Fuquay-Varina Bengal Proud!

I was recently asked to speak to a group of local Fuquay-Varina Middle and High School students as a business owner in the community.  I wanted to share my experiences, in hopes that more business members in our community would be inspired to volunteer. Each activity took me less than an hour.  I know that hour could lead to a big impact on these young adults as they begin to think about their future. As always, I know I got more out of it than they did!

My friend, colleague, and educator, Mr. Rodney Jenkins, is the Career and Technical Education Coordinator for Fuquay-Varina Middle School. He recently approached me and asked if I would speak to his entrepreneurial class.  My topics included: why I started my own business, what’s involved with owning my own business, the hardest part, the easiest part and more.  I brought along my company’s advertising goodies like stadium cups and pens, and tossed some candy to the students that participated.  The students had awesome questions and provoked my own thoughts on why I do this.

I was overjoyed to hear the students decided they are going to arrange a “field trip” to visit our office sometime soon.  I can’t wait to see them again!

There are so many opportunities to get involved with students in Fuquay-Varina. I was also asked to address the first Fuquay-Varina Youth Leadership Group conference. This initiative is the first of its kind for Fuquay-Varina and the students selected to participate. I was asked to speak about Front Porch Realty’s application process and how I determine good candidates for our firm.

Laura Moody recently addressing both students and staff.

These bright, energetic high-schoolers had so many great questions for me!  They are eager to learn how to make a difference in our town and they are striving for greatness.  I commend the staff of Fuquay-Varina High school for working so diligently to start this leadership program and make a difference in these student’s lives. Imagine all the lucky businesses that get to hire these young folks someday!

If you are interested in helping any of our community schools in ANY way please contact our office or join the FV Business Alliance. Our next meeting is coming up soon!

The Food Cupboards garden

The Food Cupboard

Did you know that Holly Springs has a very busy food bank?  They work in conjunction with area grocery stores and the Raleigh food bank.  It’s called the Holly Springs Food Cupboard and they serve 1000’s of Holly Spring residents every month.  This giving group even has their own garden that produced over 2000 lbs of fresh food last summer! The Holly Springs Food Cupboard welcomes your volunteerism in many ways and even has group projects for your civic and student groups.

Front Porch Realty recently visited the Cupboard’s ribbon cutting with the Holly Springs Chamber of Commerce, to celebrate their recent addition, giving them much needed space to serve their clients.

Thank you to all of the volunteers that make this Cupboard happen.  God Bless You!

Huge crowd gathered for Holly Springs Food Cupboard ribbon cutting!

FRONT PORCH REALTY has exciting news; we are the #1 LOCAL Independent Real Estate firm in southwestern Wake County!

See our 3rd quarter local real estate market snapshot . It is no surprise that we are still in a seller’s market; inventory is still extremely low across the Triangle.  Know that in this competitive market, Front Porch Realty brokers are equipped with professionalism and the expertise to help both our seller and buyer clients navigate multiple offer situations.  If we can be of any assistance to you or someone you know, rest assured they will be extremely satisfied.

Please watch our website, Facebook, and Instagram for all housing, and other local news around town and to see our new listings as soon as they hit the market.

If you would rather receive this report either by email or snail mail please contact Laura .

Inventory is low, it’s a great time to sell.

Happy fall!

Laura Moody

Broker/Owner Front Porch Realty

www.FrontPorchRealtyNC.com

Congratulations to Maria Plazas, Front Porch Realty’s Agent of the Month – August 2017

Maria has been selling the Triangle since 1991!  Real estate is Maria’s passion and she is committed to helping the Latino community.  Originally from Chile, Maria’s native language is Spanish and of course she is also fluent in English.  Maria has an entire team of Spanish speaking professionals at your service including; inspectors, attorneys, banks and mortgage companies.

Thank you Maria Plazas for all of your dedication as a FRONT PORCH REALTY real estate professional!

What does Maria love most about selling real estate?

“Meeting new friends and clients from all over the country and helping them discover their dream.”

Thank you for being such a great role model at the office Maria!

Maria can be reached at:

Cell:  919.623.7341

Email:  mariacplazas@gmail.com

We recently had an opportunity to catch up with Eric Coates of Detailed Home Inspections Inc. about the affects that water can have on your home. Here is what he shared with us.

Water is not your house’s friend!

I really do love my job. However, there are days that I do not like my job. Hurricane Matthew came
through our area in 2016. It dumped 10 inches of rain that day. I had the privilege of performing two
home inspections that day! I am a Boy Scout – so, I am prepared for the rain. I have a good rain suit,
waterproof boots, waterproof equipment/tools, etc. However, having the right equipment does not
make it any easier to work in the rain. Even though I may not like it, I can learn a LOT about a house in
the rain.

Other than people, water causes more problems to a house than any anything else. Your house is made
of many materials that can decay and/or be damaged by water. Water is not your house’s friend! If you
don’t manage the water at your house, it will cause problems. Houses are built to keep water out and
to keep water away. You need to maintain your house so that it keeps the water out and away.
There are many things that you can check yourself. Here is a beginning list. Once you do all of this,
contact me and I will be glad to help you create a longer list!

1. Look through your attic for stains. Take a flashlight up there and scan through the attic looking
for stains. Take a close look at roof penetrations such as plumbing vent pipes, exhaust pipes,
bathroom fan pipes, etc. Turn the lights off and look for signs of light in the attic. Naturally, you
will see light at the attic vents and you may see indirect light at the roof penetrations. But,
make sure you do not have a beam of light coming it. If there is an HVAC unit or a water heater
in the attic, look at the equipment and around the equipment for stains or signs of leaks.

2. Get a pair of binoculars and check out your roof. Stand at a distance and scan back and forth
over your roof. Look for damaged/broken/missing shingles. Look at the roof penetrations for
signs of problems.

3. Look around the exterior at the siding/trim for decay. Decayed wood can allow water
infiltration, which will cause more decay. Water infiltration can cause damage to the structural
components that you cannot see. If wood is cracked, it may not be decayed but it can be on the
path to becoming decayed. Take a close look at areas where two types of materials touch each
other such as siding and wood. Look for cracks/gaps in seams/junctions.

A properly installed gutter and splash block diverts water away from a house.

4. Walk around your house one day in the rain. It is not going to hurt you to get wet! Check to see
how the water is running off the roof and out of the gutters/downspouts. Look at the water on
the ground and make sure that it is draining away from the house. Water NEEDS to run AWAY
from your house.

A healthy, dry crawl space should not look like this!

5. Now, here is the hard part – GO IN YOUR CRAWL SPACE! I will tell you ahead of time – there are
spiders in your crawl space. There may be other animals – so, be careful. Make a lot of noise –
talk to yourself and bang on the wood components. Any animal that is in there will want to get
away from you. If you run into an animal, LEAVE! There are many problems that can happen in
your crawl space. Before you go in the crawl space, run water through every plumbing fixture,
i.e. sinks, toilets, showers, clothes washer. Look around the crawl space for signs of water. Is
there condensation on the HVAC air ducts/equipment or the floor structure? Is there water on
the ground/plastic? Is the insulation hanging/dangling/drooping? Does it smell musty?

Regularly inspecting your crawl space can help you spot leaking pipes before they have time to do serious damage.

6. When you run water through the plumbing fixtures, look for leaks. Get into the cabinet under
the sinks and look for any leaks. Look around/under the toilet. Look at the ceilings below the
bathroom for stains. Make sure that you don’t have any leaks.

This is a beginning list of things to check. But, this covers a lot of the items that can allow water into
your house. Once you start looking at these items, you will learn what is normal and what is abnormal.
It will get easier with practice. If you have questions, take a picture and send it to us. We will try to help
you with it. If you are not comfortable doing these things, we can help you with that too! Go forth and
check out your house.

Eric Coates
NC Licensed Home Inspector
Detailed Home Inspections Inc.
919-608-3742
inspect@DetailedHomeInspections.com
www.DetailedHomeInspections.com