Outdoor Lighting for Curb Appeal & Safety

Think about it: Most of your guests (and if your home is on the market, many would-be buyers) see your home only in the evening, when its best features may be lost in the shadows. Well-executed outdoor lighting enhances architectural detail and plays up landscape features, casting your home in the best possible light and adding an abundance of curb appeal.

Outdoor lighting also adds value. Judith Patriski, an appraiser and owner of Quad Realty Co. near Cleveland, estimates that for upper-bracket homes, an investment in outdoor lighting can yield a 50% return. “When you pull into a driveway and see a gorgeous home, you’re going to pay more for it,” says Patriski.

And she emphasizes that it’s not only about aesthetics: “In all price ranges, lighting for security is important”—both to protect against intruders and falls. Here are the elements of successful outdoor lighting.

Mimicking the moonlight
Much of the success of exterior lighting hinges on its design. Hang around lighting designers long enough and you’ll hear a lot of talk about “moonlight effect.” That’s a naturalistic look that features light no more intense than that of a full moon, but still strong enough to make beautiful shadows and intense highlights.

Other techniques outdoor lighting designers use:

Highlight trees: Whether illumined from below or given presence by a light mounted in the tree itself, trees make stunning features.

Use uplights: Uplighting is dramatic because we expect light to shine downward. Used in moderation, it’s a great way to highlight architectural and landscaping features.

Have a focus: The entryway is often center stage, a way of saying, “Welcome, this way in.”

Combine beauty and function: For example, adding lighting to plantings along a pathway breaks up the “runway” look of too many lights strung alongside a walk.

Vary the fixtures: While the workhorses are spots and floods, designers turn to a wide range of fixtures, area lights, step lights, and bollards or post lights.

Stick to warm light: A rainbow of colors are possible, but most designers avoid anything but warm white light, preferring to showcase the house and its landscape rather than create a light show.

Orchestrate: A timer, with confirmation from a photocell, brings the display to life as the sun sets. At midnight it shuts shut down everything but security lighting. Some homeowners even set the timer to light things up an hour or so before dawn.

Adding safety and security
Falls are the foremost cause of home injury, according to the Home Safety Council. Outdoors, stair and pathway lighting help eliminate such hazards.

Often safety and security can be combined. For example, motion-detecting security lighting mounted near the garage provides illumination when you get out of your car at night; the same function deters intruders. Motion detecting switches can also be applied to landscape lighting to illumine shadowy areas should anyone walk nearby.

Even the moonlight effect has a security function: Soft, overall landscape lighting eliminates dark areas that might hide an intruder, exposing any movement on your property. Overly bright lights actually have a negative effect, creating undesirable pockets of deep shadow.

Switching to LEDs
Once disparaged for their high cost and cold bluish glow, LEDs are now the light source of choice for lighting designers. “They’ve come down in price and now have that warm light people love in incandescent bulbs,” says Paul Gosselin, owner of Night Scenes Landscape Lighting Professionals in Kingsland, Texas. “We haven’t installed anything but LEDs for the last year.”

Although LED fixtures remain twice as expensive as incandescents, installation is simpler because they use low-voltage wiring. “All in all, LEDs cost only about 25% more to install,” Gosselin says. “And they’ll save about 75% on your electricity bill.”

Another advantage is long life. LEDs last at least 40,000 hours, or about 18 years of nighttime service. With that kind of longevity, “why should a fixture have only a two-year warranty?” asks Gosselin. He advises buying only fixtures with a 15-year warranty, proof that the fixture’s housing is designed to live as long as the LED bulbs inside.

Innovations
The growing popularity of exterior lighting has led to innovative fixtures. Here are some bright new ideas:

Solar lighting: When first introduced, solar pathway lights produced a dull glow that rarely made it through the night. They do much better now that they are equipped with electricity-sipping LEDs, more efficient photovoltaic cells, and better batteries. Still, they have yet to measure up to hard-wired systems.

Hybrids: Porch lights now come equipped with LED lighting for all night use, and a motion sensor that clicks on an incandescent bulb to provide extra illumination as you approach the front door. Hybrids use about 5% of the power a solely incandescent fixture requires.

Barbecue light: Tired of grilling steaks by flash light? Now you can buy a gooseneck outdoor light, ideal for an outdoor kitchen.

Estimating the cost
Total outdoor lighting costs will vary according to the size of your home and the complexity of your lighting scheme. Expect to pay about $325 for each installed LED fixture. LEDs also require a transformer to step the power down from 120 volts to 12 volts, running about $400 installed.

A motion detector security light costs about $150 installed. Porch lights and sconces range from $100 to $250 installed, depending the fixture and whether running new cable is necessary.

Contractor-installed outdoor lighting for an average, two-story, 2,200 sq. ft. house might add up as follows:

7 fixtures to cover 100 feet of LED pathway lighting: $2,275

Transformer: $400

4 LED uplights to dramatize the front of the house: $1,300

2 LED area lights for plantings: $650

2 motion detector security lights: $300

Total cost: $4,925

Dave Toht has written or edited more than 60 books on home repair and remodeling, including titles for The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Better Homes & Gardens, Sunset, and Reader’s Digest. A former contractor, Dave was editor of Remodeling Ideas magazine and continues to contribute to numerous how-to publications.

Watch for These Signs of Short-Sale Fraud

With short sales on the rise, California’s Department of Real Estate warns consumers to watch for four signs of short-sale fraud.

In a short sale, the seller receives an offer from a buyer that is less than the amount of the mortgage loan(s) on the property. The seller asks the lender to accept less than what is owed.

While short sales are a popular alternative to foreclosure, like all real estate transactions, they are complicated and sellers need to lookout for the pitfalls, said California Real Estate Commissioner Jeff Davi.

For example, in some instances a seller may be required to pay taxes on the forgiven debt.

In addition, a seller may be an unwitting participant in a fraudulent transaction in which an unscrupulous short-sale negotiator working with a straw buyer makes a lowball offer to the seller and, in turn, misrepresents the true market value of the property to the lender.

If the lender accepts the offer, the straw buyer immediately re-sells it at the true market value, with the profits split among the conspirators. Had the property been sold for the most amount of money that the market will bear, the potential tax consequence to the seller is diminished and the lender would have received fair market value.

The signs of fraud a homeowner should look out for:

An unlicensed short-sale expert. Short sale negotiators must be licensed real estate brokers (or a licensed real estate salesperson where that person is working under the supervision of his or her broker).

Requests for payments outside closing. Any and all payments must be fully disclosed and made part of the escrow documents. If there are any fees to be paid “outside” of escrow, this may be the red flag that the payment is illegal.

Buyers who aren’t people. If your agent explains that the buyer is a fictitious person or entity, or your buyer is purchasing the property under a power-of-attorney or is a limited liability company (LLC), this may be a red flag that fraud is involved in your transaction.

An unlicensed negotiator. If you are told that an unlicensed processor, negotiator or facilitator is handling your short sale, this is a red flag that unlicensed activity is taking place.

Only real estate licensees, California lawyers acting as lawyers and investors acting on their own behalf can engage in short sale negotiations.

For more information about DRE and its programs visit www.dre.ca.gov.
Publish Date: 2010-05-05
Source: California Department of Real Estate

Adding Universal Design Features to Your Bathroom

Universal design features aren’t just for the elderly or disabled—the term “universal design” simply means common-sense design that accommodates all users. If you’re adding a new bathroom, incorporating universal features ensures that your bath is comfortable, safe, and will adapt to any lifestyle changes.The cost of universal design isn’t prohibitive. In terms of a new 6x8-foot bathroom, you’ll pay an additional $1,000 to $2,500 for universal design features.

Deciding to add universal design

As smart as universal design is, it can be a tough sell. Ninety-five percent of home builders report that buyers aged 55 or older can be resistant to purchasing a home with universal design features, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). That’s interesting when you consider that two-thirds of those buyers also say they plan to stay in their own homes after retirement.

There are two reasons for this disconnect, says remodeler Dan Bawden of Houston, founder of the NAHB’s Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) program. First, buyers don’t like to face the prospect of getting older. Second, there’s the notion that a universal design bathroom will look institutional, like a hospital facility.

Los Angeles bathroom designer Sarah Barnard battles both these misperceptions frequently. “No one ever asks me for universal design features up front,” Barnard says, “but I recommend them to every single person I consult, even if they’re 25 years old.

“It’s funny—the closer people are to retirement, the less they want universal design. They say, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. I tell them, even if you’re perfectly healthy and able-bodied right now, if you have an accident or develop a health problem, the last thing you’re going to want to deal with is a three-month remodeling project to retrofit your bathroom.”

Most important, contemporary universal design features are aesthetically pleasing, even hip. “A bathroom with universal design does not have to be ugly!” Barnard says. “In fact, a well-designed accessible space can be spa-like and luxurious. There are attractive high-end finishes out there, such as luxurious grab bars with beaded escutcheons. They’re not like the grab bars in public restrooms.”

If you’re thinking about adding universal design features, consider consulting a CAPS-certified contractor. CAPS builders are trained specifically on which building features accommodate certain disabilities.

Essential features

Most universal design features are simply modifications of products and design specifications that you would consider for any bathroom space.

Wider doors

A 30- or 32-inch-wide interior door is considered standard, but universal access requires 32 inches of clear space when the door is open, which usually means specifying a 36-inch-wide door. Expect to pay $20 to $30 more for a 36-inch-wide door over the cost of a 32-inch door.

Be sure to check how much space a larger door requires when it swings open. Bathroom doors should swing outward.

Grab bars for shower, tub, and toilet.

Bawden recommends covering the framing of the entire tub, shower, and toilet surround with ½-inch pressure-treated plywood so that you can install grab bars anywhere on the wall, either immediately or at any time in the future.

Adding the plywood costs about $250 for labor and materials per area; grab bars cost from $50 to $300, depending on the quality of the finish. Expect to pay $50 to $100 per grab bar for labor.

If you have restricted mobility, consult a CAPS-certified builder about how many grab bars you need, what sizes they should be, and where they should be located. Because different health issues require different bar placements, it isn’t a good idea to add more than one bar now if you’re healthy.

A curbless shower.

These showers have no lip at the floor and can be accessed by those using a wheelchair or other mobility device. The floor slopes down toward the drain; a swing-out door or a shower curtain keeps water contained. From a design standpoint, the minimalist lines fit seamlessly into a contemporary spa-style bathroom.

A curbless shower requires that the shower pan or drain be slightly lower than the surrounding flooring. Typically, your building contractor lowers the shower floor area by trimming the tops of the floor joists (and strengthening them if necessary), then installing a concrete shower floor (for tile) or a curbless shower pan.

Installing a curbless shower costs about the same as installing a “regular” fully tiled shower stall. However, expect to pay an additional $200 to $300 in labor for modifying floor joists.

Lever-style door handles and faucets.

Lever-type handles are easier to use than twist-type knobs or handles, and they’re especially convenient for those with arthritis or with limited dexterity in their hands. They’re available in as many styles and finishes as other faucets and handles, at comparable prices.

Hand-held shower.

These versatile shower heads attach to a flexible hose that makes them easy to use while sitting. “I convince people to consider these because they’re great for cleaning the tub or shower,” Bawden says. “Plus they have a ‘trickle’ or ‘pause’ setting that allows you to shave or wash your hair without wasting water.” Hand-held units are no more expensive than fixed shower heads.

A shower bench.

“A triangular bench in the corner of a shower has multiple uses,” Bawden says. “If you need to sit in the shower, you can, but the able-bodied can use it to store stuff or balance while shaving.”

Choosing an acrylic shower surround with a built-in bench costs no more than a plain stall, and adding a built-in corner bench to a tiled shower costs around $150 extra. A folding, waterproof shower seat that attaches to the wall costs $150-$500.

Tall toilets with no-slam seats and lids.

“I put these in every bathroom unless the bathroom is for small children,” Bawden says. “People love them; they’re easier to sit on and more comfortable.” Test-drive one in a showroom to see if you agree; tall toilets are 16 to 18 inches high compared with the standard 14 or 15 inches. Additional cost for a tall toilet is minimal, around $50 more for comparable styles.

Wall-mounted sinks.

To provide space beneath a bathroom lavatory for wheelchairs or other mobility devices, consider a wall-mounted sink. Wall-mounted sinks have no vanity cabinet or supporting legs underneath, yet they’re designed for strength and durability. Depending on the style, some have shrouds that conceal drain traps and water supply tubes under the sink. Expect to pay $200 to $1,000 and up.

If cabinets are desired, mounting them at least 9 inches off the floor allows room for a wheelchair footrest to pass underneath.

Wheelchair clearance.

Wheelchair-accessible bathroom dimensions require clear space of at least 5 feet (60 inches) in diameter to allow a 180-degree turn. If space is at a premium, consider keeping the room open rather than compartmentalizing the toilet so that a wheelchair’s turning radius can be accommodated.

Karin Beuerlein has covered home improvement and green living topics for HGTV.com, FineLiving.com, and FrontDoor.com. In more than a decade of freelancing, she’s also written for dozens of national and regional publications, including Better Homes & Gardens, The History Channel Magazine, and Chicago Tribune. She and her husband started married life by remodeling the house they were living in. They still have both the marriage and the house, no small feat.

Homeowners Insurance: To Claim or Not to Claim?

The answer to that question will go a long way toward determining whether your homeowners insurance will ultimately cost you more or even get canceled.

It’s that age-old conundrum: You pay for homeowners insurance to protect yourself from financial ruin, yet filing a claim when disaster does strike puts you at risk of seeing your annual premiums increase by hundreds of dollars. Worse, either a major claim or too many claims in a given period, no matter how legitimate, could lead to losing your house’s coverage altogether.

While it can be a fine calculation to make, every time there’s damage to your property or an accident on it, you need to consider carefully whether it makes financial sense to file a claim or absorb the losses yourself. The fates of your homeowners insurance and your bank account hang in the balance. Here’s how to do the fuzzy math.

Be mindful of deductibles, liability

Most homeowners insurance policies state that any time you suffer damage to your property—whether it’s covered under the policy or not—you’re supposed to make a claim in a timely manner, says former insurance claims adjuster Jonathan G. Stein, who’s now a consumer attorney in Elk Grove, Calif. What’s timely? Typically within two weeks, possibly as long as 30 days, says Stein, except for theft claims, which insurers expect you to report within days.

That certainly works in the insurer’s favor, but not necessarily in yours. Read your policy carefully, then get repair estimates to determine if the cost to fix the problem exceeds your deductible, the amount you pay out of pocket.

Though there are a few exceptions (more on those below), always making a claim for damage that exceeds your deductible is a good rule to follow, says Jerry Oshinsky, a partner at Jenner & Block in Los Angeles who has represented homeowners in litigation against insurers. In recent years the average claim has totaled $7,368; the average annual premium for homeowners insurance, $804.

In addition, you should always make a claim—no matter your deductible or the size of the claim—when someone is injured on your property. Personal injury claims are the most likely to explode into large-dollar claims, says Steve Rivers, an independent broker and vice president of Hometown Insurance Agency in Smithtown, N.Y.

Rivers once received a call from a homeowner who’d hired a contractor to install siding on her house. One of the contractor’s workers fell off a ladder and died. Rivers advised the homeowner to file a claim so she was protected if the worker’s family sued, even though she’d done nothing wrong.

Some claims are worth skipping

Think twice about filing certain claims, even if repair costs exceed deductible levels. Stein, the California attorney, thinks homeowners shouldn’t report water damage under $10,000 because some insurers will give notice that they’ll be canceling your policy at the time of renewal due to concerns about mold. Rivers, however, says that’s not always the case. Two of his policyholders who had no previous claims filed because of water damage, and both were covered with no subsequent increases in premiums.

For nonwater damage, Stein recommends not reporting claims under $3,000. His reasoning? Say you have a $500 deductible and you submit a $2,500 claim. If your premiums increase $500 a year for three years, you’re paying the insurer an additional $1,500 to recover only $500. Your claim will also be recorded in the CLUE database—CLUE is short for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange—which virtually all insurers use. Even if you switch to a new carrier, you can’t escape your old claims, which remain in CLUE for seven years.

Filing multiple claims, say two or three over a span of two to three years, puts you at risk for nonrenewal, says Rivers. It’ll also make it harder to get affordable coverage in the future. Each insurer has its own standards for determining when to drop a homeowner. Rivers says some might allow one weather-related claim and one nonweather-related claim before cutting ties. Others may boot you after a single major claim.

What if you don’t have the cash to pay for damage without filing a claim? Stein says with a short-term loan from your bank or credit union, you’ll probably end up paying less in interest than you’d pay in additional annual premiums.

Dealing with denial

Insurers sometimes decline to cover claims. In most states, they’re required to send you a copy of your policy and identify the language they’re relying on in the denial. Read that carefully because your insurer may be misreading or improperly stretching the policy language.
Stein handled a case in which the insurer denied coverage for a dog bite, even though such an occurrence was specifically covered. The adjuster didn’t bother to read the endorsements. He’s also seen insurers deny coverage for water damage from the failure of water pipes on the basis of exclusions for property wear and tear. While the cost to replace worn pipes isn’t covered under most policies, the damage they cause when they burst is included.

If you believe your insurer is being stingy, argue your case with the adjuster and then the agent, advises Rivers, the insurance broker in New York. A complaint to your state’s department of insurance may also help. You may eventually need to consult an attorney if the extent of your losses warrants a legal fight.

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer who has been involved in insurance litigation. A frequent contributor to many national publications including Consumers Digest, Bankrate.com, REALTOR(R) Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, personal finance, and legal topics

Protect Yourself and Your Home from Flooding

Flooding is the most common natural disaster in the United States. In 2007, the latest year for which numbers are available, flooding occurred in all 50 states, according to the National Flood Insurance Program, a government-sponsored pool that provides flood insurance to homeowners. Furthermore, basic homeowners insurance policies don't cover flooding: You generally need to purchase flood policies. The key to mitigating as much flood damage as possible is to take precautions, which in many cases you can accomplish in a few hours to a few days.

First, understand the threats

Storms with hard rains: Hurricanes, nor'easters, and other storms with driving rains can saturate the ground and cause bodies of water to rise, both of which can cause flooding. Blocked drainage systems can force water into roadways or homes.

Snow or ice melt: When frozen precipitation melts, it can cause a great deal of water to saturate the ground. Without proper drainage, the water can cause flooding.

Bodies of water: When rainfall, storms, saturated ground, or other factors affect bodies of water, they may surge over banks, beaches, or other barriers, flooding streets, homes, and virtually everything else in their paths.

Levees and dams: Man-made water barriers and controls can be strained by excessive rainfall or snow or ice melt.

Protect yourself

It's not a good idea to bet the odds-20% to 25% of flood claims came from low- to moderate-risk areas in 2007. Check with your insurance agent to see what flood insurance will cost you. And check the Community Status Book to see if your community is already an NFIP partner. The NFIP offers flood insurance to homeowners and renters whose community participates in NFIP. Participating communities agree to adopt and enforce ordinances that meet or exceed FEMA requirements to reduce the risk of flooding, according to NFIP.

If you live in a high-risk area, it's a good idea to have a "go-bag" ready in case you need to leave quickly. It should include a few changes of clothing for you and family members, insurance policy numbers, phone numbers of your agent, your insurance company's main number, essential toiletries, and some money to get you through a few days. It's also wise to have an evacuation route mapped out and to have a location to which you can go, such as a loved one's home or hotel.

Always follow the direction of local and state authorities if ordered to evacuate. Remember: Your possessions and your home are small comfort if your family is injured or worse. As a preventative measure, if you believe water will begin to accumulate in your home, shut off power at the main electrical panel in your home, says Bill Begal, owner of Begal Enterprises, a Rockville, Md., disaster restoration company. But never stand in water to do so-if the area around the box is already flooded, leave it alone.

In addition, be sure to protect yourself against contact with water, which may be contaminated, even if it looks clear.

Protect your home

Before your rainy season or spring thaw begins, there are actions you can take to protect your home.

Fix leaks and cracks immediately. Leaky roofs and foundation cracks can let water into the home more readily and weaken the structure and provide a perfect habitat for mold. When you notice wet spots on the ceiling or cracks in the foundation, fix them immediately. Check to ensure that roofing shingles are secure.

In addition, home improvement expert and retired contractor John Wilder suggests that any roof replacements include a rubber roof underlayment, which is essentially a waterproof membrane that is installed under roofing shingles to protect the structure and interior of the home against moisture. That adds a few hundred dollars to most roofing jobs, but can extend the life of a roof, says Wilder.

For foundation cracks, he recommends mortar and masonry caulk or hydraulic cement, which expands and fills gaps completely and costs only a few dollars, instead of patching with mortar or cement, which may crack again. If water is a recurring problem, be sure to investigate other solutions.

Clear gutters and drains. When gutters and drainage systems are blocked by leaves or other debris, water can't escape and may flood the home or yard. Check all gutters and drainage systems regularly for leaves, nests, and other obstructions. Also double-check storm drains on your street, as leaves and debris can block them, causing water to collect.

Invest in a battery-powered sump pump. Sump pumps let you pump water out of your home and can be an excellent defense against flooding-unless they're powered by electricity and the power is out. Battery-powered sump pumps are a relatively inexpensive ($150-$400) solution.

Catalog possessions. Using a digital camcorder or camera, record as many of your possessions as possible. Although traditional video and photographs are adequate, they can be bulky to carry and may get damaged if left in a flooded home. Digital files can be stored on a small USB drive and kept in your go bag or on an online backup system. Inexpensive digital cameras start at about $100. Online backup systems like idrive.com, mozy.com, or boxstr.com offer free online backup up to certain levels of storage space, then charge for more.

Move expensive items to a safer location. If you have a second floor or an attic, you may want to move furniture, photographs, and artwork to a higher level. This will protect them in all but the most severe floods. Elevate furnaces and water pumps when they're installed, if possible, by elevating them to a height of 12 inches above the highest known flood level for your area, suggests FEMA.

The Institute for Business and Home Safety also recommends ensuring that any fuel tanks are properly anchored to prevent them from floating, which may make them more likely to rupture and release fuel into flood water. Once the power sources of system units like furnaces and water heaters are disabled and the units cooled, you can also wrap them in waterproof tarps to mitigate water damage.

Prevent sewer backup. FEMA recommends that sewer or septic lines have check valves, which allow waste to only flow one way. This prevents sewage from backing up into the standing water in the home, contaminating it with raw sewage. Check valves are $10-$15 each and available at most home improvement stores, but you'll likely need a plumber to install them, which can cost $100 or more per valve. They're typically installed at a point in the pipe that's easy to access for repair, and work with most plumbing systems.

Floods are a common challenge that many homeowners will face at one time or another. However, by keeping your home in good repair, moving valuables out of water's way, and putting good practices in place, you can mitigate potential damage.

Gwen Moran has written about real estate and finance for a number of national publications and lives near the Jersey shore, although not in a high-risk flood zone.

7 Signs You May Have a Drainage Problem

You don't need to be a house inspector to know that puddles in the basement or a lake on the front lawn are signs of drainage trouble. But not all drainage problems are so obvious. Some can be hard to spot unless you know what to look for. Here's how the pros read seven of the more subtle signs of potential water damage, and why you'll save big bucks if you tackle these problems now instead of later.

1. Malfunctioning gutters

Rain cascading over the edge of a gutter means that dead leaves and debris are blocking the flow. But that's not the only sign of malfunctioning gutters. Mud spattered on siding or paint peeling off the house in vertical strips are other indications. If left unchecked, overflowing gutters can rot siding, ruin paint jobs, even cause structural damage.

Best case: Leaves are clogging the downspout, and you just need to clear them out or hire a pro to do it (about $75).

Worst case: Gutters are undersized or improperly pitched and need to be replaced or reinstalled. That could run a few thousand dollars, but it's still cheaper than new siding.

2. Downspouts that dump

Each inch of rain that falls on 1,000 square feet of a house produces more than 600 gallons of runoff, enough to fill 10 bathtubs to the brim. Dumping that much water too close to the foundation can send it right into the basement, where it can ruin furnishings and flooring and damage mechanical equipment.

Best case: You can add gutter extensions (about $10 for a 10-foot length) to carry the water at least five feet away from the house.

Worst case: The downspouts drop straight down behind large shrubs or other obstacles. An installer may be able to relocate the downspouts (about $150 for each one moved). If not, you'll need to uproot landscaping to add extensions or underground piping-a sacrifice worth considering if you've got water infiltrating the basement.

3. Water stains in the basement

Depending on where the stain appears, you can tell whether the problem is caused by surface water, which can be easy to deal with, or water traveling underground, a more complex situation.

Best case: Stains are high on the foundation wall, indicating that the water is coming (or once came) from an overflowing gutter or surface water directed at the house.

Worst case: The stain extends in a line around the basement, indicating a high-water mark that may recur when heavy rains hit, either because of underground water or because the basement floor lies below the level of municipal storm drains that back up. In that case, an interior drain system and sump pump (around $3,000) are essential for getting the water out if the problem can't be resolved some other way.

4. Cracks in the foundation
Hairline cracks, as thin as thread, are just cosmetic. Bigger cracks may or may not spell trouble. It depends on the width of the crack, how deep it penetrates, and whether it's growing.

Best case: A crack appears where the builders finished installing one load of concrete and began pouring the next. Such cracks usually don't penetrate all the way through. And even if they do, as long as they're stable you can patch them with hydraulic cement or polyurethane caulk for less than $20.

Worst case: Cracks are continuing to widen, indicating that a drainage problem may be ruining the foundation. Call a structural engineer (not a contractor or waterproofing expert) to diagnose the problem, assess the risk, and suggest a repair.

5. Flaking and deposits on walls

If you see areas of white or gray crust on the basement walls, that's efflorescence, mineral deposits left behind by evaporating water. Or the wall may be flaking off in big patches, a condition called spalling.

Best case: The efflorescence points to a place where moisture is condensing. It doesn't cause structural problems, but you may want to scrape off the crust if it looks ugly.

Worst case: The wall is spalling because water is getting inside the masonry. Spalling can be just superficial, but if it's deep and widespread, it may be a sign of freeze/thaw damage that could progressively weaken the foundation.

6. Mildew in the attic

The attic might seem like a strange place to look for drainage problems, but mildew on the underside of the roof can be a tipoff to serious trouble at the ground level.

Best case: Bathroom fans are spewing hot air directly into the attic, where it condenses on the cold back side of the roof and causes mildew. Venting the fan through an outside wall or the roof (about $200) solves the problem.

Worst case: Moisture from the basement or crawl space is rising through the house and condensing on the underside of the roof. In that case, you've got to find and stop the source of the dampness under the house. Then you may have to replace roof sheathing and shingles, a job that runs $6,000 to $9,000 for the typical house.

7. Migrating mulch

When soil doesn't drain properly, rain may run off in sheets, carving gulleys in the landscape, dumping silt on pathways, and carrying piles of mulch or wood chips where they don't belong.

Best case: For a few hundred dollars, you can hire a landscaper to create a simple berm (a soil mound) or swale (a wide, shallow ditch) to redirect the water flow away from the house.

Worst case: You notice the problem when your concrete patio cracks, or paving stones start popping up, because the gravel or sand base material has washed away. After redirecting the water, you'll need to excavate the patio and start again.

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.

Sales of Nashville Homes Increased 33.7 Percent in April!!

Just a Few Facts on the Month of April:
Sales of Nashville homes increase

33.7 percent in April compared

to April of 2009.

There were 2145 home closings reported for the month of April, compared to 1604 in April of 2009, according to figures provided by the Greater Nashville Association of REALTORS®.

Year-to-date closings are up compared to last year with 6,337. That is an 18 percent increase compared to the 5,366 closings reported through April 2009.

There were 2,505 sales pending at the end of the month, compared to the 1,865 pending sales at this time last year.

The average number of days on the market for a single-family home in Nashville was 87 days.

The median residential price for a single-family home during April was $164,950 and for a condominium it was $143,950. This compares with last year's median residential and condominium prices of $164,500 and $149,900.

How to Keep the Housing Recovery Going

In this “good news, bad news” economic climate, it’s tough to tell where real estate is headed over the next few years, said panelists at the 2010 REALTORS® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Expo on Tuesday. The panelists spoke at the town hall-style session during the second-annual Real Estate Summit.

On one hand, the market has steadied to the point at which the industry can finally start to get its bearings. "We're still in a very tough time in the market, but for the first time, we can size up the problem," said Patricia Caldwell, chief of the Homeownership Preservation Office, Department of the Treasury.

"We had to restart the markets again," said J. Lennox Scott, president and CEO, John L. Scott Real Estate, a Pacific Northwest brokerage with more than 3,200 associates. “It worked, but now we have to look at the end result we want.”

Still, no one was willing to call the end of the real estate downturn.

"The real estate problem is ... the result of a massive and unprecedented bubble," said James Glassman, a conservative commentator and former Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy under President George W. Bush. "At this point, I don't think we've gotten to the bottom yet. I think we'll be paying for a lot of the things we've done to avoid catastrophe."

"I'm not quite ready to say it's recovering, because the market is still on life support, and we're pulling out some of the tubes," said Nicolas Retsinas, director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, referring to the end of the federal home buyer tax credit and the Fed’s program to purchase mortgage-backed securities. He added that the signs of a real, lasting recovery would be stabilizing delinquencies and prices.

So what can be done at this point to sustain the nascent resurgence of real estate? The panelists offered a few ideas for improvement. Scott said getting H.R. 5072, the mortgage insurance bill being pushed by FHA Commissioner David Stevens, would help, as would permanently raising loan limits and implementing and funding states’ downpayment assistance programs.

Also, negativity prevalent in the media and the public consciousness needs to be countered, said Alfred DelliBovi, president and CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York. "We're used to quick recoveries,” DelliBovi said. “But we're almost two years removed from this once-in-a-lifetime event, and we're still talking about it."

Perhaps the most important thing, though, is to shake out the new rules and roles within the mortgage financing space, the panelists said. Accomplishing this comes down to finding the right balance between the free-market system and government facilitation, an issue that’s top-of-mind for Caldwell right now. "One of the things we're committed to at Treasury is stabilizing prices," she said, but the department's long-term goal is to let markets stand on their own. "We're pulling back on some of those [stimulus programs] when necessary," she said.

— Brian Summerfield, REALTOR® Magazine

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This Memorial Day, Fix those Gutters!

The flurry of Memorial Day sales at home-improvement retailers offers the perfect occasion to remind sellers to pick up the materials they need to fix any issues, like gutter problems, which could deter buyers.

Buyers are drawn like magnets to well-maintained homes. A sagging gutter here, a gutter with plants sprouting out of it there, and the sellers’ first impression is nothing but a missed opportunity.

Here are some Tips:

• Clear clogged gutters: Sellers can tackle the most common problem of all if they’re comfortable on a ladder, don’t mind getting wet and dirty, and don’t have an extremely tall house. It’s a matter of clearing the muck from gutters and then flushing them with a garden hose to make sure the water drains properly. To really impress potential buyers, sellers can even have gutter covers installed.

• Straighten sagging gutters: Replacing faulty or missing hangers, which secure gutters to a home, is an inexpensive fix. Hangers can deteriorate over time or they can be spaced too far apart to support the gutters’ weight. Sellers can pick up hangers for $10 or less and fasteners for about $1 each.

• Plug leaks: Sealing leaky gutter joints requires only caulking with a $5 tube of gutter sealant.

Keep Tennessee In Your Prayers!