Real Estate Information

As temperatures start to drop nearly half of American families will turn to alternative sources to heat their homes. Make sure you’re ready to heat your home safely and effectively. Have your chimney professionally inspected. Buildup from last year's fires can be dangerous if not cleaned regularly. Keep your fires behind screens and never leave them unattended. Always extinguish fires before going to bed or leaving the house. Ensure that any space heaters are away from flammable objects and placed on a level surface. By turning off space heaters when leaving the room or going to sleep, you save energy and increase safety. By following these common sense tips, your home can remain warm and safe throughout the winter months!

Did you know that heating and cooling systems are some of the most important investments you'll ever make in your home. Heating and cooling accounts for 44% of your home's energy use. Various systems include electric, gas, propane, oil, and even wood-fired.

The method of distribution can be forced air, under floor boilers and pipes, baseboard, zonal, gravity, heat pumps, ceiling wires and, of course, wood stove and fireplace. Some have higher purchase prices, while others cost more to maintain or operate.

The more energy efficient an appliance is, the less it costs to run and the lower your utility bills. Use this knowledge to evaluate the asking price of any home. You'll be money ahead as you factor its heat source into any offer!  If you would like more information on heating please give me a call.

Have you ever clogged your garbage disposal to the point where you felt that you were going to have to buy a new one? Well before you do here's a little tip that will extend the life of your garbage disposal. First, look for the wrench that came with your disposer. It may be taped to the side of the unit or to the cabinet wall. It's a rod maybe 6 inches long and looks similar to a Allen/hex wrench. Next, stick the short end into the matching hole in the bottom center of the disposal and use the long end to turn it back and forth until you break free whatever's got the disposal stuck.

Are you expecting to plant a "For Sale" sign in the front yard any time soon? Whether the target date for listing your home on the market is a few months or a few years away -- or whether you simply like to make decisions with an eye toward the future -- you may well be wondering how putting some money into the house now will pay off later. If you would like learn more about investing into your home please give me a call.

Did you know that in older homes, faulty windows can account for a third of the total heat loss in winter and as much as 75 percent of interior heat gain in summer. Look for the following telltale signs that a window has lost its effectiveness:

• Stand inside your house on a windy day with a lit candle near the window's operative edge. If the flame flickers or goes out, your weather stripping might be damaged.
• During the winter, if a window develops ice buildup or a frosty glaze on the interior of the pane, the ventilation in your home may not be adequate. Another possibility is that your window may not be providing enough insulation value, a situation that can make your heating bills soar.
• If you need to prop open your window with a book or a stick, the window may have lost its functionality.
• Sit near your window. If you feel cold air coming in during the winter or warm air during the summer, your windows have little insulation value. This means you're paying more to heat and cool your house to compensate for the exterior air entering your home.
• Do your windows get fogged with condensation? If so, you may have a seal failure and need to replace the glazing or the entire window.

In some cases, replacing broken panes and tending to loose or missing weather stripping may buy some time. If your windows are old and ill-fitting, however, you need more than stopgaps.

Ever thought about buying some investment property? Reduced home prices and a increasing rental market make NOW the best time to buy that piece of rental property. If you would like to learn more about buying or financing investment property please give me a call.

I'm sure, like most people, that you are aware that time, home life (especially cooking), and pets can make carpets stinky. You may not notice anymore, but anyone who comes into the house probably does. If your carpet has picked up a funky smell, you can try a commercial carpet deodorizer or you can go to the pantry and arm yourself with a box of baking soda. Sprinkle it into the carpet, leave it for a few hours, and then vacuum it up. For less money and a little extra work, you can try sprinkling grated potato all over the carpet in question. Let it stand for several hours and then vacuum. If neither of these methods works, stop trying to avoid the inevitable and call a carpet-cleaning company.

If you're like most people in Rochester I'm sure that you have found the recent rain both good and bad. Lawns all around town getting greener and greener along with with many basements. One way to keep the rain in your yard and out of your basement is by keeping your gutters and downspouts properly maintained.

Gutters and downspouts filled with debris can back up, causing roof leaks, rot at the overhang, and structural damage.

Once a year, you need to get up on the ladder and give those gutters and downspouts a good cleaning. Gutters that have not been cleaned for a while may be filled with a mud-like substance, which you can scoop out with a small garden trowel or a putty knife. You may even want to invest in a gutter scoop (a plastic trowel-like scoop made especially for cleaning gutters).

After you remove the majority of the debris, flush the rest away using a garden hose with a spray nozzle. If the water pressure at your place is insufficient, you can rent a small pressure washer to help flush out debris.

If you're like most people I'm sure that you have found that your garbage disposal gets a little stinky after a while. To reduce these odors pour about a cup of ice in your disposal and place an upside down plate over the opening to prevent a piece of ice from flying out. Turn it on and the ice will scrub the inside of the disposal. No the ice will not "dull" the blades. There are no blades in a disposal just blunt slingers. Have a Great Week!

Did you know that as our growing community is in desperate need of more schools. Currently there is a referendum to build and open a new public elementary school in northwest Rochester to relieve overcrowding in our 15 existing elementary schools. For more information on this referendum please visit: http://buildforthefuture.org/