Wedding Bells and Baby Booties

Things have been really hopping around my house this winter. One of my daughters announced she is getting married in June after graduating from WSU in May. Another daughter had her 3rd baby a month early in Feb. Baby Luke weighed in at 3 1/2lbs and came home from the hospital this week, 2 days after his 1 month birthday. He has gained a pound and grown 3 inches. With all the excitement I have neglected my blog site for far to long. One of the things I really must remind everyone is that you only have until April 30th to get in on the tax credit for home buyers. You don't have to close by then but you must have a contract negotiated by then. Don't wait much longer. I have several nice listings ranging from a starter home to a home perfect for a single or couple to downsize into. Let me know if you need help.

LIFT PUMPS?

What the heck is a lift pump? I learned the hard way just exactly how important a lift pump is this week when mine went out. We bought our home 8 years ago and for the first time had a basement. Wow, how wonderful to have so much extra space and there was even a full bathroom down there. No more kids fighting over who had been in the bathroom too long and who was next. It was sheer bliss until last weekend when I woke up and thought something smelled amiss. After sniffing around to find out where the offending odor was I was dismayed to see a pool of stinky water surrounding a little used area of my basement laundry room. Evidently the bathroom drains into the lift pump hole and is then lifted up through the pump system into the main sewer system and discharged through the sewer line. Well, the lift wasn't lifting anything but rather pooling around the pump area and making a rather strong statement in my basement and up the stairs into the main floor. NASTY! Luckily, the plumber was able to come by on Monday and spent about an hour replacing the old pump. It took another day but finally the house began to smell better and the kids were able to use the bathroom again. Who knew that a little pump could be so important. You can bet I won't take my lift pump for granted anymore. As far as I'm concerned it is one of the most important gadgets in the house.

I'm Going Green

Last week I completed classes to obtain the Energy Works Certification. This certification process taught me how to understand different "green" elements in a home and how to market those elements when selling the house. Topics covered included Heat Pumps/Geo Thermal units, energy saving lighting, designing energy saving homes and other components of building/buying "green". It was an interesting class and I believe it will help me better inform my clients on money saving improvements as well as help educate potential buyers who are looking to buy my green listings. It is amazing all the new technologies out there which can help families save money as well as the resources we have. I'm glad I took the time to attend and get certified.