For less than $20
When the needle falls to red, grillers can expect another 15 minutes of cooking until total flame out. The method is reportedly more reliable than the magnetic tank gauge
Additionally, if the GasWatch gauge senses a leak, it shuts down the flow of propane to keep the grill from catching fire.
July 4th is behind us, but there's lots of grilling left in the season. Pick up a GasWatch propane gauge at a local Home Depot or hardware store, or buy one online at Amazon.com
While no one wants to deal with their own mortality,there's a right way and a wrong way to transfer a home posthumously. The right way requires having a documented plan. The wrong way could stick your loved ones with a tax bill so large they may have to sell the home just to cover it. And the saddest part of not having an estate plan is the mess you leave for your loved ones to untangle after you're gone.
With just 4 minutes for the segment posted above , The Today Show rushes through some very important estate planning considerations, but that doesn't make the points any less relevant.
Among the estate planning tips:
Estate plans are simple, are cheap, and affords protection from the state and the IRS. Every homeowner should have one.And though the points made here are important, remember they are very basic. If you have someone to consult with to review your own specific needs, why not give them a call and make an appointment. I'll bet you'll feel better after you do!.
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As household budgets get pinched and credit markets tighten, a growing number of Americans are making "hardship withdrawals" from their 401(k) plans.
One major fund group cites a 15 percent increase in activity from this time last year for various reasons including staving off foreclosure and medical emergency.
However, 401(k) loans should only be made with careful consideration.
On the positive side, 401(k) loans don't require a credit check. This is helpful feature for people deep in debt, and who may have missed a payment or two to their creditors. With no credit score requirement, a poor payment history won't disqualify a plan participant.
In addition, most 401(k) loans can be arranged with just a phone call and a small stack of paperwork. There's no "qualification process" like applying for a credit card or a mortgage. Money can be available, therefore, in as little as a day.
But there are negatives to 401(k) loans and the biggest one relates to taxation.
If you take a 401(k) loan and can't repay according to its terms, the IRS taxes the loan as ordinary income and slaps on a 10 percent penalty if you're under 59 1/2. That can be very costly for a lot of people.
But, even if you do repay the loan on time, it's still gets expensive. This is because 401(k) loan repayments are subject to double-taxation.
The first taxation occurs when the loan is repaid because the payback is made with post-tax paycheck dollars. A person in the 25% tax bracket, for example, would need a $1,333 paycheck to repay a $1,000 loan -- the missing $333 goes to taxes.
And the second taxation occurs at retirement when the funds are finally withdrawn. The IRS taxes that money as ordinary income.
Now, this isn't to say that taking a loan against your 401(k) is bad, it just may not be the best possible route for a person in trouble. Especially because of the costs. If you're planning to withdraw from your 401(k) for hardship, be sure to talk with a qualified financial professional first.
If you'd like a referral to a trusted professional, call or email me anytime.
In this 4-minute video, turf grass specialist Carmen Magro demonstrates the proper way to prepare your lawn for Spring.
His tips include:
The Fall season is one of the most important times of the year to feed your lawn. With the advice from the video, you'll be sure to do it right.
When functioning properly, gutters can extend the life of a home. By directing water away from the physical structure, gutters protect a home's foundation, its siding, and its landscaping.
The key to reliable gutter performance is simple -- keep them clean. Twice annually, experts recommend a thorough gutter cleaning and the project can be a do-it-yourselfer, if you're so inclined.
The basic toolset is likely already on hand:
Watch the video above for a quick tutorial, or if DIY is not your thing, reach out to me anytime. I'd be happy to refer you to a reliable professional in the neighborhood.
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Getting a great, low mortgage rate is often a combination of luck and preparation.
Consider what happened in conforming mortgages last week:
And so, here we on are Friday, four days after the best rates of the year, and the mortgage market barely resembles itself. Despite what the papers tell you, mortgage rates are not low anymore.
That's the luck element -- you can't plan for rates moving up and down.
But, if you missed Monday's plunge, and don't want to miss the next one, all you have to do is get prepared. Then, you're waiting for luck when it happens.
There are 4 basic steps to prepare for low rates and the key is to follow them before rates plunge, not during. That way, you're ready to pounce on low rates at the moment they present themselves.
The first step is to contact your loan officer.
If you don't have a loan officer, or your loan officer is no longer in the business, ask a friend for a referral. Do not call the 800-number on your mortgage statement -- you'll almost always get a better "offer" from a live person than from a call center representative.
Next, give your loan officer a complete mortgage application, including a "credit pull". Be honest and accurate and don't worry about the credit check harming your score -- the bureaus protect it for a period of 30 days.
Then, ask your loan officer what supporting documentation will be required to approve your eventual home loan. Whatever it is, gather it and send it in -- either by fax or email.
And lastly, be ready to act when your loan officer calls with the good news. If rates have dipped to lower-than-normal levels, it likely won't last long.
This preparation process is very similar to what home buyers do before making an offer on a home. Getting ready for a refinance is like getting pre-approved, but instead of waiting to pick out a home, it's waiting to pick out a rate.
So, to summarize:
Mortgage rates don't plunge often, but when they do, it's usually short-lived. If you're prepared for when it happens, you can lock in the best mortgage rate available at the best possible time.
It will be your lucky day and you will have been ready for it.
On all principal + interest home loans, the first few years of payments include a lot more money going to interest than to principal.
This is because mortgage repayment schedules are front-loaded with interest, meaning large-volume principal reduction won't occur until late in the mortgage's lifecycle.
Comparing products at a 6% mortgage rate, did you know that after 15 years:
Of course, this doesn't mean that 15-year mortgages are better than their 20-year or 30-year brethren. It just means that 15-year mortgages pay off faster.
Yet, there are reasons for homeowners to avoid 15-year mortgages.
For example, versus 20-year or 30-year products, 15-year mortgages require the highest monthly payment because the payback period is compressed to a shorter time. In addition, mortgage interest tax deductions to which most homeowners are entitled are reduced.
So, just because the 15-year pays off quickly doesn't mean that it's best for everyone.
A home inspection is a complete, top-to-bottom, visual check-up of the structure and systems of a house.
It is meant to be an objective determination of a home's condition.
A home inspection usually takes 3-6 hours to complete, depending on the size of the home.
During the inspection process, the inspector will examine all of the following components of a home:
In addition, the inspector will review the roofing system, the home's interior, and several other parts of the property.
A home inspection may be ordered by a home owner or by a home buyer.
For a home owner, an inspection can detail a home's shortcomings and provide a roadmap for repairs. This can help a person prepare his home for sale because "major issues" can be addressed in advance of listing.
For a home buyer, a home inspection physically reviews a home under contract, identifying structural flaws that may impact the home's desirability. This is essential for the negotiation process because no home is "perfect" -- even new ones!
A home inspection highlights potential long-term trouble spots and the likelihood for expensive home repairs. This is why real estate professionals often recommend inspecting a home immediately after signing a purchase contract.
To find a qualified home inspector in your area, ask your real estate agent for a referral, or visit the American Society of Home Inspectors Web site. Bear in Mind however, the Home Inspectors in Pennsylvania are not licensed or regulated, and are merely bound by the rules and regulations of the professional societies they belong to. Be sure that your inspector carries Errors and Omissions Insurance for your protection.
Source
American Society of Home Inspectors
Frequently Asked Questions on Home Inspections
https://www.homeinspector.org
(Image courtesy: Anderson Home Inspections)
With Labor Day behind and Cold and Flu Season approaching, consider taking a high-tech approach to staying germ-free at home and at work.
The Zadro Nano UV Disinfectant Light looks like a clamshell mobile phone but acts like a high-power germ killer.
With one wave of your hand, intense ultra-violet radiation emanates from the wand, safely killing 99.9 percent of bacteria and viruses on any surface in any location. It's the same type of UV light that hospitals often use to sterilize surgical rooms.
Some practical places to use the disinfectant light include:
Of course, around the home works, too.
The handheld Zadro device costs $80. It's available at Amazon.com and other retailers.
As compact fluorescent bulbs gain favor across the country, it's important to remember that they contain mercury and mercury is harmful to humans.
Because even though CFLs contain small amounts of mercury -- less than 4 milligrams per bulb -- it's still enough mercury to cause brain damage.
If you're interested, this 4-minute video from the University of Calgary shows how mercury damages neurons in the brain.
But don't let the presence of mercury stop you from using CFLs -- they are much more positive than negative if you exercise good care.
The Environment Protection Agency provides some basic handling tips:
In addition, the EPA drafted guidelines for dealing with broken bulbs within a household. Among the recommendations: Don't wash your mercury-covered clothing, and don't vacuum up the poison. This is somewhat counter-intuitive for most people.
The EPA's review of CFL safety is 3 pages long and can be viewed on its Web site.
CFLs are more expensive than traditional bulbs but offer long-term savings in both energy and environment costs. And, with common sense care, CFLs pose no household health risks.
Housing Starts measure the number of new housing "units" on which construction has started and in July, Housing Starts fell to its lowest levels since March 1991.
For homeowners, this is a welcome bit of good news because as fewer homes are built, there is less inventory from which home buyers can choose, making their homes a more important part of the existing home inventory.
With fewer homes for sale, the supply-and-demand curve shifts in favor of home sellers and this adds a support floor for home prices. In addition, with less new construction , those homes built in the past few years become more attractive to potential home buyers who are looking for the newest home possible.
For home buyers, though -- and for the opposite reason -- the low number of Housing Starts may not be as welcome.
With fewer new homes on the market, owners of "used" homes may feel less pressure to lower their asking prices or to make other concessions to interested buyers. This means that home buyers may pay more for a home, or get fewer "throw-ins" on the contract.
For all of the hocus-pocus that surrounds real estate data, in the end, home prices are based on the supply of homes versus the demand for homes. When supply outpaces demand, home prices fall.
Homebuilders learned this lesson and July's Housing Starts data supports that.
(Image Courtesy: Wall Street Journal Online)
Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is an insurance policy paid to a lender in the event that a homeowner defaults on his home loan.
With the growing number of mortgage defaults nationwide, mortgage insurers are finding their balance sheets under attack and their revenues in the red.
So far this year, mortgage insurers have paid out $6 billion in claims.
In response to the losses, the mortgage insurance industry is using two tactics to return to profitability -- and both mean bad news for homeowners.
This is very similar to what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are doing to shore up their respective balance sheets; lending to only the most credit worthy, and making sure to charge them for their commensurate risk.
Because of the higher PMI rates, it's getting more expensive for small-downpayment home buyers to finance their homes. And that's if they can even still get mortgage insurance.
Some mortgage insurers now require a 10 percent minimum downpayment in certain states.
So with the number of mortgage defaults expected to rise through 2009, qualifying for PMI should get more expensive and more difficult. If you plan to make a small downpayment on your next home -- or plan to remortgage your current low equity home -- consider moving up your timeframe.
It may not be as cheap or as easy to get financing as it is today.
(Image courtesy: The Wall Street Journal)
The Producer Price Index is a business inflation meter and it's now up 9.8 percent annually.
This is a huge number for PPI and represents the highest year-over-year rate of inflation since 1981.
Normally, blowout inflation like this would be terrible for mortgage rates but mortgage markets are actually improved since last Tuesday's data release.
Usually, a rocketing PPI would create an inflation expectation on Wall Street which would, in turn, cause mortgage rates to rise, impacting home affordability.
Yesterday, however, that's not what happened.
Upon the PPI release, Wall Street looked at the 9.8 percent number and simply shrugged it off. "Of course PPI is high," traders thought. "Did you see how high energy costs were last month?"
Traders know that in July, oil prices reached an all-time high of $147.27 per barrel and, since then, crude is down more than 20 percent. Because of this, Wall Street has now turned its attention to the August PPI data, thinking it will much more calm than July's.
In other words, instead of fearing inflation, traders believe the worst of it is over, providing an unexpected boost to home buyers in need of mortgages. As inflation expectations fall, mortgage rates are following suit.
When home sellers accepts a contract on MLS-listed property, the property's official status changes from "Active" to "Pending".
By measuring the number of "Pending" homes nationwide, the National Association of Realtors® publishes its once-monthly Pending Homes Sales Index.
The real estate industry group positions the report as a predictor of future home sales activity, stating that 80 percent of homes under contract will "close" within 60 days, and most others will close within 120 days.
But, although using the Pending Home Sales report as a crystal ball may be its intended use, it may not its best use.
This is because of the index's methodology:
In addition, in a tough mortgage climate such as the one we're in now, a greater percentage of pending sales will fail to close at all because of lack of financing.
The Pending Home Sales Index still has its place, however -- it's a terrific look at the buy-side demand for homes.
When the Pending Home Sales Index is rising, we can infer that more buyers in the market for homes and this is a signal of market strength. After all, pending sales can't happen unless there are buyers out there. And with more buyers competing for homes, home prices tend to rise.
This is why the June's Pending Home Sales report is so intriguing.
In June -- for the second time in three months -- the Pending Home Sales Index posted a large gain even as economists were calling for a loss. The inference here is that buyers are not only finding good value in all four regions of the country, but are willing to make bids on homes listed for sale.
Now, again, the uptick doesn't mean that the pending sales will necessarily close, but it does tell us that more home buyers are finding "now" to be a good time to buy real estate.
That sort of insight is what make the Pending Home Sales Index worth tracking. When buyer demand is rising, the real estate market isn't usually far behind.
Any plumber will tell you -- toilets are among the least efficient appliances in a person's home. 20 percent of them leak up to 200 gallons of water per day -- the equivalent of an 80-minute shower.
At an average cost of $2 per 1,000 gallons, the EPA estimates that homeowners literally flush $146 of water down the drains each year.
But toilets also waste money by overfilling with water; even low-flush varieties waste 32 ounces per flush. Because of overfills, an average household of 4 people with 2 toilets squanders an additional 6,575 gallons of water in a calendar year, or $13.15.
Enter the $15 HydroClean toilet valve.
Built by a plumber, the HydroClean product prevents toilet overfills, detects leaks, and cleans the toilet tank for you. It installs in 5 minutes and the Web site says no special skills are needed.
Within the next 5 years, 36 states expect to suffer water shortage. Using HydroClean, you can help conserve water and conserve dollars.
HydroClean is available at retail stores and online.
Source
Drinking Water Costs and Federal Funding
EPA.gov, June 2004
Sometimes, the hardest part about news is knowing where to find it.
In its filing with the SEC last week, Freddie Mac stated that it will "pursue increases" to its middleman fee. This would likely make buying a home more expensive for every conforming borrower in the country.
The exact verbiage from the filing is extremely opaque and unless a person knew what things like "delivery fees" were, or "bulk and flow transactions", he'd be inclined to skip right over the offending passage, tucked away on Page 72 in a paragraph labeled Business Outlook.
But, if we paraphrase the passage and simplify it for laypersons, it reads something like the following:
We didn't charge enough fees in 2007 to account for the massive number of defaults. We don't plan to make that mistake again in 2008.
Strangely, in the entire 1,394-page filing, this passage is the only mention of "future default costs" leading to more loan charges. In other words, it's easy to see why this story didn't get picked up by the major news outlets.
To the media, the major angle in Freddie Mac's filing was that it registered to sell $10 billion worth of securities. For everyday Americans, though, the major story was a different one -- mortgage fees may never be as low as they are today.
Therefore, if you know that you'll need a new, conforming home loan soon -- for either a home purchase or a refinance -- consider moving up your timeframe. Whether rates rise or fall, it's likely you'll pay a more money to borrow money only because you waited. And combined with Philadelphia's rating by Forbes Magazine as one of the 10 Best Places to Buy in the US, going out and finding the right home today is the smart move.
The implied fee increase would be the third this fiscal year, following increases in December 2007 and in April 2008.
According to the National Fire Protection Agency, the number of liquid propane-related accidents and deaths are statistically small.
However, a family can't be too careful when it comes to household safety and flammable gases.
Manufactured by Davom Products, the PROLOCK Propane Safety Cap is a lock-and-key device that prevents children (and anyone else) from opening the propane gas tank value and starting the flow of propane.
The device installs quickly, includes simple-to-understand directions, and was an Inventor's Spotlight winner at the 2008 National Hardware Show.
The PROLOCK Propane Safety Cap sells for $19.95 online.
Statistics won't always tell the whole story, but they often provide good perspective.
The graph at right shows Existing Home Sales data going back three years. An "existing home" is one that can't be called new construction; a "used home", so to speak.
Note the steep decline from 2005 through late-2007.
Since November, however, Existing Home Sales have remained within a very tight range and appear to have reached a flattening point.
The Existing Home Sales data supports the word-on-the-street from real estate agents nationwide that buyers are returning to the housing market in search of good values.
But let's not forget -- demand is only half of the story. There is the supply factor, too, and the supply side of the housing market is showing the same leveling signs as the demand part.
Looking at the national inventory at left, the number of existing homes for sale has hovered near 4.5 million for the last several months. No change suggests strength.
Now again, statistics won't tell the whole story but there are plenty of positive signals from the real estate market right now, just like there are negative ones, too.
This is one reason why real estate data causes so much debate -- people want to take an either/or proposition about the state of the real estate and it doesn't work like that. Real estate can be simultaneously strong and weak and when it is, buyers look for value.
On a local level,rates have been good, and our local inventory is smaller then the national inventory. Combined with Philadelphia being walkable (and therefore energy friendly) and affordable, people have started acting on their real estate needs and making purchases.
Perhaps this is why the national housing data is beginning to level off after a 3-year slide. There's good values to be had, and today's home buyers know it.
(Images courtesy: Wall Street Journal Online)
The phrase "Consumer Price Index" can be intimidating and unclear to Americans. It's an economic term, after all, and not a part of everyday American language.
It even has its own abbreviation to add to the confusion -- CPI.
So, when a layperson hears that "CPI is rising", it's not always clear what it means. The tendency, therefore, is to ignore the news.
This is one reason CPI is commonly substituted with the more down-home expression of "Cost of Living".
In contrast to the term "CPI", the phrase "Cost of Living" is a lot more clear. When people hear that the Cost of Living is rising, instinctively, they get it. And now they can see how it works in numbers, courtesy of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Inflation Calculator at the government Web site helps a person compare household income to the changing Cost of Living between any two years since 1913. For example, a U.S. household earning $48,201 in 2007 would have to increase that income to $50,868 just to keep up with "life".
CPI touched a 17-year high in June, jumping 5.000 percent year-over-year. Without a 5.000 percent increase an income, a household falls behind.
After falling 7 cents per gallon over the last 7 days, gas prices are being pressured higher today as Hurricane Dolly barrels through the Gulf of Mexico.
The first landfall hurricane of the season is expected to flood the southern Texas coast and cause minor disruptions to the nation's oil supplies.
Versus Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Dolly's impact on oil supplies is expected to be small but that doesn't stop traders from bidding up oil prices "just in case" their expectations are wrong.
For instance, oil prices rose almost 2 percent Monday as Dolly drifted into the Gulf. Oil prices then receded as the storm's path was better defined.
Regardless, when hurricanes form in the Gulf of Mexico, it's going to be bad news for home buyers.
Because the Gulf of Mexico is stocked with oil refineries and shipping ports, when specific areas are hit by heavy rains and power outages, supply and demand takes over, pushing oil prices higher. This causes gasoline prices to rise and that is considered an inflationary pressure on the economy.
Inflation, of course, causes mortgage rates to rise so when hurricanes are brewing, it generally means that housing is about to get less affordable for Americans.
This week, mortgage rates are up by about 0.125 percent overall so far -- roughly $8 monthly per $100,000 borrowed.
(Image courtesy: Marketwatch.com)
