This article was published on: 02/01/2008 FEATURE: House & Home
Maintenance Must-dos First-time buyers often don’t know much about home maintenance. You can help by giving them a maintenance schedule that’ll prevent small problems from turning into big headaches.
BY JOHN N. FRANK
First-time buyers often don’t know much about home maintenance. You can help by giving them a maintenance schedule that’ll prevent small problems from turning into big headaches. Our maintenance checklist was compiled with the help of Lou Manfredini, Ace Hardware’s home improvement spokesperson and star of the “Mr. Fix-It” show on Chicago’s WGN-AM radio, and Frank Lesh, president of the American Society of Home Inspectors and head of his own home inspection company, Home Sweet Home Inspection Co., in Indian Head Park, Ill.Inside Tasks
Change your furnace filters monthly. “It’s so easy to do but so critical,” says Lesh. Clogged filters decrease furnace efficiency and can cause breakdowns.
Drain your water heater at least once a year. Sediment will drain out along with the water from the water tank. Removing sediment can prolong the heater’s useful life.
Clean the coils. If you have baseboard heating units that use hot water, clear dust from the coils inside the units to maximize heating efficiency. Clean dust whenever you see it accumulating. If you have a hot water boiler/furnace, you should also oil the pump inside the furnace twice a year, says Lesh. Look for the three spots on the pump designated for oiling.
Check your circuits. Test the performance of the circuit breakers in your electrical circuit box twice a year by flipping them off and back on. If you have a circuit that keeps shutting off with normal daily electrical use, call an electrician. A faulty circuit breaker could indicate a short in the wiring inside your walls.
Watch out for drips. Check under sinks periodically to look for leaks or water stains that might indicate leaks. Catching a small problem early can prevent water damage. Use a plunger to clean out sinks and tubs whenever water doesn’t drain normally.
Replace regularly. Water heaters, furnaces, roofs, and other key components of your home should be replaced before they fail, based on their average useful lives (see schedule below).
Schedule for Replacement
Average life span (in years)
Exterior painting
5–10
Furnace
15–50
Roof
13–15
Water heater
7–15
Wood deck staining
4–7
Outside Tasks
Keep the wet out. Water is a major enemy of your house. Check each season for signs of water damage to your home. Flashing, the metal pieces used to seal the areas between roofs and chimneys and around doors and windows, are especially vulnerable to damage by wind or age. Loose flashing can let water seep under a roof or inside walls, which in turn can cause mold.
Get to the bottom of things. Check your home’s foundation for cracks or gaps that could let in water or varmints. Also look at the ground around your house. As homes age, they often sink slightly below the surrounding ground. This settling lets water puddle against the foundation and possibly damage it, notes Manfredini. Doing major landscaping work also can cause changes to the ground’s pitch that let water flow toward the house.
Look up. Chimneys take a great deal of weather abuse. Visually inspect them each year for signs of loose mortar or loose or missing bricks. Have the insides of chimneys cleaned every two to three years. Also check your roof for loose shingles or dangling gutters.
Everyone should be doing regular maintenance on his or her home regardless of weather your are a first time home buyer or an experienced home buyer. You would be surprised how many homes I see on weekly bases that do not perform simply tasks to keep their home in a maintained manor. Many times I will go to visit a home, to see and decide if it is a listing I will be accepting, and many homeowners consider theses “regular maintenance” items upgrades. Maintaining your home will pay in the end when you go to sell. Most buyers are looking for a home they can move into and continue to maintain, not rebuild.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Interesting article regarding Amendment 1.....
Jan 22, 2008 – Bradenton Herald
Yes on tax cut
Florida's politicians have put voters between a rock and a hard place with Amendment 1. And in this era of sky-high property taxes and runaway government spending, we support passage.
We need to send a strong message to politicians and bureaucrats. Taxes and budgets are out of control. Residents cannot afford to pay them any longer.While Amendment 1 does not fix an inequitable tax system, it does put an estimated $9.3 billion back into taxpayers' hands over five years. That will help rein in government spending, and that's a good thing - one we hope is just the beginning of more meaningful tax reform to come. The public outcry for that needs to continue.
One of the amendment's provisions would increase the homestead exemption from the current $25,000 to $50,000. That would not apply to school property taxes, which usually account for 40 percent of a bill. In effect, the extra exemption makes for a total of $40,000. The average annual savings amounts to $240, and while that is too little, it's a beginning. We rank that as a plus.
Another key provision - portability - enables homeowners to carry their Save Our Homes benefits to another house. Save Our Homes limits annual increases in assessed value to either 3 percent or the level of inflation, whichever one is lower. Thanks to soaring property values during the past few years, longtime homeowners can take up to $500,000 in tax breaks when they move into another house. That's a significant savings on a tax bill, one that many hope will pump life into a wheezing real estate market. That's a plus, too.
A third component gives businesses a tax exemption on the first $25,000 of tangible property like supplies and fixtures - another plus.The amendment also would put a 10 percent cap on non-homesteaded property, though that, too, does not apply to school taxes. Snowbirds, businesses and owners of investment properties would benefit. That 10 percent mark, though, would only come into play during years of skyrocketing real estate values. The jury's still out on this provision.
Now, the one big minus.
We cannot ignore the argument that Amendment 1 serves to make an inequitable tax system even more unfair. Recent homebuyers, snowbirds, investment property owners and business owners already pay a disproportionate share of property taxes compared with longtime homeowners, thanks to Save Our Homes. Boosting the homestead exemption will add to that disparity. The portability provision also favors longtime homeowners whose property values have shot up.
But we have to begin attacking property taxes somewhere. Government must get the message: Stop spending.
We find the outcries about severe cuts in services unconvincing. Before the run-up in property values, we somehow managed to build schools and educate children, provide police and fire protection, and maintain water and sewer lines. Yes, we'll see a drop-off in services. We appreciate the fact that you get what you pay for.
We'll manage just fine.
Our overriding concern is the fact that taxpayers have been footing too big a bill of late. Some critics say the average annual savings of $240 is a joke, only enough to buy an iPod. We say it's a start.
The Legislature may not have the political stomach to bite into property taxes in the coming session. Lawmakers already have billions in budget cuts on their plates thanks to plunging sales tax revenues.
Amendment 1 is far from perfect, but it's all we've got. And it's a start.We urge a Yes vote.
My Comments/Thoughts:
I know we will all be going to the polls on the 29th to vote and while I don’t think the amendment is close to helping people in the long run it is a start. I don’t think it is enough to just write amendment to give temporary tax breaks.
Our city government has made all kinds of ridiculous threats saying that a vote for amendment one will cause a decrease in public safety. My comment to the City of Gainesville would be “then how did you make room in the budget to spend $21,000 dollars to send mail outs to the citizens of Gainesville telling the not to vote for amendment one?” Absolutely ridiculous! That $21,000 dollars should have been spent to synchronize the lights on Archer Road, fix pot holes, or to hire a new fire fighter. Deep down we all know that even if amendment one passes the City will still charge us just as much the will just change the verbiage from “property tax” to “special assessment”.
I think that we, the citizens, need to send a message to our local governments telling them we ware tired of being taxed to death. Every week I have a local resident of Gainesville tell how much they would like to move or downsize, but can’t afford the taxes. One woman even said she “feels like a prisoner of her own home”.
If you are tired of being tax to death send our City and County a real message vote yes on Amendment 1 and then vote the wasteful spending officials!!
Yes on tax cut
Florida's politicians have put voters between a rock and a hard place with Amendment 1. And in this era of sky-high property taxes and runaway government spending, we support passage.
We need to send a strong message to politicians and bureaucrats. Taxes and budgets are out of control. Residents cannot afford to pay them any longer.While Amendment 1 does not fix an inequitable tax system, it does put an estimated $9.3 billion back into taxpayers' hands over five years. That will help rein in government spending, and that's a good thing - one we hope is just the beginning of more meaningful tax reform to come. The public outcry for that needs to continue.
One of the amendment's provisions would increase the homestead exemption from the current $25,000 to $50,000. That would not apply to school property taxes, which usually account for 40 percent of a bill. In effect, the extra exemption makes for a total of $40,000. The average annual savings amounts to $240, and while that is too little, it's a beginning. We rank that as a plus.
Another key provision - portability - enables homeowners to carry their Save Our Homes benefits to another house. Save Our Homes limits annual increases in assessed value to either 3 percent or the level of inflation, whichever one is lower. Thanks to soaring property values during the past few years, longtime homeowners can take up to $500,000 in tax breaks when they move into another house. That's a significant savings on a tax bill, one that many hope will pump life into a wheezing real estate market. That's a plus, too.
A third component gives businesses a tax exemption on the first $25,000 of tangible property like supplies and fixtures - another plus.The amendment also would put a 10 percent cap on non-homesteaded property, though that, too, does not apply to school taxes. Snowbirds, businesses and owners of investment properties would benefit. That 10 percent mark, though, would only come into play during years of skyrocketing real estate values. The jury's still out on this provision.
Now, the one big minus.
We cannot ignore the argument that Amendment 1 serves to make an inequitable tax system even more unfair. Recent homebuyers, snowbirds, investment property owners and business owners already pay a disproportionate share of property taxes compared with longtime homeowners, thanks to Save Our Homes. Boosting the homestead exemption will add to that disparity. The portability provision also favors longtime homeowners whose property values have shot up.
But we have to begin attacking property taxes somewhere. Government must get the message: Stop spending.
We find the outcries about severe cuts in services unconvincing. Before the run-up in property values, we somehow managed to build schools and educate children, provide police and fire protection, and maintain water and sewer lines. Yes, we'll see a drop-off in services. We appreciate the fact that you get what you pay for.
We'll manage just fine.
Our overriding concern is the fact that taxpayers have been footing too big a bill of late. Some critics say the average annual savings of $240 is a joke, only enough to buy an iPod. We say it's a start.
The Legislature may not have the political stomach to bite into property taxes in the coming session. Lawmakers already have billions in budget cuts on their plates thanks to plunging sales tax revenues.
Amendment 1 is far from perfect, but it's all we've got. And it's a start.We urge a Yes vote.
My Comments/Thoughts:
I know we will all be going to the polls on the 29th to vote and while I don’t think the amendment is close to helping people in the long run it is a start. I don’t think it is enough to just write amendment to give temporary tax breaks.
Our city government has made all kinds of ridiculous threats saying that a vote for amendment one will cause a decrease in public safety. My comment to the City of Gainesville would be “then how did you make room in the budget to spend $21,000 dollars to send mail outs to the citizens of Gainesville telling the not to vote for amendment one?” Absolutely ridiculous! That $21,000 dollars should have been spent to synchronize the lights on Archer Road, fix pot holes, or to hire a new fire fighter. Deep down we all know that even if amendment one passes the City will still charge us just as much the will just change the verbiage from “property tax” to “special assessment”.
I think that we, the citizens, need to send a message to our local governments telling them we ware tired of being taxed to death. Every week I have a local resident of Gainesville tell how much they would like to move or downsize, but can’t afford the taxes. One woman even said she “feels like a prisoner of her own home”.
If you are tired of being tax to death send our City and County a real message vote yes on Amendment 1 and then vote the wasteful spending officials!!
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