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Tricks to Keep Your House Cool this Summer

By Paige Tepping

RISMEDIA, June 17, 2010–As the temperatures continue to rise this summer, so does the cost of keeping your home cool. While homeowners across the country come to depend on air conditioners to keep the temperature down during the warm summer months, there are other options that will keep you cool while keeping your energy bill low.

Fans and ceiling fans
-If you’re looking for ways to beat the heat, a ceiling fan can be a great investment for your home. This one appliance can make a room feel 6 or 7 degrees cooler, and even the most power-hungry fan costs less than $10 a month to use if you keep it on for 12 hours a day. Good fans make it possible for you to raise your thermostat setting and save on air-conditioning costs. Fans don’t use much energy, but when air is circulating, it feels much cooler. Ceiling fans are best, but a good portable fan can be very effective as well.

-You should remember that even mild air movement of 1 mph can make you feel three or four degrees cooler. Also, make sure your ceiling fan is turned for summer – you should feel the air blown downward.

Shades, drapes or blinds
-Install white window shades, drapes or blinds to reflect heat away from the house. Close blinds, shades and draperies facing the sun (east-facing windows in the morning and west-facing windows in the afternoon) to keep the sun’s heat out and help fans or air conditioners cool more efficiently. Always remember that the best way to keep your home cool is to keep the heat out.

Internal Heat
-The most common sources of internal heat gain are; appliances, electronic devices and lighting. Be aware of devices in your home that are generating heat and if you have air conditioning, use it wisely.

Don’t put lamps, televisions or other heat-generating appliances next to your air-conditioning thermostat, because the heat from these appliances will cause the air conditioner to run longer. The heat they produce will make the thermostat think your house is warmer than it really is, and your system will run harder than it needs to.

-Unless you absolutely need them, turn off incandescent lights and heat-generating appliances. Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents; they produce the same light but use a fifth the energy and heat.

-You should also try to avoid heat-generating activities such as cooking on hot days or during the hottest part of the day. If you are cooking, use your range fan to vent the hot air out of your house. By reducing the amount of heat in your home, you will use less energy to cool it.

Plants
-Plant trees or shrubs to shade air conditioning units, but not block the airflow. A unit operating in the shade uses less electricity. Deciduous trees planted on the south and west sides will keep your house cool in the summer and allow the sunlight to warm the house during the winter.

Roof and Walls
-Paint your roof white – If you’ve got a flat roof, paint it with a specially formulated reflective paint or just paint it white. The reflective effect will help to keep the rooms under the flat roof much cooler.

Other things to remember
-Humidity makes room air feel warmer, so reduce indoor humidity. Minimize mid-day washing and drying clothes, showering and cooking. When you must do these things, turn on ventilating fans to help extract warm, moist air.

-Avoid landscaping with lots of unshaded rock, cement, or asphalt on the south or west sides of your home because it increases the temperature around the house and radiates heat to the house after the sun has set.

-If the attic isn’t already insulated or is under-insulated, insulate it now. Upgrading from 3 inches to 12 inches can cut cooling costs by 10%.

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    Top 4 Mistakes Sellers Make When Selling A Home

    #1 Mistake: Not listing your property with a Full-Time Realtor©

    When selling your home there are no guarantees that the ultimate buyer of your home will have simply walked through the front door. In many cases you may have to bring your home to the buyer. Effective marketing will help ensure that your property receives maximum exposure to attract a ready, willing and able buyer in the shortest period of time. When you list your property, you need to ask some specific questions about how it will be marketed.
    In this extremely competitive market, if the Realtor© you are talking to does not run their Real Estate business as a FULL TIME business, then you need to be looking elsewhere. And if their idea of running a real estate business is putting a sign in your yard, entering it in the local MLS, and then running an ad in the local home buyer magazine . . . . well, then they are not seriously up to date in technology, and are not going to get your property exposed to the largest number of buyers possible.
    Ask your Realtor© to list for you all of the ways he/she intends to market your home and on what time-line. Also, be sure to ask about the home being advertised on the Internet, and how MANY sites your property will be listed on. At Pinnacle Real Estate Services, we take the marketing of a property very seriously. Our “Strategic Marketing” puts your home in front of more buyers than any other company in Pearl River County, MS.


    #2 Mistake: Not Pricing Your Property Right for the Current Market

    Perhaps the most challenging aspect of selling a home is listing it at the correct price. It’s one of several areas where the assistance of a skilled, Full-Time Realtor© can more than pay for itself. Listing the home too high can be as bad as too low. If the listing price is too high, you’ll miss out on a percentage of buyers looking in the price range where your home should be. This is the flaw in thinking that you’ll always have the opportunity to accept a lower offer. Chances are the offers won’t even come in, because the buyers who would be most interested in your home have been scared off by the price and aren’t even taking the time to look. By the time the price is corrected, you’ve already lost exposure to a large group of potential buyers.
    Your over-priced listing will actually also be helping to sell other properties that are in direct competition with you. Since your price is higher, the lower-priced house will be a better buy for the consumer.
    The listing price becomes even trickier to set when prices are quickly rising or falling. It’s critical to be aware of where and how fast the market is moving – both when setting the price and when negotiating an offer. Again, an experienced, well-trained Realtor© is always in touch with market trends – often even to a greater extent than appraisers, who typically focus on what a property is worth if sold as-is, right now.

    #3 Mistake: Thinking you need to be in the home to explain things to a prospective buyer.

    You will be better served if you allow your Realtor© to do their job without you there. Most potential buyers usually feel more comfortable if they can speak freely to the real estate professional without the owners being present.
    Also, if people unaccompanied by an agent request to see your property, you should refer them to your Realtor© for an appointment. Don’t expose yourself, your family, and your property to non-qualified buyers. If they are serious about viewing your home, they will call your Realtor©.

    #4 Mistake: Forgetting what you would want to see if you were the buyer of your home.

    Remember that although people can be different in personality, they tend to be the same when it comes to expectations at someone else’s expense. In other words, a prospective buyer would probably like to see a perfect home from top to bottom, inside and out. They can envision themselves living in your home, if it’s clean, and problems are already taken care of. Try to do as many of the following items as possible to improve the likelihood of your home selling quickly.
    On the outside
    • Sweep front walkway.
    • Remove newspapers, bikes and toys.
    • Park extra cars away from the property.
    • Trim back the shrubs.
    • Apply fresh, clean paint throughout.
    • Clean windows and window coverings throughout.
    • Keep plumbing and all appliances in working order.
    • Maintain all sealant (window, tub, shower, sink, etc.) in good condition.
    • Make sure roof and gutters are clean and in good condition.
    • Mow the lawn frequently and plant flowers.
    • Keep pet areas clean.

    On the inside
    • The kitchen and bathroom should shine.
    • Quick once-over with the vacuum; carpets should be clean.
    • Place fresh flowers in the main rooms.
    • Put dishes away, unless setting a formal display for decoration.
    • Make all beds and put all clothes away.
    • Open drapes and turn on lights for a brighter feel.
    • Straighten closets.
    • Put toys away.
    • Turn off television.
    • Play soft music on the radio/stereo.
    • Keep pets out of the way and pet areas clean and odor-free.
    • Secure jewelry, cash, prescription medication and other valuables.
    • Enhance the spaciousness of each room.

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    How To Avoid The Most Common Mistakes Made When Buying A Home

    Buying a home is one of the most important and significant financial decisions that most people ever make. And because of the large sums of money that are involved, there are definite pitfalls and problems that you want to do your best to avoid as you make your decision.

    One of the most common mistakes that many home buyers make is not getting pre-approved or pre-qualified for their mortgage loan in advance of starting their home shopping. As a result, if they put in an offer on a home at the same time that another prospective buyer makes an offer, and that buyer has been pre-qualified, the other buyer will almost always get the house because of having their financial arrangements already in order. So avoid this mistake by arranging for your mortgage loan in advance.

    Another common mistake that is made is not enlisting the help of a qualified realtor in the home buying process. Buying a home these days is becoming more and more complex and involved. So having your own realtor who is looking out for your best interests and is knowledgeable about all the real estate requirements for your area can save a lot of headache and hassle.

    Sometimes home buyers also rush into buying a home too soon. So its very important to take your time in the buying process, and not allow yourself to feel as if you are under pressure to buy a particular home quickly. New homes go on the market all the time, so be patient and you’ll be able to find a home you want, at the price you want, soon enough.

    The opposite of that scenario can also be a big mistake. There are some home buyers who have such stringent requirements for their dream home, that they often pass up excellent homes that are very good bargains simply because their demands are unreasonably high. In a rising market, this can often cost them very dearly in the process. So although you may have very definite ideas about a home you would like to purchase, try to realize that some small compromises are usually necessary when buying a new home.

    Sometimes home buyers get carried away emotionally and become attached to a home that is actually out of their price range too, and then saddle themselves with a huge debt that is difficult for them to pay. Most often financial institutions will help try to prevent such a situation, but buying restraint needs to start with the home buyer first. A good practice is never to even look at a home that falls outside of your affordable price range to begin with.

    Whenever you are seriously looking at any home, be sure to inspect it thoroughly before you agree to the sale and sign the papers. It’s usually best to hire a quality home inspector on your own to go through the property and give you an unbiased assessment of its condition. If major problems are found, it can save you a lot of money by making this small investment.

    One other common mistake that you want to avoid is not being aware of all restrictions that may be placed on your property by local zoning laws or homeowners associations. You may have specific plans for improving your property after the purchase, but you need to make sure that there are no restrictions on the plans that you have in mind before you buy.

    These are some of the more common mistakes that homebuyers have made in the past that you can learn from. So before you buy your next home, review this list of tips and ideas to help make your home buying experience a successful one.

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    Must Read Tips – What You Need To Know About Buying A Home

    The home buying process can seem complicated, but if you take things step-by-step, you will soon be holding the keys to your own home!
    But before going into the buying process you should first ask yourself if your are already ready for home buying.
    Do you prefer or even enjoy moving into different places. Do you prefer using your savings for things like vacations, appliances, retirement or having your own business? Do you like to enjoy not having so much trouble with regular maintenance and repairs?
    If your answers to these queries are yes, then you may not be ready to delve into the home buying experience. You may have a lot of good reasons for buying a home but you should also have to consider your reasons for not wanting to.
    Remember than buying home is not just the biggest financial decision you will ever make but also the strongest emotional choice in your life, so be prepared to make wise decisions when you are in this process.
    Buying home always seems to be a great idea, but it is important that ownership of a certain property comes with a great deal of responsibilities too.
    Of course, being a homeowner is something to be proud of but it also means having to invest money, time and energy and take on added responsibilities. So, before you decide to buy a home, make sure you’re ready.
    The first things that comes into our mind when we think about home owning, is the wonderful things that is connected to it. It is true that there are a lot of good reasons for buying a home. So here are some of the good advantages of home buying.
    Financial security is a very great deal of advantage when it comes to owning your own home. If the housing prices would go up, your home can provide you with some financial security due to capital appreciation.
    Flexibility is another thing, when owning your house you will be able to decide all the aspects that comes with it. You can decorate or renovate your home to meet your own family’s personal tastes and needs.
    And of course stability, having your own home will make you feel at ease and less burden than renting one.
    Although it is really nice to think about the positive aspects of owning a home, it is also a crucial part to consider the downsides as well. Here are some of the disadvantages on home buying.
    Financial Stress is a very common problem in home buying. Coming up with the down payment, meeting regular mortgage payments and other ongoing costs will tie up a lot of your cash, and can put considerable stress on your finances.
    Maintenance and Higher Costs are also a big problem. Keeping your home in good shape requires time and money.
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    Your net worth is the amount left over once you’ve subtracted your total liabilities from your total assets. It will also give you a snapshot of your current financial situation and show you how much you can afford to put as a down payment.
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    Make sure that your lender will provide the mortgage money to your lawyer. You must provide the balance of the purchase price to your lawyer along with the closing costs. Your lawyer pays the vendor, registers the home in your name, and provides you with a deed and the keys to your new home.

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    Home Security Advice When Selling Your Home

    When you decide to sell your home, and it’s going to be vacant, you may be thinking of installing an home security alarm system. But before you do, you have to make sure you understand a few things. For starters, the secret code won’t be a secret for long. Whether it’s published on the MLS, or given to all potential buyer’s agents via phone or email, the secret will be out.

    Alarms provide protection while your home is vacant or not. But you have to remember that the alarm can actually become a nuisance when instructions aren’t followed, whether it’s the instruction on the listing page stating that the buyer’s agent should call beforehand for the code (and they don’t) or if the step-by-step instructions hanging on the wall directly next to the alarm seem to be written in some other language.

    To avoid these mishaps, selling agents can opt to show the house by appointment only, since too many times buyers agents don’t call for the code and the proper authorities are contacted, the alarm company is contacted and eventually the selling agent is contacted. But there are other options too. That’s why you have to decide whether or not the alarm system is actually a good idea.

    Here are some tips you can utilize if you don’t want the hassles of an alarm system:

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    If you like what you’ve read here about <a href="http://www.homesecurityadvice.com/systems” rel=”nofollow”>Home Security Systems When Selling Your Home visit our website www.homesecurityadvice.com to learn even more!
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    Welcome to the Pearl River County Homes Website.  Here you will find a lot of useful information about the Picayune, MS, area.  There is neighborhood information for Picayune, Carriere, McNeill, and other areas of our Pearl River County.  You can also search ALL properties for sale, no matter what company has the listing.

    Buying a home can be a stressful situation.  You want to make sure you find the home that will fit your needs, be in an area that won’t depreciate your equity over time, and get the best price for your situation.  You need a consultant to guide you through the process and make it an easy transition for you and your family. When you are looking at Picayune MS homes for sale, you need someone to look out for your best interests.

    The Picayune and Pearl River County area offer great properties within commuting distance of New Orleans, and the John C. Stennis Space Center (NASA).

    Click a link to the left to search properties, check out neighborhood information, and get information on the buying and selling process.