As part of a normal real estate trasaction the buyer and seller will sit down at the closing table to sign over the deed, and for the buyer, the mortgage. We usually have the seller convey the abstract to the buyer, even though the abstract is rarely updated anymore. It's more for historical fun than […]
We purchased our Watts Zero Waste Reverse Osmosis system in 2008. It has been running fine until recently when the pump started leaking. I did a search on the internet and found that most people just replace the pump. I felt it was a waste to replace a perfectly functioning pump when it is a […]
I wrote about saving water a while ago and it's now up for a review. Now the City of Minneapolis has online billing and historical usage data available. Anyone can go to their website and plug in an address and look up the water usage. They measure water usage in Units of water, where 1 […]
There are some easy ways to save electricity and some not so easy ways. Let's start with the easy ways first. The easiest (and cheapest) way to save electricity is to unplug everything that you are not using at that moment. Many devices stay in "stand by" mode ready to be turned on (kind of like […]
Here is part 2 of the basics of saving energy: Saving Natural Gas. Here in Minnesota, we use natural gas for heating our homes, as well as hot water. What are some tips to reduce our natural gas usage? The obvious is to turn down the heat. Everyone always says to turn down the heat […]
What is a home energy audit? An energy audit is a way of evaluating a home's energy performance. It pinpoints where energy is being used, and where it is being wasted. This report can help you increase your energy efficiencies by showing where you can improve your home, and how you can lower your utility […]
I posted about MPG a while ago and thought I would do an update now. This is now more relavent than ever since gas is over $3.50 per gallon. I know people talk about hybrids a lot nowadays. But is it really worth the extra dollars to buy a hybrid over a non-hybrid? I'm going […]
I have officially gone green! NAR's Green Designation, to be exact. What is NAR's Green Designation you ask? The National Association of Realtors (NAR) created this real-estate specific designation for REALTORS to learn about issues of sustainability and energy efficiency and how they pertain to the housing and real estate industries. The training is a […]
It is being reported that roughly 46% of Twin Cities single-family homeowners are underwater, which is an increase from 42% last year. This is being reported from Zillow. But what do they know anyway? Take a look at these two listings from Z. The data, according to the big-Z was updated in Feb of 2011. […]
Our home is featured in the 2011 Minneapolis St Paul Home Tour. Come visit our home. You can find a list of all homes on the website: http://www.MSPHomeTour.com We are featuring an addition on our home, as well as solar that was installed last year.
Let's talk about the Tudor Revival Style, which is the predominant style of house in Minneapolis. First of all, what is a Tudor? A Tudor is a house that tries to mimic an English cottage with its decorative half-timbering and stucco walls. An additional noted feature is the prominent chimney. The stucco is usually white […]
