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Show Home Magazine, THE DAILY HERALD, Friday, September 20, 1996 Page 2 iaMy retrofits prevent imp rjb save Ii ves homeowner or landlord safety should be a top priority. Certified Home Inspectors are. trained to identify unsafe areas of. the home. Once safety hazards are identified they can usually be upgraded with safety retrofits. This article is the second of a two part series dealing with home safety retrofits. Please keep in mind that I am a certified home inspector and I am only making recommendations. Your attorney should be consulted for any further legal hs a questions. Banister Railings and Handrails Banister railings can present a great hazard, especially Prior to the to little children. 1970's, banister railings could have a maximum open spacing between the uprights (also referred to as balusters) of 9 inches or more. Many children were injured by falling through the gaps or by getting their heads stuck in the oversized openings. In the 1990's the maximum opening was reduced to 4 inches and that is probably where it will stay as it is the safest spacing. Many older homes still have the wider spaced balusters which require modification or. replace 1) ment ' to protect the kids. Retrofitting with small mesh netting or other protective barriers is a good investment. although some might consider them an unattractive option. Handrails need to be mounted securely to the walls in stairways. In order to test them, you should .HiclisiS Levitt Inspecting your home be able to give them a firm shove adult equal to that of a 250-poufalling against them. Many homes have firmly mounted brackets on each end of the handrail, but the support bracket in the middle is either loose or missing. This can allow the handrail to break when it is needed during a fall. 2) Spas Spas must have a secured cover or a 4 foot high fence surrounding it. The spacing oyer's agent: Good afternoon. I'd like to introduce you to the best deal in town! Meet the buyer's agent This person may spend hours working for you before you ever go to see a home. Sometimes you may wonder if it is necessary to use a Realtor when buying a home. Maria J gf Focus on Real Estate That you to decide. However, I can certainly promise that using a Realtor will more make your enjoyable, productive and safe.. Not only that, but since the commission is generally paid for by the seller, the services of a Realtor are at no cost to the buyer. (I know that you have heard that it is built into the price of the home, but homes should be listed according to market value only.) Space does not permit me to f include the transactions and details of the buyers' agent's responsibilities, but I will attempt to hit the highlights. Here's how a Realtor becomes a buyer's agent. When a buyer calls, I find out what that buyer is looking for then use die computer to "pull up" all the properties on the . market that fit in with what the is for home-shoppi- all-o- A having installed scald proof valves in a bathtub. When the water temperature is over 120 degrees Fahrenheit it can scald the skin. There are two preemptive actions that might be taken: A) Install a screw on the water heater temperature control so that it will keep it in the "Normal" range. B) Install the relatively new anti-scawater valves on sinks and tubs.' As a landlord, it is hard to control the way your tenants turn on the water, but if they get scalded you know who they are going to blame. If. 6) Carbon Monoxide your home or rental unit uses gas appliances, then adding a carbon monoxide detector should be an immediate priority. Remember the tennis star Vitas Gerulaitis who died as the result of a malfunctioning gas furnace. This happened in a guest house that he had agreed to stay in for just one night. ' 7) Aluminum Branch . Wiring Between 1965 and 1973 over 1.5 million homes were constructed with aluminum branch wiring. Many homes burned to the ground and many lives were lost due to fires started from the solid aluminum wiring connections. on the fence uprights cannot exceed 4 inches. This is to keep little ones from inadvertently injuring themselves or drowning. It is also very important that the gates or doors to the yard (don't forget the side garage door) have workdevices installed. ing This is an 3) Drapery Cords item that has long been overlooked. Breakaway cords are very inexpensive and can be retrofitted to all curtains and mini blinds. Oprah Winfrey has brought more attention to this home hazard than have any of the safety agencies by sharing family tragedies where small children have accidentally been strangled by the weight of a closing blind. 4) Garage Door Springs Many older garages still have in use door springs that do not have modem safety rod retainers. When the garage door is closed the springs are under tension. Over time, the metal fatigues and eventually fails. Without the safety rod the spring will fly when it breaks and severely damages whatever is in its path. More often than not it is the brand new car parked next to it. In 1992 the first 5) Scalding plumber was sued, and lost, for not self-closi- ld , with their original criteria. This means that a Realtor, has to be sensitive to the buyers' personalities and needs. When the right home has been found, I encourage my buyers to use their best fair offer. I personally present the Offer and subsequent counter offers to the sellers and their agent and "go to bat" for my client explaining the reasoning behind each offer so that it will be understood. Once an offer is accepted, I follow through with the loan and title company to make sure that all the wheels are turning to bring the purchase along a smooth route to closing. Every aspect of the contract must be considered to ensure the legality of the transaction. Each deal is different and requires special attention. Before closing, I review the statements for my clients, and then I attend die closing with them. My own home has always meant a lot to me, so I consider finding a home for a buyer to be a very important responsibility. I have never really kept track of how much time and monetary investment there is with working for a buyer. All I know is that it is the Realtor's job to help buyers find the best possible home for the best possible fair price. V Improvement notebook water filter for through-the-doservice models. In the PureSource For people who want to erect a refrigerators, filter reduces 94 percent like the idea of fence but don't 99 percent of chlorine and of maintenance or digging, the 99 lead, of particulates, accordpercent Genova Fence might be the to the manufacturer. ing answer. With this fence, you simHoused inside the refrigerator ply hammer metal stakes into the' with a special date indicator, the ground and place the vinyl posts filter's cartridge can be replaced over them. The lateral rails and every six months or when 200 galvertical portions of a fence lons of water have been processed. can easdepending on the style ily be connected using only a The next time you get your screwdriver or portable drilldrihands dirty with grease or paint, ver. consider using vegetable oil to The vinyl never needs painting help get them clean and .still keep and won't rust, corrode, rot or them soft . . mildew. The Genova Fence is If you must clean a heavy coatavailable in many home centers ing of paint from your' and some hardware stores For hands with a paint thinner first but use a vegetable oil second to information, call (800) remove light stains. Unlike thin- . Frigidaire refrigerators can be ner, it won't leave your hands with ice and that dried-oordered with a built-i- n feeling. By NtCK HARDER Orange County Register I 0X225-8020- .) or I think I've covered enough for one column, so with the introduc tions complete, I'll say. "Glad to meet you." Choose your Realtor carefully and best of luck m find ing your new home! Marie Shimn is a Realtor with Century 21 All Pros Jiealty in American Fork. For questions or comments on her column or to receive a free monthly newsletter, call her at 756-359- 1. P.O. 1555 North Ffoeoom Boulevard Box 717, Provo, Utah 84603)717 The Horns Magazine Is published every Friday by ; The Dally Herald side-by-si- - oil-ba- 744-450- . r JistiiebyySEs vital guide buyer's criteria. I check with the loan officer who has prequalified the buyer or recommend a few good loan officers for them to choose from. Buyers should always be prequalified to know what price range is correct, and sellers are promised that Realtors will bring only qualified buyers to their homes. We are not conducting private "Parade of Homes" tours! Sometimes a list is printed which enables the buyers to drive around to look at the homes on the list and narrow them down to those they wish to be shown. This process is used when there are a lot of homes on the market Sometimes we will go to see a few homes first and then use the list, depending on the buyers' preference. Once the buyer has designated the preferred homes, all of the listing agents are contacted to check the homes' availability and to arrange appointments. If there is time, the homes are previewed to know the exact locations and to be able to present them better to the buyer. I make a map with the designated addresses and list prices included so that it is easier to plan our route. Now we're ready to shop! As we look at homes, I ask the buyers what they like or don't like about each home and whether it is a possible choice or not This helps me to understand their preferences so that I can come to know what my buyer would "fit in" with. By doing this, I can sometimes sense when I have found the "right" home for them. A note about preferences: Often times a buyer will end up loving a home that doesn't meet Since 1 973 and through the 80's many home owners, opted to replace all of the wiring with copper at great expense. Nowadays, electricians can easily retrofit by using the existing solid aluminum wiring and splicing on copper pigtails with special connectors at the breakers, outlets, switches and fixtures for safer connections. I have also seen homes built since 1973 that have also had aluminum branch wiring. This was probably done by home owners who didn't know any better and had the wiring laying around and decided to use it. The same is true for some older homes that were remodeled during that same era. : If you are not sure of the type of wiring being used in your property you should have it inspected. If aluminum branch wiring is found, a retrofit should be performed by a licensed electrician. (Michael Leavitt is certified by the American Institute of Inspectors. He is the owner of Michael Leavitt & Co Home Inspections and serves Utah County and beyond. Column sug gestions or inspection questions are welcomed by calling his office , 0. ut Advertising: To place a classified display ad contact Doug Christensen Rhonda Orifka 344-252- .344-253- Konni Wattteworth Mikko 5 6 344-25- Skousen 344-252- 9 Deadline is noon, the Friday prior to newt Items contact Shaunna Erwin, editor To place 344-25- To ptact a elufflad Sfwurna Erwin. Doug ChrfcWroM ctt Slm ..Editor ftawMad Ad Manas ..LctaaaMed Ad.Managr Korrt WrafflawortK. .Ctaaafflad Account Ewoutivt Rhonda Ofltta MMtoSkouaan JlaiiHIad Aooounl Ewcutva |