Monday, September 6, 2010
Only Nothnagle Offers TWO TV Shows!
When we launched the "Showcase of Homes" in 1985, it was the first real estate TV show to air in the country. Now we've taken TV to a whole new level with Nothnagle.TV. Our #1 rated Showcase of Homes continues to deliver proven results but consumers want MORE! Nothnagle.TV allows you to create your own TV show, viewed in high-definition. Each show is customized by you, especially for you. Simply go to www.Nothnagle.TV, select your county/area, price range and get started. Only properties meeting your criteria will be aired. Connect direct with the listing agent if you want to get more information. Nothnagle.TV...another exclusive service only available at Nothnagle Realtors.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Now More Than Ever You Need a Nothnagle Agent!
The key to getting your home sold in today's market is to get your house exposed to the widest pool of potential buyers. No one does that better than Nothnagle! And the proof is in the number. In 2010, Nothnagle agents have sold homes on average 10 days faster than the competition and our listing market share has increased roughly 2% each year for the past two years.
Why do sellers choose a Nothnagle agent? Because no one advertises like Nothnagle. We know that newspapers and the Internet work best when working together. A recent study conducted by Google shows that print advertising drives web traffic – 67% of respondents who see an ad in print go online to research it further. Nothnagle listings average a 34% increase in traffic to the web in the three days after the print ad runs. That’s why Nothnagle invests over $1 million in print advertising each year. Sellers know the Internet is a given today. Competitors offer the Internet because of the reduced cost. What can we do beyond the web? Print ads. Guaranteed.
We recognize the power of the web and Nothnagle.com takes the Internet to a new level. We have the highest trafficked real estate site in the region because Nothnagle.com offers the best user experience. While the site has over 25,000 properties listed, only properties listed with a Nothnagle agent have our exclusive Guided Tour, can be pulled up on Nothnagle.TV and are also distributed to YouTube.
If you're looking to sell, then look no further! Don't leave it to chance if your agent says that people will "find your property online." Choose the company that can deliver proven results. Exclusive tools and services that will sell your home faster. Contact any Nothnagle agent direct or call 899-MOVE to get started today!
Why do sellers choose a Nothnagle agent? Because no one advertises like Nothnagle. We know that newspapers and the Internet work best when working together. A recent study conducted by Google shows that print advertising drives web traffic – 67% of respondents who see an ad in print go online to research it further. Nothnagle listings average a 34% increase in traffic to the web in the three days after the print ad runs. That’s why Nothnagle invests over $1 million in print advertising each year. Sellers know the Internet is a given today. Competitors offer the Internet because of the reduced cost. What can we do beyond the web? Print ads. Guaranteed.
FACT: The Saturday Democrat and Chronicle reaches on average 370,000 adults each week. No local website can attract that kind of traffic!
We recognize the power of the web and Nothnagle.com takes the Internet to a new level. We have the highest trafficked real estate site in the region because Nothnagle.com offers the best user experience. While the site has over 25,000 properties listed, only properties listed with a Nothnagle agent have our exclusive Guided Tour, can be pulled up on Nothnagle.TV and are also distributed to YouTube.
If you're looking to sell, then look no further! Don't leave it to chance if your agent says that people will "find your property online." Choose the company that can deliver proven results. Exclusive tools and services that will sell your home faster. Contact any Nothnagle agent direct or call 899-MOVE to get started today!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Our Sellers Are Offering 8,000 Incentives to Buy a Home Now!
The tax credit may have ended but our sellers are keeping the momentum going! Our participating sellers have REDUCED their homes by $8,000 or more and they are priced to sell! Don't delay, this is a great opportunity and these properties won't last long at these prices.
What's the catch? Nothing! No income limits, no additional paperwork, no additional eligibility requirements.
Click here to see our list of featured properties. Check back often as our list gets updated frequently.
What's the catch? Nothing! No income limits, no additional paperwork, no additional eligibility requirements.
Click here to see our list of featured properties. Check back often as our list gets updated frequently.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
8 Solutions to Common Wet Basement Problems
Solving wet-basement problems is one of the most important things you can do to protect the value of your home and health of your family.
Nothing poses a greater long-term risk to your home's value than a wet basement. If left unchecked, basement moisture can ruin floors and walls, encourage mold, even damage roofing. Some wet basements are easy to cure, simply by making sure gutters stay clear and by diverting gutter water well away from the foundation. But if the problem comes from other sources-water flowing toward the house on the surface, seeping in from underground, or backing up through municipal storm drains-you've got to take more aggressive action.
Here's help with figuring out what may be causing your water trouble, and eight basement waterproofing strategies to try, from the simplest and least expensive to the most challenging and costly.
1. Add underground piping
If downspouts are dumping too close to the house, you can get water the recommended five feet or more away from the foundation by adding roll-out plastic or metal gutter extenders. But they aren't the neatest or most effective long-term solution, especially if you're likely to trip on them or run over them with a lawnmower. Permanent underground piping is invisible and capable of moving large quantities of runoff much farther from your house. For about $10 a foot, a landscaper or waterproofing contractor will dig a trench and install piping to carry the water safely away.
2. Plug gaps
If you see water dribbling into the basement through cracks or gaps around plumbing pipes, you can plug the openings yourself with hydraulic cement or polyurethane caulk for less than $20. Plugs work when the problem is simply a hole that water oozes through, either from surface runoff or from wet soil. But if the water is coming up through the floor, or at the joint where floor and walls meet, the problem is ground water, and plugs won't do the trick. For that, see Solutions #5 though #7 below.
3. Restore the crown
If the gutters are working and you've plugged obvious holes, but you still see water dribbling into your basement or crawl space from high on the foundation walls, then surface water isn't draining away from the house as it should. Your house should sit on a "crown" of soil that slopes at least six inches over the first 10 feet in all directions. Over time, the soil around the foundation may have settled. All you need to do to build it back up is shovel in more dirt. One cubic yard of a water-shedding clay-loam mix from a landscape supply house costs around $30 (plus delivery) and is enough for a two-foot-wide, three-inch-deep layer along 57 feet of foundation.
4. Reshape the landscape
If you can't add soil without bringing it too close to the siding-six inches is the minimum safe distance to protect against rot and termites-then you may be able to redirect surface water before it reaches the house by creating a berm (a mound of dirt) or a swale (a wide, shallow ditch). In small areas, berms are easy; a landscape contractor can build one for a few hundred dollars. On bigger projects, berms make less sense because you'll have to truck in too much soil. In that case, dig a swale (about $1,000). Once landscaping grows in, berms and swales can be attractive features in your yard.
5. Repair footing drains
If water is leaking into your basement low on the walls or at the seams where walls meet the floor, your issue isn't surface water, it's hydrostatic pressure pushing out water within the ground. The first thing to do is check whether you have footing drains, underground pipes installed when the house was built to carry water away from the foundation. (Look for a manhole or drain in the basement floor or a cleanout pipe capped a few inches above the floor.) The drains may be clogged, in which case you can try opening the cleanout and flushing the pipes with a garden hose. If that doesn't work, a plumber with an augur can often do the job for about $600.
6. Install a curtain drain around the house
If you don't have footing drains or can't get the existing ones to function, there's one more thing you can try before you invest in a costly interior or exterior basement waterproofing system: Install a curtain drain to divert water that's traveling underground toward your house. A type of French drain, a curtain drain is a shallow trench filled with gravel and piping that intercepts water uphill of your house and carries it down the slope a safe distance away.
7. Pump the water out from the inside
If you can't keep subsurface water out, then you have to address it on the inside. To create an interior drain system, crews saw a channel around the perimeter of the floor, chip out the concrete, and lay perforated pipe in the hole. The pipe drains to collection tank at the basement's low spot, where a sump pump sends it away. Starting at about $3,000, an interior system may be the least expensive and disruptive option if you have an unfinished basement with easy access, or a lot of mature landscaping that digging for an exterior system would destroy.
8. Waterproof from the outside
Installing an interior drainage system gets the water out but doesn't actually waterproof the walls. For that, you need an exterior system: a French drain to relieve hydrostatic pressure and exterior waterproofing to protect the foundation. It's a big job that requires excavating around the house, but it may be the best solution if you have a foundation with numerous gaps where water is getting through. It also keeps the mess and water outside, which may be your choice if you don't want to tear up a finished basement. The downside, besides a price tag that can reach $20,000, is that your yard takes a beating, and you may need to remove decks or walkways.
Article From HouseLogic.com
By: Jeanne Huber
Published: August 28, 2009
Jeanne Huber is the author of 10 books about home improvement and writes a weekly column about home care for The Washington Post. She solved her first drainage mystery when her family's frequent sneezing attacks led her to discover mildew coating the underside of their house's roof. Turns out basement flooding (see Sign #6) was to blame.
Nothing poses a greater long-term risk to your home's value than a wet basement. If left unchecked, basement moisture can ruin floors and walls, encourage mold, even damage roofing. Some wet basements are easy to cure, simply by making sure gutters stay clear and by diverting gutter water well away from the foundation. But if the problem comes from other sources-water flowing toward the house on the surface, seeping in from underground, or backing up through municipal storm drains-you've got to take more aggressive action.
Here's help with figuring out what may be causing your water trouble, and eight basement waterproofing strategies to try, from the simplest and least expensive to the most challenging and costly.
1. Add underground piping
If downspouts are dumping too close to the house, you can get water the recommended five feet or more away from the foundation by adding roll-out plastic or metal gutter extenders. But they aren't the neatest or most effective long-term solution, especially if you're likely to trip on them or run over them with a lawnmower. Permanent underground piping is invisible and capable of moving large quantities of runoff much farther from your house. For about $10 a foot, a landscaper or waterproofing contractor will dig a trench and install piping to carry the water safely away.
2. Plug gaps
If you see water dribbling into the basement through cracks or gaps around plumbing pipes, you can plug the openings yourself with hydraulic cement or polyurethane caulk for less than $20. Plugs work when the problem is simply a hole that water oozes through, either from surface runoff or from wet soil. But if the water is coming up through the floor, or at the joint where floor and walls meet, the problem is ground water, and plugs won't do the trick. For that, see Solutions #5 though #7 below.
3. Restore the crown
If the gutters are working and you've plugged obvious holes, but you still see water dribbling into your basement or crawl space from high on the foundation walls, then surface water isn't draining away from the house as it should. Your house should sit on a "crown" of soil that slopes at least six inches over the first 10 feet in all directions. Over time, the soil around the foundation may have settled. All you need to do to build it back up is shovel in more dirt. One cubic yard of a water-shedding clay-loam mix from a landscape supply house costs around $30 (plus delivery) and is enough for a two-foot-wide, three-inch-deep layer along 57 feet of foundation.
4. Reshape the landscape
If you can't add soil without bringing it too close to the siding-six inches is the minimum safe distance to protect against rot and termites-then you may be able to redirect surface water before it reaches the house by creating a berm (a mound of dirt) or a swale (a wide, shallow ditch). In small areas, berms are easy; a landscape contractor can build one for a few hundred dollars. On bigger projects, berms make less sense because you'll have to truck in too much soil. In that case, dig a swale (about $1,000). Once landscaping grows in, berms and swales can be attractive features in your yard.
5. Repair footing drains
If water is leaking into your basement low on the walls or at the seams where walls meet the floor, your issue isn't surface water, it's hydrostatic pressure pushing out water within the ground. The first thing to do is check whether you have footing drains, underground pipes installed when the house was built to carry water away from the foundation. (Look for a manhole or drain in the basement floor or a cleanout pipe capped a few inches above the floor.) The drains may be clogged, in which case you can try opening the cleanout and flushing the pipes with a garden hose. If that doesn't work, a plumber with an augur can often do the job for about $600.
6. Install a curtain drain around the house
If you don't have footing drains or can't get the existing ones to function, there's one more thing you can try before you invest in a costly interior or exterior basement waterproofing system: Install a curtain drain to divert water that's traveling underground toward your house. A type of French drain, a curtain drain is a shallow trench filled with gravel and piping that intercepts water uphill of your house and carries it down the slope a safe distance away.
7. Pump the water out from the inside
If you can't keep subsurface water out, then you have to address it on the inside. To create an interior drain system, crews saw a channel around the perimeter of the floor, chip out the concrete, and lay perforated pipe in the hole. The pipe drains to collection tank at the basement's low spot, where a sump pump sends it away. Starting at about $3,000, an interior system may be the least expensive and disruptive option if you have an unfinished basement with easy access, or a lot of mature landscaping that digging for an exterior system would destroy.
8. Waterproof from the outside
Installing an interior drainage system gets the water out but doesn't actually waterproof the walls. For that, you need an exterior system: a French drain to relieve hydrostatic pressure and exterior waterproofing to protect the foundation. It's a big job that requires excavating around the house, but it may be the best solution if you have a foundation with numerous gaps where water is getting through. It also keeps the mess and water outside, which may be your choice if you don't want to tear up a finished basement. The downside, besides a price tag that can reach $20,000, is that your yard takes a beating, and you may need to remove decks or walkways.
Article From HouseLogic.com
By: Jeanne Huber
Published: August 28, 2009
Jeanne Huber is the author of 10 books about home improvement and writes a weekly column about home care for The Washington Post. She solved her first drainage mystery when her family's frequent sneezing attacks led her to discover mildew coating the underside of their house's roof. Turns out basement flooding (see Sign #6) was to blame.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
7 Tips for Saving Energy in the Laundry Room
Understanding your laundry room appliances is part of a smart plan to help you save energy in your home.
Good laundry room habits, including some occasional minor maintenance, can save energy and shave nearly $300 off your annual utility bills. That's because you can curb the biggest energy culprit: the cost of heating water.
Washing machine
The bulk of a washing machine's operating costs-around 90%, says Energy Star, go to replacing the hot water in the home's hot water tank. Reduce the amount of hot water the appliance uses, and you'll significantly shrink its associated utility bills. By washing fewer loads and doing those loads in cooler water, you can save around $200 per year.
Clothes dryer
Because it's essentially a "toaster with a fan," says Amanda Korane of The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (http://www.aceee.org), a nonprofit focused on advancing energy efficiency, the clothes dryer is a difficult appliance to make green. But that doesn't mean there aren't ways to lessen its impact on your utility bill to the tune of about $80 per year.
Article From HouseLogic.com
By: Douglas Trattner
Published: August 28, 2009
Douglas Trattner has covered household appliances and home improvement for HGTV.com, DIYNetworks, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. During the 10-year stewardship of his 1925 Colonial, he's upgraded almost every household appliance. After lengthy deliberation, he recently replaced an aging top-load washing machine with an energy-efficient front-load unit.
Looking for new appliances? Let Nothnagle's Home Services help!
Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.
Good laundry room habits, including some occasional minor maintenance, can save energy and shave nearly $300 off your annual utility bills. That's because you can curb the biggest energy culprit: the cost of heating water.
Washing machine
The bulk of a washing machine's operating costs-around 90%, says Energy Star, go to replacing the hot water in the home's hot water tank. Reduce the amount of hot water the appliance uses, and you'll significantly shrink its associated utility bills. By washing fewer loads and doing those loads in cooler water, you can save around $200 per year.
1. Use cold water. Switching from hot wash to cold, according Michael Bluejay, also known as Mr. Electricity (http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/), who specializes in electricity savings, can shave up to $215 per year off your electric bill. If you have a high-efficiency washer or gas-fueled water heater, assume savings of about half that figure. Cold washes are generally as effective in getting clothes clean as hot.
2. Only wash full loads. Discounting the energy required to heat the water, it costs around $60 per year in electricity to run the washer, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (http://www.doe.gov). Because it takes just as much electricity to wash a small load as it does a full one, you'll save money by only washing full loads. By reducing the number of overall loads by one-quarter, you can save $15 a year.
Clothes dryer
Because it's essentially a "toaster with a fan," says Amanda Korane of The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (http://www.aceee.org), a nonprofit focused on advancing energy efficiency, the clothes dryer is a difficult appliance to make green. But that doesn't mean there aren't ways to lessen its impact on your utility bill to the tune of about $80 per year.
3. Spin it faster. Good dryer efficiency starts in the clothes washer. Setting the maximum spin speed in the washer will reduce the amount of time-and energy-it takes to get clothes dry. Many of today's high-speed washer spin cycles can cut dry times by as much as half compared with older models. If an average electric clothes dryer costs about $80 per year to operate, according to the DOE, savings can approach the $40 mark.
4. Clean lint filter and exhaust. Dryers have to work harder and longer to dry clothes when air doesn't freely flow. Cleaning the lint filter before every use and doing the same for the exhaust line once a year will help maintain maximum efficiency. Also, check that the duct hose is free from tight bends and obstructions. These small chores not only will save a few bucks per year, they will reduce the risk of fire.
5. Activate energy-saving features. If the dryer has an automated moisture-sensing device, use it. Setting the timer can cause the dryer to run longer than necessary. But a moisture sensor will automatically shut off the machine when it senses clothes are dry. This feature can save $8 to $12 a year.
6. Dry like with like. Lighter items, such as T-shirts and blouses, dry much quicker than heavy items like towels and blankets. Therefore, when these items are combined in the same load, some of the clothes continue to tumble long after they're dry. This extends the dry time of the bulkier items, in turn wasting a few bucks every month.
7. Skip it. Every load in the dryer costs around $0.35, according to Bluejay. Hanging clothing to dry on a line outside or rack inside costs nothing. Racks run about $25 to $90 at online retailers. So, by giving the dryer a break even occasionally, savings can add up. Not only will the practice reduce utility bills, it will help extend the life of both the clothes and the appliance.
Article From HouseLogic.com
By: Douglas Trattner
Published: August 28, 2009
Douglas Trattner has covered household appliances and home improvement for HGTV.com, DIYNetworks, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. During the 10-year stewardship of his 1925 Colonial, he's upgraded almost every household appliance. After lengthy deliberation, he recently replaced an aging top-load washing machine with an energy-efficient front-load unit.
Looking for new appliances? Let Nothnagle's Home Services help!
Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.
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