ISSUE #1116

FEATURE REPORT

How To Reduce Crime In Your Neighborhood

While we don't like to talk about it - or even think about it - crime is on the increase in North America, and throughout the world. The number of burglars, muggers, auto thieves, robbers, purse snatchers, etc., is growing at an alarming rate.
Now you, as a resident, working with neighbors can help reduce the crime rate.

For the complete story, click here...

Also This Month...

9 Buyer Traps and How to Avoid Them

No matter which way you look at it buying a home is a major investment. But for many homebuyers, it can be an even more expensive process than it needs to be because many fall prey to at least a few of the many common and costly mistakes which trap them.
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Protecting Your Home from Fire and Carbon Monoxide

Thousands of people die from fire every year. Most residential fire deaths occur because of inhalation of toxic gas, rather than contact with the flames. The tragedy is that many of these deaths could be prevented by taking a few precautions.

More...

Quick Links

How To Reduce Crime In Your Neighborhood

9 Buyer Traps and How to Avoid Them

Protecting Your Home from Fire and Carbon Monoxide

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How To Reduce Crime In Your Neighborhood

While we don't like to talk about it - or even think about it - crime is on the increase in North America, and throughout the world. The number of burglars, muggers, auto thieves, robbers, purse snatchers, etc., is growing at an alarming rate. Now you, as a resident, working with neighbors can help reduce the crime rate.

How? By organizing and/or joining a neighborhood program in which you and your neighbors get together to learn how to protect yourselves, your family, your home and your property. Working together, you can get the criminals off your block and out of your area.

There's safety in numbers and power through working with a group. You'll get to know your neighbors better, and working with them you can reduce crime, develop a more united community, provide an avenue of communications between police and citizens, establish on-going crime prevention techniques in your neighborhood, and renew citizen interest in community activity.

"Citizens Safety Projects" are set up to help you do this. It is a joint effort between private citizens and local police. Such programs have been started all over. Maybe one already exists in your community.

These organizations don't require frequent meetings (once a month or so). They don't ask anyone to take personal risks to prevent crime. They leave the responsibility for catching criminals where it belongs - with the police. This is NOT a "vigilante" group.

These groups gather citizens together to learn crime prevention from local authorities. You cooperate with your neighbors to report suspicious activities in the neighborhood, to keep an eye on homes when the resident is away, and to keep everyone in the area mindful of the standard precautions for property and self that should always be taken. Criminals avoid neighborhoods where such groups exist.

Through cooperation with local law enforcement agencies, some of the things you will learn - and all free - are:

What to do in an emergency.

How to best identify a suspicious person.

How to identify a vehicle being used in a suspected criminal activity.

Signs to watch out for before entering a house or apartment that may be in the process of being burglarized.

What to do in case of injury.

What to do about suspicious people loitering on your street.

How to identify stolen merchandise.

How to recognize auto theft in progress.

How to protect your house or apartment.

How to recognize a burglary in progress.

How to protect yourself and family - and much more.

It's easy to get your group started. All you have to do is contact your neighbors and arrange a date, place and time for the first meeting. Hold the meetings at your home or that of a neighbor. Try to plan a time that is convenient to most of your neighbors - preferably in the evening.

Then call your local police department. They will be happy to give your group informal lectures, free literature - and in many instances, window stickers and ID cards. Remember, police officers can't be everywhere. Your cooperation with them is for the benefit of you, your family, your neighbors and your neighborhood.

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9 Buyer Traps and How to Avoid Them

" A systemized approach to the homebuying process can help you steer clear of these common traps, allowing you to not only cut costs, but also secure the home that’s best for you."

paying too much for the home they want, or
losing their dream home to another buyer or,
(worse) buying the wrong home for their needs.

A systemized approach to the homebuying process can help you steer clear of these common traps, allowing you to not only cut costs, but also secure the home that’s best for you.

9 Buyer Traps

This important report discusses the 9 most common and costly of these homebuyer traps, how to identify them, and what you can do to avoid them:

1. Bidding Blind

What price should you offer when you bid on a home? Is the seller’s asking price too high, or does it represent a great deal. If you fail to research the market in order to understand what comparable homes are selling for, making your offer would be like bidding blind. Without this knowledge of market value, you could easily bid too much, or fail to make a competitive offer at all on an excellent value.

2. Buying the Wrong Home

What are you looking for in a home? A simple enough question, but the answer can be quite complex. More than one buyer has been swept up in the emotion and excitement of the buying process only to find themselves the owner of a home that is either too big or too small. Maybe they’re stuck with a longer than desired commute to work, or a dozen more fix-ups than they really want to deal with now that the excitement has died down. Take the time upfront to clearly define your wants and needs. Put it in writing and then use it as a yard stick with which to measure every home you look at.

3. Unclear Title

Make sure very early on in the negotiation that you will own your new home free and clear by having a title search completed. The last thing you want to discover when you’re in the back stretch of a transaction is that there are encumbrances on the property such as tax liens, undisclosed owners, easements, leases or the like.

4. Inaccurate Survey

As part of your offer to purchase, make sure you request an updated property survey which clearly marks your boundaries. If the survey is not current, you may find that there are structural changes that are not shown (e.g. additions to the house, a new swimming pool, a neighbor’s new fence which is extending a boundary line, etc.). Be very clear on these issues.

5. Undisclosed Fix-ups

Don’t expect every seller to own up to every physical detail that will need to be attended to. Both you and the seller are out to maximize your investment. Ensure that you conduct a thorough inspection of the home early in the process. Consider hiring an independent inspector to objectively view the home inside and out, and make the final contract contingent upon this inspector’s report. This inspector should be able to give you a report of any item that needs to be fixed with associated, approximate cost.

6. Not Getting Mortgage Pre-approval

Pre-approval is fast, easy and free. When you have a pre-approved mortgage, you can shop for your home with a greater sense of freedom and security, knowing that the money will be there when you find the home of your dreams.

7. Contract Misses

If a seller fails to comply to the letter of the contract by neglecting to attend to some repair issues, or changing the spirit of the agreement in some way, this could delay the final closing and settlement. Agree ahead of time on a dollar amount for an escrow fund to cover items that the seller fails to follow through on. Prepare a list of agreed issues, walk through them, and check them off one by one.

8. Hidden Costs

Make sure you identify and uncover all costs - large and small -far enough ahead of time. When a transaction closes, you will sometimes find fees for this or that sneaking through after the "sub"-total - fees such as loan disbursement charges, underwriting fees etc. Understand these in advance by having your lender project total charges for you in writing.

9. Rushing the Closing

Take your time during this critical part of the process, and insist on seeing all paperwork the day before you sign. Make sure this documentation perfectly reflects your understanding of the transaction, and that nothing has been added or subtracted. Is the interest rate right? Is everything covered? If you rush this process on the day of closing, you may run into a last minute snag that you can’t fix without compromising the terms of the deal, the financing, or even the sale itself.

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Protecting Your Home from Fire and Carbon Monoxide

Safety & You

Everyone wants to live in a safe and worry free environment with their families, spouse, and children. However, most people are closer to a disaster waiting to happen than they think. Safety may not be an issue that comes to mind as you go about your daily routine. You may feel safe. Yet, lurking in your home are dangers that can take lives and destroy property.

Fire Facts

General Fire Prevention Tips

Do not plug too many appliances into an electrical outlet.

Make sure that combustibles are not too close to heaters, stoves and fireplaces.

Never smoke in bed, or leave a burning cigarette in an ashtray.

Do not use damaged or frayed electrical cords or extension cords.

Keep matches and lighters out of the reach of children.

Teach your children about the dangers of playing with fire.

Never use extension cords with heating or air conditioning equipment.

Purchase smoke alarms and fire extinguishers for each floor of your home.

Have an Emergency Escape Plan! Practice it frequently!

Develop an emergency exit plan and an alternate exit plan. The most obvious way out may be blocked by fire. A window will usually be the second way out of a bedroom. Make sure that screens or storm windows can be easily removed. If you live in a two story home, you should have an escape ladder for each occupied bedroom. Escape ladders are available for purchase, and they can easily be stored under a bed or in a closet.

Establish a meeting place outside your home to be sure everyone has escaped. Every family member should participate in practicing escape drills at least two times per year.

In the event of fire, do not stop to get dressed or gather valuables. Seconds count - do not search for the family pet.

Teach your family that in a fire they must stay low to the floor to avoid smoke and intense heat. Passageways may be completely filled with dense smoke, so everyone should practice exiting on their hands and knees while blindfolded.

Train family members to feel a closed door before exiting. If the door is warm, open it slowly, and close it quickly if heat or smoke rushes in.

Establish a rule that once you're out, you never re-enter under any circumstances. As soon as two people have reached the meeting place, one should call 911 from a neighbor's house.

Smoke Alarms

Through education and media campaigns, most people now realize the importance of smoke alarms, and most homes in North America have them.

Recommendations:

Purchase a smoke alarm for every floor of your home, and read the instructions on how to use it and where to position it.

Smoke alarms should be placed near bedrooms, either on the ceiling or six to twelve inches below the ceiling on the wall.

Local codes may require additional alarms. Check with your fire department or building code official.

Locate smoke alarms away from air vents.

Test your alarms regularly to ensure that they still work.

If you have a battery powered alarm, change the battery every six months when you change your clocks.

For maximum protection, install BOTH ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms in the home for the optimum detection of fast flaming fires and slow smoldering fires.

Fire Extinguishers

To guard against small fires or to keep a small fire from developing into a big one, every home should be equipped with a fire extinguisher. Because almost all fires are small at first, they might be contained if a fire extinguisher is handy and used properly. You should take care, however, to select the right kind of fire extinguisher, because there are different ones for different kinds of fires. Install fire extinguishers on every level of the home and include the kitchen, basement and garage.

Selecting a Fire Extinguisher

Extinguishers are classified according to the class of fire for which they are suitable. The four classes of fires are A, B, C, D:

Class A fires involve common combustibles such as wood, paper, cloth, rubber, trash and plastics. They are common in typical commercial and home settings.

Class B fires involve flammable liquids, solvents, oil, gasoline, paints, lacquers and other oil-based products. Class B fires often spread rapidly. Unless they are properly suppressed, they can re-flash after the flames have been extinguished.

Class C fires involve energized equipment such as wiring, controls, motors, machinery or appliances. They can be caused by a spark, a power surge, or a short circuit and typically occur in locations that may be difficult to see or reach.

Class D fires involve combustible metals.

A typical home or office fire extinguisher should have an ABC rating.

Carbon Monoxide

One of the greatest threats to your safety is the quality of air within your home. Carbon monoxide (CO) is a subtle yet dangerous threat because the gas is colorless, odorless and tasteless.

Each year, hundreds of people die from carbon monoxide poisoning. Thousands of other people suffer the effects of the gas without realizing it. Because CO symptoms mimic the flu and other common illnesses, CO poisoning can be easily missed during a routine medical examination.

CO is produced when any fuel does not burn completely because of insufficient oxygen. Mild exposure to CO gives most people a slight headache, nausea, vomiting, fatigue ("flu-like" symptoms) followed by a throbbing headache, drowsiness, confusion, and fast heart rate. If the entire family becomes ill after a few hours in the home, and feels better when they leave the home, carbon monoxide poisoning should be suspected.

Possible sources of CO include:

Furnace or boiler

Gas or fuel-oil water heater

Gas or wood fireplace

Gas kitchen range

Plugged, rusted, disconnected, or defective chimneys or vents

Back drafting of combustion gases into the home

Automobiles in attached garages

Certain clues can indicate a carbon monoxide problem. Check to see if you have any of the following:

Rusting or streaking on chimney or vent

Loose or missing furnace panel

Soot on venting or appliances

Loose or disconnected venting

Debris or soot falling from chimney

Moisture on interior side of windows

CO can be produced and spill into your home without any of the preceding clues present. Heating appliances that appear to be operating correctly can still be sources of CO. Burning charcoal or wood produces CO that can spill into the home. Gasoline engines, when first started, produce large amounts of CO. Autos in attached garages are often sources of CO.

How To Protect Yourself

To avoid CO exposure in the home, it is important to:

Make sure heating appliances are installed and used in accordance with manufacturer's instructions.

Make sure chimneys and vents draw all gases out of the home.

Have the heating system, chimney and vents inspected and serviced annually by a qualified heating contractor.

Never use charcoal grills indoors.

Never heat your home with a gas kitchen range.

Always use a kitchen range hood, vented to the outdoors, when cooking on a gas range.

Never warm-up or run vehicles or other gasoline engines in garages or indoors.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends that every residence with fuel burning appliances be equipped with at least one CO alarm. For added protection, place one on every level of the home. Read and follow manufacturers' instructions.

If your alarm indicates high levels of carbon monoxide in your home:

Immediately move outdoors to fresh air and do a head count

Call your emergency services

Do not re-enter the home until emergency service responders have arrived, aired out the house, and determined it is safe to re-enter

Correct the problem before starting the heating appliances

If a carbon monoxide alarm sounds again, repeat the above steps. Do not ignore alarms.

Fires are traumatizing and frightening, as is a carbon monoxide incident. It is essential to fully recognize the hazards of fire and carbon monoxide poisoning and to take preventative action. A regular home inspection, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, fire extinguishers and an emergency exit plan will help you and your family live more safely.

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