Homeowner Connections
Congratulations, you just purchased a home and now it is time to start this new chapter. Or maybe you have owned a home and struggle with repairs.
If you are moving to a new area, new to being a homeowner or a member in any local community group on social media you will hear many people asking who should I use to ….. followed but many comments of people recommending themselves, their friends and a few with honest input from a positive experience. As a homeowner you will and need to be that person who can say “I know someone” because when something stops working such your heat on a winter day, it helps to have these connections in place. Avoid looking at places such as Angie’s List who promote those who spend more on advertising. Many go to Google which is a good spot to start but there is some great small businesses in the trades that have no footprint on Google and it also requires paying Google to get higher up on the list that is seen by people when searching.
How to make these connections and what connections should you have? First you need to know what services you have. Do you have a water well, what type of fuel heats your home and who was used to service the furnace; the list goes on. These are items that may have some additional information in your home inspection report. In your home inspection report you should have make and model of certain items such as the hot water heater, fuel source and other key observations that can assist when something stops working. I place the information in the report so you don’t have to go digging. How old is your hot water heater and when can you expect to replace it? It is better to know that now than that Monday morning when the family is in need of a shower before work and school.
Lets dive in with heat. It is getting cold out and some people will have issues with a failed heating system. This can be caused by many factors but having your furnace serviced can prevent failure when you need heat the most. Having your furnace serviced can also help build a relationship with a company that can be used for when you have an emergency. Most small companies will prioritize current customers, a benefit to supporting local business. Start with looking for a service sticker on your furnace and check the service dates and who did it. You can also ask a neighbor who they use. Different fuel sources may have different points of contact for customer service and repairs. In the Hudson Valley we have homes heated with; electric, home heating oil, propane, natural gas, fire wood and wood pellet stoves. Some are a combination of these sources. Some you can shop around and others you are locked in such as natural gas.
Each utility in your house should be approached with preparation. Is it receiving the recommended preventive maintenance and who are you going to call when it fails on a Sunday evening which is not the ideal time to search for someone to fix your emergency. When you turn your faucet on and no water comes out who do you call?
At River Valley Home Inspection I only refer a businesses that I have worked with personally or I would use myself. This is a benefit of having a home inspector on your team. In your inspection report you will receive the key information that you need to know your utilities, strengths and weaknesses of the home and how to prepare. The home listing is not always accurate when it comes to fuel source, heating type etc.. and may not be accurate on Zillow, Redfin, homes.com or realty.com
In reality every home will need work, being prepared can make these issues easier to manage and likely save you money.
Did you know that the Hudson Valley is the source of drinking water for New York City? The longest tunnel in the world is right here in the Hudson Valley and remains an amazing engineering accomplishment. The aqueduct was built in response to the fires and epidemics that repeatedly devastated New York City in additon to disease spread from poor drinking water. The construction of the Catskill and Delaware Aqueducts enabled the ability to deliver more than a billion gallons (3.8 billion liters) per day of drinking water to New York City from six reservoirs located in the Catskill Mountains. Currently you may notice the reservoir levels low but that is so repairs can be made . This living history is a rabit hole of interesting facts and pictures including the loss of towns that were flooded to created these reservoirs. In the areas that some call “upstate” we often utilize private wells or use municipal water that is sourced from wells and smaller reservoirs.