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Jason Farris

Head YES man at FresYes.com

I grew up in Fresno. Relaxed in its calm breezes, listened with my dad to the crack of the bat at little league baseball games when I was a kid and now take my son to do the same at minor league games. I broadened my mind at its schools (I went to high school right here at San Joaquin Memorial, and to college at Fresno State!) I love that if I drive for two hours in one direction, I can be in the mountains. For two hours in another, luxuriating on a California beach. I can enjoy the cosmopolitan atmosphere of San Francisco or Los Angeles, but still be able to come home to relaxation, calm, and quiet.

I love where I live, and I also love what I do. I'm lucky to be able to work in a profession in which I get to build relationships; one that has me meeting new people each and every day and helping them to build new lives in my beloved city. I'm lucky enough to work in a profession in which I can marry cutting-edge technologies and marketing techniques to good, old-fashioned, nose-to-the-grindstone work. I am lucky enough to work in a profession that allows me to work as an advocate for my clients; to use every tool at my disposal to get a job done well for them, and with as little stress and expense as possible.

I love my city. I love my job. One inspires my excellence for the other.

Fresno? I say FresYES

Latest posts by Jason Farris (see all)

• These home repairs are just too risky to put off ! - January 28, 2021
• Order your Holiday meal to-go and #supportlocal - November 17, 2020
• Thinking of buying a Condo? We say FresYes! - September 18, 2020

If you’re like most homeowners here in Fresno, the state of your home is probably pretty far down your to-do list at the start of this year. You’re more likely concerned with work, getting your kids to school, and preparing to file taxes. While you can place most of your home’s maintenance and upkeep needs on the proverbial back-burner—at least for a little while—you also need to be watching for critical issues, ready to take action. After all, a roof leak doesn’t care about how busy you are!

In this article, we’ll review several of the most critical home repairs and why, when faced with them, you need to drop everything and immediately take action.

Leaking pipes and sewer line problems

This may sound obvious, but it needs to be said: your Fresno home’s plumbing problems will not fix themselves. If you have a leak or a clog, you’re not going to wake up one morning and find that it has been magically resolved. In fact, quite the opposite: every minute you wait to fix a leak or plumbing problem, the worse the water damage gets. Don’t procrastinate on your home’s plumbing problems!

Here in Fresno, our team deals with a wide variety of plumbing issues. This includes a large number of sewer line clogs and leaks every month. There are few things that threaten your home more than a sewer line clog. When this happens, wastewater from your home has nowhere to go—except back up. The resulting mess can cause thousands of dollars in damage. 

The most common sign of a sewer line clog is all of the drains and toilets in your home clogging simultaneously. If you notice this happening, do not wait another second. Turn off the water supply and call a plumber. Act decisively, and you might just avoid a catastrophic sewer backup!

Roof damage

We’re fortunate to have relatively mild weather here in the Central Valley. In fact, we’re kind of famous for it! We don’t have to worry about the problems caused by snow and ice every winter. However, that doesn’t mean our roofs are impervious to damage. Don’t let our beautiful spring weather lull you into a false sense of complacency: if you don’t address roof issues immediately, you’ll end up paying for it the next time it rains.

If your home has a shingle roof, take a good look at it. Are there any missing shingles? Are any of the shingles curling or visibly deteriorating? If so, you’ll want to get a roofer out for a closer inspection. The same thing goes for tile. Fallen tiles or cracked roof tiles mean that moisture and UV damage is affecting the underlayment—the last line of defense for your roof.

Cooling and heating issues

You may not want to hear this, but summer will be here before you know it. Is your air conditioner ready for what’s ahead?

Let’s look at one common AC problem here in Fresno: short-cycling. Essentially, it works like this: your air conditioner starts up, runs for only a short while, and then shuts itself off. This cycle repeats itself, over-and-over again. Short cycling puts strain on the system, wastes energy, and results in inconsistent comfort. 

Unfortunately, many homeowners tend to ignore this problem until—eventually—the air conditioner completely stops working. At that point, you’re forced to address the problem. However, by noticing short-cycling problems early and calling in an expert, you’re more likely to avoid a complete breakdown and months of higher utility bills.

The same rule-of-thumb applies to any strange noises you’re hearing or performance issues you’re feeling. Trust your gut: if something doesn’t feel right about your air conditioner, you should have a technician out to take a closer look.

Take action

No homeowner is perfect. There will be repairs and problems that catch you off-guard—that’s part of being a homeowner. But, by both investing in preventative maintenance and being decisive in dealing with critical issues, you can prevent a lot of potential home headache. 

For a full breakdown of all the critical issues discussed above—as well as several others, like electrical issues—take a look at this new infographic.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Jason Farris

Head YES man at FresYes.com

I grew up in Fresno. Relaxed in its calm breezes, listened with my dad to the crack of the bat at little league baseball games when I was a kid and now take my son to do the same at minor league games. I broadened my mind at its schools (I went to high school right here at San Joaquin Memorial, and to college at Fresno State!) I love that if I drive for two hours in one direction, I can be in the mountains. For two hours in another, luxuriating on a California beach. I can enjoy the cosmopolitan atmosphere of San Francisco or Los Angeles, but still be able to come home to relaxation, calm, and quiet.

I love where I live, and I also love what I do. I'm lucky to be able to work in a profession in which I get to build relationships; one that has me meeting new people each and every day and helping them to build new lives in my beloved city. I'm lucky enough to work in a profession in which I can marry cutting-edge technologies and marketing techniques to good, old-fashioned, nose-to-the-grindstone work. I am lucky enough to work in a profession that allows me to work as an advocate for my clients; to use every tool at my disposal to get a job done well for them, and with as little stress and expense as possible.

I love my city. I love my job. One inspires my excellence for the other.

Fresno? I say FresYES

Latest posts by Jason Farris (see all)

• These home repairs are just too risky to put off ! - January 28, 2021
• Order your Holiday meal to-go and #supportlocal - November 17, 2020
• Thinking of buying a Condo? We say FresYes! - September 18, 2020

Thinking of buying a condo? There’s no better time than now, in fact, we have a new one to just hit the market you can see here

There are a lot of benefits that come from condo ownership, in fact, you could even think about it as “Home Ownership: Lite” – no yardwork, easy to rent on VRBO or Airbnb – and close to fabulous locations.

First, you may be asking yourself: What Is a Condo?

Well, first, the formal name is condominium. This type of property is a hybrid between an apartment and a house,you can purchase the property outright.

Second, you may be asking, Why Would I Buy a Condo and Not a House?

It’s more convenient, and a less expensive investment, most of the time. The cost of any property depends on the size, property value and neighborhood. However, our experts note buyers spend less on a condo than single-family detached homes. Additionally, condos keep their value much longer than traditional style homes.

If you’re wondering, How will condo ownership be different?

Condo owners tend to live in much closer proximity than traditional homes, fostering a more immediate sense of community.

When researching this topic, we found that US News interviewed a condo owner, Mark Scott – here’s what he had to say:

“Like most Americans, once you drive into that garage, you don’t come back out until the next day. Living in a condo you see your neighbors in the elevator or at the pool or in the lounge and lobby,” Scott says. “You’re also more likely to go back out because many condos are in areas where interesting bars, restaurants, parks, and so on are within an easy walk. So I found myself much more active and met many more of my neighbors and did things with them more often than I ever did living in a house.”

Our personal owners and condo tenants shared their six favorite things about Condo living with us, here’s what they had to say:

1. Community – Like Mark said, by living in a condo you’ll naturally be around more people. Since units are closer together and there are many more common areas like party rooms, fitness centers, and pools, you have plenty of opportunities to meet your neighbors, which can be so nice if you’re ready to expand your social circle, have just moved to the area – or have recently found yourself in an empty nest.
2. Travel – Remember when you could just up and decide to go to the coast, 15 minutes later you were out the door? If you don’t.. then you must be living in a house! You can’t always just leave your house –  there are lots of responsibilities to consider, such as the yardwork, maintenance and more – hence the term ‘House Sitter’. A condo though? Lock it up and head to Europe for a month!
3. Green – In a world full of commutes and carpools, not only will you save the earth by being a walking or riding distance to so many restaurants and shopping centers but you will save green in fuel cost as well.
4. Safety – Unlike a home, you’re never far from people in your condo. This really pays off when you have an emergency.  Remember that time your cable went out in the middle of the season finale of Scandal? Well, ok, that wasn’t an emergency, but if one was to occur – you’d be in good hands with your new condo community.
5. Security – Still afraid of who may be driving around out there at night? I don’t blame you, I am. But it’s nothing that the security of a condo can’t fix for you. Gate code access, security, cameras, and plenty of neighbors leads to fewer break-ins and a warm, fuzzy, safe feeling inside.

Now that you know some of our favorite value benefits of condos, we hope you’re wondering, “How do I get my own?”

Well, my friend, we’re here to help! email jason@fresyes.com and I’ll get to work.