Atlanta home owners had a rude awakening this past Monday, or a great awakening if you were a youngster, with six plus inches of fluffy white snow covering everything  as far as the eye could see. As far as the kids were concerned it was days off school, fun it the snow, hot chocolate, and maybe a warm fire to sit by when they came in from all the wintery fun seldom experienced in the Atlanta area.

For the homeowner it was somewhat of a different story. After the playtime, hot chocolate, and a little fireside time, there were other more worrisome things to be considered such as...

Cold, cold, cold! When temperatures drop and stay below freezing for several days and down into the teens at night there's a high likelihood of the pipes and outside hose bibs freezing.

When water freezes it expands and can easily burst these pipes. To safeguard against this hazard there are several things you should consider doing. First, locate your outside hose bibs. Then find the water cut off valve for each one and turn the water off. After it's off, open the outside hose bibs to drain any remaining water. In homes with crawl spaces you may find the valve in the crawl space just behind the hose bib. These may be a little more difficult to locate. However, while you are under the house check to see if your water lines are insulated. If they aren't you should consider insulating them. Keep in mind though that insulation does not generate heat, it only retards the rate of heat loss. Even well insulated supply pipes will freeze if exposed to sub-freezing and sub-zero temperatures for a prolonged period of time. With all that said, one option you may consider is to install thermostatically controlled electric heating tapes on the pipes, then cover them with insulation to keep the heat in.
 

AFCI, The Shocking Truth!

 
AFCIs were developed in response to a need for equipment to sense when an arc fault was occurring.
Studies of building fires had attributed many electrical faults to an arcing type, which were igniting flammable materials within the building structure.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) asked the electrical industry to look at a technical solution to the issue of preventing fires by tripping circuits which were exhibiting power fluctuations due to arc faults.

AFCIs are able to detect faults as low as 5 amps (peak) for series arcs, and for 75 amps (peak) for parallel arcs.  They can also detect arcing caused by faults, such as dead-shorts due to nails and screws through conductors, and arcing due to lose connections anywhere in the circuit.

Now that I’ve laid the ‘ground work’ for you, I want to tell you about my first hand experience with Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters. My house was built less than two years ago, and my wife went to pull the ceiling fan chain last night and the fan quit working. I noticed immediately that the alarm clock light went out. So I headed to the basement to check the breaker. As I suspected, it was tripped, so I reset it and it tripped again. Okay, so now I realized it was time for the flashlight and time to check out the ceiling fan. To my surprise one of the light bulbs had come unscrewed a bit, and the metal pull chain for the fan was against the metal threads on the bulb. At the moment my wife pulled the fan chain the AFCI tripped the circuit, and thanks to the AFCI device my wife did not get the shock of her life! Furthermore, if this circuit had not been interrupted, and the ceiling fan was on and no one was at home, it could have started a fire.          

Deadly Mistakes Every Home Buyer Should Avoid

 

Today, buying the home of your dreams is easier than ever before. Many people who thought that buying the home they wanted was simply out of their reach are now enjoying a new lifestyle in their very own new home.

Buying a home is the smartest financial decision you will ever make. In fact, most American and Canadian home owners would be financially broke at retirement if it weren't for one saving grace - the equity in their home. Furthermore, mortgage rates are more flexible today than ever and tax allowances favor home ownership.

Real estate values have always risen steadily. Of course there are peaks and valleys, but the long term the trend is a consistent increase. This means that every month when you make a mortgage payment the amount that you owe on the home goes down and the value typically increases. This owe less-worth more situation is called equity build-up and is the reason you can't afford not to buy.

Even if you have little money for a down payment or credit problems, chances are that you can still buy that new home. It just comes down to knowing the right strategies, and working with the right people. See below.

Buying property is a complex and stressful task. In fact, it is often the biggest single investment you will make in your lifetime. At the same time, real estate transactions have become increasingly complicated. New technology, laws, procedures and competition from other buyers require buyer agents to perform at an ever-increasing level of professionalism. For many homebuyers, the process turns into a terrible, stressful ordeal. In addition, making the wrong decisions can end up costing you thousands of dollars. It does not have to be this way!

Work with a buyer's agent who has a keen understanding of the real estate business and who is on your side. Buyer's agents have a fiduciary duty to you. That means they are loyal to only you and are obligated to look out for your best interests. Buyer's agents can help you find the best home, the best lender and the best inspector. Best of all, in most cases, the buyer's agent is paid out of the seller's commission, even though he/she works for you.

Trying to buy a home without an agent at all is, well... unthinkable.

Buying a home is probably the most expensive purchase you will ever make. This is no time to shop for a cheap inspection. The cost of a home inspection is very small relative to the home being inspected. The additional cost of hiring a certified inspector is almost insignificant. As a homebuyer, you have recently been crunching the numbers, negotiating offers, adding up closing costs, shopping for mortgages and trying to get the best deals. Do not stop now. Do not let your real estate agent, a patty-cake inspector or anyone else talk you into skimping here.

InterNACHI front-ends its membership requirements. InterNACHI turns down more than 1/2 the inspectors who want to join because they can't fulfill the membership requirements.

InterNACHI certified inspectors perform the best inspections by far. InterNACHI certified inspectors earn their fees many times over. They do more, they deserve more, and yes they generally charge a little more. Do yourself a favor...and pay a little more for the quality inspection you deserve.

Foreclosure Inspections: Trust Your Gut

So, you want to buy a house cheap, and you look to the foreclosure market. Considering the over-abundance of these properties and just how little many of them are going for, it’s tempting to jump on the bandwagon and buy up. And it may pay off as a long-term investment.  But, like any other major purchase, you should know as much as you can about a property before you buy it, which is why home inspections, performed by certified InterNACHI inspectors, are necessary.
Foreclosure Inspections

What Really Matters

Buying a home? The process can be stressful. A home inspection is supposed to give you peace of mind, but often has the opposite effect.  You will be asked to absorb a lot of information in a short time.  This often includes a written report, checklist, photographs, environmental reports and what the inspector himself says during the inspection.  All this combined with the seller's disclosure and what you notice yourself makes the experience even more overwhelming. What should you do?
What Really Matters