July is peak season for break ins.

Summertime, when your windows are open all day and night, provides the perfect opportunity for burglars to grab your goods. According to the Burglary Prevention Council, 62 percent of burglaries occur during the day and peak season is in July.

Know though, that most burglars are not professionals. According to the Council, typical residential thieves are male teenagers who live near your home. They look for easy targets, homes that are open, without dogs or other obstacles, where they can slip in undetected, grab your valuables and get out in just a few minutes.

What burglars are on the prowl for are quick cash or households items that can be turned into cash quickly. The average haul is a $1000 in value.

The best way to prevent a burglary is to remove opportunity and create obstacles. Here’s how:

Opportunity – Thick, tall shrubs planted in front of windows. Trees planted that invite access to second stories.

Thick shrubs are a good place for burglars to hide while they force a window open or pick a lock.

Prevention – Trim shrubs well below the window and install a motion detector light in the area. Better still, install thorny shrubs. Two impossible to touch shrubs are berberis and holly. While the first floor is a first choice for entry, consider trees that are easy to climb to gain access to upstairs windows and doors. Prune accordingly.

Opportunity – Windows and doors that are wide open in the front or back

Wide open windows and door allows an effortless way to enter and exit a home.

Prevention – If you are going to spend time in your backyard, take a long nap, or dash to the store for 10 minutes, close and lock your windows and doors.

Opportunity – Insufficient locks on windows and doors

There are only two ways to get inside a home, through the windows and the doors. Thirty-four percent of burglaries occur at the front door.

Prevention – Deadbolts are a must on entry doors. If you rent, change the locks when you move in. Since hollow-core doors are easy to kick in, think about replacing them with solid doors. Also make sure your door frames are sturdy. Also beware that front doors with decorative glass or glass side panels are easily smashed. Use break resistant glass in these areas.

Prevention – Twenty-three percent of burglaries occur on first floor windows. Clamshell latches on double hung windows are not designed as locks, but are simply devices to close the window and prevent drafts. Replace these with a turnbuckle lock or side locks. Remove the crank on casement windows when you leave town.

Twenty-two percent of burglaries occur on side or rear windows. Prevent a burglar from lifting your sliding glass door out of its track by using a locking pin device or vertical lock. This is especially important in townhomes where small, secluded patios give burglars privacy.

Opportunity – The “hidden” spare key

Burglars know all about your fake rock, under the doormat key and behind the flowerpot secret spots.

Prevention – Best to leave your spare key with a neighbor.

Opportunity – An empty house

This is a best-case scenario for a burglar. Your house is wide open while you are next door chatting up the neighbor or schlepping the kids to a soccer game.

Prevention – Do not leave notes on your door. Do not leave the house open while you are gone.

Opportunity – An empty house for a week or more

Prevention – Make sure your house looks like it is occupied while you are away for extended periods. Hold your mail at the post office. Hold deliveries of newspapers and packages. Ask a neighbor to pick up fliers and business cards at your front door.

Further, program your interior and exterior lights and radios to go on and off periodically. Don’t let your lawn get overgrown while you are gone. Keep some of your shades and window coverings open to provide the illusion that it is life as usual at your house.

Do not indicate on your telephone message that you are away. Ask a neighbor to park in your driveway. Make sure pet doors are secure, and call your local police department and ask for patrol checks while you are gone.

Opportunity – Quiet

Prevention – You don’t need a fancy alarm system to secure your home. Dogs will do. Even a small dog will defend its turf. Large dogs that bark and bite will send a burglar on to the next opportunity.

Installing gravel in your garden, which will make a solid crunching sound when walked on, is especially useful at alerting homeowners to strangers, especially along side yards.

Opportunity – Tools left in the yard and driveway

Screwdrivers, ladders, pliers, and open car window with garage door openers inside can all be used to break in to your home or garage. Tools inside the garage can be used to break into your home.

Prevention – Put your tools away, hide your ladder or padlock it to something secure, and keep your car windows closed and the car locked.

Opportunity – Jewelry in plain sight

Prevention – Since burglars are usually in a hurry to grab your goods and get out, you can provide decoys. Keep cheap jewelry in your jewelry box or on the bathroom counter. Lock away your valuables.

Burglary stats from the Burglary Prevention Council

• 63 percent of burglaries occur during daylight hours
• Average loss per burglary is $1,607
• July is the busiest months for burglars
• 32 percent of burglaries occur by simply walking into a open door or climbing through an open window

FBI burglary counts for 2007 for selected Orange County cities (Not all cities are posted on their Web site)

• Anaheim 1827
• Costa Mesa 509
• Fullerton 883
• Garden Grove 866
• Huntington Beach 795
• Irvine 637
• Long Beach 2905
• Orange 458
• Santa Ana 1013

Information

Buy flood insurance before the water rises


It's flood season again.
Hurricane season started June 1, and coastal dwellers are buying batteries and stocking up on bungee cords.
But don't dismiss the risk of flooding if your home isn't near the shore. Witness recent events throughout the Northeast, where thousands of people were forced to evacuate their homes due to rising river waters. Normally high and dry parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Washington, D.C., were inundated.
Floods happen in all 50 states, according to the Federal Insurance Administration. FIA says 25 percent of all flood insurance claims occur in areas that have a low or moderate flood risk.
Standard homeowners insurance doesn't cover flooding, but a survey, conducted for the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies by Opinion Research Corp., found that only 14 percent of Americans have purchased a flood insurance policy on their principal residence.
It's an oversight that could cost you big time. An inland flash flood can bring a wall of water 10 feet high. Less than an inch of water in the basement will ruin flooring and damage vital home systems. Less than two feet in the driveway can carry away your car.
The National Flood Insurance Program was set up in 1968 to help homeowners in flood-vulnerable areas get flood insurance at a reasonable rate. It operates within the Federal Emergency Management Agency but is sold and serviced by private insurers. Homeowners with federally insured mortgages must purchase it. Others who live in vulnerable areas can buy it.
Right now, the flood insurance program is under congressional scrutiny. So far, it has $24 billion in claims from hurricanes Katrina and Rita, with more expected to trickle in. That's more than the total of all claims paid in the history of the program.
Congress is currently retooling flood insurance in order to help keep it solvent. Versions have passed both the Senate and the House, but a compromise is still in the making. The bill, undoubtedly, will pass soon, because additional borrowing power to pay the 2005 hurricane claims hinges on that.
But if flooding might be in your future, don't wait around for Congress to act. A flood policy takes 30 days to go into effect. Buy today and the policy will begin to cover your property in a month.
Meanwhile, if you don't have a policy, there are some things to consider.
Flood facts
Flood insurance isn't mandatory for very many people. Generally, the only borrowers now required to buy flood insurance by their mortgage companies are those living in high-risk, 1-in-100-year flood zones whose loans are federally backed.
A misnomer of sorts, the "1-in-100-year flood zone" simply means that a flood has a 1 percent chance of occurring in any given year. But the chances of a loss occurring over a 10- or 20-year period increase dramatically. For instance, the chance of having a 1-in-100-year loss over a 10-year period is more than 9 percent. Over a 20-year period, that probability jumps to about 18 percent, according to AIR Worldwide Corp., a risk-modeling company that helps clients manage the financial impact of catastrophes and weather. Over the life of a 30-year mortgage, there's a 26 percent chance of a flood occurring in such a zone.
The new legislation would expand the current mandatory purchase rules to include all flood-zone loans, rather than just those with federal backing. And it also would mandate coverage for those living in levee-protected areas.
"People will be required to purchase flood insurance who never previously thought about needing it. It will bring more people into the program, spread the risk and keep costs low for those who can't afford coverage," says Charles E. Symington Jr., senior vice president for government affairs and federal relations for the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America.
If you live in a 100-year flood plain and have a federally backed mortgage, you still may not now have flood insurance. That's because for many people flood insurance seems like an unnecessary expense -- if you've never lived through a flood annd your neighborhood is dry as a bone, it's hard to believe it will happen.
And many mortgage companies haven't been vigilant in enforcing the rules, allowing customers to slide. "Even though people bought policies on the front end, they don't maintain them," Symington says. "As mortgages are resold in the secondary market, the policies lapse."
But under the new law, a mortgage company would be fined for being sloppy -- probably $1,000 per customer. So after this year, if you are in a flood zone, regardless of whether you have a federally backed mortgage or a mortgage from a private company, you'll be forced to actually buy flood insurance, or the mortgage company will be calling your loan, assuming the bill passes.
Buying flood insurance
While the National Flood Insurance Program underwrites flood insurance, it's mostly sold and administered by insurers that also sell other kinds of homeowners insurance. Before you talk to an insurance agent, you might want to determine your flood risk. If you are required or eligible to buy a policy (95 percent of the 19,000 communities identified as having some flood risk participate in the program), figure out what it will cost you by going to floodsmart.gov.
The insurance company you choose will be the final arbiter of what you pay. Theoretically, all flood policies cost the same, but Steve Kanstoroom, who runs a Web site that helps flood victims get the most from their flood insurance policy, says different companies interpret the rules differently, and a buyer often can save a little by shopping around.
There isn't exactly a smorgasbord of flood insurance choices. You choose between basic, which covers structure only, or buying insurance on a home's contents, as well. In certain high-risk areas, coverage on contents isn't available for basements -- unless it is a walkout basement, in which case, by federal definition, it isn't really a basement.
Structure coverage includes furnaces, hot water heaters, an electric panel, permanently installed flooring and some other things that you might have thought would be contents, such as certain appliances. It doesn't include furnishings -- those are definitely contents.
Reading a flood insurance policy isn't easy, but it does spell out reasonably well what's covered under what circumstances, so if you're on the fence about what to buy, download the residential policy at FEMA's Web site -- click on "Dwelling Policy Form." While you might still be confused when you get done, you'll be better equipped to ask an insurance agent good questions.
Flood insurance was established because insurers were getting out of the business when the losses were too big. But with the federal government handling the big losses, some insurers have gone back to selling what amounts to supplemental flood insurance for people who can afford to pay handsomely to cover expensive homes and other belongings. If you fall into that category, Chubb Group, Firemen's Fund and AIG are among the companies offering the policies.
Other factors to consider
Flood insurance pays to the policy limit. If your home is insured for $150,000 and is flooded, $150,000 is the most the policy will pay -- no matter how much it costs to put your devastated home back together.
Flood policy buyers can pick a different deductible for structure than they choose for contents coverage -- generally somewhere between $250 and $1,000. Your mortgage company may place limits on how high your deductible can be. Otherwise, a higher deductible is preferable to keep the cost of the premium down.
Flood insurance can be obtained as either a replacement cost or actual cash-value policy; but personal property and some building items, such as carpeting, are always adjusted on an actual cash-value basis. That is, if the carpet is old, you'll get a fraction of replacement cost.
Most National Flood Insurance Program policies include increased cost of compliance, or ICC, coverage, which applies when flood damage is severe. This coverage allows up to $30,000 to cover the cost of elevating, demolishing or relocating a property if the local community declares it is "substantially damaged" or "repetitively damaged" by a flood.
Such a payment will require that the homeowner bring the house up to current flood-damage-resistant design and construction standards, and the award amount, coupled with other claims, cannot exceed the $250,000 allowed for maximum property coverage. This policy is a hot-button issue in many coastal communities. The legislation currently under consideration would raise that limit by $100,000.
If water comes up through sewers or the sump pump, the adjuster may call that "sewer backup" and deny flood insurance coverage, so it's always wise to elect sewer backup coverage on your homeowners policy. This, in combination with flood insurance, will offer maximum coverage.
Another little twist worth noting is that if yours is the only house in the neighborhood to be flooded, the federal government can deny that a flood happened, even though the water in your basement is real.
Ponying up for flood premiums
Flood insurance costs anywhere from less than $300 to more than $2,500 annually, depending on where you live, the value of your home and what you buy. For many people who live in the 100-year flood plain, it is more costly than standard homeowners insurance. But it is clearly a bargain if you live someplace where flooding is reasonably common.
It doesn't appear to be such a good deal if you live in a part of the country that only gets flooded now and then -- or if you're compelled to buy flood insurance based on outdated flood maps that don't reflect recently added flood control measures or a changing landscape.
In Buffalo, N.Y., for example, residents south of the city have organized a protest and a community effort to get FEMA to redo the flood maps on which the demand for flood insurance in their town is based. It last flooded there in the early 1950s, before the Army Corp of Engineers built some flood-control structures. Owners of average-priced homes there pay more than $1,000 per year in flood insurance.
"This is having a disastrous effect on our community. That extra $100 a month that people have to pay is a disincentive for people to buy houses in this area. It's lowering property values and making it nearly impossible to sell a home," says Michael Kearns, a city council member who is leading the protest.
Getting out of flood insurance
To avoid paying flood insurance, you must demonstrate that your house is not in the flood plain. The first step is to get a copy of the flood insurance rate map, or FIRM, for your community. If your house is shown to be within the special flood hazard area on the map, under current law the lender must require the purchase of flood insurance. If only a portion of your property is within the flood plain, but the house is not in the flood plain, there are no federal requirements for the purchase of flood insurance. If you feel that the FIRM does not show your house to be within the special flood hazard area, you should contact your lender to determine if it has correctly located your property and your house.
If the house is shown to be within the flood plain on the FIRM, the only way to remove the flood insurance purchase requirement is to apply to FEMA for a letter of map amendment. A letter of map amendment requires that the property owner submit elevation information that demonstrates that the structure is above the 100-year flood elevation. The elevation certificate and the letter of map amendment application can be downloaded from FEMA's Web site. There's also a tutorial on the site. Costs include hiring an engineer and paying application fees -- and there are certainly no guarantees that FEMA will see it your way.
The other way to get out of carrying flood insurance is to pay off the mortgage. Then if you choose to self-insure -- or be like Noah and build yourself an ark -- that's your business. But you'd better be able to swim.


Six Car Care Myths and Mistakes

Myth: Time to 'winterize'
Car maintenance doesn't need to be tied to the seasons. Other than possibly changing to winter tires, modern cars don't require special attention at this time of year the way that your parents' car might have.

"There's really not anything to do anymore," says John Ibbotson, workshop supervisor at Consumer Reports' Connecticut test track. Ibbotson maintains the magazine's fleet of test vehicles.

At least nothing you shouldn't be doing already. In other words, check your owner's manual, not the weather forecast.

Maintenance aside, during colder months, you may want to keep more gas in your car's tank, says Robert Sinclair, a spokesman for the car owners' group AAA. That's because air carries moisture and water that can freeze and crystallize.

The more gas in the tank, the less air - and less chance of ice forming inside where it could get into fuel lines and cause trouble, he says.

Mistake: I don't need a tire gauge
You should regularly check the air pressure in your tires using a tire gauge. That's especially true now, because you're more likely to find them low as winter approaches. The air inside your tires is getting colder too, so it's shrinking. Even if air isn't leaving your tires, the pressure inside is going down because of contraction.

Your tires will lose about one to two pounds of pressure for every ten degrees of outside temperature, says Sinclair.

If you have a new car, it probably has a tire pressure monitoring system that turns on an amber dashboard warning light when the tire pressure falls too low. As with most "idiot lights," however, by the time that light comes on, your tires are already lower than you should ever let them get.

Likewise, don't wait until your tire "looks low." Tires often look low when they're not and vice-versa.

The air pressure in your tires should be checked in the morning before you've driven on them, advises Ibbotson, which is when they're at their coldest.

The recommended tire pressures in your owner's manual or stamped someplace in your car - usually inside the driver's door - are recommended for when the tire is cold, not after it's warmed up. (You should go by those numbers, not what it says on the tires, in case the car requires a certain pressure for proper ride and handling.)

Myth: Wait, it's still warming up
Some people insist that your car will last longer if you let it idle until the engine reaches normal operating temperature.

It's true that running cold is harder on an engine than running warm. The oil is thicker, and it takes a little time - very little, really - for it to flow to all the parts of the engine that need it.

But letting the car sit while the engine is running doesn't help anything. It just wastes gas and pumps out needless fumes. You might as well get on your way.

All you need to do is drive your car gently until the engine is warmed up. No smoky burn-outs first thing in the morning. Just go easy and keep those engine RPMs down until everything's toasty, and you'll be just fine.

Five to ten minutes of easy driving is about all it takes before most cars are ready to rev, says Sinclair.

Driving gently for a few minutes helps your brakes, too, says Sinclair. They also need a chance to warm up.

"Brakes go to from zero to 200 degrees or so in an instant with a hard stop," he says.

That kind of sudden temperature change promotes warping of brake rotors, he says. Better to make a few slow stops at first so the brakes can heat up gradually.

Myth: Coolant lasts forever (or not at all)
Some drivers never bother about changing their coolant. Others are probably changing it too often.

You should change your coolant about every four years, Ibbotson advises. Coolant chemicals last longer than they used to, and newer engines aren't going to be damaged by leaving it in long.

When you do change your coolant, Ibbotson advises using a premixed formulation rather than adding tap water, which contains minerals that can cause trouble.

If your coolant says it should be mixed, use distilled water and don't use less water than recommended, says Sinclair. Coolants are designed to work best with a certain amount of water, and not using enough will make them less effective, not more.

If you live in an extremely hot or cold climate, your should give your coolant more frequent attention, said Sinclair. Still, it's something you should be doing on a regular schedule, at most once a year, not just when the weather changes.

Mistake: Honest Abe knows when you need new tires
You may have heard about doing the "penny test" to see when it's time to get new tires. Some experts want to toss that coin test in favor of the quarter.

The penny test is simple. Hold a penny so that you can see Abraham Lincoln's head. Now insert Lincoln's portrait, scalp-side down, into a groove in your tire tread. If your can still see the top of his head, it's time for new tires.

That works because the distance between the edge of a penny and the top of Lincoln's head is about 2/32 of an inch (in normal speech, that would be 1/16 of inch, but tire treads are measured in 32nds of an inch).

But now some experts advise a more conservative approach. Instead of Lincoln's head on a penny, use George Washington's head on a quarter. That's about 4/32, or 1/8, of an inch. In track tests conducted by the tire Web site TireRack.com, using a quarter instead of a penny resulted in 24 percent shorter wet-road stopping distances.

If you can see Washington's wig, your tires are as close as you'll want to get to being bald.

Myth: I need to change my oil...a lot
Many people still believe they should change their car's oil every three month or 3,000 miles. But that advice doesn't take into account improvements in engines or oils. Not that changing it more often is bad for your car.

"It doesn't hurt the engine, says AAA's Sinclair. "It might hurt your pocketbook."

Rather than relying on an arbitrary - and outdated - rule of thumb, read your ccars owner's manual for the recommended oil change interval. It will usually be longer than three months/3,000 miles. Many cars can go twice that long before needing an oil change, says Sinclair.

New synthetic oils can be left in even longer, sometimes tens of thousands of miles, says Sinclair.

But Consumer Reports' Ibbotson recommends sticking with the car manufacturer's suggested oil change interval regardless of what the lubricant's manufacturer may claim.

20 Things That Can Alter the Value of Your Home

Increase home's value

1. An updated kitchen
2. Modern bathrooms
3. A well-appointed master suite
4. Natural materials
5. Curb appeal
6. A light, airy spacious feel
7. Good windows
8. Landscaping
9. Lots of storage
10. Basement

1. An updated kitchen. "Kitchens are critical," says Robert Irwin, author of "Home Buyer's Checklist." "Today, people like a big kitchen with a lot of workspace."

They look for solid surface counters and high-quality flooring, such as wood, laminate, tile or stone. And they want newer appliances in working order.

Even if it's not huge, it should have "countertops that are servicable, that aren't going to have to be replaced soon and cabinetry in good condition," says Alan Hummel, past president of the Appraisal Institute. "It has to be well-appointed and large enough to fit your needs."

It also doesn't hurt if it opens onto another room. "A lot of families are looking for that openness," says Hummel.

It helps to have a window over the sink, says Don Strong, a remodeler with Brothers Strong Inc., a Houston remodeling firm.

Be wary if renovations are out of character with the community, such as granite countertops in a subdivision where plastic laminate is the norm.

"Will you sell faster? Yes," says Hummel, CEO of Iowa Residential Appraisal Co., in Des Moines. "Will it sell for more? Not if the appointments you've done are significantly higher quality than the rest of the neighborhood."

2. Modern bathrooms. Buyers are looking for "master baths that give a little room to roam," says Hummel.

A big asset is a spa or a whirlpool tub. "I'm always entertained by the people who have them in the master bath and don't use them," says Ron Phipps, principal broker with Phipps Realty & Relocation Services in Warwick, R.I. "But it's a big feature."

Some other features buyers are seeking are separate showers with steam and/or multiple jets, a double sink, and a separate room for the toilet.

And make sure the plumbing and water heater can handle the job. The pipes have to be large enough to carry an adequate volume of water and the water heater has to be big enough to accommodate it. "You need a bare minimum of a 75-gallon hot water heater and most of my customers have 100 to 150," says Chicago-based home inspector Kurt Mitenbuler.

"You don't want to see that false economy of a $30,000 bathroom but nobody spent a few thousand dollars to upgrade the pipes," he says.

3. A well-appointed master suite. "People are really excited about master suites," says Hummel. The wish list: A luxurious bathroom, lounging areas and walk-in closets.

4. Natural materials. "People like natural materials," says Phipps. "Ceramic tile, hardwood floors, granite. We've gone back to a real appreciation for historically true materials. And simulated works as well. The look is very popular."

In floor coverings -- especially bathrooms or kitchens -- look for ceramic tile or wood rather than linoleum, which can tear, says Strong.

In the rest of the house, wood or laminate products are a plus over wall-to-wall, says Gary Eldred, author of "The 106 Common Mistakes Homebuyers Make (and How to Avoid Them)."

But if you have carpet, it should be a good product and well-maintained so that "a person doesn't have to walk in and think, 'I'm going to have to spend five grand right off the bat," says Strong.

5. Curb appeal. First impressions are everything. A house that appears tidy and well-cared-for will sell more quickly and for more money. A good first appearance can add as much as 10 percent to the value of the home.

6. A light, airy, spacious feel. "People buy space and light," says Myra Zollinger, owner/broker with Coldwell Banker Realty Center in Chapel Hill, N.C. "I have yet to have anybody walk into a really dark house and say, 'I love this.'"

Richard "Dick" Gaylord, president-elect of the National Association of Realtors, agrees. "That's a very big feature," he says. "I haven't sold many homes that aren't bright and airy."

7. Good windows. "People are looking at exposures and windows," says Phipps. "It's been a cold winter for most of the country and energy efficiency is very important."

Insulated windows are always a plus, says Strong. "Typically, they pay for themselves in five years," he says. The cost for an average 2,600-square-foot home is estimated at about $10,000 for new windows, he says.

Well-placed skylights are also a good touch to add value, says Phipps.

8. Landscaping. Mature trees "are worth $1,000," says Strong.

And having outdoor spaces with touches such as pergolas and Victorian garden swings "can be very helpful," says Phipps.

Appraiser John Bredemeyer remembers one $250,000 home in Omaha that had no landscaping at all. "It was stark," says Bredemeyer, former national chair of government relations for the Appraisal Institute, a professional group for real estate appraisers. "It just stood out as unappealing."

Conversely, you don't have to spend a fortune on plants, either. Just keep it "typical with the neighborhood," he says.

9. Lots of storage. Nothing beats an oversized garage, some attic space and plenty of closets. "If you have a two-car garage, do you have extra space for those things we all have -- bicycles, lawn mower, snow blower?" sayss Hummel. "Space is important."

A nice plus in the master suite? "His and hers walk-in closets," says Irwin.

10. Basement. "If it's dry, it's a plus," says Kenneth Austin, co-author of "The Home Buyer's Inspection Guide." "But it's a negative if it has water problems."

A finished basement adds even more value. "Ten years ago, nobody cared," says Mittenbuler. "Now everybody wants them."

Decrease home's value

1. A pool
2. No garage or small garage
3. Garbled floor plan
4. Outmoded appliances or systems
5. Stale or overly personal decor
6. A bad roof
7. Bad location
8. Poor maintenance
9. Environmental hazards
10. A long list of needed home improvements

1. A pool. Forget what you might have heard. An in-ground pool in most parts of the country doesn't automatically raise the value of your home. "I would stay away from pools if you can at all avoid it," says Irwin.

Having a swimming pool will automatically limit your market when it comes time to sell, he says. "It's constant upkeep, they get cracks, when the equipment goes down it's expensive to replace and the liability is high."

Others consider it a mixed blessing. "For the people who want the pool, they're willing to pay for it," says Austin. "But there are an awful lot of people who don't want a pool."

Consider your home value and location. In a million-dollar house, not having a pool is a detraction, says Irwin. "But they won't give you much more" if you do have one.

2. No garage or small garage. Unless you're living in a condo, a retirement community, or historical or in-town neighborhood most buyers will look for at least a two-car garage. "If you don't have a garage, it's a real negative," says Austin. "If you have a one-car garage, that's a problem, too."

3. Garbled floor plan. Small rooms and bathrooms, an inconvenient floor plan or a layout that requires you to access bedrooms or bathrooms through other rooms will detract value from your home.

4. Outmoded appliances or systems. Who wants an electrical system or plumbing system incapable of handling modern conveniences? Would you buy a home if the appliances were worn or broken?

Phipps remembers walking into one house with clients who casually opened the oven door -- and it fell off.

5. Stale or overly personal decor. Sure, red is the hot wall color right now, "but for how long?" says Hummel.

"We've gone into houses where they've had purple or electric green walls," says Austin. "It's a turn-off to many people."

6. A bad roof. Roofs are expensive to replace, and a good roof is considered standard equipment in a house. If your roof has problems, expect to take a hit in the price.

7. Bad location. Phipps remembers one neighborhood with a significant difference in value between the even- and odd-numbered houses. The reason? The odd numbered ones backed on an interstate highway, as well as some ugly utility lines.

As a result, "the even-numbered houses were worth about 10 percent more than the odd-numbered homes," he says.

8. Poor maintenance. "If you've got an old roof and outdated paint, I don't care if you've updated the kitchen, you won't even get the buyer out of the car," says Bredemeyer.

"If you know you've got to have something fixed, fix it," says Zollinger. Otherwise, people "will subtract the cost or not make an offer on the house. And if people think the house hasn't been taken care of, they will wonder what else they're not seeing."

9. Environmental hazards. Besides being a danger to human health, lead, mold or asbestos can kill home value.

10. A laundry list of needed improvements. "It detracts if you have to do work," says Gaylord. "A house that you can move in today -- and it's livable -- is fine."

But a list of must-dos just to conduct everyday life will scare off a lot of potential home buyers. "Especially with first-time buyers," he says. "Most of them are (already) scraping just to get in."

Well Paid Jobs with Opening
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Quarterly, Spring 2004

Insurance accounted for the lion's share of the difference between the costs of having a new car in different U.S. cities. Detroiters pay $4,540 a year for liability, collision, and comprehensive coverage. In the second most expensive city on the list, Los Angeles, car owners pay just $2,987 for insurance and a total of $10,016.

13 Ways to Fix Your Life:

1. Set your priorities
2. Learn to meditate
3. Quit your job
4. Take time to play
5. Have more sex
6. Fix your finances
7. Make an emergency plan
8. Master your data
9. Exercise
10. Go to bed
11. Eating Better
12. Get married
13. Forgive

Action Plan

·  Take regular time to reflect on your life. You might meditate, for example, or perhaps you'd rather jot down some thoughts in a journal. Of course, if the only thing that really centers you is screaming at the trees in your backyard for 10 minutes a day, go for it.
 

·  Mind your nutrition. Don't eat soon before going to sleep. Eat more early in the day and less later in the day. Opt for fruit, whole wheat bread, and brown rice over other sugars, white bread, and white rice. Drink lots of water, eat balanced meals, and don't supersize your portions.
 

·  Exercise! It might seem like a gruesome proposition, but ease into it. Even walking for just 30 minutes a few times a week is a lot better than nothing. Walking briskly for an hour a day could even be enough for you. (That might be a good time to get some reflecting and life-planning done, too.)
 

·  Get your personal habits and ailments in check.  Research your ailments online and see if you can improve or eliminate them.
 

·  Socialize. Get more connected with your family and friends. Make more friends. Join communities. Be involved.

Five Foods You Should Eat Every Day

The wider the variety of the foods you eat, the better chance you have to get all the nutrients needed for good health. But there are some foods with such a strong link to disease prevention and a wealth of nutrients that it makes sense to eat them every day.

1.      Oranges (or orange juice): A great source of folic acid, fiber, antioxidants beta-carotene and vitamin C, and anti-cancer compounds flavonoids and carotenoids. Drink fresh orange juice, eat fresh oranges for snacks, make fruit salad with oranges, toss peeled orange sections into a spinach salad.

2.      Dark Leafy Greens: Full of anti-cancer compounds, vitamins and minerals. Contains folic acid to help prevent neural-tube birth defects, antioxidants beta-carotene and vitamin C, fiber, and anti-cancer compounds beta-carotene and lutein. Try spinach, collard greens, kale, turnip greens. Eat raw or lightly cooked. Use in salads and stir-fry.

3.      Bran Cereal (or other rich source of wheat bran): Prevents constipation, is a potent anti-cancer agent, prevents polyps, may fight breast cancer by diminishing estrogen supplies. Mix in with your other cereals, make bran muffins, sprinkle on salads, mix into casseroles, even eat out of hand with a mix of raisins and nuts.

4.      Yogurt (low fat, with live cultures): Supplies calcium to prevent osteoporosis, boosts immune function, fights bacteria, has anti-cancer properties, may prevent yeast infections. Make fruit and yogurt smoothies, top vanilla yogurt with fresh fruit and granola, use on baked potatoes instead of sour cream.

5.  Soy: Contains phyto-estrogens that may help relieve hot flashes and fight osteoporosis in postmenopausal women, anti-cancer activity may be    antagonistic to breast cancer, source of high-quality protein. Eat as tofu, tempeh, soymilk or boiled soybeans. Add tofu to stir-fry, grill tempeh instead of burgers, use soybeans instead of pintos for refried beans. Add chilled cooked soybeans to salads, make bean soup with soybeans, use soymilk instead of cow's milk on cereal.

Sleep Dos & Don'ts

Reducing sleep by as little as one and a half hours for just one night reduces daytime alertness by about one-third. Excessive daytime sleepiness impairs memory and the ability to think and process information, and carries a substantially increased risk of sustaining an occupational injury. Long-term sleep deprivation from sleep disorders like apnea have recently been implicated in high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke.

All that said, here are some sleep hygiene tips to help you relax, fall asleep, stay asleep, and get better sleep so that you wake up refreshed and alert.

1. Avoid watching TV, eating, and discussing emotional issues in bed. The bed should be used for sleep and sex only. If not, we can associate the bed with other activities and it often becomes difficult to fall asleep.

2. Minimize noise, light, and temperature extremes during sleep with ear plugs, window blinds, or an electric blanket or air conditioner. Even the slightest nighttime noises or luminescent lights can disrupt the quality of your sleep. Try to keep your bedroom at a comfortable temperature -- not too hot (above 75 degrees) or too cold (below 54 degrees).

3. Try not to drink fluids after 8 p.m. This may reduce awakenings due to urination.

4. Avoid naps, but if you do nap, make it no more than about 25 minutes about eight hours after you awake. But if you have problems falling asleep, then no naps for you.

5. Do not expose your self to bright light if you need to get up at night. Use a small night-light instead.

6. Nicotine is a stimulant and should be avoided particularly near bedtime and upon night awakenings. Having a smoke before bed, although it may feel relaxing, is actually putting a stimulant into your bloodstream.

7. Caffeine is also a stimulant and is present in coffee (100-200 mg), soda (50-75 mg), tea (50-75 mg), and various over-the-counter medications. Caffeine should be discontinued at least four to six hours before bedtime. If you consume large amounts of caffeine and you cut your self off too quickly, beware; you may get headaches that could keep you awake.

8. Although alcohol is a depressant and may help you fall asleep, the subsequent metabolism that clears it from your body when you are sleeping causes a withdrawal syndrome. This withdrawal causes awakenings and is often associated with nightmares and sweats.

9. A light snack may be sleep-inducing, but a heavy meal too close to bedtime interferes with sleep. Stay away from protein and stick to carbohydrates or dairy products. Milk contains the amino acid L-tryptophan, which has been shown in research to help people go to sleep. So milk and cookies or crackers (without chocolate) may be useful and taste good as well.

10. Do not exercise vigorously just before bed, if you are the type of person who is aroused by exercise. If this is the case, it may be best to exercise in the morning or afternoon (preferably an aerobic workout, like running or walking).

11. Does your pet sleep with you? This, too, may cause arousals from either allergies or their movements in the bed. Thus, Fido and Kitty may be better off on the floor than on your sheets.

Good sleep hygiene can have a tremendous impact upon getting better sleep. You should wake-up feeling refreshed and alert, and you should generally not feel sleepy during the day. If this is not the case, poor sleep hygiene may be the culprit, but it is very important to consider that you may have an unrecognized sleep disorder. Many, many sleep disorders go unrecognized for years, leading to unnecessary suffering, poor quality of life, accidents, and great expense. Since it is clear how critical sound sleep is to your health and well-being, if you are not sleeping well, see your doctor or a sleep specialist.

The Get Rich Slow Scheme

Feeling in a big rush to get wealthy? That's understandable. As the gap between rich and poor increases, many Americans want to "keep up with the Joneses" in terms of material goods but also face pressures to get ahead in their careers, save for retirement, and set their children on the path toward success.

 American society is more cutthroat than ever, and it takes not only great skill and smarts to get ahead, but often a willingness to cut corners, says David Callahan, a PhD and author of The Cheating Culture. "How do you get rich slow when you need $600,000 to buy an entry-level house in Orange County(2005)?" .

The truth is it's a lot easier to get rich -- and stay rich -- today by going it slow rather than latching onto a get-rich-quick scheme. Best-seller lists are clogged with books that explain in great detail how to Start Late, Finish Rich, or become The Millionaire Next Door. But much of the advice boils down to some pretty simple rules to live by. Here are five steps to slowly gaining the kind of financial security most people only dream of:

1.       Live below your means
It's easier said than done when 75% of the U.S. economy is based on consumer spending and when both cultural norms and easy credit terms encourage people to buy what they want, observes Peter Cohan, an author and investor in Marlborough, Mass. But living below your means is the way to avoid unnecessary debt. Christopher Zook, chairman of CAZ Investments in Houston, recommends borrowing money only to purchase a home or fund your education.

Rule 1 also means saving a portion of your earnings. Here's an easy way to make that happen: Simply set up an automatic investing program with a mutual-fund company so that a cut of your paycheck -- let's say 10% -- is socked away each month. The key is to make it happen automatically, advises author David Bach, whose list of bestsellers includes The Automatic Millionaire.

2. Take calculated risks
To make serious money, you're going to have to take some risk. That could mean career risks -- such as starting your own business. But it might be safer -- and suit your temperament better -- to take investment risks.

Tom Taulli, co-founder of CurrentOfferings.com, says the investors he knows who are reaping the greatest rewards now are the ones who made some small investments in tiny startups and then forgot about them. "If one or two ideas hit pay dirt, that can have a huge impact on a rate of return," he says. "That's what venture-capital investing is all about."

3. Diversify your investments
By purchasing a mix of assets and holding them through market cycles, you can take enough risk to actually earn a decent return on your investments -- but won't get hurt too badly by a meltdown in a specific stock or asset class.

4. Keep your nose clean
Too many people today try to get ahead in life by cutting corners -- cheating on an exam, cooking the books, or stealing an idea from a colleague, says Callahan. Despite some recent high-profile convictions of top executives caught with their hands in the corporate till, the risk of getting caught today is still pretty low (one reason Callahan thinks corporate malfeasance is so frequent).

"The real risk is losing your soul," he says. "People think they can catch up on their values later. But cheating can be a slippery slope, and you may regret it even if it doesn't lead to big trouble."

5. Keep your eyes on the prize
Isn't it happiness, not riches, we're all really after in the end? A growing body of academic research shows that an individual's level of happiness usually doesn't improve with a rise in income.

Robert Frank, a professor at the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell, explained in a spring 2004 article in Daedalus, the journal of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, that the reason people don't get happier when they get wealthier is that they spend money on things like bigger houses and more expensive cars that don't improve their quality of life.

Instead, he suggests, Americans should use their incomes to buy "inconspicuous goods -- such as freedom from a long commute or a stressful job." It's a goal worth keeping in mind as you accumulate wealth -- the slower the better.

10 tips for better sleep

Feeling crabby lately? It could be you aren't getting enough sleep. Although the average adult needs seven to nine hours of sleep a night, that number could be hard to come by if you factor in work, taking care of children and managing a household.

Then there are the unexpected challenges that can keep you up at night — financial worries, layoffs, illness or relationship issues.

Compounding the problem is the fact that if you don't get the rest you need, you'll find it even harder to deal with the stresses causing your sleep problems to begin with.

Grumpiness isn't the only result of sleep deprivation. Getting too little sleep impairs memory, reaction time and alertness. Tired people are less productive at work, less patient with others and less interactive in relationships.

Sleep deprivation can also be dangerous. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 100,000 crashes each year are due to drivers falling asleep at the wheel.

John Shepard Jr., M.D., of the Sleep Disorders Center at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., offers these tips to help you achieve restful sleep. You don't have to use every tip on the list.

"What works for one person doesn't always work for another," Dr. Shepard says.

Try one or two of the following tips or a combination until you have enough quality sleep to feel alert and well-rested. If these tips don't work, see your doctor. You could have a sleep disorder, such as obstructive sleep apnea, that requires medical attention.

1. Stick to a schedule, and don't sleep late on weekends. If you sleep late on Saturday and Sunday morning, you'll get Sunday night insomnia. Instead, go to bed and get up at about the same time every day.

"You don't need to rely on an alarm clock to wake up when you get enough sleep," says Dr. Shepard.

2. Don't eat or drink a lot before bedtime. Eat a light dinner about two hours before sleeping. If you drink too much liquid before sleeping, you'll wake up repeatedly in the night for trips to the bathroom.

Don't eat spicy or fatty foods. They can cause heartburn, which may interfere with your sleep.

If you get the bedtime munchies, eat something that triggers serotonin, which makes you sleepy. Carbohydrates (bread or cereal) or foods containing the amino acid L-tryptophan (milk, tuna, or turkey) will do the trick.

Don't drink alcohol near bedtime. It may cause you to wake up repeatedly, to snore, and it may exacerbate sleep apnea.

3. Avoid caffeine and nicotine. They're addictive stimulants and keep you awake. Smokers often experience withdrawal symptoms at night, and smoking in bed can be dangerous. Caffeine should be avoided for eight hours before your desired bedtime.

4. Exercise. If you're trying to sleep better, the best time to exercise is in the afternoon. A program of regular physical activity enhances the quality of nocturnal sleep.

5. A slightly cool room is ideal for sleeping. This mimics your internal temperature drop during sleep, so turn off the heat and save on fuel bills.

If you tend to get cold, use blankets. Try sleeping in warmer nightclothes and wear socks.

If you overheat at night, wear light nightclothes and sleep under a single sheet. Use an air conditioner or fan to keep the room cool.

Use a dehumidifier if you're bothered by moist air. Use a humidifier if you're bothered by dry air. Signs and symptoms of dry air irritation include a sore throat, nosebleeds and a dry throat.

6. Sleep primarily at night. Daytime naps steal hours from nighttime slumber. Limit daytime sleep to less than one hour, no later than 3 p.m.

If you work nights, keep your window coverings closed so that sunlight, which interferes with the body's internal clock, doesn't interrupt your sleep.

If you have a day job and sleep at night, but you still have trouble waking up, leave the window coverings open and let the sunlight wake you up.

7. Keep it quiet. Silence is more conducive to sleep. Turn off the radio and TV. Use earplugs or a fan or some other source of constant, soothing, background noise to mask sounds you can't control, such as a busy street, trains, airplanes or even a snoring partner. Double-pane windows and heavy curtains also muffle outside noise.

8. Make your bed. "A good bed is subjective and different for each person. Make sure you have a bed that is comfortable and offers orthopedic comfort," says Dr. Shepard.

If you share your bed, make sure there's enough room for two. Children and pets are often disruptive, so you may need to set limits on how often they sleep in your bed with you.

Use your bed only for sleep and sex.

Go to bed when you're tired and turn out the lights. If you don't fall asleep in 30 minutes, get up and do something else. Go back to bed when you're tired.

Don't agonize over falling asleep. The stress will only prevent sleep.

9. Soak and sack out. Taking a hot shower or bath before bed helps bring on sleep because they can relax tense muscles.

10. Don't rely on sleeping pills. Check with your doctor before using sleeping pills. Doctors generally recommend using sleeping pills for up to four weeks. Make sure the pills won't interact with other medications or with an existing medical condition. If you do take a sleep medication, reduce the dosage gradually when you want to quit.

Use the lowest dosage, and never mix alcohol and sleeping pills.

If you feel sleepy or dizzy during the day, talk to your doctor about changing the dosage or discontinuing the pills.

Determine the quality of your sleep

Insomnia — the inability to get enough sleep — may only last a night or it can last for weeks, months, years or even a lifetime. If you have any of the following signs and symptoms, you may not be getting enough sleep:

• You routinely ignore your alarm clock or snatch a few extra minutes to snooze before getting up.
• You look forward to catching up on your sleep on the weekends.
• You have to fight to stay awake during long meetings, in overheated rooms or after a heavy meal.
• You're irritable with co-workers, family and friends.
• You have difficulty concentrating or remembering.
• It takes you more than 30 minutes to fall asleep at night.
• You wake repeatedly throughout the night.
• You wake up groggy and not well rested.
• Your spouse or partner complains about your snoring or fitful sleeping.

Don't Divorce, Be Happy

Is leaving a bad marriage a bad decision? Perhaps, according to the controversial finding that two-thirds of unhappy marriages right themselves within five years, and depression and low self-esteem are rarely remedied by divorce.

When researchers examined data from the late 1980s on 5,232 married adults, they found that 645 subjects reported marital dissatisfaction. When the unhappy spouses were surveyed five years later, those who had remained married were more likely than divorced subjects to state that they were happy. In fact, the most miserable marriages had the most dramatic turnarounds: 78 percent of people who stayed in "very unhappy" marriages said that the marriages were currently happy.

"For most people, marital unhappiness was not permanent," says University of Chicago sociologist Linda Waite, Ph.D., whose findings were published by the Institute for American Values. Critics point out that the organization is a pro-family think tank and that Waite herself co-authored The Case for Marriage: Why Married People are Happier, Healthier and Better Off Financially.

Howard Markman, Ph.D., a psychologist and marital counselor at the University of Denver states that "Some who divorce think it will make them happier. But people who are depressed and anxious often attribute that to a bad marriage. Then they get divorced and carry it with them."

Waite points out that only 19 percent of divorced subjects were happily remarried. But the problem seemed to be finding a spouse, not maintaining a happy relationship. Only 24 percent of divorced subjects had remarried within five years, but of those who had, an impressive 81 percent were happy in the new marriage.

Subjects who divorced were twice as likely to report violence or abuse, and marriages that lasted comprised subjects who were more critical of divorce. But overall, unions that fizzled could not be "sharply distinguished" from those that prevailed.

Waite's point of departure -- the assessment of marital happiness -- may be just as fuzzy. In the original pool of more than 5,000 people, 25 percent who stated that they were in a happy marriage had a spouse who labeled the marriage "unhappy."

U.S. Labor Is in Retreat as Global Forces Squeeze Pay and Benefits - October 2005

Four years into an economic recovery(10/2005), workers across America should be riding high. Instead, they're facing new demands to surrender hard-won benefits and agree to wage concessions. Companies say these cutbacks are essential to stay competitive in an increasingly globalized economy.

Workers' reduced leverage has many origins, including a slack labor market and the offshoring of jobs to low-cost countries such as China and India.
Some companies, challenged by low-cost rivals, say they can't afford more than minimal raises. And even at firms doing well, high premiums for healthcare insurance take away from the pool of funds that could be used to provide raises.

Only 60% of businesses offer health insurance to their workers, down from 66% in 2003 and 69% in 2000, according to a new survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust.
Companies also are asking workers to produce more for the same pay.

The result is that the cost of living has been outpacing wage increases for most workers all year. Driven by high energy costs, inflation rose twice as fast as wages in September, the government reported last week. The liberal Economic Policy Institute called it "the largest decline in real earnings in decades."

Workers at auto parts maker Delphi Corp. will be asked this week to take a two-thirds pay cut. It's one of the most drastic wage concessions ever sought from unionized employees.
Workers at General Motors Corp., meanwhile, tentatively agreed on Monday to absorb billions of dollars in healthcare costs. Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler employees are certain to face similar demands.

Others aren't so sanguine. "How do U.S. firms compete in the global economy?" asked UC Berkeley economist Harley Shaiken. "If the only way to compete is with $10 wages, we have a problem that is much larger than just Delphi. We're looking at a society where people exit rather than enter the middle class."

The labor historians offering the bleakest outlook say they don't know what will arrest this downward process.
"There used to be a kind of floor for worker welfare," said Leon Fink, editor of the journal Labor: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas. "But we're now living in an age in which all those old standards have come unglued."
 

3 WAYS TO GET RICH

1. Be afraid when people are greedy, and greedy when people are afraid. It's basically, Buy low and sell high.

2. Pay yourself first. When you get your paycheck, take a percentage -- between 10 percent and 30 percent -- and put that away. You'll be rich enough to be financially independent within a short period of time.

3. By the time you see it or read it, it's done; it's happened. And if you listen and follow the hot news, You will buy at the top and sell at the bottom -- exactly what you're not supposed to do.