- Boilers
- Central air conditioners
- Clothes washers
- Dishwashers
- Freezers
- Furnaces (oil and gas)
- Heat pumps (air source and geothermal)
- Refrigerators
- Room air conditioners
- Water heaters

To encourage customers to buy energy efficient products, ENERGY STAR partners occasionally sponsor special offers, such as sales tax exemptions or credits, or rebates on qualified products. Here is a list of different products you might consider swapping out for ENERGY STAR products in order to earn a rebate in your specific region:

ENERGY STAR Clothes Washer:
- Use about 30% less energy
- Use over 50% less water than regular washers
- Have a greater capacity than conventional models, meaning fewer loads of laundry.
- Cut energy costs by more than a third
- Cut water costs by more than half
- Save $135 each year on utility bills

ENERGY STAR Dishwasher:
- Use about 8 gallons less water per wash
- Use less energy to combat global warming
- Save an extra $40 on utility bills compared to regular dishwasher

ENERGY STAR Refrigerators:
- 20% more energy efficient
- Cut your energy bills by $165 over the lifetime of your fridge

ENERGY STAR Freezers:
- Use 10% less energy
- Save an extra $35 a year on energy bills

ENERGY STAR Room Air Conditioners:
- Use 10% less energy
- If every room air conditioner sold were ENERGY STAR qualified, it would prevent 800 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions annually, equivalent to the emissions of more than 66,000 cars. WOW!

ENERGY STAR Solar Water Heaters:
- Cut energy bills in half

ENERGY STAR appliances help save the environment. Nearly 70 percent of U.S. electricity is generated by burning coal and natural gas, which releases greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere and causes global warming. ENERGY STAR qualified appliances use less energy than conventional models, and help protect our lakes, streams and oceans.

Visit Energystar.gov to find out more about the rebate program in your state and reduce your carbon footprint.

Home warranties cover some, but NOT ALL, of these appliances and systems. Contract costs and coverage can vary widely. Always compare before purchasing. Home warranties cover normal wear and tear on these systems and appliances, and they MUST be in working order BEFORE the contract is entered into with the warranty company.

Make sure you have reviewed your contract and coverage BEFORE you need it to understand what is covered and what is not. When you buy a home warranty, consider premium and optional coverage to customize the plan to fit your needs.

A home warranty can be very beneficial and save you money when it is understood and utilized for its intended purpose which is to cover systems and appliances for normal wear and tear, that were in working condition before the contract began.

To learn more visit: Home Warranty of America

By Muhammed El-Hasan Business Writer

The Daily Breeze

Posted: 05/24/2010 06:36:27 PM PDT

Local home prices spiked in April, mirroring a statewide trend, according to a report released Monday.

The median price of all types of homes sold in the South Bay – excluding the Palos Verdes Peninsula and Carson – rose 21.5 percent last month, compared to April of last year, the California Association of Realtors said.

The median, which represents the middle figure where half of homes sold for more and half for less, was $550,000 in April.

On The Hill, the median price rose 14.8 percent to $970,000 in one year.

In fact, Carson was the only local community cited in the report that saw a drop for April, of 6.2 percent to $286,000.

In a recent report by the South Bay Association of Realtors, sales of single-family homes in the South Bay – excluding the Peninsula – rose 1 percent in April year over year. Local sales of condominiums and town homes rose 6.1 percent.

Home sales nationwide have benefited from an $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers, helping to spur demand.

“Both single-family and condominium home sales are continuing their steady climb over the last several months in terms of both prices and sales volume,” Paul Clark, president of the South Bay Realtors group, said in a statement. “While some local markets occasionally show fluctuation in prices and volume, we are hopeful that the overall South Bay trends will point toward a sustainable economic recovery.”

Horrell Realtors agent John

Parsons said the local housing market appears to be stabilizing after the slump of the past few years. He has noticed more people visiting open houses lately.

However, Parsons cautioned against reading too much into the spike in median prices, explaining the dramatic increase could be a result of more higher-end homes selling in April compared to a year earlier.

“I sure don’t think the average property is worth 21 percent more than it was last year,” said Parsons, who also serves as a Redondo Beach planning commissioner. “We were seeing that kind of increase when the market was spiking (during the housing bubble).”

Manhattan Beach was the priciest community cited in the statewide report, with a median of $1,572,500, up 11.7 percent.

Statewide, April sales and preowned, single-family homes fell 8.1 percent even as the median rose 21 percent to $306,230.

Despite the federal tax credit, a California homebuyer tax credit that started May 1 might have led buyers to delay a purchase, said Steve Goddard, president of the statewide Realtors group.

Under the federal program, a buyer must have signed a purchase contract by the end of April, with a completed sale by the end of June.

The $10,000 state credit is for first-time buyers or for new homes, and lasts from May through December. That allows some homebuyers to benefit from both credits.

“It’s likely that the state tax credit that went into effect May 1 created an incentive for many buyers to postpone closing escrow so they could take advantage of both the state and federal tax credits that were available,” Goddard, a Manhattan Beach Realtor, said in a statement. “We should see the pace of closed sales edge up in May and June as these tax-incentivized transactions close.”

Goddard said statewide home sales dipped below the 500,000-unit level on an annualized basis for the first time in 19 months.

Supply issues may help explain that dip since demand for low-cost foreclosed homes far exceeded supply, he said.

To see prices in your area, click in the link below and select you city.

http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_15153974?source=email

Listing Agents and Selling Agents

When someone decides it is time to sell their home, they interview several Realtors from different companies to determine which one is best for them. They want someone who will represent them and someone they feel will do an effective job at marketing their home.

However, when someone decides to buy a home, they usually end up with their Realtor through sheer accident. Why don’t home buyers search for a Realtor the same way that home sellers do?

Instead, homebuyers usually end up with a Realtor as a result of answering an advertisement. The advertisement will give a brief summary of a home available for sale along with the price, but it says nothing at all about the Realtor.

So…

…does it really make a difference?

Listing Agents and Selling Agents

You see, there are two “sides” to every sale. The listing side and the selling side. Most deals have an agent representing each side, so there are generally two agents involved The seller’s side is represented by the listing agent

. The buyer’s side is represented by the selling agent (also known as the buyer’s agent).

Agents can deal with both buyers and sellers, but the majority tend to focus their efforts on one or the other. Some even exclusively handle either buyers or sellers.

So what should you do?

We simply recommend that you take as much care to hire a real estate agent as you would for any other professional. Ask questions. Ask about education, experience, and focus.

After all, buying your next house is probably the biggest purchase you’ve ever made in your life. Does it make more sense to find your agent by accident…or by design?

http://www.realestateabc.com/homebuying/why.htm

March 1, 2008

Photo courtesy Mathias Clamer

Weight control and health tend to go hand in hand—and what’s true for our waistlines also holds true when it comes to the weight of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) and the health of the planet. Excess pounds of carbon dioxide are raising the earth’s temperature and putting coastlines, not waistlines, at risk. Yet for a lot of people, the idea of going on a carbon diet to reduce pounds, much less tons, of the stuff seems airy when there’s nothing to hold onto.

Think of pounds of CO2 as inflated balloons: One pound of CO2 would fill a balloon about two and a half feet wide, and the amount of energy each of us uses every day, just to power our homes and drive our cars, would fill 47 of them. Imagine that for each member of your family 47 of those balloons are added to your home each day. In a week, a family of four would pack in 1,316 balloons, in a month 5,703, and in a year 68,432—enough to fill a building nine stories tall and 100 feet on each side. You wouldn’t be able to find your house in it. It’s no wonder we’re smothering our planet in greenhouse gases. The more balloons of CO2 in the air, the more heat they trap in our atmosphere. So here’s a 10-step carbon diet—a program to keep the greenhouse gas out of 142 balloons every week.

1. Wash your clothes in cold water instead of hot.
• • • • • • • • •
Burst balloons: 9 per week
Start with something easy. Washing machines produce over 500 pounds of CO2 a year when run on hot water. But your clothes will be just as clean and may even last longer when laundered in cold water.

2. Use a drying rack.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Burst balloons: 14 per week
Dryers produce about 1,450 pounds of CO2 per year and the high heat damages fabric. So get more life out of your garments, lower your electric bill and spare the planet by drying at least half of your clothes on a rack or line. Plus, sunlight is the most effective stain-remover around.

3. Seal and weatherstrip your home.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Burst balloons: 17 per week
This summer, sealing your home will ensure you don’t lose the cool air you’re paying for. Caulking and weatherstrip- ping doors, windows and any cracks or openings in walls will save about 225 pounds of CO2 per season to run your AC. It pays off even more in the winter when you need to trap the heat; every year, you save 640 pounds of CO2 if you have natural gas heat and 470 pounds if you have elec- tric heat. And it’s a simple job.

4. Insulate.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Burst balloons: 41 per week (natural gas heating), 30 per week (electric heat)
Insulating your home is a bit more demanding and best handled professionally. There are a number of insulating options better than fiberglass, which presents a breath- ing hazard from airborne glass particles and formalde- hyde released during installation. Some green-building specialists claim that spray foam insulation is the most efficient and cost-effective variety, even though it’s usu- ally composed of petroleum-based polyurethane. If you choose spray foam, consider a blend that includes soy- bean oil, such as BioBase501, to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels. Another alternative, recycled denim insula- tion, uses a more eco-friendly material but isn’ t as effi- cient an insulator as polyurethane foam.

5. Wrap your water heater and turn down the temperature.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Burst balloons: 16 per week
Insulating your water heater with a simple DIY kit, available at most hardware stores for $20, will save you 300 pounds of CO2 annually. As water heaters can ac- count for up to 13 percent of your utility bill, set the tem- perature to 120° F. Turning it down from 140° F will save 479 pounds of CO2 annually. If you’re really up for a renovation, switch from a con- ventional water heater to an on-demand heater.

6. Run the dishwasher only when full.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Burst balloons: 17 per week
Wait until you fill your dishwasher before turning it on and always set it to the energy saver mode.

7. Turn off your TV, DVD player, computer and cable box.
• • • • •
Burst balloons: 5 per week
Even while idling in “standby” mode, your home enter- tainment center and computer consume energy. Plug them into a power strip and turn it off after you shut down your electronics.

8. Clean your refrigerator.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Burst balloons: 15 per week
Take a look at the top of your fridge—cluttered much? Clear it off. Those piled-up plastic containers and cereal boxes can prevent your fridge from venting heat effec- tively. Then go for the more demanding project: Remove the grill at the base of the fridge (or turn the fridge around) to clean the coils.

9. Compost Your Food Scraps.
• • • • •
Burst balloons: 5 per week
Food waste stored in airless landfills is eaten by bacteria that release massive amounts of methane, a gas 21 times more heat-trapping than CO2. Composting ten pounds of food a week will keep five balloons out of the air.

10. Take the bus or ride your bike.
• • •
Burst balloons: 3 per week (bus), 12 per week (bike)
The average 12-mile commute to work produces roughly 12 pounds of CO2 (depending on your mileage, you pro- duce one pound of CO2 for every mile driven). Even diesel buses are greener than cars when you factor in the number of passengers on board. Give the bus a shot once a week for a year. Or give your legs and heart a workout by commuting on a bike and save even more.

To sum it all up, after a year of these efforts, you’ll have kept over 7,000 balloons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. That’s about 3.5 tons of CO2 off the average

What is a Carbon Footprint? Your “carbon footprint” is the amount of greenhouse gases you produce over a year measured in tons of CO2. Because we rely on so many goods and services to support our power-hungry lifestyles, our footprint includes emisions from industry, agriculture, transportation, forestry, power generation and buildings. The weight builds up pretty quickly: The aver- age American’s footprint is 26.5 tons, not far from Australia’s 28 tons per person, but in less-developed India the number dwindles to one ton.

http://www.thegreenguide.com/home-garden/energy-saving/lose-carbon/1

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Looking to Buy a foreclosed property?  As a Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) Lesley Siegel have vast knowlege of the process of buying or selling a short sale or foreclosure.