Squirrel Damage & $20,000 Regrets

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Nobody wants to shell out $20,000 to repair damage that could have been prevented with a simple home maintenance inspection. Yet, that's exactly what happened to one Ohio couple who discovered their attic had been devastated by squirrels, leaks, and chewed electrical wires – a disaster that began with a small, easily fixable entry point.

Throughout this eye-opening episode, Jim and Laura from Habitation Investigation discuss the growing trend of maintenance inspections beyond real estate transactions. They share compelling examples of how these preventative checkups have helped homeowners avoid catastrophic expenses. From insurance companies threatening to drop coverage over roof conditions to contractors completing substandard work, regular inspections serve as an essential safeguard for your biggest investment.

The hosts explain that most homeowners, particularly first-time buyers, don't know what to look for in attics or crawl spaces, or even realize basic maintenance requirements like gutter cleaning. According to EPA studies, approximately 85% of homes contain rodent allergens, making pest intrusion a nearly universal concern. While standard home inspections don't specifically target pest control, experienced inspectors often identify early warning signs of infestation and direct homeowners to appropriate specialists before damage escalates.

For just a few hundred dollars every 2-3 years, homeowners can potentially save thousands in emergency repairs. Consider gifting a maintenance inspection to new homeowners in your family or elderly parents – it provides both peace of mind and a prioritized to-do list. Your home deserves this level of care and attention. Schedule your maintenance inspection today through HomeInspectionsInOhio.com and protect your investment before you're faced with an expensive, preventable disaster.

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To learn more about Habitation Investigation, the Two-time Winner of the Best Home Inspection Company in the Midwest Plus the Winner of Consumer Choice Award for Columbus Ohio visit Home Inspection Columbus Ohio - Habitation Investigation (homeinspectionsinohio.com)


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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Standing Out in Ohio podcast,
where we discuss topics,upcoming events, news and
predictions with real estateprofessionals and entrepreneurs.
Listen and learn what makestheir companies and themselves
stand out and gain advantagesover the competition and gain
market share.
Subscribe for the latest newsand discussion on what it takes

(00:23):
to stand out from the crowd.
Now here's your host, jim.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Habitation investigation is the way to go
for a home inspection in Ohio.
Trusted licensed homeinspectors for your needs from
radon to mold to warranties Fora great home inspection, you
really can't go wrong.

(00:51):
Visit HomeInspectionsInOhiocom.

Speaker 3 (00:56):
Hey everybody, welcome to the Standing Out and
Hot Podcast.
This is Jim and Laura.

Speaker 4 (01:01):
Hello everyone.

Speaker 3 (01:02):
Alright, so we've been talking about building
maintenance inspections, we'vebeen pushing maintenance and
Laura, hello, everyone All right, so we've been talking about
people doing maintenanceinspections.

Speaker 4 (01:08):
We've been pushing maintenance inspections because
we see a trend.

Speaker 3 (01:13):
Yes, yes, and we have gotten quite a few more people
this year well, I'll say lastsix months than we ever really
had people, because you know,hiring for inspections Usually
people talk about, hey, it's forwhen you're buying a house
right, it's for real estatetransaction.

Speaker 4 (01:29):
We've been getting calls for um confirmation for
roofing for insurance companiesthat were trying to drop clients
.
We've been doing for um whencompanies come out and do work.
We've been doing inspections tomake sure that the work was
done correctly before they werepaid.
Yes, and we've started to do alot for maintenance inspections,

(01:52):
just because yeah, because,like radon EPA will tell you if
you have a radon system.

Speaker 3 (02:00):
You need to get your house tested every two years,
and we agree that's about thesame thing with home inspections
you should get your houseinspected every two to three
years.
You'd be at something aboutthree years for radon.
I think what it was If therewas a system.
If there is a system, get itchecked every two years.

(02:21):
If I remember right it was everytwo years and they did not need
a radon system before, maybeevery three because I figured,
all right, it's low in the firstplace.
If you go a year and it didn'twork, you're maybe not risking a
whole lot, but every two tothree years you should have your
home re-inspected or looked atwell, and you've got all these
kids now who are buying a house.

Speaker 4 (02:44):
They don't know what to look at in an attic or a
crawl space, they don't knowwhat needs fixed, so maintenance
inspection will help give themthat honeydew list.
Okay, you need to do this.
You need to work on the gradingaround your house, you need to
extend your gutters and yourdownspouts, or, you know, maybe
you need a new roof, becauseyou've got this huge leak here

(03:07):
and it's going to get worse, orthe story we heard recently.
That's yes, Elder couple.

Speaker 3 (03:14):
They own their house for quite a while.
Okay, and come to find out theyhave about $20,000 worth of
damage up in their attic spacebecause of squirrels and leaks
and electrical wires that werechewed by the squirrels.
It sounds like, yeah, so homeinspectors, or Ohio licensed

(03:39):
home inspectors we're not pestinspectors like rodents or
general bugs.
Maybe we'll just try an insectAll of our inspectors get
licensed for that, but not everyhomeless spectra is.
But if we're up in an attic andwe see a big old nest, we're
going to let you know.
We're going to let you knowabout that.

Speaker 4 (03:59):
You need to have somebody come out and check out
that nest.

Speaker 3 (04:03):
This couple.
I like them about that.
You need to have somebody comeout and check out that nest,
yeah.
So, hey, this couple I like.

Speaker 4 (04:07):
And and they're, and they're another couple and at
this point they don't have whatthey had when they were younger.
They don't have 20 000 to justshow out.
And well, take care of you andI don't.

Speaker 3 (04:19):
I don't know their circumstances, but nobody shell
out $20,000 to clean up asquirrel, mess Right and replace
wires.

Speaker 4 (04:29):
It could have been prevented a couple years ago by
a couple hundred dollarinspection.

Speaker 3 (04:34):
Yes, yes, so it could have been caught really early,
like hey, you got a little holehere and I saw a little squirrel
moving through there.
I see some mess materials.

Speaker 4 (04:44):
You need to get somebody out.

Speaker 3 (04:45):
And take care of that , because the squirrels multiply
like bunny rabbits, they canmultiply.
Yes, yes, they can do that.
And then also such raccoonsjust tear the shit out of the
insulation.
I've seen ductwork in an atticthat was completely ripped open

(05:09):
and it just ruined everything upin this attic.
So everything has to be removed, everything in that attic, and
replaced, because it was just sonasty up there.
But, man, you could have just afew hundred dollars worth of
repairs, maybe a thousanddollars worth of repairs, maybe
a thousand dollars worth ofrepairs, or 20 000 or 20 000 if
you let it ignore and let it go.

(05:29):
So always get the maintenanceinspection done every two to
three years.
Nobody wants to pay.
Hey, let me spend four hundreddollars to get an inspection
done.
Five, 500, 600, depends on allyou haven't done and the size of
your house.
But, man, that is vastlysignificant than paying $20,000

(05:51):
or $10,000 for the repair workwhich will result if you are not
aware of the issues and thoseissues are allowed to continue.
Like squirrels, raccoon, miceand there are some pest control
companies.
You get a few mice up in theattic space, which is common.

(06:13):
What was it?

Speaker 4 (06:14):
like 85% of all houses have some type of mice,
something like that.

Speaker 3 (06:18):
Yeah, EPA did a study years ago.
They looked for rodentallergens.
Rodents I mean mice rats,squirrels, bunnies, Rabbits are
rodents also, but they would notbe in their attic.

Speaker 4 (06:33):
I hope not, I'd like to know how they got up there
yeah, well, wow, I tell you astory about snakes yeah, well,
snakes are different than abuddy anyway epa did a study
looking for rodent allergens andit was 80.

Speaker 3 (06:46):
Some percent of all that, I think it was 82 of all
the houses they looked at hadrodent allergens in them.
So it's extremely common formice rats, rodents to get inside
a house, especially when fallcomes, Like hey, they need
someplace warm and they go.
You know what?
Every now and then I smellcheese downstairs, so the house
is a perfect place for mice togo.

Speaker 4 (07:08):
Well, here was one of my thoughts.
You have an older couple, momand dad.
They're getting up in years andyou know they buyer, like maybe
your kid just bought a houseand you know like it's a year or

(07:38):
two in and you know they'recompletely clueless.
Get them a home inspection forChristmas, get them that list so
that they know what to fix, andit helps educate them too, so
that they know oh, this is whatI need to do every year.

Speaker 3 (07:54):
I need to work on this, I need to do this and it
starts slowly teaching them howto take care of things
themselves there was an agentyou talked to and he was trying
to help his client, his buyer,who did not know you would need
to get a ladder to reach thegutters, to clean out theters,
as if there's some magicalbutton you have to push once a

(08:15):
year to clean them out.

Speaker 4 (08:17):
But no, physically, you have to get up there, you
have to get a ladder and youhave to scoop it out.

Speaker 3 (08:21):
There are some tools you can use, like a hose, a
little power wash, a hose hookthing.
Yeah, like a hook that has watersquirts on it.
You're going to get dressed ifyou use it.
You're going to get dressed ifyou use them, though You're
going to get wet.
I'd rather just reach out thereand pull stuff out.
But anyway, maintenanceinspection is very important.
Get it done so you don't havejust lots of messy stuff to deal

(08:45):
with.
That will be expensive.
I was saying earlier, I gottangents.
You Pest control companiesoften, even though there's a
little bit of mice in there, ohyes, They'll tell you.
You need to replace it all.
We need to replace all theinsulation, Do you really?
I mean, if you want to beabsolutely certain there's no
hantavirus which comes from thedroppings of rodents, if you

(09:09):
want to make sure and bats batsare rodents also.
Yes, they are I like bats.
If you want to make certainthere's nothing, no hantavirus.
They will often tell you weneed to take out all the
insulation.

Speaker 4 (09:24):
And that does make sense to me.
But, there should also be a wayto test to see if that virus is
in those droppings there couldbe, or there's a company that we
know of that does animalwildlife removal.

Speaker 3 (09:39):
They can spray it, fog it with a disinfectant to
kill the viruses.
To me that makes so much moresense.

Speaker 4 (09:45):
Yeah, it's not like we live up in the attics
typically.
It's not like the air is sharedwith the attic and the
downstairs typically should notbe you know, you know.
So the decontamination or thesterilization of all of the
viruses there, that makes senseto me and it can save people

(10:05):
money oh, yep, definitely, andit's outside.

Speaker 3 (10:09):
just so everybody knows it's outside the scope of
a home inspection.
To look for little tinyopenings for mice, like minimus
conditions, is not the scope ofan inspection, no.

Speaker 4 (10:22):
We are unusual, I think, in that we will mention
if we see evidence of rodentsand we'll say, hey, if it's on
this level, it's probablyelsewhere.
I don't think other companiesdo that necessarily.
We do it just because it's partof our education for our
clients.
Hey, you need to check this out, contact somebody that can do

(10:42):
this, because we can't.
But you need to be careful andcheck that out because chances
are you will have an animalproblem at some point.

Speaker 3 (10:53):
Oh yeah, you have a house there's winter.
Oh yeah, well, you have a housethere's winter.

Speaker 4 (10:56):
This is Ohio.
There'll be a mouse in thehouse.
There will be a mouse in thehouse, all right.

Speaker 3 (10:59):
Thank you everybody, all right, bye-bye.

Speaker 1 (11:02):
Bye.
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(11:25):
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