About Elkhart County, IN

"Page 1 is good!" Elkhart REALTOR Evelyn Johnston with Prudential One Realty, "I am excited to be on page 1, let alone 7 times! I have worked really hard to get here and have to work even harder to stay on page 1!"

Blogging is part of Evelyn's daily routine and it is paying off. Writing about subjects from her listings to local business to spotlight, Evelyn can be seen and heard all over Elkhart County.

If you are wanting to Buy a Home or Sell A Home, call your local Elkhart County Real Estate Expert Evelyn Johnston at 574-304-7148.

Are you ready for items 21 to 30 of the 70 something ways to lose your home? If this is your first article on this, please go back to part 1 of 70 something ways to lose your home. Elkhart REALTOR Evelyn Johnston continues:

21. Deed affecting property purported to be separate property of grantor, which is in fact community or jointly-owned property.

22. Undisclosed divorce of one who conveys as sole heir of a deceased former spouse.

23. Deed affecting property of deceased person, not joining all heirs.

24. Deed following administration of estate of missing person, who later re-appears.

25. Conveyance by heir or survivor of a joint estate, who murdered the decedent.

26. Conveyances and proceedings affecting rights of service-member protected by the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act

27. Conveyance void as in violation of public policy (payment of gambling debt, payment for contract to commit crime, or conveyance made in restraint of trade).

28. Deed to land including "wetlands" subject to public trust (vesting title in government to protect public interest in navigation, commerce, fishing and recreation).

29. Deed from government entity, vulnerable to challenge as unauthorized or unlawful.

30. Ineffective release of prior satisfied mortgage due to acquisition of note by bona fide purchaser (without notice of satisfaction).

If any of these items are a concern to you, please call Scott York at Metropolitan Title Company here in Elkhart at 574-293-9111. For Real Estate questions, call Elkhart Real Estate Expert Evelyn Johnston with Prudential One Realty at 574-304-7148.

Lisa Graber represented Granitech Design Center at the Elkhart Fall Home Show and was surrounded by stunning cabnetry and granite table tops and counters. Located on Old US 20 near the new Wal Mart, Granitech started in 1998 and has assembled a professional staff with over 60 years of experience in working with natural stone. The experience encompasses the highest quality of design, fabrication and installation for residential and commercial application. Their expertise extends to work with kitchen counter tops, fireplace surrounds and hearths, bath vanity tops, tub and shower surrounds and a large variety of flooring materials. Granitech is committed to your total satisfaction; from design, to quotation, to final installation.

According to Granitech's brochure, The hard facts are:

• Rock: A natural combination of minerals.
• Granite is a rock commonly consisting of minerals such as feldspar, mica and the quartz group. Natural and varying amounts of these minerals determine the color and lightness or darkness of granite.
• Minerals from the Feldspar group provide the different background colors.
• Minerals from the mica group provide the different foreground colors. Other mineral groups provide smaller amounts of color
• The amount of silica in granite determines appearance. Silica-rich rock tends to be lighter in color
• These minerals provide granite with excellent wearing properties. Thus it makes granite a more durable material than most man-made materials.
• On a relative hardness scale (Moh) of 1 to 10, a knife rates a 5.5, glass at 6, granite at 6 to 7/ and a diamond at 10.
• It requires industrial diamond compounds to cut and polish granite.
• These aspects make granite a very scratch resistant, and durable material.
• Depth is a uniques quality of natural stone; something no man-made material duplicates.

For more information about granite or Grantitech Design Center, give Lisa Graber a call at 574-361-2372. For questions about Real Estate, call Elkhart Real Estate Expert Evelyn Johnston with Prudential One Realty at 574-304-7148.

Here I will talk about reasons 11 to 20 in part 2 of 70 something ways to lose your home. If you missed the first 10 ways to lose your home you can read part 1 here. We are talking about the importance of obtaining Title Insurance from a reputable and financially secure company, like Metropolitan Title Company here in Elkhart. According to Scott York, here are the next reasons you could lose your home:

11. Deed challenged as being given under fraud, undue influence or duress.

12. Deed following non-judicial foreclosure, where required procedure was not followed.

13. Deed affecting land in judicial proceedings (bankruptcy, receivership, probate, conservatorship, dissolution of marriage), unauthorized by court

14. Deed following judicial proceeding, subject to appeal or further court order.

15. Deed following judicial proceedings, where all necessary parties were not joined.

16. Lack of jurisdiction over persons or property in judicial proceedings.

17. Deed signed by mistake (grantor did not know what was signed)

18. Deed executed under falsified power of attorney.

19. Deed executed under expired power or attorney (death, disability or insanity of principal).

20. Deed apparently valid, but actually delivered after death of grantor or grantee, or without consent of grantor.

Do you have questions about the Title Insurance on your home? Call Metropolitan Title and speak with Scott York to obtain answers to any questions regarding Title. For Real Estate questions, call your local Elkhart Real Estate Expert Evelyn Johnston with Prudential One Realty at 574-304-7148.

Elkhart Fall Home Show is much cozier than the Spring Show, yet a well rounded group of building experts were displaying their products, floor plans and various items.

One of the most unique displays to me was the Grey Water Recycling water solution. According to their brochure, they quoted the US Department of the Interior who claim "In some areas of the United States, existing water supplies are or will be inadequate to meet the demands for water for people, cities, farms and the environment even under normal water supply conditions."

BBC News said "The world's supply of fresh water is running out. Already, one person in five has no access to safe drinking water."

And Nature Publishing Group reports "Over the next two decades, the average water supply per person will drop by a third, possible condemning millions of people to an unavoidable premature death."

This problem is preventable if we do something NOW.

NuVale Products, located here in Elkhart are representing the Canadian based Brac System.

How the Brac System works:

If you take into account that nearly a third of your water goes down the toilet, wouldn't it be a good idea to do something about it?

The Brac System is the solution. It is a patented, innovative device that filters out foreign particles and impurities from your used shower/bath and laundry water, and resuses it to flush your toilets. The grey water passes through a filter within the Brac tank, and then is stored ready for reuse in your toilet tank. An automated and programmable chlorination system, using easily obtained chlorine tables, keeps the greywater free from any bacteria and odors. It's like using normal water, but without having to pay again, and while doing something effective for the environment.

Once installed in your home, the Brac system operates seamlessly, so the only difference you will notice is on your water bill.

For more information about this system, call NuVale Products at 574-970-0313. For information about Elkhart Real Estate, Call local Elkhart Real Estate Expert Evelyn Johnston with Prudential One Realty at 574-304-7148.