Stephens County Real Estate

Tax Credit Extended!

Both the House and the Senate have passed an unemployment insurance bill, which includes an amendment that expands and extends the tax credit. That bill will be sent to President Obama for his signature in the next day or so.

I have posted below a comparison chart. This can be a helpful resource for to take advantage of the credit in the months ahead.

LED Light Bulbs

Earlier I posted that I would like to leave some tips on going green in our homes. We all enjoy learning ways to save some money. Today on Oprah,Simran Sethi who specializes in Green Homes offered this information. Lighting accounts for 11 percent of your energy bill. "The U.S. government passed legislation back in 2007 to phase out the incandescent bulb—the one we're traditionally used to using—because it's so inefficient,"

LED bulbs will be hitting shelves shortly at $40 each. Though expensive, Simran says they'll burn bright for 10 years! "They'll last 25 times longer than an incandescent traditional bulb," she says. "They will save you $740 over the life of the bulb.

I found this to be interesting as well as helpful....I hope you enjoyed.

Stay Safe This Halloween

 

 

With all the ghost and goblins running through the streets, help your kids stay safe this Halloween with some of these great websites. There are tips and great guides for your Halloween Haunting.

Children should:

• Go only to well-lit houses and remain on porches rather than entering houses.
• Travel in small groups and be accompanied by an adult.
• Know their phone number and carry coins for emergency telephone calls.
• Have their names and addresses attached to their costumes.
• Bring treats home before eating them so parents can inspect them.
• Use costume knives and swords that are flexible, not rigid or sharp.

When walking in neighborhoods, they should

• Use flashlights, stay on sidewalks, and avoid crossing yards.
• Cross streets at the corner, use crosswalks (where they exist), and do not cross between parked cars.
• Stop at all corners and stay together in a group before crossing.
• Wear clothing that is bright, reflective, and flame retardant.
• Consider using face paint instead of masks. (Masks can obstruct a child's vision.)
• Avoid wearing hats that will slide over their eyes.
• Avoid wearing long, baggy, or loose costumes or oversized shoes (to prevent tripping).
• Be reminded to look left, right, and left again before crossing the street.

Fall Home Maintenance Guide to help you avoid costly fixes and save money on utility bills

With the fall and winter months upon us, now is the time to do some routine maintenance around your home to prepare for the changing weather ahead. Taking the time to do some work now may save on some major expenses later on. Some of these tasks can be performed by you, and some may need to be done by a professional.

Outside the home

• Clear debris out of window wells, gutters, downspouts, and storm drains.
• Remove garden hoses from spouts. Drain and store for the winter. Wrap spouts in insulation.
• Drain in-ground sprinkler systems.
• Check windows, doors, and siding for holes and cracks. Caulk as necessary.
• Check weather stripping on windows and doors for fit and condition. Replace as necessary.
• Inspect all soffit vents and other venting systems to make sure they're clear of debris.
• Check painted surfaces for paint failure, water damage, or mildew. Repair or repaint if necessary.
• Check caulking where two different materials meet, where wood siding joins the foundation wall, at inside corners, and where the window and door trim meets the siding.
• Check for broken or cracked glass and damaged screens or storm windows. Check for loose putty around glass panes. Repair glass if necessary
• Insulate outdoor faucets, pipes in unheated garages, and pipes in crawl spaces with materials such as rags or newspapers.
• Run all gas-powered lawn equipment until the fuel tank is empty. In doing this, you are removing flammable liquid storage from your garage. Make sure you aren't storing dirty, oily rags in a pile. They can ignite!
• Remove bird nests from chimney flues and outdoor electrical fixtures.

Inside the Home

• Have a heating professional check your heating system every year.
• Replace your furnace filter.
• Woodburning stove connector pipes and chimneys should be inspected by a certified chimney sweep at least annually.
• Make sure you have proper insulation in both your attic and basement. While checking your insulation, if you see any dark, dirty spots, it may indicate you have air leaks coming into your home.
• Remove hair from drains in sinks, tubs, and showers.
• Test all smoke alarms. Replace batteries as necessary.
• Check your home around windows and doors for air leaks. An easy way to check for leaks is to move a lighter around the window or door frame and see if the flame moves with a breeze. If you find a leak, you can caulk it or you may have to replace the wood frame. Repairing these leaks can save you money on your energy bill during the cold months.
• Check for water leaks in ceiling. Repair if needed.
• Make sure there are working nightlights at the top and bottom of all stairs.
• Protect your home from frozen pipes. See below.
• Test your emergency generator.
• Inspect and clean dust from the covers of your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
• Make sure the caulking around doors and windows is adequate to reduce heat/cooling loss.
• Make sure that the caulking around your bathroom fixtures is adequate to prevent water from seeping into the sub-flooring.
• All exterior doors should have deadbolt locks.
• All stairs of at least three risers should have a handrail.
• Make sure you have enough wood cut and stacked to burn during the winter months. This will prevent you from running out and having to pay a higher price for it later. Always make sure you have a small stack close to your home to have quick access to if there is a lot of snow on the ground. When buying wood, make sure it is not "green". Green wood will not burn.
• Make sure your snow shovels and/or snow blower are in good shape. Check your shovel handle for possible cracks or breaks and replace if needed. Have the routine maintenance performed on your snow blower
• Review your fire escape plan with your family. If you don't have a plan, create one!

Steps to prevent your pipes to freeze

Before the cold hits

• Insulate pipes in your home's crawl spaces and attic. These exposed pipes are most susceptible to freezing. Remember - the more insulation you use, the better protected your pipes will be.
• Heat tape or thermostatically-controlled heat cables can be used to wrap pipes. Closely follow all manufacturers' installation and operation instructions.
• Seal leaks that allow cold air inside near where pipes are located. Look for air leaks around electrical wiring, dryer vents and pipes. Use caulk or insulation to keep the cold out and the heat in. With severe cold, even a tiny opening can let in enough cold air to cause a pipe to freeze.
• Disconnect garden hoses and, if practical, use an indoor valve to shut off and drain water from pipes leading to outside faucets. This reduces the chance of freezing in the short span of pipe just inside the house.

When the temperature drops

• A trickle of hot and cold water might be all it takes to keep your pipes from freezing. Let warm water drip overnight, preferably from a faucet on an outside wall.
• Open cabinet doors to allow heat to get to uninsulated pipes under sinks and appliances near exterior walls.
• Before you go on vacation - Set the thermostat in your house no lower than 55�F (12�C).
• Ask a friend or neighbor to check your house daily to make sure it's warm enough to prevent freezing or Shut off and drain the water system. Be aware that if you have a fire protection sprinkler system in your house, it will be deactivated when you shut off the water.

If your pipes freeze

• If you turn on your faucets and nothing comes out, leave the faucets turned on and call a plumber. If you detect that your water pipes have frozen and burst, turn off the water at the main shut-off valve in the house; leave the water faucets turned on. Make sure everyone in your family knows where the water shut-off valve is and how to open and close it.
• Never try to thaw a pipe with a torch or other open flame. You may be able to thaw a frozen pipe with the warm air from a hair dryer. Start by warming the pipe as close to the faucet as possible, working toward the coldest section of pipe. Do not use electrical appliances in areas of standing water because you could be electrocuted.

Info from HWA

Halloween Safety

Halloween Safety Halloween is just around the corner, and this year it will fall on the best of days: Saturday! What a great year to go all out with your Halloween decorations and host a Halloween party!

Here are some tips from the El Paso Fire Department to keep you, your guests, and all your little goblins safe as you create your own "Monster Ball" or get ready for a night of trick-or-treating:

1. Keep candles and jack-o-lanterns away from curtains, decorations, and other combustibles.
2. Never leave candles unattended.
3. Make sure indoor or outdoor lights have been tested for safety by a recognized testing laboratory. Check wiring and extension cords for broken or cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires, or loose connections.
4. Don't overload extension cords or electrical sockets.
5. Keep candles and jack-o-lanterns away from high traffic areas to avoid being knocked over.

Other safety tips include:

• Look for "Flame Resistant" labels on costumes.
• Make sure masks do not hamper the visibility of the wearer.
• Choose costumes made with bright colors to make them visible to motorists.
• Give Trick-or-Treaters flashlights to help them see better at night.
• Costumes should be well fitting to prevent tripping or falling.
• Children should use crosswalks and not run into the street from between parked cars.
• Parents or other responsible adults should accompany children.
• Parents should closely examine the treats collected by the children to ensure that they are safe to eat.

Excerpted from Old Republic Home Protection

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Weatherproofing Doors and Windows

Does it feel drafty, even though the windows and doors are shut tight? If so, it might be time to add or replace weather stripping to the doors and seal up the windows

To solve the problem of a drafty door, choose vinyl or rubber weather stripping. Fasten it to the sides and top of the door casing with nails or staples about every 6 inches.

A vinyl gasket will also do the trick. It's durable, inexpensive, and at the end of the winter, it can be torn off.

There's one other part of the door that can be a cause for concern, and that's the bottom where it meets the threshold, and very often, that's where the biggest draft comes from. The cure is a sweep that's applied to the bottom of the door. Sweeps are great for an irregular floor. Buy either the kind that nails onto the door or has an adhesive that holds it in place. Either kind will seal up the door nicely.

Houses with old windows probably have leaky windows. To fix those leaks, use sealant foam at the top, bottom and middle of each window. The foam will compress, so the windows can still be locked.

A low-tech way to stop drafts is sometimes called snakes. They're just long fabric tubes filled with sand. They can be decorative or humorous, but they do a great job of stopping air from leaking under the door or window.

Putting film up over the window is more complicated but it's very effective. Use double-sided tape to hold the film in place while stretching it across the window. Use a hair dryer to heat up the film and shrink it so it's tight across the window.

A draft-stopper that has been used since the Middle Ages is heavy drapes. Closing heavy drapes over windows will result in a noticeable difference right away. For even better results, look for drapes with insulating lining, or add one to existing drapes.

Uncle Sam's House Warming Gift is About to Expire

Uncle Sam is trying to encourage people to buy a home and if they'll take his advice, he'll give them $8,000 in the form of a tax credit on next year's tax return.

You know about the tax credit and maybe some of you know but do you understand just how big of a deal it really is. 

• $8,000 is more than the down payment on a $225,000 home
• $8,000 could buy a lot of furniture and redecorating for a home
• $8,000 could be used to pay the buyer's closing costs and buy down the interest rate to even lower than current rates

The First-time Home Buyer's Tax Credit is scheduled to expire on December 1, 2009 which means that the buyer must be closed by November 30, 2009.  Since it takes four to six weeks lead time to get a mortgage approved and closed, the buyers need to be under contract by about October 15, 2009.  TIME IS RUNNING OUT.

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