Susan Neal, Fair Oaks CA Real Estate Broker

When you run out to get that last minute bag of candy for the trick-or-treaters, pick up a few batteries too!

Halloween night is the night to turn the clocks back an hour, and it is also the best time to change the batteries in your smoke detectors. I had someone ask me why the batteries should be changed on the specific days that the clocks are changed forward and backward.

There really is no reason to do it on those days, except that we change the clocks every 6 months, and you should change your batteries every 6 months. Changing the clocks is easy to remember (or if you forget, you will have an unpleasant surprise when you show up an hour late or an hour eary for church or an appointment the next day).

It is harder to remember to change your smoke detector batteries, yet that could be a matter of life and death, so why not tie it to something you will remember?

Please don't ignore this - the family you save will be your own.

And Happy Halloween!

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Full time real estate services in Fair Oaks CA, with friendly professionalism, 20+ years experience. I work hard to give my buyer or seller a low-stress transaction. "Happy clients make me happy."

For all your real estate needs or questions, call me at (916) 705-8951 or visit my website at www.SusanNealFineProperties.com.

Are we headed into a climate change that will escalate through the years? Many top scientists think that conclusion is inescapable. One major contributor to the progress of a climate change that could be catastrophic over time is the increase of greenhouse gases that are burning away the ozone layer protecting us from deadly rays.

What can each of us do to slow that catastrophe? There are many simple things that we can do to reduce the greenhouse gases we emit into the atmosphere. Some of the easiest and most effective are:

• Change your lightbulbs to those with the Energy Star. According to the EPA, changing just 5 bulbs in your home will prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to removing nearly 10 million cars from the road. And ... you will save money on your energy bills!

• When buying appliances and other products, look for the Energy Star logo. There are Energy Star products in more than 50 product categories. And again ... you will save money.

• Insulate your home, including ducts in attics and crawlspaces, and seal all air leaks. Check for drafts around windows and doors, seal ducts that might have gaps. If you can seal off any drafts, you will use less energy to heat and cool your home. If you have older windows and using weatherstripping is not enough, you may want to replace you windows with those that are Energy Star qualified. You can schedule a home energy audit with a professional auditor or conduct your own audit. This can tell you where you need to focus your efforts.

• Reduce, reuse and recycle. You can recycle newspapers, other paper, drink containers and probably other categories of items that you might be discarding. You can also look for recycled products and/or those in recycled packaging. Consider repairing products rather than discarding them and buying replacements. Reducing, reusing, and recycling in your home helps conserve energy and reduces pollution and greenhouse gases from resource extraction, manufacturing, and disposal.

• Recycle used electronics because they contain substances that should be disposed of properly, such as lead, mercury, and cadmium. In addition, electronics contain other valuable materials that can be recovered during recycling process (such as glass and plastics). Recovering these materials through recycling, rather than manufacturing new materials, conserves natural resources and avoids the pollution caused by manufacturing virgin materials. Go to Earth 911 to find where to recycle electronics in your community. In our area a local television station sponsors an electronics cleanup day. Nothing could be easier - you simply drive up and pop your car trunk open. They will come to your car and take your electronic equipment. You don't even have to unload it.

• Clean air filters regularly - a good rule of thumb is to change them at the beginning of air conditioning season and at the beginning of heating season. Your heating and cooling systems operate more efficiently with clean filters, saving energy. Your system should also be checked annually and serviced if necessary. If it becomes necessary to replace your old equipment, choose a high efficiency model.

• Saving water around the home is simple. Look for products with EPA's WaterSense label; these products save water and perform as well or better than their less efficient counterparts. There are also simple actions you can take to save water: When irrigating your landscape, water only when needed and do it during the coolest part of the day. Turn the water off while shaving or brushing teeth. Do not use your toilet as a waste basket - water is wasted with each flush. Repair all toilet and faucet leaks right away. A leaky toilet can waste 200 gallons of water a day. You can also find more details on the Fuel Economy Guide Web site.

Some other places to look for helpful information:

Kids' site about climate, climate change and the greenhouse effect: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/index.html

List of Energy Star items you can buy to get a Federal Tax Credit while you help the environment: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=tax_credits.tx_index

Information about home energy audits:

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_improvement.hm_improvement_audits

For more on Blog Action Day:

www.blogactionday.org

There are many other things you can do to reduce greenhouse gases and thereby protect the earth, but those I have listed are simple, inexpensive for the most part, and you can start immeditately.

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Full time real estate services in Fair Oaks CA, with friendly professionalism, 20+ years experience. I work hard to give my buyer or seller a low-stress transaction. "Happy clients make me happy."

For all your real estate needs or questions, call me at (916) 705-8951 or visit my website at www.SusanNealFineProperties.com.

Window kitty at 2138 Bates Circle, El Dorado Hills CA

Looking for Open House guests?

This home is one I'm holding open today from 1-4 pm (kitty has moved out - sorry).

For more photos of the house, see my post announcing it as being back on the market.

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Full time real estate services in Fair Oaks CA, with friendly professionalism, 20+ years experience. I work hard to give my buyer or seller a low-stress transaction. "Happy clients make me happy."

For all your real estate needs or questions, call me at (916) 705-8951 or visit my website at www.SusanNealFineProperties.com.

Sell your own home or use a Realtor? This is a question that many sellers struggle with because they think that they will make more money when they don't have to pay any commissions. Unfortunately for those who choose the FSBO (for sale by owner) route, they often end up making less money and suffering much more aggravation.

Julie Martin wrote a post asking for FSBO stories to share. This is one I shared with her there, but this is a great issue to explore and I wanted to expand my thoughts into a full post of my own.

First, the story I referred to:

There was a FSBO in a Fair Oaks California neighborhood I had done some farming in. After seeing that sign for a couple of months I tried 7 or 8 times to go by and talk to them but never caught them at home, day or evening, weekday or weekend (maybe that had something to do with why it wasn't selling). They did post on the internet, but their home was not what I would call showing ready inside - not bad, just crowded looking. The sign out front limited the hours the house could be shown.

And the ads gave no phone number. I sent them a letter offering to drop off some articles with handy tips for sellers, but they didn't respond. I left some material about marketing property on their porch, but never heard from them.

After about 3 months with their FSBO sign out, a Realtor sign appeared on the lawn. I don't know how he managed to get through to them, but good for him! I looked it up in MLS and he had listed it at $50,000 more than the FSBO had been listed for, and it was put on caravan for the Realtors in the county and held open on the weekend. The photos in MLS showed the clutter had been removed, along with a few pieces of furniture - giving the rooms a more spacious look.

SOLD at full price in less than 2 weeks!

With the Realtor's help they got more than enough to cover commissions and had his help to work through all the required paperwork that they would have had to handle on their own. Our transaction docs (not including loan docs) are over an inch thick, and are difficult for a lay person to wade through - or even to know what documentation is required. In most cases, this means that an agent who represents the buyer would have to do all of the paperwork for both sides and then fight with the seller to try to get a commission. Fat chance!

And if it is a straight seller-to-buyer transaction with no agents involved, this could turn into a nightmare transaction, with inadequate protections for either side. The escrow officer might wind up trying to provide all of the necessary documentation, and will be nervous that she may be overstepping her area of responsibility if she gives advice or aid to either side.

It's too bad the sellers described above didn't go with a Realtor right away - they could have saved making at least 3 house payments, made more money, and had someone working for them!

So:

Sell your own home or use a Realtor?

Comedy Under the Stars is back in Fair Oaks, Friday September 25 !

Come join the Fair Oaks Recreation and Park District for a night full of laughs! It's Comedy Under the Stars in Fair Oaks. Sacramento's "Laughs Unlimited" comes to Fair Oaks for an outdoor comedy show you don't want to miss, featuring some of the hottest comedy acts in the business.

The show is recommended for adult audiences only, and will be at the Veterans Memorial Amphitheater, 7991 California Avenue (in Fair Oaks Village). If you haven't been to the amphitheater for awhile, you should see it now. Many upgrades have already been made, and there will be even more in the future - it is a great venue!

Open seating begins at 7:00 pm and the show starts at 8:00 pm. Tickets are $12 if purchased in advance or $15 at the door.

What a great way to start the weekend. A Beautiful Friday night in Fair Oaks, laughing under the stars!

Because of show popularity of Comedy Under the Stars, it is recommended that you purchase tickets in advance. They can be purchased at the Fair Oaks Recreation & Park District or can be bought at the gate (based on availability).

No outside food or beverages allowed into the show. Food and Beverages will be available for purchase at the event. A portion of the proceeds will help the Fair Oaks Theater Festival fundraising efforts.

A fun night and a good cause. Can't beat that!

For additional information, please call (916) 966-1036

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Full time real estate services in Fair Oaks CA, with friendly professionalism, 20+ years experience. I work hard to give my buyer or seller a low-stress transaction. "Happy clients make me happy."

For all your real estate needs or questions, call me at (916) 705-8951 or visit my website at www.SusanNealFineProperties.com.