Margret Sloan

Had lunch with Rhonda today and hashed out her plans for the house in California that she just inherited. Originally she was going to fix it up a little – spit and polish – and then sell it. It’s a great house on a marvelous lot outside of San Francisco in this west coast picture perfect town called Pacifica. But with the housing market in the tank she probably won’t get much for it.

Being on the coast, the house has suffered a lot of weather damage and actually needs a lot more work than just spit and polish. She met with a contractor while she was out there settling the estate and he went through the house to give her a detailed estimate for repairs.

The contractor works for American Home Craft Inc and seemed to be very knowledgeable and thorough. The most pressing repair is to actually replace all the windows, especially the ones on the western exposure. Since I just went through the same ordeal with my house, I was able to give her a few pointers about replacement windows.

We checked the references for American Home Craft Inc and they have an outstanding reputation in California. They have a nice web site, too, with good information on their services and the products they recommend. When they replace windows thay have a special window just for coastal homes, called Simonton StormBreaker Plus® windows, which are energy efficient and impact resistant. All their windows come with a lifetime glass breakage warranty, so that really boosts her comfort level with that brand.

Rhonda is going out to Pacifica again next month to get some of the work started. I have a funny feeling that she is going to like it out there so much that she decides to move there permanently, or at least for a few years until the housing market improves and she can get a good price on the property.