Upon Closer Inspection

New Year’s Resolutions That Work For Your Home AND Your Life

By Brenda Masse / January 4, 2025 /

Home improvement is one of the most popular New Year’s Resolutions, and like most resolutions, you won’t get very far if you don’t have a plan. As home inspectors, we have a unique view of people’s homes, ostensibly when they’re trying to put their best foot forward. So if a home sale, or any kind of home…

The Movie ‘A Christmas Story’ Needs a Home Inspection

By Brenda Masse / December 21, 2024 /

I don’t know about you, but it ain’t Christmas if whatever channel that plays A Christmas Story on repeat isn’t on in the background, and getting watched, in part or in whole, at some point during the day. I remember seeing this movie when I was a kid in the theater with my family, and…

East Dallas Tenant Should Make Her Own House Hunting Show

By Brenda Masse / December 14, 2024 /

Welcome to a special edition of Upon Closer Inspection! This week, we’re looking at a home video that I found while scrolling one of my favorite neighborhood groups on Facebook. I found it to be so simultaneously clever and awful that I thought, “That’s perfect for my column.” I reached out to the poster and…

Home Inspection Finds That Will Really Screw Up Your Holiday

By Brenda Masse / November 30, 2024 /

You made it through Thanksgiving and now it’s the home stretch to Christmas, Hanukkah, and the New Year. Is your home ready for it? Are you? Little mishaps at home (or big ones) can really put a damper on the holidays, especially if they involve expensive, unexpected repairs. I remember one year not too long…

Why You Never Think About Your Water Heater But Should

By Brenda Masse / November 23, 2024 /

Water, especially hot water, has become so essential, and so ubiquitous, in our lives that we mostly don’t notice it until it suddenly becomes unavailable. And yet, a lot of us pay little to no attention to the systems that supply that hot water to our homes, despite the fact that they’re pretty costly pieces…