Reading, PA

Valentine's Day Events (Reading, PA)

Looking for that special Valentine's Day Event around Reading, PA?

My wife and I have lived here for almost 10 years and have had the pleasure to attend a number of Events for Valentine's Day around Reading, PA.

As owners of a home inspection company in Reading, we try to support other local and small businesses. There are some unique options around town!

Here are some suggestions:

“Valentine's Day Buffet with your Sweetie”
Overlook Mansion Bed & Breakfast; 620 Centre Ave in Reading, PA.

On Saturday, February 12 from 5-8PM, you and your sweetie can enjoy a lovely evening by candlelight at this impressive Bed & Breakfast. Menu will include roasted pork with peach glaze, roasted chicken, vegetable lasagna, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans with almonds, glazed carrots, salad, homemade breads, and specialty sweets.

It's $35 per person. Call 610-371-9173 for reservations or visit www.overlookmansionbedandbreakfast.com

Wine & Chocolate on the Berks Co. Wine Trail
Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery; 17 Clover Hill Lane, Robesonia, PA 19551


On Saturday, February 11 and Sunday, February 12, from 12pm-5pm each day, you can travel the Berks County Wine Trail and stop at their Robesonia location for a sweet tasting. You'll sample two wine & chocolate pairings from Premise Maid Candies, one of my favorite local chocolate companies. You'll sample dark chocolate with black raspberry filling paired with Vignoles and a dark chocolate turtle paired with the famous Turtle Rock Red. There is no charge for this event!

Call 610-395-2468 for more information.

Dinner and a Movie at Reading's new rustic Italian restuarant, Panevino. They are located across the street from the Reading IMAX theater and are offering a special menu on Valentine's Day. They also have a "Sweetheart Dinner" on Monday, February 10, for $95 per couple. It's a 5 course meal with 4 different wines (paired with 1st 4 courses).

You can reserve by calling 610-376-1101

Outside of Reading, PA

If you are looking for other options for Valentine's Day Events outside of Reading, PA, there's a dance event and more romantic dining options closer to Pottstown. Click on Valentine's Day Events near Pottstown to view that information.

Romantic Retreat

If you are looking to get out of town, there's a county inn on a clear lake in the PA Highlands called Inn at Starlight Lake. You can enjoy romantic walk in the woods, go cross country skiing, or just stay in and enjoy your romantic room.

Their Valentine's Day package runs from 2/10 to 2/16 and $89 per person per night (plus tax and service) gets you queen accommodations, full American breakfast daily, split of champagne or cocktail of your choice, and one dinner per person (your choice of the Valentine's Day specials or the regular menu).

Call 570-798-2519 or visit www.innatstarlightlake.com

Enjoy.. whatever you choose as your Valentine's Day Event around Reading, PA!

David Artigliere, owner of ARTI Home Inspections LLC, offers home inspections in Reading, Exeter, Birdsboro, Sinking Spring & surrounding areas of Berks, Montgomery, Chester & Lancaster counties.

He can be reached by calling (610) 220-1907 or visiting www.artihomeinspections.com.

ASHI Home Inspectors (Reading) to discuss Slate Roofing

If you are a home inspector around Reading, PA, you are welcomed to join our next Keystone ASHI meeting.

Our next meeting will be held on Monday, February 6th, 2012 at The Inn at Reading.

This is for ASHI members. Non-ASHI members are welcomed to attend as guests.

The speaker for this month will be Steve Seifert of All Slate Roofing and he will be presenting on slate roofing.

Reading, PA and surrounding still has a number of homes with slate roofing. As a matter of fact, the most recent rental property I purchased with my wife has a slate roof. They are quite common around here.

Roofing shingle made of slate is great for a number of reasons. When installed properly, they have a typical lifespan of 80 to 100 years! Slate has an extremely low water absorption index (less than 0.4%) and its low tendency to absorb water also makes it very resistant to frost damage and breakage due to freezing.

Slate roof tiles are usually fixed using either nail fixing, or the hook fixing method as is common with Spanish slate. Nails will traditionally be copper, although modern alloy and stainless steel alternatives are used as well. When either of these methods is used properly, you'll have a long-lasting weathertight roof!

Steve will be discussing all of this and more during his presentation.

The meeting will be held at the Inn of Reading at 1040 Park Rd in Reading.

The schedule of the meeting is as follows:

5-5:30 PM Social time

5:30-6:30 PM Round Table Discussion

6 PM Dinner is served

7-8 PM Slate Roofing by Steve Seifert of All Slate Roofing

8-8:30 PM Business meeting


This meeting can qualify for up to two continuing education credits.

David Artigliere is President of Keystone ASHI and owner of ARTI Home Inspections LLC.

He is a home inspector in Reading, PA and surrounding areas. Contact him at (610)220-1907 or visit www.readinghomeinspector.com.

HGTV looking for Realtors (Reading, PA)

If you are like me, you can't get enough of the shows on HGTV including the popular House Hunters. Want to hear some good news?

HGTV is having an open casting call and is looking for Realtors in Reading, PA & Surrounding to be featured on the show and they are coming to Reading tonight, January 24, 2012. If you miss this date, no worries! They cast all year round and encourage you to submit an application.

HGTV says they are looking for energetic Reading Realtors who are passionate about helping buyers in their search for a new home to be a part of their House Hunters series.

The show takes viewers on a "tour" with the Realtor and their clients as they view homes and decide which is best suited for their needs. Viewers are with the buyers through the process and can watch them make an offer on a home and find out how it all turned out for the buyers.

When submitting an application for the show, candidates must be a Realtor in Reading, PA or another major US city and have clients who are ready to buy a home or in the last stages of making an offer. Once selected for further consideration, candidates will then be asked to submit an audition video.

For further questions, see HGTV's Q&A page. Good luck Reading Realtors!

David Artigliere is an ASHI-certified home inspector in Reading, PA & surrounding with
ARTI Home Inspections LLC.

He is available for home inspections and 203K inspections 7 days a week.

Visit www.readinghomeinspector.com or
call (610) 220-1907 more information.

Beware of the Tenants that Never Complain

Tenants that never complain- sounds like every landlord's dream, right?!

Not necessarily.

Don't get me wrong. I don't wish the complainers on anyone. Any landlord who has had a high maintenance tenant knows the frustration of getting those phone call about every little thing. However, the other extreme isn't much better.

Let me tell you about my tenants, "Joe" and "Kathy". They are very nice people, pay their rent on time every month, and I never hear from them. It's hard to get into the house for a yearly inspection for a number of reasons, so I got lazy about the appointments. I figured it wasn't a big deal. I figured they would let me know if anything needed attention. I figured wrong.

Last month, we had a few big storms come through Pennsylvania. A few days into the last storm, Kathy calls me frantically explaining that her bedroom ceiling had fallen down. She thought a tree had fallen on the house. Of course, I was very alarmed by this and went out immediately.

It was still raining hard by the time I got there, but there was no tree on or near the house. I climbed the roof and found 2 missing shingles near the ridge. I made a temporary fix until my roofer could get out. That still left me with a big ceiling project. The water damage had spread into an adjoining bedroom and it was going to take several sheets of drywall to replace the damaged sections.

This big project could have been a much smaller project if they had let us know earlier about the water issue. A ceiling doesn't normally fall down overnight. After some questioning, I found out that it had leaked for several weeks, but they didn't want to bother us with it since it was so minor. Yikes.

I reassured them that it was OK to let us know these things because we want to maintain the home. Suspicious that there might be other issues, I asked her what else was wrong with the home. Well, they hadn't been able to use the bathroom sink in a few months because the faucet was leaking onto the floor. Also, everytime they do laundry or run the dishwasher, the waste water backs into the basement. Double...triple yikes.

Learn from my mistake and insist on a yearly inspection!

David Artigliere has been a landlord since 1997 and a home inspector in Reading & surrounding with ARTI Home Inspections LLC since 2001.

Looking for a Rental? Well, calculate the security deposit and first/last months rent and I'm sure you'll agree that you can OWN this home for less than that rental!

What a great price for this fabulous home. Only $1,100 down and a monthly payment of $433.16 makes YOU the owner of this beautiful 5 bedroom end unit home. Completely remodeled, you don't have to do anything but pack your bags and move in. The living room is a nice size and there's even a seperate dining room for those holiday guests. The kitchen comes complete with new oak cabinets, newer appliances and a seperate pantry. You don't have to worry about where to put your computer since the home has an office. There's even off-street parking. This home is the complete package. Hurry and call today to schedule an appointment to see this beauty. Price: $55,000

913 Robeson Street Reading, PA