November 30th, 2007 categories: Real Estate
Whether your battling mild or severe winter weather in your neck of the woods this season, you’ll no doubt want to rely on your home’s heating system to keep you warm and comfortable. When was the last time you evaluated your home’s heating system-or even performed a cursory check-to ensure that it is in proper working condition? If you’re like most people, it’s probably a good time to take a hacksaw to those cobwebs and give your heater the once-over.
There are several ways to make sure your heating system is in good shape, depending on the type of system in your home. U.S. Inspect recommends that gas heaters be cleaned and serviced every other year. In addition, it’s a good idea to clean or replace the air filters about every two months during the heating season. A service contract certainly isn’t a bad idea either, especially for older heaters. Service contracts are good for anticipating potential problems and just for peace of mind.
Oil-fired hot water systems operate differently than gas heaters, and thus require different maintenance. Oil-fired heating systems should be cleaned every season, and the nozzles should be changed annually. Periodically clean the boiler tubes, and be sure that the barometric draft control is functioning properly. To maintain efficient heating in your home, be sure to “bleed” the distribution system at the beginning of each season. After the radiators are bled, the altitude pressure should be between 10 and 15 pounds. The high limit should be between 180 and 190 degrees and the low limit should be between 20 and 25 degrees less than the high limit.
You may be surprised at how little effort may be needed to ensure that your heating system operates properly and at its optimal level. Besides, if you had to run about 14 hours a day this season, wouldn’t you appreciate a little attention?
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November 30th, 2007 categories: Finances
MLSHomeQuest just got wind of this extremely easy to use tool that can be used to find properties that are in foreclosure anywhere in the country. Foreclosures, and the methodologies that surround their successful acquisition can be tricky – but very profitable ventures for anyone looking for ways to leverage capital.
ForeClosureData.com has released a new online website filled with helpful articles, tips, and most important lists of homes in foreclosure for every state in the country. This helpful online tool eliminates literally day’s spent in county records offices searching for foreclosure filings from public records.
Homes in foreclosure come from a variety of sources, which complicates things for investors, or individuals looking for a new home when trying to use this esoteric methodology to reduce investment costs.
ForeClosureData.com’s new website aggregates lists, ferreted out from records offices around the country, and presents them to you in the easiest to use online tool We have ever seen. Finding federal, HUD, Bank, repossessed, government seized, or any other type of foreclosed home now takes just minutes – not days. No more combing through research from long hours browsing through records (in one county office), you have access to all (any number of counties) in one easy to use tool.
We got excited about this one so thought we would pass it on. We know of many investors who have made this work, and made it work VERY well. This new tool just makes it all easier, and thus hands this opportunity to the average consumer (they also have a special section just for investors). We can now all participate.
Take a few moments and see what they are offering. We are betting that you will be just as excited about it as we are.
Their website and online tools, articles, guides and everything else can be found at:
http://ForeClosureData.com
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November 29th, 2007 categories: For Fun
The folks over at Springwise point us to a great new tool for for coordinating family schedules…..
Launched about a year ago, Cozi Central is an online service that helps busy families manage schedules, appointments, shopping and communications from wherever they are—the kitchen, car, office or even the grocery store. Available both as a software download and in a online version, the service gives the entire family access to shared calendars, shopping lists and reminders from any computer or mobile phone. Cozi’s color-coded calendar module tracks appointments for everyone in the family, while the message function helps family members coordinate via phone or e-mail. A downloadable Cozi Outlook toolbar helps parents stay connected while at work. Centralized shopping lists are available for access remotely, and a photo collage screensaver lets family members enjoy and share their digital photos. Best of all, the service is free for users, funded by Cozi’s relationships with co-branding, advertising and affiliate partners.
“The American family has never been busier,” explains Mari Baker, former president of BabyCenter and a board member for Seattle-based Cozi. “In the majority of households, both parents are working and kids are involved in so many extracurricular activities that moms spend much of their time coordinating, chauffeuring and juggling. Cozi Central is family-ready—it can handle the hectic nature of family life and provides an easy method for managing the day-to-day madness.”
Cozi families have an average of 2.8 computers in the home and a median household income of $91,375; their moms are part of a group (women 25-44) that controls $2.1 trillion in annual US household spending, the company says. While Cozi Central can be used anywhere in the world, functionality is limited outside the United States.
How long before this gets fully rolled out elsewhere, catering to the specific needs and wants (and media opportunities) of families in other parts of the world?
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November 28th, 2007 categories: Real Estate
According to a new release from Borrell Associates, real estate agents, who initially tried to appease home sellers by advertising more on traditional channels, this year cut their print budgets and pushed more money into the Web. Total ad spending on real estate has declined 3 percent this year, while spending on the online segment has grown 25.8 percent, hitting $2.6 billion. Borrell projects online real estate advertising to grow at 12.4 percent next year while total real estate advertising continues to compress. In three years, says the report, agents and brokers will be spending more ad dollars with online media than with the newspaper.
| Real Estate Ad Revenues for Online/Newspapers/Other Media ($ thousands) | ||
|
2007 Forecast |
2012 Projection |
|
| Newspapers |
$4,842 |
$3,295 |
| Online |
$2,582 |
$3,453 |
| All Other |
$4,038 |
$4,458 |
| Total |
$11,462 |
$11,206 |
| Source: Borrell Associates, Inc., November 2007 | ||
Two million adjustable-rate mortgages are due to be re-priced over the next 24 months and as many as 25 percent of these might go into default as a result, consistent with a report published in October by the Census Bureau showing that homeownership fell for the fourth consecutive quarter. From a peak of 69.3 percent of households in 2004, now only 68.1 percent of households own their own home.
After average annual increases of approximately nine percent in total real estate advertising between 2001 and 2005, the market essentially flat-lined in 2006 and is forecast to fall by 3.3 percent this year, says the report. This trend will continue for at least the next two years.
For newspapers, the situation is worse. The study projects that coming off last year’s high of almost $5.2 billion in print advertising, there will be a 6.8 percent decline this year, almost the same again in 2008, followed by a 16 percent fall in 2009 and 13 percent in 2010. By then, real estate marketers will be spending more on online media than on newspapers or local homes magazines.
For more details in the release, and access to the complete study, please visit Borrell Associates here.
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