It's Cold Outside ---- Check Your Pipes!

The more things change, the more they stay the same. One thing that has been consistent over the years is that I always happen upon a few homes with burst pipes in the winter.

As you can imagine, this isn't a big selling point. Most of the time I see this in vacant homes. One time the person had the heat on, but there was a malfunction with the thermostat. They weren't home and one of my business associates noticed water on the living room floor --- which is just below the bathroom. Ooops!

It's not always a vacant home. Another culprit are hoses still hooked up to an outside spigot. Here's a little tip I learned when I got into this business: Having a frost free spigot doesn't mean water won't find a way to freeze and expand --- leaving you with a wet house.

Thanks to David Kelley of Golden Rentals in Dillsburg for sharing this link from Popular Mechanics. The article is timely. If you don't check your pipes, you can always rent a pump from Golden Rentals to get that water out of your basement :-)

Land, Views, and Garages

In today's hectic world, a number of people are looking for some room to breath and relax. This might mean a house on a couple of acres. It might mean mountain views. It might mean a giant detached garage w/ it's own furnace. Sometimes, with a little luck, you can find all of those things in one location .

Housing Shortage or Thought Scarcity?: A Common Sense Proposal

Photo by Roberto Nickson from Pexels With low inventory, BOTH buyers and renters are having a challenging time getting into a home. A solution, one would think, is creating more available homes. A gut reaction would be to build big developments, with large homes or maybe a condo complex. But what if you could build a home on your current property and rent it out? I see small towns around me push back, and a common reason is "parking" . Meanwhile, a quick drive down their streets will show plenty of parking. And get this, the people that would shop in the now almost empty stores in their town wouldn't need to drive there - they would walk. Another pushback I hear is that a new structure will create too much non-permeable space . It's always an interesting thing to hear from a sector that listens and smiles - but does nothing - when I talk about clean water bills, riparian buffers, and other common sense solutions to a healthy local environment. The more I learn a...

Warm Up -- Add Value --- Get Money

Save some big bucks on your heating bill and get $300 credit from the federal government if you install a wood burning fireplace insert by the end of 2011. Read all about it here . You may not be ready to sell now, but when you do --- it's a good idea to have a leg up on your competition. Most people prefer to have an alternative heat source. Many of us found that out over the weekend during the "Halloween Snow Storm".

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