Prepping Your Home For Winter in 7 Steps

Colder temperatures have arrived and we want to help you protect your investment. Here are seven tips to get your home ready for the winter:

1. Leaves...leaves and more leaves: The temperature change brought beautiful fall landscapes but now that they are on the ground it time to get them bagged and off your lawn. Beyond the overall appearance and the fact they become a walking hazard; these piles of leaves can harbor critters and destroy your precious lawn if not attended too. One of the easiest methods is to adjust your lawn mower to a mulch setting and tackle them during your regular mowing. If you don’t have a mulch setting, you can also purchase refuse/leaf bags at the grocery store, tackle the lawn with a rake and check with your local jurisdiction to see if or when they do leaf pickup.

2. Guard your gutters: Clogged gutters can be a huge nuisance and cause a wide range of problems in the winter months. One of the biggest culprits is the pesky, aforementioned leaves. If you are ok with regular cleanings and you're not afraid of the ladder this can be accomplished on your own, with some gloves and a hose but if you are dealing with high roof lines it might be best to call in a professional. To help eliminate the regular cleanings that are needed, a good investment would be gutter guards which block debris and save the time and hassle of cleaning. There are number of different brands and styles and it is best to contact roofing or siding company to see what is ideal for your home.

3. How’s the roof?: While you’re up cleaning the gutters or swiping back and forth on the lawn mulching leaves, take a look at your roof. For a closer look view through binoculars and check is there are there shingles that are lifted or broke? Check the rows around the roof line and the area around the chimney. If you see something out of the ordinary give a roofing company a call and have it inspected as the winter months can be cruel to roofs with freezing temperatures and heavy snow.

4. Close the hose: When temperature start to dip below freezing it is best to turn off the outdoor hoses and clear the lines of excess water. Locate the interior shut off valve for your exterior faucet (if applicable) and turn off the water to the line. Once you do complete this, go outside and turn the faucet on and clear all of the water from the line. This is one of the best ways to keep that line from freezing and bursting.

5. Check for breezes: As your parents have always said, they aren’t paying to heat the outdoors so check for air leaks in your windows and doors. First step is to clean the lining around the door and window and remove all of the dirt, dust and debris - this will allow for a clean, tight seal when closed. Next, close all of the windows and doors, turn on a fan and place an incense stick near the window and doors. Watch where the smoke goes and if it escapes replace the seal, which can be found out any major hardware store.

6. Out with old - in with the new filter: One of the easiest ways to help improve your HVAC system is by replacing your filter. Set a schedule based on the type of filter used and this will keep your system clean and should improve its efficiency.

7: Chim, Chim, Chimney: Not really a DIY job, but if you have a chimney, have it inspected by a CSIA (Chimney Safety Institute of America) certified contractor. They will check for cracks or any build-up of creosote within the structure and make sure it is functioning properly. To find a CSIA certified contractor see csia.org.

As always never hesitate to give us a call or email if you have any questions about your home and please visit www.piersonrealestate.com/referral for a complete list of contractors and companies that we have worked with over the years. If you do use of any of the people on our list please be sure to let us know how they did as we are big on accountability and want to make sure we are sending the best to you in in all situations!

The Process Explained... Closing Costs

So you’ve ratified your offer, satisfied each of the contingencies and settlement is on the horizon. Before all this takes place we’ve talked with you about closing costs - the costs involved with transferring the ownership of the home from the seller to you. But sometimes in the fray of everything that is happening it can be easy to forget what the closing costs cover and what does the title company really does? Federal Title & Escrow Company has a great video explaining all of what is involved and what the costs cover.
 If you have any more questions please feel free to call or email any of us and we would be more than happy to answer them. www.piersonrealestate.com

Pierson Real Estate 2010 "Q2" Company Update

Hello clients and friends!

Pierson Real Estate has been extremely blessed over the past few years and a large part of that is because of the support of our friends and clients like you. Our main goal has always been to exceed our clients' expectations and help them reach their long-term financial goals through the use of real estate. We do this because of our belief that serving the needs of others first fulfills a higher calling and will help us build a business that will do the most good for everyone. This truth has not only guided our business but our personal lives as well; and it has blessed us in both areas. Even in this slow but steady market, Pierson Real Estate has grown exponentially. While we don't focus on numbers, they do give us an indicator of how we are doing because referrals are a result of the satisfaction of past clients--and the results have been overwhelming as you can see from the chart above.

We want to thank you for your help in getting us here and we look forward to serving many more of the people you know. We want to continue to grow because we truly believe that we will do the best job for the people you know. If you hear of someone looking to buy or sell a home that would like to work with realtors like us, please connect us with them via email and we will take great care of them. Thank you again and God Bless!

Tim & Liz Pierson

The Real Estate Tide is Changing in DC

Hello friends and clients. Below are a few articles that I wanted to send along to you to keep you informed about what is going on in the economy and how it affects real estate. As many of you may know, our stock market (specifically the DJIA) is at the lowest level in 11 years. While this is bad news for all of our IRA’s it is good news for the Washington DC real estate market and here is why. As with the great depression, in times of economic crises, Washington DC receives a lot of money in fiscal stimulus. Jobs are already coming to DC and a lot more will be created as the government grows to spend this money.

While the US and world economies will continue to experience turmoil for the near future, Washington DC exists in a little snow globe of security since so much of it exists on Federal spending. With over 2 trillion be spent by the government, DC is going to see a lot of that money and by default growth. People will be coming to D.C. where a lot of the jobs will be.

For the local housing market that means increase in demand. It is very likely that the best opportunities to take advantage of the downside of real estate market are dwindling if they haven’t already passed. For sellers that means that brighter times are ahead for you and for buyers it means that now is the time to be looking. Outside of D.C., there are few markets that will be good investments in the near future. If you know someone around the country that is thinking of moving anywhere, I would be happy to talk to them to give them some insight into what is happening. Feel free to have them contact me.

We will be holding a home buyers seminar in the near future where I will be expanding on some of the economic data and providing more details. Please contact me if you would like to attend and please forward this email to anyone you know who is thinking of buying or selling so they can be informed as well. More information to come but here are some interesting articles that illustrate what I am talking about.

While New York Bleeds, Washington Thrives
At the same time Wall Street is losing jobs and prestige, the nation's capital is gaining steam as it ramps up to fight the recession
By Peter Coy

“Look out, New York. Washington is gaining on you.

As the nation's most populous metro area feels Wall Street's pain, the fourth-largest—Washington—is barely sensing the recession. In fact, Moody's Economy.com estimates that metro Washington's economy will actually grow 2.5% from mid-2008 through mid-2010. New York's economy is expected to shrink 4.2%.

It wouldn't be the first time that Washington benefited from a national crisis. Back in 1930 the District of Columbia was a quiet Southern town, scoffed at by New York sophisticates. But as the federal government ramped up to fight first the Great Depression and then World War II, its population grew 65% in two decades, vs. just 14% for New York City.”
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/feb2009/db20090219_655989.htm?campaign_id=rss_daily

Washington D.C. ranked as the #1 city in the WORLD for real estate investment by Forbes Magazine
http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2009012207?OpenDocument

Mortgage rates to 4.5% within 1 year???

This is really important to real estate buyers, owners, and investors!

Here is my advice. Buy now and get a mortgage with no points and plan on refinancing with a year or two....

The Treasury department is considering a plan to lower interest rates on new mortgages to 4.5% and force a lowering of refinance rates to make housing more affordable. Here is the full article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122833771718976731.html

WHAT THIS MEANS...

The inappropriate use of financing products and the resulting declining housing prices is what started the economic downturn. There was a 2 year lag between when real estate started to slow down and when the whole economy started to slow down. The take away here is that real estate is a leading indicator of what the economy will do. If interest rates go down, demand will increase and housing prices will go up. Housing prices are extremely good right now and we are likely at the bottom if it hasn't already passed. If you are at all interested in purchasing real estate, you should buy before the interest rates go too far down. It is better to pay $3,000 to refinance your mortgage a year from now than to wait and pay $20,000 more on the purchase price.

If you currently own a home. I would be patient and refinance when the rates go below 5%. If you can't refinance and you are in a short term arm, you still may be in good shape because if your arm is tied to Prime or Libor, your interest rate may adjust down in the next year!

This is great news for the whole economy. The government is moving aggressively to minimize foreclosures which will stabilize the real estate market and bring stability within a year or two to the financial markets (which appear to still have some time to go before they bottom).

If you have any questions about this, please email or call me.

Tim Pierson
tim@piersonrealestate.com

Should I pay for a radon test?

What is radon?

You can't smell or see radon. It's an odorless, colorless gas that is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. If you're a smoker, the presence of radon in your home will considerably increase your chance of getting lung cancer. A study published in 2005 in the journal Epidemiology concluded your chance of getting lung cancer increases by 11 percent to 21 percent at average radon concentrations of about 3.0 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) of air over an exposure period of 5 to 30 years. The EPA recommends radon mitigation at 4.0 pCi/L.

The presence of radon doesn't mean your home was built over an atomic-waste dump. Its origins are natural--from the breakdown of uranium found in almost all soil. The gas finds its way into a home through such paths as cracks and other holes in the foundation. The greatest concentrations of radon gas are found in the Northeast US and the levels are usually higher in below grade basements with poor ventilation.

All homes have Radon, it is everywhere, but at a certain level it can become dangerous. If you have a below grade portion of your home with poor ventilation that you are going to spend a lot of time in, you should get a radon test. If you already own the home, there are plenty of affordable tests that you can get from your local hardware store for less than $30.

If you do have radon, it is fairly easily fixed by drilling a hole through your foundation and venting the air in the rocks under your foundation through a pipe and out of your home. This will free the pockets of air with high levels of radon from seeping into your home. You probably won't want to do this yourself. It can cost anywhere form $600-$2000 to fix. You can find one through your state radon office or through these private organizations: the National Environmental Health Association and the National Radon Safety Board.

What Constitutes a Legal Bedroom?

When I am asked to list properties or am showing properties with small rooms, I often get the question, "Is this considered a bedroom?" The number of bedrooms in a house is important because sellers want to appear in the search results of as many buyers as possible; however, any bedroom listed needs to be legal size in order to get the nod, so I thought it would be useful to share the actual requirments for legal bedrooms...

According to the International Residential Code (IRC), a legal bedroom must be at least 70 square feet in area, with a width not less than 7 feet. The minimum required ceiling height is 7 feet 6 inches. If the ceiling is sloped, the required height applies to at least half of the ceiling. As for windows, bedrooms must have windows for light, ventilation, and emergency escape. If a basement room does not meet these requirements, it cannot be considered as a legal bedroom. The minimum size requirement for bedroom windows that provide natural light is at least 8% of the floor area of the room, and minimum size for openable windows is at least 4% of the floor area of the room.

For emergency escape, the openable window must have a sill height of no more than 44 inches above the floor. The size of the opening should be at least 5.7 square feet, measuring no less than 24 inches in height and no less than 20 inches in width. Windows should be able to open without the use of a key or tool. Screens and bars are permitted as long as they can be opened or removed from inside the dwelling, also without the use of a key or tool. The code makes no mention of bedroom closets because these can be provided by means of portable cabinets.

Happy hunting!