Pennsylvania

This is what greeted me a couple of night ago when my 92-year old neighbor called me in the middle of the night after a circuit breaker in his house blew.

It was raining out that night so I was a bit wet, had to climb down a home made wooden ladder that wasn't attached to anything. Dropped and broke my flashlight and was standing in a dark, cluttered basement with only the light from my cell phone trying to find the breaker panel.

Really, why would anyone take the faceplate off the main panel and leave it on the floor? Didn't it dawn on this idiot that someone else might have to access that panel in the dark and might just get shocked or worse yet electrocuted? Folks be careful, the main panel can very easily kill you.

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Hi all, my name is Suesan Jenifer Therriault and you can find me in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania or here on the Active Rain Real Estate Network just about any day of the week.

I'm a Home Inspector, and a Systems Engineer in Blakeslee, Pennsylvania.

I hope you read my blog, and get to know a little about me. If you have any Home Inspection, Computer Related or Contracting questions or concerns feel free to drop me an email or give me a call. I'll do my best to help you out.

JTHIS Professional Home Inspection Team
Computer Services NEPA
MT Contracting
Call me if I can help you or someone you know.
(570) 262-7551

Here is some good news from Robert T.Casey Senator for Pennsylvania. I have many friends and neighbors that will be glad to read this article. These are people who have been working for over 20 years at their jobs and suddenly were laid off from their jobs. I have been speaking to them periodically they have not been having any luck finding work.

Help is on the way say's Senator Robert Casey:

The real estate market for Eddystone Borough PA Homes continues to hold its own.

Located between the City of Chester and Ridley Township/ Tinicum Township just below Philadelphia along the Delaware River, Eddystone Borough continues its historic role as a center of commerce. Settled in the 1600s by the Swedes and then taken over by the Dutch in 1658, this was one of the earliest settled areas along the Delaware River. Originally an agricultural area as seen in Tinicum Township and Chester, it quickly grew into a center of manufacturing as industry grew throughout this area along the Delaware. Eddystone was incorporated from Ridley Township in 1888.

The growth of Eddystone Borough peaked in the twentieth Century with the growth of arms manufacturing and locomotive production. Remington Arms became a major arms manufacturer in the area during World War I. Their plant was built on Baldwin Locomotive Works land and originally manufactured rifles for the British and Russian Troops. These contracts were later replaced by US Government contracts, and the Remington plant ultimately produced almost 2 million rifles with a peak production of 6000 rifles/day before being closed on January 11, 1919. Interestingly, over two thirds of the rifles used in France were produced in the Eddystone plant.

During the same period, beginning in 1906, the Baldwin Locomotive Works built up its production in Eddystone as it moved its operations to this larger plant from facilities in Philadelphia. By 1928, all its locomotive production had been moved to the new facilities in Eddystone and its new Executive Office Building had been completed at a cost of $1,220,000. It quickly became the largest locomotive builder in the United States. Sadly, the company was unable to make the transition from steam to diesel and ultimately closed in 1956.

Today, the former Baldwin Locomotive land houses an office park (including the original Executive Office Building), a PECO generating Station, and various commercial properties. In addition, the Penn Terminals now occupy the property adjacent to the Delaware with their marine terminal and stevedoring services. The balance of the borough is primarily residentail and light commercial.

The Eddystone Borough real estate market has held up very well so far through this downturn. The average home price in Eddystone Borough approximately doubled from around $60,000 in 2000-2002 to peak with an average price of $120,000 in 2007. Since then, pricing pulled back to an average price of $103,000 in 2008 and $109,000 in 2009 year to date. (The 2009 price includes a $205,000 single family home sale).

Activity has also remained fairly constant with Borough sales ranging from a low of 23 homes in 2008 to a high of 34 homes in 2006. There have also been 26 completed home sales so far in 2009 with 3 sales pending. Today, there are an additional 16 homes on the market with an average list price of $110,000. Overall, this was one of the later areas to be impacted by rising prices seen throughout the region allowing it to avoid much of the overpricing experienced in some of the surrounding areas.

Now, the area is redeveloping with a stronger, more stable, and diversified business base including the PECO generating plant, the adjacent Boeing plant in Ridley Township, Harrah's Casino in Chester, and various other manufacturing and business opportunities. With its diversified jobs base, close proximity to Philadelphia, easy access to commuter options by SEPTA and the I-95/I-495 freeways, and affordable housing, the residential market should remain relatively stable.

As always, if you have any questions or need any additional information, please feel free to contact me anytime.

(All statistics per the TrendMLS System and believed accurate but not guaranteed)

I took this picture during my first inspection today.

I'm always amused by what some seller will and won't do when trying to sell their home. Sometimes it just seems to me like they prefer to ignore some of the most obvious things that are going to come up during the course of the inspection. This one really caught my attention.

Can you tell me what's missing in this photo?

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Hi all, my name is Suesan Jenifer Therriault and you can find me in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania or here on the Active Rain Real Estate Network just about any day of the week.

I'm a Home Inspector, and a Systems Engineer in Blakeslee, Pennsylvania.

I hope you read my blog, and get to know a little about me. If you have any Home Inspection, Computer Related or Contracting questions or concerns feel free to drop me an email or give me a call. I'll do my best to help you out.

JTHIS Professional Home Inspection Team
Computer Services NEPA
MT Contracting
Call me if I can help you or someone you know.
(570) 262-7551

You can thank my Seller for the title of this blog, and the evidence proves that it was in fact an "INVESTIGATION" as opposed to an Inspection.

I can tell you truthfully this listing was every Realtor's Dream come true, until it turned into a "Nightmare". A Dream listing in everyway. An incredibly well maintained home, impeccably clean, furnished beautifully, curb appeal galore, a realistic seller willing to price his home perfectly to poise it for a quick sale. What more could a Realtor want?

You want the truth? What a Realtor would want is a contract without a Home "INVESTIGATION" contingency clause. Just about every item listed on this home inspection was a Minor or Major Concern. And while this Home "Investigation" used the same boiler plate report most Home Inspectors use, somehow in the end you would think this home was "falling to bits" and could end up as a pile of rubble in short order.

• We had to call in a licensed PE for $230 to write up a report saying that the "surface" cracks in the foundation were not only of no concern, but had been repaired perfectly.
• Then we had the 13 year old hotwater heater, that had indications of scorching at the aperature which was cause for MAJOR concern. The one plumber gave a quote for replacement, the other plumber said everything was fine and working properly at the age of 13.
• The home inspector's report also had a MAJOR concern that ALL of the Anderson windows had been installed improperly 22 years ago and should be replaced.
• The 40 year architectural shingles needed replacing after 22 years.
• There was evidendence of amateur workmanship at an uncovered (actually crooked) switch plate near the basement workbench.
• The vent connectors for the furnace and water heater "May" be too long. This "could" make it difficult for exhaust gasses to exit the building, increasing the chance of exhaust spillage and "other" concerns.

I could go on and list the other 14 items the Buyer wanted repaired, addressed, and replaced but the point here is the report was absurd, I'm sorry, but the "butt covering" was SCREAMING in this "INVESTIGATION" .

So how did it turn out you ask....After 2 weeks of additional inspections/investiagations and proposals/estimates, we whittled the Home INVESTIGATION items down to 5 that the Seller agreed he should and would repair/replace.

The Buyer's had fallen in LOVE with this house when they first stepped in it, and the stress of the whole thing almost caused them to walk. The septic INVESTIGATION had been postponed until we worked out the Home INVESTIGATION, and even though we had not signed off on everything the Septic INVESTIGATION was scheduled. All parties were present at that INVESTIGATION, because at this point we were all sick of the He said's, She said's that had occurred during the home inspeciton. It was here that the Buyer and Seller met, and as the Seller led the Buyer around showing him the work he had done, and explained that the Anderson Window rep lived across the street and verified that the windows had been installed correctly, etc., etc. they both realized that they were dealing with a resonable person who was NOT trying to "screw" them.

Initially he Seller was astounded that his home was such a "wreck" and the Buyers couldn't believe that they had fallen in LOVE with a house that was in "shambles"....Everyone's hair is a little grayer, the economy is being stimulated, and if there are ANY concerns with the Septic System you can look for my obituatary.