Real Estate and *stuff *
A real person helping real people with real estate
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Here is your opportunity!
November 5, 2011
 
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Remax Professional Associates : 294 Main Street – Spencer MA 01562 : 508-784-0504 |
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Home
SNEAK PEAK! Short sale opportunity!
November 4, 2011
HUGE opportunity! As in 4,000+ square feet of huge opportunity! 3 bedroom, 2 fireplaces, 2 car garage and 2 bedroom in-law!
OPEN SUNDAY! With a free turkey!
November 3, 2011
The storm is gone and we are “mostly” getting power back so we’re ON for this Sunday at 39 July Road in Sudbury 12pm to 1:30! Stop and see this renovated bungalow in a super commuter friendly location and enter a raffle to win a free turkey! One less thing you have to do before thanksgiving! Better yet – make an offer and be in your new home for Christmas!
This is great house with so many upgrades – hardwood floors, finished basement space, central air, wood stove, garage – you have to see it! Check it out on my youtube page with these videos: walk-through, yard, kitchen.
Shocking Exterior Paint Jobs Revealed!
November 2, 2011
I just had to do something fun today with all this winter snow/no power stuff! We’ve all seen them, lurking around the corner, maybe in the next neighborhood: houses with unaccountably strange paint jobs. As entertaining as they are to look at, odd ducks like these might deter future buyers and tend to lower property values of nearby homes. Check out these extreme exteriors to learn how your home’s fresh coat can look good and preserve the worth of your home and neighborhood.
Blend into the neighborhood
The exterior of your house says a lot about you. But even if you have the most exuberant personality on your block, you still have an obligation to fit in with your neighbors. This is especially true if your property is part of a home owners association — an HOA. Most HOAs have strict rules about the style of your house, your choice of paint colors, and other criteria that help preserve the property values of nearby homes.
Credit: Joanne Teh/Flickr
Wake up and smell the daisies
Choosing great exterior colors means selecting body, trim, and accent colors that complement each other. If chartreuse and salmon are your idea of a cool combo, you’d be wise to check out an app like ColorSnap from Sherwin-Williams. Take a photo of your property, and ColorSnap suggests harmonious color combinations for your house. The free app is available for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry.
Credit: Chad Miller/Flickr
A solid foundation for your color scheme
Painting foundation walls neutral colors emphasizes the body color of your siding — hopefully that’s a good thing. Rough-textured concrete block and poured concrete foundation walls are tricky to paint, and finishing them is a time-consuming project. Use an exterior paint formulated for concrete and masonry.
Credit: John Boyd/Flickr
From out of the blue
Artist Peter Kaschnig certainly was in his blue period when he painted this entire house in Klagenfort, Austria, a royal azure. While Kaschnig managed to cover every nook and cranny with blue paint — including roofing and windows — he spilled nary a drop on the surrounding lawn, thanks to proper use of tools and drop cloths.
Credit: Paul Ott photo/Blue House — Peter Kaschnig
Going green, literally
If you want to green up your exterior paint job, selecting bright green paint isn’t exactly what we had in mind. Get with environmentally friendly techniques by selecting low-VOC paints and recycling your used paints and stains.
Credit: Eric Allix Rogers/Flickr
Over-exuberance
If you lived here, you wouldn’t have much trouble finding your house, day or night. Keep your polka dots bright with regular maintenance that includes cleaning your siding, repairing cracks and damage promptly, and refinishing with high-quality exterior paints and stains.
Credit: Michelle Figurski (photo)/Tyree Guyton/Heidelberg Project
An un-a-peeling exterior
Whatever the color, the abandoned, horror movie look is never inviting. But before you start sanding and scraping, test for the presence of lead paint. If your test is positive, read up on lead paint laws that describe how to deal with the problem safely.
Credit: AD Gimenez
Keeping it simple
Multiple colors are eye-catching but spell trouble when it comes time to repaint. To reduce ongoing maintenance, choose a base color and one or two trim colors that simplify repainting. Top-quality exterior paints may cost more initially but will pay for themselves in reduced upkeep costs over the years.
Credit: © PJ Taylor Photography, 2008
Strut your stuff
With its dark red door, black shutters, and crisp white trim, this Colonial house has a classic color scheme — unless you factor in that dash of marketing bling on the siding. No matter what color or message says “pride of ownership” to you, you’ll get the best results using the right painting tools, brushes, and rollers.
Credit: Adzookie Inc.
Would you paint your house in any of these extreme ways? I admit…I just might!
What in the world is HAFA?
November 1, 2011
Think you might want to short sale? Click here for more information
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Farmers, October Storm Surprise: Get Ready for Wild Winter
November 1, 2011
The Farmers’ Almanac is expecting some “clime and punishment” this winter, much like the October surprise snow storm that’s knocked out power to 3 million homes. Here’s how to prepare for the next big weather hit.
Last week’s surprise snowstorm, which left 3 million people without power from Maryland through Maine, is just the beginning of what the Farmers’ Almanac is predicting to be an unusually cold and stormy winter.
That could mean many days without power. So if you haven’t already bought a portable generator, now’s the time to purchase one at your local home center. And if you own a generator, gas it up, because you never know when the next snow dump will knock out electricity.
Also, investigate whether a whole house generator is right for your home. They can be pricey — on average $14,700 — but going a week or more without electricity costs you, too.
Finally, don’t forget to make a home emergency preparedness kit with everything from water and food to flashlights and cash.
Did you lose power in the weekend storm? How did you get by?
Energy Monitors: Seeing is Believing — and Saving
October 28, 2011
Energy monitors make managing your power consumption enjoyable and easy to do. And we’re using energy today! BRR!
The Prius Effect in your living room
Researchers have shown that the well-known hybrid car saves energy for two reasons: It efficiently uses both gasoline and electric power, and it also provides a display screen that lets drivers track their real-time MPG efficiency.
Various environmental reports have suggested that home-based energy monitors have the same effect–keeping an eye on the display screens encourages savings of up to 10% of a home’s heating and cooling costs.
Do-it-yourself monitoring
Energy usage monitors are readily available and affordable. A system like TED–The Energy Detective ($120 to $455)–has a measuring unit connected to your home’s circuit breaker panel. Data, such as energy consumed in watts and dollars, is sent to another unit called the Gateway, which delivers energy usage info to your computer or wireless dashboard. TED stores up to 10 years of data.
Similar systems are available from Blue Line ($100) and the upcoming EnergyHub.
Smarter meters
Utility companies are starting to replace analog electricity meters with digital smart meters that offer two-way communication, allowing utilities to regulate energy distribution more effectively. Smart meters transmit info via a secure radio frequency network so that utility workers don’t have to brave growling dogs and muddy side yards to read your meter.
If your home is one of the early adopters, you can track your hourly energy usage through your utility’s web-based application. That way, you can discover when in the day is electricity the cheapest, and schedule laundry and other power-hungry tasks for that time. In addition, your utility can send you a detailed electricity bill instead of an estimate of charges.
Smart meters also can transmit data to indoor display units that work like off-the-shelf energy usage monitors. A smart meter also can include details on gas usage.
Note that smart meters require professional installation by your utility, so call to find out if your home is on their roadmap.
Google your savings
If you want more use out of the real-time data, Google’s free PowerMeter is an advanced web-based graphical application that works with your home’s smart meter or energy monitor to track usage over time, set energy savings goals, and predict your energy bill based on usage.
The software can help you tailor your usage to bring down costs. It’s available through devices such as TED and utility companies such as San Diego Gas & Electric.
Affordable portables
If outfitting your entire home for energy monitoring isn’t feasible, you can still track the energy use of household items with the small, portable Belkin Conserve Insight ($30). It can tell you an appliance’s usage in dollars, carbon dioxide emitted, and watts consumed, and it offers monthly and yearly estimated costs.
Similar devices from Kill A Watt EZ include an energy usage monitor power strip, and range from $16 to $60.
