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Toddler turf could be toxic

By Janet Portman, Thursday, April 30, 2009.

Q: I've been reading about the presence of lead in the fake grass, or turf, that's used on playing fields and playgrounds. We have this turf in the toddlers' area of our apartment's playground. I snipped a bit off, and took it to a lab to be tested. The technician told me it's way over our state's permissible lead levels, and poses a threat to the health of the children playing on it. How should I approach my landlord about this problem? --Sandy C.  more...

Rounding up your real estate listings

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, April 30, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/smaedli/2808114720/in/set-72157607006623469/" target=blank>smaedli</a>.

It is 10 o'clock; do you know where your listings are?

After moving to a new real estate company a few weeks ago I had to update my profiles, which are scattered all over the Internet. It forced me to review my online presence. It took some time, but I learned a few things in the process.

There are a number of national real estate Web sites where property listings information can be advertised. Some are also social networks where we can interact with buyers and sellers if we choose to do so.  more...

Save $2,500 on home improvement

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, April 29, 2009.

Q: We are planning to have a vapor barrier installed in our crawl space. When the estimator was here, he said he saw what might be mold and recommended that we have a mold inspection, and if necessary, cleanup, done first.

I just had the mold inspector out, and fortunately, he says there was no mold, but he did say we had a lot of efflorescence built up on our piers and that for $2,500 they could come in, clean it up and disinfect the crawl space.  more...

Lost equity puts boomers' future in doubt

By Tom Kelly, Wednesday, April 29, 2009.

Baby boomers -- the largest, healthiest and wealthiest group ever appearing on the U. S. growth landscape -- never met a loan they didn't like. After leveraging appreciation and location in their starter and move-up homes to pay for cars, college tuitions and trips, their home probably holds most of the equity in their lives.

According to a new report by Washington, D.C.-based Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), that home is not worth what it used to be. Coupled with the recent turmoil in the stock market, many boomers will be completely reliant on Social Security and Medicare to support them in their retirement years.  more...

Social media: icing on the cake Premium Content

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, April 29, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/melloveschallah/3440131767/" target=blank>melloveschallah</a>.

Marketing our real estate services, marketing any business for that matter, is a lot like a decorating a cake. You can put all the cherries and chocolate sprinkles in the world on top but if the cake itself sucks, no one is going to want any.

Seth Godin wrote back in July 2005: "Please understand that book publishing is an organized hobby, not a business. The return on equity and return on time for authors and for publishers is horrendous. If you're doing it for the money, you're going to be disappointed.  more...

Old condo violates plumbing code

By Barry Stone, Tuesday, April 28, 2009.

DEAR BARRY: I live in an old condo complex and recently replaced my water heater. The fixture is located in an upstairs closet, and the new codes require an overflow pan with a pipe to the exterior to prevent water damage if there is a leak. Unfortunately, the condo board has refused to allow this pipe because it would alter the outside appearance of the building. I've argued the point, but they are as stubborn as cement. Do they have the right to deny compliance with the state plumbing code, or can I install the pipe without their permission? --William

DEAR WILLIAM: The condo board could use some common sense in place of blind adherence to outdated restrictions. If any water heater in the complex develops a leak, someone will be paying to repair water damage, and that someone could be a member of the board.  more...

Lender as landlord

By Marcie Geffner, Tuesday, April 28, 2009.
Flickr image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dimator/2924480/">dimator</a>.

Do you own your own home or do you just pay rent to a lender instead of a landlord?

The question isn't frivolous. Rather, it speaks to whether your house is a place to live or an investment, a temporary abode or a more permanent living space, real property or just a roof over your head.

There are 75 million owner-occupied housing units in the United States, and of those, nearly 24 million don't have a mortgage, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.  more...

Dos and don'ts of home selling

By Dian Hymer, Monday, April 27, 2009.

An energetic real estate agent can have your home on the market in a day. However, to provide the kind of marketing exposure you need to sell in today's market takes a little longer, unless your home is photo-ready when you list.

Ideally, you should start planning for your home sale months before you want your home to be on the market. First find an agent to represent you. Then, create a game plan together for the premarketing phase of the process.

Use your agent as a resource. Walk through your home with your agent to get feedback on work, decluttering and rearranging that needs to be done before the house is photographed for advertising and shown to prospective buyers.  more...

The land-contract gamble

By Benny Kass, Monday, April 27, 2009.

DEAR BENNY: I sold a home in 2006 by way of a land contract. The buyers were making payments to me in order to pay down the purchase price. Recently, the buyers quitclaimed (in lieu of foreclosure) the property back to me. They said they lost their jobs. I received a letter from a mortgage company this week. They are applying for a new home. Any recourse I can take? The property has lost a lot of value in the past year. --Nancy  more...

Web 3-D revs up real estate Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Monday, April 27, 2009.

In the very near future, the experience of buying a home will undergo a radical change. Rather than Web 3.0, the next generation of Web products may very well be Web 3-D.

One of the most important trends for 2009 is the rise of video-based communication. The next wave of video applications, however, is not limited to today's two-dimensional screens. Eventually we will have holographic showing machines that will provide us with a true 3-D experience.  more...

An antidote for toxic assets

By Jack Guttentag, Monday, April 27, 2009.

The government is betting that by lending large amounts to private investors to purchase securities, markets will revive and security values will rise. It is a costly and risky venture, I hope it works, but fear it won't. This article proposes another approach to the same objectives that would cost the government nothing. I call it "desecuritization." All it requires is the appropriate enabling legislation.

Desecuritization means reversing the securitization process. Securitization converts large numbers of individual loans into security issues. Desecuritization converts the securities back into individual loans. The objective of both is the same: to enhance value.  more...

An economy on life support

By Lou Barnes, Friday, April 24, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/brykmantra/76765412/" target=blank>brykmantra</a>.

Another week of odd calm ... at its heart a void of information from government. The economy is on life support, but the intentions of the physicians are unclear.

In the data details, nothing new. Mortgage rates still rattle in a very narrow, high-four range, held so low only by the Fed's massive buying. The stock market has shown some buoyancy, holding its ranges: Dow 8,000 and S&P 850.  more...

Do's and don'ts of deck cleaning

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, April 24, 2009.

A wood deck represents a sizable investment, and keeping it well maintained is an important part of every homeowner's to-do list. A clean deck not only helps showcase that backyard centerpiece, it prepares the wood to receive the surface coatings that are necessary to help your deck fight off the elements.

First, a couple of cleaning "don'ts":  more...

Architectural errors frozen in time

By Arrol Gellner, Friday, April 24, 2009.

The other day I was eating breakfast at a cozy little diner called Sam's Log Cabin, not far from where I live. The place is pretty much what its name suggests -- a rustic little box of a building with log siding and a hipped roof. The inside is just as spartan as the outside: There's no proper ceiling, and the roof rafters are plainly exposed to view.  more...

Tenants with privileges draw ire

By Janet Portman, Friday, April 24, 2009.

Q: I live in a 12-unit apartment complex. Five of the units are occupied by the owner's employees. The rest are regular tenants like me. But the employee-tenants have special privileges, like access to the laundry room, keeping a pet, parking in the inside lot, and the right to mount satellite dishes. Is this legal? --Nancy V.  more...

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