Find the drafts

You can do this by holding a candle  or an incense near windows, doors, electrical outlets, range hoods, plumbing and ceiling fixtures, attic hatches, and ceiling fans in bathrooms—anywhere drafts might sneak in. If you can see flame or smoke movement, you need to seal up the area. Make sure you know what kind of sealant you need to use.

Check your attic’s insulation

You need several inches of insulation covering the tops of the joists. If this is not the case, you need to add more insulation.

Check wall insulation

To do this, you need to remove the electrical outlet covers. Make sure you shut off the electricity to the box you are checking. Once the cover is removed, you are able to look into the wall and see if there’s any insulation in there.

Check exposed ducts

Heating, cooling and ventilation ducts are made of thin metal. Metal conducts heat very well. You can insulate these ducts and seal any holes you can see.

Check any cables, vents etc that goes through the exterior walls

Cable and satellite dish installers rarely seal the holes they drill to get the cables in the house. You should start with these. Most homes have at least 2 of these in the walls. Also, check plumbing lines underneath sinks and the dryer vent.

If you diligently check your home for these, you can save a nice chunk of money on your utility bills.

1. You got relocated by your employer and put your home up for sale. Your home is vacant why it’s being marketed.

2. You bought a new home, moved in and put your previous home on the market. It is vacant.

If, for any reason you need to vacate your home, you need to check you home-owners policy.  There is a good chance that the insurance company does not cover vacant homes. Most insurance companies automatically terminate home-owners insurance the day the owner moves out. You may want to contact your insurance company and ask to have some insurance added.  Most home owners don’t know this and find out when  it is too late.

The savings

Having a tax deduction makes home ownership more attainable and affordable because it lowers the amount of tax you pay and puts more money in your pocket. If you spend less on housing, you have more more money to put in saving or to spend on other things (and this drives the economy).
When homes are more affordable, more people are able to stop renting and buy their first home.

The future of mortgage interest deduction

In past years, the mortgage interest deduction has come under attack. President Obama’s newly proposed budget  would limit how much interest we could deduct – this amount would depend on which tax-bracket the home owner is.

In the past, Congress tried to  lower or completely eliminate this deduction, but luckily, they never succeeded.

Is this deduction fair?

Those who oppose this tax break say that it is not fair because it is mostly helping the wealthy and well-to-do. High-income earners are  likely to itemize their deductions thus benefit from this tax deduction. .

However, taxpayers who don’t itemize deductions, still benefit from the so-called “standard deduction”.

Obviously, people don’t buy homes because of the mortgage interest deduction. However, homeownership is the basis for community involvement and wealth-building.

For those of you who are skeptical, here are a few things to consider:

• You can get a great deal. Why? Because most of the buyers either bought already when they could get the tax credit or decided not to buy after all. As a result we have a lot fewer buyers on the market than earlier this year. Fewer buyers means more competition for sellers which in turn means even lower prices. Yes, you might have missed out on the $8000 tax credit, but you can actually make that back as equity on your newly purchased home.
• Mortgages are cheap. With rates around 4.3%, it won’t get better than this. These are the lowest rates ever on record. There’s really not much more to say about this. We all know what a difference a point makes when it comes to monthly mortgage payments.
• You will save on your taxes. This is new to those who have renting. Rent is not tax deductible but real estate taxes and mortgage interest is. It can add up to nice chunk of money when April 15 rolls around.
• You’ll get a better home. You will get a better home. In this depressed market, your dollar goes further than ever before. You can buy a bigger, nicer home in a better area simply because the prices are down.
• It’s forced savings. Yep, you heard it right. Owning your own home forces you to save money. On the long term, every penny you put toward your mortgage builds your equity. When you decide to sell, that equity will be yours.
• There is a lot to choose from. With this crazy buyer’s market, there is an abundance of homes… Go looking and take your pick…
• Sooner or later, the market will clear. And clear, it will. Demand and supply will meet. The population is forecast to grow by more than 100 million people over the next 40 years. That means maybe 40 million new households looking for homes. Meanwhile, this housing glut will work itself out.

We hope we have given you a clear picture on why you should be buying a new home now. Whether it’s your own residence or an investment property you are thinking about buying, the RedSign Team is here to help with your purchase. Give us a call at 877.787.2008 or drop us a line at support@redsign.com

You can encourage blossoms by continuing to dead head (See our July gardening tips).

Flowers have used up much of the nutrition in the soil and are ready to soak up anything you can give them. Geraniums and petunias in particular perk up after the heat by applying a tablespoon of Epsom salts sprinkled on top of the soil. Also much of the nitrogen that provides green coloring has been washed out of the soil with extra irrigation. Many trees and shrubs in particular need extra nitrogen and iron. Common deficiency symptoms are yellow leaves with dark veins. Apply a general purpose mix of quick release and slow release fertilizers either organic or synthetic. Liquid feeds that are sprayed directly on foliage can also help.

A great time to plant, roots continue to grow throughout the fall and early winter. This allows them to have an extensive root system before next seasons hot temperatures. This is a great time to buy trees, shrubs and perennials. You can see what is still in bloom and has colorful fall leaves.

Check the root balls of recently purchased plants. If the roots are growing in a circular pattern following the outline of the pot, they are root bound. The roots should be cut and opened up to allow them to grow in new directions out into the surrounding soil. Make an “X” shaped cut on the bottom of the root ball about an inch deep with a cut about halfway up each of the four sides.

A great time to redesign and move plants around, transplant deciduous shrubs and trees when they start to develop fall color. Perennials can be divided and transplanted. Older ornamental grasses can be revived by occasionally uprooting, dividing, and replanting. Division is done by uprooting the entire root ball with as much of it intact as possible. Place the root ball on a hard surface. Usually the center of the perennial or grass is dead resulting in a doughnut like plant. Look for natural splits in the ‘doughnut’ and begin teasing the roots apart into approximately six inch round hunks. If the roots are quite entangled, you can cut them apart into the new sections. Now you can replant or have extra plants to share. Shasta daisies, daylily’s, green fountain grass, and salvia all respond well to division every three to five years.

Order or buy spring bulbs and plant before the ground freezes. A general rule is to plant them twice as deep as the bulb is wide. Join us for a great selection of bulbs at our Fall Plant Sale. Garlic and shallots cloves should be planted several inches deep.

* Stop deadheading roses letting colorful red rose hips form. Let other flowers go to seed producing colorful seed pods and winter browse for birds.

* If your lawn has thick thatch (dead layer) or is compacted from heavy use or wet shade a fall core aeration can loosen and open up the soil. This will help water, nutrition, and air get into the root zone. This is also a wonderful time to reseed lawn areas that are thin or bare. Most lawns are Kentucky bluegrass varieties. More water wise and heat tolerant dwarf tall fescues are a good choice for over seeding.

Your hard work is ready to pay off as you harvest and dry your herbs. Harvest them early in the day by cutting off entire stems. Wash everything well and place on screens, cookie sheets or trays and let them air dry for several days. When they are dry, strip the leaves off and store in air tight containers.

Apply a broadleaf weed killer on your lawn. Dandelions are perennial weeds that live from year to year. As the weather cools they begin to store food in their large tap root. They begin pulling nutritional resources from the leaves into the root, thus any chemical applied to the leaves will translocate into the roots. This provides a more complete kill than spring applications.

A second growing season of cool season vegetables is a great way to enjoy your fall. Lettuce, peas, radish, spinach, kale, and chard all perform well in this weather. You can begin to harvest onions, shallots and garlic for use and storage.

We have been noticing these days that people’s attitudes towards home improvement projects run the gamut.

Some folks have no idea about carpentry or home repair work but they believe they can rehab a house on their own and sell it for a profit. After all, they watch HGTV.

There are others who turn away from homes because it would cost too much to repaint it or remove wall paper. In reality however, these are pretty easy and inexpensive to do.

There are actually many home improvement projects that home owners can do themselves if they don’t mind working, and maybe learning.  It can be rewarding too.

Some jobs require permits and expertise. For example plumbing and electrical work shouldn’t be done by the home owner (unless he/she is a plumber or electrician).

There are some web sites and home improvement books that can help home owners learn how to do some of the work that does not require permits or contractors.  One is: Hometime.  It has videos and instructions on common and not so common house hold projects like laying ceramic tile or doing some landscaping.   There is also an entire section on wall coverings, including paint, with instructions on how to prepare surfaces and apply paint.

I have a friend who learned how to lay ceramic tile from reading books and taking a class at a local building supply store. I have seen her work and she is very good.  She isn’t afraid to learn and has even built a fence and put in some new wood flooring.   I am not sure I would take on putting in ceramic tile but she has offered to help if I ever decide I want to try it.

Home improvement projects are not for everyone but it is possible to learn how to do many things.  For people who are buying  a first home and want to save some money and build a little equity a home that is less than perfect may be the answer.

Buyers can lose their earnest money by backing out of the deal after the purchase agreement has been accepted by both parties. (Exactly how this can happen and how to avoid it, will be the subject of another blog post.)

According to state law, earnest money checks have to be deposited  into a real estate brokers trust account with in three business days.  This means, that buyers have to have that money in their bank account when they make the offer, even though the money is not spent until closing happens.

How big should your earnest money check be?  $500.00?  Are you serious??  How committed are you to purchasing this home?  No one wants to have their home sold, take it off the market and have the buyer back out before the closing, yet it happens. Sellers want to make sure the buyer is committed. A $5000 dollar commitment is stronger than a $500 dollar commitment.

So when you find your dream home, make sure your  earnest money check is large enough.

If you are thinking about buying a home, please give the RedSign.com Team  a call. We are here to help you with all of your real estate needs.

We at the  RedSign.com strive to meet our goal of being the leading advocate for real estate and property owners, we hope this information can help you, as well as your clients, understand the sometimes complicated process.

The property taxes are calculated using a certified tax rate and the taxable value of each home and property. The tax rate is calculated based on adopted budgets of the various entities, while the property value is determined by a review of the property and current market data.

Between now and the last valuation period home prices have declined typically 5 to 9 percent. Owners should not be surprised if they notice a drop in value with no corresponding drop in taxes, given the process of how the tax rate is calculated.

Each tax entity determines its own tax rate, and the Utah County Assessor’s Office determines property value. The Assessor’s office has worked hard to consider valuation changes in neighborhoods and communities for the upcoming year, but residents should also be aware of the process to appeal their valuation notice.

Property owners who wish to appeal their notices must contact the Utah County Board of Equalization within 45 days from the date of their notice. Owners will set an appointment for a hearing in an informal setting with a County real estate appraiser to reevaluate the property value.

If you have any questions about your property values, would like to see how much your property is really worth in this market or would like to appeal your notice, please call or drop us an email. We will be happy to help.

Continue to monitor automated sprinkler systems ensuring they are spraying in the right direction and haven’t gotten clogged. As plants grow taller, they can block the water keeping it from spraying out. Trim theses plants or add a temporary sprinkler extension. When temperatures cool, consider moving these taller plants away from spray heads.

Many perennials and some annuals will now be finished blooming and are now producing seeds. Many perennials will rebloom if the old flowers and developing seeds are removed, a process called dead heading. The old or spent blossoms should be cut off where the flower stem connects to the leaves usually several inches down in the plant. Since dead-heading also removes unsightly, dry flower heads it also improves the appearance of your garden.

Annual geraniums (Pelargonium) in particular need to be deadheaded at this time. They can be removed by following the stalk from the old flowers down to where it joins the stem and breaking it off at this point. They easily snap off by hand.