Lori Blank

07

Nov

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Around The Home

Creative Ways To Recycle Everyday Household Items

Every week the trash truck comes to pick up our garbage and unwanted items, which are promptly taken to landfills. Instead of filling landfills and just buying new items to stuff our homes, we can help the earth and recycle everyday household items. Below are a few fun and creative ideas for recycling things around your home that you might be ready to trash. Coffee Table Into Bench If you just purchased a new coffee table, don't give away the old one — repurpose it. Find a space in your home where you could use some additional seating, like at…

06

Nov

By Lori Blank

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Homeowner Tips

Be Proactive And Inspect Your Home Foundation

You probably had someone check your foundation when you bought the house, but have you looked twice at it since? These problems don't happen overnight. They start small and they grow. By the time an issue comes to your attention, it might be too late. Learn to recognize the problems while they're still small and cheap. Your wallet will thank you later. Floor Level You might be able to tell if your floor is level just by walking on it. Some people have a knack for recognizing this problem. If you suspect your floor of being a bit off balance, grab…

05

Nov

By Lori Blank

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Home Seller Tips

4 Staging Tips For Your Vacant Land For Sale

In some ways, selling vacant land is no different from selling a home. You still have to prepare it for sale, and you still need to make it look as good as possible. This process of cleaning and beautifying is called staging. Here are a few tips for staging your land. De-Clutter. Your buyer wants to actually see your vacant land, and clutter only blocks their vision. Remove fallen tree branches, trash, and junk like car parts and damaged buildings. Cut back large brush. Clear paths so potential buyers can easily walk around the property. Highlight the positive features. Do…

04

Nov

By Lori Blank

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Housing Analysis

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – November 4, 2013

Last week's economic news came from a variety of sources. Most significant was the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee statement after its meeting ended Wednesday. The statement indicated that the Fed saw moderate economic growth. FOMC did not taper its purchase of MBS and Treasury securities. The FOMC statement announced the committee's intention to closely monitor economic and financial developments "in the coming months," which suggested that the FOMC is taking a wait-and-see position on reducing its $85 billion monthly asset purchases. Mortgage Rates, Jobless Claims Fall The Fed's asset purchase program, also known as quantitative easing, was implanted in 2012 with a…

01

Nov

By Lori Blank

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Around The Home

8 Tips On Making Candles Safe For Your Home

Candles and candle accessories are very popular. However, when not used properly, candles can be extremely dangerous, resulting in property destruction and even injury or death. Here are some candle safety tips to help keep you and your home safe. Never leave a burning candle unattended. Walking away from an open flame inside your home is just not a good idea. You never know what may happen while you're out. Never burn a candle near something that can catch fire. This includes drapes, lampshades, furniture, bedding, books, and carpet. A flame in your home can quickly turn into a destructive…

31

Oct

By Lori Blank

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Consumer Tips

12 Trick-Or-Treating Safety Tips

Gone are the days where parents sit at home while their costumed children run around the neighborhood alone. These days, most small children are walked door to door by family. While there is relatively little mischief they can get into under their parents' watchful gaze, below are even more trick-or-treating safety tips for an untroubled, fun and haunted evening. Light Them Up – Put reflective tape on your children's costumes and bags, so drivers can identify them easily. It's dark out there! Plan A Route – Hit up familiar homes and don't get too far from your house in case…

30

Oct

By Lori Blank

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Home Buyer Tips

Beware Of Zombie Titles

With the economic downturn, anyone dealing in real estate quickly became familiar with previously little-known terms such as foreclosure and short sale. Now that the housing market is picking back up and people are moving on, a new term is coming to light — zombie titles. The Zombie Title This is when a home has been vacated because the owners defaulted on their loan and their bank started the foreclosure process. However, for some reason or another the bank never completed the foreclosure and sold the home. So, when the city starts fining someone for the overgrown grass and dilapidated…

29

Oct

By Lori Blank

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Housing Analysis

What You Should Know About Pending Home Sales This Month

Pending home sales fell in September by -5.60 percent, and were 1.20 percent lower year-over-year. This is the first time in more than two years that pending home sales have fallen below year-earlier readings. September's reading was below August's reading of -1.60 percent. The National Association of REALTORS®, which released the report, expects lower home sales for the fourth quarter of 2013 and flat sales into 2014. NAR provided good news in its forecast of 10 percent growth in existing home sales in 2013 as compared to 2012. A spike in mortgage rates in August coupled with rapidly rising home…

28

Oct

By Lori Blank

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Housing Analysis

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – October 28, 2013

Federal government agencies issued reports that were delayed by the government shutdown; and Freddie Mac reported that average mortgage rates fell for all types of loans it reports. The National Association of REALTORS issued its Existing Home Sales report on Monday. While 5.30 million home sales were expected an annual basis, September's reading fell short at 5.29 million sales. August's reading was adjusted from an original reading of 5.48 million, which equaled July's reading. Higher mortgage rates and home prices were cited as contributing to the slip in September's sales. The Bureau of Labor Statistics issued the Nonfarm Payrolls report…

25

Oct

By Lori Blank

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Around The Home

3 Easy Tips To Protect Your Deck This Winter

Barbecue season is all but over, and you won't be spending as much time out on the deck. Don't let it get you down, though. Spring will be here before you know it. There are a lot of things that can wear down and damage your deck, so protect your deck and make sure it stays in tip top shape over the winter. Cover The Furniture You want your deck to look as good in the spring as it does now. The first step is to cover all the furniture (don't forget the grill!). Cover everything with commercial furniture covers…