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Winterize your home
Hard to believe it's that time again! Fall is here, and you need to start getting your home ready for the winter months to come. To help get you started, here's a checklist of some of the projects that you need to consider:
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Beware of 'wraparound' mortgage
DEAR BENNY: I have a full-price offer on my duplex that involves a wraparound mortgage. I am a little leery of a small down payment with high-interest payments for a few years with a balloon at the buyer's refinance later. I'm told they are quite legal, but I really need to know the pros and cons. Can you enlighten me please? --Bobbie
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Appraisal rules tangle with home values
How much your home is worth depends on who's looking at it. Your home insurer will value your home in terms of the cost to rebuild it. A mortgage lender's appraiser will value your property in terms of the sale prices of similar homes in your neighborhood that sold recently. The property tax assessor may have a different set of criteria.
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Final walkthrough a buyer's best friend
Imagine this. You move into your new home for the first time after closing and, although you transferred the utilities into your name, the lights don't turn on. There isn't a single light bulb left in the house, the yard is overgrown, and the leaky faucets the sellers were to have fixed still leak.
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Your home's value in the toilet? There's something you can do!
Many economists are calling the beginning of the end of the recession, but that's cold comfort for the millions of Virginia homeowners who collectively have seen billions in home equity evaporate over the past few years. You don't want to see your home's value go down any more, and neither does the Virginia Homeowners Alliance.
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Five ways to cut heating costs
If you're thinking it's time to do something about your cold house and your high heating bills, here are five win-win suggestions that will help you do both.
1. REPLACE YOUR FURNACE FILTER
A clogged filter makes your furnace work harder to deliver the same amount of heat, which wastes energy by keeping the furnace on for a longer period in order to bring the house up to the requested temperature.
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Don't skimp on title insurance
Most people are trying to cut costs these days. Some even wonder if it's necessary to pay for title insurance when they buy or sell a home. Skimping here could end up costing plenty if you discover a title defect after you own the property.
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Need fencing? Think vinyl
If you're exploring the different options for new or replacement fencing, one material to be sure to have on your list of possibilities is vinyl. Vinyl fencing manufacturers have made great strides in recent years, offering a tremendous array of sizes, styles and options to choose from. The overall quality is up; the prices have come down; and competition among the growing number of manufacturers makes it a good time to consider vinyl for your next fence project.
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