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Efficient Design – Updating your HVAC System

admin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:52:34 +0000

Making your home more sellable is always recommended, even if you don’t plan on selling. You can always enjoy your upgrades and certainly show off to friends, family and acquaintances. However, in today’s economy it’s a little tougher to upgrade your home all the while keeping your wallet thick. As so, it’s important to remember to improve the areas of your house that will yield the most value. This includes things like the roof, siding, windows, insulation and most importantly furnace.

Your heating/cooling system not only adds value to your home, but the more efficient the unit, the more you’re liable to save in the long run. You see, your HVAC system is responsible for about half of your energy bill so if it is nearing the end of its life, it may be time for it to be replaced or improved. If your current system has been maintained, you change the filter regularly, and your energy bills are still skyrocketing, you probably should consider making a change.

Why it is Important to Update:
The primary reason to upgrade your HVAC system is to lower energy bills. With a simple replacement of your old system with a new one, you will see substantial savings in energy costs. Typically, the extra cost to buy and install the new system is recouped within the first year with lower energy bills.

Another reason that newer systems are better is they will break down less often and are easier to maintain. Some systems will identify problems so you can fix them before the unit fails.

Lastly, more efficient models have less of an impact on the environment. When less energy is used the emissions are fewer and that is better for the planet. For example, replacing an old furnace or boiler with a new one that is rated at 90 percent efficiency can save one and a half tons of CO2 emissions yearly for gas-fueled models and two and a half tons for oil-fueled models.

How Much Can You Save?
The average savings with new heating and cooling equipment is around $200 a year. Of course, there are many variables that can affect this figure, like the climate where you live or how well your home is insulated. Keeping your HVAC system maintained will also help it run at peak efficiency.

What type of system you get affects this figure also. For example, a geothermal heat pump can save up to 70% of energy costs. ENERGY STAR heat pumps will be about 20% more efficient than older models and 9% more efficient that new models that are not ENERGY STAR qualified.

Ways to Update Your HVAC System
Heat pumps are a very good choice if you live in a moderate climate and you could see savings of up to 45% over a baseboard heating system. Heat pumps may not be a good choice if you live where it gets very cold as their efficiency drops as the temperature goes down.

Even though a geothermal heat pump is expensive to install, it would be worth it with future energy savings. Besides that, your carbon footprint would be smaller as a geothermal system has no emissions at all.

Another option is a radiant floor heating system. This uses a boiler that heats and transfers water to pipes under the floor. Heat circulates into the room with infrared radiation so no blowers or ducts are needed. Radiant systems are costly to install but more efficient than other systems. A room heated with a radiant system will have warm air everywhere, rather than hot air at the ceiling and cold air on the floor. Also, heat can escape through the ducts of other systems and this wastes energy.

Furnaces and boilers have had many improvements made to help them be more efficient. These include electronic ignition, sealed combustion chambers, and blowers that are more energy efficient.

Lastly, an upgrade that can make a big difference is sealing and insulation ductwork. It is estimated that 20% of your heated air could be leaking out of loose ducts. When the blower is on, that figure could rise to 70%. If you do this on your own, make sure that you do not use duct tape, but use mastic and mesh tape.

By Erik Braunitzer, and courtesy of Douglas Elliman Real Estate Company, agents for NYC Apartments.

Strategies for Selecting a Home Security Systems Business

admin — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 07:40:21 +0000

Follow these simple steps when you select the home security companies that will install and run your home security systems. Remember – the company that serves you is your first response to any problem within the perimeters set by your system, so choosing a company you can work with is essential:

1: Given the importance of home security, it is vital that your home security company operates every minute of every day all the way through the year. That might sound pretty obvious but some don’t. Make sure you know that your home security companies are there for you at all times, or move on.

2: The people your home security systems company employs are vital to the safety of your house. So how are they employed? What kind of vetting procedures occur before a person is allowed to monitor your home through the security system?

3: Ask your company for a tour of its operation. This is not a finicky request by any means. The home security companies have total access to your private life – they are monitoring your home, as much as you let them – and that means they have a duty of care to you. If they won’t show you where they do things, and how, then they are not worth your money. Home security is incredibly sensitive – make sure you get the respect that sensitivity deserves.

4: Ask professionals if there are any companies they would recommend that you use. Whoever insures your home is an ideal referee for home security companies.

5: Know the anatomy of your quote. You want a quote that itemises absolutely everything you will have to pay for – and ideally you want to choose a company that does not sell you most of the stuff that you want as though it was an extra service. Take the time to read your quotes thoroughly and to question every single thing that you do not understand. Ask the person drawing up your quote to confirm that there will be no other charge levied at you for anything at all – in other words, that the home security systems quote figure you have at the bottom of the piece of paper is exactly what you will be paying and no more. Also make sure that the person creating your quote signs it in the appropriate place.

6: Familiarise yourself with the routines that your home security companies profess to follow. What will actually happen if something goes wrong in your home? How long can you expect to wait for assistance? Is there a clause allowing you to claim compensation if your assistance is not delivered? What kind of protection do you have from potential flaws in the system your home security company is offering?

No-one is perfect – though home security companies try to be as near to it as possible. The best ones are the ones that will happily discuss the possibility that they may not always be perfect with you. Any blanket claim that a system will never fail is a warning sign – do not ignore it.

CCTV Home Security Systems – Watch What’s Going On in Your Home

admin — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 08:51:51 +0000

CCTV home security systems help deter crime and make sure that the property is protected. CCTV stands for closed circuit television, and is used by many businesses and individuals as a means of surveillance and protection in the home or business setting. There are many different places that cameras can be found throughout the world, including in the streets of many cities as a way to prevent crime, see what’s going on, and make sure that everyone is safe. When something does happen, that tape can be used to help solve the crime or discover what happened in detail.

CCTV home security systems are a great addition to any home, but they are especially useful for people who have a lot of valuable items or those who are limited in their mobility. Those people who can’t get around their house deserve the same peace of mind that everyone else has, which can come from CCTV surveillance and monitoring. These cameras can be placed indoors and outdoors, no matter where you might want them to go. You can also choose from digital recording or traditional tapes, and choose how long you save the recordings before they are overwritten or deleted from the system.

Technology has created a great way to use CCTV home security systems with DVR (digital video recorder) machines. You can easily watch your home remotely with these services, no matter where in the world you might be. The system is also designed to hold recordings for days on end because there is so much available space. You can program these machines to do just about anything that you want, no matter what you might have in mind. By taking the time to check out your options, it should be easy for you to make the most of your investment.

CCTV home security systems are more affordable than you might realize. Common people assume that there is no need for CCTV or that they can’t afford these systems, but the reality is that many more people can afford them than they might realize. You should take the time to check out all of the different systems that are available and figure out which ones are going to help you get the peace of mind that you deserve in your home. You never know what might happen, but when you have CCTV security, you can always know what is going on in your home.

The Advantages of For Sale by Owner

admin — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 22:24:08 +0000

In these difficult financial times, it can be a frustrating task to sell your home. If you are looking to move into a bigger home, or if life has you moving to a new town, then you will want to sell your home as fast as possible to be sure that you are not burdened with two mortgages when you purchase your new home. One of the things that helps sell a home fast is to have a low asking price, but still retain the value in the home you need to pay off the existing mortgage. One of the ways to help keep your selling cost down is to use the process of for sale by owner, or FSBO, to sell your home. When you use FSBO you are not adding the cost of a realtor’s commission to your selling price, and you are also able to get what you feel is a fair price for your house and not what someone else thinks they can get for it.

In the very early days of FSBO, the homeowner was at a distinct disadvantage. Realtors had developed effective networks and processes for selling homes, but in the days prior to the internet there were no cost effective ways for an owner to sell their home on their own. Today there are companies that specialize in helping homeowners put together an effective marketing plan to quickly sell their home. These companies offer international exposure on several websites, and they also put out print catalogs that are distributed over the region that your home is located in. Now homeowners can get just as much marketing support and exposure as a realtor network, and it only costs them one flat-fee which is insignificant compared to the percentage a realtor would take.

When you sell your home using FSBO, you get to make the open house schedule and you also get to insure that the people that are looking at your home get the chance to hear all of the facts that may help them to make a decision. With a realtor you are stuck having open houses on their schedule, and a realtor does not know your home like you do so they tend to leave out information when they are talking to a customer. When you sell FSBO you also know what all of the terms of the sale are while the process is taking place. With a realtor, you may be backed into promises you do not want to keep and know that you cannot come through on. You have complete control over the process, and you know all of the details as they are happening.

Using FSBO allows you to experiment with different tactics to try and sell your home. If you want to change the wallpaper in a particular room to something more neutral, then you can do so without having to clear it with a realtor first. With FSBO you have complete control, and you can make your sale happen any way you want to.

Water Filtrations Systems are Much Better for your Health

admin — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 11:57:07 +0000

With all the concern over the safety of our drinking water these days, it is not any surprise to find that interest in water filtration systems has increased dramatically. Many people, after hearing of all the negatives associated with the water we use, are looking for ways to ensure that the water used in their homes and businesses is as safe as they can make it. To this end, a filtration system can be quite beneficial. These devices come in many different styles and types, so finding one that will fit into your situation is highly likely.

A water filtration system takes water that is delivered to a location, and processes it through a special filter that is generally made of carbon and other agents before it is used. This results in water that has fewer impurities and is much safer to use. Most water has already gone through processing at large water treatment centers, and this removes much of the foreign matter and other elements that are dangerous to one’s health, but there are still unwanted particles that remain. These particles have been tested a lot recently and it has been discovered that most are very harmful and many are also cancer-causing agents. By using a filter, these elements can be screened out before it is used.

There are many different types of water filtration systems that one can choose to use. Some are small versions that can sit on a counter top or table. These devices handle small amounts of water at a time and are very effective in some situations. Other devices actually attach to the water faucet or to the point in the plumbing where the water enters your location. These are great ways to filter larger quantities of water and also make it easier to make sure filtered water is incorporated in more situations such as cooking, making coffee or tea, bathing as well as in drinking water itself.

For those who are concerned about the safety of their water, buying bottled water may seem like a good way to be sure that they are getting the best quality water. This may not necessarily be true. Recent studies have shown that most bottled water has much in the way of unwanted elements as well. Further studies have shown that in some cases it is not much better than regular tap water. This is why it can be much better for your health to use a water filtration system and have the impurities removed at their source.

FSBO Tips to Make Your Home More Sellable via Photos

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:05:55 +0000

When you are acting as your own house agent, it is important that you put effort into the sale. While you may have a great home, so do thousands of other people. Putting a bit of thought and time into even small touches can greatly make a difference on how potential buyers will react when they take a tour of your home.

You need to put yourself in the place of the buyer. They are all going to have different tastes. For this reason, a home needs to appeal to the general likes of the public and many elements should be neutral. Your goal with be that no matter who comes to your home to have a look, they will be able to imagine themselves living there. Your furniture and decorating style will not be so bold that they cannot look passed that and see their own furniture there. Your colors will not be so overwhelming that they will not be able to envision the home with their own taste in colors.

One of the most important elements to marketing your home will be the photos that go along with your listing. It is very crucial to take new photographs and never use outdated ones. You will want the outside photos to reflect the current season. If that oak tree in your front yard has grown big and provide nice shading now, do not use a photograph in which that huge tree was a little small sapling.

Always invest in a high quality camera if you do not have one or cannot borrow one. You will want your photos to speak to the viewer, saying, and “Come look at me”. Photographs that appear hazy, out of focus or are too dark simply will not bring you the traffic that you want. Before you begin taking photos of your home, simply stand outside and look at the house from an unbiased viewpoint. Look at the details. Do the curtains that show through the window in the living room look dingy? Are the flowers outside of the walkway wilted? Does the front door need a fresh coat of paint? Little touches mean a lot. Therefore, before you begin snapping, do take the time to make the house look as nice as possible. Do keep in mind that while the focus will be on the house, if you do not think about the background, the focus may go there instead. Be sure to have all cluttered removed from around the home, do not have children’s toys in the photo and if your neighbor is washing his car and could end up in the background, do wait until he is done.

When you are ready to take pictures, check on one more thing: the weather. This can have a huge impact on a buyer’s opinion. Be sure that the day is nice and sunny. A cloudy or rainy day is not the day to show people what your home looks like, as even the coziest of abodes can look dull and even depressing in bad weather.

How to Prepare for the Placement of that FSBO Sign

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:18:21 +0000

If you decide to sell your home, and if you choose to put an FSBO sign on your property, as opposed the sign donated by a realtor, then you need to prepare for the placement of that sign. You need to get yourself ready to become a successful seller. You must transform your desire for a buyer into a winning FSBO strategy. Six simple steps can guarantee completion of that transformation.

The first step is easy—set a specific goal. If you have decided to sell your home, then you already have that goal firmly fixed in your mind. Once you have found a buyer for your home, then you will know that you have fulfilled your goal.

The next step requires a bit more thought. Next you need to establish a specific time period in which you plan to achieve your goal. If you are being forced to sell your home, then you have already learned about your timetable. If you are not under pressure to sell your home in a hurry, you still owe it to your neighbors to limit the amount of time that a “for sale” sign stands on your property.

Consider the plan that you want to follow as you go about selling your home. Make sure that your plan matches with the time period that you have established for the marketing of your home. Once you have formulated a plan then more to step four.

Step four involves the writing of your goal, and your plans for achieving that goal. Once you have used pen and ink to lay out the specifics for your plan, then you might realize that you need to add something more to your plan. That addition should take you to step number five.

Step number five calls for the setting of an asking price. Think about what price you are planning to ask for your home. Keep in mind the danger of asking too high a price. Such a price could drive away a potential buyer. Sometimes a seller needs to sacrifice a bit of what he or she hoped to make on a home, in order to find a buyer for that residence.

After you have completed steps one through five then you are ready to work on step six. Step six can seldom be completed in a single day, of even in a single week. When the seller of an FSBO property has chosen to tackle step six, then that seller needs to think about his or her goal every single day. Attainment of that goal should be the seller’s top priority.

Of course, the seller should not just sit and think about his or her goal. The seller should act from day one. The minute that the seller has completed steps one through five, then the seller should start to put into action whatever strategy has been developed. By taking immediate action, a seller helps to make sure that any planned strategy will eventually be viewed as a winning strategy.

Tips for Buying an FSBO Home

admin — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:54:33 +0000

When you think about buying a home, you probably envision this being done with a real estate agent. Perhaps you’ve thought about how that agent would dedicate themselves to showing you potential houses and walk you through the steps and when you do find the house of your dreams, you would have that real estate agent to thank. However, a growing number of home owners are buying FBSO houses and finding that it saved them considerable amounts of money. Let’s look at the ways that purchasing a home that is “for sale by owner” can be beneficial to you.

At any given time more than twenty percent of houses on the market are for sale by owner houses. Now, this obviously means that there is a not an agent on the selling side, however there does not need to be one on the buying side either. If you involve an agent when purchasing an FSBO house, you or the buyer would need to pay a commission to that agent and both of you do not want to do that. By following some clear guidelines, you can cut out the middle man, making the process beneficial to both parties involved.

The first thing that you should do is to stay within your means. While we have all heard this advice before, there are millions of credit card holders who have not followed it. Decide what your maximum budget is and never go above this amount.

Once you know what your maximum price would be for the house of your dreams, figure out how much you can afford for a down payment, while still leaving yourself a good amount of emergency money. While putting down 20K may seem like a great idea, if that leaves you with nothing left in your bank account, you may be better off putting down 15K and having some backup. Once you know your figures, it is time to get pre-approved. This is an important element to buying FSBO homes, as the seller will know that you are serious and ready to get down to business.

You’ll next want to scan around for FSBO houses, very simply done via the Internet. Now, since the seller does not have an agent and you do not need one either, the next step is to simply contact the seller. Make a list of questions you wish to ask about the property so that you can rule out any that do not suit your needs. To cover yourself and make sure that you would be paying a fair price, you will want to obtain a valuation report for the property. This is much like the information that a real estate agent would receive, showing the comparative market analysis, known as CMA. The CMA will compare the house to others that have sold recently in the neighborhood.

Before making an offer to the seller, you next step would be to obtain an attorney, preferably a real estate lawyer who specializes in home sales. Once you are backed by legal counsel, your attorney will guide you through the process of making an offer and closing the deal.

What you Need to Know About Disclosure

admin — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:50:35 +0000

Discloser in regard to house sales is the legal responsibility of the seller or agent to tell any prospective buyers about any defects of the home prior to the sale.

When you are selling a home, if you have an agent that agent is legally bound to disclose any defects regarding the house to potential buyers. When you sell your home yourself, to take the middleman out of the picture and keep all of the profits, you also are legally bound to disclose any information regarding your home. If you do not follow the proper guidelines, you can find yourself in deep water, as you can ultimately be sued for damages. While it does not happen often, there are cases in which a seller has been sued and forced to take the home back.

For this reason, it is very important to understand the elements of disclose to make sure that you follow these by the book. Most states do have mandatory discloser laws. These laws protect a buyer and ensure that they are given any pertinent information regarding defects of the home. The most important element to know is that you are bound to disclose the defects even when not asked. Therefore, if the basement has a leak or floods during rainy season, if they potential buyer does not think to ask about this, you must give them this information, in other words, you must “disclose” it.

Now, one thing to keep in mind is that disclosing information is not necessarily going to make potential buyers go running. Many buyers are interested in properties that need repairs, as they know that the asking price will be lower and this may be just the type of home that they are interested in buying. In addition, unless a home is brand new, most buyers do know that a home cannot be perfect.

While you market your home with an upbeat tone of voice and a pleasant spiel about its benefits and pluses, do take the time to also casually mention its faults. It may help to give a specific example of when a defect affected you and the steps that you took to resolve it. For example, if water does go into your basement during heavy rains let the potential owners know, but then follow up by telling them about how your pump handles it well, perhaps let them know that the pump will be given to them if they do purchase the house and how often to expect such an issue.

Your disclosure can also serve you well in negotiations. If a known issue would cost 3K to resolve and you offer to lower the price by 2K, they buyer may wish to opt for the lower price and perhaps resolve the issue some time down the road or may even opt to fix it themselves.

Your biggest question may be, “what constitutes a disclosure?” It is suggested to have your home inspected. If the inspected finds red flags and you do not have those issues fixed, they would be issues that you should disclose. Be sure to find an experience inspected, as in the end, the responsibility to disclose any home defects will fall on you and not the inspector.

Time To Get The Low Down On The FSBO FAQ

admin — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:48:23 +0000

Whenever you hear the words FSBO what do you think of? Well if you do not know what that stands for then you more than likely have no idea. FSBO stands for For Sale By Owner. This place is the fastest growing for sale by owner site on the internet. There are some other places that try and say that they are number one, but they are just using smoke and mirrors. There is no place on the internet that is going to give you more help than FSBO when you are trying to sell your house by yourself. Now you can sell your house by yourself without being by yourself.

FSBO (or For Sale By Owner) is one of the fastest growing markets on the internet. This is for people who are trying to sell their own home. Now you can actually get your home to sell without having to pay someone a fee. First of all, we need to talk about some of the good things about FSBO. When you use to want to try and sell your home by yourself you had to wait for the word of mouth to kick in. Now with the FSBO website you have the power of the internet behind you. The best thing about FSBO is that you have nothing to lose. If your house does not sell then you get a full return of your money. This means that if you put your house up on their website and it does not get a bite then you are going to get all your money back. If you are trying to sell your house there is no deal that is better than that one. Selling your own home has never been easier.

When I am thinking of FSBO I start thinking of the fact that I do not have to pay any commission on my home. That means that you do not have to give someone 6% of what your home is worth in order for them to sell it. That means that is going to put more money back in your pocket. That way you can use that money for more important things like finding your own house and putting a down payment on it. Also, when I say that you do not have to do it alone I mean that you do not have to do it alone. You are going to have full access to their hotline. That means that you can reach them day or night to help you get your house off the market as quickly as humanly possible. Many people have problems trying to sell their home themselves, however, with FSBO on your side you are going to be just fine.

If you have any questions all you have to do is look at the FSBO FAQ, and you will see that all your questions can be answered there. If you still have a question that needs to be answered then all you need to do is get a hold of them, and they will answer your question one on one. Remember this company is here to help you. Having a way to get your hands on all the tools they have available to you is great. I think that you are going to be amazed at how fast you sell your home After all, the best part about putting your home up on the market is the fact that you get a new one. So do not waste time waiting for your home to sell.