Is it a bird, a plane? NO, It’s a UPO!

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August 27th, 2021

Look around your room or office, how many property items can you identify?

- Manufacture of window frames and doors
- Heating system specifications i.e underfloor, central, heat pump?
- Type of tiling, bricks, carpeting, or flooring
- etc...

If you can’t identify any of these yourself, do you know where you could easily find the information? Or would you have to get a second opinion from family members, googling, or find a property expert?

These are UPOs!
(Unidentified Property Objects)

Why does this matter? If you need something fixed, maintained, or replaced, you’ll probably need to know details about it first so you know what to look for or ask for. Otherwise, you might find yourself in a situation similar to Russells.

Russell’s Story
A roof tile had slipped or was blown away, which meant that some maintenance was in order. Russell’s home was in a conservation area so his type of roofing was very particular and difficult to identify. Furthermore, he didn’t have a homeowner manual with the relevant details so as far as he was concerned – it’s a UPO!
So despite fair winter weather, Russell grabbed a ladder and climbed it to his roof to get pictures of the tiles. He then visited local roofing stores, showing them the pictures, to get a second opinion but they simply advised him to call a professional roofer on-site.
This had already cost Russell a lot of time, effort, and petrol from driving back and forth. And climbing a ladder in that oh-so cold and slippery weather, he could have been killed by this UPO!
Given that it was nearing Christmas, and that the job was so small, it was difficult getting a professional roofer to commit to an on-site visit. Russell’s friends weren’t roofing experts so he couldn’t ask them, and it would take too long to get a reliable response on the internet
Eventually, someone was able to come over, identify the type of roofing, and help Russell fix his roof at a later date. Of course, he was charged for both visits, one of which would not have been required if the tile could be identified beforehand.

It should not have been so difficult.

Would it not be easier if there was a home manual app where all this data and information could be stored for easy access and sharing, just in case it was needed some time down the line? It would assist professionals in their work whilst also saving occupiers a lot of time, effort, and money whenever something in the house needs fixing, changing, or maintenance.