Homeowners – Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Known in medical circles as the silent killer, because the gas carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. Almost five hundred residents of the United States are killed from carbon monoxide poisoning. Many deaths and hospital visits could be eliminated if households knew what to or what not to do in their homes.

Do

-Install a carbon monoxide detector near all sleeping spaces. Look for brands that offer battery back up.

-Evacuate a home when a detector sounds. Call 911 once outside.

-Remember that winter months are the high season for carbon monoxide poisonings. Closed up, under-ventilated homes foster carbon monoxide build-up.

-Crack windows even a half-inch during winter. It could be enough to save your family.

-Have all gas appliances checked annually. This includes: hot water heaters, cooking stoves, fireplaces, and furnaces.

Don’t

-Overlook oil and coal burning fireplaces and furnaces or appliances. If it burns a fossil fuel it could be a carbon monoxide hazard.

-Run your car, lawn mowers, snow blowers or other gas powered motors in a closed garage. Always take outside.

-Use charcoal-burning grills inside your home or any unventilated space, including basements.

-Burn anything in any unventilated fireplace or wood stove.

-Use a gas-cooking stove to heat your home.

Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning:

-Nausea, headache and dizziness. Some say the common symptoms feel flu-like.

-Severe symptoms are: loss of consciousness, shortness of breath and loss of muscle control.

-If you only feel sick at home, it could be a sign that you have carbon monoxide present there. Have you home checked and purchase a detector without delay.

Mark Nash is the author of five real estate books,, including; Real Estate A-Z for Buying & Selling a Home. Nash has been featured on Bloomberg Video-on-Demand, CBS The Early Show, CNN, and The Today Show. He is a syndicated columnist for RealtyTimes.com and reviews books for MyShelf.com and The Midwest Review of Books. Subscribe to his free monthly ezine; Agent to Agent. (Source)

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Seven Common Credit Myths Dispelled

With the economy reeling and home loan rates at a nine-month high, lenders are scrutinizing everyone’s credit history like never before. Yet, many Americans don’t realize the impact of late payments on their credit score and their finances.

In fact, mortgage loan delinquency reached a national average high of 3.23 percent for the first three months of 2008, according to Trend Data from TransUnion.

“Being knowledgeable about your credit standing is becoming increasingly more important by the day,” says Lucy Duni, vice president of TrueCredit.com. “Businesses, ranging from insurance companies to wireless providers and some employers, are now reviewing consumer credit information as a routine part of their application processes.”

When it comes to credit, knowing fact from fiction and understanding how to act is critical. Here are some common credit myths that may be preventing you from engaging in effective credit management:

Myth: My score will drop if I check my credit.

Fact: Checking your own reports and scores is considered a “soft inquiry” and has no negative impact on your credit score.

Myth: Reviewing any one of my three credit reports occasionally will tell me everything I need to know about my credit standing.

Fact: Occasional monitoring will give an incomplete snapshot of your credit standing. You should, instead, check all three of your credit reports and scores frequently throughout the year because the information and scores contained in each of those reports can vary at any given point in time.

Myth: There’s only one score that all lenders use to determine my credit-worthiness.

Fact: There are literally hundreds of different scoring models used by lenders in the marketplace today.

Myth: Closing old credit card accounts will clean up your credit reports.

Fact: Some people advocate closing old and inactive accounts as a way to manage their credit. In most cases, closing your older accounts will make your credit history appear shorter, which can negatively impact your overall credit standing.

Myth: Once you pay off a delinquent loan or credit card balance, the item is removed from your credit report.

Fact: Negative information such as late payments, collection accounts and bankruptcies will remain on your credit reports for up to seven years. Certain types of bankruptcies stick around for up to 10 years. Paying off the delinquent account won’t remove it from your credit report, but it will update the account to indicate it as “paid.”

Myth: If I don’t pay a medical bill on time because I believe it is incorrect, I can’t be held accountable.

Fact: If you fail to pay a medical bill in a timely manner, the delinquent payment may be reported as late to a credit bureau. If you believe a medical bill you have received is wrong or was sent to you in error, it’s best to contact the provider to resolve or discuss the matter prior to the bill becoming past due.

Myth: The “credit bureaus” report people as having either good or bad credit.

Fact: Credit reporting companies compile information that is provided directly and voluntarily by consumer lenders. If you have a credit card, home or auto loan, or make other monthly payments, details of your payment track record on these are likely being reported by those parties.

For more details about credit myths, visit TrueCredit.com. (ARAcontent)

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 Real Estate Investing Resources: CNY Property Listing, Homes Going Green, FSBO Property Listing, Investor Real Estate PDF Magazine, CNY Property

 

Simple Ways to Save Electricity

We all have ideas on what renewable and non-renewable energy sources are. The problem is we do not put much pressure on saving the non-renewable sources that we rapidly use everyday. With price of gasoline gone high and the impending depletion of the non-renewable resources, it is best that we review tips on how to save power in our own home. Let us take tips one appliance at a time.

Computer
Turn the monitor off even if you are just away for one minute. This will have an immense impact on electricity consumption. Keep both the monitor and the CPU switched off when you are not using them at home or even at the office.

Light
We advise you to switch from using incandescent light bulbs to Compact fluorescent light bulbs. CFL bulbs are expensive but they have more usage life plus they use less electricity. It is cost-effective in the long run.

Air Conditioner
Set the air conditioner at the most comfortable temperatures. Avoid setting it too high or too low. Having a comfortable temperature will save electricity.

Washing Machines
One common mistake we commit is to use the washing machine as often as we can. Next time, try to collate all the soiled clothes and have the washing machine work on it full load. This will maximize the energy spent allowing you to save electricity.

Television
Take off the plug of the television when you are not using it. The appliance still uses electricity even if it is switched off as long as the plug is attached.

Refrigerator
Do not put hot food directly to the refrigerator. Allow it to reach room temperature before cooling it inside the refrigerator. Also thaw out the food 30 minutes before you will cook it as this will save you power in heating it.

Author: Harry Baguio. Discover how you can reduce your electric bill up to 80%  (Source)

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How to Sell Your House

When it comes time to sell your home, there are some very important things to keep in mind. You can’t go into the process blind or else you will never have success. In order to truly get maximum value, you have to follow the all important tips for selling your home. Here are five things that you must do in order to get a good offer on the home.

Get a Good Real Estate Agent
The key thing to remember when you try to sell your house is that you need someone on your side. A good real estate agent can be the different between getting the offers you want and getting some sub-par offers. Find out from your friends who the best real estate agent is in your area and make sure that you sign on with them. They have the connections to hook you up with buyers.

Curb Appeal
If you want your home to get noticed, then you have to produce some curb appeal. More times than not, people will make a first impression of your home based upon how it looks from the outside. If you have the ability to transform your front yard, then you should make those improvements. If you don’t have a penchant for yard work, then hire a landscaping company. They can transform your lawn from a patchy area of separated grass and help you sell your home. In addition, some nice additions like a hammock on the front porch might be a good idea.

A New Paint Job Goes a Long Way
You will never understand how important a good coat of paint can be to your home when you start the home selling process. Often times, a new paint job can give your house a fresh look when it might have otherwise looked very drab. You don’t even have to change the colors. In fact, you could keep the colors the same and roll over it with a new coat.

Improve the Kitchen
Remember who makes the majority of the decisions when it comes to picking a home. You will only understand how to sell a house when you understand who is buying the house. In most cases, the woman of the household will have some pull and influence the decision. What kind of things do they value? For one, they like to have a nice kitchen in which to operate. If you can add some things to your kitchen, you will draw some more looks and add value to the home.

Don’t Neglect the Bathroom
Home buyers will give a very hard look to your bathroom. They will look at every little thing that could be wrong. With this in mind, you have to make sure that everything is fixed and everything is clean. If you have a dirty, messed up bathroom, you will never have the ability to sell your home for a good price. Don’t worry about adding over the top things to the room. Just concentrate on keeping it simple and staying with the basics.

John Schroeder is the author of this article on how to sell a house. Find more information about how to sell your house at the Website. (Source)

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