Tim McIntyre

Recently I got an email from a friend that told the sad story of a couple whose home had burned down. The fire investigator, according to the email, was able to determine that the fire had been caused by a Glade plug in air freshener.

Since October is National Fire Prevention Month, I thought this would be good information to share with you. My first step, though, was to check to make sure that the story was true. There is a great website for that, www.snopes.com.

As I suspected, according to snopes, plug in air fresheners pose no greater fire hazard than any other household electrical appliance. Although some fires may be attributed to the plug ins, they are far more likely to be caused by faulty wiring, than by the unit.

There are two take-aways from this: first, don't believe everything you get in your inbox. I think we all know this is true for the outrageous claims we sometimes receive. It's always good to check even the ones that sound like they could be true.

The second take-away is that any appliance in your home can be cause for fire, whether through the wiring in your home, or through the defective appliance. The best thing to do is to simply be prepared:

• Test your smoke detectors and change the batteries.
• Have an exit plan for your home, and an emergency preparedness kit. Plan and practice your escape routes.
• Inspect your chimney regularly.
• Inspect and clean dryer filters and exhaust frequently.

For more fire safety information, visit www.nfpa.org.

Lately I have been helping a family purchase a home. Their current home is already sold, and we found the perfect house for them - it's in a great neighborhood that they want to be in, and it has a large in law suite. Just before we wrote our offer, the Listing Agent told me the home could go into foreclosure. When I asked what that meant, she said the Sellers were just a payment behind.

After receiving our offer, the Listing Agent called me to tell me that the Sellers couldn't come up with a counter offer, because they didn't know how much they owed, and they needed a little more time. I asked the Listing Agent if she didn't have all of the necessary information, why list the home in the first place? She replied that when she listed the home, it still had plenty of equity. The home had been on the market for 66 days. Now, she wasn't sure that the Sellers could afford to take less than the asking price (which was $40,000 to $50,000 over market).

Because my clients loved this home, we decided to wait one week for a response. In that time, the Listing Agent was supposed to find out how much the Sellers owed in order to come up with a counter offer. However, the Listing Agent called back to say that the Sellers owe more than the asking price and that their attorney has advised them against a short sale. If the Sellers are behind on their payments, and they owe more than their home is worth, they are looking at two options: short sale, and foreclosure.

When I last spoke with the Listing Agent, I asked her when had she been at the home? She said that she had just been there a couple of weeks ago. It was interesting to find out that she was unaware that the Sellers were not living in the home, and that it had apparently been vacant for some time.

Our MLS service requires that an agent disclose in the listing if a home is in foreclosure, pre-foreclosure, or is a short sale. Clearly, the Sellers may have been less than honest with the Listing Agent, but a competent and experienced agent would likely have picked up on the other clues that the Seller was not being truthful.

This situation has me wondering a few things: Why would an attorney advise a client to go into foreclosure instead of working out a short sale? How is it possible that there was "plenty of equity" at the time of listing and now the Sellers owe more than the asking price? Were the Sellers lying to the Listing Agent? And if they were, how did the agent not see the writing on the wall?

It's Fall...

The weather is nice...
The leaves are changing...
It's football season...
The Ravens are winning...
And...

The pests are out.

Here is a tale of my very pesty week:

Bed Bugs: Literally, a pain in the (fill in the blank). I thought this was just a saying, or a made up term. But they're for real, and they really do bite. Getting rid of them is a major deal. It's not something I could do on my own - I had to call an exterminator. My tenant had to discard his mattress and pillow, bag up all of his clothes and move out for two days while his apartment was bombed (just an extermination term). Cost of the chemical treatment: $400.

Cigarette Beetle: Another tenant called to tell me that there are termites swarming all over her apartment. I call my exterminator...AGAIN...and asked them to inspect the building and deal with it. (By the way, I didn't think termites swarmed in the fall and I asked my exterminator about this. Much to my surprise - they do.) A termite treatment is likely to cost $600 or more. However, I was elated to find out it wasn't termites. It was a bug I'd never heard of: the Cigarette beetle. They're nasty bugs too, smokin' Marlboro reds, and always leaving butts behind. Once again, my tenant had to move out. The apartment was bombed. Cost: $150

Unnamed Pest: My final call of the week was from a tenant who said he had rats. He had a newborn and was worried the baby might be bitten, and it was a health hazard. Once again, I sent out my exterminator and it turned out they were a very small breed of rat called........mice. One thing worth doing with mice is to seal openings in your exterior with spray foam. Pay particular attention to plumbing lines, electrical lines, exhaust ducts, garage door seals, and any other small openings. In this case, I had my exterminator handle the removal. Cost: $300.

Pest Free Fall: Priceless
By the way, if you need the name of a great exterminator, give me a call.

Has anyone else had a pesty fall? Tell me your bug stories.

PS - If you're interested in how last week's situation with the heat pump turned out, send me an email. I'll reply with the happy ending.