Last week we stayed at a vacation house close to Lassen Volcanic National Park, the home was in a beautiful area surrounded by forest. At one of the last days of our vacation there was a thunderstorm at night which sparked a wild fire about 11 miles south of us. The fire spread fast and we had to evacuate the house that evening.
This is called a natural hazard and part of the disclosures when someone buys a home. Sonoma County also has high fire hazard areas. Besides having this covered by the home owners insurance, there is also a lot a home owner can do to defend his/her home against fire. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has a great website with lots of information.
Landscaping is important. One of the first things to do is to create a defensible space around the house, this is the buffer you create between your home and the grass, trees, shrubs or wild land area. This space is needed to slow or stop the spread 
of wildfire and it protects the home from catching fire. Also realize that firefighters are reluctant to go into a situation that will put themselves in danger and pick the homes that are easiest to protect first, depending on the situation.
While creating that defensible space, it is also important to use fire resistant plants for landscaping. While there are no ‘fire-proof’ plants, plants with high moisture and have low sap or resin content take longer to ignite. Hardwood trees like maple, poplar and cherry trees are less flammable than pine and fir. Check with your local nursery about fire resistant plants that are suited for your area.
And don’t forget to check with your insurance agent yearly to make sure you have enough coverage in case your home burns down. As mentioned before, a great local agent I can highly recommend is Erin Temple with Vantreo Insurance, she makes sure you have the correct insurance, whether or not you live in a high risk area.
Mirjam
Let’s start with a stereotype: when you live in the Netherlands, the perception is that everything is bigger and better in USA. So when we moved to CA about 15 years ago that was one of my preconceived ideas… yes, I confess. When we walked through the house we 
wanted to rent there were some surprises… The bathrooms: the vanity sink was about 3 times smaller than the ones we had in our house in Netherlands – LOL. And when I opened the shower door I found a shower head as in the first picture. Now your reaction is probably: yeah and… My first reaction was: how am I going to clean the shower???? And hubby wouldn’t even fit underneath the shower head… BTW: the shower head I was talking about was position lower than the one in the picture
Then we went to the hardware store and found a solution :
However, a much better solution is this: a shower head on a rail, you can put it higher for taller people, lower for shorter people or take it of to clean the shower/bath tub …
Mirjam
As we all know, news sells because it’s catchy and the person writing the headline for a 
story is usually not the journalist writing the story. With that said, last week one of my buyer clients asked me whether I new about the new Insurance Scam: banks placing forced insurance on properties. Example of a recent article about BofA accused of doing this.
Without going into great detail as to what exactly happened, there is something to keep in mind: Your lender has an interest in your property. When you signed your mortgage documents, you also promised to always keep your property properly insured. If not, the lender reserves the write to put insurance in place. That by itself is a fair warning, if you were the lender, you would want to make sure that there is money to rebuilt a house in case it burns down. Inherent to this, the lender’s first priority is their interest, not yours, so the insurance put in place is first covering the house, not your stuff etc. And they might have affiliations -which are disclosed when you signed the documents- who they will use. Since you are paying for this, they do not shop around for the best rates/coverage.
With that said, a lot of homeowners do not open all the mail they receive from their lender, some of it is advertizing, some of it is real. Word to the wise: ALWAYS open ALL the mail you receive from your lender. They will warn you when they feel the need to place insurance on your property so you can take action. AND also make sure that your lender is always mentioned as a beneficiary on your insurance policy. That is one of the reasons a lender wants to see proof of insurance when you purchase or refinance your home.
I talked to my insurance agent, Erin Temple of Vantreo Insurance about this and she confirmed that it happens quite a bit, main reason homeowners not opening their mail. She used even an example of a person who bought a home and told her ‘the title company just got me a policy’.
Insurance is important, depending on where you live, some coverages are
more important than others: right now there is a 15 year record cold in Netherlands, good to have insurance coverage for this, in Sonoma County we have other priorities like high fire hazards or pools. Your insurance agent is aware of local hazards and will advise accordingly, locally I find Erin a great resource for all my questions/concerns.
Mirjam
Before I moved to California I was under the impression that roofs were either thatc
hed or made of tile. My grandparents had a thatched roof made of reed. This was customary for the older farm houses. I had always lived in homes with tile roofs and these tiles usually last at least 50 years. My brother lives in a house that is over a 100 years old, he replaced the tiles on his roof about 6 years ago. The tile he replaced was the original…
Right now in Sonoma County roofs made of composition shingles are most common. The quality of the roof depends on the quality of 
the installation.
What I see is that cheaper is never better. Many roofers offer ‘deals’ on roofs: they offer the thinnest material available (lasting 15 years) and in order to work faster they quite often use stapes instead of nails.
Their ‘deals’ usually start having problems within 5 years… Shingles blow off during the stormy season causing leaks. Missing or improper installation of flashing will cause problems like for instance water intrusion in the walls…
And last but not least, there is a severe risk in using roofers who are not properly insured or don’t have a license. Should a roofer fall off the roof, the homeowner may be responsible. Depending on the insurance this may or may not be insured under your home owners insurance… You might want to talk to your insurance agent first before contacting a roofer. If you have been following my blog you know that I would recommend contacting Erin Temple with Vantreo Insurance – (707) 303-2574…
A good roof over your head is important if you need a referral to a reputable, local manufacturer certified roofer, just let me know.
Mirjam