THIS New Albany Home Inspection Company Is A Professional Outfit!

Certainty is a professional outfit! William was not only thorough but seemed to actually care about us and our satisfaction. We had some questions, born out of our ignorance, not any fault of his, and he called and went through everything and set our minds at ease. We’ll never use anyone else but Certainty!  Patti Enrod New Albany Indiana

Be Prepared For A Home Inspection

Jeffersonville IN home inspector helps home buyers and sellers prepare for a Jeffersonville home inspection.

How To Find A Leak

Look For Homes With A Maintenance Checklist & Avoid Home Repair

Buying a fixer-upper?

How to make the most of your remodel

With home prices and interest rates still low across the country, and inventories high, it’s a great time to be in the market for a fixer-upper. By buying a house that needs some work, you can achieve your dream home for less than you would probably pay for a move-in-ready abode.

To ensure you’re making the most of your investment, however, it pays to take a look at your credit before you buy and begin your remodel. You’ll not only need credit to cover the purchase price of the house, but you’ll need it for renovation expenses as well.

The first step you should take in your bid to buy a fixer-upper is to check your credit report and score. Websites like www.creditreport.com can help you understand your credit. Understanding your credit will help you know whether or not you can afford to buy a house that needs work and if you’ll be able to pay for the needed renovations.

You should also carefully research what your options are for financing your remodel. Learn what your options are, from traditional fixed mortgages to home equity lines of credit, and decide before you buy which type of financing will be best for you. Getting a handle on your financing before you buy can help ensure you stay on budget when you’re in the middle of renovations.

When you’ve got a clear picture of your credit status and financing options, you can start looking at fixer-uppers. When you find a good prospect, have your remodeling contractor walk through the house with you so he can give you a rough estimate of what needs to be done and how much the work will cost.

If you’re buying a house that’s in basically good condition but just looks dated, you’ll have to make some decisions about where to invest your money. Focus on improvements that will not only look good, but will also enhance the value of your home. Resources like Remodeling Magazine’s Cost vs. Value report can give you a good idea of how much of your original investment you’ll recoup on different remodeling projects at the time of resale.

Once you’ve signed all the paperwork and the house is yours, it’s time to get to work. If you’re handy, you may be able to save money by doing some of the renovation work yourself. Projects like painting, adding crown molding and even putting down new flooring are well within the skills of most do-it-yourselfers. More complex projects like drywall, plumbing or electrical work may be best left to professionals.

Whether you do the work yourself, or hire contractors, you’ll need to carefully manage all aspects of the renovation to ensure your remodel stays on budget. The excitement of remodeling a house into your dream home can make it easy to get carried away on spending. Keep in mind that remodeling estimates are just that – an estimate. The final tab is rarely exactly what your contractor predicted it would be. Build in at least 10 percent extra to cover emergency overruns, and avoid making any unnecessary changes to the plans while the project is underway.

When You Look For Homes Consider Roof Design and Home Repair

We give our honest and unbiased opinion!

While looking for real estate in New Albany Indiana, I came across Certainty Home Inspections and overall I appreciated William’s honest approach to the inspection the most. He really seamed to want to give us a true & unbiased opinion of the home and we’re grateful!  Roberta & Jesse Dixon, 11-3-11, New Albany, IN

How to Prepare For a Home Inspection

Jeffersonville Indiana Home Inspector Helps Sellers Prepare  for Jeffersonville Homes For Sale.  Jeffersonville Indiana homes for sale should always be inspected by a quality home inspection company.  Having your home in Jeffersonville inspected  can give you the peace of mind needed to make sure you are buying a nice home and not a money pit!

Home Builder Flaw Hides Water Entry

When looking at homes for rent  in Jeffersonville Indiana or a home for sale be sure to have a licensed home inspector check out the foundation to make sure the foundation is adequate.  Certainty Home Inspections serves the Jeffersonville Indiana area and all surrounding Indiana counties including, Floyd county Indiana.

Asphalt Maintenance & Repair

Filling cracks and holes as a preventive maintenance can significantly prolong the life of your driveway.

Asphalt Drive Maintenance/Repair

Here a few things you can do,

First thoroughly clean your driveway

Using a quality solvent, remove all dirt and oil from surface and be sure cracks are completely dry and free of debris before filling. The use of a high pressure water or air hose can be helpful for initial cleaning and a shop/vac for cleaning debris from cracks is very useful.

Small cracks less than 1/2 inch wide are normally sealed with a quality rubberized filler that can be purchased at most local hardware stores and is applied with a caulking gun. Read and follow manufactures instructions.

Wider cracks or sinkholes are usually repaired with, a cold-patch. Again, purchased at most local hardware stores, following preparation and installation instructions is very important!

Next Apply Sealer/Filler

Both coal tar and asphalt-based products are available at most hardware stores. You normally get what you pay for and a higher quality sealant is normally worth the difference. Manufactures application instruction are posted on the containers and should be closely followed for best results.

Most asphalt driveways only need to be sealed about every three years or when the asphalt begins graying indicating that the surface is losing the aggregate binder in the asphalt

Your licensed home inspector will call out driveway cracking  in his real estate inspection report.  Certainty serves the Jeffersonville,  New Albany, Seymour, Bedford,  Southern Indiana  and Louisville Kentucky area for your real estate inspection needs.

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