To Be Thankful For

This year most people I speak with feel there's not much to be thankful for. The performance of the stock market and real estate market do indeed have most of us searching for gratitude in sluggish economic times.

In periods of economic slow down, it is wise to re-assess your situation and make changes that can benefit you, both financially and emotionally. If you are making efforts to save money and spend less, than you are already doing a large part to make it through these challenging times.

We've heard the word recession lately and it appears that is the direction we are not only heading, but are in. This is indeed scary. There are many websites for you to use that can provide direction if needed, just google "surviving the recession." The key is not to panic and seek assistance.

How does this all relate to real estate? Well, many sellers, in an attempt to survive the real estate slow down, are renting their properties in order to prevent foreclosure or help pay the mortgage. This means opportunities for buyers are slowly disappearing as low priced homes and condos are being removed from the market. If this pace continues, combined with the price reductions we're seeing and potential assistance from the government, the real estate market may start a slow turnaround as soon as the third quarter 2009. With less inventory for sale, properties priced correctly and hopefully competitive interest rates, there may be lots to be thankful for next year this week.

Please enjoy the holiday this week and have a happy Thanksgiving.

Preparing Your House for Winter

This week, we'll take a look at preparing your house for the winter.

The first step should always be to give your property one last thorough cleaning. This eliminates potential mold and mildew that may have grown over the summer and fall months with the high humidity. It also gets rid of food particles that rodents and the like can sniff out.

Take crisp white sheets and cover your furniture and electrical components like your tv and stereo. This prevents dust from getting on the upholstery or inside televisions, video players, computers and clocks.

Once you have identified a date that you’ll be leaving, for some it will be right after New Years, you may want to call a plumber and set an appointment to drain your water and shut it off. This will eliminate the threat of frozen pipes and damage. Be sure to leave your taps open both in the kitchen and bathroom. This lets extra water escape. OR if you’ll be coming to your house over the winter, be sure you have your boiler checked. Fill the oil or propane and set the thermostat to 60 degrees. I know that sounds high, but not as high as a bill for the repair of frozen pipes.

If you do leave your interior water on, at least make sure the water source to your exterior spigots is turned off and your spigots left open.

With this quick checklist complete, you can close the door to your vacation home and on what was hopefully a fun filled and relaxing summer and fall here on Cape Cod.

Change, Change, Change

This past Saturday we turned our clocks back an hour. Yes, it’s that time of year already.

Besides the extra hour of sleep that you hopefully were able to take advantage of, this is also a good time to change the batteries in your smoke detectors. Wherever you live, whether you own or rent, inspecting your smoke detectors and changing the batteries twice a year is strongly encouraged.

Even if your smoke detectors are hardwired, which means they are attached to a separate electrical source, you may want to ensure that they are working and that the battery backup has a fresh battery.

Landlords, this is a good time to check smoke detectors in your rental units. Whether you have seasonal, vacation or year round renters, its wise to take the preventive step and make sure the detectors are functioning properly.

Renters, if you rent year round, making sure your detectors work is very important. If you do not have a smoke detector call your landlord immediately. If you do have one, you may want to check it yourself or call your landlord to inspect it.

And finally, it may seem like a hassle to always be changing the batteries, or worse I’ve heard some gripe about the cost of a battery. These are life saving devices. Think about what could happen if a smoke detector has no battery and there is a fire.