Posted on by James

Rise of Importing Products?

Are Building Material Imports on the Rise?

When the housing boom happened back in 2004, the demand for building supplies rose drastically above the available quantity. Things like flooring, steel, and drywall quickly ran out, and construction companies began turning to overseas supplies to fill the void. What happened next was something unheard of. Chinese companies shipped millions of tons of drywall into the United States (mainly Florida), which were tainted with toxic chemicals. Those chemicals quickly made people sick and it became clear the drywall was the cause.

Despite the health risks, many companies still do import materials from overseas in order to cut costs, which is something that could be potentially dangerous for consumers. Furthermore, if the housing market continues to trend upward, it is likely that supply will once again fall below the demand, and there will be nowhere else to turn but to offshore companies to get the materials.

Now, we are not saying that all imported material is bad. Some of it is great, and there are a lot of good companies out there that want to do business at a high level and standard of quality. However, if you are a company considering importing merchandise, we suggest you read about the pros and cons of importing materials first.

Posted on by James

How Mold Can Throw a Wrench in Your Home Sale

Buying or Selling Real Estate – With Mold

Nothing scares home buyers away faster than discovering the dream home they were just about to hand over a bunch of cash for has a mold infestation. While some mold strains are more harmful than others, at the end of the day they are all the same to potential buyers. Because of this, you will want to be sure to cover yourself in the event that you find mold in the building you were planning on selling. You can start with these simple steps below.

Get an Inspection! It’s Better Than Finding out Later

Mold will grow just about anywhere there is moisture, which means it can probably be found in just about any home in the United States. With this knowledge, it is highly advisable to bite the bullet and get a mold inspection done before you complete the sale of the property. While mold inspections aren’t cheap, paying to have one done will save you money in the long run if mold were to be found and you had done nothing. There are plenty of companies to turn to for inspections, and your best bet would be to find a national business with a branch in your area. You can find a list of mold removal company locations here. Simply call one of these companies and ask them to do a preliminary inspection of your home.

The reasoning behind this is that if someone purchases your property and finds that there is a mold problem you didn’t disclose, you could be faced with a pricy lawsuit. It is best (in this authors opinion) to simply get an inspection, document it thoroughly, and let the potential buyer know it was done.

If you need an inspection, Toxic Mold USA provides lists of local companies that will be able to handle this for you!

I Found Mold. Now What?

If you find mold, it isn’t the end of the world. In fact, I recently sold a building that had a mold issue but, because of the step above this one, I found it before the sale. This really saved me because it turned out to be pretty extensive and, while the cost of remediation was high, was worth it to get rid of before the sale was made. After the inspection came back with the bad news, I called up a remediation company in NYC and they took care of the rest. I documented everything and made sure the buyer was aware of the fact that there was mold but that it had been totally remediated. Their home inspector did his tour and found everything was good to go, and they went through with the purchase.

The thing that made this sale successful was not that I had taken care of the mold, but that the company I used had identified the source (leak in the basement) and had fixed that as well. This decreases the likelihood that the mold will come back from that specific source, which is what the buyers really cared about.

Document and be Completely Upfront

Documentation is one of the keys to making sure everything is on the up and up and both buyer and seller know the situation. Leaving a paper trail not only covers you if something goes wrong down the line, but also gives the buyer peace of mind knowing you are doing your part to make sure everything is as it should be.

The bottom line is that you should always be upfront with your buyer and do your bit to ensure the property they are buying is in the condition they think it is when they showed interest in purchasing it. This is not only ethical, but is just a staple of good business, and will save both parties from a lot of headaches after the transaction is complete.

Posted on by James

Full Home Water Filters

Water filters are becoming less of a survivalist hobby and more of a commonplace in homes across the United States. With recent water crisis’ making headlines, more Americans are searching for water purification solutions that will protect them when government water cleaning methods fail. Residential water filters have been around for a long time, but with the new demand, research end development of these systems has increased tenfold. In this post we will be discussing various water filtration methods for your home, including everything from standalone systems to full-home coverage.

Standalone Water Filters

Standalone water filters were arguably made popular by the Brita filter. Released a couple years ago, the Brita became a popular household item, but was seen as more of a fad rather than something that could increase your health benefits. Indeed, many studies have shown that the Brita does not actually filter too much out of your water, but rather just makes it taste a little bit better. Another highly popular system is the Berkey Filter, which filters out over 99.9% of pollutants in your water (according to http://epicgifts.net). This level of filtration comes at a cost however, as the Berkey’s carbon filters are indiscriminate, and cannot tell between what is a pollutant and what is actually a beneficial mineral. These two products represent the two sides of the spectrum when it comes to household filters, and while there are many amazing water filtration systems on the market, it is ultimately up to the consumer to decide what level of coverage they need.

Full-House Water Filters

Alternatively, homeowners may choose to procure a system that provides the whole house with coverage. These full-house water filters will intercept and filter all water before it enters the house, so that everything from the shower to the kitchen sink is filtered. While they range in price from hundreds to thousands of dollars, these systems are great investments for homeowners who are wary of recent events (such as the Flint water crisis and the most recent incident in Corpus Christi) and do not want to take any chances. To illustrate how these systems work, we have included an informational video below with more information, buying options, and pros and cons of each type of filter.


The bottom line for homeowners is that even if you live in an affluent nation where water has always been considered a given, there are still cases where it can become highly contaminated. Many Americans have evidently picked up on this, and are searching for backup measures just in case. Don’t be caught unprepared, shop around and find a system that works for your needs today.

Posted on by James

Real Estate Locksmiths in Cheektowaga NY

Why do you Need a Good Locksmith?

Finding a good locksmith is goes further than simply calling them the first time you need them. Once you have a reliable service, it is imperative that you hold onto their number just in case you end up needing them in the future. In this post, we will discuss how to find a locksmith in Cheektowaga, NY and why it is so vitally important to keep them on retainer if you are a real estate professional.

The Best Way to Find a Locksmith

The best way to find a locksmith is undeniably through Google. You can either find a list of local locksmiths, or call individual companies and inquire about their services. Be careful when doing the latter however, as there have been a recent upsurge in false locksmith listings posted on the web. Calling these services will direct you to a call center, who will then send you a local contractor to do the job. The issue with these types of services is that the contractors are usually not trained, and sometimes not even licensed. There have also been cases where the price quoted over the phone is up charged by up to ten times the going rate of services by the contractor, leaving customers feeling cheated and understandably disgruntled. Locksmith directories are a great way to quickly find a reliable service, and there are a number which show statewide providers. A simple search can give you a list of the locksmiths in New York, for example, and then you can weed down the results to your specific area from there.

Below is a video showing what a locksmith scam can look like:

How do you Tell if a Locksmith is Reliable?

Locksmiths are required to get certified in the State of New York, and it is important to get their credentials before you have them work for you. They will often also be verified by reputable organizations such as the BBB, Yelp, and others so make sure you check their online profiles to insure you are getting someone on the up and up. Another great way to verify is to check if they have a physical location and, more importantly, if that location actually exists. Scammers will make false listings at a bogus address, in an attempt to fool clients into believing they are local. This again will lead to potentially unsavory characters showing up to do the work for you. Unfortunately, when you are locked out of your car or home, you may not have the time to go through all these checks. In this case, you will want to verify their authenticity when they arrive at your location. If they show up without a name tag, in an unmarked car, or seem unprofessional, this is usually a bad sign. If this is the case, simply tell them you do not need their services and do not pay them. Hiring a bad locksmith can not only cost you more, but also give criminals the chance to copy your keys, scope out your home, or intentionally extort you for more money.