House flipping is still pretty popular, but as more and more people discover that the whole flipping enterprise is not as easy as the television shows make it out to be, less are getting brave enough to venture into it. Anyone that does their research and makes informed decisions before trying to flip a property should do just fine in this business, but as some shows will let you know, not everyone falls into this category. If you are seriously thinking about getting into flipping homes for some quick cash, you have got a lot of homework ahead of you.
Take some real estate classes at your local community college if they are available. If they are not, no one says that you have to have a degree in real estate to flip a house. Get online and do your research there, but make sure the sources are credible.
Researching the rules of real estate for your local area is not the only thing you need to do; you will also want to do quite a bit of research into the more handy aspects of the project. Outsourcing all the work that needs to be done to the home will eat up your profit a lot faster than you think it would, so consider trying to do a lot of the simpler things yourself. You may not be able to do the electrical and plumbing work on your own, but painting the interior is something that most people have the physical and mental ability to do.
Some of the more hidden troubles you may run into are mold and water damage, which tend to go hand in hand. Where there is water damage that has been left untended to, there is often mold growth and this will shine a definite negative light on your property when you put it on the market if it is not taken care of. Your property should be virtually unblemished at the time you put it up for sale. Make sure that the property is mold free if you want the highest return on your efforts and be ready to prove it with a certificate from a mold inspector. Most home buyers will not even consider a home contaminated with mold.
If there is water damage to the home, figure out if it was caused by something natural such as a flood or an accident or if it was something to do with the plumbing. If the home is very old, consider updating the plumbing system with a more efficient one to prevent future problems.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Texas Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors and
Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Remove Mold, Do Not Just Kill It
Unfortunately, when most people think about mold and mildew in their homes, they immediately want to know how they can kill it. While killing the mold can solve part of the problem and stop it from continuing to spread throughout the rest of the house, it will not stop it from affecting your health. About 29% of the population is allergic to mold or mildew (which are the same thing, in general) and even though the mold has been killed by whatever cleaner you decided to use for the job, the body still recognizes mold and its spores as something foreign that it should defend itself against.
So, if killing the mold is not the problem, then what is? Removing it completely from the property is often the only solution to be found. This can mean simply scrubbing it off a surface or removing everything in the home found to be contaminated with it. Mold that has embedded itself into a slab of drywall is extremely difficult to remove and you are often much better off simply replacing that portion of the drywall instead of trying to get rid of the mold. The mold is likely still alive in the center of the piece, so the contamination will only return to the surface, anyway.
Moldy clothes can sometimes be saved if they are not stained too badly, but items like leather that become molded are often unsalvageable due to their organic nature. The role of mold in the outdoor environment is to decompose dead organic matter and without it, dead tree stumps and carcasses from many, many years ago would still litter the forest floor, so it is a necessary part of the natural world. This does not mean that we have to allow it to thrive in our homes, though.
Where there is water damage, mold usually follows. Molds require moisture of some sort to survive and grow and any water that is spilled in your home needs to be cleaned up as soon as possible. Mold will start to grow on moist items within about 48 hours, so getting it cleaned within this timeframe is recommended. Try to prevent plumbing leaks and wet floors and walls as much as you can and keep the humidity in your home down to help prevent mold growth.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
North Carolina Basement water damage restoration and other states and cities such as
New Jersey Basement water damage restoration companies across the united states.
So, if killing the mold is not the problem, then what is? Removing it completely from the property is often the only solution to be found. This can mean simply scrubbing it off a surface or removing everything in the home found to be contaminated with it. Mold that has embedded itself into a slab of drywall is extremely difficult to remove and you are often much better off simply replacing that portion of the drywall instead of trying to get rid of the mold. The mold is likely still alive in the center of the piece, so the contamination will only return to the surface, anyway.
Moldy clothes can sometimes be saved if they are not stained too badly, but items like leather that become molded are often unsalvageable due to their organic nature. The role of mold in the outdoor environment is to decompose dead organic matter and without it, dead tree stumps and carcasses from many, many years ago would still litter the forest floor, so it is a necessary part of the natural world. This does not mean that we have to allow it to thrive in our homes, though.
Where there is water damage, mold usually follows. Molds require moisture of some sort to survive and grow and any water that is spilled in your home needs to be cleaned up as soon as possible. Mold will start to grow on moist items within about 48 hours, so getting it cleaned within this timeframe is recommended. Try to prevent plumbing leaks and wet floors and walls as much as you can and keep the humidity in your home down to help prevent mold growth.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
North Carolina Basement water damage restoration and other states and cities such as
New Jersey Basement water damage restoration companies across the united states.
Preventing Water and Fire Damage to Your Documents
It does not matter if you are single, married, divorced, with children or without, you have documents in your home that carry your legal life on their pages. We all have a number of different legal and binding documents that we need to keep safe, but most of us simply put these in a drawer or in a plastic bin of some kind or perhaps even a simple manila folder. No matter which of these that you choose, your documents are not really safe from anything. Bank statements, binding contracts, past tax records, homeowner’s insurance policies, life insurance, health insurance, and many, many other documents that you may have in that area are not protected from natural disasters such as fires or floods. Think of what would happen if you were to lose these. What kind of legal trouble could you be in if you could not find some of these?
The answer to this is a waterproof and fireproof safe. No matter what disaster strikes your home, you will need to have a copy of your homeowner’s insurance and you will want to be sure that it is safe. The only real way to do this is to have a safe that is capable of withstanding these kinds of events. Even though most water damaged papers can be saved, most fire damaged papers cannot be, simply because there is often not enough of them left to save. Unless the fire is a light one and you are able to get to the items before they catch it, odds are good that they will be lost.
All kinds of nasty things lurk in flood waters and you really do not want to have to handle these papers when they are possibly contaminated with all kinds of bacteria, viruses, chemicals, and even sewage. You will have to throw away most items that become contaminated with these things, since they will be very difficult to clean.
Having a fireproof and waterproof safe will not only protect your papers from fire and floods, but also from mold growth. Mold often starts to grow on papers that have been moist for over 48 hours or even less and this growth will eat them.
You may not be able to prevent water or fire damage in the majority of the rest of your home, but your documents will be kept safe. Consider purchasing a safe to hold your documents in, just in case the unthinkable happens.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
New York water damage restoration and other states and cities such as
New York Basement Water Removal companies across the united states.
The answer to this is a waterproof and fireproof safe. No matter what disaster strikes your home, you will need to have a copy of your homeowner’s insurance and you will want to be sure that it is safe. The only real way to do this is to have a safe that is capable of withstanding these kinds of events. Even though most water damaged papers can be saved, most fire damaged papers cannot be, simply because there is often not enough of them left to save. Unless the fire is a light one and you are able to get to the items before they catch it, odds are good that they will be lost.
All kinds of nasty things lurk in flood waters and you really do not want to have to handle these papers when they are possibly contaminated with all kinds of bacteria, viruses, chemicals, and even sewage. You will have to throw away most items that become contaminated with these things, since they will be very difficult to clean.
Having a fireproof and waterproof safe will not only protect your papers from fire and floods, but also from mold growth. Mold often starts to grow on papers that have been moist for over 48 hours or even less and this growth will eat them.
You may not be able to prevent water or fire damage in the majority of the rest of your home, but your documents will be kept safe. Consider purchasing a safe to hold your documents in, just in case the unthinkable happens.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
New York water damage restoration and other states and cities such as
New York Basement Water Removal companies across the united states.
Killing Mold is Not the True Answer
When most homeowners find mold in their homes, the first question that they typically ask themselves is “how do I kill it?”. This is not exactly the correct question that you should be asking yourself if you find the same problem in your home, because mold is literally everywhere. We will never be able to totally get rid of the mold in our homes or our air, but what we can do is reduce the amount that we breathe in to the point that it has no affect on our health.
The question that you need to be asking yourself is how to clean up the infestation that exists in your home to the point where it will not cause you any problems. Even dead mold and dead mold spores can cause allergic reactions, even though they are not able to grow anymore. Touching it can still give you rashes, because the body still recognizes it as something that it is allergic to, whether it is alive or dead.
What does not work is bleach. This will work on hard surfaces like tile or linoleum, but when it comes to porous surfaces such as drywall, it is not generally effective. It will not always be able to reach the whole infection in the drywall and if the mold has infected the whole depth of the board, no amount of bleach is going to get deep enough into the drywall to get rid of it. Many times you have to physically remove the infection by getting rid of the building materials that have it on them. This can be drywall, wooden beams, clothes, or anything else organic in your home.
Hire a mold inspector to come to your house if you suspect that there might be mold on your property. If it is visible to you, then you can go to the next step and hire someone to remove it for you or if you know anything about construction and interior remodeling, you can probably do it on your own. Make sure you have the proper equipment, though, so you can do it safely. Respirators with HEPA filters attached to them are best and having disposable coveralls made of plastic will also help. Latex gloves, shoe covers, and some duct tape to seal up the gaps in your suit are necessary, as well.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Connecticut water damage contractors and other states and cities such as
Chicago mold remediation companies across the united states.
The question that you need to be asking yourself is how to clean up the infestation that exists in your home to the point where it will not cause you any problems. Even dead mold and dead mold spores can cause allergic reactions, even though they are not able to grow anymore. Touching it can still give you rashes, because the body still recognizes it as something that it is allergic to, whether it is alive or dead.
What does not work is bleach. This will work on hard surfaces like tile or linoleum, but when it comes to porous surfaces such as drywall, it is not generally effective. It will not always be able to reach the whole infection in the drywall and if the mold has infected the whole depth of the board, no amount of bleach is going to get deep enough into the drywall to get rid of it. Many times you have to physically remove the infection by getting rid of the building materials that have it on them. This can be drywall, wooden beams, clothes, or anything else organic in your home.
Hire a mold inspector to come to your house if you suspect that there might be mold on your property. If it is visible to you, then you can go to the next step and hire someone to remove it for you or if you know anything about construction and interior remodeling, you can probably do it on your own. Make sure you have the proper equipment, though, so you can do it safely. Respirators with HEPA filters attached to them are best and having disposable coveralls made of plastic will also help. Latex gloves, shoe covers, and some duct tape to seal up the gaps in your suit are necessary, as well.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Connecticut water damage contractors and other states and cities such as
Chicago mold remediation companies across the united states.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Moldy Fabric Cleaning Methods
There is hardly a person in the world that hasn’t gone through their wardrobe and discovered that one favorite shirt of theirs from their younger days. And then the moment is ruined upon the discovery of a fuzzy substance on the shirt. If you found this shirt in the back of your closet, then you should go wash your hands, because the shirt has been infected with mold and touching mold spores with your bare hands can be very hazardous for your health. There are several medical problems that could arise from contact with mold. Some of these problems are skin rashes, allergic reactions, runny noses, and the like.
If you do have articles of clothing which contain mold, don’t worry because most molded clothing can be cleaned as good as new. However, the mold can end up leaving stains. Bleach can be a very effective form of mold removal. However, this usually works best when cleaning white clothing. Other effective cleaning methods include using a scrub brush, which can remove a good deal of the mold and then place a pre-wash spray on it. Allow this spray to soak for roughly forty five minutes and then put it into the washing machine. It is very important that you allow these clothes to dry naturally in the sun. If you were to use some artificial source of heat, then the stain could set in even deeper in the fabric, and the sun can help further the bleaching process white clothing.
While regular clothing is easy to have mold removed from, you may have no such luck with genuine leather or cowhide. These types of items are easily susceptible to being discolored beyond repair. Most of these items are incapable of being restored, and they are probably better left in the garbage.
However, upholstery and curtains that have come in contact with mold can be cleaned using the same aforementioned methods as described above. It is important that you also purchase a vacuum cleaner that has a HEPA filter in it in order to accommodate a mold free home. If you use this vacuum and its brush attachments to gather up all of the mold and its consequential spores, the filter will prevent these spores from being re-released. This will prevent from having to repeat this process or, perhaps even worse, have to throw out more clothing.
Jim Corkern is a writer and respected contributor to the Water damage restoration and mold remediation Industry. Visit his sites for more information.
http://www.floodingnc.info
http://www.floodnj.info
If you do have articles of clothing which contain mold, don’t worry because most molded clothing can be cleaned as good as new. However, the mold can end up leaving stains. Bleach can be a very effective form of mold removal. However, this usually works best when cleaning white clothing. Other effective cleaning methods include using a scrub brush, which can remove a good deal of the mold and then place a pre-wash spray on it. Allow this spray to soak for roughly forty five minutes and then put it into the washing machine. It is very important that you allow these clothes to dry naturally in the sun. If you were to use some artificial source of heat, then the stain could set in even deeper in the fabric, and the sun can help further the bleaching process white clothing.
While regular clothing is easy to have mold removed from, you may have no such luck with genuine leather or cowhide. These types of items are easily susceptible to being discolored beyond repair. Most of these items are incapable of being restored, and they are probably better left in the garbage.
However, upholstery and curtains that have come in contact with mold can be cleaned using the same aforementioned methods as described above. It is important that you also purchase a vacuum cleaner that has a HEPA filter in it in order to accommodate a mold free home. If you use this vacuum and its brush attachments to gather up all of the mold and its consequential spores, the filter will prevent these spores from being re-released. This will prevent from having to repeat this process or, perhaps even worse, have to throw out more clothing.
Jim Corkern is a writer and respected contributor to the Water damage restoration and mold remediation Industry. Visit his sites for more information.
http://www.floodingnc.info
http://www.floodnj.info
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