Custom built oversized 4 beds/3.5 baths Colonial immaculately maintained & surrounded by [...]]]> View Photos
Starts: 5/20/2012 1:00:00 PM
Ends: 5/20/2012 2:30:00 PM
For Directions: click on the map image or feel free to contact me.
For more information: click here for the full details

Custom built oversized 4 beds/3.5 baths Colonial immaculately maintained & surrounded by professionaly landscaped grounds.This spacious home features a family room with fireplace. Sun-filled formal dining room, & living room.Master bedroom with walk-in closet and master bath w/double sink,tub & shower.Finished basement with full kitchen & bathroom.Kitchen w/center island and a deck off kitchen.Large back yard with play area.Walking distance to National Park.Close to “T’, routes 1,95,and 495.

Despite the hassle and time scheduled repairs can take, [...]]]> This spring, homeowners will be mowing grass, trimming trees and planting flowers to ready their home for warmer weather. But homeowners also must not forget the importance of regularly scheduled seasonal home maintenance to keep systems and structures in top condition and prevent costly repairs.

Despite the hassle and time scheduled repairs can take, quarterly home maintenance and preventative measures can keep all areas of the home in good condition for years to come. To help homeowners accomplish this goal, Total Care Property Inspections recommends the following summer maintenance tips.

Tip #1: Clean and seal decks. Winter can leave exterior surfaces stained from fall leaves and dirty from snow melt runoff. Ideally, three consecutive warm, sunny days will be needed. On the first day, dry out the deck. Apply deck cleaner and scrub the deck on the second day, and let it dry 24 hours. On the third day, apply deck sealer. This will keep your deck water-repellant, damage-free and aesthetically attractive for all the barbecues in the months ahead.

Tip #2: Wash the exterior of your house using ordinary garden hose pressure and a mild detergent. Pressure washers are not always the best idea—they are powerful enough to force water under the siding, where it can encourage mildew and rot. If power washing is truly in order, hire a professional.

Tip #3: Have a certified chimney sweep inspect and clean chimneys. Taking care of this task in the spring or summer—rather than in the peak autumn season—allows plenty of time for repairs before the next heating season. It’s also easier to schedule a sweep than during the fall cleaning season, and sometimes, rates can be lower as a result of off-season discounts.

Tip #4: Caulk exterior joints around all windows and doors. Caulking keeps the house weather-tight and will help reduce high summer energy bills. It can also help keep insects and vermin out of the house.

Tip #5: Clean lint from the entire clothes dryer vent system, from the dryer to the exterior vent cap. Because lint is incredibly flammable, this common build up can create a fire hazard. And if a gas clothes dryer is not properly vented, it can even force deadly carbon monoxide back into the home.

Tip #6: Check the operation and condition of attic fans and roof-mounted turbine vents. Also make sure that bathroom and kitchen vent fans are working properly and are not blocked or obstructed. This can impede the intake of fresh air and removal of stale air from the home. These fans run on little energy and can greatly reduce cooling costs—not to mention increasing comfort inside the home during a hot and humid summer.

Tip #7: Change air conditioner filters—especially if the home was vented with outdoor air during the spring. Consider using a pleated media filter for better dust trapping, or for additional savings, a web element filter that can be washed periodically instead of being thrown out. Also, be sure to clear overgrowth and weeds away from outdoor air conditioning units—if the necessary airflow is blocked, the air conditioner will not be able to operate properly and could even suffer an expensive failure.

Tip #8: Clean any lingering fall leaves from gutters. For clogged downspouts, try using barbecue tongs to reach in and remove leaves. This is also a good opportunity to repair loose gutter nails or other gutter damage before the heavy spring and summer rains.

Tip #9: The heat and humidity of an Indiana summer can cause wooden windows and doors to swell and stick. Before this becomes a problem, remove the door or window, and carefully remove any excess material with a hand plane. For sliding windows, the surrounding trim is often the culprit. Usually, it must be removed and reinstalled to allow for greater movement. To keep windows and doors from sticking in the first place, make sure that they are sealed with a good coat of paint, including the tops and bottoms. Be careful not to paint the channels where windows need to slide, though—instead, use a light coat of linseed oil as a sealer.

Tip #10: To prepare for summer, make sure attics are well insulated and ventilated. Excess heat in the upstairs area of a two-story home, or the sensation of a ranch-style home feeling “hot from above” could indicate insufficient attic insulation and poor ventilation. The age of the home could be a culprit—home inspectors frequently cite poor attic insulation in houses built prior to 1984.

Is clutter taking over your life? There is a way to take your life back from the piles of junk collecting in your home and it doesn’t involve all of your things ending up in the landfill.

Here are just a few smart and frugal ideas for repurposing old stuff…

For Decorating [...]]]>

Is clutter taking over your life? There is a way to take your life back from the piles of junk collecting in your home and it doesn’t involve all of your things ending up in the landfill.

Here are just a few smart and frugal ideas for repurposing old stuff…

For Decorating

Use old hardware from dresser drawers to hang curtains.

Use junk CDs and DVDs as drink coasters.

For Organizing

Use oatmeal containers and coffee tins to store flour, sugar and mixes.

Use old doorknobs to make a coat rack.

For Outside

Use egg cartons, old jars, tins and yogurt cartons to make functional seed starters.

Use old wooden ladders as part of your landscaping, allowing ivy and other vine plants to climb them.

Use CDs to scare birds away from your berry garden. Hang CDs from a tree near your berry bushes. The shiny, moving objects will frighten birds, keeping them away from your sun-ripened berries.

Use Cooking Spray as an ice repellent. Spray both sides of a plastic or metal shovel with cooking spray and the ice will slide right off.

Repurposing items is easy if you start by changing the way you look at things. Next time you think something is trash, stop and think “how can I repurpose this?”

Buying insurance can be tricky and how to know what to buy and how much downright confusing. Bloomberg.com consulted consumer advocates, academics, financial advisers, insurance agents, and adjusters for advice on how to avoid overpaying, underinsuring, or missing out on claims you deserve to have paid.

Here are [...]]]>

Buying insurance can be tricky and how to know what to buy and how much downright confusing. Bloomberg.com consulted consumer advocates, academics, financial advisers, insurance agents, and adjusters for advice on how to avoid overpaying, underinsuring, or missing out on claims you deserve to have paid.

Here are tips and tricks of the trade.

Use Buying Guides

Agents are paid by insurers to sell their products and often sell only certain companies’ policies. Some insurers offering lower prices, such as Geico and USAA, sell directly to the public. Before meeting an agent, read buying guides on state insurance regulators’ websites, such as Calfornia’s Insurance Dept. site to learn what insurance should cost and cover. Ask agents what they make on a sale, says Karrol Kitt, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, and drill down on what policies cover. Ask them to verify answers with written proof. “Sometimes agents aren’t as knowledgeable as they should be,” Kitt says.

Be Wary of Cheap Policies

Insurance isn’t a “commodity like salt or sugar,” says Bill Wilson of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America. “There can be a dramatic difference in coverage from one policy to another.” One homeowners policy might cover all water damage, for example, while another might pay only if you notice it right away, excluding the effects of a pipe that has caused mold growth over a long stretch. In health care, coverage and price differences can be especially dramatic. “The cheapest is rarely the best,” Ditré says.

Raise Your Deductable

“Raising your deductible is the best way to keep your premiums down,” says Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders, a policyholder advocacy group. Even if you can afford the expensive premiums of a low-deductible policy, it should ultimately cost less to choose a high-deductible policy and create a bank account to insure your own small losses. Insurance should be for “catastrophic losses,” says Rutgers University law professor Jay Feinman. For anything less, “it often makes sense to absorb those yourself.”

Get Disaster Coverage

With disasters in the news, the importance of insuring a home against Mother Nature’s bag of tricks is all too clear. Fire insurance won’t necessarily pay out if the fire was caused by an earthquake–unless you have earthquake insurance. And coverage for hurricane wind damage might not protect you from the flood caused by the hurricane. (In Louisiana, only 29 percent of households are covered for floods, according to its insurance commissioner.) Flood insurance is available through the federal National Flood Insurance Program for an average of about $600 per year. On coastal areas and beachfront, coverage can be far more costly.

Don’t Underinsure

A dangerous way to lower premiums is to get too little coverage. Homeowners who can afford it would be smart to insure enough to cover the contents of a house–including artwork or other expensive items–and the full cost to rebuild a home on the site. This construction can be much more than the market value of a house, says public insurance adjuster Jack Kunz, president of Alex N. Sill. Also, many young families fail to get enough life insurance, says financial adviser Brenda Knox. Insurance agents sometimes won’t present a policy with full coverage for fear that the high premiums will scare off customers.

For more tips read the article from Bloomberg.com.

This article from Caring.com says avoid these five foods that can *prevent* you from getting a good [...]]]> Sleep; it is so good for us but for many it can be so hard to achieve. Believe it or not your lack of sleep may be coming from the foods you eat.

This article from Caring.com says avoid these five foods that can *prevent* you from getting a good night’s rest:

1. Preserved and smoked meats

Slap your hand away when it reaches to make a ham sandwich as an evening snack. Ham, bacon, sausages, and smoked meats contain high levels of the amino acid tyramine, which triggers the brain to release norepinephrine, a brain stimulant that makes us feel alert and wired.

2. Chocolate

Love an evening cup of cocoa? That sundae in front of the TV? Be careful of chocolate in all its disguises. Many people are increasingly sensitive to caffeine as they get older, and even the little chocolate chunks in chocolate chip ice cream could zap you just enough to prevent ZZZZs. Chocolate also contains tyrosine, a stimulating amino acid.

3. Energy drinks

Red Bull and other energy drinks are high in caffeine as well as the amino acid taurine, which boosts alertness and adrenaline. Recent studies have shown that even if you drink energy drinks early in the day, the combined high dosage of taurine and caffeine can make it hard to sleep, or to sleep well, later on.

4. Tomato sauce, chili, pizza, and spicy foods

Digestive disturbances are a common source of sleep problems, but many people fail to make the connection. Acidic and spicy foods can cause reflux, heartburn, and other symptoms that interrupt sleep.

5. The nightcap

A drink or two may make you feel more relaxed after dinner, but it comes back to haunt you — literally — a few hours later, by preventing you from achieving deep sleep. And because alcohol both dehydrates you and makes you have to pee, it wakes you up, too. Wine is high in the stimulant tyrosine as well.