Licensed, professional home inspectors serving the Fresh Pond Queens neighborhood, offering a broad range of services for our residential customers.
If you have been around as long as I have, then you’ll recognize the need for home inspections in Fresh Pond. A quality home inspection protects you the buyer against those obvious problems that every home has. While the inspection is not fool proof, an inspector worth his/her weight should be able to identify the primary components that could be ready to break down on you as a new homeowner. A competent inspector will narrow down the probabilities of system failure considerably.
Typically, a home inspection is a formal detailed evaluation of the accessible and visible systems and components within a home (heating and cooling, electrical, roofing, plumbing, roofing, structure, etc.) and should give the client a clearer understanding of the unit’s overall state. Phone today to book an appointment at 332-334-7701 or Request a Quote. You’ll be glad you made the call.
More often than not, the inspection is a buyer who asks for an evaluation of the home he or she is serious about purchasing. An inspection of the home delivers data so that decision makers can question or confirm details about the home questioned or confirmed, and can uncover expensive-to-repair and serious defects that the homeseller may not be aware of. It is not an appraisal of the property’s value. The inspection does not address the cost of repairs for defects the inspector finds. Similarly, it makes not claim that the home and its systems complies with local code or protects a client in the event an item inspected fails.
Note: Warranties can be purchased to cover many items.
Don’t consider an inspection of the home as a complete evaluation, but rather property evaluation on the day it is inspected, taking into account normal wear and tear of the home based on age and location. A home inspection can also include for a little extra of course, Radon testing, pest inspections, pool inspections, water testing, energy audits, and many other specific items that may be location-specific.
Home inspections are also conducted (less often) by a home seller prior to putting the property on the market to see if there are any hidden problems, and also by owners simply wanting to care for their homes, prevent surprises, and keep the home investment value as high as possible
The following are areas that inspectors pay close attention to when inspecting your home:
1. Serious defects, such as large cracks in the home’s foundation; building out of level or plumb; decks not supported or installed properly, etc. These are items that are expensive to repair, which are systems needing more than two percent of the purchase price to fix.
2. Things that could lead to major defects – a roof flashing leak that could get bigger, damaged down spouts that could cause backup and water intrusion, or a beam that was not tied to the structure properly.
3. Safety hazards, such as exposed wiring in kitchens and bathrooms, no safety railing on decks more than 30 inches off the ground, lack of GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters), etc.
Your inspector should counsel you on what to do about these issues. She may recommend a formal evaluation on more issues – by licensed or certified professionals who specialize in the problem areas. For instance, your inspector will advise you call a licensed structural or building engineer if they find areas of the home that are misaligned, as this could indicate a serious structural deficiency.
Home inspections are always done by a buyer when they sign a formal agreement, right?
This is patently false! As you will discover whenever you keep reading, a home inspection may be used for interim inspections in new construction, as a maintenance tool with a current home owner, a proactive technique by homeowners to create their property more sellable, and by buyers wanting to find out the situation of the potential home.
Homeowners, particularly, can benefit from getting a home inspection before listing the home. Here are just a several advantages for the seller:
· The seller knows the house! The home inspector will be able to obtain answers to his/her questions on the history of any problems they find.
· A home inspection can help the seller be much more objective as it pertains to setting a good price on the home.
· The seller may take the report and make it into an advertising piece for the home.
· The seller is going to be alerted to any safety issues found in the home before they open it down for open house tours.
· The seller could make repairs leisurely instead of being in a rush after the contract is signed.
Who says you can’t? Of course you can. Most home buyers lack the objectivity, skill, and knowledge needed to skillfully inspect a property themselves. In other words, they think they know their homes, but they really don’t. By using the services of a professional home inspector, they gain a better knowledge of the situation of the property; especially whether any items don’t “abjectly affect the home’s living space” or “function as intended” or “warrant more attention” by a qualified specialist. Understand that the home inspector is a generalist and has broad experience in most of the major home systems.
It’s a great idea for you to be present throughout the inspection – whether you are a homebuyer, seller, or home owner. With you there, the inspector can point out any defects and explain their importance in addition to point out maintenance features that would be helpful in the future. If you can’t be there, it is not a problem considering that the report you get is going to be very detailed. If you’re not present, then you should be sure to ask your inspector to spell out anything that is not yet determined in the report. Also read the inspection agreement carefully which means you understand what is covered and what’s not covered in the inspection. If you have a trouble with the inspection or the report, you must raise the difficulties quickly by calling the inspector, usually within 24 hours. If you’d like the inspector to go back after the inspection showing you things, this is arranged and is recommended, however, the inspector could charge you extra since it’s not part of the inspection, unless, of course, you make that a part of your initial contract
However, it’s very important for you to let the inspector do the job you’re paying for. We love our clients, but we also know that constant interruptions and interference (some might even call it nagging) make the process painfully slow. Jot down your questions and ask them after the inspector has presented you with a report.
Since condominiums are individual units within a building, homeowners pay assessments to a also is responsible for maintaining the community boilder or HVAC. In smaller condo buildings, many home owners have their own mini-boiler that acts as the HVAC that a building would normally provide. Owners are responsible for everything inside the condo unit including plumbing, electrical, porches, balconies, walls, and appliances. There are less items to inspect, but getting an inspection from someone who knows what they’re doing is still critical. As you well know, HOAs are a fickled lot, to be honest. And they’re all so very different, even within a neighborhood. Ask us about it and we’ll be blunt with you. If we can inspect your condo, we’ll do it; if we can’t, we’ll also let you know. We believe honesty is always the best policy and we live by it.
The following list (of systems and inspection items) is not exhaustive. Not all of these items may be in the inspection you get, but the inspector will follow a standard check list for the home:
* Heat controls and pumps
* Kitchen appliances (microwave, trash compactor, range/oven, dishwasher, disposal)
* Laundry appliances (washer and dryer)
* Window systems
* Eaves, soffits, and fascias
* Site drainage and grading
* Ventilation systems and Insulation
* Landscaping
* Retaining walls
* Heating equipment and controls
* Fireplaces
* Driveways
* Roofing, flashings, chimneys, and attic
* Safety items such as TPRV valves, railings, egress etc.
* Ceilings, walls, floors
* Hand rails, entry steps
* Decks
* Bricks, masonry
* Basement, crawlspaces, and foundation
* Garage walls, doors, and garages
* Plumbing systems and fixtures
* Electrical system and panels
* GFCI, outlets, electrical grounding
* Fire detectors
Other tests that aren’t a part of the original inspection typically require an extra fee.
· Alarm System
· Swimming Pool and Spa Inspection
· Mold Screening
· Termite Inspection
· Sprinkler System Test
· Radon Gas Test
· Water Quality Test
· Septic System Inspection
Your brand-new home has a large number of systems and about 9900 pieces – from heating and cooling to ventilation systems and to appliances. When they interact with each another seamlessly, you have peace of mind. Weak links in the system, however, can produce a myriad of problems leading to a loss in value and shortened system/component lifecycle. Would you purchase a used car with out a reputable mechanic taking a look at it? Your house is far more complex, and to truly have a thorough inspection that is documented in a written report arms you with substantial information to create informed decisions.
Plenty of people believe everything is inspected exhaustive on inspection day. This misunderstanding is responsible for many a homebuyer to become upset utilizing their inspector. The inspections we all do are usually not exhaustive and there is a good reason for this.
For those who hire separate licensed experts in hvac, plumbing, electrical, engineering, etc. to examine your own home, it could take about 14 hours and cost you about two grand! It may appear far more practical to use an expert inspector who’s a general familiarity with home systems, knows things to look for, and can recommend further inspection by an experienced professional if needed. Your inspector is additionally following very specific guidelines issued by state or national organizations as he/she inspects your home. These guidelines are meticulously written to safeguard both your home and also the inspector.
For instance, we have been directed to not turn systems on if these were off before the inspection (for safety reasons); we aren’t capable to move furniture (might harm something); prohibited to turn on water whether it’s off (possible flooding), and prohibited to interrupt by using a sealed attic hatch (possible damage). The down-side of the practice is by not operating a control, by not seeing under the furniture, and failing to get on the attic or crawlspace, we are going to might miss identifying a problem. However, put in perspective, the odds of missing something serious as a result is reasonably low. There are other products which 96% of inspectors consider outside a regular inspection, for example inspecting most things aren’t bolted down (installed in the home) such as electronics, reduced voltage lighting, space heaters, portable air conditioning, or specialized systems such as water purifiers, home security systems, etc.
You may never want to cross the river, but this emerging hot spot in Queens has everything that makes New York City special. Queens is one of the best places to live in the country, offering a mix of quality apartments, affordable apartments and lots of great restaurants and shops.
This means that unless you happen to be on the same subway line, you can catch a train or bus to other parts of Brooklyn or Queens. To stay as close as possible to the New York City subway lines, try to be on the safe side and have a plan for getting to other parts of Brooklyn and Queens, but stay within walking distance of the subway stations in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.
If you decide to live here, you may need to downsize some of your property and find a nearby warehouse in Queens. If you’re moving to the area, here are ten parts of Queens that you’ll love to call home.
This family-friendly neighborhood of Queens is popular with residents, but it is also one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city. In other words, there are many great restaurants, shops and other amenities here, some of which are worth highlighting.
The Fresh Pond neighborhood is one of the most walkable neighborhoods in America and is known to have the highest proportion of residents. Interestingly, it has the second highest number of residents – born in every borough of the city, which is found in New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
In recent years, even a new group of immigrants has moved and rents have become more affordable, but real estate is still being traded for neighboring super-hot North Brooklyn. [Sources: 3, 6]
The largest rent increases were recorded in Bushwick and Ridgewood in the first half of the year, according to the New York Department of Housing and Urban Development. Both Bushwicks and Ridgeway saw high rent increases, but not as high as North Brooklyn.
To make matters worse, the northernmost part of the city on the Queens side is called East Williamsburgh because it is an outbuilding of a well-established Brooklyn neighborhood. Southwest is a border that, until recently, when Ridgewood finally got a Queens zip code, seemed unrepairable to most people.
The 1872 map of Queens by Matthew Dripps shows Fresh Pond Road, which runs along its current route to Cypress Hills Street in Brooklyn. The track has had many different nicknames over the years, including East Williamsburgh, East Brooklyn, West Williamsburg and West Brooklyn. At one point, Fresh Pond Road also included the road that we now know as Cypress Hills Street, which runs between Jamaica Avenue and Cypress Hills.
The road was named Fresh Pond Road to reflect the fact that two small ponds once occupied what would become the Olivet Crescent, one in East Williamsburg and the other in West Brooklyn.
By 1900, the ponds filled with brackish water from nearby Newtown Creek had been drained, filled and drained. Water flowed into the creek, which originated in the present-day town of Wantagh in Nassau County.
In the 20th century, the city built Fresh Pond Park at the intersection of Broadway and Myrtle Avenue as the only park and street that shone over Fresh Pond.
Ridgewood isn’t as deep as Knickerbocker, but it’s more than Fresh Pond Rd. The area is a mix of crops, not just polish, and fresh pond Rd is the boundary of the Ridgewood, but not the heart.
Ridgewood prides itself on being in Queens, but if you don’t agree with it and still move here , you will be okay in the end. If you have to move to a coastal area and give a boat to your neighborhood, that’s okay, as long as you give something back to the neighborhood.
We are based in New York with the tools of our generation and are proud that when the opportunity arose, we went into a beer green roofing company. When it comes to roof repairs in fresh ponds, it depends on the customer competence of the roofing company. We have reached the point where the developer offers the homeowner several options, but the choice is ours as consumers again when we need it. You can keep all the advantages of metal roofs and others that are associated with all kinds of common roofing designs nowadays.
In 1856, a reservoir was built on the border between Newtown and Bushwick to supply water to the city of Brooklyn. Queens County was part of the New York borough of Queens, and Queens was no exception, since it was made up of small, unincorporated towns and villages that formed the borough itself. Roads, schools, churches and railway lines were built to make it possible to live in the area, even if your address was outside the borough or within the borough.
If you are searching for a reliable, professional, and affordable townhome, condo, or home inspection in Fresh Pond, look no further. We understand you have choices and we’d be honored to send one of our inspectors to inspect your property. We’re committed to getting the job done right and making you happy. Call or email one of our staff today (332-334-7701 or Request a Quote) to book an appointment.
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