Home Maintenance Insights

Welcome to Guardian Guide - An Information Source for Your Home, Your Business and Your Clients

Thank you for subscribing to the Guardian Guide - an extension of Guardian Real Estate Inspections. As with any new endeavor, I would like to introduce myself and provide a little bit of my background and why I started my home inspection business.

Jose Colon, Owner and Lead Home Inspector

My passion for residential and commercial buildings developed during my childhood as a member of a military family. From birth until I turned 18, my family relocated at least 15 times. During those years, we likely viewed several hundred houses across three states and two countries. When I was 19, I joined the military and added to my relocation (NC,NJ,MA,AL) and real estate viewings exponentially. I've lived in apartments, condos, custom-built homes, dormitories, government housing, manufactured homes, rental homes, and site-built houses. I haven't lived in every type of home, but I've seen quite a bit!

I was fortunate enough to purchase my first home when I was 25. It was a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom single family home in Alabama. There's nothing like the "first home feels". I did learn two important lessons from my amazing real estate agent: 1. "Jose, don't fall in love with your first house. Remember, it's an investment." and 2. "Always, always, ALWAYS! Get a home inspection".(Ha! I bet you're thinking that's a sales pitch right? Not quite. But I digress.)

He was right. That first home was not my last home, and I sold it twelve years later. There were a lot of memories made in that house, but there were a lot of things I learned about owning my own home too! Namely, maintenance. Whether no one told me, or I didn't listen (most likely), owning a home takes both money and work.

What's the point of this?

It is impossible to know everything going on with our home at any given time. The dishwasher, clothes washer, and shower can be running at the same time. The microwave, oven, and stove are being used. The refrigerator and HVAC system are operating. Those are easy. What about the roof? Is it "roofing" the way it should? Are the windows "windowing"? How bout that foundation, siding and trim? Or that pesky plumbing or sticky septic?

The items we see and use are obvious, but the things we take for granted - foundation, plumbing, septic and siding - those are the biggest, most expensive replacement items of our homes. And from my experience in the home inspection profession, they're the most neglected.

Damaged insulation and hanging ductwork in a poorly maintained crawlspace highlight significant moisture issues.

My goal is to continue serving you throughout your home ownership - whether Guardian Real Estate Inspections inspected it or not. The Guardian Guide will be posted monthly with recommendations for you regarding your home, and how to keep it healthy and your family and you happy!

Welcome to Home Maintenance!

First off, if I had the pleasure of meeting and serving you as a client or real estate agent, thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This blog is for you!

Past clients and agents have heard me say: "Everyone likes me until I get out of the crawlspace". And yes, I'm crazy enough to admit in writing a home's crawlspace is my favorite place! Why? Because if the crawlspace is healthy, I get to welcome my clients to their new or "new-to-them" home, and that makes me a happy home inspector.

Lastly, if you haven't yet, please subscribe to the Guardian Guide Blog. I like to stay connected with my clients, so please feel free to leave a comment or question! Who knows, I may use it as a blog topic in the future!