This is a great question, especially considering how hot the summer months in the valley can be. Air Conditioning manufacturers recommend that homeowners have their units serviced annually. But in Las Vegas, many experts recommend two annual tune-ups. One before the hot summer season, and the other right after. The reason for this is pretty straightforward: Las Vegas experiences extremely hot summer temperatures, much hotter than most of the rest of the country. That means that air conditioning units often have to run at very high levels every single day–for months. This puts a lot of wear and tear on the unit, and results in a need for more frequent maintenance. Having your A/C unit serviced will keep the system clean and primed to operate at its designed peak performance levels. Systems that go without consistent maintenance typically perform much less efficiently, in both cooling effectiveness and energy efficiency–running up your electricity bills.

Additionally, for the same efficiency reasons, it is recommended that you change your air filters more consistently to make sure you have even unobstructed airflow for peak performance.

At Fruitful Home Inspections we do not recommend waiving a home inspection for any reason. As a homebuyer you are taking on a major investment, and spending a lot of your hard earned money to do so. Why not have that peace of mind about your purchase? Nine times out of Ten, the costs to repair minor issues in your home purchase that your agent requests from the seller, are of a higher cost than the inspection fee! Clients, do not burden yourself with repair costs, Agents do not burden yourselves with liability, do not skip a home inspection!

For more information check out this great article on the subject, this one written by Dave @ Aardvark Home Inspections. Click Here: Why You Shouldn’t Waive

As we enter into the hot Vegas summer months, one luxury that makes the brutal three digit temperatures bearable is a pool. But how safe is yours, especially for your children?

Here is a simple list of safety features that you should have to keep your pool from becoming a danger to your family.

  1. A barrier. Typically the pool would be located in a fenced in area, separate from access with traditional means, such as the back glass door, or side yard entry. This fenced in area would be accessible via a self-closing and self-latching gate, that would open out and away from the pool, to prevent children from running up and pushing the gate open.
  2. Door alarms installed on any point of entry to the back yard where the pool is located, such as the back sliding glass door, or the pool barrier gate itself, that would alert the home to a child accessing the pool area.
  3. Anti-vortex drain cover. These covers prevent the drain from becoming a dangerous hazard itself. Pool drains use powerful suction to move the water, filter it, and keep the pool clean. The main drain requires an anti-vortex cover to prevent dangers such as a child swimming and getting their hair caught in the suction, which can pull them and trap them below, causing a drowning hazard.

These are three basic safety features to have in a pool area, especially with children. For more information on pool safety, check out this website: https://www.poolsafely.gov/

Currently, in the United States, there are 29 states that require licensing for their inspectors to perform home inspections, and Nevada is a state that requires their home inspectors to be licensed.

I wanted to . . .

Some questions we hear often are “What is the difference between an Appraiser and a Home Inspector?” And “Do I need both?”

First, on the . . .