Hill Inspections

Warranty Spotlight: MoldSafe

For these warranty posts, the first few paragraphs are nearly identical since they cover necessary information related to each warranty or protection plan. If you have read these paragraphs, feel free to skip ahead to the plan details in each upcoming article.

Here at HPI, we offer a free, zero deductible 90-Day Home Warranty to all home inspection clients for added protection and peace of mind. In addition to the home warranty, we offer three additional free protection plans, including the MoldSafe plan that I’ll review here. These warranties are provided through Residential Warranty Services (RWS), a premier residential warranty company with a proven track record of exceptional service. Every one of our home inspection clients is automatically enrolled in every one of these plans, and we take care of everything on our end so you have to do nothing! Read about the MoldSafe plan and the other free plans we provide, and you’ll quickly see that at HPI we’ve got you covered!

The protection plans are similar to insurance policies for different components but with one major benefit. Just like an insurance policy, each plan has a deductible and a maximum (aggregate) amount of coverage if you file a claim; but unlike an insurance policy, you do not pay a premium! If you don’t have a claim, you never pay money; but if you do have a claim you’ll likely end up paying far less than if you had to be paying premiums all along. With the 90-Day Home Warranty there is no deductible, but the other protection plans do have a deductible if a claim is filed. Either way, having these plans provided for free and with no premiums is a huge benefit!

Since the protection plans are not insurance policies, they do not cover damage resulting from insurance covered events (fire, flood, lightning, vandalism, etc.), and any such claims should be filed under your homeowners insurance policy. They also don’t cover damage resulting from negligence or normal wear and tear. The warranties are there to help in other cases to provide you with broader protection.

Now to MoldSafe… the MoldSafe plan is in effect for the same period as the Home Warranty – 90 days after the date of inspection or 22 days after closing, whichever comes later. MoldSafe covers the remediation (removal) of any visible mold that arises during the warranty period and was not present at the time of inspection. This is very important considering the adverse health affects associated with mold for some people. In addition, the presence of visible mold means there is a water problem, which would need corrected immediately to prevent potential structural damage.

The MoldSafe plan carries a deductible of $300 and an aggregate (maximum) coverage amount of $2,000. If you do need to file a claim, mold testing will need to be done, which we can take care of for you with our complete or limited mold inspections (see the FAQ page of our main website for more details on our limited and complete mold inspections.

When you choose Hill Property Inspections, you get this and several other free protection plans completely free of charge! That translates to exceptional value and peace of mind when you need it most, which is why we proudly proclaim that we offer the best value home inspections in Western Pennsylvania. At HPI, we’ve got you covered, and at a great price!

*To learn more about the free warranty and protection plans, go to http://www.hillinspections.com/free-protection-plans

*To visit our main website, go to http://www.hillinspections.com

Warranty Spotlight: SewerGard

For the next couple blog posts, the first few paragraphs will be nearly identical since they cover necessary information related to each warranty or protection plan. If you have read these paragraphs, feel free to skip ahead to the plan details in each upcoming article.

Here at HPI, we offer a free, zero deductible 90-Day Home Warranty to all home inspection clients for added protection and peace of mind. In addition to the home warranty, we offer three additional free protection plans, including the SewerGard plan that I’ll review here. These warranties are provided through Residential Warranty Services (RWS), a premier residential warranty company with a proven track record of exceptional service. Every one of our home inspection clients is automatically enrolled in every one of these plans, and we take care of everything on our end so you have to do nothing! Read about SewerGard and the other free plans we provide, and you’ll quickly see that at HPI we’ve got you covered!

Now to SewerGard… this great plan covers failures (collapse, breakage and severe leaks) of the water and sewer lines outside your house. If you have a public water supply and waste system, that means the single lateral water line from the utility connection to your meter or main shut-off inside the house and the sewer line from the exterior wall to the wastewater collection point. If you have a well and septic system, that means the water line from the well to your house (excluding any piping 5 feet or farther underground) and the sewage pipe from the exterior wall to the septic tank.

If you have a claim, the deductible for SewerGard is $300, and coverage is $2,000 per occurrence with an aggregate (total) coverage amount of $4,000. SewerGard is such an important and highly valued plan that it’s the only plan we offer through Residential Warranty Services that gives you the option of continuing the coverage on a monthly basis after the initial 90 day period. For a mere $12.95 per month, you can continue your SewerGard coverage after the free period has expired.

The point I made earlier about having no “premiums” with these plans pertains to that initial 90 day period, excluding the Platinum Roof Protection Plan which is good for 5 whole years. You could think of the monthly fee for SewerGard beyond that 90 day point as a “premium,” but having the coverage is well worth the low cost. If you’ve ever had a water or sewer line failure, you know how important this coverage is!

*To learn more about the free warranty and protection plans, go to http://www.hillinspections.com/free-protection-plans

*To visit our main website, go to http://www.hillinspections.com

Warranty Spotlight: Roof Protection Plan

For the next several blog posts, the first few paragraphs will be identical since they cover necessary information related to each warranty or protection plan. If you have read these paragraphs, feel free to skip ahead to the plan details in each upcoming article.

Here at HPI, we offer a free, zero deductible 90-Day Home Warranty to all home inspection clients for added protection and peace of mind. In addition to the home warranty, we offer three additional free protection plans, including the 5-year Platinum Roof Protection Plan that I’ll review here. These warranties are provided through Residential Warranty Services (RWS), a premier residential warranty company with a proven track record of exceptional service. Every one of our home inspection clients is automatically enrolled in every one of these plans, and we take care of everything on our end so you have to do nothing! Read about the Platinum Roof Protection Plan and the other free plans we provide, and you’ll quickly see that at HPI we’ve got you covered!

Now to the 5-Year Platinum Roof Protection Plan… This warranty provides coverage for leaks for a whopping 5 year period from the date of your home inspection. That’s much longer than the 90 days of the home warranty and far longer than typical one-year home warranties that cost hundreds of dollars. If a leak that was not present during the home inspection emerges at any time during that five-year period, it will be covered up to $3,000 with a deductible of $500. But remember, even though a deductible is factored in, you did not have to pay premiums! In addition, the $500 deductible is half of the $1,000 deductible amount that many people choose for their homeowners insurance. So while you do have a deductible if a claim occurs, your cost is not nearly as much as you would normally pay without the warranty.

Once a leak has been repaired, it is guaranteed for the remainder of the policy term. For example, if a leak is repaired one year into the policy term, it is guaranteed for the remaining four years and will be repaired for free if issues with the same leak arise again. If it is determined that the leak is not repairable, the coverage amount can be applied to the purchase of a new roof.

The Platinum Roof Plan is good for any type of roof material. Many plans only cover common roofing types, like asphalt shingles, and exclude metal and other higher end roof coverings. With this plan, all roof types are covered!

*To learn more about the free warranty and protection plans, go to http://www.hillinspections.com/free-protection-plans

*To visit our main website, go to http://www.hillinspections.com

Here’s a Suggestion…

For most people, a home inspection is a one-time thing that occurs before they buy a home. Why? Simple… everyone recognizes the importance of having a home they’re planning to buy inspected before finalizing the deal; but no one wants to continue paying for inspections on a regular basis (say annually or once every two years) after that.

But let me make a suggestion… having your home periodically inspected is exactly what you should do if you don’t want to become a victim of costly surprises. It comes down to the concept of frequent preventative maintenance versus less frequent but alarming (and costly) repairs.

Vehicles are a good example. You can either take your car in regularly for routine maintenance or not maintain it and hope you get lucky. Maintaining it well means more visits to the mechanic and more frequent payments, but it also means a much lower likelihood that a major, unexpected repair will come up. Safety is also a factor, which is why most states require vehicles to pass an annual inspection to be considered road worthy. Simply put, you can be diligent or take risk, and diligence always pays off in the long run.

Your personal health is another great example. Whether it’s an annual checkup with your family doctor or a semiannual cleaning with a dental hygienist, we all recognize the importance of preventative maintenance to maintain good health. In the medical world, this is so well accepted and understood that offices usually schedule your next checkup right away, and health insurers have started offering incentives for patients who take preventative maintenance seriously. We all recognize that maintaining continual good health offsets the likelihood of severe problems for which we may not be prepared.

It’s easy to have a mindset that we’ll wait until something goes wrong and has to be fixed before we’ll fork out money for it. After all, why would we pay money if we don’t need to? But in reality, most of us are not qualified to identify potential hazards that may lead to a costly problem, which is why experts exist in each field. I’m not a dentist, so I’m not at all capable of identifying problems with my teeth that may lead to much larger problems down the road. I’m not a mechanic, so I’m not in a position to spot a vehicle issue that may lead to a necessary repair. In any case, identifying minor problems before they turn into much bigger, more expensive problems is a cost saving practice that should be a top priority of everyone who is intent on properly managing risk and cost.

That being said, your home is a major investment – likely the biggest, in fact. Preventative maintenance for your home is especially important, yet few people take action to have preventative maintenance and routine checkups performed on their home the way they do with a doctor for their health or a mechanic for their vehicle.

Your home inspector is the expert qualified to perform a thorough checkup on your home, just like a doctor or mechanic does for your health or vehicle. After the initial inspection, you would ideally hire an inspector to perform an annual home maintenance inspection, which is a thorough checkup of your home’s condition, typically offered at a discounted price. Ideally, this checkup inspection is done annually but should be done at least once every two years, at minimum. The inspector will be able to advise you on important maintenance items that may need dealt with, defects that need immediate repair, recommendations for improving safety, and other critical items you likely wouldn’t identify or even know about on your own. The fee for this service is very reasonable and will protect your home and provide you with peace of mind that you certainly wouldn’t have if you simply waited for an obvious issue to arise.

So, in a nutshell, my suggestion is this: view your home inspector as the expert in charge of periodically evaluating your home, not just a person you’ll meet one time. Have a home maintenance inspection done at least once every two years – and ideally every year – as a form of preventative maintenance just as you do with your health and vehicle. By paying a smaller amount of money more frequently, you will likely save money in the long run and offset many unwelcome and expensive surprises.

*To visit our main website, go to http://www.hillinspections.com

Carpet in Bathrooms

Carpet is arguably the most comfortable type of flooring. It’s usually padded, soft, warm and feels great on bare feet. Many carpets are also visually appealing, which makes carpet all the more desirable. It’s no surprise, then, that some people opt for carpet in their bathrooms in addition to other common areas like living rooms and bedrooms.

Unfortunately, carpet is not at all a wise choice for a bathroom. Bathrooms are continually subjected to high levels of water and moisture (as well as other less sanitary liquids), and the fibers in carpet quickly absorb water that can not easily be wiped up, dried out or cleaned. Furthermore, the carpet can act as a haven for bacteria and microbial growth – especially if water and moisture are not adequately controlled. Even if the carpet itself appears fine, the underlying pad may very well not be.

Fortunately, bathroom carpet is not nearly as common in modern homes as it once was since many people have experienced the negative consequences of carpeted bathrooms and have “wised up.” Higher end bathrooms tend to contain tile flooring, and standard bathrooms often contain linoleum – both of which are far more water friendly than carpet.

If you have a carpeted bathroom and the carpet seems fine, you may not feel it is necessary to immediately replace it; and that may, in fact, be true if the carpet is continually cleaned and water and moisture are adequately expelled from the interior. However, carpet and bathrooms do not typically mix well over time, and replacing the carpet as soon as possible with a more suitable flooring material should really be a goal.

*To visit our main website, go to http://www.hillinspections.com