How not to flip out when flipping a house

Home inspection red flags

_Jon Coile, chairman of Rockville-based multiple-listing service MRIS, writes an occasional column on the Washington-area housing market._    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Home inspections are helpful for home buyers who hope their dream home has no major flaws. A house is like a car: It needs ongoing maintenance, and some parts have a limited life span. Inspectors often point out minor issues you should be aware of, but buyers and inspectors should especially look out for red-flag problems. Below are a few things to look for to help you decide if you’ve found your dream home: **• Plumbing:** Because plumbing is installed within the walls of a house, faulty pipes can lead to larger issues such as flooding. Home buyers should especially look out for polybutylene pipes, which are no longer installed in homes because they leak and cause property damage.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico If the inspector finds polybutylene pipes, pay attention to the advice and plan on replacing them as soon as possible. **• Home flipping:** If the home you’re considering was recently flipped, make sure corners weren’t cut. Seller disclosure laws are not an absolute protection against this, because in certain states sellers can fill out a disclaimer form instead of a disclosure.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Although sellers can’t legally hide known defects, a home inspection may uncover issues not in the seller’s paperwork and even problems the sellers may not know exist. **• Electrical systems:** Pay attention to the inspector on electrical issues — except for one, reverse polarity. Reverse polarity is a common issue, but is simple and inexpensive to fix.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Modern two-prong electrical plugs have one prong that is larger than the other so that it receives positive electricity from one side and negative electricity on the other. In reverse polarity, the home inspector may find that some of the outlets have wires swapped. After you move in, if you have an electrician replace a chandelier or install a ceiling fan, ask them take care of the outlets then. **• Window condition:** Windows should keep dampness out, help keep heat and air conditioning in, and their condition can have a significant impact on utility costs.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Foggy windows can be a sign their seal has broken and that they’re not functioning properly. In some cases, this is easy to repair. In others, you may need to replace windows or sliding doors. **• Big-ticket items:** The biggest red flag is reserved for big-ticket items. If the HVAC system is 20 years old, it’s beyond its useful life and will need replacement soon. If the roof is so old that the shingles are curling, you’re getting close to replacement. And if there is mold growing in the house, you will need to address that for the occupants’ health.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico If the home inspector finds red flags, your real estate agent can help renegotiate to find a solution. Some sellers want to repair the issues, but smart buyers ask for money from the seller to take care of the repairs themselves. Most of the time, these issues can be fixed, so don’t overreact.

How to avoid pitfalls when buying a flipped home

Flipped homes — properties purchased by investors that are renovated and sold for profit — are one of the most popular types of sales in the Washington area, especially for townhouses and single-family residences. In 2016, there were about 4,500 flipped houses sold in the District. The supply of single-family residences, including rowhouses and detached dwellings, grows very little compared to the condominium market because of a lack of land available for constructing homes. Thus, flipped properties may be attractive to some buyers seeking a like-new home. But although newly constructed homes in the District are under a two-year warranty after the first unit in the project is sold, flipped properties do not have the same protection. Here are tips to help you avoid some of the pitfalls often associated with buying a flipped home:  Most of the rowhouses in the District are about 100 years old in most places (if not older). With most flipped properties, the chain of title of the home likely extends through many owners. Using the District’s Office and Tax Revenue real property tax database along with the multiple-listing service, a prospective owner can learn many details regarding the history of a property. This can tell you many things, such as how long the flipper has spent working on the property.   Because of the historically high rates of returns on flipped properties in the District, there has been an influx of developers throughout the city. However, some developers may have more experience than others in flipping properties. Part-time developers may flip one to two properties a year, while full-time developers may develop more each year. Regardless, purchasers should ask for a history of properties the developer has completed. These examples will also show a buyer how long a flipper’s properties remain on market, on average what they sell for, as well as other considerations for a potential offer. Moreover, high-quality builders are often more forthcoming with information regarding their renovation. From the types of materials used to a development timeline, the more information a purchaser can obtain, the better. This information can then be analyzed for quality and durability. While the finished product may appear polished, high-quality materials will be needed to stand the test of time. Purchasers may also want to consider contacting the architect and head general contractor for a project before deciding on making an offer.  A properly done flip will include a quality aesthetic that extends beyond the walls. However, most purchasers can get a good idea of the quality of a flipped project just by looking around. For example, does the craftsmanship of simple projects such as caulking and mortaring look uniform? Do the appliances work properly? Does the home appear to be uniformly completed instead of just a few spaces? One contingency purchasers should not neglect if uncomfortable with these questions would be a home inspection. While a home inspector won’t be able to look beyond the walls in most cases, the inspector can test the safety of the home and look at the major elements of a home: electrical, plumbing, structure and functionality of major components. For buyers interested in a flip but in competitive situations, this inspection can occur prior to submitting an offer, thus waiving their right to inspect as a contingency of their contract.  Most of the real work done in improving a property may be behind the walls. While a home inspector can check the safety and code of an electrical panel, much of the electrical and plumbing work will not be noticeable in a home inspection. In this case, potential buyers should obtain as much information about the contractor, subcontractors and architects of work done beyond the walls of the home.  For the most part, obtaining a loan on a flipped property is straightforward. However, obtaining a loan will be subject to an appraisal, and purchasers should note that flipped homes may be priced on the high end of their desired market. In this case, low appraisals are certainly a possibility. Specific to Federal Housing Administration buyers, purchasers may not enter a contract until the investor has owned the property for at least 90 days. This may avoid quick flip jobs but does make FHA buyers slightly less competitive if the owner has flipped a property quickly. Moreover, properties owned for less than 180 days to be financed with an FHA loan may be subject to other considerations such as a second appraisal.  At the end of the day, expect the unexpected. Many home buyers decide to negotiate a home warranty as a part of their contract or choose to purchase one on their own. These warranties are offered in tiered pricing, covering different elements of the home at different price points. Additionally, buyers should also make sure to keep records of the manufacturer’s warranty on major appliances in the kitchen, HVAC and any warranties that may come with a new roof.

How to cool your house like a wonk

All of which is great advice, if you've got 30 years to wait for a tree to grow or if you've got a few grand to drop on a contractor. But it's not particularly useful if it's 95 out and you need to cool off, like now.  Note that you don't have to be an anti-AC fundamentalist to make use of these — use them to supplement your air conditioning and you'll probably shave a few bucks off your summer electric bills.  During the daytime when it's getting hot out, shut your doors, shut your windows and draw your curtains or blinds as tight as can be. Your home has probably cooled off overnight, which means that soon the air outside is going to be hotter than the air inside. You want that air to stay out for as long as possible. Don't let it in.    And it works best if you keep that outside air outside.  As soon as it feels cooler outside than it does inside, fling those windows wide open. This will start to flush out all the hot air that's built up within your house during the day, replacing it with the cooler outside air.   Depending on how the wind is blowing, you're likely to find that breezes tend to blow air in more on some sides of your house than others. Experiment! Open some windows, close others, see what produces the best air flow. You may find that having a smaller window opening where the air blows in, and a larger one where it blows out, produces the optimal breeze.    If you're taking a shower, be sure to use your bathroom fan to blow that hot, humid air out of the house. Ditto if you're cooking on the stove and have an exhaust fan that vents outside. All other things considered, it doesn't really matter much whether you're blowing the hot air out or the cool air in. The important thing is to blow.     A fair amount of interior heat can be generated by things like light bulbs (especially incandescent and halogen bulbs) and some appliances. Put your hand near any light bulbs, electronics or appliances. Does the air feel warm around it? Can you do without it for now? If so, switch it off or unplug it. Same thing with computers: If you're watching Netflix on a laptop on your lap, you're probably giving yourself a double-dose of heat. The laptop is physically warming your legs, plus if the fan's going, it's blowing that hot air out into the room. Put the computer to sleep if you're not using it.    No ceiling fan? No problem: Get a table or box fan and point it right at yourself when you're sleeping, which should provide close to the same effect.   Got any cheap and easy cooling tips that I missed? Drop 'em in the comments.

How to cool your house like a wonk

Flipper has second thoughts selling home to the county instead of on the open market

I sold a house to Arlington County. It was neither lucrative nor convenient. It was my first deal involving a government agency, and it was quite educational. Several years ago, I bought a little run-down Craftsman-style house in North Arlington. The house was not salvageable. The foundation was completely compromised, and the house had developed a significant lean. The only option was to tear it down and build new. I planned to build a 2,500-square-foot house with a full basement. The process for building a new house in Arlington County is quite challenging, and it took more than a year to get approved building permits. Just before we started building the house, a representative from the county called my office and asked if I’d be interested in selling the lot to Arlington County. I said I would, but then I didn’t hear from the county again for months.  When my house was nearly complete, the county called me again and expressed interest in buying.  This time they were a little more serious. There seemed to be many advantages to selling to the county. I would not have to market the house nor pay real estate commissions. The county would buy the house as soon as it was completed, so I hoped it would reduce my holding time and associated costs. I was thinking that I could probably get around $1 million or a little more for the house on the open market. Similar homes were selling between $1.1 million and $1.2 million but my house was close to Route 29 and across the street from commercial properties so I knew there would be some discount. The county wanted to pay me $950,000 for the house. That wasn’t too bad considering I would have a strong ready buyer and a quick sale. There were drawbacks, however, and they became apparent very early on but I had no idea how arduous the process would become. The first problem was the contract itself. The county sent me its contract which was essentially an irrevocable offer to sell my property. I went back and forth with the county lawyer about the terms, but they said they could not change many of the most onerous provisions. I had to sign the contract first, and once I did there was no pulling out. The contract then had to be reviewed and approved by the county board which would take several weeks. At the time I was still about a month away from completion, so the timing seemed to work out.  I held my nose, signed the offer and sent it on to the county. In about mid-December, the county board approved the contract, and we had a deal. There were several seemingly standard provisions in the contract. The county required that I get an occupancy certificate before closing, and it wanted the right to hire an independent home inspector to look over the property. I didn’t have any problem with either of those matters, although I was a little worried about the buyer essentially being the approving authority for one of the contingencies in the purchase contract. My biggest fear was getting held up and delayed on the project. In this case, the buyer was also the approving authority for the occupancy certificate. The county could essentially hold me up indefinitely by delaying the award of the occupancy certificate. Poor weather and busy contractors further delayed the project, but by January we had the final building inspection on the property and it passed all the structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing criteria. Then the county brought in its home inspector. The inspector found a number of items that he wanted repaired. I agreed to have those items fixed. I didn’t argue anything even though some items were more taste than code or good building practices. I was trying to be nice, as is my normal tactic, but unfortunately being nice with the county didn’t seem to be the best strategy. As an example, the home inspector wanted me to move the outlet for the sump pump. I didn’t like the location of the sump pump; admittedly, it was a design flaw. The contractor placed it without my approval, and by the time I noticed it was too late to move without very significant effort and delay. So I went ahead and had the contractor change the outlet as requested. Mind you, the county building inspector had already approved the outlet. After the contractor had fixed all of the items on the home inspector’s list, the county sent an inspector from its staff to check the list to make sure they were complete. This inspector found a big list of additional items. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was that this inspector was not a residential inspector.  He was a commercial inspector and he was not sure about several of his own findings because of the difference between residential and commercial building code. One of the items was the sump pump outlet. He didn’t like the change that the third-party home inspector recommended, so my contractor changed the outlet again. We changed that outlet a total of three times. Still, I figured it would just be faster to make the changes than fight the battle. The problem I was facing with the latest inspection list was I didn’t know what to fix or how they wanted it done or even if they wanted it done. I reached out to all of the eight or so people involved at the county and asked them for clarification on these recommended changes. I can’t make the repairs, I told them, without knowing for sure if you want them made and how you want them done. It took them six weeks to get me a final, agreed-upon list of repair items. At that point, I was done being nice, and I told them that if the item was not a code issue or it was not on the original home inspection then I was not making the changes. I even reached out to my lawyer to see if I could cancel the contract. I felt that the county had delayed my project for at least two months longer than necessary, totally wiping out my main reason for selling to them. The market was hot by then, and I felt I easily could have sold the house for a $100,000 more than the current contract price. My lawyer said it was a long shot. The contract was strongly in favor of the buyer. At that point, I was fed up. I dared the county to cancel the contract, and I gave it a deadline to close. That’s when things finally started moving. We finally closed the deal in May. The county also bought the two properties to the south of my house. It bought the house next door for $800,000 as is — no home inspections, no repairs. That house had a lot that was half the size of mine, and it was only worth about $550,000 at best. That lady did it right. She held out until the other two properties were under contract and then played her strong hand, never being nice. The county will tear that home down. The land value for that property is only about $450,000, so she got a home-run deal.  The county plans to use my new house as a temporary fire station. It will be used to house the firefighters. They will build a temporary structure on the two neighboring lots to shelter the firetrucks. Then they’ll tear down the current fire station along Route 29 and build the new facility. They didn’t say for sure what will happen to my house once the new fire station is up and ready. They might just tear it down. I can’t put all of the blame on the county. The contractor definitely dropped the ball and got sloppy on a few things, and I was frankly a little embarrassed by a couple of the items that the inspector found. The plumber, who had done a good job for me on several past projects, really did some sloppy work on this one, and the county was right to call him on it. Working with a bureaucracy is never an easy process especially when you have a lot of people involved in the deal who really have nothing at stake. My tendency is to try to be productive and amicable, but this is one of the instances in which being a little coarse and stern would have been the more prudent approach. In the end, the project came out all right. I still made a profit, but I really could have learned from the example of the residents next door who got about a 45 percent premium on their home. I don’t need to make that much by any means, but the one-sided purchase agreement the county presented was a red flag that should have changed my approach. I never would have signed a contract like that with any other buyer. I should have walked away from the deal or at least demanded a higher price for the increased risk and loss of leverage. You learn something on every deal.

The four things you need to know to flip a home

You’ve been watching the flipping shows on TV, and you’re feeling the itch to try your hand.  Well, in a way, the shows are right.  Anyone can flip a home.  Anyone can do anything once they’re properly educated and experienced.  Home flipping is no different. Here are the four things you need to get started:  You need money.  But it doesn’t have to be your money.  What you really need is access to money.  There are millions of individuals and institutions out there looking to fund real estate deals.  More and more money is flooding the industry as home flipping once again gains favor. Here are a few sources:     Be reputable!  There are plenty of people cheating people out of their money.  If you want to do this more than once you need to take care of your investors and lenders.  I’ve only lost money on one deal. It was only a couple thousand dollars, but my investors and lenders were always paid in full.  If you’re Aunt Nelly, be very cautious. Always have more money than you’ll think you’ll need.  These projects can easily overrun schedules and budgets.  Make sure you have a cushion to cover debt service and structural surprises.  You don’t need to know everything about everything but as soon as you commit to a flip project you just made yourself the chief executive of your own business.  CEOs don’t need to know how to build a computer, but they have to know enough to sign off on the purchase of the company’s computers.  They need to know enough to be able to hire a good network administrator. You have to have a good, realistic and basic knowledge of your real estate market, construction practices and prices.  You can pretty much trust a good real estate agent to guide you through the administrative requirements of a purchase and sale, but you can’t fully trust them to tell you what a property will be worth after it’s fixed up. The real estate agent makes a commission only if you buy or sell a home.  So, you have to take their assessments with a certain grain of salt.  It’s tempting for a real estate agent to be optimistic with the numbers because they’re not on the hook for the property after you purchase the home. If you’re overly optimistic about the numbers before you buy, you’re going to take a financial beating on the home when it comes time to sell.  If you’re too conservative with the numbers, you’ll struggle to capture a deal because your offers will be too low, and you’ll waste a lot of time and money searching for properties. You have to have a basic knowledge of construction and design.  You need to know what sells in your market and how much it will cost to get that done in your home. On your first few deals you’re probably going to want to have a good contractor give you estimates before you make an offer.  The problem is: not all contractors are created equal.  Prices, quality and reliability vary wildly from contractor to contractor. Construction is something you’re going to probably have to learn on the job, but it’s one of the most critical components to any home flip. Don’t renovate homes to your taste.  Renovate to the market.  A good way to get a feel for your market is to visit large builders’ model homes.  Large subdivision developments typically hire designers to stage and paint their model homes, and they know what’s popular in your area.  One person cannot be an expert on every aspect of a real estate deal.  You’ll need to build a team of experts to call on when a question arises.  This list is not in order of importance:         You need to have the courage to finally pull the trigger on a deal.  Home flipping is not an exact science.  No one can tell you with absolute certainty what a home will sell for after a given amount of renovation or what that renovation will cost you.  Everything is an estimate. You never know if you’re missing a major flaw in the home that maybe the sellers know about but they’re not telling you.  People are always asking: Why are they selling the home for so cheap? I debate all the time with my team and other agents about home values. And the amount your home sells for sometimes just depends on who happens to be out shopping when your home is ready.  No one can tell you why exactly two very similar homes sell at a $50,000 price difference. Sometimes you can only hope yours sells at the top of that range when it hits the market.

Will any states flip between parties this year? At least two always do.

FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver made an interesting observation about the election on Friday.   2012 and 1888 were the two years with the fewest flips. In 1888, Grover Cleveland's narrow victory four years earlier became a narrow loss — but he was avenged four years later. The years with the most flips were 1932 — the election that brought Roosevelt into power — and 1968, when a weak Democratic candidate followed a weak Republican. Since 1860, the average number of states flipping has been 12.5. Since 1972, though, it's a bit lower, at 11.1. Which states flipped the most? Unsurprisingly, it's older states that are near the top of that list. Since 1856, New York has flipped between parties a remarkable 17 times — out of 39 opportunities. Excluding Alaska, which is still relatively new to this "United States" thing, the state that's flipped the least was Vermont, which was solidly Republican until it wasn't. On average, states have switched parties about nine times over their histories. The two states that flipped between 2008 and 2012 — North Carolina and Indiana — both flip between parties more than average. (North Carolina has done it 10 times; Indiana, 15.) The number of presidential elections we've had since 1860 (much less overall) is still small enough that it would hardly be surprising if this year broke with tradition. It would be surprising, though, if each and every state had the same view of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as it had of Mitt Romney and Barack Obama four years ago. There's an argument to be made that increased polarization may cement more states into place in the electoral firmament, and that we might see fewer flips in upcoming elections. But there's a better argument to be made that party flipping happens with some regularity because the population in 50 states changes and evolves. We can't guarantee that states will change how they vote this year relative to 2012. We can say, though, that some always have.

Flipping homes goes high-end

In the art of house-flipping, profit is key. And a successful flip in the District can garner a profit of more than $260,000, the highest in the nation, according to data released Thursday. That’s nearly five times the national average of about $55,000. The District also eclipses its neighbors in Maryland and Virginia, where investors average a profit of $75,000 and $9,600, respectively. The practice of buying cheap (often foreclosed) homes, fixing them up and selling them for a profit was wildly popular during the housing boom, and it continued after the bubble burst. But the housing market’s recovery is forcing flippers to change strategies and set their sights higher. Nationally, the share of homes being flipped that were sold for $750,000 or more has soared in the past year, even as the total number of homes being flipped has fallen 13 percent, according to a report by RealtyTrac, a real estate listing firm. In the third quarter, the number of homes flipped in the $1 million to $2 million price range rose 42 percent compared with a year ago. For homes priced between $2 million and $5 million, the increase was 350 percent for the same period. (RealtyTrac defines a property that is bought and sold within six months as a flip.) **** Rising home prices and fewer foreclosures have made flipping less profitable, said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. Investors are facing some of the same problems as regular home buyers: a shortage of homes for sale and competition from Wall Street investors who buy homes en masse to convert them into rental units. “The lower- to middle-range homes are preferable to flippers because they require less [renovation] work,” Blomquist said. “But there’s fewer of those properties available.” Rising mortgage rates have started to price some buyers out of the market and have made it more difficult for real estate investors to guarantee a quick sale — or a sizable profit. **** “Flippers are getting fewer offers, and they tie it to the interest rates,” Blomquist said. The30-year fixed rate reached 4.28 percent last week, according to mortgage financing company Freddie Mac. ****House-flipping remains particularly popular in Maryland, where there is still a large inventory of cheap foreclosed homes, Blomquist said. Flips rose 12 percent during the third quarter compared with a year ago. Maryland’s Baltimore-Towson region was among the top 10 most popular markets for investors, according to the report. Nearly 300 flipped homes were quickly bought and sold during the third quarter, an increase of 6 percent from a year ago. Investment activity rose 8 percent in the District during the same period, but it declined 3 percent in Virginia, according to the report. **** Virginia’s rapidly rising home prices make it attractive to flippers, but there aren’t enough homes for sale, Blomquist said. The District has fewer flips overall, but if an investor manages to acquire and renovate a property, there is no shortage of buyers, he said. “The market’s really dried up,” said Justin Pierce, a real estate investor based in the Washington area. (Pierce occasionally writes a column for The Washington Post.) “A lot of us have moved to the higher-end areas.” When it comes to high-end flips, activity is concentrated in a few corners of the country, the report said. **** California, for example, remains a hot market. More than 2,100 homes were flipped in the Los Angeles metro area during the third quarter, the most of any region in the country and up 11 percent compared with a year ago. New York’s northern New Jersey-Long Island metro area is also popular, with 2,075 homes flipped in the third quarter, an increase of 14 percent from last year. “If someone still wants to flip a property, [the higher end] is the only place they can find the opportunity,” **** said Rich Cosner, president of Prudential California Realty, a firm in Orange County. “There’s very few flipping opportunities for homes under $400,000 anymore.”

FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver made an interesting observation about the election on Friday.   2012 and 1888 were the two years with the fewest flips. In 1888, Grover Cleveland's narrow victory four years earlier became a narrow loss — but he was avenged four years later. The years with the most flips were 1932 — the election that brought Roosevelt into power — and 1968, when a weak Democratic candidate followed a weak Republican. Since 1860, the average number of states slipping has been 12.5. Since 1972, though, it's a bit lower, at 11.1. Which states flipped the most? Unsurprisingly, it's older states that are near the top of that list. Since 1856, New York has flipped between parties a remarkable 17 times — out of 39 opportunities. Excluding Alaska, which is still relatively new to this "United States" thing, the state that's flipped the least was Vermont, which was solidly Republican until it wasn't. On average, states have switched parties about nine times over their histories. The two states that flipped between 2008 and 2012 — North Carolina and Indiana — both flip between parties more than average. (North Carolina has done it 10 times; Indiana 15.) The number of presidential elections we've had since 1860 (much less overall) is still small enough that it would hardly be surprising if this year broke with tradition. It would be surprising, though, if each and every state had the same view of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as it had of Mitt Romney and Barack Obama four years ago. There's an argument to be made that increased polarization may cement more states into place in the electoral firmament, and that we might see fewer flips in upcoming elections. But there's a better argument to be made that party flipping happens with some regularity because the population in 50 states changes and evolves. We can't guarantee that states will change how they vote this year relative to 2012. We can say, though, that some always have.

FHA intends to reactivate a rule protecting buyers and insurers from abuses by flippers

Can you still do a short-term house flip using federally insured, low-down-payment mortgage money? That’s an important question for buyers, sellers, investors and realty agents who have taken part in a nationwide wave of renovations and quick resales using Federal Housing Administration-backed loans during the past four years. The answer is yes: You can still flip and finance short term. But get your rehabs done soon. The federal agency whose policy change in 2010 made tens of thousands of quick flips possible — and helped large numbers of first-time and minority buyers with moderate incomes acquire a home — is about to shut the program down, officials at FHA confirmed to me last week. In an effort to stimulate repairs and sales in neighborhoods hard hit by the mortgage crisis and recession, the agency waived its standard prohibition against financing short-term house flips. Before the policy change, if you were an investor or property rehab specialist, you had to own a house for at least 90 days before reselling — flipping — it to a new buyer at a higher price using FHA financing. Under the waiver of the rule, you could buy a house, fix it up and resell it as quickly as possible to a purchaser using an FHA mortgage — provided you followed guidelines designed to protect consumers from being ripped off with hyperinflated prices and shoddy construction. Since then, according to FHA estimates, approximately 102,000 homes have been renovated and resold using the waiver. The reason for the upcoming termination: The program has done its job, stimulated billions of dollars’ worth of investments, stabilized prices and provided homes for families who were often newcomers to ownership. However, even though the waiver program has functioned well, officials say, inherent dangers exist when there are no minimum ownership periods for flippers. In the 1990s, FHA witnessed this firsthand when teams of con artists began buying run-down houses, slapping a little paint on the exterior and reselling them within days — using fraudulent appraisals — for hyperinflated prices and profits. Their buyers, who obtained FHA-backed mortgages, often couldn’t afford the payments and defaulted. Sometimes the buyers were themselves part of the con and never made any payments on their loans — leaving FHA, a government-owned insurer, with steep losses. Because of such abuses, officials say, it’s time to revert to the more restrictive anti-quick-flip rules that prevailed before the waiver: The 90-day standard will come back into effect after Dec. 31. But not everybody thinks that’s a great idea. Clem Ziroli Jr., president of First Mortgage, an FHA lender in Ontario, Calif., says reversion to the 90-day rule will hurt moderate-income buyers who found the program helpful in opening the door to homeownership. “The sad part,” Ziroli said in an e-mail, “is the majority of these properties were improved and [located] in underserved areas. Having a rehabilitated house available to these borrowers” helped them acquire houses that had been in poor physical shape but now were repaired, inspected and safe to occupy. Paul Skeens, president of Colonial Mortgage Group in Waldorf, Md., and an active rehab investor in the suburbs outside Washington, said the policy change will cost him money and inevitably raise the prices of the homes he sells after completing repairs and improvements. Efficient renovators, Skeens told me in an interview, can substantially improve a house within 45 days, at which point the property is ready to list and resell. By extending the mandatory ownership period to 90 days, FHA will increase Skeens’s holding costs — financing expenses, taxes, maintenance and utilities — all of which will need to be added onto the price to a new buyer. Paul Wylie, a member of an investor group in the Los Angeles area, says he sees “more harm than good by not extending the waiver. There are protections built into the program that have served [FHA] well,” he said in an e-mail. If the government reimposes the 90-day requirement, “it will harm those [buyers] that FHA intends to help” with its 3.5 percent minimum down payment loans. “Investors will adapt and sell to non-FHA-financed buyers. Entry-level consumers will be harmed unnecessarily.” Bottom line: Whether fix-up investors like it or not, FHA seems dead set on reverting to its pre-bust flipping restrictions. Financing will still be available, but selling prices of the end product — rehabbed houses for moderate-income buyers — are almost certain to be higher.

Tips for selling a home in the slow summer months

●Keep the air-conditioning running to ensure that the house is cooler than normal, especially on the upper floors, which tend to be warmer. ●With kids out of school, keeping the home clean becomes more of a challenge. Try to send the children to camp or to stay with grandparents during the first few weeks of a summer listing. ●Prevent the accumulation of odors inside the house, which can be pronounced in the summer. Eliminate pet odors and keep the garbage outdoors. ●Keep drapes open (or even remove them) to let in as much natural light as possible, and keep windows clean. ●Pack away winter clothing to make more room in your closets. ●Have fresh fruit and chilled water or lemonade on hand for prospective buyers. ●Keep the lawn manicured and plant colorful flowers to enhance curb appeal. ●Stage the outside of the home to simulate preparations for an outdoor gathering. ●Enhance the atmosphere of a back yard or a terrace with a trickling fountain. **— Michele Lerner  **

Hints From Heloise: Knowing how to shut it down

Dear Heloise: In the past year, I have REMODELED my kitchen and both bathrooms. My house is about 40 years old. Much to my surprise, all the hot- and cold-water shut-off valves, including both toilets, were so tight that I had to use channel locks to break them loose in order to shut them off. I suggest that once a year you go around and make sure these valves are loose and can be shut off by hand in case of a broken line or overflowing toilet. It also would be wise to make sure everyone in the household knows where the main water shut-off valve into the house is located to avoid major damage in the event of a broken pipe in the wall or ceiling. -- Robert L., via e-mail How right you are! If you are a homeowner or renter, you should know some of the basics of home maintenance. Many of the simple things that we don’t pay attention to can cause a BIG, expensive problem down the road. Thanks for the good hint! -- Heloise PET PAL Dear Readers: Beverly Allison of Canyon Lake, Tex., sent a picture of her black-and-white cat, Whiskers, staring at raccoons through her sliding glass door. Beverly says that because they live in the country, Whiskers gets to see many animals on the back deck, like raccoons, skunks, birds, squirrels, even a fox. To see Whiskers’ picture, go to my Web site, www.Heloise.com, and click on “Pets.” -- Heloise SPOTLESS SHOWER CURTAIN Dear Heloise: How do I get mildew spots off a shower curtain? I don’t want to throw it away. -- A Reader, via e-mail There is a really simple way to try to clean those spots off your shower curtain: wash it! Put the shower curtain and a couple of soiled towels (for scrubbing action) in your washing machine. Use the highest warm-water level possible, your normal detergent and 1 / 2 cup of baking soda. Add a cup of vinegar during the first rinse cycle. Do not put the shower curtain in the dryer. Take it out and hang to dry. Vinegar is a great product to have around the house at all times. It can be used for so many things. Want to know what else I use it for? Order my pamphlet Heloise’s Fantabulous Vinegar Hints and More! To order, send $5 and a long, self-addressed, stamped (70 cents) envelope to: Heloise/Vinegar, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. Have plastic upholstery to clean? Wipe down with a 50/50 vinegar-and-water solution to clean. -- Heloise BIRD BE GONE Dear Heloise: A few weeks ago, a female cardinal began pecking at her reflection on our kitchen window. This would go on for hours every day, and for many days. After several attempts to run her off, we cut some strips of shiny Christmas paper and taped one end of each strip to the window. The wind would blow and keep them flapping. The flapping strips of paper scared off the female cardinal, and now we have peace and quiet. -- K.M., via e-mail Heloise’s column appears six days a week at www.washingtonpost.com/advice. Send a hint to  Heloise , P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

Why you should always inspect a home before closing

Sellers should leave a house in very clean, if not pristine, condition for their buyers. And there are plenty of good reasons for that, but mostly you want the buyer to love living in your house and having a good first impression is important. Your experience is a good reason that every home buyer must inspect a home right before they close on the purchase. Sam usually tells his purchasers that they need to stop by the home right before settlement to see if the “home is still standing.” While the point he makes sounds extreme, houses have been known to burn down and literally blow up in the day or so before closing. If you’re making the single biggest purchase of your life (which is what a house usually is), you need to know exactly what you’re getting before the money leaves your hands. Real estate contracts will usually contain a reference to personal property and fixtures that are at the property, including the items checked in the contract. If an item is checked but didn’t exist, it’s unlikely that you’d have a claim for a water softener that never existed. A bigger issue would be if the water softener was there when you signed the contract but was taken by the seller before closing. In the case of a water softener that was removed, you’d have a good claim against the seller. The bigger issue for us is your lack of preparation when it came to buying the home. We know that in some parts of the country buyers don’t use real estate attorneys to represent them. Fair enough; but in those instances, buyers must take it upon themselves to become educated and know what to ask, what to expect and what to do. You should have asked to see the home before you closed on it. This process is called a final walk-through, and it happens in almost every home purchase. During the final walk-through, you should have made sure the home was free of the seller’s personal belongings and that the home was clean as required under the contract. You should have made sure that the seller removed the clothes dryer and didn’t leave you holding the bag having to disconnect it and pay for its removal. You should have made sure that the seller was prepared to deliver the home in the manner required under the contract before you agreed to give the seller the money for the purchase price. That’s your moment of leverage. Had you taken the steps that Ilyce has written about in her books for buyers and what Sam tells his purchasers, you wouldn’t be in the situation you are in now. Overall, we think you’re pretty lucky. The seller could have just left the mess and never come back. At least this seller came back to take her stuff and clean out the refrigerator. While she dumped the trash in your garbage cans, at least she did the cleaning. You might get lucky and ask her to have someone remove the dryer and she’ll do that at her expense. We wouldn’t waste time trying to get a water softener that didn’t exist and instead focus on making sure the seller’s belongings are out of the house. One more thought: It’s possible that things weren’t going well for this seller. It’s possible she’s getting a divorce, or has a partner who really didn’t want to leave, or had a number of other reasons she couldn’t get the house cleaned before the sale. If that’s the case, then it explains why the house didn’t get cleaned out before the closing; though it doesn’t really excuse it. As for your original questions of how clean should a seller leave a home when selling? Our answer is: “Very.” Cleaning out your stuff ahead of time makes it a better home-buying/home selling experience for everyone.

Hints From Heloise: Home in the range

_**Dear Heloise:** If you have a GPS, or a phone with GPS, don’t store your home address in it. If it’s stolen while you are away from home, the thief can follow the navigation directions straight to your house, knowing that you are not there. _ _My “home” address is a fire station around the block. Or it could be a police or sheriff station nearby, or any other public location you choose. This way, your “home” button will guide you back to your neighborhood, but not help the crooks find your home._ **Shelly P. in Florida** _**Dear Heloise:** I saw your excellent list of when to use antibacterial wipes in a recent column. Here are a few more to consider when traveling: The arms, tray table and back of the seat in front of you on an airplane. _ _You also can use them on the steering wheel and other surfaces in rental cars. Once in your hotel, they can be used to wipe down the remote, phones, bathroom fixtures, doorknobs, etc. I enjoy your column._ **Debora B., via email** **Debora B.:** This is a great hint for those who do a lot of traveling and “living” away from home at times. Better to be safe than sorry. **Dear Readers:** Here’s what readers wrote about grass clippings: Judy L., who is a master gardener, said: “Grass clippings should be left on the lawn, as should leaves that have been mulched with the mower. They are an excellent soil amendment, and put nutrients back into the soil for a healthier lawn.” Cindy D., via email, said, “Excess grass clippings left on the roadways wash into area ponds, which adds nitrogen to the water, promoting the growth of algae.” And finally, on a more personal note, Susan K. in Chatham, Ill., wrote, “I have a friend who rides a motorcycle, and he recently stated that clippings can pose dangerous problems for riders by causing the street surface to become slick, especially if they are wet.” So the best bet is to keep your clippings to yourself! _**Dear Heloise:** To change up my patio chairs, I use cheap, fun beach/bath towels. I fold over the four edges of the towel about three inches and sew the edges. I hook the corners around the top and bottom of the chairs, then tuck any extra material between the cushion. _ _I can throw them in the wash so guests are always sitting on clean cushions and also change the look so that my set always looks new._ **Susan S., Irvine, Calif.** **Dear Readers:** Here’s a quick and easy way to clean your nail files: Simply get a piece of transparent tape and place it on top of and underneath the file. Press the tape firmly against the file, then pull it off. This action will pull off any particles on the file. Heloise’s column appears six days a week at washingtonpost.com/advice. Send a hint to  Heloise , P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, or email it to Heloise@Heloise.com. 2016, King Features Syndicate

September’s to-do list

With summer vacations over and cold weather still a way out, September is a great month to invest a burst of energy in home-repair projects. Don’t wait until you need to turn up the heat to schedule annual maintenance chores. The good pros will all be too busy then. So if you have an oil or gas furnace, now’s the time to arrange for the annual tune-up. If you burn wood, schedule a chimney cleaning. If you have electric baseboard or wall heaters, vacuum out any lint and wipe down the grills. It’s not too early to think about fall leaves, either. If you use a leaf blower, change the fuel and make sure it starts. If it needs a tune-up, you’ll get faster attention now than you would later. Also, if you’re not comfortable working on a ladder, line up a gutter-cleaner now, but hold off on getting the service until the leaves have fallen. You probably won’t notice a drafty door until the weather becomes cold. But if you wait until then to replace mangled weatherstripping, your fingers are likely to become numb before you finish the job. Take advantage of a pleasant September day and do the job now. Felt or foam weatherstripping is inexpensive and easy to apply, but it doesn’t last long. So you’re probably better off going with vinyl, silicone or metal. The U.S. Energy Department’s Web site (www.energysavers.gov) has a chart that compares the various options. With its mild temperatures and moderate humidity, September is a great month to paint, indoors or out. But unless you want to change the color or the old paint is in really bad shape, consider just touching up the existing paint. It’s faster, easier and cheaper. Paint manufacturer Sherwin-Williams (www.sherwin-williams.com) offers some clever advice about the tricky part: getting the new paint to blend in with the old. It turns out that the final color of the patch is affected by the amount of moisture in the touch-up layer that wicks into the background paint. So, to compensate, the company recommends diluting the touch-up paint by 5 to 10 percent with water for latex paint or with mineral spirits for oil-based paint. Also, particularly on exterior paint, the sun might have bleached the original layer enough so the leftover paint you saved for touch-ups no longer matches. You might be able to blend in the new paint by feathering out the edges, beginning at the center of each repainted area and going out. Test an area and evaluate it the next day, after the paint is thoroughly dry. If the patch is too noticeable, buy new touch-up paint that matches the bleached color. Are you drawn to the idea of repairing and repurposing materials for home- improvement projects, but not sure where to start? Or perhaps you’ve tried to shop at a salvaged materials store but have had a hard time finding what you need amid aisles filled with cast-off sinks, old chairs, stacks of flooring and the like. Community Forklift (www.communityforklift.com), the Washington area’s largest thrift store for home improvement supplies, is planning a Pirate Party Sept. 28 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with games designed to reveal the hidden treasures in the store, at 4671 Tanglewood Dr. in Edmonston. There will also be free workshops on topics such as how to remove paint and rust from wood and metal, how to use chalk paint on vintage furniture, and how to repurpose antiques. Wannabe-pirate kids can play games and learn to make eye patches, spyglasses and hats. As kids head back to school and new high school graduates head off to college, consider expanding your mind as well — while improving the look of your home. If you’re stumped for ideas about how to pull the room together, consider taking an interior design class to get you thinking in fresh ways. “In My Home,” a seven-session course offered by Corcoran College of Art and Design (ce.corcoran.edu) is designed for homeowners focused on their own homes. Classes are in Georgetown on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. beginning Sept. 22 and on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. starting Sept. 18. Fees total $500. Or, for a quicker introduction, consider the interior decorating seminar 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at the McLean Community Center (www.mcleancenter.org). The fee is $75, or $65 for residents. There are plenty of reasons not to spend every September weekend working on the house. One of them is the Capital Home Show (www.capitalhomeshow.com) at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, running Sept. 20-22. For a $10 ticket—or $7 if you buy it online — you’ll get remodeling tips and a chance to have your silver, glass, jewelry or other vintage items appraised by Todd Peenstra, president of Peenstra Antiques Appraisals. Another option, with free admission, is the Suburban Maryland Fall Home, Hot Tub & Landscape Show (www.acshomeshow.com) on Saturday and Sunday at Discovery Sports Center at Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds. If your house dreams have less to do with redoing the kitchen or adding a hot tub and more about designing your own little (really little) house, consider enrolling in the Tiny House Design Workshop (www.open   sourcetinyhouse.com) on Sept. 14 and 15 at a church in the District’s Mount Vernon Square neighborhood. For $350 (or $500 for two people), you’ll learn how to design and build your own petite cabin and will get a tour of models at Boneyard Studios, a tiny-house community in Washington. **** **Have a problem in your home?** Send questions to  localliving@washpost.com . Put “How To” in the subject line, tell us where you live and try to include a photo.

Is your vacant home languishing on the market? Why staging might spark a sale.

Most real estate agents will tell you it’s harder to sell a vacant home than one that’s furnished, even if the furnishings are a bit dated. There are several reasons for this. First, it’s hard for buyers to visualize empty space. When you have a couch, two chairs, a table and several houseplants in a living room, for example, buyers can mentally swap out their own furniture for yours and have a sense of size, space and what the room will comfortably hold. They can sit down on your coach and envision themselves sitting on their own couch, enjoying a calm Sunday morning. But in an empty house, buyers wander around trying to assess just how big the space is. Even if you give buyers an architectural plan or floor plan, it’s still hard for them to visualize just how much of their possessions will fit. Next, when a house is vacant, buyers naturally assume that the sellers have moved on with their lives. They’re clearly no longer living in the property, so the assumption is that the house is slowly (or even quickly) falling into disrepair with no one there to make sure mechanical systems are working and the property is being maintained correctly. Vacant homes send the message that the seller is willing to deal on price and terms, and if you get an offer, it may reflect a price that is below what the property would fetch if it had been furnished. This brings us to staging. When sellers have moved out of the property, they will often hire a professional home stager to make the home look like someone is living there, even if you’re not. They might use your furniture or they might rent some very modern-looking furnishings to give the home a different look and feel. Their suggestions may include everything from repainting your walls to changing out doorknobs, fixtures and fans. How much of their advice you take is up to you (and your budget), but it will give you the freedom to move without worrying about selling a vacant property. Now, if your home has furniture that is so dated or period-specific that few buyers would like today, your furnishings could detract from a sale. In that case, staging the home would be better; and if you refuse to stage the home, having an empty home may be better than having the home with the furnishings that are currently there. A good real estate broker can give you advice as to whether your furniture is suited for the home. We recently came across a home that is quite beautiful, but the furnishings in the home make that home feel like you’re in a museum from the 1700s. Every picture focused on the furniture and its look and feel from 300 years ago. The sellers reduced the price of the home by 15 percent and wondered why buyers weren’t interested. We think this particular home would have been more salable if it had been vacant, given the decor. But it could have generated a lot more interest had it been better staged and photographed.

Hints from Heloise: ‘Open,’ says the thief!

Dear Heloise: Our house was broken into while we were away because I left my GARAGE-DOOR OPENER in the car parked in our driveway. The intruders entered the house because we commonly leave the door between the house and the garage unlocked. Boy, we learned our lesson! We now do not leave garage-door openers in either car, and we keep that garage door locked. Please warn your readers so this does not happen to them! -- Taylor R. in Oklahoma How awful and scary! Most people do leave the opener in the auto and generally don’t have a problem. Remember to lock the vehicle doors, since a lot of cars have the “opener” built in. It’s probably well worth the peace of mind to lock the entry door from the garage. -- Heloise WATER STORAGE Dear Heloise: In a previous column, you mentioned that water should be stored away from sun or heat sources in a cool, dry place in proper food-grade water containers. You also stated not to store water in the garage, which is where I store my emergency water. Why did you say to avoid the garage and storing near gasoline and other chemicals? Is there a concern that the fumes would contaminate the water? -- Ann W. in California Yes, there is, and you figured it out! If the PLASTIC containers are kept near gas and other chemicals, the chemicals may leach into the water, causing contamination, not to mention funny-tasting water, which means don’t drink it! A dark closet in the house where the temperature is constant is the right spot! -- Heloise OH DEER Dear Heloise: We have deer completely wiping out our container plants. We tried fencing, sprays, human hair, you name it -- they just kept feeding on my plants. I came across the Halloween ornaments we store: some “talking” skulls, witches on motion sensors and hanging ghosts that wiggle and cry out. They scared the deer and are a lot cheaper than the ones sold especially for deer problems. You can score low prices after the holiday, then put them aside until the following season. -- Chuck S. in Ohio MESSAGE HINTS Dear Readers: Heloise Hints for when leaving a voice message: * Talk loudly and slowly, especially if you talk fast! * Repeat both your name and phone number (unless they know). * If leaving an e-mail address, spell it out. * Please, please don’t leave very personal information! * Try to keep it short and to the point. -- Heloise SET A TIMER Dear Heloise: When I am doing laundry, I am in my sewing room, and I forget to check it. So, I set a timer to remind me to check on the dryer. -- Linda D., Vandalia, Ohio Heloise’s column appears six days a week at www.washingtonpost.com/advice. Send a hint to  Heloise , P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

October to-do list

Daylight saving time is still in effect this month, so you have enough light to get you through an outdoor chore or two after work. If the weather’s bad, there are also good things to do indoors. After all, as the shorter days remind us, we’ll all be spending a lot more time there soon. You don’t need to change the light bulb to brighten up a dim room. You can coax out significantly more light simply by taking down ceiling fixtures and cleaning them. First wipe away any cobwebs (they show up best if the bulb is on), then cut power to the light at the circuit box. Don’t rely on a wall switch, because ceiling fixtures sometimes have a hot wire. Remove the fixture’s cover, taking care to put any knobs, chains or other removable parts in a safe place. Dust off dead insects and other debris from the cover and the bulb, then wash the cover in warm, soapy water. Rinse, dry and reinstall. Switch the power back on at the circuit box. With nightfall coming earlier each day, this is a good time to assess whether the outdoor lighting at your house is what it should be. This doesn’t mean adding spotlights, which can actually make things in shadows even harder to see. Instead, focus on illuminating areas where someone might trip. Choose fixtures that shield the bulb and aim the light low, at your feet. Low-voltage lights are safe and effective. Solar lights are a breeze to install because they need no wiring. But though they are good for marking out a path, they often don’t put out enough light to help people see uneven surfaces. Before you buy, check with your local government about any rules governing outdoor lighting. In Fairfax County, for example, most outdoor home lighting is no problem, but if you have a light pole taller than seven feet, special rules prevail. If you get squeamish at the thought of taking down ceiling lights or installing path lights, this month is a good time to demystify home wiring. Home Depot stores are offering a free workshop on “Electrical Updates” on Oct. 19 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Sign up at workshops.homedepot.com/workshops/   home. If you want something more in-depth, consider taking “Electrical Wiring for the Homeowner” through the adult education program at Arlington Public Schools. The three-week course begins Oct. 21 and will be offered Monday and Wednesday from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Fees total $199 for Arlington residents and $225 for non-residents; people 62 or older get a discount. Register at www.apsva.us/   adulted. You’re probably done mowing the lawn for the season, unless you use your mower to chop tree leaves. But even those eventually stop falling. When the mower’s last outing is ending, run the motor until the gas runs out. Why? Gasoline these days often contains ethanol, which pulls moisture from the air. If you leave gas in the tank for an extended time, that moisture can cause metal to corrode, and the ethanol and water can settle to the bottom of the tank over time, causing engine problems and damage. Clean the mower before you put it away, and if you cover it, use cloth; plastic can trap moisture. Just in time for Halloween, spiders make their webs unusually noticeable this month. Neither webs nor the spiders themselves damage a house, but torn webs clogged with insect parts do look unkempt. So a little tidying up might be in order. Indoors, whisk away webs with a brush attachment on a vacuum wand. Outdoors, pin an electrostatic-charged dust cloth around a broom. Warehouse stores sell these cloths by the bundle in the auto-care section. You can wash and reuse them numerous times. Except for black widow spiders, which live mostly in secluded spaces outdoors, most of the spiders in the Washington area aren’t particularly dangerous. Most spider bites here probably come from yellow house spiders, which cause lesions that can take two weeks to heal. These spiders move into houses in early fall. To keep them out of your house, the best strategy is to plug gaps with caulk or weatherstripping and clear an 18-inch-wide band free of plants and debris around your house. All those Halloween decorations featuring brooms are a good reminder to pay attention to sweeps of a different sort: ones that close gaps at the bottom of exterior doors. Sweeps come in different styles but have just two basic components: a mounting strip that you attach along the back of the door and a flexible blade that brushes against the threshold, the bottom trim in the doorway. If you don’t like the look of a sweep, another option is a door cap, which hugs the bottom edge. Sweeps adjust easily to fit uneven gaps where floors sag. Caps are more complicated to install because you need to take the door off its hinges first, and they aren’t as forgiving when gaps are uneven. Both styles depend on having a fairly flat surface to seal against. If a threshold is rough, you might need to replace it. Hardware stores, lumberyards and home centers carry the parts. **Have a problem in your home?** Send questions to localliving@washpost.com. Put “How To” in the subject line, tell us where you live and try to include a photo.

Hints From Heloise: Protect the home while you roam

Dear Readers: Summer is almost here, and it’s VACATION TIME! There are a lot of things to consider before leaving on vacation. Here are some hints to help protect your home and valuables while away: * DO NOT post upcoming vacation information on social-media sites! Daily photos of you on vacation also can let thieves know that your home is sitting empty. Post them when you are home. * Set one or two lights on a timer inside the house while you are gone. * Stop newspaper and mail delivery (if it’s going to be more than a few days), or ask a neighbor to collect them. * Park a car in the driveway. It makes it look like someone is home. Be sure the car is locked, with no valuables in it. If you are going for a while, consider having a neighbor or family member move the car from one side of the driveway to the other occasionally, or park their car there. * Make sure all doors, windows and pet doors are locked! Also, disconnect the automatic garage-door opener. * Tell a trusted neighbor or relative that you will be gone, and leave emergency contact information with him or her. A neighbor who can keep an eye on your home will be the first to notice suspicious activity while you are gone and call police. -- Heloise PET PAL Dear Readers: Linda Brock of Canton, Ohio, sent a pet photo of her year-old calico cat, Misty, watching the water run from the faucet into the sink. Linda says: “Misty is fascinated by the running water from the faucet. She sits on the bathroom sink and watches the bubbles as they disappear in the drain.” To see Misty and the disappearing bubbles, visit my Web site, www. Heloise.com, and click on “Pets.” -- Heloise FLUFFY PILLOWS Dear Heloise: I read your column in the Ventura County (Calif.) Star regarding the difficulty putting pillowcases on pillows that are a lot thicker these days. I always turn the pillowcases inside out, put my arms inside to the far corners and then grab the pillow and pull the case over the pillow. It is much easier that way. -- Betty, via e-mail SICK CAT Dear Heloise: A reader wrote that her cat barfs a lot. Mine did, too, usually immediately after eating, but I think I have found the solution. I spread her daily ration of food into many small servings throughout the day. After feeding her, I close her in the room for about 15 minutes (to protect my gold carpet in case she gets sick). After following this plan for about three months, I find her upchucks to be rare. -- Anne, via e-mail RECYCLE Dear Heloise: I have read the column for many years! Another use for tissue and similar boxes: I rescue domestic rats, and they love these boxes for hide houses. -- Bonnie from Karni Mata Rat Rescue, via e-mail Send a hint to  Heloise , P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, fax it to 210-HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com. Please include your city and state.

5 things every adult should know how to do around the house

Part of being an adult is creating a well-functioning place to call home. If you want to add a personal touch, like artwork on the walls, you need to hang it. If something breaks, you have to be able to fix it — or hire someone to do it, which burns through cash fast. Luckily, the more tasks you take on, the more you learn, until someday you’re the one that everyone else turns to for advice. Here are instructions for five simple home maintenance tasks everyone can — and should — master. Renters often have to suffer the consequences of previous tenants’ failed home-repair efforts, such as when someone didn’t know how to remove a sink stopper and forced it out, leaving an open drain — the perfect place to lose an earring or contact lens. But you can fix this annoyance with a part that costs less than $10 (Danco’s 1 5/16-inch universal pop-up is $6.78 at Home Depot). Clear the area under the sink, and turn on a flashlight. Find the horizontal rod that connects to the sink drain, and mark where the rod threads through the vertical plate (the clevis). Loosen the clevis screw and the nut where the rod slips into the drainpipe so you can pull out the rod enough to slip the new stopper into place. Wiggle things around, pushing in the rod and raising and lowering the lever on the top of the sink that activates the stopper, until everything is aligned. Then tighten the nut just enough so the stopper doesn’t slide down, and tighten the clevis screw. Check again to make sure everything works. If the stopper doesn’t move freely, loosen the nut a little. Even if you don’t care about ruining a landlord’s plumbing, you shouldn’t use harsh chemicals. Unused chemicals become your disposal problem when you move. You can clear most drains in just a few minutes without resorting to chemicals. Remove the stopper by loosening the horizontal rod that goes into the drain pipe. (See previous item.) With an old toothbrush, or a piece of stiff wire bent into a hook, fish out the clog. Most often, it’s a wad of hair and soap scum near the top of the drain. If the drain is still clogged, replace the rod and tighten the nut that holds it, and place a plunger over the drain. Add enough water to cover the rubber, and seal the sink’s overflow hole with a wet sponge. Gently push the plunger down. Then, with the rubber still sealed to the sink, plunge up and down vigorously a dozen or more times. You’ll hear a whoosh when the clog breaks up. To clear a bathtub drain, the steps are basically the same, except for removing the stopper. Sometimes you can lift and unscrew it. Or there may be a setscrew underneath the cap that you need to loosen. And on some tubs, especially older ones, the trick is to unscrew the plate covering the outflow and then pull out a set of links with a piece at the end that traps hair. If the clog still sticks, the drain needs to be cleared with a snake — a flexible auger that you thread into the pipe until it pokes through the clog. You might want to call your landlord or a plumber. A YouTube video can help you decide. A video from” This Old House” shows how to snake through the overflow hole to clear a bathtub drain. On a sink drain, you’ll need to take apart the curved “trap” pipe under the sink and then feed in the snake. There’s probably no better way to make a rental space your own than to decorate the walls with art. Thumbtacks were fine for college, but now you want framed art and maybe a mirror or two, and those can get heavy. Picture hangers, which hold a nail at an angle, are easy to use and minimize wall damage. Some hold up to 50 pounds, which is plenty for most framed art. (If you’re unsure, weigh the art by standing on a bathroom scale with it in your hands.) The trick is to get the hanger, or pair of hangers, in the right position. Turn the frame over and position the hanger where it would be if it were holding up the piece. Then measure up to the top of the frame and out toward one side. Make a paper template, with the hanger position marked, and move it around on the wall until you like the look. Then, at the marked spot, tap in the hanger nail if your walls are drywall. (If you can’t push in a thumbtack, you have plaster walls, which means you should drill a hole and then insert the nail.) Using two hangers helps prevent a picture from shifting out of position, but it’s critical to place them on a level line. Insert one hanger, then use a level to align the second one. If you need to hang something too heavy for picture hangers to support, the best solution is to hang the artwork where you can fasten studs. Use a stud sensor (as little as $10.97 at Home Depot) or tap on the wall, moving horizontally until you hear the sound change to a thud. This spot often lines up with the nail holes in baseboards. On drywall, use screws that are 1½ inches long. On plaster, drill a narrow hole until you can tell (by a change of pressure) that you are past the plaster and into the stud. Add 1 inch to the depth of the bit at that point.) If you hit a spot where the bit or screw won’t penetrate, it’s possible you are over a metal plate protecting wire or plumbing. Stop and choose a different location. If there is no stud where you want to hang the art, buy plastic wall anchors to hold the screws or, for the heaviest loads on plaster, toggle bolts. Patching holes in a wall might seem like something to put off until you’re ready to move. But why not plug them now and enjoy the tidier appearance? Pinholes are easiest to fix. Lightweight spackle dabbed on with a fingertip is all you need. Let it dry, then touch up with an artist brush and a little leftover paint. If the walls have a texture, apply the spackle with a toothpick so you don’t smear it beyond the hole. Mending wider gashes requires a support membrane, usually plastic mesh, and spackle or drywall mud. You can buy a kit, such as Dap’s Wall Repair Patch Kit ($7.98 at Home Depot), which comes with a 4-inch square piece of adhesive- backed mesh for reinforcing. Or you can improvise by cutting a small square of plastic window screen and using spackle to hold it in place. Apply one thin coat of spackle that fully embeds the mesh. Let that dry, then apply a second layer that completely covers the mesh and is feathered out at the edges to blend in with the wall. If the wall has a texture, get a spray can of a similar texture, for blending. To patch a big hole in drywall, you will need to cut out the damaged area with a utility knife and patch in a substitute piece. (Home centers often carry patch pieces so you don’t need to buy a full sheet.) To hold the patch in place, first screw small pieces of plywood along the edges of the intact drywall on the inside surface, with part of the plywood extending into the hole. Set the patch in place and screw through it into the plywood. Bridge the edges of the drywall patch with drywall tape or mesh, then spackle as if you were patching a hole where you didn’t need to add drywall. You think you can fix a wobbly cabinet door by tightening that screw on the hinge. But then you turn and turn with a screwdriver, and the screw just spins in place. Try swapping it out for a slightly wider screw. Or, if you are locked into using the same screw, perhaps because it’s what fits with the hinge, stuff the screw hole with wooden toothpicks coated in wood glue. (If the hole is big, cut thicker slivers of wood with a utility knife.) When the glue dries, slice off the excess with a sharp utility knife, then reinsert the screw. Huber writes the weekly How To column in the Local Living section. Have a problem in your home? Send questions to localliving@washpost.com. Put “How To” in the subject line, tell us where you live and try to include a photo. **More from The Washington Post:** Finding that first apartment can be scary. But it doesn’t have to be. A beginner’s guide to window treatments Smart, stylish storage options for your kitchen Why did my grout turn pink? No budget for beams or brick walls or granite counters in your home? Go faux.

‘Flip or Flop’: The phoenix-like rise and bizarre fall of HGTV’s second-favorite couple

At first, the couple’s phoenix-rising narrative was simple enough. Christina and Tarek El Moussa, now of HGTV fame, were two recovering real estate agents who, amid the 2008 housing market crash, lost nearly everything. In an attempt to salvage their once-prosperous lifestyle, the couple started a business buying foreclosed houses in southern California and flipping them for a profit. Tarek had the investment eye, Christina the designer’s touch. Sometimes they succeeded. Sometimes they failed. But, hey, they were trying. It was a great American plot. The couple’s riches to rags to riches again backstory attracted showrunners at HGTV, the popular home and garden channel, which signed the couple to the network. On April 16, 2013, the El Moussas debuted as the stars of their own program, “Flip or Flop.”  Like all of HGTV’s signature shows, the premise for “Flip or Flop” is compelling. Viewers can, from the comfort of their couch, watch an abandoned structure transform into an inviting home in the time it takes to finish a glass (or two) of wine. They have accomplished nothing, and yet feel, somehow, as if they were there, knocking down walls with the co-hosts. What sets “Flip or Flop” apart from the rest of HGTV’s lineup, however, is Christina and Tarek, stereotypically attractive Californians whose personal narrative as husband and wife, best friends, business partners and parents has captured the hearts of their most loyal fans. Blog posts and tabloid pieces about the couple’s seemingly loving family life litter the Internet, buoyed by sappy social media posts from Christina and Tarek. But like many Americans, 2016 was not kind to the El Moussas. Fans were devastated to learn in December that the beloved, picture-perfect couple had been separated for nearly eight months, the result of a distressing incident at the El Moussas’ Orange County home that involved a gun and the police. All this came after news reports claimed that their spinoff real estate classes, pitched as training sessions for aspiring house flippers, were a disingenuous money-grab, which they denied. The couple’s perceived instability had fans questioning whether there was room for reconciliation — and whether a long-term split would mean the end of “Flip or Flop.” Then this week, Tarek officially filed for divorce.  The sense of permanency that accompanied this news thrust fans further into a mournful frenzy, lamenting the death of a love story in which they felt so invested — one that had been sprinkled throughout six seasons on air and included a cancer scare, in vitro fertilization treatments and the birth of their second baby. When Christina and Tarek met a decade ago, the Californians were successfully selling real estate in the state’s wealthiest neighborhoods. Christina had just graduated from college. Tarek was a rising star in the industry.  Suddenly their luxurious home shrank to an apartment, with a roommate, where the rent was just $700. For dinner, they shared Subway sandwiches because it was all they could afford. When Christina got pregnant, she passed on purchasing maternity clothes. They were too expensive. The couple still had their skills, though, eyes for good investments and tasteful design. On a whim, Tarek recruited a friend to edit video footage of them buying and flipping a house, start to finish. He sent it to HGTV, and the show was born.  At the time, the couple’s daughter, Taylor, was 2, giving fans of “Flip or Flop” a chance to watch her grow up as the series progressed. The couple’s attempts at having a second child early in the series were foiled when Tarek was diagnosed with thyroid cancer — thanks to the sharp eye of a savvy viewer. Ryan Read, a registered nurse in Texas, was watching the show in 2013 when she noticed that, at certain angles and in certain light, it appeared Tarek had a lump on his throat.  Tarek and Christina heeded her advice, and within days they learned Read’s instincts were right — the lump was cancer and had spread to his lymph nodes.  “We made a decision that same second: We’re not going to slow down. We’re not going to stop,” he said. “We’re going to run the business. We’re going to fight through this cancer, because the second we slow down is the second it gets scary and you start getting depressed.”  That battle, though, posed a second challenge for the couple. The radiation therapy meant they couldn’t conceive naturally for six months to a year after treatments stopped. It took two unsuccessful attempts at in vitro fertilization — including one that ended in a miscarriage at eight weeks — before Christina became pregnant with Brayden.  As their family — and ratings — grew, the TV personalities began expanding their empire, hosting spinoff shows and developing house-flipping seminars to teach fans the tricks of their trade. But it didn’t take long for attendees to push back. A trip to promote the training sessions in Washington and Oregon was canceled at the end of 2015 when social media users loudly objected to the premise.  About six months later, new reports from the Associated Press, CBS News and ABC News, among others, revealed that students of their real estate seminars felt duped by the couple. The classes, they said, were misleading, cost thousands of additional dollars beyond the advertised price and didn’t actually provide face time with Tarek and Christina. The El Moussas defended their program. “I stand by our product,” Christina told ABC News. “It’s our tools, it’s our system. It’s what Tarek and I do. I’ve only heard very minimal complaints.” It was only a month later that the police were called to the couple’s home over what Tarek and Christina termed an “unfortunate misunderstanding. Deputies responded to the home in May after getting a report about a possible suicidal man, according to the Associated Press. Tarek El Moussa was later found in a nearby state park with a handgun, but he denied being suicidal, reported the AP. He voluntarily gave up several guns.   They said they had dated other people amid the split but weren’t ready to speak about it further. Heartbroken — and outraged — fans took to social media to lament the split. Some wrote that they felt lied to by the couple, who had continued to produce episodes on the show as if they were together and whose social media posts never hinted at complications with their marriage. Almost exactly one month later, Tarek filed for divorce. In a statement released when the couple announced their separation, HGTV said they respected the El Moussas’ personal privacy and would support them moving forward. They added that filming of “Flip or Flop” would proceed as scheduled. On Wednesday, Christina posted on Instagram a photo of her children at church. “A lot going on lately,” she wrote in the caption. “But making time for what’s important is what’s really important.”

Seal out pests, but don’t kill them

I must take exception to The Post’s misguided advice on how to “ward off pests” during winter preparations [“Don’t get left out in the cold when it comes to winter planning,” Local Living, Oct. 27]. Spraying insecticide and putting out mousetraps are ultimately pointless and cause unnecessary suffering and death for small creatures who mean us no harm. Insects will get in no matter what you do, and spiders are actually beneficial because they eat other bugs. Mice can be destructive, but the better approach is to keep them out by sealing potential access points around a home’s ground level. Random application of poisons and traps is also dangerous for other animals who normally stay outside. Is it really necessary for us to simply kill everything that might be bothersome? ****Eric Wenocur** , Olney**

Open permits can throw a wrench into closings for home buyers

Buyers usually have no reason to suspect that an outstanding permit exists on a home they intend to purchase. After all, repair or remodel work may not be obvious during a visual inspection of the property and standard purchase contracts often do not include a contingency clause for verification of open permits. Buyers rarely request that the seller disclose work that was performed years ago. The outstanding-permit issue may lay dormant until the new owner tries to modify an electric meter, remodel a room or repair a heating system, only to find that previous work has not been officially inspected and approved. Since open permits or building code violations will not be listed in the preliminary title report nor be covered by the title insurance policy, it is important to clear up unpermitted work early on and avoid a possible delay in the closing. One couple who were in the final stages of selling their house awoke in the middle of the night — right before their scheduled closing — to a loud alarm. They called 911 and later learned that the home’s previous owner had put in an alarm system that was hidden from view and incorrectly installed. Unfortunately, a permit for the work had never been closed out. The sellers were obligated to either have the system removed or correct the faulty installation before the sale could go through. Work done without a permit can also cause problems for a new owner. The residential alteration may have been completed according to the local building code, but if no permit was filed, the new owner may be liable for a fine. And if the work is found to not be up to code, the new owner will be required to fix the problem, bring the alteration up to standard and get a final inspection. There can be several reasons why previous homeowners did not obtain a permit. The owners may have used a local handyman to install a washing machine inside a small closet — a job that required new plumbing and electrical work but that would not be visible when the closet door was closed. The owners may have felt that a permit was not needed because — in their opinion — the job was relatively insignificant and took only a few days to complete. In another scenario, the owners may have added a fence to their back yard and not have been aware that an ordinance required a permit for fences over a certain height. Sometimes owners may avoid securing a permit either to get around paying the fees or because they are afraid that their property taxes might rise if the authorities become aware of their remodeling work. Or owners who did the work themselves may have been confident the job was done correctly and didn’t see the need to apply for a permit or submit to an inspection. Before taking a listing, many real estate agents will ask sellers if they are aware of any open permits that exist on the property. And then they will inquire if any upgrades or changes have been made that would have required a building permit. Agents may also ask the local title company to run a courtesy permit history search, which should reveal all permits — whether pending or closed — on a property. In some parts of the country — such as Florida, where weather-related natural disasters have caused large-scale emergency repair work to be done on short notice — a permit search is common practice whenever a property sells. Buyers can take the initiative and look up the permit history of a property by contacting the local regulatory building department for their area. In the District, for example, permit information is available from the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) at _dcra.dc.gov/service/get-building-permit_ . Go to “Online services” and then “PIVS” (property information verification). Enter the address, then click on “Find,” and all the permits issued (or holds on the property) will appear. The DCRA also takes phone inquiries at 202-442-4400 (option #3), and will help you with permit questions, such as what type of work requires a permit and how to begin the process. D.C. homeowners and contractors licensed in the District can also apply online for a “postcard permit,” which is acceptable for repairing an existing feature such as a deck, fence or front porch. The DCRA Web site lists the type of work that fits into this “postcard” category. You may be doing only a minor repair — such as modifying a fence or adding a window — but to avoid problems later on, it pays to check with the building department before you begin the project. When you hire a licensed contractor, he or she will be responsible for obtaining a permit for the work to be performed and closing out the permit after the job is completed. Ask your contractor to give you a copy of the closed permit for your files. **Sandy Gadow** , a freelance writer and author of “The Complete Guide to Your Real Estate Closing,” is a former title officer and licensed real estate agent with more than 20 years of experience. Gadow will answer readers’ questions in future columns. Contact her at sandragadow1@gmail.com.

Flippers and counties can be blamed for home renovations done without permits

I know that most people have a negative view of house flippers. I hate referring to myself with that term. I’ve tried to make up a new term, but nothing ever sticks. I know that my industry has a very bad reputation, and much of it is well earned. Communities and county authorities often clash with flippers, but sometimes they can work together to the benefit of all. I recently started a deal in Montgomery County, and it was a breath of fresh air to cooperate with the county inspector. In just a couple of meetings, I solved several issues the county had been working on for years, and they helped me achieve a better product in a short time. The story starts about a year ago. A friend referred to me an acquaintance who had just inherited a home. They wanted to sell the home and wondered whether a cash buyer would be the best option. The home had a lot of problems. Someone had made a lot of modifications without the required permits. They had built two additional bathrooms in the home. Neither was permitted, and they had run pipes and water lines all over the place. On the second floor, they added a bathroom in a bedroom, putting a shower under the stairs and a jetted tub in the corner of the room. It was one of the strangest things I’d seen. They also built a bathroom in the attic in a similar fashion. Not only did they not care about permits, but they also didn’t worry much about codes, either. The septic tank also turned out to be a mess. The county had known it was in bad shape and not up to standards. Sometime in the 1980s, the owner had submitted a partial plan to repair and improve the system, but nothing was ever done. Some of the features listed on the county’s plans didn’t exist. It took my septic guy quite a bit of exploratory digging to uncover the tank and determine that we were missing a dry well that had been listed on the plans. Years before, the county ran public water lines to the area, and this home hooked up. When a home connects to public water, the county wants the owner to cap the existing water well. This is done to prevent groundwater contamination and other issues. This well was never capped, even though the county had been trying to get the owner to do it for quite some time. The county would not approve building permits until the well was capped. That may have been one of the reasons that no permits were obtained for the additional bathrooms. I was unaware of much of the county’s issues when I first toured the home. Because the owner inherited the home, they, too, were likely unaware. After evaluating the home, I was very straight with the seller: I told them that I could pay them $250,000 for the home on a quick close deal. But I showed them the comparable sales. I told them there are a lot of people looking for fixer-upper homes.  This home may be a little too much for most buyers, but there are some adventurous types out there who might pay much more for the home than I could offer. I advised them, as I advise everyone, that if they had the time and patience to deal with the retail market, they’d almost certainly make more money listing the home with a real estate agent. I told them that they could always come back to my offer. They wanted to try to get more money and they had time, so they listed the home with an agent. But the issues were just too daunting and there were too many unknowns for the home buyers out there. After about six months, they had not had any luck and called me back to take my offer. I purchased the home and went to work. We drew up plans and applied for permits, and the county’s red flags immediately started going up. At the time, I didn’t know the home was on the county’s radar. I knew the septic tank was old, and I assumed it would need major work and probably full replacement. The county already knew the situation and told us we could not get any permits until we had a septic inspection and provide plans to update the system.  I thought to myself, “Here we go again.” This was a bit unusual. Normally, I would get the home-renovation permits started first, because that work takes longer, and simultaneously work on evaluating the septic. The county wanted the septic system uncovered and inspected by its people before we did anything. So we set up a meeting, and I feared the dreaded red tape and inspector bluster. It seems like inspectors feel the need to come on strong and attempt to intimidate. Probably because many people, especially flippers, try to cut corners. This meeting was different: It was extremely productive. Within an hour, we devised a plan to replace the entire system. My septic guy had the work done by the end of the week, and at the final inspection, we capped the well right in front of the inspector. Within a couple of weeks, we had our renovation permits. The county was already aware that there was some sort of unapproved plumbing in the house and wanted it fixed. That was not a problem because that was part of my plan from the beginning. Everyone benefited from the outcome of this project. It’s unfortunate that renovators and county building departments so often clash, because ultimately our end goals are significantly aligned. We should act much more like partners than antagonists. We could solve so many more problems on both sides. But it does take two to tango, and I realize many on my side are not good partners. The counties and municipal building departments are cracking down on work that hasn’t been permitted, and it’s much easier now for buyers to check for proper permits. Flippers and renovators would do well by learning to dance rather than continuing to attempt to evade the system. And building departments should work on speeding up their part of the process. Many of us on this side plan to do the work the right way. It’s the delays and county hurdles that we dread. The county shouldn’t be so nice to everyone, however. Cracking down on those bad actors would make the system better for all of us.

Hints From Heloise: A step toward safety

Dear Heloise: After reading your hints on LADDER SAFETY, I’d like to suggest another important one. Although it may be apparent, sometimes a stepladder is placed sideways to the job rather than facing it. This can create a danger of the ladder tipping out away from the job and possibly injuring the user. I watched a painter fall with his 8-foot ladder placed sideways to the wall he was painting. He seriously injured his shoulder in the fall. -- Louis B., via e-mail Too many of us think we can hop on a ladder for a quick repair with no worries, but as the painter you saw fall now knows, safety is important when working with any ladder! -- Heloise PET PAL Dear Readers: Tami Killion in Palestine, Tex., sent a picture of her dilute tortoiseshell cat, Lucy, balancing on a curtain rod. Tami said that Lucy is her climber and that her brother, Linus, tries to follow her and can’t. To see Lucy’s picture, go to my Web site, www.Heloise.com, and click on “Pets.” -- Heloise SUET STRIPS Dear Heloise: I like to put out suet for the birds and found this nifty way to serve it up. First, don’t use ground suet, but ask the butcher for strips. To make the suet holder, take a wire hanger, pull it straight and cut it in the middle. Holding the two ends together, “shish kebab” the suet strips onto the wire. Be careful: The wire ends are sharp, and one should use gloves to do this. Keep filling the wire up until you have about 7 to 8 inches left, then bend these ends up 90 degrees. That will prevent the suet from falling off and also serves as a perch for the birds. Then make a hook at the top end and simply hang the whole thing on a tree branch. -- John in Washington DOUBLE-CHECK DOORKNOB Dear Heloise: I love reading your columns in the Reading (Pa.) Eagle, and find your hints very useful. I now have one for you and your readers. Recently, I exited our home via the front door, something we don’t do very much since we usually go out by the garage exit. For some reason, I jiggled the doorknob several times, and to my astonishment, it unlocked itself. I used the key to lock the door, again, and jiggled the knob a second time. Sure enough, the door came unlocked. Now I am sure to set the deadbolt (using my key) whenever I go out the front of the house, just in case, even though we obviously have changed the entire doorknob assembly. -- Claire M., Reading, Pa. PRETTY PUSHPINS Dear Heloise: Whenever I have an earring without a match, I use it as a pushpin on the corkboard I have in my office. It gives me nice-looking pushpins, and if I ever do find the lost one, I still will have a complete pair. -- C.E. in Mississippi Heloise’s column appears six days a week at www.washingtonpost.com/advice. Send a hint to  Heloise , P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

Hints From Heloise: Clues for ‘curb appeal’

_**Dear Heloise:** We are getting ready to sell our home, and first impressions count, right? We decided to upgrade its “curb appeal.’’ There are lots of details of the house and front yard that we focused on to get the whole house looking great. Here are some ideas we used:_ _● Pink flamingos and other yard art are tacky and do not appeal to the general public. Dump ’em._ _● Lighting is critical. Lights not only brighten the house, but add to safety. Low lighting can create a dangerous walking situation at night._ _● The lawn absolutely must be pristine, trimmed neatly, lush and green, flowers planted evenly, and trees should be cut back away from the house, but they should not look raw._ _● Crisp new paint on the front door is an eye-catcher._ _● New house numbers look great, and also are necessary for guests and emergency personnel to find you._ _● Power-washing the driveway and sidewalk eliminates years of grime, can reduce oil spots and generally makes things sparkle._ _Ask your real estate agent for more hints and ideas to boost your home’s curb appeal. These hints helped us tremendously and made the sale of the property quicker and easier._ **Brenda and Dan in Dallas** **Dear Readers:** Anna in Austin sent a picture of her gorgeous Bengal kitten, King Rollie. Rollie has amazing, regal spots and truly looks like royalty. Oh, and Anna just became a veterinarian, so Rollie is in the best of hands. No doubt he will be treated like a king! To see King Rollie and our other pet pals, visit Heloise.com and click on “Pet of the Week.’’ If you have a funny and furry friend you’d like to share, email a picture, stats on the animal and an amusing anecdote to: Heloise@Heloise.com. _**Dear Heloise:** A big help when going to the vet with our dog is to bring an old rubber bathmat to use on the cold and slippery stainless-steel exam table._ _If the dog is not happy or is fighting being up there, at least he is not slipping and sliding all over the place, and he is easier to hold for the exam._ _I have been doing this for 15 years._ **Candace in Hagerstown, Md.** _**Dear Heloise:** The stunning bright green of wheatgrass looks beautiful in white containers, and it is easy to grow, cheap and readily available. My nursery has it, and pet stores and big-box stores carry it, too._ _My cat started eating it. At first, I was concerned, but I called my veterinarian, and he assured me that wheatgrass is perfectly fine and healthy for animals to consume._ **Ramona R. in Chicago** **Dear Readers:** Got a deep wrinkle on clothes that you want to banish quickly? Sponge on some white vinegar, use a pressing cloth and press with a warm iron. Voilà! Like magic, it’s gone! Heloise’s column appears six days a week at washingtonpost.com/advice. Send a hint to  Heloise , P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, or email it to Heloise@Heloise.com. 2017, King Features Syndicate

New home security system learns your lighting patterns

Smart security systems are becoming more important to home buyers. A recent survey by **Coldwell Banker Real Estate** found that smart security was the most appealing type of pre-installed home technology among 58 percent of buyers queried. In that same survey, participants said the features they most expected to see on a smart home were security (such as alarm systems), temperature, lighting and safety (such as fire/carbon monoxide detectors and nightlights).    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico While home buyers may be willing to spend thousands on home technology, the recently introduced **BeON Home** protection system, which retails for $199, provides safety lighting in emergency situations and during power outages as well as home security by making it look as if you’re home even when no one is there.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The system uses smart modules with rechargeable batteries hidden inside LED light bulbs. The lights turn on during a power outage. They also hear fire or carbon monoxide alarms and respond by turning on instant exit lighting. The smart modules learn your everyday lighting patterns, similar to the way a Nest thermostat learns your temperature preferences, to keep your lights working while you’re away. In fact, if someone rings your doorbell, the smart modules can turn on the lights sequentially in the house to make it seem as if someone is inside checking on the house. You can program the system with a “Welcome Home” feature that can be activated with one touch from your driveway to turn on the lights inside. Homeowners can activate and deactivate the system with one swipe on the BeON app, available for Android and iOS devices. For more information, visit _www.Beonhome.com_.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico _To pass on a tip or news item, contact us at realestate@washpost.com and put “Town Square” in the subject line._    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

May home improvement checklist

**Install an outdoor clothesline** Celebrate spring with the fresh scent and texture of air-dried sheets and towels. True, May is usually the wettest month in Washington. But between showers, the weather can be glorious. Free yourself from using the dryer, which is typically second only to a refrigerator as a home’s most energy- guzzling appliance. If you have only a deck for outdoor space or if you live where condo or subdivision rules prohibit outdoor clotheslines, invest in a fold-away stand or a retractable clothesline and use it toward dusk. If you have more space, consider an umbrella-style clothesline; it fits in a space about 6 feet by 6 feet and folds up and lifts out for storage. Or, if you have more room, you can install an actual retro-style clothesline with wooden or metal T posts at each end. A company in Maine (www.clotheslineshop.com) sells all the fixings, or shop at a local hardware or home store. **Clean gutters** This is a chore that might warrant doing in the spring, not just in the fall, especially if your house is near evergreens, which shed needles year-round, or trees such as oaks that take a long time to drop their leaves in the fall. Efficiently cleaning gutters is a bit counterintuitive to some. Rather than starting next to a downspout, start at the far end of a gutter (or in the middle, if a gutter drains in two directions). Otherwise, each area you clear will simply send more debris toward the downspout. As you scoop out gunk, stash it in a bucket rather than flinging it on the ground; that saves you from having to pick up the debris later. If shrubbery keeps you from positioning the ladder so you cannot reach a section of gutter, get a stick and use it to pull or push the leaves to a place where you can reach them. If you’re not comfortable working on a ladder, call a pro. **Deal with rain runoff** Once the gutters are free-flowing, wait for a rainy day when you can go outside and check whether water spills over the top. If so, you need more downspouts; call a company that installs gutters. Also watch how water empties from the gutters. If it splashes back onto the home’s siding or puddles next to the foundation, divert the water farther away, usually at least 10 feet. You might need underground piping that leads to a dry well (an underground pit filled with round rocks), which a landscaper can install. Or you can pipe the water to a rain garden, a bed with fluffy soil and water-loving plants. The Montgomery County RainScapes program has a useful chart at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/   rainscapes that compares dry wells, rain gardens and other stormwater solutions in terms of cost and complexity. Homeowners who want to put in a rain garden or dry well themselves can download an easy-to-understand guide from the Virginia Department of Forestry Web site (www.dof.virginia.gov, search “rain garden technical guide”). **Test the sump pump** If your home has a sump pump to keep the basement dry, check the owner’s manual for maintenance recommendations. In most cases, you just need to unplug the pump and clear debris in the sump pump pit or tank. Clean the screen, too, if there is one. Plug the pump back in, pour water into the pit and check that the pump switches on and draws down the water. If anything’s amiss, consult the manual or a troubleshooting guide, such as the one that manufacturer Flotec provides at www.easysump.   com. Or call a plumber or a basement waterproofing company — it’s a lot cheaper than dealing with a flooded basement. If your pump operates only when power is on, take advantage of the pro’s presence to inquire about installing a battery-powered backup sump pump or one that operates on water pressure. **Spring-clean outside** “Spring cleaning” is a term usually applied to interior chores, like tackling a cluttered closet or removing cobwebs from ceilings. But an outdoor cleanup makes a lot of sense, too. Besides making your yard more inviting for summer barbecues, hauling away piles of branches, half-rotted wood and other debris can go a long way toward making your yard less hospitable to rodents. The Washington Department of Public Works collects up to five bags per week of yard waste from residences that receive DPW trash and recycling collection services. For leads on places in the Washington area that will take bricks, dirt, concrete and other construction and demolition materials, check out the Builders’ Guide to Reuse & Recycling at www.mwcog.org/builders   recyclingguide. **Get DIY tips** Banish the bunker mentality that set in during the recession and begin dreaming again about ways to improve your house. Fairfax County Public Schools’ adult and community education program offers short courses in DIY projects including electrical basics (starting Saturday), installing ceramic tile (starting Tuesday), how to improve the look of your home by replacing or installing moldings (starting May 9) and bathroom remodeling (starting June 4). The school system’s Web site, www.fcps.edu, lists details; click on “Academics & Programs” and then “Community Education.” Companies that sell remodeling materials to consumers also sometimes offer free workshops; Home Depot and Lowe’s do this, as do specialty stores such as the Tile Shop. Michael & Son, a remodeling contractor in the Washington area (800-948-6453; www.michaelandson.com) also offers free DIY classes in Falls Church. A session on plumbing repairs and improvements is scheduled for May 11; one on electrical know-how is scheduled for June 8. **Clean or buy a dehumidifier** With humid summer days on the way, make sure you have an operating dehumidifier to combat musty odors in a basement or back room. Dehumidifiers operate most efficiently when their coils are clean. To clear dust and other debris, remove screws on the cover, lift the casing and go over the coils with a soft brush. If the unit has an air filter, wash it in warm water with a little dish detergent, rinse and let it dry. Also wash out the bucket. Cleaning coils is usually an annual chore. Wash the filter monthly and the bucket every few weeks, or even more often if mildew is a problem. If you need to buy a dehumidifier, you can find a good overview of features and options on the Web site of the federal Energy Star program (search “dehumidifiers” at www.energystar.gov). Dehumidifiers use a lot of energy, so this is one appliance definitely worth getting with an Energy Star rating. The electricity you save could be enough to power your refrigerator for six months. **Let in fresh air** Celebrate springtime by washing and patching window screens so you can open your house to fresh air. Wash the screens outdoors on a lawn (not on the driveway, where the runoff might go directly into a stormwater system) or in a bathtub. Use a soft brush or a sponge and warm, soapy water. Rinse with clear water, allow to dry, then reinstall. If you spot small holes in the screens, go to a hardware store and buy self-stick patches or a short length of screen material for DIY patches. Cut the patches about a half-inch oversize in all directions and sew them on with a needle and either standard thread or fishing line. If there are large rips, get the screens replaced. Some hardware stores offer this service, or go to a window or screen shop. **Have a problem in your home?** Send questions to  localliving@washpost.com . Put “How To” in the subject line, tell us where you live and try to include a photo.

These are the rookie mistakes you should avoid when relocating your front door

Judging from the excellent photo you sent, relocating the door is going to be fairly straightforward. The first thing that comes to mind is snow load. I see that the roof is fairly flat over the opening for the new front door, so it’s important that you have a great structural header, or beam, over the door that will transfer the roof load to the wall studs on either side of the door. When framing a new rough opening for a door, many DIY rookies wonder how many studs are required to support the header beam. If the rough opening is six feet or less, you can get by with just one stud on each side of the opening next to the full-sized king studs that go from the bottom wall plate to the top wall plate. The cut studs that the beam rests on are often called jack studs. If the rough opening is wider than six feet, you’ll need two jack studs on each side of the opening. When you use two jack studs on each side, three inches of bearing is created on the pair of jack studs for the beam. It’s very important that the rough opening studs are plumb in both directions and in the same plane. The pre-hung door comes from the factory square, and it needs to be installed so the frame is not twisted. If you twist the door frame, the door will not seal tightly against the weatherstripping. If the rough opening is twisted because the wall studs are not plumb in both directions, side to side and front to back, you’ll end up with a twisted opening. Be sure you create a ½-inch gap on the two sides and the top of the door for your rough opening. You need this gap to shim the door, and you don’t want the roof load touching the top of the door frame. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is not having the top of the beam across the door high enough off the rough floor. All too often, carpenters forget about the thickness of the finished flooring. You want the bottom of the pre-hung door threshold to be at the same level as the top of the finished flooring. This gives you plenty of room so the swinging door does not catch on a throw rug you may have on the floor in front of the door. I always cut a piece of 3/4-inch plywood and screw that to the rough subfloor before setting my exterior doors in place. This raised them up the proper height for 95 percent of the finished floors on my jobs. Before you start to install the door, take a few minutes to read and fully understand the written installation instructions that come with the door. Pay attention to the types and locations of the fasteners the manufacturer says to use with the door. Be sure you use a flashing pan under the door or fabricate your own flashing using the membrane tapes made for this purpose. Keep in mind that this flashing must be installed so any water that gets under the door flows back to the outside of your home. You live where it gets quite cold, so minimizing air infiltration around and under the door is very important. Once you have the door installed, use one of the newer expanding foams to seal out air leaks. Be sure to use the foam that’s made for doors and windows. It doesn’t expand enough to bend and distort the door frame. I also prefer to use the newer membrane tapes on the outside of the wall to help seal water and air leaks. The tape should stick to the exterior wall sheathing or water barrier, cross over the ½-inch gap between the door and rough framing and then extend onto the door frame. Be sure the tape can’t be seen once the finish trim is installed around the door frame. If your door has factory-installed brick mold trim, avoid the temptation to just let that lap over the exterior wall sheathing and then nail through the brick mold trim to hold the door in place. Long fasteners need to extend through the door frame into the rough wall framing. This is always covered in great detail in the written instructions. When doing demolition, don’t do what I see happen on many of the home improvement cable TV shows. Don’t blindly batter the exterior wall with a sledgehammer to relieve your inner frustration. You have no idea what’s inside a wall. Remove the inner wall surface and inspect what you’re up against. My guess is you’ll probably encounter some electrical cables that have to be moved. Lastly, when you go select the lumber for the new opening, look for nice, straight pieces. It’s best if you can look at the ends of the wall studs and beams; try to find ones where you see the center of the tree and the first rings of growth. These pieces of lumber are usually quite stable and will not warp or twist over time.

How to align kitchen cabinet doors

**Question: In my ’80s kitchen, some pairs of cabinets doors line up along the bottom edge but aren’t flush vertically at the bottom. The gap is small, just 1/8 inch. I’ve tried to tighten and loosen the screws, to no avail. Perhaps I’m doing it wrong?** **— Alexandria** **Answer:** From the picture you sent, it’s clear that your cabinets have what are known as Euro-style hinges. The part attached to the door fits into a cup-shaped hole, and the arm attached to the cabinet has screws that allow the door to move up or down, in and out. Each manufacturer’s design is a little different, but typically the screw or screws not in line with the connecting arm move the door up and down, while screws in line with the arm move the door in or out as well as sideways. Because the bottom edges of the doors in your cabinets already line up horizontally, start by adjusting the screw that’s in line with the connecting arm and farthest into the cabinet. Some hinges are designed so the door moves in or out as you turn this screw clockwise or counterclockwise. On other hinges, you’ll need to loosen the screw and tap the door in or out, then retighten the screw. Try adjusting just the lower hinge first. If that doesn’t work, adjust the top and bottom hinges at the same time, but work with a helper who can support the door while you fiddle with the screws. If the doors are still uneven, try adjusting the other screw that’s in line with the arm. This screw typically controls horizontal adjustment, but you can also use it to compensate for the cabinet not being plumb if you move one door a little to the right at the bottom and the mating door a little to the left. Turning the screw clockwise usually moves the door right and turning it counter-clockwise moves it left. If you thought the adjustment meant loosening and then tightening, maybe that’s where you went wrong; you might have canceled out any change you made. If none of this works, try adding plastic bumpers (sold at home centers and hardware stores) near the bottom of the doors that fit tightest to the cabinets. If the bumpers keep these doors from closing all the way, you could get the tidy look you’re after. **Question: Someone who shall remain nameless heated up food wrapped in aluminum foil on the black glass/ceramic cooktop of my new stove. Now there are flecks of foil stuck to the cooktop. How can I remove the foil?** **— Vienna** **Answer** : Ted Wegert, an engineering manager at Schott North America, a leading manufacturer of the glass for cooktops, suggests using a cooktop cleaner and a razor scraper, with the blade held as flat as possible to the surface. If that removes much of the foil, with time and additional cleanings, you may be able to get even more off. Asked whether various other remedies suggested in Internet posts might work, Wegert responded by asking a crew at Schott to burn a piece of foil into a piece of cooktop glass and try other methods. Nothing attacked the foil or dissolved it better than the razor scraper and cleaner. “Probably more damage and not suggested for kitchen,” he wrote in a followup e-mail. If the scraping technique works, count yourself lucky. Wegert said that when foil is left on a very hot cooktop, “it’s generally a catastrophic failure — a 90 percent chance it’s toast.” The soft aluminum rolled into thin foil melts, and if that molten film stays on the glass at it cools, the two materials bond. The bond is stronger than the bonds within the glass, so when you try to scrape off the foil, small pieces of the glass-ceramic come with it. “You can feel the pits with your fingers,” Wegert said. Foil stuck to a cooktop that didn’t get as hot might come off more easily, and without damaging the glass. Once divots form, there is no way to make the glass slick again. But as long as the glass isn’t cracked, you can safely continue to use the cooktop, Wegert said. If you think it’s too ugly, call the manufacturer and ask whether it’s possible to replace just the glass. Or get a beautiful teapot and park it where it covers the damage. **Have a problem in your home?** Send questions to localliving@washpost.com. Put “How To” in the subject line, tell us where you live and try to include a photo. How to restore a mid-century storage cabinet How to replace an Ikea clock’s movement How to repair a vintage sewing machine How to find a bulb for an old Tensor lamp How to replace missing pieces on an iron bed How to repair an heirloom radio How to fix an old typewriter or flashlight How to copy an old photo in a convex frame

D.C. real estate brokers to star in HGTV home-flipping show

The show follows the couple as they transform a dilapidated Petworth rowhouse from purchase to demolition to renovation and an open house, where they showcase the property to buyers. Ati Williams bought her first home in suburban Maryland in 2003, when she was in her 20s. “I realized almost right away that my friends wouldn’t come visit me, and I wanted to move,” she says. “I did a few cosmetic improvements, painted it and put in a garden, and then I sold it for a $31,000 profit. Since my salary at the time was $30,000, I thought it was a pretty good investment.” The couple estimates that they have renovated 24 houses together, some of which they have kept as rental properties and others they have flipped. “We were asked by a local production company to film a demo tape of us at a property we were renovating in Brookland, and they eventually called us and said HGTV was interested in filming a show with us,” says Rob Williams. “The biggest takeaway is how important it is to work with a great team. They all made it fun.” Rob says about 100 hours of footage was edited down to the 30-minute show. “We emphasized that we wanted our show to be as authentic as possible,” says Ati. “We would do ‘on the fly’ interviews about each day or when something interesting happened.” The only thing artificial about the show, Rob says, is that sometimes they had to do multiple shots of a reaction scene or showing a space in the house because the lighting wasn’t right. The couple’s specialty, which they demonstrate in the show, is what they call “Big Box Store Hacks,” such as buying kitchen cabinets and shelves from Ikea and turning them into a built-in bookcase that costs significantly less than a custom piece. The premiere of “DC Flippers” is 2 p.m. Sunday on HGTV. If the program is picked up by HGTV, shooting will begin in locations across the District later this year.

Here’s the proper way to use your emergency flashers

With all the wind and snow coming this weekend, it’s going to be difficult for anyone unfortunate enough to be driving to stay focused. If you must drive, please consider when and where it’s appropriate to use your four-way emergency flashers. Some drivers who are moving along with the flow of traffic are a little too quick to declare a personal emergency. The laws on hazard lights vary from state to state, but common sense says that when you put them on, you are declaring that you are a hazard to other motorists. They are meant to be used when you have an emergency. The fact that you chose to go out in snow and high wind does not constitute an emergency, unless your driving turns it into one. We’ve discussed this topic before in my column. One scenario that many drivers cite makes sense to me: There’s a blockage up ahead, and you’re the last car stopped in a highway lane. The cars behind you are approaching at highway speed and might not be aware of the hazard. The flashers can serve as a warning to those drivers. But I can’t think of any good reason to use emergency flashers if you’re driving in the same conditions and about the same speed as everyone else. Because the flashers are so commonly used to warn of a vehicle stopped by the roadside, using them while driving might confuse other drivers and create a fresh hazard. Safety experts have noted that drivers have an unconscious tendency to turn the steering wheel in the direction they’re looking. If their eyes are following the flashing lights, their steering wheels may do the same. People shouldn’t do that, but it happens. That’s the highway scenario. But  more bothersome examples occur on local streets, where drivers can make turns. On most car models, pushing the button for the emergency flashers activates all the turn signals. (With some drivers, that’s the only time they ever activate their turn signals, but that’s another discussion.) Flipping on a turn signal doesn’t deactivate these emergency flashers. They’re still what other drivers see as you prepare to make a left or right turn. They’re also what pedestrians at the intersection see, so they have no idea you’re about to turn across their path. So if you’re going to use emergency flashers, let it be for an emergency. And if it’s an emergency, get out of the travel lanes as quickly and safely as possible. Otherwise, rely on your headlights and tail lights to provide visibility to other travelers. And leave the emergency flashers for the big, slow-moving plow trucks. There will be plenty of them around this weekend.

How to prevent basement flooding in rainy season

__    *[WSU]: Wayne State University **I’m concerned about the upcoming spring and summer rains seeping through my foundation walls and into my basement. What can I do now to make sure my house stays nice and dry?**   _— MQ, Broadlands_    *[WSU]: Wayne State University There is plenty you can do right now to make sure you and your house stay dry. And the good news is that you probably don’t have to spend much time or money to do it. Mostly, you want to keep water from pooling on the ground next to your foundation. Here’s how to do that: • Clean your gutters and downspouts. If they are clogged, the water will just run down the walls and stay next to the house. • Extend your downspouts away from the house by attaching the black, corrugated plastic pipe that you can get at any home improvement store. The pipes should extend at least 10 feet away from your house or any other structures. • Re-grade around the perimeter of your home to promote positive drainage away from your foundation. You can shovel compacted soil along the below-grade walls to create at least a two-inch-per-foot slope against the foundation. You can then cover that soil with organic topsoil mix and mulch to make it more attractive and then add plants. • Check to make sure that no soil is covering siding or brick veneer as this may introduce water on top of the foundation wall and into your basement. • Be especially mindful of places where two walls intersect, creating an inside corner (such as the place where your chimney meets your house at ground level). These spots are notorious for erosion. • If you have a sump pump, make sure it’s working by opening the cover and pulling up on the float. You should then hear the motor running. If it does not run, make sure it’s plugged in to an outlet and check your circuit breakers. If it still doesn’t work, have it replaced. • Make sure the sump pump discharge pipe exiting your house is extended far away from your foundation walls to avoid having that same water infiltrate back into your foundation drainage system. You can use the same type of plastic pipe that you used to extend your downspouts. • You can also buy a backup power source for your sump pump. If you lose electricity in a big storm, you can still keep the water from rising up through the foundation of your house. • If you have outside steps leading down to a basement, make sure the drain at the base of the steps is free and clear of debris. Often, in older homes the drain is very small and easily clogged. • If you have window wells for below-grade windows, remove any debris and buy a clear plastic cover to keep rain and debris out. _To have your question answered in this column, contact us at realestate@washpost.com and put “query” in the subject line._    *[WSU]: Wayne State University

When a flipping deal works out right

Sometimes a deal just falls into your lap and it’s really nice when it does. This is the advantage of having an established presence and a benefit that new or part-time investors don’t often get. That’s one of the biggest reasons why I wrote my last post.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday My point in that article is that flipping is all about finding the right deal at the right price. Finding deals has become more difficult, especially for the newbie. But there are a lot of real estate “gurus” selling courses that would have you think otherwise. But let me tell you about one of my latest deals. Last fall, I purchased a home in North Arlington right off Lee Highway. As much as I like to try to save houses, this one was just too far gone. The foundation had failed and the entire house was tilting. We just couldn’t save her. The choice was clear. We were doing a tear down. The problem with tear downs is it’s a lengthy process, especially when you have all of your contractors busy on other projects. So while we drew plans and began the permitting process, I stuck a sign up in front of the house. It’s just one of my basic signs simply saying, “Snow Goose Homes LLC, We Buy Homes Fast.” You know the signs. Mine are permanent, not the throw away ones you see at intersections. You know, much classier. By luck, one of the neighbors was also looking to sell a home she owned. This home was just around the corner. It was only about 1,200 square feet with no basement and it also appeared to have major foundation problems. The problem with this home was that it could not be torn down. The lot that it sat on was too small. The existing home sat almost right on the property line. Modern setbacks in Arlington require that a new home sit a minimum of eight feet from the property line on one side and 10 feet on the other. The lot was only 25 feet wide so if I were to build a new home I could only make it seven feet wide. Clearly, that was not an option. So without the possibility of building new, I had to make my purchase price low enough that I could afford to spend $125,000 in repairs to end up with just a 1,200-square-foot home with no basement. I’m always very honest with the people who express interest in selling me their home. I never pick apart or criticize the home. I know many people have deep emotional attachments. I never try telling the seller that their home is worth less than it is. I’m no saint — I just think that’s good business. I tell them up front that if they put their home on the open market they will likely get more than what I can pay them. The only things I can offer them are speed and convenience. I told this nice seller about the home’s foundation problems. I told her what I thought I could sell the home for and I told her my repair costs. And finally I told her what I could offer her as a cash purchase price — $245,000. I even told her that she could probably get much more than this if she listed the home on the open market. I even offered to list the home for her on the open market with a significantly discounted real estate commission at $350,000 because I thought she could get that much. I was very pleased when she responded with a counter offer of $257,000 to sell it now. We were so close on price. So I asked her if I could get a couple people over to the house to try to better understand the extent of the apparent foundation problem. She agreed and gave me access and a few days to get some inspections done. I had a couple different structural engineers and contractors look at the home. Unfortunately, there was no access to the crawl space. We could not see the foundation without cutting up the floor or digging up the footing from the outside, which, in this case meant we’d basically be digging in the neighbor’s yard. So I took a guess. Working with my contractors and engineers I came up with a best-case scenario, a worst-case scenario and the most-likely scenario. We guessed that the renovation still would probably cost about $125,000 based on the most-likely scenario. I made the seller an offer of $250,000 and I would pay her closing costs. To that she agreed and we closed the deal a couple weeks later. Normally, I would close in a week or so but our closing date was delayed due to a snow storm. That’s just how this year has been. We met prior to closing just because she wanted to meet me. She wanted to know to whom she was entrusting her home. She told me that she’d grown up in that home and that she grew up very poor. Back then, they’d rented the home. When she got out of college, the landlord offered to sell her the home. She told me how she didn’t have any money back then so the landlord agreed to take payments. This is a textbook case of seller financing. She knew all the old neighbors and she told me who used to live in many of the properties around the house and how things had developed around the neighborhood. But now almost all the old neighbors were gone. At the closing, she gave me an article from The Washington Post that talked about the area, High View Park. I was surprised to learn that this area was originally a community of freed slaves. An area that was once home to the very poorest now holds million dollar bungalows.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday I love old houses and communities like this. It’s such an opportunity and a blessing. An established deep-rooted neighborhood like this really puts the project together for you. I don’t have to make up a plan from scratch — the neighborhood tells me what to do. Having respect for the community pays off by simplifying my project and enhancing my margins. Doing the right thing is always more profitable in the long run. Yes, I was excited and eager to start but the first thing we did was send crews in to take up the majority of the floor so we could see the extent of the foundation problem. It turns out that the foundation wasn’t the problem. The foundation looked good and stable. However, it wasn’t really good news, all the wood that was sitting directly on the foundation was rotted away. They don’t make homes like this anymore and it’s a good thing. Back then, they didn’t use any pressure treated or rot resistant lumber. Now, any wood that touches earth or masonry has to be pressure treated or some type of rot resistant wood or material. Almost all of the floor joists were also rotted away. We do not have to rebuild the foundation but we still have to jack up the house as originally expected. Then we have to replace the sole plate or bottom plat (the board that the wall sits on.) We also have to take up and remove almost all the existing floor joists and most of the interior walls on the first level. In the end, the total price for the renovation still looks like it will come in right about at the $125,000 total, as originally anticipated. Right now, we are still trying to decide on a new layout so we can get plans and final permits. Now that the home is all opened up, my creative juices are flowing. I found that the home has a nice open attic and I’m trying to have the architect work out a plan where we can have an open loft above the master bedroom. Since the home is too small for any kind of staircase, I’d like them to be able to access the loft with a ship style ladder where there will be closet area or a little office or reading room. Once we hammer down what the county will let us do and what I can afford we’ll then lock down a set of plans and get permits. Here are my anticipated costs and income:   In this business, deals can come when you least expect it. Being able to capture those deals when they come is critical. Having a wide network is important to finding that rarest of seller who actually needs or wants to sell their home at a wholesale price.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday But most of all, you need the knowledge and experience to know when to pounce on a good deal and when to walk away from a bad one.  Read Justin Pierce’s previous posts: Why you don’t want to flip homes    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday Remodelers — not consumers — have the upper hand as their workload picks up    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday At long last, investor’s pop-top house sells    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday Setback may push Temple Hills renovation beyond Oct. 1 deadline    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday Crews make up for lost time in pop-top project    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday With plan approved, race is on to reconstruct house for fall sale    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday Pop-top renovation becomes pop-back plan    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday Gone are the low lying fruit of real estate investing    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday

9 ways to freshen up your home for less than $100

Now that spring is here, you might be antsy to freshen up your home. But don’t fret if you don’t have the budget for an overhaul. If you want a new look, there is plenty you can do with a small amount of cash. We asked designers for some creative ways to welcome spring into the home for less than $100. Here are their tips: A simple way to stretch $100 is to spend it on a paint project. “A gallon of paint and a good paintbrush or roller brush can work wonders to instantly freshen a room,” interior designer Dana Tydings said. Consider a warm white, Tydings said, because it goes with everything. “If you walk into a museum, they have constantly rotating exhibits, yet the backdrop is always a beautiful, warm white.” If you want a fresh shade other than white, interior designer Zoe Feldman suggested painting the ceiling. “A light blue or a light gray makes it feel like there isn’t a ceiling,” Feldman said. “It’s cheaper, too, because you need less paint.” Window washing isn’t the most exciting task, but you’ll be glad you did it. “It really makes the house look different,” Arlington-based interior designer Suzanne Manlove says. Tydings agrees: “It’s the greatest thing I’ve ever done. They just they sparkle. Everything looks better.” If you take on the job yourself, the supplies will be fairly inexpensive. Hiring a professional will obviously cost more but might be worth it for hard- to-access windows. It also couldn’t hurt to extend the spring cleaning to other parts of your house, Manlove said, and pack up any lingering holiday decorations and winter-scented candles. “Get rid of clutter and things that don’t spark joy,” Manlove said. Let light in by taking down any heavy drapes and swapping them with simple curtain panels. Try a plain white cotton drapery panel, Manlove said. She likes Target, West Elm and Ikea for affordable options. Slipcovers can be as expensive as fully reupholstering, so try this inexpensive trick from Tydings instead: Buy one or two cotton throws or foutas (thin Turkish towels) in solid colors. Tydings likes to use foutas as table runners or throw them on the back of a sofa. “You can take a tired brown sofa and add a creamy white or pale yellow or aqua fouta,” she said. “Lay it across an arm or third of the couch. You won’t see that big ugly brown couch.” Try positioning a mirror or collection of mirrors across from a window, Manlove said, to brighten a space. “It reflects light and is something happy for a room,” she said. Already have a mirror? If it’s framed in a heavy antique metal or dark color, Feldman suggested spray-painting it white or a lighter color. And you can change it up whenever you want. **** Give existing pillows a fresh start by replacing the covers with affordable, colorful options, Tydings said. Her firm’s go-to isEtsy.com. “We always find some great stuff on Etsy,” Tydings said. Think about the color palette of what’s permanently in place, interior designer Jessica Bonness said, and limit the new colors to one or two. “People can get carried away,” Bonness said. “They buy a pillow that has 40,000 colors in it. You can never go wrong with a solid.” Pick one or two new spring shades — navy blue, aqua, apple green or white — then build around that. Pillar candles, even the battery-operated kind, offer great ambiance and warmth for the price. Clean out the fireplace and replace leftover coals and wood logs with four to five candles in various heights. “You can also cluster them on a tray and plop that on the kitchen table or coffee table,” Tydings said. “It instantly creates a focal point.” Plants are finally blooming outside. There’s no reason you shouldn’t enjoy a little color inside as well. “Put things at your entry so that you are reminded of spring when you first walk in the door,” Manlove suggested. Succulents and colorful spring flowers can be put in inexpensive planters, Manlove said. Or try a few birch logs or plants in your cleaned-out fireplace. Feldman said spring is the time to fill vases with blooming branches, which are only around for the season outdoors but have longevity inside. “Also, switch out your flowers whenever you head to a farmers market, which adds new color into your home.” You don’t need a major or expensive landscaping overhaul to freshen up an outdoor space. A dreary deck or patio can be brought to life with colorful herbs, annuals and perennials grown in pots, said Bruce Allentuck of Allentuck Landscaping in Clarksburg. Sweep up any leaves or debris left over from winter, then “find a nice piece of pottery and plant something that will last all season until the next frost,” Allentuck said. “That’s the easiest thing to do and will give the best impact.” For sunny spaces, consider petunias, bacopa or sweet potato vines. For shadier spots, begonias, impatiens or heuchera will grow if well potted. Try growing basil inside the same pots, Allentuck said. You can pick it for fresh herbs to use when you’re cooking dinner.

How to remove a ceiling medallion

**Question** : We recently bought a condo with a formal dining room, complete with a chandelier that hung through a medallion affixed to the ceiling. Our style is more casual, so we removed the chandelier and placed a plate over the opening in the medallion. But we’d really like to just remove it or somehow cover it. We have found a medallion on the Web that looks like ours, and it is made of urethane foam, so ours may be as well. Do you have any suggestions about how to remove it, or a clever way to cover it without damaging the ceiling? **— Arlington** **Answer** : Modern ceiling medallions, like yours appears to be, are indeed made of urethane, a lightweight plastic. Construction adhesive holds them to the ceiling. Usually there are also a few nails or screws, installed to hold the medallion in place while the adhesive cures. To remove a medallion, climb a ladder with a sharp utility knife or razor blade mounted in a scraper-style holder, a wide putty knife or taping knife, and a smaller putty knife or, even better, a small pry bar with a thin blade, such as a Sharkgrip pry bar (www.sharkcorp.com). Cut around the medallion edge with the knife or razor. Gently pry around the medallion edge with the small blade; position the wide blade so that you pry against it rather than against the ceiling itself. The medallion might come loose easily. If not, look carefully over the surface for divots that might show where screws were puttied over. Pry out the putty and remove the screws, then try again to pop the medallion loose. You might need a more substantial prying tool, such as a curved-claw hammer or a cat’s paw. But don’t pry against the ceiling; use the wide blade to protect the drywall. If there is minor damage to the ceiling, use drywall mud to smooth it over. Then prime and repaint the whole ceiling. If there is more substantial damage, you (or a drywall contractor who does repairs) may need to remove a section, screw up a replacement piece and smooth over the edges with drywall tape and mud. With a fresh coat of paint over the entire ceiling, the room should look as if the medallion were never there. If you do this yourself, note that home centers often sell small patch pieces of drywall, saving you from having to buy and transport a full 4-by-8-foot piece. Buy the patch piece before you cut into the ceiling so you don’t cut a hole that’s too big. If the chandelier you removed was wired for lights and you don’t want a ceiling fixture, do not cover over the electrical box in the ceiling with drywall, even if wire nuts cover the ends of wires. Use a junction box cover. Besides meeting a code requirement to avoid concealing a junction box, the cover will give later owners the option of installing whatever kind of light fixture they want.

Hints From Heloise: A trashy neighborhood

Dear Readers: Here is this week’s SOUND OFF, about trash bins being left out: “We have a mandatory homeowners association in my neighborhood. One of the rules is that trash bins are not to be left out for extended periods of time or left visible (like out by the garage). It really irks me when I see some of the bins by the garage instead of inside the garage or fence. It is even worse when I see trash or recycling bins left by the curb days after pickup day. It doesn’t make our neighborhood look very nice.” -- A.H., via e-mail This can be annoying, especially for those who follow the rules. The diplomatic way is to bring up this subject at a homeowners meeting. Then the association can contact the homeowner. -- Heloise FAST FACTS Dear Readers: Here are other uses for empty tissue boxes: * Keep ribbon and bows in one. * Place one on the dryer to put used dryer sheets and lint in. * Use as storage for all your plastic grocery bags. * Put in a car and use as a trash can. * Let kids use for their small toys. -- Heloise GROUT CLEANER Dear Heloise: We moved into a new house, and the grout in the shower could use some cleaning up. Do you have any hints to help it look nicer? -- Isabelle in Texas Isabelle, congratulations on your new home. I’ll share the HELOISE grout-cleaner recipe so you (and other readers) can get the shower-stall grout clean. For this recipe, you will need 1/4 cup of borax, 1/2 cup of baking soda and warm water, just enough to make a thick paste. Use an old toothbrush or something similar, apply the paste to the grout and gently scrub with a soft brush. Let sit for 20-30 minutes, then rinse. To help keep the grout clean, be sure to leave the shower door or curtain open so there is no moisture to affect the grout! Have cleaning problems in your new home? Or want to know how to keep your home looking like new? Order my pamphlet Heloise’s Homemade Cleaning Solutions to learn all my hints! To receive, send $5 and a long, self-addressed, stamped (70 cents) envelope to: Heloise/Cleaners, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. To order online, go to www.Heloise.com. Have dirty cleaning rags? Wash them in the washing machine (by themselves) to get them clean. -- Heloise LEFTOVER BUNS Dear Heloise: I read how one mom uses leftover hamburger buns for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We apply butter and garlic or spices to them. Slice them after toasting, then cut into strips. They complement spaghetti dishes or other meals where garlic bread would be welcome. -- Jay in Houston CANDLE-WAX REMOVAL Dear Heloise: To easily remove candle wax from candlesticks, stick them in the freezer for an hour or so. When I take them out, the candle wax easily pops off the candlesticks. -- Becca in Tennessee Heloise’s column appears six days a week at www.washingtonpost.com/advice. Send a hint to  Heloise , P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

What to do when the home appraisal is lower than the sale price

Although many neighborhoods have rebounded from the housing crisis that started nearly 10 years ago, there are some that have not. It sounds as though Waukegan, Ill., is one of those areas. You did not mention when your friends bought their property, but if they bought it just before or just after the housing crisis began, they might still be in a situation where their home is worth less than the mortgage amount (known as being “underwater”). If the property is worth what the mortgage amount is, they would be considered “functionally underwater,” since they would have to bring cash to the closing to pay the closing costs. When a home fails to appraise out in value, that puts the entire sale in jeopardy, as your friends now know. To save the deal, your friends would have to either lower the purchase price to the appraised amount ($98,000), which will then lower the amount of the mortgage that the buyer will qualify for, or if the house is underwater, come with enough cash to make the lender whole and pay the closing costs. If the sellers want to lower the price and will take cash for their furnishings, then perhaps there is a deal to be struck. Or, if they want to act as the bank and lend the buyers the money (which they could do only if there is no current mortgage on the property), then that’s a possibility. A lender will be unlikely to approve the deal with a “creative” mortgage attached. That’s why the easiest thing to do is have the sellers simply lower the purchase price. If that’s not a possibility because they don’t have enough cash to make the deal happen, then it will probably fall apart. At that point, they can try to rent out the property to cover the amount of the mortgage, taxes and insurance or, if the property is worth a fraction of the mortgage amount, they can consider a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure or an official short sale. And, of those suggestions, the short sale may be the better way to go. We wish we had better suggestions. Best of luck to your friends.

Blizzard checklist: How to prepare your home for the impending snow

_UPDATED, March 13, 2017: We published this checklist in 2016, but the chores still apply for the upcoming storm._ The bad news is a blizzard is headed smack at us. The good news is that homeowners still have time to prepare. So what do the home pros do to get themselves ready for the icy blast when a serious storm is forecast? Bob Martinisko, who owns Small Job Bob handyman service in northern Virginia and has been in the construction business for more than 20 years, is heeding the forecasts. He reluctantly canceled his duck hunting trip to the Eastern Shore and is shopping for de-icing salt and more sand for his Clifton home. In order to protect your home, Martinisko suggests doing these six chores before the flakes start to fall. **Stock up on de-icing salt and sand.** Put a little salt down on your front walk and sidewalks a couple of hours before it starts snowing. This is what the road crews do to get a jump on a storm. When it starts to snow, the salt will activate and start to melt it. Have sand handy for after the storm so you can sprinkle patches of ice or crusty snow. Always store sand indoors, as the moisture in it can cause it to freeze, Martinisko says. Only use coarse sand; play sand isn’t good for anything besides playing in. **Pull out your snow blower.** Fire up that snow blower and make sure it works. If you have time, consider getting some extra parts for it, such as shear pins, bolts or clips, so you have them on hand if something should break and you can’t get out to the hardware or big box store. Put the blower by the first point of exit out of the house and cover it up with a tarp so you can easily access it when you want to start tackling the snowfall. Buy extra gas, as you could be blowing snow for a while if forecasters are correct. **Check your gutters.** Hopefully you had your gutters cleaned when the last of the fall leaves came down. If not, call and beg your gutter cleaner to come right now. At least clear out the pile of leaves at the bottom of your downspouts so that the melting snow can drain out to prevent ice damming. Also clean out your basement stairway drain. **Get ready for the big meltdown.** Test your sump pump by dumping five gallons of water around it to see whether it activates. Install plastic window well covers or at least put up plastic with tape on top of your wells to try and keep the melting water from seeping into your basement windows. **Store water.** If the power goes out and you need force to flush your toilet, you’ll want to have water stockpiled. Buy three or four five-gallon buckets with lids, fill them, and keep them in your basement. If you can’t get out to buy the buckets, fill your bathtubs. Or do both. **Prepare your snow shovel.** Before you start clearing snow, spray the top of your shovel with nonstick cooking spray. Then the snow will slide right off of it when you throw it to the side. No sticking. Martinisko, who is tall, likes an aluminum shovel with slightly raised sides and a long handle. **More from The Washington Post:** How the brine used to make streets safer will tear up your car The key characteristics of Washington’s biggest snowstorms Ditch the island: Why you should rediscover your dining room

How to fix that scary roof-popping noise

I believe that I can give you some comfort right away. Based on the photos you sent, it appears your roof framing is quite substantial. The only way for me to have full confidence would be to go into your attic and inspect all the locations where one piece of lumber is connected to another. Fortunately, it appears it’s pretty easy to get around up in your attic because it’s a steeper roof and it was common framed instead of using prefabricated trusses. Your complaint is fairly common, and it reminds me of a house I looked at in New Hampshire not too long ago. The wife complained about the same issues you’re having, but the popping noises happened each sunny day in the morning. All would then be quiet until after the sun went down. The wind pressure against a roof, or an entire home, can be enormous. You can demonstrate this to yourself quite easily by trying to carry something large and flat on a windy day. Years ago, as a young builder, I almost got blown off a roof while trying to carry a sheet of 4-by-8 plywood. A sudden wind gust knocked me down, and the plywood sheet went sailing out of my hands off the roof. Luckily, no one was hurt except for the plywood. I can see from your photo that you’ve got a standard gable roof where at least one end of your home has a flat gable wall that takes the full brunt of the wind. Imagine the pounds of pressure against the entire side wall when a strong wind hits it. The entire roof system, if not solidly braced, can and will flex to absorb this force. This flexing is what’s causing the popping noise. As for the popping noise in the morning and evening, that’s a different mechanism. It’s thermal expansion and contraction. The sun hits your roof and heats it up. As the lumber expands, it moves, and it will rub against other pieces of wood that aren’t moving at the same rate. This movement creates the popping noise. When the wood cools down after sunset, the same thing happens in reverse. I’ve stopped these noises from happening in homes by adding diagonal bracing to the roof rafters or trusses. It’s best if you can incorporate 2-by-6 material and use large timber screws instead of nails. You want to place at least two four-inch-long timber screws through the 2-by-6 where it passes over the underside of the roof rafter or truss. The diagonal bracing transfers the concentrated wind load to other parts of the structure all at once, and this helps dampen the movement. It’s best to place the diagonal braces so they run different directions, creating the letter V or W on the underside of the rafters. You want to start as low as possible near where the rafters cross over the bearing exterior walls and run the wood up as high as possible to the roof ridge. The diagonal bracing creates an extremely rigid box so the roof framing lumber moves as one giant unit instead of each piece of lumber moving on its own. You may have great success just installing one set of diagonal bracing on each side of the roof. I’d do that before I’d put it across all the rafters. If you want to get a professional opinion before you start any of this work, you need to call in a residential structural engineer. These skilled pros are well versed in wind loads and how to resist them. It’s a core part of their training. I prefer to work with engineers who specialize in residential work because they’re in touch with the best practices and the nuances of wood framing. Many other structural engineers work primarily with structural steel and concrete and may not give you the absolute best advice to get excellent results for the lowest investment of time and money. Be sure you have the engineer look at the connection of the roof rafters where they sit upon the exterior load-bearing walls. If your roof ever detaches from the house, this is where it’s going to happen. The engineer may recommend that you install simple metal connectors. Be sure to use the approved structural screws made especially for these connectors. The screws may cost a little more, but they hold so much better than a nail. If you use a cordless impact driver, you’ll have no problems installing the screws. I had to do this same thing to stabilize my outdoor deck. The person who built my deck before I moved into my home did a horrible job, and there were no structural connectors at all. The impact driver did a superb job and saved me lots of time, money and my wrist!

Police: With the flip of a light switch, this Massachusetts house could have blown

When authorities showed up Tuesday at the home on Craig Street, in Milton, Mass., they were met by an electrician, the Boston Globe reported.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The home hadn’t passed a previous inspection, according to the Globe, and the electrician told investigators that he had located something on the property. It was an explosive device — and it was rigged to blow when someone turned on a specific light in the house, Milton Police Chief Richard Wells said.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico “We believe the intention was that if someone had flipped the light switch on where it ended, the device would have exploded,” Wells said, according to NBC News.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico A crew removed the device, which reportedly ran through the home. According to NBC, Wells “described the mechanism as involving wires meticulously snaking through several rooms from a gallon container of an incendiary substance, which was ‘secreted inside the house,’ to a particular light switch.” Authorities are now investigating. “We knew just by looking at it that this was something else,” Wells told the Globe.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The home’s owner told the Globe that it was previously occupied by a married couple and their daughter, who had recently moved. “I just can’t believe someone would really do this,” Lindel Williams, the owner, told the Globe. Here’s what the scene looked like Tuesday, according to the paper:    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico **READ MORE:**   Italy’s highest court reviewing Amanda Knox’s fate    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico China’s war on square-dancing grannies    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico All-Canadian basketball player can now use his ‘F-word’ last name    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico The trials of Lara Logan, hospitalized again    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

Hints From Heloise: Draining your energy

**Dear Readers:** Did you know that the average household has at least 25 electronic devices! That’s only the average — some have a lot more power vampires! They drain energy even when not in use! If you aren’t using it daily, unplug it! Most items that have a digital clock, timers, etc., pull power (even when turned off), thus adding to your electric bill. Check spare bedrooms, bathrooms and the garage. You’d be surprised at what you can “pull the plug on.” If you have to keep electronics, like a computer, plugged in, put it in sleep mode. Your computer will power down and use less electricity. Use power strips for multiple appliances, especially in the kitchen. This way, you can unplug them all at once with just a flip of a switch. P.S.: I did a quick walk-through only in the kitchen, den, studio and one bedroom. Yikes! I counted 12, and know I missed some. I know what I’ll be doing this weekend: Walking through each room and taking a count. Power strips — the more the merrier. _**Dear Heloise:** Air travelers shouldn’t wear flip-flops. There is no protection for the feet. In case of an emergency, you will want your feet well protected and secure._ **A Frequent Flier, via email** **Frequent Flier:** Flip-flops are not really the best footwear for travel. As far as protecting feet, going through airports, riding on escalators and moving sidewalks or just walking through crowds, with most people dragging luggage, there can be lots of hurt toes. In an aircraft emergency, I don’t think I’d want to be flip-flopping down the aisle, or get the flip-flop caught on the slide if I had to jump and slide down the ramp. _**Dear Heloise:** I have five furry friends, and four of them require regular groomer’s visits. My “alpha male” is a white schnauzer (Tyler), and on occasion, he can get a bit furry before he finally gets groomed._ _The groomer likes to put a small bandana around their necks after grooming. Every time Tyler got groomed, the other dogs would go crazy, barking, growling and chasing him all around the yard. I just thought they didn’t recognize him._ _On his most recent visit, he came home and got the same reaction, and that’s when it hit me! I wondered if the bandana was the culprit. So on instinct, I took it off, and lo and behold, they stopped and went about their business as usual._ _No cute bandana for Tyler!_ **Angie, via email** _**Dear Heloise:** I have an old seam ripper that’s dull and useless when it comes to sewing. I now have it in my kitchen, where I use it anytime I need to peel off a label from a can or container._ _It’s definitely much safer than a sharp knife or a pair of scissors._ **Mari T., El Paso, Tex.** Heloise’s column appears six days a week at washingtonpost.com/advice. Send a hint to  Heloise , P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, or email it to Heloise@Heloise.com. , King Features Syndicate

Seven investments to help you get top-dollar in a home sale

Preparation is a critical element of success. When listing your home in a very competitive real estate market, being properly prepared for a broad spectrum of home buyers’ demands should be the top priority of every seller. Properties that show the best sell the quickest and for the highest price. Therefore, getting your home into the best possible show condition is in the best interest of sellers. Remember, from the perspective of a buyer, the overall touring experience, or the way the home made them feel, is just as important as the neighborhood, schools, bedrooms and bathrooms, so making a positive first impression is critical to getting a top-dollar offer. Here are seven ideas to help sellers get their homes market-ready:   I’ve been in a number of homes where there is a yellow dining room, red kitchen and a baby blue family room all on the same floor. Multiple colors may have been your preference while living there. But to a buyer it is distracting and probably not to their taste. Neutralize the walls to optimize your space and allow for a comfortable showing experience. By picking a lighter neutral color you will automatically brighten the house, which is always a good thing.  Go through each room and decide what pieces of furniture to ditch to open up the living spaces, or what belongings/clothes you will need for the next 90 days and pack up the rest. Use the motivation of selling your home as an opportunity to get rid of unwanted stuff before your list date. By doing this you have an opportunity to transform your space and simplify your life.     The bottom line is that focusing your time, energy and resources on these seven areas before selling will not only add value to the sales price but allow your home to sparkle. Making these investments will help you improve the outcome of your sale.

Hurricane Sandy’s mark remains

Hurricane Sandy didn’t aim at the Washington area, but even its sideways glance packed a lot of punch, and water. Even if you don’t have the obvious damage that residents of New York and New Jersey are dealing with, a top-to- bottom check of your house can point out signs of damage that you might otherwise overlook, leading to a lot of grief and expense later. If you haven’t already done so, walk around the outside of your house. If a tree crashed onto the roof, you probably already know — and with any luck you have at least temporarily covered the hole with a tarp or plywood. But are you sure all the roof shingles are still intact? Roof inspections are best done from a ladder, but you can see quite a bit from the ground if you use binoculars. Or ask neighbors whether you can peek through top-floor windows of their houses. (Return the favor if they want to check their own homes.) While you’re at it, make sure gutters are still attached and straight. And if your neighborhood has overhead power lines, check the weatherhead and riser, the pipe apparatus where the power line feeds into your home. If the pipe is bent or loose, call a licensed electrician for a closer inspection and repair if necessary. But a loop of wire at the weatherhead is normal; it allows rain to drip off onto the roof, rather than run down the wires to the meter. While you are outside, look for loose window screens, window glass that might have broken from airborne debris and other problems. Some communities allow homeowners to bundle downed branches for pickup along with fall leaves. Washington, for example, accepts pieces less than two inches in diameter as long as they are cut into lengths of four feet or less. But if you hire a landscaper for the cleanup, the company should haul away the debris. If you spot a tree that used to grow straight but now tilts, call an arborist to assess whether the tree is still stable. Many deciduous trees grow toward light and can be safe even if they look a bit unbalanced, but conifers typically grow erect unless something is wrong. Once inside, head for the basement and give it the sniff test. This long after a storm, a mildew smell could mean there was a leak that you didn’t notice. Read the Environmental Protection Agency’s information on identifying and dealing with mold and then decide whether the cleanup is something you can tackle yourself and what safety gear you need. To cure general mustiness, you might just need to clear out clutter and get stored items off the floor, because this allows better air circulation. If the basement flooded (especially if there is still standing water this long after the storm), or if you see big areas covered with mildew, you might need a mold-remediation company plus a basement waterproofing contractor to make sure your house stays dry next time. Porous materials, including drywall, carpet and carpet padding, usually need to be removed and thrown away if they stayed damp for more than a couple of days. Continue your inspection by checking the ceilings on the top floor to make sure you see no stains that hint of a roof leak. Even better, pull down attic stairs or bring in a ladder and open the access to the attic. With a bright light, scan the attic space for signs of leaks, including dark stains on the back of the roof sheathing and matted areas of the insulation. If you do find damage that you need help in fixing, photograph the problems and check with your insurance company to see whether your homeowner policy will cover repairs. Flooding isn’t typically covered, nor is debris removal. But roof repairs and other wind damage typically is — and in this case, without the higher deductible that normally applies after a hurricane, because Sandy didn’t reach land with hurricane-force winds. If you disagree with what your insurance company tells you, there are ways to appeal; check with your state insurance commissioner (in Virginia, in Maryland and in Washington. Widespread storm damage tends to bring unscrupulous repair folks out in force. If you do need to hire someone, make sure the contractor is licensed by checking online, in Virginia, in Maryland and in Washington. Maryland has a Home Improvement Commission guaranty fund that compensates homeowners who suffer economic damage because of work done by a contractor — but only if the contractor is licensed. **READ MORE:** After Sandy, locals stretch beyond their neighborhood to help those in need How to pick the right generator Getting your home ready for the next big storm November’s home improvement checklist **Have a problem in your home?** Send questions to localliving@washpost.com. Put “How To” in the subject line, tell us where you live and try to include a photo.

Wet basement? Try these cost-effective solutions before calling a contractor.

Wet basement? Thinking about calling a basement waterproofing contractor? Stop. Many contractors will propose the installation of expensive interior drainage systems — even if you don’t need one — when most moisture problems can be solved through less expensive means. You’re more likely to get good results and save a lot of money by exploring other solutions and hiring a basement waterproofing contractor only if absolutely needed. If your home was built within the past few years, check the builder’s warranty for clauses on seepage. Most basements get wet when rainwater runs toward the walls of houses from roofs, yards and driveways. So your first step is to force it to run away from your home. Start by cleaning your gutters, repairing holes, and making sure they slope toward downspouts and have not come loose from the house, allowing water to fall directly from the roof to the ground. Test downspouts to make sure they spill water at least four feet away from the house. You can extend downspouts for less than $15 each; gutter repairs are more expensive. But these improvements are worth the price, even if they do not fully solve your water problem. The next step is to inspect the soil around your house and regrade it if necessary. This is a job you can do yourself or by calling in a landscaper. The earth around your house should slope at least one inch per foot going away from your house for about six to eight feet. The grading should consist of fill soil with a clay content of 20 to 30 percent. Don’t use sandy soil or soil containing a lot of organic matter; it will not shed water adequately. Before adding dirt around your foundation, rake out all old mulch, leaves and ground cover. If they are filled over, they will create a shelf that catches water. A grading solution obviously has important advantages. It costs little — dirt, after all, is cheap — requires no great skill and should move enough water away from your house to prevent serious harm. If portions of your yard slope toward your house, you may have to cut a swale to divert water before it reaches the house. A swale is a shallow, U-shaped ditch dug perpendicular to the water flow. Like regrading, it’s a fairly simple job. Regrading or diverting surface water will solve most basement moisture problems, but it may not always be the best approach. It may cost more than other solutions — for instance, if you have to rebuild an elaborate patio that slants toward your house or if you have to redo extensive landscaping in the problem area. Furthermore, grading is not a sure cure for leakage problems; water may be penetrating your basement from places that originate well away from your house. Finally, sometimes regrading is a relatively frail solution; a little careless digging in your garden may produce a new source of leakage just after you have installed a home theater in your basement. If regrading and other surface drainage improvements don’t solve the problem, more drastic and expensive solutions await. For most homes, the next best approach is to waterproof walls from the outside. For this, a trench is dug to the depth of the footings of affected walls. Drainage pipe is installed at the bottom of the trench to collect water that seeps from above and carries it to a part of your yard away from your home or into a drainage pit. The exterior walls are re-parged and a vapor barrier added. The trench is filled with soil that is tamped down, and the surface area is regraded to improve surface drainage. Excavating and waterproofing from the outside might be more expensive than installing an interior drainage system. But Checkbook’s view is that, unlike interior systems, this will actually solve the underlying problem by diverting water away from walls, rather than simply managing water that enters the home. If you need to hire a contractor, meet with and obtain proposals from several. Many landscaping companies specialize in drainage work. You can get some insight into a company’s performance by checking the ratings and comments posted by area consumers in the “Basement Waterproofers” and “Landscapers” sections at Checkbook.org. Through a special arrangement with The Washington Post, you can access ratings in these categories free of charge until Feb. 25 at checkbook.org/washingtonpost/wetbasement. Among basement waterproofing contractors, big differences exist in the quality of advice provided. Checkbook found that different companies may propose drastically different — and in some cases costly and unnecessary — solutions. Don’t let them pressure you into a decision. Avoid companies that use aggressive sales tactics. Check any contractor’s schedule of payments. A payment schedule that allows you to pay most or all of the cost of a job after completion gives you leverage to make sure it’s completed promptly and neatly. The best arrangement is to hold final payment until after the first heavy rain, when you can find out how well the job holds up. Compare the guarantees offered by companies that bid on the work. Of course, a guarantee should protect you if the system doesn’t work — but you still have to enforce it. In this field, don’t be too impressed with long guarantees. If a company goes under, its guarantee won’t do you much good — and waterproofing companies go under all the time. Also, beware of technicalities in guarantees. Some impose an annual fee to keep the guarantee in force, an easy-to-overlook requirement. In addition, warranty coverage of sump pumps varies. Some warranties cover the pump for as long as they cover the underground system — perhaps five years or more; some cover it for a year or less. Washington Consumers’ Checkbook is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help consumers get the best service and lowest prices. It is supported by consumers and takes no money from the service providers it evaluates. You can access all of Checkbook’s ratings of area basement waterproofers free of charge until Feb. 25 at checkbook.org/washingtonpost/wetbasement.

Partition lawsuit may be the sole answer when one owner wants out

Mama lived a good life and raised two wonderful children. Jack moved to Oregon, and his sister, Carol, lived in the family home in Washington with her mother. Mama just died, and had the good sense to have a last will and testament, giving the home to both children equally as tenants in common. In our fictitious example, Jack wants to buy a condo, sell the house and get half of the sales proceeds. Carol wants to stay in the house but cannot afford to buy Jack out. The house has appreciated nicely over the years. How do they resolve this situation if they cannot reach a friendly brother-and-sister agreement? There is in the law a concept known as “partition.” Judges throughout the country have made it clear they will not force two or more people to continue owning real property where one of the owners wants out. Jack can file a partition lawsuit in a local court where the property is located. Alternatively, he can find a speculator who will give him immediate cash, in return for getting a deed to Jack’s half-interest in the house. A tenant in common can sell his interest — or even give it to someone by gift — without the consent of his fellow co-tenant. And the speculator can then file the partition lawsuit, and ultimately kick Carol out of the family home. If Jack and Carol owned two properties, the court could order that each would end up owning one of the properties. In our case, the court will force the sale, with the proceeds being divided equally. The sale can be handled by an independent real estate agent or the judge — after advertising the sale in a newspaper for several weeks — can hold an auction right in the courthouse. From my experience, however, having represented brothers or sisters in similar situations, the only winners in a partition action are the lawyers and the speculators who often get a good bargain. Carol would get half of the proceeds. She may be able to be reimbursed for any real estate taxes or mortgage payments that she made over the past three years. But unless she can arrange to be a tenant with the new owner, she will have to move out of the family home. A recent report by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws found that partition lawsuits have resulted in the displacement of many low- to moderate- income families across the country. For example, the report stated that “African-Americans have experienced tremendous land loss over the course of the past century . . . and partition sales have been one of the leading causes of involuntary land loss.” The report made it clear, however, that “forced partition sales have negatively impacted other communities as well” — pointing out that Mexican Americans lost hundreds of thousands of acres in New Mexico and other states. Such displacement is not limited to rural areas. Cities including Washington D.C., face similar concerns. All too often, property is handed down from generation to generation. For example, great-grandfather had two brothers and a sister. The three inherited the property when he died. Each brother had a wife and two children. When one of the brothers died, his wife inherited the property but she remarried and had another child. It gets complicated, especially when there is no will. I once had to track down 32 distant relatives in order to clear title. There is a bill pending before the D.C. Council, the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, whose purpose is to remove — to the extent possible — the adverse consequences of a partition action while at the same time recognizing the rights of a co-tenant to sell the property. Clearly, it is a difficult balance. If it were enacted into law, Carol would have to get advance notice before John — or the speculator who bought his interest — can file the court action. Once the lawsuit is filed, the judge is authorized to obtain an appraisal to ensure the property will not be sold in a “fire- sale” situation. Furthermore, Carol would have the right to buy the property. She could bring in a friend or a relative to assist her, if possible, so she could remain in the family home. Higher-income families typically retain estate-planning specialists to ensure a smooth transition of wealth to the next generation. Mama — to her credit — gave the property by will to her two children, but did not consider the consequences. All too often, however, there is no will and a contested probate case drags on for months or years. The proposal is pending before the D.C. Council’s Committee on the Judiciary. **Benny L. Kass** is a Washington and Maryland lawyer. This column is not legal advice and should not be acted upon without obtaining legal counsel. For a free copy of the booklet “A Guide to Settlement on Your New Home,” send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Benny L. Kass, 1050 17th St. NW, Suite 1100, Washington, D.C. 20036. **More by Benny L. Kass:** What’s wrong with D.C. condo owner bill of rights? After a faulty home inspection, can buyers recoup some cash? A capital-gains rollover in your past can haunt you in the future

Fire hazards during grilling season

The smell of burgers wafting from a neighbor’s back yard is one of the earliest signs of spring. But as people dust off their grills and gather around fire pits, they should carefully inspect their equipment and go over safety tips with their families to help prevent fires. “The best advice we have is to make sure to keep grills and anything with an open flame on it, whether tiki torches, citronella candles or firepits, away from anything combustible,” says Gregg A. Karl, a captain in the Arlington County Fire Prevention Office. Gathering around a fire, whether at an outdoor kitchen, a chiminea or a stone outdoor fireplace, is a growing part of entertaining, according to Lorraine Carli, spokeswoman for the National Fire Protection Association. “You should follow a lot of the same safety tips with these as with grills. Never leave them unattended and make sure that the fire is totally out before you leave them at the end of the event.” And never use a grill in a garage. Four out of five families own a grill and barbecue at least once a week in the summer, according to Deborah Hanson, spokeswoman for First Alert, manufacturer of safety products. “We suggest a three-foot zone around the grill, whether it’s charcoal or propane,” Hanson says. “Keep kids and pets away and keep it away from siding, deck railings or overhanging branches. Clean the grill regularly and always remove the grease buildup from the trays underneath.” Chris Hartley, vice president of marketing for Blue Rhino, a propane tank exchange company, says consumers should test propane grills for leaks. He suggests a solution of water and dishwashing detergent applied to spots where there is a connection between the grill and the tank. “If you see bubbles, you have a leak, and you have to take action and seek repairs,” he says. Keep a fire extinguisher around, even if you’re not grilling. And “know how to use it ahead of time so you aren’t fooling around trying to figure that out when you need it,” Carli says. If a fire breaks out in your back yard, Karl says to first call 911 before trying to fight it. “We would rather come out and make sure the fire did not extend out,” Karl says, “than come back two hours later with people trapped in the house because they did not call when it initially happened.” ** 7,100** ****Average number of home fires per year involving gas grills ** 1,200 ** Average number of home fires per year involving charcoal   or other solid-fueled grills **National Fire Protection Association, Fire Analysis and Research Division**

How to repair cracked molding seams

**Question: A number of years ago, I put crown molding in my kitchen, foyer, bathroom and two upstairs bathrooms. Downstairs, the molding is fine. But the seams on the two upstairs bathrooms periodically open up and look cracked. Because both of these rooms are right below the attic space, I think the issue involves the shrinking and expanding of the molding, not necessarily due to moisture in the bathrooms.** **I have scraped out the old caulk and resealed the seams and then repainted. But eventually the problem reappears! Is there a caulk that will expand and contract, or is there some way to nail the molding more firmly into the walls and ceiling?** **— Reston** **Answer** : Bathrooms do have bigger humidity swings than other rooms, so that could be a factor. But, quite likely, your main problem is expansion and contraction of the roof framing, especially if your house has truss framing in the attic. Trusses get their strength to span wide distances by having short pieces of wood that tie together the long framing pieces that support the roof with those that carry the ceiling; the whole assembly acts as one big piece. So as the roof heats up or cools, the ceiling also flexes, causing those maddening cracks to open up between the crown molding and the ceiling. To prevent problems, builders can avoid screwing or nailing ceiling drywall to trusses within 18 inches of walls. The ceiling still stays up because the outside edge is supported by the top edge of the wall drywall. But this system allows the ceiling pieces to flex as needed to accommodate truss movement, eliminating cracks. Unfortunately, it’s too late for you to take advantage of this strategy unless you can locate and remove the nails or screws fastening the ceiling perimeter. Another trick used by trim carpenters who install crown molding under truss roofs is to glue a thin piece of molding to the ceiling and then fasten the main crown molding only to walls. They avoid caulking or even painting shut the seam between the two molding sections. So if a crack opens up there, it looks like a sharp shadow line rather than a problem. You might be able to adapt that approach to your rooms by adding a thin strip of molding glued only to the ceiling. Or try scraping out the caulk, to eliminate the messy-looking tears in the caulking and paint. Then just let the cracks be where they are. After all, the beauty of crown molding is mostly in the shadow lines; only at corners do you really notice the curves. _[Have a problem in your home? Send questions to localliving@washpost.com.]_ **Question: I have a small sculpture of my mother, made well over 70 years ago, that I treasure, especially since she died when I was 17. Somehow the screw(s) that hold it onto its wooden base broke or came loose. The base itself is in good condition. The statue is made of some kind of clay compound, I think, and obviously there is a lot of wear and tear on the exterior. My main concern is getting the bust reattached, but if there is also a way to clean up the exterior finish, that would be a bonus. Do you know of someone who might be able to do this?** **— Fairfax City** **Answer** : Steven Pickman, owner of Steven Pickman Objects Conservation in Washington (310-625-1892; www.spobjectsconservation.com ), recommends going to a mountmaker, a person who specializes in attaching objects to bases for display in museums and private collections. Pickman said he’s seen excellent work done by ParaMounts (304-279-5691; www.para-mounts.com), a mountmaking company based in Charles Town, W.Va., that does work throughout the Washington area. Nancey Veldran, a mountmaker who handles business arrangements at ParaMounts, said it appears from the pictures you sent that the statue was attached to the base by a threaded rod that’s now bent. So ParaMounts’ approach probably would be to straighten the rod and attach it to a new, custom-built base made of Medite, a formaldehyde-free, wood-fiberboard product that museums favor because it doesn’t release harmful gases that could damage artifacts. The company typically charges travel and assessment time (at $75 an hour) for a staff person to evaluate pieces and recommend solutions. But because your statue is easily carried and you live in Washington, Veldran said she could probably arrange for you to drop it off at Sands of Time Antiquities in Georgetown, a frequent customer. That would save you from paying for travel time, bringing a ballpark total cost for remounting to about $265. As for repairing the surface, that is a job Pickman would be happy to do. He, like Veldran, suspects the piece is made of plaster topped by a sealing layer and paint or other finish, so the repair would involve patching, sealing and touch-up. Pickman offers a free consultation if you go to his studio but charges for travel time if he comes to you. At the consultation, he would discuss options and prices. Then, if you decided to proceed, he would photograph the sculpture, write a detailed condition report and document all work he does. Pickman does not give price estimates based on photographs. “I need to have the piece in my hands,” he said. But his hourly rate is $120, and his minimum is $250 per object, so you can guess it’s not cheap. You should, however, wind up with a piece that is stabilized and repairs that should last — just what you want for a treasured keepsake. **More fromHome & Garden:** How to repair burned fireplace tiles How to renew a pair of down pillows How to fix the stain on a paneled door

How to prepare your home for the big snow

Before you run out for milk and toilet paper in a pre-snow panic, you’ll want to ensure that your home is ready for a day or two of hunkering down. Here’s what experts say you should do now: 1) Protect your outdoor faucets, which are particularly vulnerable to plunging temperatures. Shut off the inside valve leading to any outside faucets and unhook hoses. Run the outside faucet to drain any water from that pipe and then close it. 2) Watch out for your water pipes. If yours are prone to bursting, keep cabinet doors beneath sinks open so warm air from your home can reach the pipes more easily. Use a blow dryer to warm up exposed pipes instead of space heaters, which can be a fire hazard. If you’re in an older home, consider keeping your thermostat up a bit higher than usual, even up to 74 degrees. Even a few degrees makes a difference, plumbers say. “You’ll spend a little more on your heating bill, but you’ll save your pipes,” said Tom Nicholson, president of Kensington-based Nicholson Plumbing Co. 3) Use space heaters with care. Keep them at least three feet from any curtains or clutter and turn them off when you go to bed. 4) Plan for a possible power outage. Stock up on flashlights and batteries. Charge cellphones, laptops and the tablets you might want to keep the kids entertained. Don’t burn a candle unless you remain in the room with it. Don’t use a gas stove or burners for heat — they are a burn hazard and a source of potential carbon monoxide. Don’t use a gas grill indoors, including in your garage, because of the carbon monoxide risk. Don’t run generators in garages or outside where it’s close to windows, through which carbon monoxide can seep into a home. If the power goes, unplug appliances to prevent them from succumbing to a surge when it comes back on. 5) Keep snow clear from outside drains and vents from your home. You’ll need the drains, including for sump pumps, clear when the snow starts to melt, and indoor heating systems can shut down if the vent gets clogged. 6) Prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. Make sure you have working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Anything that uses combustion to produce heat, including gas appliances and wood-burning fireplaces, can produce carbon monoxide if not vented properly. 7) Keep an eye on what you’re flushing. Having a home full of people home all day means lots more flushing than usual. Make sure everyone goes easy on the toilet paper, as this will be a tough weekend to get on a plumber’s call list. “If this is as bad as they’re saying, no plumber will be able to get around in it,” Nicholson, the plumbing company owner, said of the storm. 8) Clear snow from area fire hydrants. 9) Make sure your furnace filter is clean. A clogged filter can shut it down. 10) Make a “personal disaster kit” that includes water, food and medicines. This is where the milk and toilet paper come in. 11) Lastly, take a deep breath and watch the flakes fall. As Pete Piringer, spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, put it: “Just have fun and relax. With a little bit of planning ahead of time, the experience will be wonderful for most of us.”

Flipping houses soars in D.C. metro region

Flipping homes – where a house is bought, renovated and resold within months – is undergoing a resurgence in the D.C. metro area, according to a report released Friday by RealtyTrac, a real estate data firm.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University The company looked at single-family homes that were resold within six months after their purchase from January to June of this year and found that this region showed a 108 percent increase in flipping compared to the first six months of 2012. And it ranked it among the top 15 markets for profitable home flipping based on the resale value of these homes. The report also showed that flipping is cooling in Las Vegas, Phoenix and Southern California, places that previously had been hot spots. Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac, sees a wave moving across the country from west to east. The wave is the housing recovery, and it is driving trends such as flipping. “It hit markets like Southern California and Phoenix first because those were the first to see the bounce off the bottom in home prices,” he said. “Whereas in places like D.C. . . . the market is somewhat untapped from a flippers’ perspective.” There were 3,169 single-family homes that were flipped in the D.C. metro region the first six months of this year. The average purchase price for a home that was going to be flipped was $403,441 – fourth highest in the country, behind only San Jose, San Francisco and Ocean City, N.J. But for those who have the money, the return can be great. The average gross profit – the difference between the purchase and sale price – was $46,205. It is worth noting that RealtyTrac did not factor in how much was spent on the rehab. The report also broke down flipping by state. For the entire state of Virginia, flipping was up 135 percent. In Maryland, it was up 104 percent, and in D.C., it was unchanged. Because of its small housing inventory and its cumbersome foreclosure process, the District had only 57 houses flipped in the first six months this year. But those investors who can find houses to fix up, it is well worth their effort. The average purchase price in the District for houses to be flipped was $238,298, about 28 percent below market value. The average gross profit on those houses once they were resold was $191,103. “My guess is what’s happening there is that the homes that the flippers are getting are very highly distressed properties in need of a lot of work,” Blomquist said. “They’re getting them at very low prices, but they’re probably having to put a lot into them, which unfortunately is not reflected here. But once they do, it’s such a hot market and such limited inventory, they are able to sell it at a premium.” Blomquist believes the increase in Maryland can be attributed to the uptick in foreclosure activity. Unlike Virginia, which moved relatively quickly through the foreclosure process, Maryland had a more deliberate system. As a result, a backlog of distressed properties is now coming onto the market. In June, Maryland had a 162 percent year over year increase in foreclosure activity, the fifth month in a row of triple digit percentage increases. The more foreclosed properties on the market, the more opportunities for real estate investors. Rising mortgage rates don’t appear to have a dampening effect on flipping, since most real estate investors pay cash or finance through a hard money lender. However, the rising rates are making it more challenging for the investors to sell their properties once they have renovated them. For those thinking now is the time to jump into real estate investing, you may be too late. Blomquist doesn’t see this trend lasting. “We’ll see the numbers taper back off,” he said. “There’s a perfect storm for flipping right now. You’re really seeing a market that’s evolving from a distressed market to a recovering market so that’s a great window of opportunity for flippers. But once that window is gone and home prices normalize and the distressed properties have also normalized to a low level, then the volumes will go back down.”

What is a fair payout for brother who gave up his part of house? Readers weigh in.

If you enter into financial deals with family members, be prepared for some uncomfortable and sometimes ugly disagreements. If things go wrong, it does become personal. Recently, I weighed in on the financial situation of twin brothers. They had bought a home together. One brother took off after a few years of sharing the home, leaving his twin to take complete care of the property, physically and financially. When the brother living in the home got married, he refinanced and his twin agreed to sign a “quitclaim deed,” giving up ownership in exchange for an unspecified share of profits once the home was sold. No sale is pending, but the brother who moved is trying to negotiate — after the fact — what he’s owed based on the home’s appreciated value. So what’s fair? I don’t think they call it “sweat equity” for nothing. What I thought was fair was to give the brother back his down payment of $20,000, plus a modest return. The brother had walked away from the investment, leaving the responsibility for the mortgage and upkeep to his twin. Now he wants back in. With a vague agreement for money later, why should he get more when he did so little? Some of you thought he does deserve more. I have a feature I call “Talk Back” in which I allow readers to provide counterarguments to something I’ve written. One reader, Valerie from Quartz Hill, Calif., suggested that the fair thing would be to get the home professionally appraised and then decide on a split. “Subtract expenses, including refinancing fees, annual real estate taxes, property improvements, etc., and don’t forget ongoing maintenance; and offer him half of what is left,” she wrote. For reader Christine, the situation hit home. She and her sister also bought a home together. Her sister lives in the house but Christine does not. She says her sister also wanted her to sign a quitclaim deed to refinance the property. “I didn’t trust her and did not do it. I do not live in the town where the building I own is located, but that does not vacate my right to ownership. . . . The lesson might be: Don’t trust anyone to do the right thing: Get it in writing, even if it is your twin brother.” One reader suggested that the brothers try mediation. There are nonprofit community-based centers around the country that offer free mediation such as the Conflict Resolution Center of Montgomery County. Nolo.com provides some good tips on what is involved in that process. Search the site for “Why Consider Mediation?” “Mediation is particularly valuable when your dispute involves another person with whom — either by choice or circumstance — you need to remain on good terms,” according to Nolo.com, “so a huge advantage of mediation is its ability to get a dispute resolved without destroying a relationship.” Reader Joyce Ellis, a retired California real estate broker, said she has seen a lot of situations like the one pitting brother against brother. “Many important issues were neglected between the brothers over time,” she wrote. “However, in order to reach a fair solution, one must treat it as an arm’s-length transaction.” Ellis offered some very useful questions: ●From the time the brother left, what has been the fair-market rental value on the property? ●What is the value of the tax advantages that the remaining brother enjoyed that the departing brother didn’t share? ●What is a fair management credit to the remaining brother, since the absent one didn’t have that burden? ●What is the vacancy factor for that area? ●What is the value of the improvements made by the remaining brother? “When these matters are factored in and then balanced against the appreciation or depreciation in value today, there is likely to be a different picture altogether,” Ellis wrote. “I imagine some accommodation could be made on each of their parts but, make no mistake, memories are long, and hurts fester. If this matter is allowed to be treated as anything but an arm’s-length transaction, it will color relationships from now on and rear its head in surprising and painful ways for years to come.” It’s too late to try and treat the situation as an arm’s-length transaction. This is exactly why you need to work out all this stuff before you mix your money with a relative. Better yet, perhaps you should just avoid business deals that rely on good faith before or after the fact. At least spell out the arrangement formally in a written contract so that family bonds don’t cloud what’s financially fair. Readers may write to Michelle Singletary at The Washington Post, 1301 K St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071 or michelle.singletary@washpost.com. To read previous Color of Money columns, go to  wapo.st/michelle-singletary.

The hardest part for parting couples: What to do with the house

Ask any real estate agent and he or she will tell you among the worst clients to have are a quarreling divorcing couple attempting to sell their home. Stories abound about one spouse cheating the other out of the proceeds. Or one spouse spiting the other by vandalizing the home to sabotage a sale. A bickering couple unable to get on the same page often means that routine decisions about repairing, marketing and listing the property drag on — jeopardizing a potential sale. Or couples so anxious to wash their hands of the home often undercut themselves by pricing it tens of thousands of dollars below its value for a quick sale. In a worst-case scenario, the home falls into foreclosure, ruining the credit rating of both spouses. Except for people older than 50, experts say, the divorce rate in the United States has steadily declined for the past three decades. Still, the battle over a house sometimes can be rough. Real estate and legal experts say a divorcing couple should set aside their acrimony and get on the same page — whether it’s agreeing to continue living under the same roof, turn the home over to one spouse or sell it. “Some people are so angry at the other person that they don’t want to do anything the other party wants to do,” said D.C. divorce lawyer Marna Tucker. “But many people are able to step beyond it and say, ‘It’s in both our interests to sell for as much as we can, and let’s cooperate.’ ” Virginia divorce lawyer James Cottrell said he’s seen many cases of people throwing their spouse’s clothes on the lawn out of anger. Ben Hodas, a Miami divorce lawyer who is known for handling divorce cases of the wealthy in South Florida, said he has also seen his share of bitter people, like the person who ripped fixtures and chandeliers out of her home before her husband was supposed to put it on the market. Or another woman who made a hole in the wall of her garage, stuffed a dead fish in there and spackled it back up. “In most cases when there’s a joint desire to sell a house, each party is equally interested in maximizing the value,” Hodas said. “People want closure, so they have an interest in getting a house sold as quickly as possible.” Selling a home can be the easiest and fastest way to handle what is likely a couple’s biggest financial asset. While younger couples with children may be inclined to hold onto their home for a while, older couples and empty nesters tend to sell, according to lawyers and real estate agents. Before they begin the process, experts say, the couple should plan — with their lawyers if necessary — how the sale will proceed. Hodas offered these tips: Pick a real estate agent who has the most number of sales in your Zip code, rather than a friend. Decide on a list price and if the home doesn’t sell, agree on a time frame to lower the price a certain amount. But besides such routine matters, the couple would have to grapple with tricky issues related to their marital status — should they sell the house before their divorce goes through? Should they tell the buyers they are divorcing? Alison Beach, a real estate agent based in Vienna, said agents often share personal information about their clients, such as a divorce, as long as everyone is comfortable with it. This usually happens after an offer on a house is accepted. It can let buyers know that the sellers may take an extra day or two to get papers signed or make decisions about home repairs. “You want to respect what’s going on and let the buyers’ side know so they’re aware,” Beach said. “We might need an extension as a courtesy. But we keep it vague, we don’t go into specifics.” As for when to sell, lawyers say couples need to take tax advantages into account such as the capital gains exemption. They advise clients in some situations, for example, to sell the house before the divorce is final. It can be awkward, experts say, for agents and buyers to do business with both spouses in the throes of a divorce. The couple should decide in advance who’s going to do what and who will pay for what. For instance, once the house sells, the couple should pick one person to attend the closing and the other can fax over signed documents. “It usually works best if one party is assigned to work with the Realtor,” said Judi Seiden, a longtime real estate agent on Capitol Hill. Seiden said when she is working with a divorcing couple, she is sure to keep both people in the loop. “I always send any e-mail to both parties,” she said. “So much is lost in translation.” A longer-term arrangement is for one spouse to stay in the home with the children for an agreed-upon period of time, then sell the house. In this scenario, he or she would need to work out details such as who pays the mortgage while the one spouse lives there and how the profits would be split once the house sells. That can carry a financial risk because nobody knows what the housing market will be when the house sells. “Some people keep the home until their child finishes high school or junior high,” Tucker said. Sometimes that can mean selling in a less favorable market. “The event that may lead to a lower price is no different than if you have to move for another reason like a job in a different city,” Cottrell said. “There are many factors that may require people to sell in market they would normally not sell in. It’s a matter of how people have decided to get on with their lives.” Another option is for one spouse to buy the other out of the house. Sometimes one spouse will have more of a claim to the home, especially if he or she owned it before the marriage. In that case, there are a few things to watch out for, according Eric Rome, a lawyer who specializes in real estate law in the District and Maryland. If both people in the couple are on the title of the home, the person who is keeping the house needs to qualify for the entire loan on his or her own. Rome recommends that before a couple decides on that, check with the bank to be sure it agrees to it. He said he’s had cases in which both parties agree the husband will keep the house, remove the wife’s name from the title and take over the mortgage. “What if the husband can’t qualify for loan in his own name? The bank may have no interest in taking the wife’s name off loan,” Rome said. “If the wife can’t get off the current note, that buyout is not achievable.” Rome also said that in a divorce, allow lawyers to examine all relevant documents, especially house titles. He said he is currently working on a messy case in which a couple got divorced 30 years ago and the woman kept their house, which had been in her family for decades. The husband subsequently died. The woman is now trying to sell the house, and she just realized that her ex-husband’s name is still on the title. Rome said he’s in the process of legally untangling the situation, which is complicated because the husband’s family may have a claim to the home. “Tell your lawyer everything, even if you think there’s no issue with the property,” Rome said. “You should make sure these things are dealt with in the process of the divorce.” More and more couples are rejecting the divorce of their parents’ generation and getting creative, especially when kids are involved. While the divorce rate is steadily dropping, the ways in which people remake their living arrangements after splitting is growing, according to divorce lawyers and real estate agents. Sometimes, that means delaying selling the home for several years so one spouse can live there. “They want to keep kids in a stable environment,” Tucker said. “To sell the house is pulling roots out at a time other roots have been pulled out already.” Other times that can even mean the couple shares the house. Shares the house? It’s called nesting, and some people with kids are trying it out in an effort to cause less emotional disruption for the children, and less financial disruption for themselves. Some couples can’t sell because they are upside-down on their mortgage, said Jody Donaldson, a Chantilly-based real estate agent. “It has to be an amicable breakup,” Donaldson said. “If the couple isn’t getting along, it doesn’t work.” Nesting can take any form the couple wants. A guest bedroom can be converted for one spouse to sleep in. Or spouses can trade off weeks living in the house. On their “off week,” they can rent an apartment or live with friends or relatives. Generally, families have a timeline to end this arrangement, because a couple that’s splitting up obviously wouldn’t want to live together indefinitely. Experts say the best way to make that work is to have firm ground rules that everyone agrees on. That includes bigger-picture things such as when the house should go on the market, as well as smaller things such as keeping the house stocked with milk and toilet paper. Other issues can be trickier but still important to work out, like whether a new girlfriend or boyfriend is allowed in the home. This option only works if the couple still gets along quite well. “It takes a special couple to pull off the house sharing even for a short time,” Tucker said. **Allison Klein** is a freelance writer.

Flipping houses isn’t the cakewalk you see on TV

The first few years of my construction career were spent cutting my teeth, fingers, arms and legs rehabbing houses. Back years ago, that was the word used to describe what you’re thinking about doing. I could talk to you for hours about the challenges that lie ahead of you on this quest. Let’s talk about the cable TV shows. I’ve been doing professional home improvement video work for more than 20 years. Most of the shows I’ve seen about flipping homes are produced as entertainment and are not tutorials or investment guides. The shows are taped and edited so you feel happy after you watch them. The show producer wants you to watch the episode. There’s an old saying that I feel comes into play here: “A half-truth is a whole lie.” If a cable TV show about flipping houses told you the entire truth and revealed all that really happened from the start until the end of the project, you might end up with a sour taste in your mouth. But if a show woos you with lots of glamour shots and the exciting aspects of the construction, you might turn off the TV, stretch your arms and get up from the couch feeling empowered and confident. Flipping houses is hard, dirty, dangerous and risky work. It’s not unicorns, rainbows, juice boxes and fruit rollups. You might have better odds making a profit roaming through the Bellagio casino placing bets every 10 minutes at different $100 blackjack tables. This is especially true if you’ve got no real construction experience and you’ve never put together a detailed cost estimate for a project of this magnitude. Indulge me in a trip down memory lane to give you a small taste of what may lie ahead in your flipping career. Old houses, especially those built prior to 1967, contain vast amounts of lead paint. This is a given for houses built in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Any painted surface you disturb can create lead dust that can poison you or anyone working with the material. I had no idea about lead poisoning decades ago while I tore out plaster, sanded old paint and created clouds of dust while I wore cheap fabric breathing masks that were next to useless. I’ll never forget the house I built for Habitat for Humanity. Fortunately, my money was not at risk, just eight hours of my time every Saturday for several months. It was the first house built on an old inner-city lot in Cincinnati. When we dug for the new foundation, we discovered a massive subbasement where the original house stood and it took 200 cubic yards of flash fill to provide enough solid support for the new house footers. The budget was blown for this job before we drove the first nail. I’ll never forget the shock I felt at another old house when I opened up a wall to install a new window. I saw all these tiny white insects about the size of a grain of rice scurrying around. Lo and behold, I was interrupting an extended family feast hosted by a giant nest of termites. Oh, and then there was the first old house I flipped for myself. I decided to replace the rotten cast-iron plumbing drain lines with new PVC plastic ones. Once I had the entire system put back together, I couldn’t understand why the toilet didn’t flush right. It turns out that 80 years of scale and rust buildup at the bottom of the full-sized cast-iron vent stack was blocking air from getting into the plumbing system. As I write this column now, I’m less than 10 miles from where you live. A few days ago I was touring a very vibrant community in Cincinnati called the East End. It’s filled with old houses and small businesses that were built at the same time, or slightly before, the house you’re looking at. Many of these structures are being pushed off their foundations by a massive landslide. The landslides you see on the news in California grab all the attention because they’re violent and come down the mountainsides like an avalanche of snow. These Cincinnati landslides are not new. I was a geology student at the University of Cincinnati and had the good fortune to study the characteristics of the bedrock geology of the greater Cincinnati area. The hillsides around Cincinnati and the bottom of the hillsides in the river valleys are prone to landslides. In Cincinnati, the unstable soil is created when the weak shale in the Kope Formation moves like a sniper in a ghillie suit crawling through the weeds. Because the movement is slow, many in the community are complacent. On my recent visit I saw tilted foundation walls, patio stones bulging up as the soil oozes upward, and entire structures pushed off their foundation walls. Can you imagine what it might cost to stop or repair damage like this? If a lender discovers this is happening during construction or afterward, will he call the note and request that you pay in full your 30-year loan amount immediately? Will you be able to get new financing? Will you have to declare bankruptcy? Vandalism, thievery of building materials and tools, and tough code restrictions will challenge you as you jump into this project. Out-of-level floors, ancient sewer and water lines that may have reached the end of their useful lives and other money-sucking surprises await you. Just be sure you can handle delays, cost overruns and lots of stress.

Hints from Heloise: Bike basics

Dear Readers: BICYCLING is a great activity to do as a family. It gets you outside and active. Here are some hints to help you stay safe and healthy while doing so: * Before heading out, make sure you have the proper equipment, such as reflectors, lights, etc. Don’t just jump on a bike in flip-flops. * Wear bright clothing so that you are easily visible, especially if riding at dusk or night. PLEASE heed this hint! * Use bike lanes, when available, and ride single file. You don’t take up too much space, and you reduce the chances of being hit. * Always, always wear a helmet when riding. * Just like with an auto, check to be sure that the tires are properly inflated and the brakes are working. If you have lights, check those, too! * If you can, try to store bikes inside or in the garage, not out front. And it’s a good idea to take a picture of the bikes and record any serial numbers. * Don’t distract yourself when riding! Don’t listen to music or talk on your cellphone. I’ve seen people just sail through stop signs or yield signs, seemingly unaware of where they are! Please pay attention so you can come home from your ride, not from the hospital. Oh, and watch out for wildlife, too! -- Heloise PET PAL Dear Readers: Phyllis Dobbins sent in a photo, via email, of her 5-year-old Chihuahua, Whitney, lying on the bed after trying on her newest outfits. Phyllis says that Whitney is very patient and never gets tired of letting her mommy dress her up. To see Whitney’s picture, go to my website, www.Heloise.com, and click on “Pets.” -- Heloise CAT BATTLE Dear Heloise: We have two cats, one who sheds constantly and one not so much. They both take ownership of beds and soft places in our house. I tried everything I could think of to keep them off the beds and furniture, but had no success until a friend told me of her solution -- that being the microfiber dish-drying mats you can buy in most any store. They come in different colors and patterns, and are guaranteed to be a miracle worker. I placed a mat for each of our cats at the places that are acceptable to me, and that is where they go to sleep. They now stay off my furniture and either sleep in their cat tree or on the mats. Cleaning them is a breeze: Just put them on the floor, vacuum, then pop them into the washer and dryer. When I buy new ones, I put the old ones on the floor of my truck to catch unwanted drips and soil from shoes. -- N.G., via email WASHER REMINDER Dear Heloise: Just a reminder for all of your readers out there who have cats: Don’t leave the door to your washer or dryer open! If your cat is curious, it might just jump in there when you aren’t looking. If you don’t notice, you could seriously injure your cat, or worse. -- Heidi, via e-mail Heloise’s column appears six days a week at www.washingtonpost.com/advice. Send a hint to  Heloise , P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

How To: Eliminate washing machine vibration

**Q. We have a front-load washer in the utility room on the main floor of an 1896 farmhouse with wooden floors. Even at the lowest spin-cycle setting, the vibration is extreme. The entire house shakes violently, and items fall off shelves in the adjoining bathroom. We were told after the fact that front- loading washers should be used only on concrete floors and that there is nothing we can do about this. Is there a solution? The floor is several inches above ground level with little support underneath, other than the original beams and joists.** **Woodstock, Va.** A. Front-load washers cause more vibration than top-load machines. That’s partly because they spin faster, which helps save energy needed to dry the clothes, and because the direction of the spin adds vibration. Clothes spin to the top of the chamber but then usually drop straight down, over and over. The ultimate solution might be to reinforce the floor from underneath, so that more joists share the job of supporting the weight of the washer. Options include adding cross-bracing between the floor joists, slipping in an additional joist (known as “sistering”) or nailing a 2-by-4 across the bottom of several joists (a “strongback”). However, before you resort to that, here are some other ideas. First, make sure that the washer is level and that all four feet are firmly planted on the floor. (Try rocking the washer from a front corner to the one diagonally across in the back; if the washer moves, the feet aren’t right.) Next, buy a couple of those plastic noodles that kids use as pool toys. They’re cheap, and in online chat sessions, some homeowners report that they’ve solved washing-machine vibration problems by stuffing the noodles between the washer and surfaces on either side. You might also try what KitchenAid recommends: Move the washer aside, attach a three-quarter-inch-thick piece of plywood to the floor (with long screws directly over joists), then move the washer back. From there, it gets more expensive. Several companies sell anti-vibration pads that slip under the washer feet. Consumer Reports magazine found that they did little good. However, a three-inch-deep platform under the entire washer, known as the Steadywash, did reduce vibrations into the floor, which is your issue. The Steadywash, now marketed as the ØVIB Washer Stand, is available for $200, and about $20 shipping, at www.0vib.com. Before you fork over that much money, though, be aware of a couple of issues. Seicon Limited, the company that markets the pad, warns that you may still feel some vibration as the spin cycle ramps up or down, especially if your machine accelerates slowly. The company says this is most likely on machines built by Bosch or earlier LG machines. Also, even on the pad, a washer may still shake visibly from side to side. But the foam noodles might help dampen that. If none of this works and you don’t want to invest in reinforcing the floor, you might try selling your machine to someone who can install it on concrete, perhaps in a garage or a basement. Then buy a new machine that doesn’t vibrate as much. Consumer Reports (www.consumer   reports.org) includes vibration ratings in its washer reviews. You’ll need to subscribe to read them, though. ** Have a problem in your home? ** Send questions to localliving@washpost.com . Put “How To” in the subject line, tell us where you live and try to include a photo.

Carly Fiorina fell off a stage on Sunday. She’s in good company.

When video emerged today of vice presidential nominee(ish) Carly Fiorina falling off the stage at a Sen. Ted Cruz event in Lafayette, Ind. on Sunday, my first thought was "ouch, that's gotta hurt." (Like most of the rest of the media world, my second thought was, "Boy, Ted Cruz doesn't seem too worried for her)   And while it almost certainly did hurt, Fiorina certainly isn't the first politician to take a dive in front of lots and lots of cameras. In this case, Fiorina appears to fall through some kind of secret trap door – but other politicians have fallen down stairs, off the front of stages, and even headlong into photographers. Here are just a few of the greats. Clinton was boarding a plane to Oman when she face-planted, as CNN's cameras looked on. Then-Republican presidential nominee Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kans.) fell off the stage at a rally in Chico, Calif., where he reportedly sustained minor injuries. While most historical examples of candidate falls show the politician falling forwards, presidential contender Gary Bauer fell straight backwards while trying to flip a pancake. Despite apparently bending the frying pan, Bauer gamely got back onstage and attempted his pancake flip again – successfully. The Cuban leader took a dive after giving a commencement speech in Santa Clara, Cuba. He appeared to miss a step down from the stage, and toppled forwards towards the first row of chairs. Castro broke both his arm and his knee in the fall. The president narrowly avoided a painful fall down the steps of Air Force One as he returned from a golf trip to Florida in March 2015.

How to pick a fixer-upper you can flip

_First in a series about investing in real estate_ By most measures, the past eight years have been a disaster for most of the real estate industry. However, for investors who had the prescience to buy real estate at bargain-basement prices and the financial ability to hold it, the time may soon arrive when those high-risk investments will pay off. “Home sales are on a sustained uptrend, mortgage interest rates are hovering near record lows and unsold inventory is at the lowest level in 12 years,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors. Before making any investment, you need to answer two questions: Am I willing to be a “hands-on” investor? And how much risk am I willing to accept? Assuming you are willing to take a hands-on approach and can tolerate a fair amount of risk, buying, renovating and “flipping” may be just right for you. A good candidate for a flip is generally a home that requires repairs and/or renovations to make it desirable for someone to buy and live in. Sometimes the necessary fixes are minor and cosmetic in nature, such as landscaping, painting and carpeting. Other times a property needs major work, such as replacing a roof, updating the kitchen and bathrooms or even reconfiguring the home. The goal here is to buy the home at a discount below the fair market value, make the repairs and/or renovations, and then sell the home at the fair market value. But how much of a discount? Experienced renovators often say that you make your money when you buy, not when you sell. To arrive at an offer price, you can use the same method they use. First, determine the home’s after-repair value: the market price that comparable homes in mint condition, in the vicinity, have sold for within the past three months. A real estate agent with access to a multiple listing service record of sold homes can be a valuable resource. Second, determine the expected repair costs as precisely as possible. To do that, you should assemble a team of honest, experienced real estate professionals, including an architect, home inspector, appraiser, general contractor and, if necessary, a carpenter, plumber, electrician, HVAC contractor, roofer, environmental or mold inspector and landscaper. They should inspect the home with you. The results of their inspections can be used to determine three categories of repairs. The first is the must-make fixes needed to meet minimum building codes and the requirements of financing agencies such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Housing Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs. The second is repairs to correct functional or aesthetic obsolescence. This is where the pink-tile bathrooms, avocado-green appliances and beige laminate counter tops get replaced with modern, natural-stone walk- in showers, stainless-steel appliances and granite counters. The third is a wish list of upgrades. Radiant-heated bathroom floors, wine cellars and high- end fixtures and finishes can shine, if your budget and the market can support them. “But you must be careful not to over-improve for the neighborhood,” said Lisa Abrams, an agent at Re/Max Realty Services in Bethesda. “You don’t want to wind up being the most expensive house on the block.” Finally, determine your anticipated carrying costs until sale. Those include the principal and interest payable on the money you borrow to acquire and repair the property, plus the opportunity cost of using your down payment (the amount you could earn if it had been invested in a risk-free investment, such as a bank certificate of deposit). They also include the costs of marketing and advertising, taxes, insurance, closing costs on the buy-and-sell sides, attorneys’ fees, settlement fees, recording and transfer fees and taxes, title searches, title insurance, surveys, permits, inspections and brokerage commissions. To arrive at the offer price, start with the after-repair value, subtract the expected repair costs and carrying costs, then calculate 60 percent of the difference. For example, here’s how you would calculate the offer price of a unit in the District with an after-repair value of $353,000, requiring $35,000 worth of renovations and incurring anticipated carrying costs of $25,000: $353,000 minus $35,000 minus $25,000 equals $293,000, multiplied by .6 equals $175,800. Unless you can buy this property for $175,800 or less, it might not be worth the risk. This hypothetical example assumes that you make a 30 percent down payment ($52,740) and that you pay for the repairs ($35,000) and carrying costs ($25,000) out of your own pocket. Thus the total cash invested is $112,740, which generates a pre-tax gross profit of $117,200. Assume a 35 percent tax bracket, and your after-tax profit on cash invested would be 67.59 percent. Not a bad return for several months’ work. As you successfully complete several projects, your estimates will become more accurate, and you might be able to increase your offer price and land more deals. _Next: Investing in rental condominiums_ **Harvey S. Jacobs** is a real estate lawyer in the Rockville office of Joseph, Greenwald & Laake. He is an active real estate investor, developer, landlord settlement attorney and lender. This column is not legal advice and should not be acted upon without obtaining legal counsel. Jacobs can be reached at (240) 399-7900 or ask@thehouselawyer.com.

Company’s coming: Is your house hospitality-ready?

Company’s coming. It’s time to clean up your act. Getting ready for the holidays isn’t just about registering your online wish list, making your hair appointments at the blowout bar and plotting the mantel decorations. It’s the time to take stock of critical home issues, such as whether your toilet flappers are flapping properly. Having family and friends over can be stressful if your house or apartment isn’t clean, organized and welcoming. If your dining chairs have Pop-Tarts ground into them and your guest towels are dotted with mysterious stains, you’ve got some work ahead of you. There are three weeks until Thanksgiving, eight weeks to New Year’s Day. Take the time now to do some de-cluttering, repairing and restocking so you can be confident your place is looking its best. Guests will feel comfortable and cared for, and you won’t have to be embarrassed when a dead squirrel falls out of your chimney when you light the first fire of the season. Here is advice from five experts on how to get your home ready to ace holiday hospitality. **1\. Cleaning blitz** It goes without saying you’ll want to clean your bathroom a day or two before guests arrive. But there are things you can be doing now to tidy up before the doorbell starts ringing. “Early November is a great time to de-clutter,” says Jolie Kerr, cleaning advice columnist for Deadspin and author of “My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag . . . and Other Things You Can’t Ask Martha.” One reason to get rid of things, Kerr says, is that “you will be bringing a whole lot of new stuff into the house over the next two months. Make some room for it.” Start in the living room and kitchen, prime entertaining spaces. Get rid of newspapers, magazines, catalogues, mail and old candles. Take everything off your coffee table and mantel and put back only a minimal amount. In the kitchen, Kerr advises, clear the counters and wipe them down. Remove all the food from your refrigerator and scrub the shelves and walls with a half-and-half solution of vinegar and water. Kerr prefers to use a  Dobie pad for this job because it can remove sticky soy-sauce drips but won’t scratch surfaces. For the fridge exterior, use a sponge on a black or white model, or microfiber cloth for stainless. Be choosy about what you put back inside. “You’ll be needing extra room for turkeys and hams and other holiday foods,” Kerr says. Toss expired products. “Be honest. If you haven’t used that weird jelly in the past year, get rid of it,” Kerr says. “Make room for the new weird jelly that will no doubt be coming to you as a gift over the holidays.” **2\. Dining room chair review** You’ll probably be spending more time than usual around your dining table in the next few months. It’s a good time to give each of your chairs a test drive. If some of them rock back and forth or feel wobbly, they might need regluing, whether they’re 19th-century family treasures or recent buys from Pottery Barn. George Spicer owns Spicer’s, an upholstery and furniture repair business in Alexandria that’s been around since 1957 (www.spicersupholsteryshop.com). He says chairs get loose when diners push back from the table with their feet or their back, putting pressure on the backs of chairs and weakening joints. (The proper way to get up from the table, Spicer says, is to lift the weight of your body up and push the chair back with your hands.) Spicer’s charges $65 to $85 to reglue most chairs. Take a hard look at the chair seats. If the fabric looks worn or stained, freshen the chair up with new fabric and maybe some additional padding. If you’re a DIY type, go at it. Otherwise, get a pro. Spicer says you’ll need three to four yards to cover six standard dining chair seats. His charge for labor to upholster the seats and pad them as needed is $65 to $75 per seat. Spicer recommends dining chair seats be treated with a stain-resistant fabric treatment, for which he charges $15 per seat. **3\. Fireplace checkup** Imagine lighting the first cozy fire of the season Thanksgiving afternoon as the aroma of roasting turkey fills the house and guests start arriving. If this is a scenario in your future, lay in a supply of firewood and have your fireplace inspected. Now. An inspection ($100 to $300) can clarify whether you need your chimney swept or repaired, says Ashley Eldridge, director of education for the Chimney Safety Institute of America (www.csia.org), a nonprofit group that also oversees a certification program for chimney sweeps. “The inspection is a snapshot of your chimney that could turn up any number of things: birds, raccoons, squirrels, branches, leaves, spider webs or basketballs,” says Eldridge, who has cleaned White House fireplaces for two presidents. “Or they might find water damage in your masonry.” Eldridge has advice for proper and safe fireplace use. He suggests checking your fireplace damper, screen and glass doors to see they are working properly. Know where your fire extinguisher is, and make sure it is fully charged and ready to use: He recommends a five-pound model with a flexible hose. And don’t ever burn wrapping paper or pizza boxes in your fireplace, as this can rapidly cause large flames to spill out of the fireplace or go up the chimney. Hopefully, you won’t be ordering a large mushroom-and-pepperoni on Thanksgiving. **4\. Plumbing tuneup** You give your car regular maintenance; why not your plumbing? It could save some awkward conversations with your in-laws, such as describing the correct way to jiggle the handle of the only toilet in your house to get it to flush. Plumbing companies get a lot of emergency calls over the holidays, when homes are packed and kitchens and bathrooms are in use almost 24/7. “A lot of things related to plumbing get neglected throughout the year,” says Michael Hartman, co-owner of Thomas E. Clark Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning (www.thomaseclark.com) in Silver Spring. “You’re talking slow drains, shower drains plugged with hair, clogged sinks, toilets that run on and dripping faucets.” You can make a list of issues or have a whole-house plumbing inspection. Thomas E. Clark charges $69 for an initial visit on weekdays, $104 on weekends and holidays. Then for a flat fee of $49, receive a full-house plumbing inspection. Recommended repairs are priced individually. Any work performed as a result of recommendations from the inspection is 10 percent off. Here are few cautionary notes: Clogged kitchen sinks are a huge issue over the holidays. “People are doing a lot of cooking and shoving everything down that garbage disposal,” Hartman says, with the two worst culprits being grease and potato peels. “Putting grease down the drain is basically like clogging your arteries,” he says. In other words, don’t do it. Peels are also dangerous. “People are making a lot of mashed potatoes, and they cram peels down the sink. You can’t put five cups of peels down there.” His advice: Peel potatoes in the sink, but scoop up the debris and dispose elsewhere. Ask any kitchen helpers to do the same. **5\. Guest bed check** **Related: Five tips for welcoming guests on your sofa or sofa bed ** If you are fortunate enough to have a guest room, you’ll want to make sure there are a few spare hangers in the closet and a few drawers empty. Inspect your bedding and towels with a critical eye, says Justin Sonfield, general merchandise manager at the Company Store (www.thecompanystore.com). Start by stripping the guest bed and washing everything including the mattress pad and the pillow covers, those zip-on protective covers you should have on all your bed pillows. Comforters and pillows should also be inspected to see whether they need to be cleaned or replaced. “Just because they look okay and the material still looks good doesn’t mean they are healthy,” Sonfield says. Dust mites and body oils can build up on bedding. Sonfield says pillows should be replaced every two to five years, comforters every 10. If your guest room mattress is the oldest in the house, Sonfield says, consider getting a bed topper to make it more comfortable, possibly a memory foam or feather bed model. If your one set of guest sheets looks a bit threadbare or faded, invest in a new set of white percale sheets, to provide guests with a cool, crisp hotel feeling. He suggests wrinkle-free 300-thread- count bedding, one of the Company Store’s bestsellers. And bring out the towels you’ll be leaving out for guests. Do you have a matching bath, hand and washcloth? If you end up springing for new towels, buy extra washcloths, as those tend to get worn out first. **More from The Washington Post** 16 secrets of holiday entertaining Six ways to change up your holiday for the better If a sofa or sofa bed is your guest room How to get organized for a holiday meal

Want to buy a flipped home? Know what to look for.

_Marshall Park is a D.C.-based real estate agent atRedfin. He manages the brokerage’s real estate operations throughout the Mid-Atlantic region._    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico For a buyer looking for a move-in-ready property, a newly renovated home can be a great option. Real estate investors and local contractors are attuned to what buyers want, and a rehabbed property can provide historic charm along with many of the modern amenities and even the open layout that many buyers are seeking. Love them or hate them, investors play a big role in our local housing market. With the rise in home prices throughout the region, investors are competing to buy lower-priced properties, making updates to appeal to today’s buyers and hoping to sell for nice profit. While established investor groups and contractors have been investing in residential property for years, the promise of profits has also encouraged amateur property flippers to enter the market. When it comes to renovated properties, the level of professionalism, experience, craftsmanship and attention to detail can vary greatly. Flipping a property requires significant capital and is not an easy endeavor. Yes, many renovations are done the right way. But buyers should be aware that there are also more dubious outfits that use shoddy workmanship and cut corners hoping to make a quick buck. Don’t fall victim to a bad renovation. Make sure you ask the right questions throughout the process, take appropriate precautions to protect yourself and work with an agent who will help you spot red flags and advise you when it’s wise to walk away. Here are some tips: ** **•** Work with your agent to ask the seller any questions you have about the work that was done**. A seller who is open and responsive is a good sign. Ask if the work was permitted and who completed the work. You can also search permit records with the local government. In D.C., visit the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Web site to search by address. There you can see what permits were pulled, see what inspections occurred and check the status of the work. Keep in mind that not every renovation requires a permit.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico It never hurts to do some quick online research with the name of the contractors and owners. Your search may come up empty, however, as many investment groups create a new LLC for every property. ** **•** Pay attention to the details**. The challenge with renovations is that much of the important structural, plumbing and electrical work is behind freshly painted walls, so it cannot be visually inspected to ensure it is done properly. But you can learn a lot about a renovation by paying attention to the details and finishing.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Are the corners square? Are the floors even? Historic homes have their quirks. Houses settle over time and a slight slope in the floor is not necessarily a reason to walk away, but it is something to note and address with your home inspector. Check the windows to see if they’ve been replaced and look at how they’ve been sealed. Check for any cracks in the foundation, which can be a major red flag. Have original walls been removed? Have your inspector check out the layout and identify the load bearing walls. Look out for how the deck is attached. Our agents see a lot of improperly installed decks and porches that can be a safety hazard. ** **•** Consider the overall design choices**. Open the cabinet doors and drawers in the kitchen and bathrooms. Sometimes what looks like a beautiful kitchen is poorly designed such that drawers hit each other or you can’t fully open the dishwasher or oven. If appliances are not sold with the property, measure to ensure that a standard size appliance can fit and has the proper hookups to function in the designated place.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico ** **•** Look at the materials used**. An owner that selects low-grade materials tried to save costs and may have cut costs elsewhere. A contractor that does poor finishing work may have done poor quality work behind the walls as well.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico ** **•** When it comes to your offer, include a home inspection contingency**. If you spot a red flag during the inspection, you can work to address the issue with the seller or opt to walk away without losing your earnest money deposit. In the D.C. contract, a home inspection is slightly different from a general inspection contingency, which allows the buyer the right to inspect the property to inform themselves, but not request repairs or credits from the seller.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Buyers are responsible for hiring an inspector, so select someone with good reviews, who will crawl into the crawlspaces and bring a ladder and get up on the roof. This is especially important for row houses where it’s not possible to do a visual roof inspection from the street. Your inspector will also take a close look at the HVAC systems and the electrical panel. See if the house had a heavy-up upgrade — meaning the system has been upgraded to increase the amount of electricity coming into the house. Homes have more energy needs than they did 100 years ago, so your inspector can tell you if the system has been upgraded to meet modern electricity needs. ** **•** Consider asking the seller for a home warranty when submitting your offer**. These policies typically cost between $400 and $800 and are paid by the seller at settlement. A policy typically covers the main systems in the home, including the plumbing, electrical and HVAC for the first year of ownership.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico ** **•** Consider buying an enhanced title insurance policy**. If the previous owner failed to pay workers or subcontractors for work performed on the property, a mechanic’s lien can be filed against the property and the burden would fall on the new homeowners. A basic title insurance policy does not cover liens that were filed after time of settlement, whereas an enhanced policy would cover the homeowner for this type of mechanic’s lien.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Many homes on the market today are beautifully updated, move-in-ready and can be the perfect fit for your family. By taking appropriate precautions and doing your due diligence, you can buy a great renovated home and rest assured you are making a smart investment. _Previously from Marshall Park_ :    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico When a housing wish list evolves    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico A listing strategy for home sellers    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Should you waive the financing contingency?    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Homebuyers have options with inspection contingency    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico D.C. neighborhoods where homes sell fast    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Tips on winning a bidding war in D.C.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

Hints From Heloise: Advertising a way out

Dear Heloise: I do a lot of work and research online. I hate when I go to a Web site and a LARGE AD appears. I have found that when this happens, most pages have a link that says “continue on to destination” or something like that. You can click on it and bypass the advertisement. It normally is in very small print at the bottom or in the corner of the page. They try to make it hard to find, of course, because they want you to click on the ad. -- Paul, via e-mail Paul, you are voicing what most of us deal with when using the Internet! However, those annoying ads are what allow us to use the Web for free. Do look for that small box or “X’’ that reads “skip this ad” and click on it! You are right — it usually is hidden or blends into the background. -- Heloise SEND A GREAT HINT TO: Heloise P.O. Box 795000 San Antonio, TX 78279-5000 Fax: 1-210-HELOISE E-mail:  Heloise@Heloise.com TRAVEL HINT Dear Heloise: Regarding your hints on what to do when leaving for a long trip, those are good suggestions, and here are some more: Turn off valves to the washer and under the sinks. This could prevent the house from flooding if a supply hose springs a leak — and they do. The icemaker will turn itself off when the bin is full, so that’s good to do, but not a huge issue. Also, check the thermometer and set the air conditioner at 85 or the heat at 60. I also leave a radio on and set random on-off timers on some lights. -- P.A.L., via e-mail Good advice, and everyone should have a “checklist” to close the house down, especially if you travel a lot, like I do. It’s easy to forget to take out the trash! -- Heloise SCENTED FLOWERS Dear Heloise: My husband has allergies, so I’m not able to burn candles in our home. To get around this, I lightly spray scented oil, perfume, etc., onto artificial flowers that I have in several vases throughout the house. The scent is not strong and can be tolerated by my husband. I mainly do this when we’re expecting company, as I can do without the scents the rest of the time. -- Cheryl B. in Louisiana BACKBOARD Dear Heloise: Have you ever tried to frame a photo only to find that the backboard is too large to fit easily? As a photographer, I have had this happen many times. Take an emery board and gently file the edges. Soon the back will ease into the frame. -- Bonnie M., Fort Wayne, Ind. SECURITY BLANKET Dear Heloise: I always keep a blanket in my car. I found a really cute outdoor one that rolls up pretty small. My family loves to go on picnics, see outdoor movies or just enjoy a park. I never know when we may want to stop and be outdoors. I always have a blanket handy now, just in case. -- Rose in Texas Send a hint to  Heloise , P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, fax it to 210-HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com. Please include your city and state.

Ten tips to spare your family from a fire

_Nancy Harvey Steorts, an associate broker at Long & Foster Real Estate, is former chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and author of “Your Home Safe Home.”_    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Just imagine: A candle tips over in your home, drips on the wood table and catches the linens on fire. It spreads to the upholstered sofa and rugs. The blaze quickly spreads to the next room, and within minutes your entire home is engulfed. In two to three minutes, your home can be a total loss. A similar situation played out on a grand scale with the fire last week that destroyed an Annapolis mansion and wiped out six family members unaware of the dangers lurking in their walls. Authorities believe an electrical failure ignited a probably very dry 15-foot live Christmas tree set up in the central atrium, setting the 16,000-square-foot home on fire. What consumers do not often understand is that it takes only seconds for a fire to occur — and only minutes to spread. The loss of this family is so very sad — but offers lessons to us all. Here are 10 tips to help you prevent a fire tragedy at your home: 1. All homes should have numerous working smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors — in the living room, dining room, kitchen, hallways, great room, outside each bedroom, near fireplaces, in the garage and in the lower level near the furnaces and air-conditioners. 2. All open flames should be extinguished before leaving a room. For example, candles should never be left burning unless you are in the room. It is best to use battery-operated candles. 3. All electrical outlets, lamps and electrical appliances should be checked regularly to ensure there are no broken or frayed wires or overloaded circuits. 4. Thoroughly check Christmas trees, holiday decorations or other decorative interior and exterior lighting to be sure they are up to the present standards. So many improvements have been made in holiday lighting. But many homeowners do not realize that what was used last year could be totally unsafe and should be replaced with updated safer products. Holiday trees should never have the lights left on. If you are not in the room, or if you go away from the premises, for even a few moments, a fire can take place so quickly. 5. Holiday lights and candles come from many sources outside the United States. Although some of the standards are improved, there are still many incidents where inferior products are sold in the United States. Or families continue using lights they’ve had for a long time not realizing they can deteriorate when they have been packed away in the attic or storage. 6. Check your fireplace at least once a year by a certified chimney sweep. Broken bricks, creosote build up, bird nests or other animal nests can cause a serious fire. 7. Have your entire home inspected at least once a year, just like you would have your personal annual health physical. Check the electrical, plumbing, appliances, air conditioning and heating to be sure they are all operating to peak efficiency. Have your landscape checked as well to look for potential falling trees, water problems and other exterior issues. 8. Know how you and your family can survive smoke inhalation from an unexpected fire. You can become immediately disoriented by smoke, causing you not to be able to think clearly. Since smoke rises, remember to drop to the floor when you escape to minimize your exposure to the smoke. Keep a emergency survival kit next to your bed where you sleep. Items in it should include a flashlight, keys to outside doors, water, towels, face masks, cell phone and outside contact numbers. 9. Consider installing a sprinkler system. A sprinkler could have saved the lives of the Annapolis family. 10. Devise an emergency exit plan and go over it regularly. Buy an escape ladder in case you need to exit from a second-floor window and practice. Emergency preparation can save your family’s life. Devise your safety plan, practice it with your family. Be safe. Learn from the Annapolis tragedy. Don’t let this happen to you.

Heat wave tips that will keep you cool — or at least not quite as hot

One reader’s grandmother, who he said lived without air conditioning for decades, had this interesting advice: Also, this might be a no-brainer, but don’t turn on the oven! It heats up the house more than you might expect. And if worse comes to worst, you could always just leave.

Hints From Heloise: Be wary of carbon monoxide

Dear Readers: CARBON-MONOXIDE DETECTORS should be installed in every household. Designed to alert residents to carbon-monoxide gas (which is colorless and odorless), these detectors help prevent poisoning, which can lead to sickness or even death. Here are some hints from the Consumer Product Safety Commission: * Install detectors inside each bedroom of the house, or within 15 feet of each bedroom. Make sure to follow manufacturer’s instructions for installation, as instructions will vary with different models. * Have the water heater and furnace checked annually by a professional to make sure they are operating normally. * NEVER use a portable generator or charcoal grill inside the home or garage. * Know the symptoms of poisoning: fatigue, dizziness, nausea and headache. If an alarm sounds, open all windows and get everyone out of the house. Call 911 once everyone is safely outside. DO NOT call from inside the house! Newer carbon-monoxide detectors can last for five to six years. Make sure to test them regularly and replace the batteries when needed. -- Heloise THICKER HAIR Dear Heloise: My silver-gray hair often looks thin when it is not. My hint for individuals with light hair: The simple act of rubbing a little cornstarch or any white powder through the hair will add volume and give greater control. It is best to place a small amount in the palms of the hands and gradually start working through dry hair. Repeat this process until all areas have been treated, then brush or comb through the hair to remove excess. My hair shows more thickness and manages easier. Since the cornstarch absorbs oil, it is a fast way to freshen up my hair when there is no time to shampoo. -- Linda W., Pittsboro, Miss. KITCHEN TAPE Dear Heloise: The best thing I have found to keep in my kitchen drawer is a roll of masking tape. The tape can be used to tape up and seal all kinds of things: wax paper, plastic bags, box lids, trash wrapped in newspaper, can lids and so on. The tape can be pulled off and put right back on a number of times over. -- Marshall W. in Ohio Yep! My hint, too, but I use purple duct tape! -- Heloise SAVE THE SPRAY Dear Heloise: My wife had spray nozzles stop up, and the product would no longer spray out. She was going to throw it away, but I stopped her. I took off the nozzle, removed the tube and placed the spray tip in a container of hot tap water -- not boiling, but hot. I left it for a few minutes, replaced the plastic tube and reattached the nozzle. Lo and behold, it sprays like new. This will work for most any type of aerosol, with the exceptions of glue and paint. -- Charles L., via e-mail Heloise’s column appears six days a week at www.washingtonpost.com/advice. Send a hint to  Heloise , P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

Easy upgrades sellers often overlook

_Jon Coile, chairman of Rockville-based multiple-listing service MRIS, writes commentary on the Washington-area housing market._    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Even though the Washington metro is a sellers market right now with continued increase in buyer demand, we don’t think the market will be as tight as it was in 2013. But no matter who the market favors, home sellers should always think about what can be done prior to listing their house to increase its sales potential. Spending a few weekends upgrading the appearance of your home can not only increase the sales price, but can help your home sell faster. We have all heard the tips about de-cluttering and cleaning a house from top to bottom, but here are a few extra tips that some of our D.C. metro area real estate professionals say many homeowners overlook: • **Make the most of the first impression**. Curb appeal is particularly important. This is an area where real estate agents can provide an expert eye since they have seen thousands of homes from the perspective of a buyer pulling up outside a house for the first time.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Frequently agents will point out problems such as house numbers not being clearly visible from the street, stair railings with chipped paint, exterior lights that need new bulbs, or a garage that is too full of stuff to fit a car. All of these can be addressed without too much effort so they are worth the time before a seller puts a “for sale” sign out front.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University • **Focus where it matters most**. A new paint job can work wonders for the inside and outside of a house but that can be time-consuming and expensive. Instead, choose the rooms people will focus on the most: the kitchen, living room and possibly the master bedroom.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University The better those three rooms look the faster the house will sell for the highest price. Keep the color neutral though; pale greens and grays are the taupe of 2014. When it comes to the exterior, if you can’t afford a complete paint job then rent a power washer for a day and use it to get the grime and moss out of all the cracks.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University • **Let the sun shine in**. Windows are another major blind spot for sellers. They may have lived with the grimy windows for so long that they have forgotten what a difference extra sunlight can make on the interior appearance.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Tackle the outdoor sides of the windows with a power washer and clean the indoor sides all the way from top to bottom to bring a dramatic — and practically free — improvement to the whole house. And once they are clean, show them off by keeping the blinds and drapes wide open when showing the house. The more light inside the better. • **Be smart in the kitchen**. A place that is easy to spend too much money on is the kitchen. Yes, this is one of the most common deal breakers for buyers, but in most situations buying new appliances and cabinets won’t earn back much more than their sticker price.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Instead, invest a few hundred dollars by changing the drawer pulls and hardware throughout, giving it a fresh coat of paint or adding a backsplash and cleaning it well so that it looks as good as possible. Tired kitchen cabinets can even be painted to give a new look to an old kitchen.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University • **Don’t forget about the basement bathroom**. One of the biggest payoffs by far can come from sprucing up an outdated bathroom in the basement. So many homes have a half bathroom on the lowest level that hasn’t been used in years and consequently has become one of the least desirable places in the house.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University A thorough cleaning is a good start, but a weekend spent repainting the walls, replacing the toilet and/or faucet and filling in the missing caulk around the tub will turn it into a usable bathroom that can substantially add to the asking price. This is even more important if the basement has the potential to be an in-law suite. This year is one of the best times to be a seller since demand has increased exponentially over the past few years. But buyers are still savvy enough to wait for a property that won’t take too much effort to meet their needs. Spend a few afternoons on some easy upgrades so your home won’t be one of the few that gets left behind.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Previously from Jon Coile: Short sale sellers need a sense of urgency    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Tips for boomerangers who want to move from their parents’ basement to their own home    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Despite rising rates, now is the time to buy. But maybe not for everyone.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University

Historic Manassas house closer to prospect of demolition

A Manassas subcommittee has signed off on spending $30,000 to demolish a prized historic house, paving the way for a long-debated issue to be settled by the City Council. The property at 9300 Prescott Ave., a Queen Anne-style house more than 100 years old in historic Old Town, was slated for demolition because it poses a safety hazard and has largely been neglected in recent years, officials said. Under a state “blight” law, localities can demolish abandoned, unsightly properties. Neighbors have fought to save the house. But in February, Manassas Mayor Harry “Hal” Parrish II backed a decision demanding that the property owner make improvements on the structure or face its demolition by the city. The city finance committee last week backed funding for demolition, paving the way for a final vote by the City Council on Dec. 10. City officials say that the property owner, Dorothy Feaganes, who officials say has filed for bankruptcy, has made no improvements in the property. Feaganes, who has promised to fix the house, has said that she has had trouble getting money to pay for repairs but doesn’t want to sell the property. “As mayor, it’s frustrating to me, because we’ve got what could be a beautiful home,” Parrish has said. A lien put on the house ensures that the city can recoup its costs when the property is sold, officials say. If the property is not sold within two years, the city can put it on the market. City Council member J. Steven Randolph (I) said there are misconceptions about what the city can and should do with the house. “People say, ‘Well, put it on the market,’ ” he said. “But the city cannot do that.”

Don’t resist your real estate agent’s suggestion to upgrade that dated decor

We think that these brokers are giving you sound advice. From the way you phrased your question, we can tell you haven’t renovated your home in quite some time, or perhaps ever. The look must be dated: The dark cabinets in the kitchen and the robin eggs blue color of the bathrooms must be from the 1970s. It will be difficult to sell this house, even in “as is” condition. That’s what your brokers are trying telling you: You have dated decor and that painting cabinets and changing toilets may help you sell this house faster. What you need to understand is that potential buyers may walk in, take a fast look around and then walk out when they see how dated your home is. The only thing they’ll see is how much work it will take to bring your home up to the expected standard. Since you probably have not redecorated your home while you have lived there, having a professional painter paint the cabinets and whitewash the walls, and having a plumber replace some toilets may change the overall look and feel to your home. A fresh coat of paint can go a long way toward getting buyers to come, stay and put a bid on a home. Even if they choose to repaint, if the fresh coat helps you sell your home faster and for more money, it may be worth it. For not too much money, you might sell your home far faster, and perhaps might get back all the money you put into fixing up your home for sale. You may have maintained your home perfectly and know that everything in the home is in perfect order, but decor is still a huge part of selling a home. So keep an open mind and ask for their help in identifying if anything else should be done to your home. Most home sellers get defensive when brokers tell them that they should fix up their home for sale. Others simply dismiss their broker’s observations. The truth is that most good brokers have a pretty keen eye on what buyers are expecting to see. Frequently these brokers will only say something to a seller when they truly see something that is a huge issue. While we don’t know what else about your decor seems dated, you should ask the brokers to make other suggestions. Once you add up the list, you can decide what is worth doing and spending to get your house sold quickly. Most sellers need to declutter, pack up family photos, clean off countertops, box up and clean out closets, clean out basements and attics, install higher wattage lights, buy solid light colored towels and comforter bed covers, and get rid of any furniture that makes it hard to walk around a home. If you take their advice to heart, we think you’ll be better off when trying to sell your home. Good luck.

Hints From Heloise: Fix your home front

Dear Readers: With summer in full swing and many of us spending time outdoors, now is the perfect time to FIX UP THE FRONT YARD and give your home curb appeal. This is especially important if you are planning on selling your home. Here are some simple, cheap and easy hints. Remember, first impressions do count: * Clean all visible hardware (and repaint if needed). Take a look at the old, tired mailbox. Will a coat of paint fix it, or do you need a new one? * Install solar lights leading to the front door. They are not very costly. Plus, it looks lovely and inviting at night. * Trim trees and landscaping. Make sure there are no tree branches hanging low over walkways. No one wants to duck a low-hanging branch. * Clean the front door and apply a new coat of paint. -- Heloise PET PAL Dear Readers: Brenda C. sent in a picture, via e-mail, of her cute, curly- haired dog, Phoebe Jo, sitting in the front seat of the car with her pink sweater on. Brenda says that Phoebe Jo is always ready to get on the road. To see Phoebe Jo’s picture, go to my Web site, www.Heloise.com, and click on “Pets.” -- Heloise WOOD STAIN Dear Heloise: I bought a roll of red plastic wrap to gift-wrap a big basket. I did that and left it on our oak table. When I went to take it off, it was stuck. I pulled it off, and it left a red stain on our beautiful oak table. How can I get this off without ruining the finish on the table? -- Sarah in Maryland P.S.: I read your column religiously in The Washington Post. Sarah, first, do no harm! Make a paste of baking soda and a little water, and rub it in the direction of the grain of the wood. Wipe with a damp cloth, then dry. This should remove the color. If not, use a good commercial wood cleaner — not wood polish — to clean the stain. You should be able to find it at a home-improvement store. Do follow directions carefully, and don’t overdo it. If some of the stain is removed, but not all, try repeating the steps to see if you can remove the rest. -- Heloise MUDDY BOOTS Dear Heloise: My husband works a construction job and is often stepping in mud. He takes our leftover grocery bags and sticks them in his truck. When his boots are muddy, he slips a plastic bag over them before getting into his truck. This way, his truck is protected and stays clean. -- P.T. in Texas PENCIL ERASERS Dear Heloise: I hate it when the erasers on my pencils stop working while the pencil is still good. I solved the problem with sandpaper. Take a piece of sandpaper and gently rub the pencil eraser. It will renew the eraser, and you won’t have to get a new pencil. -- A Reader, via e-mail Heloise’s column appears six days a week at www.washingtonpost.com/advice. Send a hint to  Heloise , P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

Pruning and other summer home maintenance

Hot and humid, July isn’t the greatest month to tackle outdoor chores, unless they’re ones that reduce the work you’ll need to do later. (When it’s simply too unpleasant outside, stay indoors. There’s plenty to do there, too.) Pruning isn’t a chore that people typically associate with summertime, but it is the best time for the type that staves off damage to a house. Trees and shrubs go through a growth spurt in springtime, so by now some branches might be close enough to scrape off paint or roofing. Clip them back at least a foot or two from walls. Over the roof, you probably need a bigger gap to allow for the way branches sag when it rains. If squirrels hang out in your yard, cut back even more to reduce the chance that the animals will chew into your house and nest in the attic. Squirrel damage can be very costly to repair. To deter squirrels, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources recommends keeping branches six feet from both the roof and walls, as well as cleaning up fallen acorns. Pruning shrubs is usually a good DIY project. But you’re likely to need professional help to cut back branches that hang over a roof. Doing it yourself won’t be a bargain if you fall from a ladder or if a large branch crashes into the roof. While you’re thinking about preventing damage, circle your house again. But this time, look down and make sure there is a clear perimeter around the base of the building and up six inches from the ground. Having wood or soil piled against siding invites an infestation of carpenter ants or termites. So move any firewood that’s stacked against the house. Rake back any wood chips, bark nuggets or other organic mulches piled alongside the house. If soil is too close, dig it away, but check when you’re done to make sure the soil surface still slants away from the house, so rain will drain away. If the slope goes toward the house, dig away soil farther out, until the slope is correct. (If there is no way to do this, you might need a drain pipe or other solution to keep water from pooling by the foundation.) Once you’ve created a clear buffer around your house, consider spreading pea gravel over the surface, or plant a low-growing ground cover. If you leave the soil bare, rain will splash muddy water onto the siding, adding to your maintenance chores. Don’t pile gravel too deep, though, or it can keep the soil moist enough to attract termites. A layer just two to three inches deep is sufficient. If you own a deck, you probably know that you should clean and seal the wood every few years. But you should also check for rot. Stab the wood with a sturdy screwdriver. If the wood is spongy, it’s probably decaying. If only a few boards are damaged, replace them. If many are rotten, you might need to rebuild the deck (a job that might require a building permit). Also assess whether the structure overall seems solid and is properly attached to your house. The North American Deck and Railing Association, a trade group, has an inspection checklist on its Web site, www.nadra.org. Go underneath the deck and make sure that the beam that links the deck to the house is solid and held on with a row of half-inch-thick bolts or masonry anchors, not just nails or skinny screws. If you find signs that the deck might be unsafe, avoid using it while you arrange for repairs or reconstruction. If you decide to rebuild, download a free how-to guide from the American Wood Council (www.awc.org). Even if you aren’t doing the work yourself, knowing the right details equips you to check on the work a contractor does. But building codes vary, so always check with your local building department for rules in your community. With a few simple steps, you can significantly reduce the load on your air conditioner, saving on your power bill and reducing your contribution to climate change. Set the thermostat at 78 degrees or higher. Every degree below 78 costs you about 8 percent more on your power bill. Install a ceiling fan and use it when people are in the room; because it just keeps room air moving, switch it off when the room is unoccupied. Limit the use of kitchen and bath fans while the air conditioner runs. They exhaust the cool air you just paid for. Keep your air conditioner running efficiently by cleaning both the indoor and the outdoor coils. Find specifics under DIY projects at the Family Handyman Web site, www.familyhandyman.com. On a day when you just want to stay inside with the air conditioner running, make a detailed list of your possessions, especially items that you might someday need to make an insurance claim on. Be especially careful to note items that burglars tend to take, including collectibles, antiques, guns, clocks and jewelry. Make a copy of any receipts. Store the completed report in a safe deposit box, your away-from-home office or a relative’s house. Or scan them and store the documents on a cloud-based Web service. Another job to tackle in air-conditioned bliss: Establish a home office or make the one you already have function better. If you’re lucky enough to have a dedicated room, you might just need to sort through stacks of bills, catalogues and whatever else is piled up. Cull what you no longer need, and set up files or bins to hold the rest in an organized way. If you don’t have an office, create a miniature one in a room that also has another purpose. You might be able to fit a desk into a corner of a dining room that you don’t use very often. Or set up a mail-sorting area in a mudroom or laundry room, especially if it’s by the door you use most frequently. Another possibility: Clean out one shelf of a bookcase and add trays or file boxes (like ones made for storing magazines) to hold bills and the like. Getting rid of books you no longer need or have room for is easy. Many local libraries are grateful for donations, which they sell to support their programs. July is the month when bats are most likely to show up indoors in the Washington area. But should you panic if one whizzes by as you’re watching TV? Of course not. A single bat might just be lost. Open a door, switch on a nearby outside light and turn off indoor lights; the furry creature will probably fly out on its own. Never try to pick up a bat — though the risk is low, you might get rabies if it bites. If you see several bats, you might have a colony in your attic. By July, the young bats, called pups, are learning to fly but can’t yet fend for themselves. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources offers tips about how to cope with them; type “bats” into the search box at www.dnr.maryland.gov. Or call in a wildlife control expert to help you figure out where the bats are getting in. They fit through cracks as narrow as a quarter-inch. You can start now to seal potential entries, but wait until September, after the babies leave, to close off active routes. Even then, do it by installing flaps of window screen as one-way doors so you don’t trap any bats inside. To keep the biggest moving part in your house working smoothly, spray a little lubricant on your garage door’s hinges, rollers and tracks. While you’re at it, look for signs of more serious trouble: Inspect springs, hinges, cables and other parts for signs of wear, and check whether the door is balanced. To do this, close the door and disconnect the opener. Then lift the door manually. Make sure it goes up evenly and stays open. Test the reversing mechanism, which is designed to keep the door from closing on someone. While the door is still open, place a piece of wood directly underneath. Then turn the door opener back on and signal the door to close. It should reverse the instant it touches the wood. If anything’s amiss, call in a service technician from a garage door company. Adjusting a garage door isn’t a DIY project; there’s a serious risk of injury if you don’t do it right. **Have a problem in your home?** Send questions to  localliving@washpost.com . Put “How To” in the subject line, tell us where you live and try to include a photo.

Hints From Heloise: A sign of the sale

Dear Heloise: I always feel sorry for the people who put up garage- or estate-sale SIGNS that are unreadable from passing cars. Here are some hints: * Never use a yellow marker on white poster board. It may look cheery, but it looks like a pale mist as you drive by. * Use a light-colored board and black, dark blue, red or green for the lettering. * Make the letters at least 1 / 2 inch wide and at least 2 inches high. * Keep information at a minimum. For instance, first line stating “GARAGE SALE,” second line “(ADDRESS),” third line “(TIME).” * Draw an arrow pointing in the right direction, if space allows. * Finally, drive by your sign at 30 mph to see if you can read it. -- Sandy S., via e-mail This is what I call a “test drive-by” so you can see what a potential customer can or cannot see! Final hint from Heloise: Take down the signs when the sale is over! -- Heloise HOT-TUB HINTS Dear Heloise: As we get into colder months or, as my family calls it, “hot-tub season,” here are my hot-tub hints: First, cover the hot tub (Heloise here: If it’s outside, or if you do not drain it after each use) when not in use. Second, teach kids while young to flip on their back and call for help if they’re ever trapped in water — this includes hot tubs! Hope this helps people have a safer hot-tub season! -- Chris G. in Texas Thanks for the reminders. Children NEVER should be in a hot tub/spa/pool alone or without constant adult supervision! It takes only a few seconds for a tragedy to happen. -- Heloise NO SLIP Dear Heloise: I purchase economically priced larger-size bottles of shower wash and shampoo. Occasionally, they get slippery and can cause sore toes if dropped. I take three or four of the wide rubber bands and slip them horizontally around the bottle. This provides a better grip. -- Carolyn S. in Pennsylvania EASY ON THE BACK Dear Heloise: If you have back pain after vacuuming or mopping, try this hint: Instead of using a back-and-forth movement, walk forward in a straight line, turn and come back, as if you were mowing the lawn. When using a broom, stand in one place and drag the dirt toward you, moving around the room. Then sweep into the dustpan. -- Grammy. G., Middletown, Ohio Heloise’s column appears six days a week at www.washingtonpost.com/advice. Send a hint to  Heloise , P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

Hints From Heloise: Mercury management

Dear Heloise: Please tell people to read the information on the box of the COMPACT FLUORESCENT LAMPS (CFLs) that we must use now. You can’t buy the “regular” light bulbs anymore. (Heloise here: On Jan. 1, 2014, the final government phasing out of incandescent bulbs went into effect. You will no longer be able to buy them, unless there is some stock in stores. Americans will be able to purchase only the more energy-efficient CFLs or LEDs.) The new light bulbs have mercury. I have no idea what you are to do if you drop one in the house and it breaks. Sounds dangerous to me. -- A Reader in Ohio Very good advice indeed! CFLs do contain a small amount of mercury (LEDs do NOT), so there are cautionary steps you should take if one breaks in your house. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends that you: * Get all people and pets out of the house. * Open all windows and doors to air out the room. * Turn off central forced air conditioning/heating. * Wear protective, disposable gloves. * Pick up glass using cardboard or similar-weight paper. Pick up powder and smaller glass fragments using the sticky side of duct tape. Use damp paper towels for cleanup on hard surfaces. * Place all pieces of bulb residue and cleanup items in a sealable plastic bag or a glass jar with a lid. * DO NOT VACUUM until as much residue has been collected as possible. Then promptly dispose of the vacuum bag. -- Heloise P.S.: This does seem to be a big to-do about something small. Yes, you need to use care when cleaning up a broken CFL blub, but don’t let it panic you! Just use good common sense and take the safety precautions listed above. RECYCLE PANTYHOSE Dear Heloise: I have a wonderful use for ruined pantyhose. Lay them out flat, cut off the foot and then continue cutting at 2-inch intervals all the way up the leg. This makes several stretchy bands in various sizes. They are very strong and can be used for anything. I have used them as ponytail holders, and to secure boxes and rolls of gift wrap. -- Lynne D., via e-mail BOTTLE-CAP VASES Dear Readers: Save mouthwash bottle caps and brown prescription bottles. They make darling little vases. Leave them as they are, or give them a quick coat of spray paint. Add some water and smaller flowers for a beautiful table arrangement. Or scatter these little arrangements throughout the house on bookshelves, tables and counters. Adds a pop of color to any room in the house! -- Heloise TISSUE DISPOSAL Dear Heloise: I use the plastic bag from the newspaper to discard the used tissues when I have a cold. It is more sanitary, and it keeps the cold germs enclosed rather than open to the room and other family members. -- Margaret in Pennsylvania Heloise’s column appears six days a week at www.washingtonpost.com/advice. Send a hint to  Heloise , P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

This 5-year-old saved her blind grandmother from a burning house

Cloe Woods and her grandmother were asleep in their home in Kenner, La., on Wednesday morning when the fire alarm went off. The 5-year-old girl was awakened by the sound. “She opened the door and saw smoke and flames,” said Candice Schott, principal of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, where Cloe is a pre-K student. But Cloe didn’t freeze, her mother told the principal. Instead, Schott said, the precocious little girl used a lesson she learned months ago during a field trip to the Kenner Fire Department: She woke up her grandmother, who is blind, and led her out of the house. “The grandmother asked to stop to get her shoes, and [Cloe] said, ‘No, we have to get out,'” Schott said. Cloe also rescued her dog from the burning house. “She saved her grandmother’s life and saved her own life,” Kenner Fire Chief John Hellmers told WWL-TV.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Cloe’s mother, Shone Arceneaux, was dropping her son off for a carpool at the time of the fire. Arceneaux told WWL that Cloe guided her grandmother by telling her “to hold her shoulder, and that they had to get out of the house.” The fire appeared to have started near the stove, WWL reported. After Arceneaux returned to the house, she discovered what Cloe had done. “She was running and telling the neighbors to call 911, and I said, ‘What’s going on?'” Arceneaux told WWL. “She said the house is on fire, so I jump out of the car and said, ‘What?!'” Arceneaux asked her daughter what made her think to awaken her grandmother and flee the house so quickly, Schott said. The girl responded: “That’s what they taught us.” Back in October, Cloe’s class visited the fire department to learn about fire safety, a typical trip for the younger grades. “They learn mainly about getting out of the house, getting their family out of the house, not stopping to get things — just worrying about life,” said the principal. But little Cloe doesn’t quite grasp the gravity of what transpired that early Wednesday morning, her principal said. “For her, it was what she was taught to do, so she did it,” Schott said. “For all of us very easily, child or adult, could freeze in that situation.” The 5-year-old is “very outgoing, very friendly. She’s a bright young lady, a quick learner,” said Schott. “In many ways, she’s a typical pre-K student who loves to play and loves her friends.”

Fixing your home before the winter chill takes hold

Every year you tell yourself things will be different. You’ll actually start winterizing your home ahead of time. But you procrastinate and end up curling up in a fleece blanket once again when the thermometer dips. Now is the time to look around your home, determine the spots where it may be vulnerable and take steps to fix them before the first cold snap. Here’s how you can make your home comfortable and more efficient this winter, and save a little bit of money: ● **Sealing drafts** : If you added up all the air leaks, holes and gaps in a typical home’s envelope, it would be the same as having a window open every day of the year, according to EnergyStar.gov, the Environmental Protection Agency’s website. Cold air can sneak into your house through a variety of energy-hogging openings, including doors, windows, attic hatches, fireplace dampers, ceiling-to-wall joints, gaps around light fixtures, pipes leading outside and electrical outlets on exterior walls. Sealing drafts and adding insulation are key to improving the comfort of your home and reducing your energy bill. “If you have drafty windows and doors, and you seal those drafts, you can increase the energy efficiency of those openings by up to 70 percent, saving you real dollars on what it costs you to heat your home. You’ll be more comfortable, too,” said Lou Manfredini, Ace Hardware’s home expert. A small investment of about $50 to $60 in products can go a long way in improving your home’s energy efficiency. “Clay caulking rope is inexpensive and can be stuck in the gaps where window sashes meet the frame and can be removed in the spring without damaging the finish,” Manfredini said. “Removable caulking like Zip-A-Way is the modern version of this and can be applied and peeled away as well.” Weather seals on doors can deteriorate over time. Seal gaps with weather stripping and install door sweeps along the bottom of exterior doors. Check under sinks and in the basement for gaps around pipes. Fill them with an insulating foam sealant. Installing foam seals around electrical outlets and switch plates is a quick and inexpensive way to block cold air as long as you take the proper safety precautions. Poorly insulated attics are a major source of heat loss. When heat escapes from the top of your home, it never makes it into the rooms that need it. According to EnergyStar.gov, your home might benefit from attic air sealing and insulation if it experiences any of these problems in the winter: drafty rooms, uneven temperature between rooms, high heating bills, dust, dry indoor air and ice dams, which form when water from melting snow freezes at the edge of your roofline. The water can back up under shingles and leak into your home. “There are a lot of reasons that ice dams can occur,” Manfredini said. “Mother Nature is a huge cause. But lack of insulation in the attic, poor ventilation and roof orientation, typically the north side of the roof, will contribute to ice damming. Most of these factors can be addressed. For example, adding more insulation to an attic space will have a positive effect.” ● **Windows** : If new windows are not an option, make existing windows more efficient with window treatments that block heat loss. Pleated cellular shades and curtain panels with interlinings harness the warmth of the sun. Look for insulating shades that feature several layers of fiber batting and sealed edges. Shades should be mounted close to the glass to establish a sealed air space. For greater efficiency, open south-facing shades and drapes on sunny days and close them after dusk. Shrink-to-fit plastic wrap is an easy and effective option for reducing air leakage or infiltration. “Plastic window kits, while not the most attractive, do an excellent job of sealing out drafts at windows and even patio doors,” Manfredini said. ● **Chimney** : Make sure the chimney is clean and in good repair before you fire up the wood logs. Jordan Whitt, spokesman for the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), said homeowners should have chimneys regularly checked and cleaned by a chimney sweep certified by CSIA to reduce the risk of chimney fires. An annual inspection can identify any potential hazards inside the flue such as cracks, creosote buildup or venting problems. ● **Energy audit** : An energy audit can pinpoint trouble spots. Many power companies offer a free home energy assessment to give homeowners ideas on how to save money. A fee-based, professional audit goes into a more in-depth analysis of your home’s energy use. ● **Help for low-income homeowners** : Nationally, 20 million to 30 million families in the United States are eligible for weatherization services, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Contact your state weatherization agency to determine eligibility. Kenley Farmer, interim associate director of the Affordability and Efficiency Division of the District’s Department of Energy and Environment, said energy audits are free for income-eligible residents. “Maximizing the safety and comfort of low-income District homeowners is important throughout the year, but especially as temperatures begin to approach the freezing point,” she said. “The District’s Weatherization Assistance Program is continually evolving to implement innovative home-energy performance practices.” The agency, she said, helps residents save energy and money by evaluating the structure’s shell, appliances and other systems to “improve the safety and comfort of a home.”

Keep mirrors away from the head of a bed

The “House Calls” article, “Sunny 24 hours a day” [Local Living, May 10], recommended hanging a mirror on the wall above a bed to enhance light in the room. This is very dangerous, and one should never hang anything with glass over the head of a bed, especially something as heavy as a mirror. As one who has spent several years hanging many exhibitions, I know that plaster or plasterboard, wire or nails can fatigue or give way over time. Also, many people do not know how to securely hang something as heavy as a mirror. In addition, earthquakes have been known to happen in your region. ****Roger Dunn** , Bridgewater, Mass.**

Hints From Heloise: Fire safety plans

Dear Readers: Do you and your family have a fire escape plan? Whether you live in a home, a condo, an apartment or a manufactured home, you should ask yourself right now: How would I get out if a fire happened? What if the main entrance/exit is blocked? How do you tell the fire department exactly where you are? The following are some simple steps to take that may save a life, or your home: * Make sure the house number is easily readable from the street so the fire department can find you. Faded house numbers are a hazard. * Ensure that everyone, even kids, knows how to use the 911 telephone system. If you call from a cellphone, give them a callback number right off. Most 911 systems cannot identify a location from a cellphone call. Tell the operator the address, what kind of fire, who is in the home, etc. * Use smoke alarms — one in every bedroom, and one on each level of the home is the minimum. Test the batteries twice per year. * Hold a fire drill a couple of times a year, going out of your home different ways, if possible. — Heloise SPECIAL SEATS Dear Heloise: I really wish restaurants had booster seats for older women who have gotten shorter as they get older. I took a booster cushion and put it in a pretty tote bag and carry it with me. Now we can sit in a booth, which my husband prefers, and I can sit on my tote bag and eat without having my chin on the table! — Suzie in New Braunfels, Texas Pretty smart, I’d say. One size chair or table does not fit all. I end up sitting on a leg to “gain a little height” at some dinner tables. I like your hint very much. — Heloise PAINT-ROLLER STORER Dear Heloise: Paint rollers, used or new, can be stored in cylindrical potato-chip cans. Putting on the lids keeps them clean, and standing them upright preserves the round shape. Thanks for all of the many useful hints. — Dave in Lufkin, Texas ROOM-SERVICE HINT Dear Readers: On a recent business trip to Austin, Texas, I rediscovered a favorite hint! I love being able to order breakfast — no cooking and no cleanup! Well, for fun I ordered from the kids room-service menu. Sometimes when I’m exhausted from travel in the evening, a grilled-cheese sandwich and small salad is all I want. The service charge (up to 18 percent, and delivery fee $2-$3) is the same. Check out the kids menu. — Heloise Heloise’s column appears six days a week at washingtonpost.com/advice. Send a hint to  Heloise , P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com. , King Features Syndicate

Why purchasing a home at auction can be risky

The rule in real estate is “caveat emptor,” or buyer beware. It’s been that way for centuries and only recently have state legislatures passed laws requiring sellers to disclose known defects and other material issues with the homes they are selling. We do think you’re at fault for not having the home professionally inspected. It seems clear that you didn’t have sufficient knowledge of the home’s systems to understand whether the home had a geothermal system or not. So if you didn’t have that knowledge or couldn’t test the systems, we are unsure why you would proceed to buy the home. When it comes to real estate auctions, you have to be even more careful than if you buy a home directly from a seller or through a real estate brokerage firm. Homes sold at auction usually are sold as is and have no warranties in the contract. This means that a contract for a home sold at auction may give you no rights against the seller. Given your situation and your loss, you should talk to a litigation attorney who has handled real estate fraud cases in the past. We don’t know if you will get far with the auction house or Realtor, since they may have believed that the home had the system because the seller had told them it did. The auction house and Realtor may be under no obligation to verify the information given to them by the seller. So it may be true that the Realtor and auction house believed the system was installed when it had been taken out. However, the seller of the home may be at fault, but even the seller may not have known that the system had been removed by the son-in-law. However, the laws in your state and your seller disclosure laws in your state might still apply and you might have an action against the seller. We don’t know for sure how far you’ll get, but you can discuss the facts with an attorney, and he or she can give you a better idea of what the cost of litigation will be and how strong a case you have.

Stop the huffing and puffing at Pepco

I am amazed at how much whining Pepco officials have to put up with from local politicians and residents. Maybe these critics should consider the following: On June 29, my wife and I lost power soon after the storm hit. This was one of the worst storms I have witnessed in my 51 years of living in the Washington area. My daughter called me to say that a tree had crashed through the house that she, her husband, my two grandsons and my elder son had moved into less than a week earlier. The roof came crashing in on them while she and her husband were saying goodnight to my grandsons. Thankfully, everyone escaped with just minor injuries, but the damage to the house was so severe that they must move out for three months during repairs. As we all sat in my house after the storm, we were able to give thanks that no one was killed. We never gave it a thought that we had no power or that it was hot without the AC running. Pepco did what it could to restore power quickly, given the extraordinary circumstances of this storm.

Democrats are still not favored to take back the House

(The current breakdown in the House is 246 Republicans to 188 Democrats, meaning Democrats need to turn 30 GOP seats blue.)  That opens us up to talk about a wider array of races, which are ranked in order of least to most likely to flip parties. And before we get to the line, we have a special treat for you: The Fix's inaugural House race ratings, at the top of this post. To the line!

If your upstairs ceiling and wall are separating, truss lift might be the culprit

_**Q:** Our house of 40 years has developed a problem in which the ceiling is separating from the walls in the upstairs bedrooms under the attic. The cracks open and close in winter and summer. Efforts to fix the problem by taping and spackling have marginally worked, but the cracks eventually reopen. There are no signs of roof leaks, and our roofer says the roof is intact. The problem may have started after the East Coast earthquake in 2011, when our house was shaken up a bit. How should we address this problem?_ **Columbia** **A:** The problem probably has nothing to do with the earthquake. It’s likely to be a phenomenon known as truss lift. The classic definition is just what you describe: cracks between walls and ceilings on the top floor that open and close as seasons shift. Usually, the cracks open in winter and close in summer. This happens in houses with truss framing to support the roof. If you were to peek into your attic, you’d probably see pieces of wood fastened with triangular bracing. The triangles add strength, allowing the framing to be made of relatively thin pieces of wood, such as two-by-fours, rather than thick timbers. This economy made roof trusses very common starting in the 1950s. One downside, though, is that the triangular bracing also ties the ceiling (which is nailed or screwed to the bottom of the trusses) to what is happening on the roof. When the temperature and moisture level of the wood at the top matches that of the wood at the bottom, everything looks good. But as seasons shift, pieces at the bottom can dry out more than those at the top. This often happens in the winter, as the heating system kicks on. Wood that’s dry shrinks, so the change pulls the attached drywall away from the walls, causing the cracks you see. These cracks are not a structural issue, but they are ugly. To prevent them, you need to decouple the ceiling drywall in the area where the cracks appear from the roof trusses near the walls. In the attic, screw lengths of two-by-fours alongside the top of the wall framing, between the trusses. In the room underneath, find and remove the nails or screws holding the drywall to the ceiling within 18 inches of the wall. You’ll gouge some holes, but you can patch them later. Then drive new screws through the ceiling into the support boards you added. And, yes, you might want to hire a contractor to do the work. _**Q:** Several years ago, I purchased a fountain at an art fair. Although I emptied the water reservoir for the winter, water left in the piping froze and split the pipe. I contacted the artist (not local), who suggested that the split could be soldered and then blackened with chemicals so the repair would blend in. Any suggestions on where I could find someone to make this repair?_ **Annandale** **A:** One solution would be a sheet-metal shop. Bobby Withers, owner of Dixie Sheet Metal Works in Falls Church (703-533-1111; dixiesheetmetalworks.com), said that he’s recently repaired several fountains with similar damage. “We’ll close it up and solder it,” he said. The shop’s minimum charge is $35, but he estimated that the job might cost about $100. The shop would need to polish the copper near the split to get the solder to stick. So the repaired area would be quite noticeable, but it would blacken over time. Withers said he does not apply chemicals to accelerate the process. “We repair,” he said. “We don’t put finishes on.” However, if you don’t want to wait for nature to take its course, you could darken the solder and surrounding copper yourself. Virginia Stained Glass in Springfield (703-866-1235; virginiastainedglass.com) carries Novacan patina solutions, which are also available online. Novacan Black Patina for Solder is $11 with shipping from Amazon.com.

**We recently purchased a home which is large for our growing family. Although the home is beautiful, the bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen are outdated. I really want to update them and have the resources to do so.** **Should we wait at least five to 10 years to do the updates (to keep it looking fresh) as we may want to downsize when kids move out in the future or take the risk of updating now but having it look dated 15 to 20 years down the line?** Our first thought is that you should take advantage now of your ability to update the home and enjoy it. You intend to live in the home for quite some time. Why not enjoy the home to the fullest extent and update it? You don’t know what styles will be like in the future, and any updating you make to the home years before you sell may not be to the liking of some of your potential buyers. Before you go crazy, we recommend that you consider carefully which improvements you want to make and not personalize the home in a way that will diminish its value. We recently saw a home that was extensively renovated by its owners, but those upgrades were so particular and odd that the home’s interior is worse now than before the owners took over. This particular owner decided to cover an entire bathroom with large mirror, pale pink marble and small white bathroom cabinets. The end result is a bathroom that most people walk into and want to walk out of almost immediately. They also put in a new kitchen and added a rear entertainment room. But these homeowners decided to move the existing kitchen of the home to a side portion of the home where the kitchen no longer had any logical flow. Even though the kitchen has newer appliances, the kitchen seemed to have been located in leftover space on the first floor of the home. The odd design and layout of the kitchen turns buyers off. These changes and other odd designs have kept the home unsold for the last several years. We also know of a homeowner who took a four-bedroom, single-family house and turned it into what is essentially a one-bedroom home with a small maid’s quarters. Whoever buys the property is likely going to have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars de-converting it back to a standard four-bedroom house. So as you consider your renovations, make sure they’ll still appeal to buyers. A well-designed and decorated home generally will always sell better than other homes. Your goal is to balance resale potential with your own taste. If you do that, you should be able to update your home, enjoy the upgrades and still have a beautiful home down the line to sell when you decide to downsize. We think it would be a mistake to wait until you are close to moving to renovate the home. You should also know that many home renovations don’t give back to the homeowner the amount of money they put into the home. So if you put $10,000 into upgrading the home, in most cases, you shouldn’t expect to get $10,000 more when you sell. Knowing that, if you spend the $10,000, make sure you enjoy it for many years to come. Certainly, investors that are buying homes to upgrade will find the right home at the right price and will put in just enough money to allow them to make a profit. But most homeowners shouldn’t expect to get back what they put into their homes. However, what they can get is the full use and enjoyment of an upgraded home. **Ilyce R. Glink** ’s latest book is “Buy, Close, Move In!” **Samuel J. Tamkin** is a Chicago-based real estate lawyer. If you have questions, you can call Glink’s radio show (800-972-8255) any Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Contact Glink and Tamkin through the Web site www.thinkglink.com.

How to protect your home from high winds

When the winds pick up, whether it’s a hurricane or a garden-variety summer storm, your home and trees will be vulnerable. Wind can start to damage small limbs and branches at 39 mph, according to the Beaufort Wind Scale, and at 64 mph, widespread structural damage is possible. The winds in the Moore, Okla., tornado this week were about 200 mph, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admistration. When there are warnings about tornadoes or high winds, says Mel Pine, an Allstate agency owner in Purcellville, homeowners should take them seriously and find shelter. Identify a room in your home where you will be safe during high winds. It should be an interior room on the lowest level of your house, away from any windows. “The more walls between you and the outside, the better you will be,” says Adam Polak, a spokesman for Allstate. Inspect your roof, windows and doors now, Pine says. Repair or replace any loose, damaged or missing shingles, and check the attic for swollen wood or moisture that could indicate a leak in the roof. Make sure the caulking on your windows and door jambs is in good condition, he said. Pine also suggests upgrading to heavy-duty bolts on your doors to make them less likely to blow off in high winds. He said doors that open out are stronger than doors that open to the inside. Have a mental checklist of any loose patio furniture, garden umbrellas or outdoor equipment that could blow around in high winds, and secure it before a storm. Wind is Mother Nature’s way of pruning, says Mark Buscaino, the executive director of Casey Trees, a non-profit dedicated to protecting and restoring trees in the District. Check your trees now for potential hazards. Any branches more than six inches in diameter that hang over your home (or your neighbor’s home) should be taken down if they look dead or damaged, Buscaino says. If you are not sure about a tree or limb, he says, call a certified arborist to get an inspection. Casey Trees also offers free classes on protecting the urban forest and evaluating tree risk. Visit its Web site at caseytrees.org/events for a class schedule. **39   ** **mph** Gale Force Twigs and small branches blown off trees **47   ** **mph** Strong gale Minor structural damage may occur, with shingles blown off roof **55   ** **mph** Storm Trees can be uprooted and structural damage is likely **64   ** **mph** Violent storm Widespread damage to structures **Beaufort Wind Scale, University of North Carolina**

Maintenance can prevent basement flooding

5 rules of design from Nate Berkus

Nate Berkus, founder of the interior design firm Nate Berkus Associates, author of “The Things That Matter” and a frequent design expert on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” was the guest on this week’s Home Front chat. Here are some of our favorite pieces of advice from the live Q&A;: **Don’t worry about trends.** Love traditional Oriental rugs but seeing modern patterns in all the magazines? Don’t worry about it. “Design is really about finding a style that represents who you are and not following the trends in magazines.” **For a balanced fireplace mantel,** you can go one of two ways: One large mirror or piece of art hung above the fireplace or several small framed pieces leaning against the wall. “A beautiful pottery bowl, a pair of candlesticks or a series of handmade pottery in complementary colors would be beautiful.” **Don’t be a slave to a home’s history.** Rather than painstakingly searching for only art deco pieces for a 1920s home, pair classic elements, such as subway tile, with newer materials. “The best part of a well-designed interior is respecting the history but also incorporating elements available now.” **A small space doesn’t have to mean small furniture and accessories.** A large mirror can make the space feel larger and brighter. And “resist the urge to scale down your furniture in a small space,” Berkus said. “Keep the sofa large, and remember that no one will be comfortable in your tiny chairs!” **Symmetry doesn’t mean pairs of things.** “Symmetry is not always required, but it does make certain people (like me) more comfortable,” Berkus said. “It creates a sense of visual balance that can feel relaxing when you walk into a room.” Instead of loading up on pairs of heavy bookcases or chairs, try using items of similar heights, such as a bookcase on one side of a window and a tall potted tree on the other. **More fromHome & Garden:** Read the entire Home Front chat transcript. Trend spotting at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair How to display art: It’s not black and white What we can learn from small-space dwellers The search for vintage furniture, made easier

Real Estate Matters | Home seller obliged to clean house for buyers

**I sold my home last month, and the buyers agreed to let me stay in the home for free for two days after the closing date.**    *[WSU]: Wayne State University **When I was moving out of the home, one of the buyers asked if I still wanted to sell my refrigerator. I had earlier offered it to the buyers and they had declined to buy it. I agreed to sell it to them for $400, a price quite a bit lower than used refrigerators were advertised on the Web. The buyer didn’t have his checkbook and agreed to pay me the following Saturday.**    *[WSU]: Wayne State University **On that Saturday, I called him and was told they didn’t feel like they owed me the money because they had to hire cleaners to clean out the home after I moved out. They knew I only had one day to move out of a 2,500-square-foot home and we cleaned the best we could. Can they do this?**    *[WSU]: Wayne State University They did do that. We generally tell sellers that they should leave a home for a buyer in the condition they would want to receive it. Many real estate contracts require sellers to leave a home in “broom-clean condition.” That means that sellers should sweep up after themselves, clear out closets, shelves and cabinets, take everything out of the refrigerator, throw out all the garbage and leave the home presentable. We generally go a little further in our advice. For the sake of good will during a purchase-and-sale transaction, the seller should want to make the buyer feel good about the purchase. That good will goes quite a long way to help buyers and sellers during stressful times. And buying, selling and moving into a new home are quite stressful events for both buyers and sellers. Buyers and sellers might be happy to sell or buy, but the logistics and the changes undertaken by the parties often induce tremendous stress.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Up until the last line of your e-mail, we would have said that the buyer has an obligation to pay you the money he owes you — and he probably still does. But that last line in your question seems to imply that they should bear the burden of your move and stress — that they are somehow responsible for you undertaking a move out of your home and your obligation to pack up and be out of the home as you agreed. And yes, you still had the obligation to clean the home — not make them clean up after you. You say you cleaned the best you could, but you didn’t say that you actually did clean the home and leave it clean as you should have. You could have hired people to help clean the home for you. You could have called on friends or family to help you out. But you didn’t. Your question seems to imply that you probably didn’t leave the home in the shape you should have left if for them.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University And now you have a problem because, thanks to a lack of good will on your part (leaving a clean house), they’re hardly inclined to help you out. You can sue the buyer in small claims court to get your $400, and the buyer might have the right to sue you back for the cost of cleaning up the mess you left behind. (And it might come up in the proceedings that you were allowed to stay in the home for free for two days after the closing.) We’d recommend that you apologize to the buyers and ask them what they paid to clean the home. You might suggest that they pay you a portion of the $400 after they deduct that cleaning cost and leave it at that.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Had the buyers not purchased the refrigerator from you, they would have still been quite angry with you for the way you left the home — you just wouldn’t have known it. Some contracts and some post-closing possession agreements that allow sellers to retain possession of a home after the closing give the buyer the right to sue the seller for damage caused to the home by the seller or for the seller’s failure to deliver the home to the buyer in the condition required under the contract.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University We wonder if the buyers would have gone down this route if you had not sold the refrigerator to them. If you talk to them and offer to reimburse them for the cost of cleaning the home and offer your sincere apology, the buyers might be willing to give some of the money back to you. Otherwise, as most people know, you don’t deliver goods to a buyer unless you’ve received payment. _Ilyce R. Glink’s latest book is “Buy, Close, Move In!” If you have questions, you can call her radio show toll-free (800-972-8255) any Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST. Contact Ilyce through her Web site, www.thinkglink.com._    *[WSU]: Wayne State University

How to match the finish of a bathroom vanity

**Q. I recently bought a house where the previous owner had repurposed a sideboard/credenza to create the bathroom vanity. It has a waterproof finish on the top with a luster, but not as shiny as I would associate with polyurethane. There is a spot where the finish either wasn’t properly applied or has worn off, and the wood is exposed to water spills. How can I determine what the finish might be, and how can I make an inconspicuous repair?** **Springfield** A. If there is a gap in the finish, you should be able to feel the textural difference with your fingers. If you can and the vanity is in a powder room, you can probably patch the area with dewaxed shellac, which Zinsser sells as SealCoat Universal Sanding Sealer. Let that dry, then see if the color matches. If not, rub off the shellac with a cloth moistened with denatured alcohol, then dab on a bit of an oil finish. Let that dry completely, for at least a day, then reapply the shellac. If the color matches, add more coats of shellac until the patch is level with the surrounding area. Shellac dries quickly, so you can put on multiple coats in a day. Then, if you want, you can scuff-sand the entire countertop and brush on a coat of polyurethane to give everything a uniform shine. Because the countertop was finished a long time ago, you shouldn’t have to worry about whether the poly will stick, regardless of what the initial coats were. (Why specify dewaxed shellac for this approach? If you used standard shellac, which isn’t dewaxed, a topcoat of polyurethane might peel.) However, if the vanity is in a bathroom with a shower, patching with shellac isn’t a good idea because the fluctuating humidity during and after showers will make the wood swell and shrink a lot, causing the shellac patch to peel off. Instead rub a small area with a cloth moistened with acetone or acetone-based nail polish remover. If the finish softens, touch up with lacquer. If the finish stays intact, use polyurethane, or for a better-looking job, strip off the existing finish and start over. You’ll need to take out the sink to do a good job, though. If the finish feels smooth, what you’re seeing is probably white spots, which form when moisture gets into a finish. White spots can sometimes be drawn out of a finish by applying something oily, such as butter, mayonnaise or furniture polish with lemon oil. Or you can use gentle heat from a hair dryer set on low. Move the hair dryer constantly so you don’t get any spot too hot. If the spots persist, the moisture probably caused minuscule cracks in the finish. To burnish and fill them, try rubbing with a commercial ring remover, which contains a fine abrasive. Or rub with 0000 steel wool and dark brown wax. **Have a problem in your home?** Send questions to  localliving@washpost.com . Put “How To” in the subject line, tell us where you live and try to include a photo. **The Checklist** Read Jeanne Huber’s roundup of home-improvement tasks you should tackle in August, such as upgrading locks.

Don’t rely on folklore for lightning safety

Folklore isn’t a good guide to lightning safety, but it remains a big source of advice. Probably the most common lightning folklore is that metal “attracts” lighting. One variation is that if you’re going out to play golf don’t wear shoes with metal spikes because they “attract lightning.” Folklore also says metal or electronic objects such as cell phones, jewelry, and the ear buds that you’re listening to music with will attract lightning. None will “attract” lightning, but the ear buds could block you from hearing thunder, which is nature’s way of telling you to get indoors, just as they might block the blare of the horn of the truck you’re about to step in front of as you concentrate on texting. “Metal does not attract lightning,” says Dr. Mary Ann Cooper, a leading expert on lightning injuries. “It conducts electricity. If you have spikes on shoes you’ll get burned from the spikes heating up” if lightning happens to hit you. The idea is that rubber shoe soles “insulate” you and prevent lightning going through you to the ground doesn’t make sense, she says. A lightning flash that’s traveled through a thousand or more feet of air, which is a very good insulator, won’t be slowed by less than a half inch of rubber. The main lightning safety rule is “when thunder roars, go indoors.” In other words if you hear thunder you should rush to get inside a building with wiring and plumbing or into a vehicle with a metal roof and the windows rolled up. Shelters such as those found on golf courses, in picnic areas, or at bus stops are not safe refuges from lightning. Nor are dugouts at athletic fields. Plumbing and wiring will conduct lightning that hits a building to ground. Lightning that hits an all metal vehicle will flow through the metal and jump to ground, sometimes blowing out a tire or tires on the way. When sheltering inside a vehicle you shouldn’t be touching any metal. Once inside a building you should stay away from anything that’s plugged in to the building’s electrical supply such as appliances, computers, or lamps. You shouldn’t use a telephone with a cord that goes into a wall. A cell phone that’s not plugged into the charger is safe indoors. You should also stay away from plumbing since lightning that hits the building or the nearby ground could follow wiring or plumbing into the building. Taking a shower during a thunderstorm isn’t a good idea. Cooper is a professor emerita of emergency medicine, now retired from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She’s widely respected for her work on the care of lightning victims and on lightning safety. Even though retired, she’s continuing her lighting safety work in the United States and other countries. She says some of today’s lightning folklore derives from previous lightning safety messages that research later showed are not good advice. Probably the best example is the idea that if you are caught in the wilderness far from safe shelter you should stand inside the circle within a 45-degree angle from the top of the tallest tree around, but not too close to the tree. This is called the “cone of protection.” The idea was that lighting would be most likely to hit the tall tree, not you. John Gookin, who is curriculum and research manager for The National Outdoor Leadership School in Lander, Wyo., says the cone of protection is a classic case “of old ideas hat have become outdated. They were good ideas based on the state of knowledge at the time but scientists have taught us a lot about lightning that helps us make better recommendations, while we also slowly discard the suggestions that appear to be statistically insignificant.” The cone of protection works when applied to a building protected by a lightning rod or rods. It offers little protection to people in the woods. The cone doesn’t provide much protection because if lightning hits a tree the electricity will spread out across the ground. Such “ground” currents account for 40-50% of all lightning deaths. Cooper and Gookin both stress that our best bet to avoid being hit by lightning is to keep up with weather reports and forecasts as well as keeping an eye on the weather when you’re planning to go outdoors. You want to avoid being caught far from safe shelter such as in a boat far out in Chesapeake Bay or climbing a mountain when thunderstorms move in. The experts’ basic message is: No place outside is safe when thunderstorms are in the area. **Related:**    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Fishing leads U.S. lightning death activities    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Ten shocking things that can happen if you are struck by lightning    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Record low for lightning deaths in 2011 but tornado deaths third highest; why the disparity?    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Stacking lightning bolts over Washington, D.C.    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Dissecting a derecho bolt: more to lightning than meets the eye (and camera lens)    *[WSU]: Wayne State University Lightning gone wild during Washington D.C.’s derecho    *[WSU]: Wayne State University

Here’s how to use technology to your advantage if you’re buying a home from afar

In my experience, the Washington area is becoming a little less of a transient place where people move in from out of town to take a job, rent a home and then move out. More and more I see out-of-towners buying their homes. And with technology, a growing number of them are opting to view them online and make their offers without actually setting foot inside them. For some, the hassle of moving while changing jobs is stressful enough, especially if children and family are involved in the move. A one-time purchase can lead to less stress down the road with great investment potential during their time in the area. How can the average out-of-town buyer equip themselves with the proper advice and tools? Most buyers don’t have the luxury to leave their current position for weeks at a time to explore inventory a month to 45 days before coming to D.C. to properly close. If this is the case, what are the best ways to buy sight unseen? Here are my tips for planning a purchase if you are relocating from far away:     Of course, these tips work for most marketplaces, not just the District. Many sight-unseen buyers may put a contract in for a house and then travel to D.C. for a home inspection or another contingency that allows them to back out of the contract in the event that the house isn’t quite for them.

Hints From Heloise: It’s in the shoes

Dear Heloise: A reader from Hawaii advised putting keys and change INTO SHOES at the airport X-ray. Please advise your readers not to do this. One of the basic Transportation Security Administration rules is that nothing should be placed inside, under or on top of shoes as they go through the X-ray. This could either obstruct the view or make it seem as if the shoes have been tampered with. While on the subject, please remind your readers of the other rules: * Do not bring liquids over 3.4 ounces into the screening queue (unless it is medicine or necessary for babies). * Take large electronic items out of the carry-on and place each one in a separate bin. * Have your ID and security document in your hand, ready to go, as you enter. * End phone calls prior to entering the screening process. * Do not stop on the other side of the X-ray to reassemble your belongings. If everyone would become more familiar with the rules prior to traveling and follow these hints, the lines would move much faster. -- A Reader, via e-mail Thank you for your hints! After contacting the Transportation Security Administration, an employee said that it is not against the rules to place items like keys and change in your shoes while they go through X-ray. But it is recommended that you place keys and change in a separate bin, like you stated, so that it doesn’t cause anomalies on the X-ray and require you to go through extra screening. -- Heloise SEND A GREAT HINT TO: Heloise P.O. Box 795000 San Antonio, TX 78279-5000 Fax: 1-210-HELOISE E-mail:  Heloise@Heloise.com KEEPING COOL Dear Heloise: Here’s a simple, inexpensive way to help keep your basement cool during the summer. Buy white foam poster boards (available at office-supply stores). Set them on the inside window ledge, propped against the windows that get direct sunlight. They block the heat from the sun, while letting in enough light to see by. They can easily be taken down and put back up as desired. A big help during the hot, hot summer! -- Gail M., Washington, D.C. DE-CLUTTER Dear Heloise: I am always trying to de-clutter. I have too much stuff and not enough space. When I am watching television or a movie, I will take a drawer or box and go through it. I throw away what I don’t want, make a donation pile and keep what I really need. I don’t get overwhelmed trying to do too much at once, but the house stays clean and organized. -- Liz in Alabama Have you been peeking in my den? I lay out a newspaper, dump a drawer, go through it, then roll it up with the “toss” items and put it in the trash. -- Heloise JEWELRY JOLT Dear Heloise: Many mornings, I don’t know what to wear. I look in my jewelry box. I see things I have not worn in a while, and it inspires me to pick the jewelry, then the outfit that coordinates. -- Corrinne in Universal City, Tex. Heloise’s column appears six days a week at www.washingtonpost.com/advice. Send a hint to  Heloise , P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

Hints From Heloise: Shut down, then unplug

Dear Readers: A recent column about whether to shut off COMPUTERS or put them into sleep mode brought some questions. The hint is to plug the computer (and other electronics, such as a printer) into a power strip for easy turnoff. A few wanted clarification that turning off the power strip is only AFTER shutting down the computer properly. You are right — it might not have been clear to shut down the computer and ONLY then turn off the power strip. Here are some reader responses: Bob N. in California wrote: “If your readers interpret (using a power strip) as an alternative to shutting down the computer through its regular shutdown routine, they could be creating some problems. Computer operating systems aren’t generally designed to have the power shut off while they are still up and running. Open files could be corrupted.” S.B. in Mississippi wrote: “You have to go through the process of closing (the computer) down or you’re going to have problems. If you want to save money, unplug from the wall everything not in use. Even if it’s not on, if plugged in, it’s drawing electricity.” As someone who took COBOL programming in college, I know how important it is to follow procedures when turning on or off electronic equipment. -- Heloise P.S.: Know what “COBOL” stands for? Who is considered the “grandmother” of COBOL? GUARANTEE DELIVERY Dear Heloise: Whenever I send a get-well card to someone in the hospital or rehab, instead of putting my return address in the upper left-hand corner, I put the patient’s address there. That way, if the patient has been released from the hospital, the mail will go to the house. -- A Reader, via e-mail BUMPER STICKERS Dear Heloise: Here’s a hint for displaying bumper stickers. Obtain advertising magnets. Rectangular ones work best. Arrange them edge to edge on a metal surface (file cabinet or refrigerator door) to cover an area slightly larger than your bumper sticker. Remove the sticker back and apply the bumper sticker to the magnets. Remove the assembly and trim with scissors. You now have a magnetic sign that is easy to move or remove. Don’t forget to remove before going through the carwash. -- Dave in Indiana EASY CARRY Dear Heloise: I have four cats, so I buy dry food and litter in large bags. I was having difficulty carrying them, as they are 30 pounds or more. I found a solution: I use a canvas log carrier, the type used to carry fireplace logs. I place the bag on the carrier, pull up the handles and away I go! -- Don in Canandaigua, N.Y. Don, I do hope your cats appreciate you! -- Meow, Heloise HELPFUL HINT Dear Heloise: Once in a while, my elderly dad would forget his cane in a grocery cart while shopping. I used the address labels we would get in the mail to stick on the cane to identify it and give the store a name to contact. -- Carol Belli, via email Heloise’s column appears six days a week at www.washingtonpost.com/advice. Send a hint to  Heloise , P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

Hints From Heloise: Old oil may bring the heat

Dear Readers: If you change your own car oil, what do you do with the OLD OIL? Oil can end up in landfills, storm drains, sewers and other places that it should not go if you don’t recycle it correctly. There are many collection centers for household hazardous waste. You can take the oil to gas stations or quick-oil-change places; repair shops will usually take it without charge. Collect the oil in a leakproof container (such as a plastic jug formerly for milk or juice). Recycled oil can be taken to refineries, reprocessed and used for heat or to generate electricity. According to the American Petroleum Institute, just two gallons of recycled oil can be used to make enough electricity to run a typical household for nearly a 24-hour period! -- Heloise WHITE-COAT SYNDROME Dear Readers: Does your blood pressure rise when at the doctor’s office? Many people have “white-coat syndrome,” a higher blood-pressure reading when taken in a medical office. A lot of people are nervous when at the doctor’s! Here is a hint: First, get to the doctor’s office early so you are not rushed and stressed. Take calming, measured breaths, and try to relax. When called to be tested, make sure you sit for at least five minutes before your pressure is taken. Have your blood pressure taken at least two to three times on the same arm. This should give a more accurate reading. If you are still having high readings, ask about at-home monitoring. -- Heloise NONSLIP RUGS Dear Heloise: Many years ago, there was a hint for keeping throw rugs from slipping. It involved painting some substance on the worn-out backing, but I’m not sure what it was. I used the remedy, and it was a perfect solution, as one could easily shake the rugs without fooling with a nonslip mat to keep the rugs secure. -- Barbara M., Columbus, Ohio Barbara, you are remembering a hint to paint the bottom of rugs with a special paint that puffs as it dries. Available online or in craft stores, the paint can be painted or sprayed on. The paint “puffs up” when you heat it with a hair dryer and is fast-drying. Wait about three to four days before you wash the rug. Use a white paint to make sure it doesn’t stain the floor. The paint will wear out at some point; just reapply. -- Heloise KEEPING COOL Dear Heloise: Here’s a simple, inexpensive way to help keep your basement cool in the summer. Buy white foam poster boards (available at office-supply stores). Set them on the inside window ledge, propped against the windows that get direct sunlight. They block the heat from the sun while letting in enough light to see by. They can easily be taken down and put back up as desired. A big help during the hot, hot summer! -- Gail M., Washington, D.C. HANDY HELPER Dear Heloise: The best advice I have ever gotten from you is to use a rubber band to open water bottles, soft-drink bottles or any kind of bottles. This hint works and has never failed me! Thank you! -- L.W. in Arkansas Heloise’s column appears six days a week at www.washingtonpost.com/advice. Send a hint to  Heloise , P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

Summer is here. YIKES.

Memorial Day marks the start of Washington’s long-awaited, laid-back summer stretch. But between the backyard barbecues, family reunions and dips in the pool, danger could be one spark or one bad forecast away. Do you know where your flashlights are? ●Preparing for disaster, whether flood, wind, fire or power outage, isn’t as fun as planning your trip to Rehoboth. And as Oklahoma’s recent tornadoes have shown us, a major disaster can devastate a community despite the most elaborate of preparations. But you gotta do it. Our summer emergency guide is packed with good advice from experts and safety specialists. They said that if you prepare ahead of time, you will be less stressed if and when disaster strikes. And if this year is anything like the last few, which brought us earthquakes, Hurricane Sandy and that nasty derecho, we have some rough days ahead.● ●So get familiar with your gutters and get over how your hair looks when you’re wearing a headlamp. Trim that dead branch hanging over your neighbor’s deck before it’s too late. Discuss a disaster plan for evacuation and sheltering in place with your family. Prepare more, worry less. So when everyone else is out scavenging bottled water, you can sit on your deck and savor one last margarita before the next summer emergency. **How to protect your home from high winds** When the winds pick up, whether it’s a hurricane or a garden-variety summer storm, your home and trees will be vulnerable. Wind can start to damage small limbs and branches at 39 mph, according to the Beaufort Wind Scale, and at 64 mph, widespread structural damage is possible. The winds in the Moore, Okla., tornado this week were about 200 mph, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admistration. When there are warnings about tornadoes or high winds, says Mel Pine, an Allstate agency owner in Purcellville, homeowners should take them seriously and find shelter. Identify a room in your home where you will be safe during high winds. It should be an interior room on the lowest level of your house, away from any windows. “The more walls between you and the outside, the better you will be,” says Adam Polak, a spokesman for Allstate. Inspect your roof, windows and doors now, Pine says. Repair or replace any loose, damaged or missing shingles, and check the attic for swollen wood or moisture that could indicate a leak in the roof. Make sure the caulking on your windows and door jambs is in good condition, he said. Pine also suggests upgrading to heavy-duty bolts on your doors to make them less likely to blow off in high winds. He said doors that open out are stronger than doors that open to the inside. Have a mental checklist of any loose patio furniture, garden umbrellas or outdoor equipment that could blow around in high winds, and secure it before a storm. Wind is Mother Nature’s way of pruning, says Mark Buscaino, the executive director of Casey Trees, a non-profit dedicated to protecting and restoring trees in the District. Check your trees now for potential hazards. Any branches more than six inches in diameter that hang over your home (or your neighbor’s home) should be taken down if they look dead or damaged, Buscaino says. If you are not sure about a tree or limb, he says, call a certified arborist to get an inspection. Casey Trees also offers free classes on protecting the urban forest and evaluating tree risk. Visit its Web site at caseytrees.org/events for a class schedule. **Prepare now for summer power outages** ****After being victims of the top two power outages in the United States in 2012 — the derecho and Hurricane Sandy — Washington area residents might be warily eyeing this year’s storm season, which, in the case of hurricanes, starts June 1. And who can blame them? More than 3.8 million people in the District, Maryland and Virginia lost power at some point last year, according to the 2012 Blackout Tracker Report from Eaton, a power management company. Some were without electricity for as much as a week after the June derecho. “It’s not _if_ you are going to lose power, it’s really a matter of _when_ ,” says David Botkins, a spokesman for Dominion Virginia Power. Waldorf resident Bill Swanson, 66, was glad he had a generator when the derecho knocked out his power for three days last summer, because stores quickly sold out as people scrambled to power their homes in record heat. An experienced boater and longtime resident of the Washington area, Swanson says he has learned over time that it’s better to be prepared. “We’re kind of used to the weather patterns in this area and . . . always thinking about it and looking for storms,” Swanson says. “Once you’ve lived through a three-foot snowstorm in this area and been paralyzed for a week, you kind of learn what to do and how important it is to take some precautions.” Stock up on flashlights, batteries, water and food, in addition to any medical supplies you might need. Botkins also recommends homeowners invest in a battery-operated radio so they can listen to weather reports and news alerts during an outage. Have one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, Botkins says. Also stock food for several days for everyone in the family and your pets. Botkins also suggests having a couple of cans of gasoline to fuel your car in case local filling stations lose power. If you have a well or septic system that runs on electricity, have extra water to flush toilets, says Lance Gregory of the Virginia Health Department. Filling your bathtub in advance is fine for flushing toilets, but if you are going to use that water for washing hands, brushing teeth, cooking or drinking, Gregory says, boil it first to decontaminate it. Check your battery supplies now, Duracell spokesman Win Sakdinan says. Everyone should have plenty of batteries in sizes AA, AAA, C and D. Sakdinan says it’s a good idea to have enough to power your radios and flashlights for a week. And make sure you have flashlights or headlamps for every person in the home to have his own, he said. Fully charge your smartphone, tablet and laptop, and consider getting an Internet router that runs on batteries. Conserve energy in these devices by turning them off when you aren’t using them or putting them in battery conservation modes, Sakdinan said. And when your power goes out, Botkins said, your first move should be to report the outage to your electric company. Don’t assume your neighbors have already called. **Maintenance can prevent basement flooding** If you don’t want to walk down to the basement to find photo albums and cat food bowls floating, check your gutters now. Heavy rains can cause flooding, which can lead to serious structural and other damage to your home. Water can ruin drywall, carpeting, furniture and major appliances, and can cause mold to grow. The two major causes of basement floods are neglect of routine home maintenance and poor drainage, according to experts. “The number one thing is to keep gutters functional. They shouldn’t sag or spill and should be kept clean of debris,” says J.D. Grewell, a Silver Spring home inspector. “Downspouts should not be damaged, and once water gets to the ground, it should have a splash pad at the bottom of each downspout or a drain to get water away from the foundation.” Washington’s leafy neighborhoods create challenges. “This time of year, you drive around and see stuff growing out of gutters. Some people think gutters should be cleaned only in the fall, but in many cases they need to be cleaned two to four times a year,” says Tom Gilday, vice president of Gilday Renovations in Silver Spring. Gilday also cautions homeowners not to pile too much mulch around a foundation, because it can cause water to seep into basement walls. Inspect window wells. “I have seen window wells after a rainstorm that look like aquariums,” Gilday says. “Keep them cleaned out and put a layer of gravel in the bottom. Consider clear plexiglass covers.” Other ways to prepare for the rainy season: ●If you have a sump pump, test it to make sure it’s working; you might want to invest in a battery backup. ●Consider elevating your furnace, water heater, washer, dryer and electrical panel to raise them out of water’s way. ●Be meticulous about keeping outside stairwell drains clear. ●Stock cleaning supplies: rubber gloves, a mop, a wet vac, a dehumidifier and fans. ●De-clutter your basement: Move important documents upstairs and replace cardboard boxes with plastic containers. Raise items up on concrete blocks. ●Check with an insurance agent about your flood risk and get information about the National Flood Insurance Program, administered by FEMA, by going to www.floodsmart.gov. As much as you prepare, you can’t always predict where water might show up. Katie and Frank Hopkins moved into their first home, a 1930s Cape Cod in Arlington, the day after the 2012 June derecho. When the warnings about Hurricane Sandy came in, they stocked up on food and water and loaded flashlights with fresh batteries. They cleaned out the basement, figuring it might leak. Then they heard water splashing upstairs: The light fixture in their spare bedroom was dripping water from a leak in the flashing under a dormer window. “We thought we had prepared and were ready,” says Katie Hopkins. “You can never know what is going to happen.” **Fire hazards during grilling season** The smell of burgers wafting from a neighbor’s back yard is one of the earliest signs of spring. But as people dust off their grills and gather around fire pits, they should carefully inspect their equipment and go over safety tips with their families to help prevent fires. “The best advice we have is to make sure to keep grills and anything with an open flame on it, whether tiki torches, citronella candles or firepits, away from anything combustible,” says Gregg A. Karl, a captain in the Arlington County Fire Prevention Office. Gathering around a fire, whether at an outdoor kitchen, a chiminea or a stone outdoor fireplace, is a growing part of entertaining, according to Lorraine Carli, spokeswoman for the National Fire Protection Association. “You should follow a lot of the same safety tips with these as with grills. Never leave them unattended and make sure that the fire is totally out before you leave them at the end of the event.” And never use a grill in a garage. Four out of five families own a grill and barbecue at least once a week in the summer, according to Deborah Hanson, spokeswoman for First Alert, manufacturer of safety products. “We suggest a three-foot zone around the grill, whether it’s charcoal or propane,” Hanson says. “Keep kids and pets away and keep it away from siding, deck railings or overhanging branches. Clean the grill regularly and always remove the grease buildup from the trays underneath.” Chris Hartley, vice president of marketing for Blue Rhino, a propane tank exchange company, says consumers should test propane grills for leaks. He suggests a solution of water and dishwashing detergent applied to spots where there is a connection between the grill and the tank. “If you see bubbles, you have a leak, and you have to take action and seek repairs,” he says. Keep a fire extinguisher around, even if you’re not grilling. And “know how to use it ahead of time so you aren’t fooling around trying to figure that out when you need it,” Carli says. If a fire breaks out in your back yard, Karl says to first call 911 before trying to fight it. “We would rather come out and make sure the fire did not extend out,” Karl says, “than come back two hours later with people trapped in the house because they did not call when it initially happened.”

Easy ways to save electricity

Our electricity came back at 4:37 a.m. on Tuesday. We were sleeping on the sofa bed in the study — cooler than the upstairs bedroom; hotter than the basement, but not as moist, creepy or cricket-filled — when we were awoken by the myriad whirs and beeps of a 21st-century house coming back to life. I was not angry about the early wake-up call. In fact, I was giddy with happiness. It was hard for me to resist throwing off the sheet and running through the house reveling in the resurgent power: flipping switches, opening the refrigerator door, stringing Christmas lights and jamming screwdrivers in outlets to create great blue arcs of sweet, sweet electricity. But resist I did. For in the depths of our powerlessness — the food spoiled, the house an oven — I had made a vow: I will never, _ever_ take electricity for granted again. In the future, I promise: To unplug cellphone chargers from the wall when not in use. To clean the filter on my central air-conditioner. To turn off the lights in rooms I’m not in, even if other people are in them. To refrain from surfing the Web while watching TV _and_ listening to the stereo _and_ playing Words With Friends on my phone. I will only do three out of the four. To replace my 60-watt bulbs with 59-watt bulbs. To fight capital punishment in any state where the electric chair is used. To wear rubber-soled slippers in wintertime, thus reducing the likelihood of static electricity. To switch from Lectric Shave lotion to Old Spice. To stop dancing the Electric Slide. All joking aside, the recent storm and its aftermath have us once again training our fury on the electric companies. Why is it, we wonder, that Pepco has such a tough time keeping the power on? A couple of years ago, Pepco blamed the trees, then said the public didn’t like seeing its oaks and maples trimmed. And, indeed, when Pepco started trimming trees this spring, there was a backlash. But it’s not as if trees are a new thing in the Washington area. I’m pretty sure we’ve had them for centuries. And electricity isn’t that new, either. Pepco has to figure out how to make the two — power and paulownias — coexist. **Dave Douglas** of Laurel just retired as a Pepco lineman. He wrote: “With all the negative press Pepco gets about outages, what gets lost is the men and women that are out there doing their best to restore power in horrible conditions, wearing layers of fire retardant clothes, rubber gloves and sleeves, and various other safety gear. They hear all the negative press and when people complain about how slow going it is you are talking about them and it gets personal. Let’s have some good press about the people doing their jobs.” I’m happy to oblige, Dave. No one is angry at the frontline workers who are risking their lives to restore power. When a crew shows up in a darkened neighborhood, they are greeted as heroes. I think our dissatisfaction is aimed at the people in Pepco’s offices, who through poor planning or cost-cutting put us in this situation every year. Here are some of the reasons readers donate to Camp Moss Hollow, a summer camp in Fauquier County for at-risk kids from the Washington area: “So many of my fondest memories are of the times I spent at Girl Scout Camp,” wrote **Diane Levitus** of Derwood. “Everyone should get to enjoy camp!” Arlington’s **Rachel Stewart** was inspired to give by another Rachel: **Rachel Jaffe** , the McLean teen who held a babysitting night to raise money for Moss Hollow. The Arlington Rachel said she enjoyed her years at summer camp. “I wish all kids could experience living out in the country with lots of other kids and learning all the new things that camp provides.” **Catherine Sinclair** wasn’t so keen on her summer camping experiences (“My parents insisted on sending me”), but she donated anyway, hopeful that her gift “will help some child enjoy the sweetness of nature.” “The children are our future,” wrote **Lynne LiVigni** of Lansdowne. “To help them as best we can is essential to our legacies.” Won’t you help with the legacy? To make a tax-deductible gift, go to washingtonpost.com/camp. Click where it says “Give Now,” and designate “Send a Kid to Camp” in the gift information. Or mail a check payable to “Send a Kid to Camp” to Send a Kid to Camp, P.O. Box 96237, Washington, D.C. 20090-6237.

Tossing out useful items is tough for this house flipper

_Justin Pierce is a real estate investor who regularly writes about his experiences buying, renovating and selling houses in the Washington area._    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico I come from a place and an upbringing that encouraged us to use things up — we were reluctant to throw things out if they still had life left in them.  Now my profession is buying old homes full of old things.  And, unfortunately, I am all too often forced to throw most of those things into the landfill. It’s amazing how hard it is to find someplace to take things like old furniture and usable building supplies.  I’m struck by just how wasteful our country has become and sometimes I feel a little guilty about the role I’ve played in adding to the trash heaps. I am not trying to get into the middle of a debate on global warming or saving the planet.  I just personally know how hard it is to build many of these things and I have a real appreciation for woodworking and craftsmanship of all kinds.  I see the extreme beauty and personality that is infused into a piece of craftsmanship.  And I’m discouraged when someone throws out a solid wood, handcrafted piece of furniture and replaces it with a mass produced hunk of particle board. I have tried to sell some of the items I’ve come across in old homes but it’s just too time consuming.  I’ve tried to donate items and I’m absolutely amazed at how often these charities turn away perfectly good stuff. In my last blogpost, I wrote about a house I had recently purchased and renovated in Annandale. As I explained, the house had a lot of old personal items from the previous owner.  I personally oversaw and handled the trash out phase of the house because I find contractors are much too quick to throw things into a dumpster. The Annandale house had several perfectly serviceable pieces of furniture and working appliances.  Certainly someone could make use of these things.  I tried taking truckloads of stuff to a donation place but it turned away 90 percent of the items.  One piece of furniture was a heavy, solid wood nightstand.  The paint was a little beat up but this was good solid wood.  I wish I had had the room to store the thing because all this piece needed was a new finish and it would have been beautiful. My past experiences have been similar to this.  If I fill up a trailer with furniture, books and other personal items and drive it to any one of the charities in the area I will almost certainly end up taking 85 percent of the stuff on to the dump.  It has proven so time consuming and labor intensive that I have been forced to fill dumpster after dumpster. It only costs about $500 to haul off a dumpster, so, unfortunately, it’s the most cost effective option. And, honestly, I don’t take broken or nasty items to the donation places.  I only take things that are in working order and usable.  It’s not in my interest to waste time at the donation place. I’ve been amazed at how difficult it is to give things away.  I have always thought that organizations that are getting things for free would do well to make the process more convenient for the giver. As things are today, if I wanted to try to save the items in the houses I’m buying I would have to hire a couple of guys and a truck to pick out individual items and group them together.  I know there are places that will take used books but they won’t take furniture.  It’s just too costly and time consuming to have a team run a load of books to book donation, clothing to another place and furniture to another and building supplies to yet another.  And I don’t know anyone who takes working appliances. But there are a couple new trends I’m seeing that give me hope.  First is the trend and popularity of upcycling.  There are Web sites and even TV shows dedicated to salvage, reinvention and reuse of old items.  The other trend is the growing popularity of the modern industrial design of which I am a huge fan. Industrial designers often make use of and incorporate salvaged furniture, fixtures and building supplies into their work. I have been so discouraged by my donation options and so inspired by trends in upcycling and salvage that I am working on putting together a salvage and design company.  I love industrial design and that goes hand in hand with salvaged items. All of these houses that are being torn down all throughout our area are full of beautiful old growth lumber and hand crafted moldings.  It is a crime against humanity that those things are going into the landfills. There are problems to overcome like finding an affordable location to store and distribute these salvaged pieces of Americana.  That will just require time and effort but the solution will present itself.  However, the opportunities are so very exciting.  There are so many home owners, home flippers and developers who are paying thousands in dump fees and dumpster roll off companies.  Those costs can offset the price of salvage. And the new green building codes and incentives should only help the process. Whether my venture is successful or not, I’d love to see more options for recycling, upcycling and reusing these old items.  That has to start with our way of thinking.  We as Americans have got to start seeing the value and the beauty in things like old handcrafted furniture and moldings. We need not just be so quick to throw things out.  The construction and remodeling industries are out there to sell plastic and vinyl everything.  But that is really not always the answer. Many of the older designs are timeless and beautiful, they hold within them our heritage and they are worth saving. _Read Justin Pierce’s previous columns_ :    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico For once, surprise for this house flipper is a good one    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico New real estate investors misread signs in market    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Landing a great real estate deal can be a humbling experience    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico When a flipping deal works out right    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Why you don’t want to flip homes    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Remodelers — not consumers — have the upper hand as their workload picks up    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico At long last, investor’s pop-top house sells    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Setback may push Temple Hills renovation beyond Oct. 1 deadline    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Crews make up for lost time in pop-top project    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico With plan approved, race is on to reconstruct house for fall sale    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Pop-top renovation becomes pop-back plan    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico Gone are the low lying fruit of real estate investing    *[WSU]: Wayne State University   *[Tue]: Tuesday   *[Wed]: Wednesday   *[UNM]: University of New Mexico

D.C. area sees a spike in house flipping

Flipping houses — where a house is bought, renovated and resold within months — is undergoing a resurgence in the D.C. area, according to a report released Friday by RealtyTrac, a real estate data firm. The company looked at single-family homes that were resold within six months after purchase, from January to June of this year, and found that this region showed a 108 percent increase in flipping compared to the first six months of 2012. And it ranked it among the top 15 markets for profitable home flipping based on the resale value of these houses. The report also showed that flipping is cooling in Las Vegas, Phoenix and Southern California, places that previously had been hot spots. Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac, sees a wave moving across the country from west to east. The wave is the housing recovery, and it is driving trends such as flipping. “It hit markets like Southern California and Phoenix first because those were the first to see the bounce off the bottom in home prices,” he said. “Whereas in places like D.C. . . . the market is somewhat untapped from a flippers’ perspective.” There were 3,169 single-family homes that were flipped in the D.C. region the first six months of this year. The average purchase price for a house that was going to be flipped was $403,441 — fourth highest in the country, behind only San Jose, San Francisco and Ocean City, N.J. But for those who have the money, the return can be great. The average gross profit — the difference between the purchase and sale price — was $46,205. It is worth noting that RealtyTrac did not factor in how much was spent on the rehab. The report also broke down flipping by state. For the entire state of Virginia, flipping was up 135 percent. In Maryland, it was up 104 percent, and in the District, it was unchanged. Because of its small housing inventory and its cumbersome foreclosure process, the District had only 57 houses flipped in the first six months this year. But those investors who can find houses to fix up, it is well worth their effort. The average purchase price in the District for houses to be flipped was $238,298, about 28 percent below market value. The average gross profit on those houses once they were resold was $191,103. “My guess is what’s happening there is that the homes that the flippers are getting are very highly distressed properties in need of a lot of work,” Blomquist said. “They’re getting them at very low prices, but they’re probably having to put a lot into them, which unfortunately is not reflected here. But once they do, it’s such a hot market and such limited inventory, they are able to sell it at a premium.” Blomquist said he believes the increase in Maryland can be attributed to the uptick in foreclosure activity. Unlike Virginia, which moved relatively quickly through the foreclosure process, Maryland had a more deliberate system. As a result, a backlog of distressed properties is now coming onto the market. In June, Maryland had a 162 percent year over year increase in foreclosure activity, the fifth month in a row of triple digit percentage increases. The more foreclosed properties on the market, the more opportunities for real estate investors. Rising mortgage rates don’t appear to have a dampening effect on flipping, since most real estate investors pay cash or finance through a hard money lender. However, the rising rates are making it more challenging for the investors to sell their properties once they have renovated them. For those thinking now is the time to jump into real estate investing, you may be too late. Blomquist doesn’t see this trend lasting. “We’ll see the numbers taper back off,” he said. “There’s a perfect storm for flipping right now. You’re really seeing a market that’s evolving from a distressed market to a recovering market so that’s a great window of opportunity for flippers. But once that window is gone and home prices normalize and the distressed properties have also normalized to a low level, then the volumes will go back down.”

How do I throw away batteries and meds? And 3 other decluttering stumpers.

So you’ve finally committed to decluttering and have even done the hard work of gathering everything that you no longer need or want. But the job isn’t complete until you have actually taken the stuff out of your house, which can be challenging if you’re not sure how to dispose of something properly. Here is a guide for safely getting rid of five perplexing items. Water-based, latex paint can be dried out at home and put in regular household trash. Small amounts of paint will dry if you simply leave the lid off, but larger amounts require combining the unused paint with absorbent materials such as cat litter or sand. You can also buy paint hardener at a hardware store. Oil-based paint is considered household hazardous waste (HHW) and should never be thrown in the trash, even if it is dry. Instead, take oil-based paints to your local HHW facility for proper disposal. District residents can take old paint to the Department of Public Works’ Fort Totten Transfer Station; to find a location nearer to you, check your local jurisdiction’s Web site. Many of us have been told that it’s okay to flush unused or expired medication. Although that method of disposal is safe for some medications, there are better alternatives. Medicine “take-back” programs provide one easy solution and are often held multiple times throughout the year. Check the Web site of your local law enforcement agency for dates. If you don’t want to wait until the next take-back day in your community or need to dispose of your medication immediately, the site www.earth911.com recommends putting medication into a sealable plastic bag and adding water to dissolve the pills; add coffee grounds, kitty litter, sawdust or anything else unpalatable to prevent a child or a pet from being tempted by the contents. Seal it and throw it in the trash. Lastly, black out your personal information on the bottle with a marker or remove the prescription label before recycling it. The best and most effective way to dispose of household cleaning supplies and chemicals is to use them or give them to someone who can. If neither is possible, it is safe to put most common household cleaners — such as water-soluble gels, liquids or powders — down the drain mixed with water; recycle the container if possible. For specialized compounds such as oven cleaners and furniture polish, check the label for instructions or contact your local recycling or household hazardous waste disposal center to see whether it will accept them. There are increasingly fewer options for donating VHS tapes and no real options for donating cassette tapes (and anyone under 25 has probably never even seen either one!), so the best option is to take them to your local dump for proper disposal. Check your local jurisdiction’s Web site to confirm that they accept both. DVDs and CDs can still usually be donated to your local library or hospital, but call to confirm the facility wants them before making a trip. There are also Web sites that allow you to sell your CDs and DVDs online. A quick Internet search will help you find the best option for your needs. Figuring out how to properly dispose of different types of batteries can be complicated. Every state but California allows you to put single-use alkaline batteries in the trash. They are recyclable, and most local recycling facilities accept them. Rechargeable batteries _must_ be recycled. They can be taken to your local waste facility or to a Best Buy — the stores accept rechargeable batteries weighing less than 10 pounds, as well as laptop batteries, battery back-ups and cellphone batteries. Small “button cells” such as those found in hearing aids and watches contain silver oxide and mercury and must also be recycled. If you get a professional to replace these batteries, he or she will usually recycle the battery for you. If not, they can be taken to your local recycling facility, a Batteries Plus, or Mom’s Organic Market store. Check with your nearest location for the list of acceptable types. If you still have questions, check out www.earth911.com for a comprehensive guide to safe battery disposal. Anzia is a freelance writer and the owner of Neatnik. She can be reached at nicole@neatnik.org.

What to do when you get a bad home inspector

This is a cautionary tale to home sellers.  In a recent transaction in which I was representing the seller, the buyer’s home inspector damaged the slate tile floor in the kitchen of my client’s condo during a home inspection. I was standing in the kitchen and witnessed the home inspector allow the heavy metal cover of the electrical panel to slam to the floor when removing it for inspection, rather than hold it as he unscrewed it from the panel. The result: a deep gash in the slate tile in a luxury condo. Long story short, the buyer said the broken tile was not a problem, but 24 hours later proceeded to back out of the deal. The seller was left with a damaged floor. The home inspector hung up when asked to compensate the seller for the damage. It made me think: Who are these people who are hired to poke around in a seller’s home under the pretense that they are experts at determining a home’s condition?  What qualifications do they have?  What protection does a homeowner have in the case of malpractice? What I learned was astonishing. Neither Washington nor Virginia requires home inspectors to be licensed. “Under current law, Virginia does not license home inspectors,” said Mary Broz Vaughan, director of communications for the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation.  “Today, any individual can legally perform a home inspection in Virginia.” Fortunately, that will change in 2017. According to Broz Vaughan, “legislation put forth by the Virginia Association of Realtors during the recently completed General Assembly session will transition the existing voluntary certification program for home inspectors to a mandatory licensing framework, effective July 1, 2017.” The District currently has no plans to change legislation mandating licensing for home inspectors. “In a state that has no regulations, anyone can hang a sign and say they are a home inspector,” said Frank Lesh, executive director of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI). Maryland is one of just a few states that require classroom home inspection training to become a state licensed home inspector. In addition, Maryland regulations set forth a minimum and uniform standard of performance to be exercised by home inspectors and specifically lists the tasks to be performed during a home inspection. For example, the regulation states that home inspectors must visually inspect the roof system, the structural system, electrical systems, plumbing systems, heating systems, air conditioning systems, ventilation, insulation, and the interior and exterior of the home. Maryland also requires home inspectors to have general liability insurance in an amount not less than $50,000. “Licensing requirements are just minimum standards allowed by law,” Lesh said. “If you get a D in school, you still pass,” Lesh added.  “Using a licensed inspector doesn’t mean you are going to get a good job.  It just means that someone squeaked by and passed the licensing test.” So how do you ensure that a home inspector is experienced, qualified and professional? “I recommend using an ASHI certified home inspector,” Lesh said.  “We certify our members.  As an ASHI member, you have to exceed the law and follow our strict standards of practice and code of ethics.” What happens if a home inspector creates a problem? “If he had fessed up and taken responsibility, it would have been fine,” Lesh said, referring to the situation that occurred with my client. “You can report the situation to us, you can call the state if it is regulated, or you can report him to the Better Business Bureau.” There is another layer of difficulty regarding home inspections in a real estate transaction. In most template real estate sales contracts, it states that the buyer can enlist the help of anyone to conduct a home inspection of the subject property. The Addendum of Clauses — drafted by the Greater Capital Association of Realtors (GCAAR) and used with the GCAAR Sales Contract and the Maryland Association of Realtors (MAR) Residential Contract of Sale — states that the work can be conducted by “the buyer, a home inspection firm, and/or any other representative at the buyer’s discretion and expense.” In other words, a buyer can grab a know-it-all friend or uncle to inspect the home, or the buyer can poke around the house himself. “Experience is key, insurance is essential, understanding the inspection agreement is a must,” said Glen Blanc of Pro Spex Home Inspection Services, when asked what to keep in mind when hiring a home inspector. Blanc recommends the following questions to ask when selecting a home inspector:

Here’s how to ensure you have water on day one of your home purchase

You are a kind seller, and your buyers should appreciate your consideration. However, with enough television ads about transferring cable service, you’d think that most buyers would know that purchasing a home has certain responsibilities. Among these responsibilities is setting up new service for utilities in the new home. Depending on where you live, a new buyer should consider the following services and how they are supplied to the home: water, sewer, refuse, electricity, gas, phone, cable, Internet, alarm. With each of these services, a new homeowner should find out what they need to set up before the closing. In some places, water may be from a pump at the property and sewer may be through a septic system. But even then, the home buyer should have enough knowledge to have inspected the septic system and tested the water. In a cold climate, you better make sure that you’ve set up both electric service and gas (or oil) service to make sure you don’t run into a situation where the weather gets so cold that water-supply lines could freeze. As for modern technology, you’ll need to have your phone, Internet and television services set up. For some, Internet may be the most important thing to set up, but from a homeowner’s perspective, water, sewer, electric and gas are the most important. Frequently, real estate agents will give home buyers a list of the companies to call to set up service. These days, many utility companies allow you to set up service online, and they have made the process less cumbersome. But you want to make sure that you set up the service to start on the day you close on your home. Sam always asks his clients at the closing whether they have set up their utility services. If they haven’t, he will have them do it from the closing to avoid having a gap in service. It’s generally easier to continue service than to have it cut off and then restarted. When you restart service, you may have to pay an additional fee and also wait for the company to come out and restart the service. In contrast, if you continue the service, the utility company may not need to see you to keep the service going. Finally, for some municipal services, you may have to visit or call the municipality to set up the account. Thanks for your letter. It has probably helped more home buyers than you can imagine.

How to paint wooden blinds

**Question: I have 30-year-old wooden blinds that are still in very good shape. They looked good when the room had a rustic theme. Now, the room is silver gray and I’d like to paint them white. Is that possible? Would I have to take them apart to paint them? Cords, not ribbon tapes or anything of that sort, secure the slats in place.** **— Arlington** **Answer** : Yes, you can paint wooden blinds. For the tidiest look, you should take them apart so you can paint the slats without smearing paint on the cords. One advantage of this approach is that you can use brush-on paint, which creates far less mess and fumes than spray paint. But if you care less about perfection and more about a speedy change, it’s also possible to spray- paint the blinds with their cords still attached. If you decide to remove the strings, you’ll probably want to install new cord, so purchase that ahead of time. Find instructions and videos about determining the cord size, as well as for removing and restringing cord, at www.fixmyblinds.com. Vacuum or wipe the blinds to remove dust and grime. And set up a work space where you can set each slat across scrap wood while paint dries. There is no way to know what finish is already on the blinds, so test first in an inconspicuous place to make sure the paint sticks. You might be able to use a paint with primer, such as Behr’s Marquee Paint & Primer in One, but if the test paint doesn’t stick well, brush a shellac-based primer over one side of each slat. Let that dry, then flip the pieces and brush the primer/paint on the opposite side. Repeat for the main paint coat if you used a primer. When the paint dries, restring the cords. If you opt to spray-paint, set up a work area outdoors where paint droplets that miss the mark won’t be a problem and where you can hang the blind while you are painting it. Wear goggles, gloves and clothing that covers your skin. Wear something that you don’t mind getting covered in paint. Beginning at the top, spray the slats as evenly as possible. Lift each slat as you go so you can paint the whole strip underneath. Paint the cords as evenly as possible, too. **Question: I am seeking to replace my toilets with tall toilets. I am 6 feet tall. I have been told that toilets are available in 17, 19 and 22 inches, as measured from the floor to the rim. I can’t seem to find a toilet taller than 16 inches. Can you help?** **— Herndon** **Answer** : Toilets that meet standards for wheelchair users but are also more comfortable for most adults, especially tall ones like you, must be at least 16½ inches from the floor to the rim. The seat height then becomes 17 to 19 inches, a couple of inches higher than standard toilets. Whoever told you about the available heights might have overlooked the fact that some companies cite distance from the floor to the top of the rim in their marketing materials, while others use the distance from the floor to the top of the seat. It’s an easy distinction to miss. The Lowe’s Web site, for example, has a toilet-buying guide that states: “The bowl height is generally 14-in to 15-in high measured from floor level (without the seat). Taller bowls are available that are the height of a standard chair (16-in to 19-in) for comfort and accessibility. Taller bowls are also ADA-compliant.” The implication is that the 16 to 19 inches are also measured from the floor to the rim. But, as you’ve discovered, 19 inches is a height that’s typically measured to the top of the seat. Many of Kohler’s Comfort Height toilets, for example, are that high at seat level. But if you check the spec sheets — the architectural drawings that show measurements for toilet features — you see that they are 16½ inches at rim height. Sterling Plumbing’s Luxury Height toilets are also 16½ inches at rim height. One toilet that is a little higher, 17 inches at the rim: Gerber’s Viper ErgoHeight toilet, $335 at Gerberonline.com. Another option is a wall-mounted toilet, such as Kohler’s Model K-6303, which can be installed with the rim as high as 26 inches. Also known as the Veil, you’ll see it advertised for less than $400 at places such as Homedepot.com. But that gets you just the bowl. You also need a seat, an in-wall tank, and a flush actuator plate, which mounts on the wall above the toilet. The complete set is available for about $1,000 through Thos. Somerville Co., which has showrooms in several Washington area communities including Falls Church (703-436-2714; www.tsomerville.com). Installing this toilet requires more than a simple plumbing change since the tank needs to be tucked into the wall. The wall has to be framed with 2-by-6-inch studs or built out to accommodate that thickness. All of those options sounding too pricey? You can also put your existing toilet on a riser, such as the aptly named Toilevator, available on Amazon.com for less than $100. **More from The Washington Post** How to repair cracked concrete steps How to restore Fireslate countertops How to find reeded glass for a 1913 transom window How to repair a wooden market umbrella How to replace a single discontinued cabinet door How to replace enamel on a cast-iron sink How to pick the right flooring for a costal getaway How to align kitchen cabinet doors **Have a problem in your home?** Send questions to localliving@washpost.com. Put “How To” in the subject line, tell us where you live and try to include a photo.