Your Valuable Home

This episode is the fourth of a special 4 part series of listener favorites! Enjoy!

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In our Replay today, Tish shares her and her husband’s Adventure in Downsizing. Be prepared to take notes and learn from their experience.

In the Horror Story today, an “electrician” made Swiss Cheese out of a ceiling to install a few lights. Hard to believe!

Our Feature today focuses on a culprit that can change your life: Lyme. Could the chronic condition of a family member or friend be the result of undiagnosed Lyme+ Disease? What is Lyme+? Are most family practice physicians capable of identifying Lyme or Lyme+? Is the average blood test to detect Lyme effective? Is routine antibiotic treatment for Lyme sufficient? What is Bartonella? These and many other questions about insidious Lyme disease are answered by a renowned authority on the subject, Dr. Steven Phillips. Why is Your Valuable Home addressing Lyme? Because many of our listeners, their children, and their pets are at risk for this disease.

This episode is the third of a special 4 part series of listener favorites! Enjoy!

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In the Replay today, Tom explains why he and his wife decided on ProVia Siding and he admires a siding job well done.

In the Horror Story, still, another contractor claims to be what he’s not on social media.

We don’t have to tell you that more bad guys than ever are working overtime to separate you from your hard-earned money. In addition to rip-offs by unscrupulous contractors, email, snail mail, and telephone scams are definitely on the rise and the bad guys are getting bolder every day. Learn about the latest scams. Knowledge is your first line of defense!

This episode is the second of a special 4 part series of listener favorites scheduled to post over the span of the next 4 Fridays! Enjoy!

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In the Replay today, Don shares the plan for his house now under construction in the Jersey seaside town of Stone Harbor.

In the Horror Story, a new door installation reveals a potentially catastrophic

problem....no header!

If you have residential investment properties or are thinking about acquiring one, invest 30 minutes listening to Scott Abernathy. Scott is the most recent past president of the National Association of Residential Property Managers, and head of his on-property management firm – PMI Professionals – in Murfreesboro, TN. We’ll be talking with Scott about what he thinks is ahead in the market for residential investment real estate.

This episode is the first of a special 4 part series of listener favorites scheduled to post over the span of the next 4 Fridays! Enjoy!

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In the Replay today, Mike phones in an update on the installation of his new ProVia

windows and doors.

In the Horror Story, we cover the shortcomings in some

manufacturers’ warranties.

In the Feature this week, we interview Jessica Lautz, PhD, Vice President of Demographics and Behavioral Insights at the National Association of Realtors (NAR) about the residential real estate market in 2022. Will the seller’s market stay hot? Will home values continue to soar? Will interest rates help or hurt the housing market in 2022? Also, get the inside story of the NAR’s 10 top “hidden gem” markets for 2022.

In the Replay today, we wrap up Tom’s dormer expansion project. It was a tough job for Kevin and company, but the end result is just what Tom had envisioned.

In our Horror Story, we uncover the case of a contractor who started a large project without getting the required permits. He did, however, require large upfront payments.

In the Feature, Cam Jaggard from the PEW Charitable Trusts is back to explain the two key strategies in the Marsh Forward plan that will guide 300 organizations and individuals as they strive to preserve imperiled salt marsh along the U.S. Atlantic Coast.

Strategy 1: Protect and restore the health and functions of existing salt marsh and Strategy 2: Conserve marsh migration corridors and remove or retrofit barriers to ensure salt marshes can shift (migrate) as sea levels rise.

If you live along any of the country’s coastlines, you need to hear this.

In our Replay today, Tom and Kevin explain the intricate job of adding livable space in the dormers of Tom’s home.

In the Horror Story, a homeowner is left with a lot of problems in a project done by a contractor his HOA approved.

Our Feature today is about a massive project to rescue a vital natural resource. Coastal salt marsh performs multiple important functions, like serving as a carbon sink and an effective line of defense against rising seas. A massive initiative is underway to save 1,000,000 acres of salt marsh where many of our listeners reside in coastal North and South Carolina, Georgia and the upper East Coast of Florida. Cameron (Cam) Jaggard from the PEW Charitable Trusts is with us to explain how PEW and 300-some organizations and individuals, including the Department of Defense and the Gullah Geechee people (direct descendants of slaves) came together to save the salt marsh. This is the first of a two-part interview with Cam. Part two comes next week when he shares the key points of Marsh Forward, the actual plan to rescue this all-important natural resource.

In our Replay today, Bud, who has been around home improvement

contracting much of his life, talks about what’s wrong with the industry

today, and what can be done to fix it.

It’s once again time for the Bad Guy

Bulletin with tips on scams to guard against like the recent flurry of Pay Pal

hoaxes. The scammer’s goal is to get you to call and volunteer your

information. Don’t do it. Even people without PayPal accounts are being

hounded by this scam. We also talk about AI, a technological “advance”

bound to become a scammer’s dream.

Can a wildland fire threaten your

community? The answer is “yes,” especially if you live in the far suburbs or

a rural area. Given the right fuel and other conditions conducive to fire,

your community could be confronted with a wildland fire, as was the case

recently in eastern Canada. A veteran volunteer firefighter is with us today

for a short course on wildland fires, how they start, what sends them out of

control, how communities and individual homeowners can mitigate the

threat they pose, and the damage they cause. If you live in an area with lots

of vegetation that becomes excessively parched, you need to hear this.

In our Replay today, Kevin grills a builder local to our area on the proper

and improper installation of building products. The Horror Story is about a

homeowner who gave a contractor one-half of the estimated cost of

building a shed. The contractor hasn’t been seen since. The lesson:

beware contractors seeking excessive front money. When a home

improvement project goes bad, it often tracks back to a lack of knowledge

or due diligence in selecting a contractor – and a lack of detail on the

project estimate/agreement. In our Feature today, Kevin and Ron offer a

refresher course on line items that should be in all home improvement

contracts, as well as points that should be specific to specific projects...say

windows and siding. Listening to this feature could save you a lot of money

and aggravation in home improvement projects.

In our Replay today, Kevin and Ron discuss the planning and execution of

a major ProVia® window project. In the Horror Story, this homeowner paid

for a new roof and instead got new shingles installed right over the old

ones...a major roofing no-no. In our Featured Segment today, we learn

about ONE-PS, the neighborhood association model that has been working

wonders in Palm Spring California. One-PS is the entity that unites over 50

neighborhood associations in this California town of some 45,000 people.

All of these neighborhood entities work for the good of their neighborhoods,

as well as the common good of Palm Springs. It’s a public/private

partnership that results in events such as Modernism Week, a showcase

for the city’s collection of Mid Mod residential architecture that attracts

thousands of people and many thousands of dollars to this city. ONE-PS

also publishes a magazine that is a great aid to anyone looking to buy real

estate in Palm Springs or vacation there. This is a fascinating lesson about

the collaboration, camaraderie, and community spirit that can result when

residents work together. This interview was with four of the top organizers

of ONE-PS.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

The magazine we discussed, ONE-PS in Palm Springs, that serves as a great resource for anyone looking to vacation or buy a

home in Palm Springs is now OUT OF PRINT, but it can be read online and

downloaded FREE at

https://flipbook.pub/oneps/2019/

In addition, the four people we interviewed should have been noted as “people key to making

ONE-PS work.”

In the replay this week, Pat Leach, talks about his Provia windows.

In the Horror Story, a homeowner had a contractor fix wood windows with duct tape and paint.

In our Feature segment, Sandy Smith, Home and Real Estate Editor of Philadelphia Magazine, talks about the state of the real estate market in Philadelphia and Beyond!