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Damage From a Water Leak Can Cost As Much As The Average Luxury Car Whether it’s a fire, plumbing flood, or burglary, you probably have insurance to cover your losses. But simply having your stuff replaced doesn’t account for the turmoil or disruption that one of these disasters causes. Water damage repairs cost an average […]

Almost everyone has either had a flood or knows someone who has. Did you know that sewage backups are not covered by most homeowners’ insurance policies? Or if they are, coverage may be limited to a few thousand dollars. That’s because sewage backups are considered “external” rather than “Internal” events – like a flood due […]

The fastest return on your real estate investment… It is often said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That is particularly true when buying a house. Even though most houses in California are sold “as-is”, we feel that a buyer still deserves to know what condition the house is in, […]

High water pressure can cause flooding During a home inspection, one of the very important items we check is the water pressure inside your home. San Diego has very high water pressure in many neighborhoods. The pressure is reduced into your home with the use of a pressure regulator which usually looks like the device […]

As if negotiating real estate transactions isn’t tough enough, there is a huge issue that is right around the corner. Older AC units will be obsolete in 2020. Houses built as recently as the late 1990’s are likely to have AC systems that use FREON, a refrigerant commercially called R-22. FREON was classified as an environmental […]

Philip Smith is a home inspector with certifications from InterNACHI, CREIA, and IAC2. Having a passion for inspecting homes, I joined The Real Estate Inspection Company after owning and operating an inspection business for 15 years.  I have been a Certified Home Inspector since 2004 and have inspected well over 4,000 properties in San Diego, […]

Sadly, the second largest cause of death in California is drowning. In 1996, California introduced the Pool Safety Act. This Bill required several safety measures to help prevent accidental drownings. It has been revised several times, and in it’s most recent revision requires at least two of seven safety devices. Also in 2018, it became […]

Are you allergic to pets? What about your clients? It may be difficult to tell if pets were living in a house. There may be no odor and the house is spotless. However, dander (dead skin) can be present in the carpet, curtains, ducts, and under appliances, if pets were ever living in a house […]

Thousands of houses throughout Southern California have septic systems. These include rural houses or those on large properties. Hooking these houses up to a municipal sewer system may be cost prohibitive, so a septic system is a perfect alternative. Septic systems are underground wastewater treatment structures, commonly used in rural areas without centralized sewer systems. […]