guys can make it possible to paint without taping as long as you have a steady hand!

Three Inch. This is a good size brush for general use. If it’s not too thick, you can theoretically do most of what you need to and still get a decent result. Don’t try to approach fine detail with it, though, because you’ll just have a mess.

Four Inches and Above. When you’re picking a brush this size it’s for one reason: to fill in a lot of empty space. Depending on the project, you may be better off with a roller, but this article isn’t about rollers, is it? Four inch paint brushes are great for making short work of big, long walls.

End Shape

After the size of a brush, it’s vital to know how the end of the brush is shaped. For example, if you tried to cut in trim with a square trim end shape, you’ll end up throwing the brush out the window in frustration. Instead, refer to this short list for the right end trim:

Square Trim. The ends of the brush are literally cut flush, so that each bristle is the same length. This is great for filling in big areas since you’ll get consistent paint coverage, but not so great in delicate spots.

Chisel Trim. When it comes time to cut in your corners and edges, nothing but a chisel trim brush will do. Because it’s cut at a slant, with only some of the bristles reaching the flat end, you have major control over paint application. Someone who paints with a chisel trimmed brush on the regular may be capable of doing all your cutting in without even taping first.

Angled Cut. Last, but far from least, is the angled cut. These brushes are also called “trim brushes” because, well, they’re really best for trim work. The angled end makes it possible to get near-inkpen-like precision with some practice.

Bristle Type

Many of the brushes you’ll see in the paint department at your favorite home improvement store will be made with synthetic fibers. This is because they’re the easiest to work with for DIYers who may not have a lot of time to learn how to handle a brush with natural fibers. It’s ok, no one’s judging you.

In addition, synthetic fibers are ideal for use with latex paint, since natural fiber brushes can soften and lose their rigidity when facing the water-base of these paints. However, if you’ve decided only oil will do, check out the natural fiber brushes, too. Both natural and synthetic fibers are good for oils.

Stuck at Mere Paint Disgust?

If you’re still not sure you can handle the job of ridding your house of red walls, it’s ok, Rome wasn’t built in a day. You can still call on your friends in the HomeKeepr community to recommend a painter just waiting to help you today. Your Realtor recommended them highly, so you might as well check them out, right? In a couple of weeks, all that red paint will be a long ago nightmare and your house will feel more like your home.

Changes to real estate tax deductions for 2018

As a homeowner, or soon to be homeowner, you can get some pretty sweet tax deductions from things related to your home. Some tend to change from year to year, like those for energy-efficient upgrades, others are pretty stable, like being able to deduct mortgage interest.

The tax bill that will be in force in the up and coming tax season, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), has made some fairly dramatic changes to how many homeowners will file their taxes this year. Take a look at this preview of home-related points to ponder for your 2018 tax filings.

TCJA Items to Watch in 2018

When the TCJA was pushed through Congress in December 2017, many people were up in arms. The overhaul, they said, was going to be problematic for a number of reasons, which, we’ll see how that pans out. It does seem that when it comes to real estate, the TCJA is going to be a pretty prickly thorn in a lot of property owners’ sides.

These are the top items you’ll want to pay close attention to this year:

Item #1: SALT

The state and local tax deduction (SALT) is set to be a problem for homeowners in high-tax areas. In the past, you could claim an unlimited amount of already-paid personal state and local income taxes, as well as your property taxes, as a deduction to offset your tax bill. From now until 2025, you’ll only be able to use your Schedule A to itemize $5,000 worth of these taxes if you’re single or married filing separately and $10,000 for married filing jointly.

This looks like a bear of an issue for many people in those high tax areas on both coasts, but for some, the increase of the standard deduction to $12,000 for singles or $24,000 for couples may balance the equation.

Item #2: Your Mortgage Interest Deduction

If your home was purchased after December 14, 2017, you will be subject to the new limits on mortgage interest deductions. Instead of being able to deduct the interest on up to a $1,000,000 mortgage, you’ll be capped at the interest on only $750,000. Now, if you’re in the less spendy parts of the US, you probably don’t need to worry about this at all, but again, for those of you on the coasts where real estate prices are often hugely inflated by comparison, it may make a weighty difference.

According to a Zillow report published shortly after the TCJA passed, “Under the current setup [Pre-TCJA], roughly 44 percent of U.S. homes are worth enough for it to make sense for a homeowner to itemize their deductions and take advantage of the mortgage interest deduction.Under the new bill (as reported), that proportion of homes drops to 14.4 percent. Interest on second/vacation homes will remain deductible, but will also be capped at $750,000.”

Item #2B: Home Equity Loan Interest Deductions

This one is being called out specifically because of the number of people who are likely to be affected by it. If you purchased a home at any time and took out a home equity loan, you may lose your deduction this year. The TCJA says that unless your home equity loan was used for home improvements, it’s no longer allowed.

There is no grandfathering for this clause, you are paying for decisions you made in the past, not knowing this bill would become a law.

How the IRS will be able to verify how you spent your funds, especially if the loan is 10 or 15 years old, is anyone’s guess.

Item #3: Gains From Home Sales Still Protected

Despite all the new rules that are taking deductions away, the home sale gain exclusion remains. You’ll still be able to exclude up to $250,000 ($500k for married filing jointly) of gain from a home you’ve owned and used as a primary residence for at least two of the last five years. So, you’ve got that going for you.

Taxes and Real Estate: A Tricky Mix

It’s a good thing you have a whole community at HomeKeepr watching out for you when it comes to changes to the tax laws this year. When you’re ready to start discussing your own tax situation, just use the search function to find accountants and tax preparers that can answer your burning questions. Since all the HomeKeepr pros come heavily recommended, you can feel confident that you’re ready for the big tax law change.

How to choose a home inspector

You’ve finally done it! You have a house under contract and you’re doing the paperwork to get your mortgage lined up. When your Realtor calls to ask you who you want to use for your home inspection, you freeze. Your brain has to go back and repeat that part. You get to pick your own home inspector? How do you even go about doing that?

Choosing a home inspector isn’t a difficult process, but as usual, we have tips to help you make it even easier.

Inspectors, Assemble!

When you don’t have an existing relationship with a home inspector, your Realtor will likely present you with a list of pros that they recommend highly. Even though time is of the essence because your inspection period is ticking away, you can quickly assess each recommended inspector to find the one that’s right for your home purchase. After all, not every inspector can be an expert in every type of construction or neighborhood. You need the person who best fits your purchase!

Now, for some helpful tips!

1. Check that all potential inspectors are members of the American Society of Home Inspectors. This group has been accrediting home inspectors for more than 40 years and requires that inspectors complete at least 250 inspections before they can call themselves “certified.” It’s a high achievement for a home inspector, and a confidence builder for their clients. You want someone who is willing to do the work and go the extra mile. Your new mortgage isn’t chump change, so it’s important you go in with your eyes open.

2. Ask what inspections they perform. Some home inspectors only do a general home inspection, which can be fine if you’re not afraid of that 15 year old air conditioner condenser. But because home inspectors come from all areas of the construction industry, some have specific expertise that can be helpful in finding problems that you probably didn’t notice when you walked into the house of your dreams.

3. Have they inspected houses like yours? There’s a huge, huge difference between a brand new house and one built in 1904. Not only are construction techniques very different, the sort of strange upgrades that may have been made to the older home would never be seen in a newer house. An inspector that has little to no experience with a house like yours may flag things wrong that are actually very typical for a home of that age. You don’t want to get your inspection back and panic because your inspector held an older house to a newer standard, for example.

4. Do they provide photos within their reports? There’s no standard format for a home inspection report, though there are a limited number of software packages for inspection companies. They have a lot of options, including providing optional photos of trouble spots or other items the inspector may feel needs pointing out. If your potential home inspector doesn’t provide photos, it can be hard for you to monitor potential problems or for future pros to find and fix the issues pointed out. Photos are absolutely a must-have.

5. How soon can they come out? It might seem like a silly question, but you’re very likely working with a limited window of time to ask for repairs. That means the sooner your new home inspector can get out, the better. It takes several hours to complete a home inspection, as well as time to compile the report and deliver it to your agent. You also never know when you’re going to need an additional specialty inspection of systems like your HVAC, roof, foundation and so forth. If you’re down to your final cut and one can come out tomorrow and the rest can’t until next week, it’s not a hard call.

Tip Number 6: Ask Your HomeKeepr Network…

While you’re checking out potential home inspectors, don’t forget to log into HomeKeepr to see who your Realtor recommends. Whether you’re looking for a general home inspector or an electrician to check out the breaker box, they’re all members of your referral network and are ready to come when you call.

Pool Maintenance

When you bought the house with the pool, it looked like it was going to be all fun in the sun and splishin’ and-a splashin’, but now that the first signs of fall are appearing (the emergence of Pumpkin Spice signals just six more weeks of summer), it’s time to figure out how to protect that pool through the winter.

As you might imagine, a pool that freezes is a pool that’s got a pretty big problem. There’s a lot you can do to prevent this and ensure that your pool is a fun summer oasis for many years to come.

Before You Start Closing, Consider Your Climate

Depending on where you live, you may need to take further or lesser measures to protect your pool through the winter. Your goal, ultimately, is to keep that pool and its systems from experiencing any sort of freezing. A frozen pipe, a frozen filter, anything like that could be a very expensive replacement in the spring when you open your pool again.

If you know for a fact that it never gets below 50 degrees Fahrenheit where you live, for example, you might not want to close your pool all the way. But, if it freezes frequently and there’s lots of snow, well, you’re going to have to break out bigger firepower. This is meant as a general guide to pool closing, that being said, your mileage may vary.

Pool Closing Made Easy

Closing a pool isn’t that big of a deal if you have all the right tools and materials on hand. It can be a complicated situation, though, because of all the parts that you’ll need to check as you go. Take your time, keeping in mind the risk of freezing in your area versus the cost to replace the frozen component, and you’ll be ok.

These are the necessary basic steps to closing a pool in a middling sort of climate:

Step 1: Deep clean your pool. Vacuum the entire pool, brush the walls, skim the surface, remove any and all debris. This way you’re starting fresh again in the spring.

Step 2: Test the water. Check that your pool is properly balanced before you put it to bed. This means a pH between 7.2 and 7.8 and alkalinity between 80 and 120 parts per million. If you’re running toward the high sides of these ranges, that’s ok. Check the hardness, too, since calcium deposits can form in your equipment over time.

Step 3: Shock the pool. Shocking the pool right before closing will help it stay as clean as possible over the winter. A 15 minute fast dissolving shock treatment is absolutely fine since you won’t be using the pool again. If you have chronic algae problems, a winter algaecide will be a good addition. Use the same dose as is listed on the bottle for opening the pool.

OPTIONAL: Many pool owners skip the manual adjustments and use a winter closing kit to prepare their water for the long dark march of winter. If you choose to go this way, read the instructions carefully. Some require you run the filter, others do not.

Step 4: Time to plug it up. Remove the eyeball fitting on your return line and plug it with an appropriate plug. Remove the skimmer basket and put it into storage. You can leave the skimmer in the pool if you use a winter skimmer cover to protect it from accumulating water. With a skimmer cover, you can also leave more water in the pool, rather than having to drain the pool below the skimmer level.

Step 5: Protecting the moving parts. The pump, chlorinator and all the hoses (including the skimmer hose) need to be drained and brought inside to prolong their lives and protect them from the cold. Filters should also be winterized according to the type you have installed and kept indoors.

Step 6: Put the cover on. Start by inflating your air pillow, then tossing it toward the middle of your pool. If you have a hard pool cover or are otherwise concerned about the water level, this is a good time to lower it a bit. Cover the pool and, when needed, install a winter cover pump to keep water from accumulating on the pool’s cover.

That’s all there is to it! You can totally do this — piece of cake.

Closing in on Winter and Your Pool’s Still Open?

It’s time to call in some backup. The last thing you want is to have to replace all your pool equipment because of a deep freeze. Fortunately, your HomeKeepr family is here to help. Head over to the search bar on the right and you’ll find recommended pool pros who can quickly close your pool while you’re at work. Your Realtor trusts them, you know you can, too!