Century 21 Wimco Realty, Inc. Blog

Wood siding is one of the most beautiful of all types of siding—and one of the most expensive. If you’d like to avoid repairs that could cost thousands of dollars, and you’d like to keep your clapboard, shingles, or board-and-batten lasting for decades, regular upkeep and maintenance is critical.

Finish, protect wood siding
Wood must be properly finished with a paint, stain, or clear sealer. Left unprotected, it’s susceptible to rot and decay caused by moisture. Of special concern is the fact that wood expands and contracts with normal changes in humidity and temperature. These fluctuations may cause paint finishes to chip and crack, and over time puts stress on caulked seams around windows, doors, and at corners. If the caulk separates and fails to keep out moisture, wood rot may develop. Even species of wood that have a natural resistance to rot, such as redwood, cypress, and cedar, may decay if not properly protected from the elements.

Paint comes in unlimited colors and can be changed at any time. A house with wood siding must be repainted at least every five years, or as soon as the paint finish begins to deteriorate. A DIY paint job requires about 60 hours of labor. A professional crew will paint a two-story, 2,300 sq. ft. house for $3,000-$5,000.

Stain is a good choice for wood because it allows the beauty of the grain to show through. Stain penetrates wood fibers and helps seal them against moisture; it’s also resistant to the cracking and chipping that affects paint. Because stain is a penetrating sealer—not a coating, like paint—it’s difficult to change the color of previously stained wood. Staining a house is less labor-intensive than painting because prep work is minimal. Expect to pay $2,000-$4,000 for a pro crew to stain a two-story, 2,300-sq. ft. house. Using a rented paint sprayer, a two-person DIY team can re-stain a two-story house in 4-5 days for about $500, including the stain.

Clear sealers prevent moisture damage and allow wood to retain its natural color, but they must be reapplied at least every two years. Clear sealers are formulated to help slow the process that allows ultraviolet light to turn wood silvery gray. However, all natural wood, regardless of species, eventually turns gray when exposed to years of sunlight. Using a rented paint sprayer, a two-person DIY team can refinish a two-story, 2,300 sq. ft. house in a 3-day weekend for about $500, including the finish.

Clean stains on wood siding
Dirt is the most common cause of discoloration on wood siding. Clean annually using warm, soapy water and a soft-bristled brush. Divide your house into 20-foot sections, clean each section from top to bottom and rinse before moving on.

Mildew appears as black spotty stains. Clean the area with a solution of one part bleach to four parts water. Wear eye protection and protect plants from splashes. Rinse thoroughly with clean water.

Rust stains often appear as dark black splotches and vertical streaks. They’re usually caused by a metal fastener, such as a nail or screw, that wasn’t galvanized. Contact with moisture causes the fastener to oxidize, leaving streaks. To remove the stain, dissolve 4 oz. oxalic acid (available at hardware stores and home improvement centers) in 1 cup warm water.

Wear eye protection and acid-proof gloves; avoid splashing the mixture onto adjacent surfaces. Apply the mixture to the stain and gently scrub with a soft bristle brush. Rinse thoroughly with water. Refinish the spot if necessary. Problem nails must be replaced with a galvanized or stainless steel fasteners.

Restore the color of natural wood siding
Siding that has discolored with age can be restored to its original color by applying a wood cleaner or brightener. These products often are intended for use on wood decks, but they work well on natural wood siding. They’re available at hardware stores and home improvement centers. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Replace wood siding
Replace wood siding that show signs of damage. The most common damage comes from accidentally hitting the siding with sticks and stones thrown from a lawn mower, or from objects, like baseballs. Occasionally, wood siding may crack due to changes in atmospheric moisture. Repairs to wood siding require the expertise to remove the damaged siding while leaving surrounding siding intact. Unless you have the skills, hire a professional carpenter or siding contractor. Expect to pay $200-$300 to replace one or two damaged siding panels.

Prevent damage to wood siding
A house with wood siding is most vulnerable to water infiltration where siding butts against windows, doors, and corner moldings, says Frank Lesh, a professional house inspector in Chicago and past president of the American Society of Home Inspectors. Look for caulk that has cracked due to age, or has pulled away from adjacent surfaces, leaving gaps. Reapply a color-matched exterior caulk during dry days with temperatures in excess of 65 degrees F.

Lesh also stresses that no bush, tree branches, or shrubbery be allowed to touch the house siding. Foliage conducts moisture that can find its way into cracks and tiny openings in siding. “You should have enough room to comfortably walk between your house and any plant materials,” he says.

John Riha has written six books on home improvement and hundreds of articles on home-related topics. Riha has been a residential builder, the editorial director of the Black & Decker Home Improvement Library, and the executive editor of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. His standard 1968 suburban house has been an ongoing source of maintenance experience.

1. Decide how much home you can afford
Generally, you can afford a home priced 2 to 3 times your gross income. Remember to consider costs every homeowner must cover: property taxes, insurance, maintenance, utilities, and community association fees, if applicable, as well as costs specific to your family, such as day care if you plan to have children.

2. Develop your home wish list
Be honest about which features you must have and which you’d like to have. Handicap accessibility for an aging parent or special needs child is a must. Granite countertops and stainless steel appliances are in the bonus category. Come up with your top-five must-haves and top-five wants to help you focus your search and make a logical, rather than emotional, choice when home shopping.

3. Select where you want to live
Make a list of your top-five community priorities, such as commute time, schools, and recreational facilities. Ask your REALTOR® to help you identify three to four target neighborhoods based on your priorities.

4. Start saving
Have you saved enough money to qualify for a mortgage and cover your downpayment? Ideally, you should have 20% of the purchase price set aside for a downpayment, but some lenders allow as little as 5% down. A small downpayment preserves your savings for emergencies.

However, the lower your downpayment, the higher the loan amount you’ll need to qualify for, and if you still qualify, the higher your monthly payment. Your downpayment size can also influence your interest rate and the type of loan you can get.

Finally, if your downpayment is less than 20%, you’ll be required to purchase private mortgage insurance. Depending on the size of your loan, PMI can add hundreds to your monthly payment. Check with your state and local government for mortgage and downpayment assistance programs for first-time buyers.

5. Ask about all the costs before you sign
A downpayment is just one homebuying cost. Your REALTOR® can tell you what other costs buyers commonly pay in your area—including home inspections, attorneys’ fees, and transfer fees of 2% to 7% of the home price. Tally up the extras you’ll also want to buy after you move-in, such as window coverings and patio furniture for your new yard.

6. Get your credit in order
A credit report details your borrowing history, including any late payments and bad debts, and typically includes a credit score. Lenders lean heavily on your credit report and credit score in determining whether, how much, and at what interest rate to lend for a home. Most require a minimum credit score of 620 for a home mortgage.

You’re entitled to free copies of your credit reports annually from the major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Order and then pore over them to ensure the information is accurate, and try to correct any errors before you buy. If your credit score isn’t up to snuff, the easiest ways to improve it are to pay every bill on time and pay down high credit card debt.

7. Get prequalified
Meet with a lender to get a prequalification letter that says how much house you’re qualified to buy. Start gathering the paperwork your lender says it needs. Most want to see W-2 forms verifying your employment and income, copies of pay stubs, and two to four months of banking statements.

If you’re self-employed, you’ll need your current profit and loss statement, a current balance sheet, and personal and business income tax returns for the previous two years.

Consider your financing options. The longer the loan, the smaller your monthly payment. Fixed-rate mortgages offer payment certainty; an adjustable-rate mortgage offers a lower monthly payment. However, an adjustable-rate mortgage may adjust dramatically. Be sure to calculate your affordability at both the lowest and highest possible ARM rate.

Storm season’s almost here, be prepared
MIAMI – May 27, 2010 – Scant days before the start of what’s predicted to be a busy hurricane season, federal and state officials reviewed what’s working and what isn’t when it comes to storm forecasting, and urged emergency managers to rethink how they view the public in forming disaster plans.

Craig Fugate, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said planners need to adjust their approach on how they view the public during a disaster and its aftermath.

“We literally look at the public as a liability,” Fugate said Wednesday at the 24th annual Governor’s Hurricane Conference at the Broward County Convention Center. “When we talk about the public, we say they need to have a plan.”

But Fugate said the public is not a static entity in the aftermath of a hurricane or other natural disaster. Residents often take action on their own.

“Generally, as we get to a scene, people weren’t waiting for us to get there. They were doing things already,” he said.

Emergency managers need to take advantage of the public’s spirit to act spontaneously. “They should be looking at the public as part of this team,” Fugate said.

The FEMA chief said assisting people during a disaster isn’t a one-size-fits-all proposition. Simply sending truckloads of ready-to-eat meals to a stricken community won’t help children too young to consume adult food. Or shipping standard military or camping cots to a disaster area won’t help seniors, the disabled or the overweight who may be unable to use them.

“Why are we only planning for healthy adults, who may be more self-sufficient?” he said.

Fugate said emergency managers should give the public a greater role in disaster planning. “It’s trying to change our approach at FEMA to focus on our customers,” he said.

Bill Read, director of the National Hurricane Center west of Miami, reminded attendees of what’s good and bad in predicting a storm’s characteristics.

What’s good: improvements in the accuracy of forecasting a storm’s path. Due to more sophisticated computer models and more frequent aerial reconnaissance, track forecasting errors have been cut in half over the past 15 years, Read said.

Last year’s 48-hour path predictions, he said, equaled the 24-hour predictions of 10 years earlier. And that trend should keep up. “We’re going to continue improving the track forecast,” he said.

But what’s bad is also scary: Little progress has been made in anticipating how strong a storm could get. “Current models have little or no skill” at predicting a hurricane’s intensity, he said. A storm suddenly growing stronger approaching landfall can greatly hamper efforts to determine if evacuation is warranted.

“With a storm rapidly intensifying near land, you’re not going to have that much lead time,” he said.

Gov. Charlie Crist is scheduled to address the conference Thursday with some grim news of his own: A disturbing number of Floridians at risk from hurricanes are unprepared and unconcerned. According to a Mason-Dixon poll by the National Hurricane Survival Initiative, 17 percent of coastal residents said they would not evacuate even if ordered.

“If people do not heed the evacuation orders, if people don’t move to higher ground,” Fugate said, “we’re going to lose lives.”

Copyright © 2010 Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Robert Nolin. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Sink: Prepare now for oil spill losses
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – May 6, 2010 – Florida CFO Alex Sink outlined precautionary steps businesses should take if planning to claim damages resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

“Empty restaurants, empty rental properties or empty stores resulting from this oil spill are the direct responsibly of BP, and that’s exactly who should pay for it,” says CFO Sink. “It is crucial that our small business owners keep meticulous records about their losses so that BP claims can be expedited.”

CFO Sink suggested the following items:

First: Make detailed records of cancelled reservations. News reports suggest that many condominium owners, hotels and restaurants are already seeing increased cancellations. “It’s important that when these cancellations occur, the cancelling party is questioned whether the cause is because of the oil spill,” says Sink. “If the answer is ‘yes,’ keep a record of the person’s name, contact information and revenues lost as a result of the cancellation.”
Second: Calculate estimated losses for a six-week period and keep all records, sales receipts and documentation to support the claim. A good idea would be to compare business now to a five-year average of revenues between May and June, which can offer insight as to the damages incurred.
Third: Make a detailed list of assets – including non-structural – and include appropriate records to support the list. Damage does not always have to be direct. If a hotel or restaurant is within walking distance of the beach and the oil hits that beach, it damages the business’ assets even without physical damage to the structure. “It’s important to record this depreciation,” Sink says.
Fourth: Be wary of insurance settlement scams. If starting to file a claim, make sure you deal with authorized representatives of BP and not scam artists; and be careful not to sign waivers of liability too quickly without legal and financial counsel.
In all circumstances, Sink says, affected businesses should file a claim with British Petroleum (BP Oil) via the hotline number – (800) 440-0858.

Additional guidance to help small businesses survive a disaster can be found at www.MyFloridaCFO.com or by calling (850) 413-3089 or toll-free at (877) MY-FL- CFO (1-877-693-5236).

“I’ve activated my consumer helpline to assist Florida business owners with questions about how this spill will impact their businesses,” says Sink. “Florida businesses can take steps now to help expedite delivering their claim to BP, as well as help themselves be ready to take advantage of federal and state aid that may become available for recovery.”

© 2010 Florida Realtors®

Oil spill fears? Beware of fraud
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – May 5, 2010 – Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum issued a consumer advisory regarding the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

As with any natural disaster, scam artists see an opportunity to make money off other people’s losses. However, fraud is illegal, and McCollum asked anyone seeing fraud to report it to Florida’s fraud hotline at: (866) 966-7226.

According to McCollum, it’s too early to know the extent of the problem since oil continues to escape into the Gulf of Mexico and attempts to stem the flow have been unsuccessful. As a result, Floridians should not waive any rights or sign any settlement documents from companies or corporations until they know the full extent of their loss, which could be significantly higher than the money offered initially.

Additionally, in what could be one of the most significant environmental clean-ups in Florida’s history, Attorney General McCollum clarified that Florida statutes provide no cap on recoveries related to natural resources. During the past weekend, Attorney General McCollum met with the Attorneys General of Alabama, Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi to discuss a number of legal options to ensure costs and damages to Gulf coast states, businesses and residents are recouped.

Consumers can find more information on the Attorney General’s website at http://www.myfloridalegal.com. Additional information on the State Emergency Response Team’s efforts can be found at http://www.floridadisaster.org.

© 2010 Florida Realtors®

Tax credit doesn’t expire yet for military

WASHINGTON – April 28, 2010 – Members of the military, foreign service and intelligence communities may have an additional year to buy a home and claim the homebuyer tax credit – up to $8,000 – that expires for most Americans on April 30.

To qualify for the extended tax credit deadline, service members must have served on official extended duty outside of the United States for 90 days or more at any time between Jan. 1, 2009, and April 30, 2010. If so, they have until April 30, 2011, to sign a sales contract, and until June 30, 2011, to settle and close on the home. The rule includes both the $8,000 first-time and $6,500 repeat homebuyer tax credit.

Under the law, “qualified service members” includes those serving in the uniformed services of the United States military, a member of the Foreign Service of the United States or an employee of the intelligence community.

The rule that requires buyers to repay the credit if they move out of their home within three years has also been waived for qualified service members if they must sell their home after receiving government orders for extended duty service.

Florida’s appliance rebate Web site starts taking reservations at 11 a.m.
Source URL: http://jacksonville.com/business/your-money/2010-04-16/story/florida%E2%80%99s-appliance-rebate-web-site-starts-taking-reservations

By David Bauerlein
The Web site for Florida’s long-awaited appliance rebate program was back in operation for consumers to start placing their rebate reservations at 11 a.m. But being able to reach the site is a hit-or-miss proposition.

The state’s Web site is www.rebates.com/florida.

The site was down between 9 a.m and 11 a.m. in preparation for taking reservations as scheduled after 11 a.m. State officials strongly urge the reservations because it is a first-come, first-serve program until the money runs out.

A Times-Union reporter was able to log onto the site after 11 a.m., but it took several attempts. The reporter then had the same problems on subsequent attempts.

State officials advised consumers to have “patience and perseverance” because of high volume of hits on the Web site.

The 20 percent rebate for appliances kicked off today amid the kind of retail buzz that usually accompanies high-tech gadgets rather than clothes washers.

Sears, hhgregg and Best Buy opened stores at 6 a.m. for early-bird shoppers. Lowe’s and Home Depot also promoted the rebates to their shoppers.

The $17.5 million rebate program, funded by federal stimulus money, will provide the rebates to Florida residents purchasing select Energy Star-rated appliances. Those are refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers, dishwashers, tankless gas water heaters, and room air conditioners.

Shoppers have been asking about the program for the past month, said Tom Crosby IV, owner of Crosby & Son Appliances on the Westside.

“We’re a third-generation business but I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said Thursday.

His store opened an hour early at 7 a.m.

State officials expect the rebates will be enough for 68,000 appliances and all the rebate funding could be sucked up by purchases made the first day. Appliances must be purchased at Florida stores. Online purchases won’t qualify.

After buying the appliance, the next step will be to go to the state’s Web site, www.rebates.com/florida, and reserve rebate money for your purchase. The Web site will start taking reservations at 11 a.m. The site will keep a running tally of how much rebate money is left.

Consumers will then mail in rebate forms that can be downloaded from the state’s site. The state doesn’t have a phone number for the program.

david.bauerlein@jacksonville.com,

Florida Realtors Approved for MyCAA Program

Florida Realtors® has been approved as an authorized institution by the Department of Defense as part of the Military Spouse Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) program. This program will provide up to $6000 of education assistance to eligible spouses of active-duty military members. The program will allow any member of Florida Realtors® who take advantage of this program to register for any Florida Realtors® sponsored course (GRI, CE Express or Convention) with no out-of-pocket expenses, including Florida Realtors® sponsored courses at their local board.

More information will be available from Florida Realtors® as soon as the details are finalized. For answers to any questions about the MyCAA program, click here.

Crist to veto anything that raises insurance rates

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – April 8, 2010 – Gov. Charlie Crist reinforced his message Wednesday to lawmakers considering legislation that would allow insurance companies to boost property insurance premiums on home and business owners.

His advice: Don’t do it.

“This is the last time that people need to have property insurance go up,” Crist warned. “If there is any legislation that comes to my desk that would do that I will veto it and happily do so.”

Crist said he didn’t think legislators would attempt to overturn it.

“I can’t imagine how many members of the House and Senate would want to override a veto that reduces property insurance,” he said. “They would do so at their own peril.”

The Republican governor, who is leaving that office to seek his party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate in August, has been fighting members of his own party on the issue the past two years.

Just last week, former Gov. Jeb Bush weighed in, noting that the failure of several undercapitalized insurers could bankrupt the state and that the private insurance market should be bolstered.

Crist made an unusual appearance in a Senate committee last month to oppose legislation proposed by Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, that would let property insurers offer unregulated rates to homeowners.

Crist vetoed a similar bill last year that would have given homeowners a choice to pay higher, unregulated rates for insurance covering hurricanes, fires and other hazards from well-funded national companies.

Florida residents with auto, residential property or commercial property insurance policies are already paying a 1 percent assessment to shore up the Hurricane Catastrophe Fund tagged with huge losses after the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons. They would be liable for much higher assessments if the CAT fund and the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. were unable to pay claims.

Citizens was created by the Legislature in 2002 as a safety net to offer property coverage to homeowners without private insurance options, although not necessarily at cheaper rates.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press, Brent Kallestad, Associated Press Writer.

We won a Quality Service Award for 2009! We had to recieve a 95% approval response on our surveys to receive this wonderful award. If you read the article below, it will put in perspective this great accomplishment.

“Report: Only 22 percent of homebuyers happy with their agent

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – March 16, 2010 – A study by the California Association of Realtors shows a decrease in the number of consumers who say they would use the same real estate agent again to 22 percent in 2009 from 79 percent in 2004. When asked why they would not retain their previous agent, 64 percent said their homes languished on the market and 51 percent were upset that their house fetched less than they had expected.

The study findings show that sellers with unrealistic expectations blame their agents when a transaction does not go as planned, but agents often are indeed at fault for failing to inform sellers about current market realities when it comes to pricing and financing.

In the short term, agents can expect consumers to prefer working with individual agents, believing that a large brokerage cannot provide the personal response and service they so desire. Agents also need to drum up the courage to turn down overpriced listings that likely will not sell.

Over the long term, Realtors must focus on skill, hard work, and the use of technology to provide personal service and deliver the information of most interest to clients. Moreover, agents should immediately respond to calls and e-mails, listen to their prospect’s wants and needs, and make good on their requests.”

Great job everybody!!