ISSUE #1091

FEATURE REPORT

Is Your Home Healthy and Safe For Children?
Each year more children die from preventable injuries than from all childhood diseases combined.

Taking preventive measures to protect your children against unintentional injuries at home is essential. With foresight and action, you can help prevent burns, cuts, falls, poisonings, drowning, choking, and other serious injuries.
Use these checklists to ensure that your home is healthy and safe for the children living in it.

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Also This Month...

Homebuyers: How To Save Thousands of Dollars When You Buy
When you analyze successful homebuyers who have been able to purchase the home they want for thousands of dollars below a seller’s asking price, some common denominators emerge. Although your agents negotiating skills are important, there are three additional key factors that must come into play long before you ever submit an offer.
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How To Protect Your Home While Away
With a steady increase of crime in North America, home safety is a big issue these days. When leaving your home, practice the following advice - it could pay big, big dividends.
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Is Your Home Healthy and Safe For Children?

Homebuyers: How To Save Thousands of Dollars When You Buy

How To Protect Your Home While Away

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Is Your Home Healthy and Safe For Children?

Taking preventive measures to protect your children against unintentional injuries at home is essential. Each year more children die from preventable injuries than from all childhood diseases combined. With foresight and action, you can help prevent burns, cuts, falls, poisonings, drowning, choking, and other serious injuries.

Use these four checklists to ensure that your home is healthy and safe for the children living in it:

In the Bedroom

Install smoke alarms outside bedrooms and on every level of the home.

Test smoke alarms at least once a month and change batteries at least once a year.

Practice fire escape routes and identify an outside meeting place.

Place a baby to sleep on his or her back in a crib with no pillows or soft bedding underneath.

Use a crib that meets national safety standards and has a snug-fitting mattress.

Never use an electric blanket in the bed or crib of a small child or infant.

Keep small toys, balloons, and small balls away from young children.

Check age labels for appropriate toys. Make sure toy storage chests have safety lid supports.

To prevent strangulation, use safety tassels for mini blinds and avoid strings on children’s toys and pacifiers.

Install carbon monoxide (CO) alarms outside bedrooms to prevent CO poisoning.

In the Bathroom

To prevent poisonings, lock away all medicines and vitamins, even those with child-resistant packaging.

Have syrup of ipecac on hand, but use only at the recommendation of a poison control center or physician.

Never leave a young child alone in the bathroom, especially in a bath.

Before bathing a child, always test bath water with your wrist or elbow to make sure it's not too hot.

To prevent scalds, set the water heater thermostat to 120º F and install anti-scald devices.

Make sure bathtubs and showers have non-slip surfaces and grab bars.

Keep electrical appliances, like hair dryers and curling irons, out of the reach of children and away from water.

In the Kitchen

Keep knives, plastic bags, lighters, and matches locked away from children.

Avoid fires and burns by never leaving cooking food unattended, turning pot handles to the back of the stove, and keeping hot liquids and foods away from the edges of tables and counters.

Make sure you and your children know the STOP, DROP, and ROLL procedure in case their clothes catch on fire.

Keep appliance cords unplugged and tied up. Replace any frayed cords and wires.

Securely strap young children in high chairs, swings, and other juvenile products.

Do not give young children hard, round foods that can get stuck in their throats — like hard candies, nuts, grapes, popcorn, carrots, and raisins.

Avoid scald burns by keeping children away from the hot water taps on drinking water coolers.

In all Living Areas

To prevent asthma attacks, eliminate sources of mold, dust, and insects, such as cockroaches. If you have a pet, keep it and its bedding clean and keep the pet off the furniture.

If you must smoke, avoid smoking in the house, and especially around children.

Make sure furnaces, fireplaces, wood-burning stoves, space heaters, and gas appliances are vented properly and inspected annually.

Use safety gates to block stairways (and other danger areas), safety plugs to cover electrical outlets, and safety latches for drawers and cabinets.

Keep children — and the furniture they can climb on — away from windows.

Install window guards (on windows that are not fire emergency exits).

To prevent falls, keep hallways and stairways well-lit and use non-slip backing for area rugs.

Keep cleaning solutions, pesticides, and other potentially dangerous substances in their original, labelled containers, and out of the reach of children.

If you have guns or rifles in your home, store the firearms and ammunition in separate containers and lock them out of the reach of children.

Learn First Aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).

Keep an updated list of emergency telephone numbers, including your local poison control center, physician and hospital emergency room, next to every phone in your home.

Make sure your family knows what to do during a natural disaster. In an earthquake, drop to the floor and get under something sturdy for cover; during a tornado, take shelter in a basement or an interior room without windows; and during a hurricane stay away from windows. Have handy supplies of food, flashlights, and water.

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Homebuyers: How To Save Thousands of Dollars When You Buy

"When you analyze those successful homebuyers who have the experience to purchase the home they want for thousands of dollars below a seller’s asking price, some common denominators emerge."

If you’re like most homebuyers, you have two primary considerations in mind when you start looking for a home. First, you want to find a home that perfectly meets your needs and desires, and secondly, you want to purchase this home for the lowest possible price.

When you analyze those successful homebuyers who have been able to purchase the home they want for thousands of dollars below a seller’s asking price, some common denominators emerge. Although your agents negotiating skills are important, there are three additional key factors that must come into play long before you ever submit an offer.

These Steps Will Help You Save Thousands When You Buy a Home

Make sure you know what you want . . . As simple as this sounds, many home buyers don't have a firm idea in their heads before they go out searching for a home. In fact, when you go shopping for a place to live, there are actually two homes competing for your attention: the one that meets your needs, and the one that fulfills your desires. Obviously, your goal is to find one home that does both. But in the real world, this situation doesn't always occur.

When you're looking at homes, you'll find that you fall in love with one or another home for entirely different reasons. Is it better to buy the 4 bedroom home with room for your family to grow, or the one with the big eat in kitchen that romances you with thoughts of big weekend family brunches? What's more important: a big backyard, or proximity to your child's school? Far too often people buy a home for the wrong reasons, and then regret their decision when the home doesn't meet their needs.

Don't shop with stars in your eyes: satisfy your needs first. If you're lucky, you'll find a home that does this and also fulfills your desires. The important thing is to understand the difference before you get caught up in the excitement of looking.

Find out if your agent offers a “Buyer Profile System” or "Househunting Service", which takes the guesswork out of finding just the right home that matches your needs. This type of program will cross-match your criteria with ALL available homes on the market and supply you with printed information on an ongoing basis. A program like this helps homeowners take off their rose colored glasses and, affordably, move into the home of their dreams.

To help you develop your homebuying strategy, use this form:

What do I absolutely NEED in my next home:

______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________

What would I absolutely LOVE in my next home:

_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________

How Sellers Set Their Asking Price

For you to understand how much to offer for a home you’re interested in, it’s important for you to know how sellers price their homes. Here are 4 common strategies you’ll start to recognize when you begin to view homes:

1. Clearly Overpriced:

Every seller wants to realize the most amount of money they can for their home, and real estate agents know this. If more than one agent is competing for your listing, an easy way to win the battle is to over inflate the value of your home. This is done far too often, with many homes that are priced 10- 20% over their true market value.

This is not in your best interest, because in most cases the market won't be fooled. As a result, your home could languish on the market for months, leaving you with a couple of important drawbacks:

your home is likely to be labelled as a "troubled" house by other agents, leading to a lower than fair market price when an offer is finally made
you have been greatly inconvenienced with having to constantly have your home in "showing" condition . . . for nothing. These homes often expire off the market, forcing you to go through the listing process all over again.

2. Somewhat Overpriced:

About 3/4 of the homes on the market are 5-10% overpriced. These homes will also sit on the market longer than they should. There is usually one of two factors at play here: either you believe in your heart that your home is really worth this much despite what the market has indicated (after all, there's a lot of emotion caught up in this issue), OR you've left some room for negotiating. Either way, this strategy will cost you both in terms of time on the market and ultimate price received

3. Priced Correctly at Market Value

Some sellers understand that real estate is part of the capitalistic system of supply and demand and will carefully and realistically price their homes based on a thorough analysis of other homes on the market. These competitively priced homes usually sell within a reasonable time frame and very close to the asking price.

4. Priced Below the Fair Market Value

Some sellers are motivated by a quick sale. These homes attract multiple offers and sell fast - usually in a few days - at, or above, the asking price. Be cautious that the agent suggesting this method is doing so with your best interest in mind.

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How To Protect Your Home While Away

With a steady increase of crime in North America, home safety is a big issue these days. When leaving your home, practice the following advice - it could pay big, big dividends.

Going to the Market or out to Dinner?

A residence which presents a "lived-in" appearance is a deterrent to burglars. Never leave notes that can inform a burglar that your house is unoccupied. Make certain all windows and doors are secured before departing. An empty garage advertises your absence, so close the doors.

When going out at night, leave one or more interior lights on and perhaps have a radio playing (TV sets should not be left unattended). Timers may be purchased that will turn lights on and off during your absence.

Do not leave door keys under flower pots or doormats, inside an unlocked mailbox, over the doorway, or in other obvious places.

When Planning Vacations or Prolonged Absence

Discontinue milk, newspaper, and other deliveries by phone or in person ahead of time. Do not leave notes. Arrange for lawn care and have someone remove advertising circulars and other debris regularly. On the other hand, several toys scattered about will create an impression of occupancy.

Notify the post office to forward your mail or have a trustworthy person pick it up daily. Apartment house tenants should also heed this hint since stuffed mail receptacles are a give away when no one is home.

Inform neighbours of your absence so they can be extra alert for suspicious persons. Leave a key with them so your place may be periodically inspected. Ask them to vary the positions of your shades and blinds.

When you leave, do not publicize your plans. Some burglars specialize in reading newspaper accounts of other people's vacation activities.

If you find a door or window has been forced or broken while you were away, DO NOT ENTER. The criminal may still be inside. Use a neighbour's phone immediately to summon police.

Do not touch anything or clean up if a crime has occurred. Preserve the scene until police inspect for evidence.

Always Remember to:

Lock before you leave.
Trust a neighbour with a key.
Be a concerned neighbour - yourself.

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