Plan ahead to keep your home safe and protected
October 20, 2009
The best way to protect your home and property is to have a home safety plan in place to help ensure you have all of your bases covered in the event of an emergency. There are a number of areas in your home that can provide a potential danger to you and your loved ones, and often some simple planning and routine maintenance can be the difference between disaster and prevention. The month of October is national fire prevention month and there are a number of things every homeowner should do on a regular basis.
• First on the list is to ensure that your home has the correct number of smoke alarms and that you exchange the batteries a minimum of twice per year (day light savings time changes are good reminders)
• Have a professional chimney inspection every two years at a minimum depending on how heavily this is used
• Furnaces should be inspected on a regular basis
• Space heaters should be placed in the middle of rooms away from curtains and papers
• Don’t leave candles burning in rooms that are unattended or when you leave your home
• Never smoke in bed
• Keep flammable liquids such as propane and gasoline in a garage or shed, off of the ground
• Have a fire extinguisher in your kitchen and on every level of your home
• Set an emergency fire evacuation plan in place with your family and review this a minimum of twice per year
• If you are grilling, make certain your grill is outdoors and not in a garage
• Never use a hot oil grill on a wooden deck
• Do not place flammable materials around a fireplace, including kindling, blankets, matches, etc
• Remember to practice fire safety and teach children the stop, drop and roll techniques in the event they ever have are involved in a fire accident. It’s important that they learn to crawl under the smoke levels and have a clear plan in the event of an emergency, including leaning to dial 911 or go to a neighbors home for help.
Fire safety and prevention can help to turn bad situations into manageable emergencies. Planning and practice will go a long way towards helping to prevent fires and be prepared if there is an emergency.
Will the housing market survive if the tax credit is not extended
October 13, 2009
There is a growing concern as to how the housing market will survive once the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit is removed. The clock is ticking on the first time home buyer credit which is scheduled to end at the end of November. The housing market has been one of the key areas the government has focused on in an effort to stabilize the economy. According to a report from the nations largest group of real estate agents, the first time buyer tax credit is likely to have spurred an additional three hundred thousand purchases this year.
The tax credit has a popular avenue of marketing for real estate and mortgage firms who are trying to attract the attention of first time home buyers. The common message that is being advertised is that there has never been a better time to buy a home. A large underlying incentive for the government to roll out the tax proposal was to stimulate first time home buyers to act. The rapid deterioration of home prices over the last two years has changed the psychology of the marketplace. In years past, there was a motivation to buy so a consumer could gain home ownership in anticipation of price appreciation. The surge in bank foreclosures and rapid drop with prices had a large impact on this previous market conception and led many potential buyers to take a stance of waiting for prices to drop further. The lack of buyers entering into the market further fueled the drop with prices, creating a huge downward spiral with home prices. The government first initiated a tax credit in 2008, but this failed to stimulate the market as the credit would need to be repaid. The current and more productive tax credit does not need to repaid so long as the buyer remains in their home for a minimum of three years.
The consensus from most experts in the mortgage and real estate industry is that the government will likely extend another tax credit towards home buyers. The uncertainty is whether the credit will be as lucrative as the current tax credit that is in place. There are a number of large trade groups that are lobbying for the government to extend the credit and enlarge the eligibility for the tax credit beyond first time home buyers. The positive impact of the tax credit has resulted in a summer with better than expected home sales and home price stabilization. Critics will argue that the tax credit is providing artificial price support to the market and the government’s policy in expanding tax breaks is only likely to result a larger deficit in the future. In the meantime, expect the rhetoric to expand as the debate gains more attention as the deadline nears.
Geothermal heating becomes more popular with home owners
October 6, 2009
The month of October brings the blankets out of the closets and the sounds of furnaces and heat pumps all across the country turning on and being tested out. This is a great time of the year to have your furnace inspected and make certain that it works efficiently and you do not have any potential gas or carbon monoxide leaks. The cooler weather also is a time to think about energy efficiency with your home and alternative methods in which you could potentially heat your property. Geothermal heating is becoming increasing popular as it is both environmentally friendly and energy efficient.
Geothermal heating, is essentially using heat that is stored in the earths core and transferring this energy into your home to provide you with a new or alternative heating source. The concept of using heat that is stored in the earth has been around for millions of years. The simplicity of storing heat in the earth is a popular concept for avid outdoors adventures who often heat the ground they sleep on or around through campfires to help keep them warm through the night. The concept of geothermal heating is not as simplistic is warming the soil of your home, but is certainly not as complex as solar heating or using natural elements such as propane.
There are two methodologies involved in heating a home using geothermal heat sources. One method involves retracting hot water, that is heated by underground hot springs and then piping this into the home for use in a boiler based heating system. This method is most common in regions of the country that are directly above tectonic plate boundaries.
The second and more popular method for geothermal heating is the utilization of a heat pump. This process involves the extraction of heat from the earths core by heating a series of pipes in and or around the subject property. The pipes that are buried underground near the hot springs or core heating zones are then process through a heat pumping system to extract the heat for the homes usage. The interesting aspect of this system is that today’s geothermal units can also be utilized as a method to cool a home through the same heat pumping system. Providing both a heating and cooling application has dramatically increased the popularity of geothermal units.
Homeowners who are considering installing a geothermal heating system should meet with qualifed heating contractors in there area. The first step in the process is to ensure the area they live in and around has the adequate geological qualifications to support heating through a geothermal system. The additional cost in installing a geothermal unit can be offset through tax incentives from the government for energy efficiency and the prospect of a system that will use less energy, have lower costs and likely last upwards of sixty years.
