I learn something new everyday. Last week one of my clients had a home inspected on which they made an offer. Everything seemed to be going smoothly… then he dropped this bomb on us. ” The heater is a consolidated type with NOx RODS.” The rest of us looked at each other blankly. “This type of furnace has been recalled because it is know to combust and burned people homes down” – just what the client wants to hear! From a sales point of view, this could be a deal- killer. From a safety standpoint, this could save people’s lives.
Do an internet search on Nox Rods and you will be amazed at the long list of warnings. For us, I was able to negotiate with the seller to hire an HVAC specialist to give this unit a “good bill of health” and their stamp of approval, since not all Nox Rod furnaces are created equal. If not safe, they said that they would replace it. Also it re-enforces the premise, just because homes are sold “as-is” and the seller states up front that they will do no repairs… “health and safety” always trumps that rigmarole.
Enjoy,
Keith Klassen
Real Estate Broker
for distinctiveness or convenience of locale, people should spend a good amount of time getting a feel for where they are buying and what they are buying into. When I purchased my first home in Sacramento, I knew that I was not just buying a house, but a neighborhood too. I just had a gut feeling that my little East Sac. home and neighborhood was a winner, even though I did not know much about it. However, I found out, over time, the people no my street kept to themselves and were a bit cold. At the first meeting of my direct neighbor I said, “Hey, we’re thinking about having a BBQ to get to know everyone on the street. I’ll let you know when we plan it.” She quickly replied, “Oh, we won’t be coming to that.” I was speechless. “Uhhh, okay. I guess I’ll see you around.” I couldn’t believe it!
I’ll never forget the first woman I spoke with… “Are you looking to buy that house?” the neighbor asked. “Yes, we are in contract,” I replied. She went on to introduce herself and tell me all about the neighborhood. The former owners told us that they were saddened to leave because they’d grown so close to their neighbors. The evening we finally got everything moved in, our neighbor across the street brought us freshly baked cookies and apologized for only bringing a particle ½ gallon of milk! The next day a man from down the street dropped off brownies he made for us. A few weeks later our other neighbor gave us a bundle of kindling for fire wood. After only several weeks I knew we had move onto a unique and special street.
The word “porch” originally derived from “the Latin word porticus, or the Greek word portico, both of which signify the columned entry to a Classical temple”(Kahn 1). As history unfolded and the Middle Ages arrived, the porch came to represent a cathedral’s vestibule, “where worshippers could gather to socialize before and after the service”(Kahn 2). By Victorian times, the word “porch” became interchangeably used with the words “veranda,” “piazza,” “loggia,” and “portico,” each of which could connote individual meanings. From this period until the second half of the nineteenth century, “the word ‘porch’ itself most often described a small, enclosed vestibule or covered rear entrance” (Kahn 1). At this time, at the end of the nineteenth century, the word “porch” began to represent its present meaning. This meaning, in its American sense, generally refers to a “roofed, but incompletely walled living area”(McAlester 52) contiguously attached to the frame of a house. Generally, in America, this area would be found attached to the front of a house, offering a covered and shaded area for an array of uses and would be known as the American front porch.
Sacramento Real Estate Reflections 