Real Estate Information Archive

WHY DO THIS?

Taking steps to conserve energy can cut your electricity bill by as much as $600 a year. Don't believe it? Up to 30 percent of a home's energy usage can be lost by drafts alone! Do a home energy audit to pinpoint the best ways to reduce your utility bills this winter.

How To:

1. Stop drafts. Fix the drafts under your doors and windows. For a quick fix, place a rolled bath towel under drafty doors and on windowsills. You can also purchase a door draft stopper for around $5.

2. Reverse your fans. Many ceiling units come with a switch to reverse the directions of the blades. Switching your blades to clockwise will help circulate warm air pooled near the ceiling back into the living space. This small change can cut your heating cost as much as 10 percent.

3. Turn down your water heater. Set your hot water heater to 120 degrees F. Water heaters are usually unnecessarily set to 140 degrees F by installers. Lowering the temperature would reduce your water heating costs by anywhere from 6 to 10 percent.

4. Lower the heat when you leave. Don’t forget to turn down your heat when you're not home! For every degree you lower the thermostat during heating season, you'll save between 1 and 3 percent on your utility bills. If you’re the forgetful type, consider investing in a programmable thermostat! They are widely available for as little as $50. Note: If you have a heat pump system, it's best to leave your thermostat at a set temperature. Moving the thermostat temperature up one degree can actually cause the system to waste more energy.

5. Install window plastic. You can find window plastic at your local hardware store and if it’s properly installed, it’s essentially invisible. The plastic will help to add a buffer against drafts and improve your home’s ability to hold heat.

Information courtesy of BrightNest.com.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

When you get a call from [enter judgmental relative here] saying they’ll be at your place in five minutes, what do you do?

In a perfect world, your home is clean and clutter-free, and you have just enough time to set out a snack for your guest. In the real world, though, you need those five minutes to scramble and hide all evidence of real life (aka mess).

If you need to get your place in tip-top shape in record time, we’ve got you covered. Here are five easy tricks to prep for company fast:

1. Stash Dirty Dishes in the Oven

Hey, no judgement here. If the dishwasher’s full, load those dirty dishes into the oven and close the door. Tip: You may not want to offer freshly baked cookies to your guests!

2. Hide Your Laundry in the Shower

If your towels have made their way into a pile on your floor, they’re not going to look any better hung up. If your guests aren’t staying overnight (and won’t need a shower), throw the towels into the shower and close the curtain. Out of sight, out of mind.

3. Put Your Mail in the Junk Drawer

Old coupons and magazines seem to make inconspicuous piles all over the house. If it’s junk, trash it. If you want to hold onto something, like that magazine you haven’t had time to read, combine everything and conceal it in the junk drawer.

4. Switch Out the Couch Blankets and Pillows

If you have some four-pawed loved ones around the house, they tend to leave a trail of fur on your couch.

To give your couch a quick de-fur treatment, try this trick: Keep a spare set of blankets and pillows in the linen closet. If you have some unexpected company, you can switch out the dirty pillows for fresh, fur-free pillows in two seconds flat.

If you’re feeling ambitious, you can throw the blankets and throws right into the laundry room.

5. Close Your Closet Doors

When was the last time a guest asked to peek into your closet? Probably never. Knowing it’s a secret space, shove your laundry, shoes and coats into your closet (and hope they don't mistake it for a door to the bathroom).

Technology is good. But the cords that come with our gadgets? Not so great. With every new “life-changing” generation of gadget comes a new charger, and behind every entertainment center is a jungle of cords. With innovation, we’ve created a monster. A Cord Clutter Monster.

To tame the beast, first do a technology audit to get rid of all of any duplicate chargers. Then try one or more of these cord-organizing tricks:

1. Keep Chargers Organized with Toilet Paper Rolls

To keep chargers from getting out of control, you’ll need one empty toilet paper roll per charger. When the chargers aren’t being used, store them in their own toilet paper tube. To keep the tubes organized, put them all in one box. And bam! Your chargers will be organized.

2. Make an Easy DIY Charging Station from a Shoebox

Put an old shoebox to use as a cord charging station! The inside of the box will hold the power source and your gadgets’ cords will be threaded through the front. All you need is a pair of scissors.

Place your power strip in the box, and then cut a hole in the back that will fit your power strip’s cord. For the gadgets’ cords, cut a few holes in the front to thread the chargers through. To see a few examples of this charging station, visit DIY for Life.

3. Corral Your Cords with Binder Clips

We love this Lifehacker cord organization trick. To corral your cords, all you need are a few chip binder clips. Clip them in a row to the end of your desk or nightstand and thread the ends of your chargers through the clips. The charging end will sit atop the binder clip. This way you can always find the cord you’re looking for. 

4. Don’t Want to DIY? Buy a Solution

If you’re not going to have time for a DIY session before the clutter monster eats your happiness, we really like this power strip. It even has a USB plug-in option.

Information provided by BrightNest.com.

Hold on to the remote, this news may shock you: the average cable bill is $75, and that number is expected to rise about 5 percent every year. That’s a pretty steep price increase for your favorite shows! If you can’t imagine cancelling your cable, there are a few tricks of the trade that can help you reduce your bill by up to 20 percent. That can amount to $180 or more saved each year!

1. Do your homework. Unless you live in a one-horse town, there should be more than one cable company operating in your area. Do your research and find out what deals are being offered to you. This isn’t necessarily because you want to switch – you want the information to use as leverage when you call your cable company! You also want to make sure that you know the deals that your company is offering to their new customers. Note: You may need to do some digging online to find this information.

2. Compare and contrast. Your cable bill is like an airline ticket – people pay very different prices for the exact same results! Ask your neighbors, friends and family members what they’re paying. Again, this can be used as leverage when chatting with the cable company. If you can establish that other people are paying less than you, they’ll often match a lower price or add promotions to your account that lower your bill.
    
3. Have a goal. To stay focused, it helps to set a specific price goal before you call the cable company. Make sure it’s realistic – a 15 percent reduction is still a major win.
    
4. Be calm. We’re not saying that you shouldn’t be a little irked that you pay twice as much as your friend for the same service – just don’t show the cable company that. Make sure you’re in a calm state of mind before you call the cable company. In this situation, flattery is the name of the game. You want the customer service representative to know that you love their service – you just can’t afford to pay such a high price every month.
    
5. Provide a little background. You wouldn’t ask out a date without flirting a little first, would you? (Don’t answer that.) Before you jump right to the big ask, give the customer service representative a little background. Say you’re going through your yearly budget and realized that you just can’t afford their service, or even play the blame game and say your spouse wants a lower bill. If they realize why you’re asking, they’ll be more willing to work with you to solve the problem.
    
6. Bring out the big guns. Once you’ve established what you need and schmoozed a little, it’s time to mention a competitor. Make it clear (without being overtly hostile) that you’re thinking about cancelling unless they can lower the bill. Don’t actually say you will cancel, or the call may end with you losing access to your favorite shows. Instead, just say you might be forced to quit since you’ve found a better option.
    
7. Try again. If your first call isn’t fruitful, it may just be that the specific agent you talked to wouldn’t play ball. Cable companies have a lot of employees. If you’re not getting anywhere, ask to talk to their loyalty department – they’ll have access to deals that the customer service department doesn’t. If you still don’t get a lower bill, try again on a different night of the week. Think of each call as a first date – you’ll eventually get lucky and meet the perfect customer service rep for you!

It won’t be long now! The neighborhood kids are planning their costumes as you read this. Masks, robes and mummy tape. Maybe even a Justin Bieber hairdo!

Can your house handle the barrage of children begging you for treats? If you’re not sure, then you’re not ready. It’s time to gear up!

1. Decorate your door. This is the first step in any trick-or-treating preparation session. Set up some Halloween decorations on your front door or in your yard, and don’t hold back! The spookier the better. Don’t forget a few jack-o-lanterns, either. If you want to break the mold a bit, try a no-carve pumpkin this year. Note: If you do decide to go with a lit pumpkin, make sure it’s placed well away from areas that trick-or-treaters will be walking through.
    
2. Optimize your lighting. Since your front yard will be getting more foot traffic than usual on Halloween, it’s important to make sure your guests can see so they don’t take a tumble. If you don’t have any exterior lights over your front door, consider adding a few lanterns along your walkway so you don’t have children falling down in your yard.
    
3. Hide your valuables. This isn’t about robbery so much as accidental damage. If you have any delicate ornaments, flowerpots or statues around your front door, relocate them until November. That way, they can’t be damaged if that cute little mummy trips on his or her costume.
    
4. Buy plenty of candy. Nothing squashes a child’s hopes and dreams like knocking on a door that doesn’t have any candy left. To ensure the survival of youthful happiness in your neighborhood – buy plenty of candy. If you live in one of these extremely popular trick-or-treating neighborhoods, consider going to a wholesale store like Costco or BJ’s, just to be safe.
    
5. Wear a costume. It’s not as bad as running out of candy, but answering the door on Halloween wearing a sweater and jeans is kind of a buzz-kill for the kids. Even if you put it together in five minutes, a costume is always a good idea!

For humans, Halloween is a time to embrace your inner-monster (or Lady Gaga) and spend a night masquerading as someone, or something, new. For your pets, it’s a night fraught with potential hazards like mounds of dark chocolate, hot candles and a sudden increase of strange visitors. Make sure your pet stays calm and safe this All Hallows’ Eve by paying attention to these potential hazards.

Candy

Those bags of candy are a great treat for your kids, but ingredients like dark chocolate and artificial sweeteners are toxic to dogs, cats and birds. If you have a pet in the house, keep all of your candy sealed and out of pet-reach.

Candles 

It’s always nice to set a spooky mood on Halloween, and that usually means candles. If you decide to put candles in your jack-o-lanterns, make sure the pumpkins are placed somewhere your pet can’t knock them over. If you have a cat, consider forgoing candles in your window sill. They may look nice now, but it won’t be so good when Fluffy’s tail catches on fire. Instead, try some electric candles!

Trick-or-Treaters 

For some pets, especially territorial dogs, having the doorbell ring every five minutes is a very stressful situation. When you throw in a group of costume-clad strangers at the door, it can be downright terrifying! If your pet is going to be upset by trick-or-treaters, keep him or her in a quiet room where they won’t be bothered by the goblins and ghouls visiting the house.

Pet Costumes

There’s no denying that a dog in a ladybug costume is pretty much the cutest thing in the world. But, your dog might not think it’s quite as fun as you do. If you’re going to dress up your pet, make sure they seem comfortable with their outfit. A stressed-out pet will chew their costume and possibly hurt themselves trying to get it off. If they don’t seem happy when you put on their costume, snap a quick photo and then take it off.

Here are simple tips to help you prepare your home for Fall.

1. Change your linens and move your mattress. Strip and vacuum your mattress and machine wash all of your bed linens, including your comforters, duvets, bed skirts and pillows. Then, turn your mattress front-to-back and end-to-end – flipping your mattress prolongs its life by evenly distributing the wear. For more tips, read: Maintain Your Mattress.

2. Inspect your windows. Start by cleaning your windowpanes, then your drapes or blinds, and finish with the window tracks (a vacuum with a hose attachment works best for this last job). If your windows are older, you likely have weather stripping to help seal your windows and keep cold drafts and moisture at bay. Inspect this weather stripping to see if it’s torn, damaged or needs to be replaced. Proper weather stripping can reduce your energy bills by as much as 30 percent! For a step-by-step guide to cleaning your windows, read: Inspect and Maintain Your Windows.
    
3. Inspect your exterior doors. For each exterior door, check the weather stripping that runs along the bottom and side of it for any cracks, leaks or wear. Close the door and place your hand along the bottom and sides of it. If you feel a draft coming through, you should replace your weather stripping. For extra insulation, purchase a few draft stoppers, which cost about $5 at your local hardware store.
    
4. Check your gutters. During the fall and winter, your gutters are filled with leaves, rainfall and snowmelt, so the clearer they are now, the better you’ll fare come winter. Break out a ladder (always practice proper ladder safety) and remove all dirt and debris from your gutters by hand. For a step-by-step guide, read: Gutter Cleaning.
    
5. Clean and store patio furniture. It’s always a good idea to clean your patio furniture before you store it inside for the winter. Different types of patio furniture require different cleaning techniques, so to learn how to properly clean your type of patio furniture, read: Clean Your Deck / Patio. Tip: Remove any stains from your furniture cushions before putting the chairs into storage, because if a stain sits on the fabric all winter, it’ll be more difficult to get out.
    
6. Clean light fixtures and dust ceiling fans. It doesn’t take long for dirt to create a film on your light fixtures and a layer of dust to form on the blades of your ceiling fan. To clean your glass light fixtures, denture tablets are actually one of the most effective products. To remove dust and dirt from your ceiling fans you simply need a ladder, canned air and all-purpose cleaner.

On average, gutters accumulate anywhere from 40-250 pounds of debris per year! This buildup can create all kinds of problems for your home such as foundation erosion, mosquito infestations and damage to your roof and gutter system, which can cost thousands of dollars to replace.

Safety Note: Gutter maintenance generally means using a ladder. Please use ladder safety precautions at all times.

1. Remove all debris from your gutters. Get every leaf and twig with a gloved hand. Go section-by-section, dump the debris you can reach in a bucket, and then move the ladder down (very carefully).
    
2. Check for damages. After removing debris, check for corrosion and any holes or dents. Tip: If you find small holes, place a piece of painter’s tape by the hole so you can easily find it when you’re ready to repair. If you’ve found small holes in your gutter, you can seal them with clear silicone sealant.
    
3. Test the drainage. Gently run water through your gutter with a garden hose to ensure your gutter is draining correctly. If water is standing still, increase the grade of your gutter to create and maintain a proper drain slope. To do this, simply bend the hangers. The gutter should slope at least 1/4-inch for every 5-10-feet of gutter.
    
4. Check for sagging. A sagging gutter is a useless gutter. Rainwater will get trapped in the sagging portion and become stagnant mess (a love nest for mosquitoes). If the gutters are sagging, it’s likely because the nails holding the gutters have loosened. Try to hammer them back into place. If the nails won't hold, replace them with screws.
    
5. Unclog your downspouts. If the downspout is clogged, work to loosen the debris from the bottom up to avoid further clogging the downspout. Turn your water hose on high and run it up the spout from the bottom. If this doesn’t work, try a plumber’s snake (again, from the bottom to the top). If all else fails, remove the downspout and tackle the clog by hand.

Fifty-three percent of residential fires involve electrical wiring, which is intricately hidden behind the faceplates on your light switches. Flying sparks are obvious, but lots of other electrical danger signs are more subtle. Keeping an eye out for these five warning signs can mean the difference between fire prevention and a fiery disaster.

1. Loose ends on extension cords. If your extension cord has loose ends, or you’ve bandaged an extension cord with electrical tape, it’s time to replace it. Damaged cords may have exposed live wires that lead to shock and fire hazards.
2. Tripping GFI outlets. A ground fault circuit interrupter (GFI) is an outlet typically located in kitchens and bathrooms – often within six feet of a water source – that prevents people from being electrocuted. These outlets immediately stop the flow of electricity (and “trip”) when they sense the slightest change in the current. If your GFI starts tripping repeatedly, you probably have an electrical problem or a worn-out GFI outlet receptacle. Contact an electrician to inspect the problem. To learn more about GFIs, read: Test Your Ground Fault Interrupter.
3. Wobbly ceiling fans. If your ceiling fan isn’t rotating evenly, your device either isn’t correctly mounted to the electrical box, your blades are unbalanced or your blades are warped. We recommend always calling an electrician to fix damaged wires and electrical boxes.
4. Inappropriate bulb wattage. Using a bulb that has a higher wattage than recommended is a fire hazard and may overheat the light fixture. If you’re dealing with a fixture with multiple bulbs or a strand of lights, check all of the bulbs individually and replace them as needed. Be consistent with the bulbs’ wattage in this situation.
5. Warm faceplates. If your faceplate is warm to the touch, you probably have an oversized electrical load operating on that unit. Monitor any warm faceplate you find. If the problem persists, or the faceplate becomes hot to the touch, call an electrician. Note: The exception to this rule is a dimmer switch. Unless it’s too hot to touch, it’s okay.