possibly others have your same concern. Click the tab below and fill out the submission form. Posts to website in 24 hours.  Be sure to sign up for the FREE Neighborhood Newsletter to get updates like these emailed directly to you each month. |
-
ADVICE FOR FIRST TIME HOME SELLERS
Selling your home can seem daunting, but here are some tips to help get you started.
1. Learn about the market in your area. Real estate markets are local, so national or state level comments about the market being up or down are not helpful. You need to know what is going on in your neighborhood. Do some research and find out what similar homes have sold for in your area, the more recent the information the better. Knowing the local market and sold prices for similar homes is going to help you identify a realistic price range. Setting the price appropriately from the start is going to make the difference between a house that sells and one that lingers on the market.
2. Sparkle and Shine. Imagine going to a supermarket and seeing dusty fruit or aisles filled with old shelving and cans. It doesn't happen because the grocery store knows how to present its goods. Sellers must do the same. Get rid of things you don't want to move, organize closets and storage areas, and clean everywhere.
3. Mechanics count. Buyers expect everything to work. Home inspections are now entirely common and what buyers miss home inspectors will catch. Fix and paint things now and they won't be an issue in the future.
TRY A TANKLESS WATER HEATER FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY!
Looking for another way to increase energy efficiency in your home? Tankless water heaters, also called instantaneous or demand water heaters, provide hot water only as it is needed. Traditional storage water heaters produce standby energy losses that cost you money. We do not leave our homes heated while vacationing. We only heat our homes when there is a demand for heat. In the same way, a tankless water heater is used only when there is a demand for hot water.
Tankless water heaters heat water directly without the use of a storage tank. Therefore, they avoid the standby heat losses associated with storage water heaters. When a hot water tap is turned on, cold water travels through a pipe into the unit. In an electric tankless water heater an electric element heats the water. In a gas-fired tankless water heater a gas burner heats the water. As a result, tankless water heaters deliver a constant supply of hot water. You don't need to wait for a storage tank to fill up with enough hot water.
For homes that use 41 gallons or less of hot water daily, tankless water heaters can be 24% - 34% more energy efficient than conventional storage tank water heaters. They can be 8% - 14% more energy efficient for homes that use a lot of hot water, around 86 gallons per day. You can achieve an even greater energy savings of 27% - 50% if you install a tankless water heater at each hot water outlet. -
It seems that talk of 'going green' is everywhere these days, but not everyone is ready for major expenses like buying a hybrid vehicle or installing solar panels. Try out these inexpensive ways to make your lifestyle a little greener.
The production of paper from trees uses a great deal of energy and is one of the leading causes of water pollution. Finding ways to decrease the use of paper products in your home is an excellent way to help the environment. Try using micro fiber cloths instead of paper towels for clean up around the house. The thousands of fibers on these cloths do a great job of capturing dirt, and they are machine-washable so you can use them over and over. Another environmentally friendly option is using cloth napkins or bandanas instead of paper napkins. If you can't do without paper napkins, look for those made with recycled paper.
Another way to go green is by skipping the plastic or paper bags at your grocery store and bringing your own reusable bags. Billions of plastic bags end up in landfills or as litter. These plastic bags put toxins into our soil and water as they breakdown. Many grocery stores have inexpensive reusable bags for sale, or you can get something a little more stylish from a variety of online sources. Reusable bags aren't just for the grocery stores either, consider taking a cloth tote on your next shopping trip to the mall. - Prison BreadI am sending this as a concerned parent in hopes that you take the opportunity to investigate why this is happening.
The Airway Heights correctional facility is providing bread for all of the meals at the cafeterias in all of District 81 here in Spokane and for Central Valley School District.
Airway Heights Correctional Facility provides bread at a fee to Food Services of America (FSA). FSA then provides the products to the schools in our area. I am very concerned that we are supporting a correctional facility with our tax dollars then have to pay again at the schools for our students lunches at someone else's benefit.
I am very much in support of helping those in a facility to reform their lives. But I am not about to support a criminal who is making bread for our children. Who knows what might happen. I know other bread companies have bid on the opportunity to provide bread for the schools but are not able to compete with a facility that has no overhead and is subsidized by the people. This is unfair to the law abiding companies in our community.
For info on the bids look at Central Valley School District at this link http://www.cvsd.org/376-09-03-b_bakery_bid_2009-10_cooperative.asp
Please bring this to the forefront in our community.
