Flat Fee MLS Blog

                           If you don’t think that hot water is a hot  topic, think again. The average electric water heater serving a family of four uses 6,400 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, releasing eight tons of CO2, according to the University of Wisconsin’s Solar Energy Laboratory. That’s more than a typical automobile! Gas-fired heaters release about two tons of CO2 a year.

Investing in a solar water heater is a simple and affordable way to save money on your utilities while helping to protect the environment. Solar water heaters are very reliable and can work in any climate. There are several different types, including those with pumps and those that work passively. You will need a storage tank and some type of solar collector. Some homeowners use the devices exclusively or sometimes with a gas or electric tankless water heater as a backup, while others pair them with other systems as pre-heaters.

You don’t have to go off the grid and the good news is that home solar water heating systems cost an affordable $1,500 to $3,500 and pay for themselves in four to eight years. If you are selling your home  ” fsbo ” or advertising on the MLS, why not schedule one into your next renovation?

Shop for a solar water heater online at: solarhome.org and solarroofs.com

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         Whether you are selling your home yourself “fsbo“ or you are advertising your home on the MLS, sometimes you need to attract a different breed of buyer. For a home that might sit on the market for a while, you might want to take the time to highlight the pet-friendly aspects of your house.  Marketing to pet owners can make your house sell more quickly. It’s a real selling tool if you can show your home is good for pets.

Here are some inexpensive tips you can use to appeal to pet lovers:

1. Hang a couple of leashes on a coat rack by the back door.

2. In the kitchen, place a large jar of doggy treats on the countertop.

3. In the master bedroom or family room, set out a stylish dog bed, don’t forget the dog or cat magazine on the nearly table.

4. Let the agents know that pet owners are welcome to bring their dogs along to the property to scope it out. Don’t forget to set out a water bowl for the visitors.

5. Pet owners will get a kick out of viewing your personal photos of your pets, so post a few on the fridge for them.

The best pricier option is to install an electric, invisible fence around your property and the newest thing is to put a pet bath in the laundry room or garage. A sure fire attention-getter is a custom-built doghouse that is a replica of the main house.

Don’t forget the clean-up area, the lawn should be immaculate when you show the house. If you can’t clean-up the area yourself, hire a pooper-scooper company to do it for you.

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     According to the Rocky Mountain News, a new factory that will make affordable solar panels from ordinary window panes is set to open in Colorado this year.

The AVA Solar Inc. project uses a technological breakthrough by Colorado State University researchers, and promises to produce solar panels at a price that is comparable to other forms of energy…potentially catapulting solar energy into the mainstream once and for all according to energy expert Dan Shapley.

Reaping what the sun gives naturally everyday is smart and efficient. The fewer “conversions” energy goes through the more efficient it is. If the sun drives the growth of a plant, turning that plant into fuel adds a conversion, and energy is lost. Letting that plant cook underground for millions of years until it becomes coal or oil is yet another inefficiency.

Solar power has never been very appealing, that’s the problem with it and it just costs too much. But the AVA Solar plan-should it prove to be as good as it says it is-along with other innovations are transforming solar power into a mainstream commodity. The project is one of 10 Photovoltaic Module Incubator projects funded by the Dept. of Energy’s Solar America Initiative. The program has the goal of driving technological innovations that makes the cost of solar energy competitive with traditional forms of electric production, like burning coal, oil and natural gas, says Shapley.

If every house had affordable solar panels supplying a portion of its electricity, the demand for electricity from heavy-polluting sources like coal-fired power plants would drop, along with emissions driving global warming, causing acid rain and poisoning lakes and streams with toxic mercury.

And the jobs created at the factory–as many as 500–show that dreams of a “green collar economy” that has at its heart technological innovation and high-tech manufacturing are a very real and lucrative path toward the future.

Energy is a necessity and clean renewable energy is an obligation to our earth and our future. Solar energy is currently available, cost effective and clean. It’s time for us to adopt solar energy systems. 

For competitive cost estimates and expert advice check out www.energy-guru.com

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        If you are being moved state-to-state, tipping etiquette is 10% of your total bill according to Tammy Stoner, moving expert. If you are being moved within the state, $10-$20 per mover is adequate. If you are moving yourself, you can often arrange through your truck rental company to have unpackers meet you at your destination.

Here are some great tips to consider before you move:

1. Create a Box Checklist-On each box, write a number and the name of the room where the contents belong, then list them on a checklist. Keep one copy and give one to the movers, oftentimes movers load boxes from several families onto one truck. So, if a box is misdelivered, you might not be the only one laughing at your high school yearbook picture!

2. Pets can get carsick- let Fido ride shotgun with the window down-it reduces his nausea. If you have a fish, keep the fishbowl as still as possible-place it in a box on blankets.

3. Give a trusted neighbor a spare key to your old house-there is always a chance something will need checking or get left behind.

4. Keep computer start-up disks with you-what if the laptop you have with you crashes while your disks are in transit?

5. Hire a cleaner-a move is stressful enough without tackling the two-foot dust bunnies left in its wake.

6. Tape all sundries to their associated electronic devices- Did you know that some DVD players won’t allow you to play the next episode on your DVD unless you use the arrow key on your remote? Place all equipment for each electronic device in a ziplock baggie and tape it to the device before boxing.

7. Pack green- Instead of paper or bubble wrap, use your own towels and scarves to wrap breakables. This is environmentally conscious and efficient, plus your new basement won’t be filled with packing supplies. Note: cockroaches love to play in wads of paper.

Handy thing to know:  Wood flooring needs several days to acclimate.  Wood flooring can’t be installed the day it arrives-or the next day. It must acclimate, lying in open containers on the floor for several days. Be sure that your floors will go in before your boxes arrive.

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   Nearly one-third of America’s honeybees have vanished in the last two years-mysteriously abandoning their hives, never to return. Are you aware that every third bite of food of food we eat has been pollinated by an industrious honeybee?

Burt Shavitz, co-founder of Burt’s Bees, says “The bees’ survival depends on how we manage and protect our world.” Experts hypothesize that the likely culprits are pesticides, dwindling food supply and a new virus that appears to target the bees’ immune system. The bee die-off, known as colony collapse disorder , continues to alarm and puzzle scientists and beekeepers who fear the honeybee may be a modern-day canary in a coal mine.

Here’s what you can do to help the bees in your own backyard:

1. Replace some of your lawn with flower beds.

2. Plant native plant species which are well-suited for local bee populations.

3. Check out some honeybee resources at www.pollinator.org. You can get a free Pollinator Garden Wheel and a poster depicting North American Bee species.

4. Reduce or eliminate pesticides and insecticides in the garden whenever possible. Visit www.organicgardening.com for eco-friendly alternatives.

5. Choose plants that flower at various stages in the growing season to provide a consistent source of food for pollinators. For a free packet of bee-friendly flower seeds, visit www.burtsbees.com

Get Vanilla Honey Bee, a new Haagen-Dazs flavor launched in conjunction with www.helpthehoneybees.com, Haagen-Dazs’s campaign to raise consumer awareness about bees.

Remember, honeybees don’t just supply honey, the are vital in sustaining our food sources. Be a honey and help the bees!

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              If you like to collect old stuff, such as salvage yard finds, you  might want to use your imagination and use recycled materials to build a unique, creative custom patio to replace a boring square brick patio. Landscape designer Diane Bloom devised a plan for a curved patio using some recycled materials.

A professional would charge about $6,000. to design and install a recycled patio, but a do-it-yourselfer can design their own patio and install it for about $700, assuming that they already have some recyclable materials on hand. The project can be completed in three weekends, with the help of friends for the concrete work.

Bloom designed a patio that reused some of the existing bricks, incorporated several wrought-iron treasures, and added colorful Three Rivers and Arizona flagstones and river rocks for an electic mix of materials, colors and textures. She curved the patio boundary to soften the landscape and grouped the wrought-iron artifacts for balance and visual impact.

Here are the steps to completion:

1. Preparing the site

2. Building the concrete form

3.Pouring the concrete

4. Placing the recycled objects

Bloom rates this project a 3 on a difficulty scale of 1(easy) to 5 (difficult).

Check out www.hgtv.com to view a video on Landscape Smart: Episode LDS-506

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                                                  Now is the time to buy! You have the luxury of waiting to capture the better deals and negotiate your terms. If you drive around your area, you’ll see that there is six to eight times the inventory on the market right now as there was a year ago and homes are taking longer to sell.

Here are some tips for buyers:

1. Check out pre-foreclosures, foreclosures properties and distressed home sales, it’s time to take advantage of the  “creative financing” that many buyers abused.

2. If  you’re an investor, you will be able to buy distressed properties at low prices and properties with tremendous appreciation potential at the same time.

3. Target markets where speculation has run rampant over the past few years while also focusing on markets that are likely to boom in the next few years.

Take your time, make smart offers and stay cool!

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