During the Summer months here in the heat of West Central Florida, keeping your electric bill down can be quite a task. One good way to keep the bill down is to try and keep your house cooler, this will keep the A/C from running constantly. Your dryer is a big heat producer inside of the home. If you run your dryer for ten minutes and then hang your clothes out to dry on a line, you create less heat in the home and your clothes won’t be as stiff as they are when you don’t use your dryer at all. When washing your clothes, use more cold water. This will also save on the electric bill by reducing the heat and not using the hot water heater.

Your oven is another big producer of heat. Cook out more. Using the grill will not only save on the electric bill but it tastes great and is healthier for you as well. You could also invest in a crockpot. These produce less heat and use up less electricity.

Keep your windows shaded. Try to keep your blinds or curtains closed as much as you can. Tinting or glazing your windows is another way to keep the rooms cooler. Close doors to the rooms that aren’t being used. Change your air filters to your A/C at least once a month, this will keep the A/C from over working itself by trying to push air through dirty filters.

Ceiling fans keep the air circulating which will also keep rooms cooler, especially in rooms where your computer is, as a computer puts out a lot of heat as well. Try to remember to turn off lights and TV’s when you leave rooms. All of the little things add up at the end of the month. Make a conscience note when leaving a room to turn off the light, the fan, and to shut the door. Soon it will become a habit.

Florida Power & Light, announced on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 that they plan to build three solar energy plants in Florida, one that would be the biggest of its kind in the world, which will make Florida No. 2 in the nation for solar energy.
The three plants combined will be capable of generating enough electricity for 35,000 homes and businesses. These plants will represent the first commercial-scale renewable energy to be installed in the state.
A 25-megawatt facility will be placed in DeSoto County, a 10-megawatt facility will be built at the Kennedy Space Center and the third facility, the largest one, a 75-megawatt solar thermal facility will be built at FPL’s Martin County plant. These solar plants are the beginning of a seven-year plan announced by FPL last September to install 300 megawatts of solar energy in Florida.
Construction of the plants should begin later this year, and the plants should become operational some time in 2009, according to FPL president, Armando Olivera. Permits have been granted for all three sites. FPL is waiting on the final approval by the state Public Service Commission.

A fixed Rate Mortgage is a mortgage that’s interest rate does not change during the life of the loan. This type of mortgage is one to consider if the interest rates are low. You can count on that low interest rate never changing.

An Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) allows the lender to adjust the mortgage’s interest rate based on changes in the market. When the rate changes depends on the terms of your loan agreement. Some Adjustable Rate Mortgages start with a fixed rate and changes into an Adjustable Rate after a few years. This is called a fully amortizing adjustable rate mortgage. There is also an Interest Only ARM. With this type of ARM you would only pay the interest payments monthly, however, you will have a balloon payment at the end of the loan. With an ARM the lender will usually come with a “cap”. A “cap” will limit the amount the lender can raise the rate.

Organic Gardening is not as hard as you would think. Start with the soil. Go down to the County Extension Office. Hernando County office is located at 19490 Oliver Street
Brooksville, FL 34601. In Citrus County, the office is located at 3650 West Sovereign Path, Suite 1, Lecanto, FL 34461. They will give you a soil sampling kit for you to send a sample of your soil to Gainesville, in ten days they will send a report back to you, telling you what your soil needs to make the soil ph balanced and ready for gardending.

Choose hardy plants but choose many different varieties of plants. Too much of the same plant leaves your garden vulnerable to disease. There are many organic ways to rid your garden of pests. Take a cup of tobbaco and a gallon of water and mix together, let sit for 24 hours until mixure looks like weak tea. If the mixture is too dark add some more water. This mixture is great for combating many different types of bugs, but especially caterpillars, aphids, and many types of those nasty worms. Don’t use this solution on peppers, tomatoes or eggplant, the mixture will kill these plants. Soap spray will take out those slugs. You can just use your old, dirty dishwater! These are just a couple of easy homemeade suggestions, there are many more.

Living in a small family, my garden doesn’t need that much yeild. There are no rules that say you have to have a specific place to grow your vegetables. I’m starting my own garden at the moment and have decided to mix my vegetables, my herbs and flowers together throughout the yard. Why not plant your leafy veggies with your flowers? Line your mailbox with beautiful lettuce and marigolds. Plant pole beans around your lamp post. Make your whole yard edible and beautiful!

Determine if you are the right person for this type of adventure. This is not a decision that you should take lightly. I know the allure of the extra cash coming in is a big plus, however, you need to remember that when things go wrong in your rental property, it is your responsibility to fix them in a timely manner. Before making this decision you should check with your CENTURY 21 Alliance Realty agents. They can help you decide if you would do better with selling than renting.

Find out how much your property is worth. Calculate the total cost of keeping your rental operable. These costs include mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, repairs and professional services. This will help you determine what to charge for rent. Other factors in that decision would include a comparative price range for similar homes in your neighorhood.

When it comes down to maintaining your rental, establish a relationship with a plumber, an electrician and a carpenter that you can trust to help you. If there is an issue with the rental that you feel you can fix, you should. But for things that are beyond your scope of knowledge these people can be very handy.

Keep your rental records separate from your personal accounts. Create a savings and checking account for your rental property only. This will help you determine if you are indeed benefitting from renting out your home. If at anytime you feel like renting is not for you, sell your home. Again, your real estate agents will be there to help you through your decision.

One of the perks to living in a gated community is that there is no through traffic. With less traffic your children are a little safer when riding their bikes, walking to the park or headed to the bus stop. Another perk to living in a gated community is less crime. There are different levels of protection you will find in gated communities ones that always have a guard on duty to check ids and communities that have an automatic gate that opens and closes with a swipe of a residents’ card or a known code. It’s very easy to get into the gates without a guard on duty, just by waiting for someone else to go in the gate first. Take that into consideration if you’re looking for better security. Also on the pro side of buying in a gated community, home values hold up very well and they tend to have higher price tags than similar homes outside of gates.

Some of the drawbacks to living behind gates is the feeling of being “locked in” and always having your comings and goings monitored by a guard. Having to wait for the pizza guy or the service company while they are being “buzzed” in. There are also maintenance costs and dues in many of these gated communities. Pay heed in buying properties that are located just inside the gates, or within view of the gates, these properties may lessen in value.

It’s hurricane season again. Is your “Hurricane Kit” stocked and ready? Do you have an evacuation plan? Are you as prepared as you should be?

Let’s start with a “Hurricane Kit”. A well stocked disaster supply kit should have a first aid kit, canned foods and a manual can opener, at least 3 gallons of water for each person in your family, raingear for each family member, battery powered radio and a flashlight with extra batteries for each. This is just a basic list, feel free to add anything else pertinent to your individual family members needs. Keep these items in a waterproof tote readily available for when the time comes.

If your home does not have hurricane shutters precut 1/2″ outdoor plywood boards for each window of your home. Keep your trees trimmed back by removing any damaged limbs. Make sure that your tie-downs for your manufactured home are in working order.

In the event of a hurricane warning bring any lawn furniture, outdoor decorations (like hanging plants or wind chimes) and trash cans inside. Cover all the windows of your home. Fill your gas tanks in case of an evacuation.

Don’t forget your pets. Make sure that they are current on their vaccinations. Have a pet carrier for each one of your pets (make sure that they are big enough for your pet to stand and turn around. In Hernando County, there is a pet friendly shelter available to you at D.S. Parrott Middle School, 19220 Youth Drive, Brooksville, Fl., 352-796-5062. Pre-registration is available but not required. There is also a pet friendly shelter in Citrus county, Lecanto Elementary School, 3790 W. Education Path, Lecanto.

As always listen to NOAA Weather Radio or local radio or TV stations for up-to-date storm information.

Curb appeal is the view that a potential buyer will see when they drive by your house. First impressions are important, you want to make sure the buyer wants to come inside and not just drive away because they are not impressed with the outside of your home.

By spending a little extra time working on the exterior of your home your can make those homebuyers feel welcome enough to want to come inside. The next time you come home, stop and look at your house as if you were seeing it for the first time. Take notes of the things you think you can improve. Make sure the windows and the gutters are clean, pressure wash any dirty sidings or dingy decks, (If you don’t have a pressure washer, you can rent one pretty inexpensively at most home improvement stores) and kill any mold or mildew you see on the house, roof, driveway and sidewalks.

Take note of the landscaping, how does your lawn look? If the lawn needs some extra work, start with spraying it down with weed killer and water it regularly. Keep it mowed down and edge out the sidewalks and driveway. Remove any weeds you see creeping up from cracks in your concrete or bricks. Rake and dispose of any leaves and trim back some of your tree limbs, especially those touching the roof of your house. If you don’t have any flowers in your yard, consider planting some. Flowers can really add to the curb appeal of your home.

Another quick way to add some curb appeal is with some lighting. It will also give your home a safe feel. Check out the front door. Changing the hardware or adding a brass knocker can really add to the appeal of the home.

Giving your home some curb appeal can be inexpensive and fun. It will make all the difference in the world when trying to sell your home in West Central Florida.

Now that you’ve purchased your new West Central Florida Home, you will want to spruce up your yard. Your front yard will be the first impression that people will get of your home. Decorating your front yard can be fun and easy.

Line your walkways with a variety of different types of flowers, this will not only add color to your front yard but can also bring in hummingbirds and butterflies. Start a flower bed and design it by size and color. Flower beds can be fun to design, there are so many things that you can add to a flower bed to make it unique. Add a bird bath, a bench, lay some stones down for a pathway, the additions to a flower bed can be endless. Plant trees in your front yard for shade and privacy, but take note of the size of the tree at full growth. You wouldn’t want to plant a large tree to close to the house or the driveway. Some trees have roots that can do some real damage to concrete structures and underground pipes.

Start an herb garden by the front door. Herbs are not only aromatic, medicinal and useful in cooking but some herbs have beautiful flowers that can add a unique beauty to the front entryway. Add a solar powered lamp post to the front yard. Lamp posts not only light up the yard but can be very decorative, as well.

Some experts say that one of the main causes of the rise in foreclosures is that many people purchased a second home when the real estate market was booming. The second home was purchased with the intent of reselling it quickly for a profit. But when real estate sales slowed down, a majority of these homeowners were stuck making additional mortgage payments with no buyers. Those homeowners that could not afford a second mortgage are now looking at foreclosure.

Sellers who are headed into default with their mortgage company and cannot work out financing alternatives with their lender have the choice of a short sale.

A short sale is when a mortgage lender agrees to discount a loan balance due to an economic hardship on the part of the borrower. The homeowner would sell the mortgage for less than the balance of the loan. All proceeds of the sale would be given to the lender to satisfy the debt. A short sale is typically faster and less expensive than a foreclosure. Plus it could save your credit that you’ve worked so hard to maintain.

You will need to prove to the lender that you can not pay what you owe. Gather as much documentation as you can when you discuss a short sale with your lender. Write a letter explaining your financial hardships. Ask your real estate agent to provide an estimate of the market value and have an appraisal done on your home. With good strong proof of your hardship your lender may agree to a short sale.

Foreclosures are not just expensive for the homeowners but for the lender as well. You will find that most lenders are just as motivated as you are to avoid foreclosure.