Buffalo, NY Home Inspector John Villella, owner of All Pro Home Inspection talks about home maintenance - even in during the winter.

Winter is hard on homes and there’s a long list of things that could go wrong such as frozen pipes, water intrusion, ice damming and other winter problems.  All of these can be expensive to fix and difficult to fix under winter conditions.  But with a little preventative maintenance, you can help save yourself some grief, and your wallet.  You haven’t done any maintenance and it’s now the middle of winter - it’s OK, there’s still time and you may just prevent a problem from occurring in doing your home maintenance now.  Here’s a small list of ideas that should help as a guide:

• Roof - Climb on a sturdy ladder (only if you are capable, if not have this done by someone else) and visually review your roof covering for missing or damaged shingles.  Any loose shingles can be nailed and resealed using some silicone.  Caulking or a roof cement (mastic material) can be applied at any gaps or separations that may be present around the roof penetrations.  If you spot trouble - have a professional come out to review and repair as needed.
• Chimney - A rain cap with a screen will help prevent birds and other small pests from entering the liner and obstruct the ventilation of the chimney.  Remember, an obstructed chimney is a hazard.  Review the bricks, mortar, and the crown.  If there are deteriorated areas re-pointing or sealing these areas is needed.  The chimney liner should be inspected and cleaned, especially if you are using the chimney for a fireplace or a woodstove.  Creosote can lead to a chimney fire, if not cleaned regularly.  Ensure the chimney sweep contractor is certified by Chimney Safety Institute of America.
• Gutters - Clean gutters are needed.  Clogged gutter can cause water intrusion at any time of the year, but if the gutter are full of debris and water and the temps get below 32 degrees - ice!  Ice is heavy and will block water from properly draining.  It’s hard to maintain the gutters of they are already frozen - you might have to wait until the temps get above freezing and the sun is out.
• Siding - Look for gaps and separations and seal these areas.  If you have loose or missing siding - it needs to be repaired.
• Windows & Doors - Repair/replace any damaged or missing weather stripping.  This will help prevent heat loss and will save energy (money).  Seal any gaps that might be around the exterior of the windows and doors at the siding/trim areas. 
• Exterior Water Valves - Unless they are frost-proof, drain and turn off the taps.  Also, if you have frost-proof taps - make sure there is not a garden hose connected to it.  There’s a great chance of a frost-proof tap freezing with hoses connected.

Now take a walk around the house. Make sure the air vents are not blocked by leaves or snow.  Clear any leaves or debris from the side of the house and basement window wells.  This will eliminate an environment for pests/rodents.  Once it’s clear, check the foundation for cracks and leaks.  If you have any concerns have a professional review it.

Buffalo, NY Home Inspector John Villella, owner of All Pro Home Inspection, has been providing both residential and commercial property inspection services.  Remember, All Pro Home Inspection is WNY’s Home of the Original 200% Home Inspection Satisfaction Guarantee…. call John with any questions at 716-772-2548 or email at john@allprohomeinspection.com.

All Pro Home Inspection is dedicated to providing you “peace of mind” by educating you to understand the condition of your home.  All Pro Home Inspection offers Niagara County home inspection services to not only Niagara County, but to all of Western New York’s communities. We understand the stress that is involved in the Buying, Selling, and the Moving process…That is why when your All Pro Home Inspection is complete, you will have…

• A 200% Satisfaction Guarantee
• Customized Computerized Home Inspection Report for YOUR Home that is
• Printed Onsite which includes
• a General Summary of Repairs By Components and
• a Color Photo Journal of the Home
• PLUS a Copy is Emailed to You and Your Agent Immediately from the Inspection

And much more…

Buffalo Home Inspector John Villella, owner of All Pro Home Inspection recommends checking your home while doing spring cleanup.

Spring is the perfect time to take a look around the exterior of your home.  While you’re out cleaning the landscaping beds and cleaning up the yard don’t overlook the exterior areas of the home.

The cold temperatures of winter, high winds and snow and ice can cause problems with many building components and systems of the exterior of the home and left undetected or not being properly repaired can cause addition problems and even costly repair issues later.

Here are a few ideas of things you should review along with some easy home maintenance suggestions that you can complete.

If your roof is safe to walk and you are comfortable walking it check the flashing at all roof penetrations, review the roof shingles and especially if you have trees close the home, review the chimney and if it’s a brick or masonry block chimney look for deteriorated mortar.  Don’t forget to look at the chimney cap while you’re there.   Remember, if you can not climb a ladder or you are not comfortable walking the roof, please have a qualified person do this review for you.  Here’s a tip - binoculars will provide a closer review of these areas from the ground or from the ladder at the eave of the home.

Siding, trim and soffit areas should be reviewed.  Look for missing or damaged areas.  Check around the windows, doors and at utility areas where holes were drilled thought the siding to see if caulking is needed at any of these areas.  If you have wooden components such as siding, trim area, decks and porches take a look at these areas and determine if any painting or staining will be needed this season.

Now, if any of these areas require maintenance ensure the repairs are completed.  These are a couple of areas that I recommend reviewing and taking care of during the spring weekends.  This will allow you to enjoy the summer.  Plus, you’ll have the peace of mind knowing you maintained your home and knowing that the home made it through another winter season.

Western New York Home Inspector John Villella, owner of All Pro Home Inspection, has been providing both residential and commercial property inspection services.  Remember, All Pro Home Inspection is WNY’s Home of the Original 200% Home Inspection Satisfaction Guarantee…. call John with any questions at 716-772-2548 or email at john@allprohomeinspection.com.

All Pro Home Inspection is dedicated to providing you “peace of mind” by educating you to understand the condition of your home.  All Pro Home Inspection offers Niagara County home inspection services to not only Niagara County, but to all of Western New York’s communities. We understand the stress that is involved in the Buying, Selling, and the Moving process…That is why when your All Pro Home Inspection is complete, you will have…

• A 200% Satisfaction Guarantee
• Customized Computerized Home Inspection Report for YOUR Home that is
• Printed Onsite which includes
• a General Summary of Repairs By Components and
• a Color Photo Journal of the Home
• PLUS a Copy is Emailed to You and Your Agent Immediately from the Inspection
• And much more…

Western New York Home Inspector John Villella, owner of All Pro Home Inspection explains the importance of having working CO Detectors in your home.

Having a working CO Detector in your home is just common sense, but I am always amazed while conducting home inspections daily the amount of homes that do not have this life saving detector in the home.  It’s a $30 investment for a good CO Detector and can save your life. 

In New York State it’s now law that a home seller have a CO Detector installed in the home prior to closing.  Here’s the section of the NYS Law:

Subdivision 5-a of Section 378 of the N.Y. Exec. Law, which was added by Chapter 257 of the Laws of 2002, requires that a carbon monoxide detector meeting the manufacture, design and installation standards established by the state fire prevention and building code council shall be installed in every one or two-family dwelling or dwelling accommodation in a condominium or cooperative building that is constructed or offered for sale after November 27, 2002.

Finally, a law that really makes sense and I’m sure lives have been saved because of this law.

There’s been several close calls in Western New York (WNY) this year and sadly even tragedy because of carbon monoxide poisoning.  Unfortunately, even with this issue in thenews there are still a large number of people living in homes and apartments who do not have a CO Detector in the property or even worse one that is so old it no longer operates correctly. 

Now is the time to purchase your CO Detector and install it so you can have peace of mind.  If you have a detector that operates with batteries make sure you have recently changed the batteries.  As a matter of fact, the rule of thumb is to change these batteries when we change the clocks and hopefully those batteries were changed last week, if not make this a priority this week.

Finally, when was the last time you had your furnace, boiler, hot water heater or any other gas, propane or oil system inspected for proper operation.  If you don’t know or if it’s over a year ago – now is also the time to have these systems serviced using a qualified technician.    

Western New York Home Inspector John Villella, owner of All Pro Home Inspection, has been providing both residential and commercial property inspection services.  Remember, All Pro Home Inspection is WNY’s Home of the Original 200% Home Inspection Satisfaction Guarantee…. call John with any questions at 716-772-2548 or email at john@allprohomeinspection.com.

All Pro Home Inspection is dedicated to providing you “peace of mind” by educating you to understand the condition of your home.  All Pro Home Inspection offers Niagara County home inspection services to not only Niagara County, but to all of Western New York’s communities. We understand the stress that is involved in the Buying, Selling, and the Moving process…That is why when your All Pro Home Inspection is complete, you will have…

• A 200% Satisfaction Guarantee
• Customized Computerized Home Inspection Report for YOUR Home that is
• Printed Onsite which includes
• a General Summary of Repairs By Components and
• a Color Photo Journal of the Home
• PLUS a Copy is Emailed to You and Your Agent Immediately from the Inspection
• And much more…

WNY Home Inspector John Villella, owner of All Pro Home Inspection explains the benefits of having a newly constructed home inspected.

I was asked the other day if new home should have a home inspected.  The simple answer is - Absolutely.  Why would a new home buyer not desire to be educated to the condition of a new home?   The answer is simple – they’re misinformed, but it’s not their fault.  I’m not going to play the blame game, because it’s more important to provide some information to educate consumers that are out buying newly constructed homes.

There are really two home inspection types that consumers can request when their new home is being built.  The first is Phase Inspections.  This occurs when the home is inspected at curtain stages of the construction.  Typically there would be a foundation inspection, framing inspections, pre-drywall inspection and the finish inspection.  Having phase inspections completed will document the condition of the construction at each step of the building process.  Another benefit of this type of inspection is a better home will be built.  If problems are identified during a phase inspection corrective measures can be made prior to things getting covered by other work as the construction continues.  Plus, there will be a savings in labor and material costs if a problem is identified and corrected during the phase inspection.

The other home inspection type is the finish or end inspection.  This type of inspection is a complete home inspection and occurs when the home is 100% completed.  While this type of inspection is not as effective as a phase inspection there are still benefits that can be achieved for the buyer.  Besides being educated to the condition of the home this inspection can assist the buyer with a punch list of items that should be repaired before closing.  Also, the inspector can provide the buyer with an orientation of the systems in the home and how they operate or need to be maintained.

Both home inspection types provide information that benefits the buyer and while one is going to provide more details both will provide a detailed document that can be used to show the condition of the home when the buyer assumes the property. 

Probably the most important benefit to the buyer and the even the builder is that both will have a full understanding of the condition of the home.  The same information will be in front of both parties and going forward both will have a clean slate to work from if any problems or issues do show up.  This is extremely important with respect to the new home warranty that the builder is legally required to provide to the buyer.  The inspection report becomes the vital documentation that can be used to justify that a problem or issue developed after closing.

Buying a newly constructed home can be a very rewarding experience.  Many times you may have had the opportunity to assist in the process, such as selecting the design and picking out interior material.  BUT, how do you know it was built properly, or built with quality workmanship?  Chances are you don’t and you relay on the builder to tell you this is so, or you assume the local code enforcement officer ensured it was.  Well, that unfortunately is not always the case.  Improve your odds of having a great home built so you can protect your investment and enjoy living in and raising your family in by having it inspected using the phase inspections or having a finish inspection completed.   

WNY Home Inspector John Villella, owner of All Pro Home Inspection, has been providing both residential and commercial property inspection services.  Remember, All Pro Home Inspection is WNY’s Home of the Original 200% Home Inspection Satisfaction Guarantee…. call John with any questions at 716-772-2548 or email at john@allprohomeinspection.com.

All Pro Home Inspection is dedicated to providing you “peace of mind” by educating you to understand the condition of your home.  All Pro Home Inspection offers Niagara County home inspection services to not only Niagara County, but to all of Western New York’s communities. We understand the stress that is involved in the Buying, Selling, and the Moving process…That is why when your All Pro Home Inspection is complete, you will have…

• A 200% Satisfaction Guarantee
• Customized Computerized Home Inspection Report for YOUR Home that is
• Printed Onsite which includes
• a General Summary of Repairs By Components and
• a Color Photo Journal of the Home
• PLUS a Copy is Emailed to You and Your Agent Immediately from the Inspection
• And much more…

WNY Home Inspector John Villella, owner of All Pro Home Inspection, comments about seller inspections and why it’s important for sellers to have one completed.

Seller Inspections, Pre-listing Inspections, Pre-Contract Inspections and the list goes on and this type of inspection is called many names, but what’s important is the fact that this type of home inspection service is available to sellers.  And more importantly sellers need to understand the benefits of having this inspection completed and why they should not overlook making one more small investment in their home to be able to reap larger profits.   

Having your home inspected prior or shortly after the listing contract is more important today than ever before.  It’s a competitive world out there and as a seller I would imagine you would like to have as much leverage as possible going forward in the selling process.  Plus, both you and your home need to be ready for that buyer who will be scheduling a showing.  Now, there are many reasons why every home should have a pre-inspection and I could spend the rest of the day telling you, but to keep it short and to point let me list a few benefits for the seller.

1.       Sell your home for more money

2.       Sell your home in less time

3.       Sell your home with less aggravation

4.       Sell your home just one time

5.       Your home stands out from others that are for sale in the neighborhood

This list of items are the key points that need to be remembered when you plan on selling and will get you to your goal of having a successful sale. 

Now as a seller you need to do as much, if not more, research as possible when selecting your home inspection firm as the buyer will eventually be doing.  Why, because you are in control and you get to decide who will complete the inspection.  When the buyer’s inspections occurs you have no control over the selection process of the inspector, and unfortunately there are good and poor inspectors in our industry, just as there is in any other industry.  So why not remove that problem from the beginning – you select the home inspector?  

Just having the inspection completed is a great start, but again there will be differences in what each home inspection firm brings to the table.  Do you just want a home inspection to educate you to the condition of the home?  Or, would you like to have a home inspection completed plus have ongoing support and a system that will assist you and your Realtor in the selling process?

 I have designed a complete home selling system at All Pro Home Inspection that compliments both you and your Realtor.  This system is truly helping people achieve their goal of selling their home without having to deal with the headaches that sometimes can be part of the selling process.  It’s called The Seller Advantage Program and this program is an exclusive system to All Pro Home Inspection.  This program has many layers all working towards a common goal of assisting the seller.

If you are seller and desire to sell your home with as much leverage as possible give us a call at 716.772.2548 or email me at john@allprohomeinspection.com and I’ll be happy to schedule an appointment to take care of your home selling inspection needs.

WNY Home Inspector John Villella, owner of All Pro Home Inspection, has been providing both residential and commercial property inspection services.  Remember, All Pro Home Inspection is WNY’s Home of the Original 200% Home Inspection Satisfaction Guarantee…. call John with any questions at 716-772-2548.

All Pro Home Inspection is dedicated to providing you “peace of mind” by educating you to understand the condition of your home.  All Pro Home Inspection offers Niagara County home inspection services to not only Niagara County, but to all of Western New York’s communities. We understand the stress that is involved in the Buying, Selling, and the Moving process…That is why when your All Pro Home Inspection is complete, you will have…

• A 200% Satisfaction Guarantee
• Customized Computerized Home Inspection Report for YOUR Home that is
• Printed Onsite which includes
• a General Summary of Repairs By Components and
• a Color Photo Journal of the Home
• PLUS a Copy is Emailed to You and Your Agent Immediately from the Inspection
• And much more…

Western NY Home Inspector John Villella, of All Pro Home Inspection, addresses the “Uncle John” Syndrome and why homebuyer’s commonly make this mistake.

Ok, you’re buying a home and you want to have an inspection, but you don’t believe you need a professional home inspector to complete this for you because Uncle John used to be a contractor and can look at the property for you.  Sound familiar?  We can replace the word “John” with any other, but I love to call this the Uncle John Syndrome.  I can see it now - what’s wrong with Uncle John he’s a good guy, he worked in construction and he knows what’s best for me.   Might all be true, but good old Uncle John can not complete an unbiased inspection for you for a number of reasons and that’s bad for the buyer, seller and real estate professionals. 

First, he’s usually is caught in the excitement of the purchase and can be over protective or just blind to issues – is he unrealistic regarding the condition of the home because he doesn’t understand the inspection process, or is he just happy to see you finally find that home of your dreams and doesn’t gets caught in the excitement and is blinded by the emotion?  Let’s be real, is he really trained to complete inspections – probably not?  In many cases, sellers will not recognize what good old Uncle John’s found during his review of the home.  I know that the new contracts being used by Realtors in our market actually has a question that states to the buyer some thing as follows – Do you plan on having a home inspection completed by a Licensed NYS Home Inspector?  Unless Uncle John fits into that category the seller will most likely tell you what you can do with his findings.  Uncle John will end up costing you additional money because if something truly needed to be repaired or replaced it wouldn’t matter to the seller and you just lost your leverage in the process.   

There is only one recommendation I can make and that is to hire the correct professional home inspector and pay for that service; it’s the best money you’ll spend in the entire buying process.

ü  A 200% Satisfaction Guarantee

ü  Customized Computerized Home Inspection Report for YOUR Home that is

ü  Printed Onsite which includes

ü  a General Summary of Repairs By Components and

ü  a Color Photo Journal of the Home

ü  PLUS a Copy is Emailed to You and Your Agent Immediately from the Inspection

ü  And much more…

Buffalo Home Inspector John Villella, of All Pro Home Inspection, talks about if homeowners should attempt a repair or use a professional to do it right.

John Villella, owner of All Pro Home Inspection cautions homeowners from completing repairs on their own.  It is always recommended that the homeowner only attempt repairs if they have the technical knowledge and tools to do the job properly.  All too often homeowners attempt to do repairs only to find themselves in a much worse position - even if they get the task completed. 

Many times the non-professional repairs are completed only to end up costing additional money or even continued deterioration or damage to the system or building component.  Plus, many repairs are not completed to provide proper safety to the occupants of the home.

Homeowners should considered contacting a professional home inspector for yearly home maintenance inspections.  This type of inspection covers all the major systems and building components.  The home maintenance inspection will provide you with a list of areas that may need maintenance or even a repair and the homeowner can use the professional home inspector for guidance for the type of repair is needed and who should be contacted for that type of repair.  Having this yearly checkup will be beneficial in a couple of ways.  First, major repair issues are controllable because of the yearly checkup and secondly, the home will remain in better condition, which retains the value of the home.

The home inspector will provide you with an unbiased property inspection report and the peace of mind that an contractor isn’t trying to sell a job if the contractor were to review the issue.  Having the yearly home maintenance inspection will also provide you with a list of honey do’s you can complete yourself and keep you well informed what areas should be completed by a professional.  Remember, the home inspector is there to provide you with information and not selling you a job. 

Buffalo Home Inspector John Villella, owner of All Pro Home Inspection, has been providing both residential and commercial property inspection services.  Remember, All Pro Home Inspection is WNY’s Home of the Original 200% Home Inspection Satisfaction Guarantee…. call John with any questions at 716-772-2548.

All Pro Home Inspection is dedicated to providing you “peace of mind” by educating you to understand the condition of your home.  All Pro Home Inspection offers Niagara County home inspection services to not only Niagara County, but to all of Western New York’s communities. We understand the stress that is involved in the Buying, Selling, and the Moving process…That is why when your All Pro Home Inspection is complete, you will have…

ü  A 200% Satisfaction Guarantee

ü  Customized Computerized Home Inspection Report for YOUR Home that is

ü  Printed Onsite which includes

ü  a General Summary of Repairs By Components and

ü  a Color Photo Journal of the Home

ü  PLUS a Copy is Emailed to You and Your Agent Immediately from the Inspection

ü  And much more…

Buffalo Home Inspector John Villella, of All Pro Home Inspection, provides advice to home buyers regarding selecting the correct home inspector/company.

We all know that buying a home is a largest investment both financially and emotionally and that having a home inspection completed will help protect your investment and your family.  Having the right home inspector or company complete the home inspection is becoming the real question everyone needs to be more concerned with.

Having helped thousands of people in the buying and selling process it is more important today than ever to educate the public that there are real differences between home inspection inspectors/companies.  Here in New York State home inspectors must be licensed and just possessing a license doesn’t mean the service and end product will be equal.  A home inspection license is a minimum requirement to conduct a home inspection and many consumers are forgetting this when hiring their inspector.  Price has become more important to the consumer than what product or service will be provided to them.  Thinking that a home inspection is a commodity could turn out to be a costly mindset. 

Put it this why… would you want the cheapest or the least qualified person performing heart surgery on you?  I don’t believe so - don’t become blinded by price when the service and product should be your true concerns. 

Here are some basic questions that buyer’s should be asking home inspectors when trying to decide on who will best serve their needs.  A free report covering these and other questions is available at All Pro Home Inspection’s website.

1. Number of years in the business
2. Do they have E/O Coverage? (this is not required in NYS)
3. Number of inspections completed
4. Type of inspection report used
5. Do they offer a Guarantee

Buffalo Home Inspector John Villella, owner of All Pro Home Inspection, has been providing both residential and commercial property inspection services.  Remember, All Pro Home Inspection is WNY’s Home of the Original 200% Home Inspection Satisfaction Guarantee…. call John with any questions at 716-772-2548.

All Pro Home Inspection is dedicated to providing you “peace of mind” by educating you to understand the condition of your home.  All Pro Home Inspection offers Niagara County home inspection services to not only Niagara County, but to all of Western New York’s communities. We understand the stress that is involved in the Buying, Selling, and the Moving process…That is why when your All Pro Home Inspection is complete, you will have…

ü  A 200% Satisfaction Guarantee

ü  Customized Computerized Home Inspection Report for YOUR Home that is

ü  Printed Onsite which includes

ü  a General Summary of Repairs By Components and

ü  a Color Photo Journal of the Home

ü  PLUS a Copy is Emailed to You and Your Agent Immediately from the Inspection

ü  And much more…

Gasport Home Inspector John Villella, of All Pro Home Inspection, has helped thousands of Western New York homebuyers make sure they know what they are buying.

All Pro Home Inspection has assisted thousands of people fulfill the American Dream of home ownership.  Communication and customer care are two of the many traits that are the pillars of All Pro Home Inspection’s company philosophy.

Educating our customers and knowing that we provided them with all the information needed for them to be able to move forward in the transaction is very rewarding.  Everyone deserves to be able to achieve peace of mind and the All Pro Team will not forget our mission and that’s why thousands of people have experienced the All Pro Difference… Where the inspection is just the beginning. 

ü  A 200% Satisfaction Guarantee

ü  Customized Computerized Home Inspection Report for YOUR Home that is

ü  Printed Onsite which includes

ü  a General Summary of Repairs By Components and

ü  a Color Photo Journal of the Home

ü  PLUS a Copy is Emailed to You and Your Agent Immediately from the Inspection

ü  And much more…