Keith Berne, Real Estate Broker, Realtor, GRI

If you can avoid it... DON'T LEAVE YOUR HOUSE WHILE DOING LAUNDRY OR RUNNING THE DISHWASHER! Last summer a client left the house for 45 minutes, only to return and see water dripping from the garage ceiling and onto the floor! In much newer construction the laundry room is upstairs with the bedrooms but often there is no low point drain. Convenient but DANGEROUS. His washing machine's drain hose was dislodged from the wall drain and the water had nowhere to go but down. This has happened to me and I had my plumber install a water sensor that rests on the floor next to the washing machine. If it senses water it shuts the water valves. Regardless, I still don't run the water conveniences unless I'm home. Stay dry!

Late Saturday we had a typical fall drenching here in Portland and I got the nightmare call from a wonderful client who I helped buy a little cutie in the halcion days of last summer... "Keith, my basement's leaking what do we do?!" Ugh, I hate those calls, but here in Oregon they happen. I suggested she disconnect the offending downspout, which was gushing water next to the foundation and attach a gutter extension that can be purchased at any big-box hardware store, and route the river into the yard. That did the trick and the water stopped intruding. Next we called my "water remediation specialist" who is on his way to figure the best way to keep the water away from the house. Keep those gutters functioning!

OK, a year has gone by since you helped the Smith-Joneses buy their dream-home. At the time you noticed the two humongous broad-leafed Maples that overhung the front roof-line. Now you have the perfect opportunity to call and say: "Hi Mr. and Mrs. Smith-Jones, I'm just calling to remind you to get that gutter service over as soon as possible to make sure the water is going off the roof properly." What a great way to stay in touch and ensure your buyer's home is being well maintained, thus avoiding deferred maintenance issues when you eventually help them sell. Happy November!

Yes, we know, it's a buyers market. They can do whatever they like... if they're not picky. But what if they've found their dream-house? How can they still take advantage of the market and avoid having their low-ball offer rejected? One thing the buyer can do to get a good sale price is offer to take the house in AS-IS condition, while retaining the right to back out of the deal based on all the normal contingencies within the specified time-lines. If something big comes up in the inspection like a broken sewer line, or a lender required repair, the buyer can go back to the seller and say... "We know we weren't going to ask for repairs... but this is a major fault, either you repair it or we're out". This strategy lets the seller feel good about taking a lower offer with the promise of not being nit-picked with small repairs, while keeping the buyer safe and getting a good price. Everyone's a winner... Happy Selling!

Ah, the smell of a new home... just like a new car, a new home has that great smell when you first open the door, The aromas of wood floors and new paint combine to tickle the pleasure points in our brains... there couldn't be anything wrong with this new home! But wait, lurking just behind the brand-spanking-new kitchen cabinets on the ground floor is a punctured water drain pipe from the upstairs master bath. When the cabinet guys installed the kitchen cabs, they didn't know the screw they drove deep into the wall hit the pipe... and the only way my buyer found out was during the home inspection when our inspector noticed puddles in the crawl space. After removing the cabs and sheet rock, the builder discovered the problem and repaired as necessary. The MORAL OF THE STORY... EVEN NEW CONSTRUCTION NEEDS TO BE FULLY INSPECTED! Happy buying!