Homeowner News – Page 10

Your Front Door Conveys A Message

December 15, 2012 by admin

: The Color Black Projects Authority, Power, And Strength

The front door of a home can be an attention getting feature of a home’s exterior, beckoning potential buyers inside, or it can serve as a turn off.

A door is the focal point of a home, and a well maintained door can serve to welcome potential buyers inside. As buyers pause at the door while the lock box is being opened, they are forming an opinion of your home, and asking some questions.

Is the door well maintained? What is the condition of the paint? Is the hardware updated and clean? Does the doorbell work?

These first impressions serve as input to the buyers quick decision making process. According to some, a subliminal decision to buy or not to buy a home is made within the first eight seconds upon their arrival. You need to ensure that the precious time a potential buyer spends on your front stoop is a positive experience.

Color psychologists, yes there is such a job, suggest that the color of the front door can make a powerful statement about the home and/or the owner. Here’s what they say some different front door colors can mean, according to the Paint Quality Institute:

■ Blue: Conveys a place of refuge or retreat

■ Green: Projects health, tranquility, and harmony

■ Black: Projects authority, strength, and power

■ Red: Conveys passion, energy, and excitement

■ Brown: A natural look that can convey warmth, stability, and reliability

Make sure your entry door makes a positive first impression, because you only get one chance.

Wallingford PA Real Estate – Wallingford PA 19086

Readying Your Fireplace For Winter

November 16, 2012 by admin

Wallingord PA Real Estate - Wallingford PA - Fireplace Maintanance

Is Your Fireplace Ready For Winter?

As cold weather descends, thoughts of cozy evenings in front of a fire fill people’s heads. While a fire provides warmth and comfort, before using your wood-burning or gas fireplace for the first time this season, it’s important to make sure that it is clean and working properly.

The steps below can be done by a homeowner or by a local fireplace installer or chimney sweep. The important thing is to make sure you are safe and your home protected:

• It is essential to make sure the chimney is clean before starting your wood-burning fireplace, stove or insert. Creosote, or unburned fuel, can accumulate in the chimney and cause a fire.

• Inspect your chimney from the outside to make sure a chimney cap is present and in good repair and that there’s no bird’s nest or buildup of debris on the cap. You should also look for tree limbs above or near the chimney, and crumbling or missing mortar and bricks.

• Inside your home, use a flashlight to inspect the flue damper to make sure it opens, closes and seals properly. You should also look for cracked bricks or missing mortar on the fireplace’s surround, hearth and firebox, as well as signs of moisture inside the firebox, which could indicate a faulty cap.

• While gas fireplaces are low-maintenance, you should still take time to inspect the glass doors for cracks or latch issues, check that gas logs are in the proper position, test the igniter and look for clogged burner holes.

Wallingford Real Estate – Wallingford, PA 19086

2013 Delaware County Budget Calls For 2.8 Percent Tax Hike

November 7, 2012 by admin

The preliminary draft of the 2013 Delaware County budget includes a tax hike of 2.8 percent. The budget would rise to $329 million dollars, representing a $5 million dollar increase over the final 2012 numbers.

The average Delaware County taxpayer with a home assessed at $130,000 would incur a county property tax of $708.75 – an increase of $19.75 over last year.

The millage rate for 2013 would be set at 5.452 mills. A mill represents 1 dollar for every 1,000 dollars in assessed value.

Continued increases in Medicade reimbursements for the County owned nursing care facility at Fair Acres, which is expected to cost the County 6.8 million dollars in 2013, was cited as a factor in the proposed increase, as well as rising pension and health care expenses.

Last year’s tax hike in County taxes amounted to 2.3%.

The proposed hearing date for the budget is December 6, with December 12 set as the tentative budget adoption date.

Wallingford Real Estate – Wallingford, PA 19086

A Taxing Situation – Comparing Local Delaware County Communities

October 2, 2012 by admin

In what may be a surprise to many people, we residents in the Wallingford Swarthmore School District no longer have the distinction of paying the highest tax bills in the area. That priviledge now belongs to the residents of the Ridley School District, specifically Ridley Township which breaks the 51 mill mark, topping out at 51.567 mills.

The millage rate refers to the amount of tax that is paid per thousand dollars of the assessed value of a home. For example a home with an assessment of $100,000 would pay a total tax bill of $5,156.70 in Ridley Township on the high end of the scale of the communities shown, and a home in Marple Township would assessed at the same value would pay a total tax bill of $2,670.39 on the opposite end of the spectrum. A Nether Providence Township home would have a tax obligation of $4,858.50.

For some real shocking news, residents of Colwyn in eastern Delaware County have a total millage rate of 72.560. So a home with the same $100,000 assessment cited above would have a whopping tax bill of $7,256.00! We should not complain.

If you are interested in the lowest tax base in Delaware County, take a look at Thornbury Township. Their total millage amounts to 19.080.

The total tax obligation is composed of three components:

– Delaware County Taxes – all Delaware County communites pay the same 5.30 mills

– School Taxes – the largest component of the tax structure

– Municipal Taxes – each community levies a local municipal tax

Wallingford Swarthmore School District does hold the distinction among local communities with the highest school taxes in the area. WSSD tax millage is 225% higher than the Marple Newtown School District.

Nether Providence and Rose Valleyresidents have a slighty lower millage for school taxes than Swarthmore. Swarthmore and Rutledge residents pay an additional amount for support of Delaware County Community College, bringing their millage up to 39.334.

At the high end, residents of the William Penn School District – the Boroughs of Colwyn, Aldan, Lansdowne, and Yeadon, shoulder a school tax millage rate of 40.060.

Thornbury Township residents, where students attend the West Chester schools, have the lowest school in Delaware County at 19.080 mills.

Ridley Township again takes the local top spot in the municipal tax category at 8.0170 mills. Middletown Township has a very low muncipal millage of 1.6 due to the fact that they have no local police force to support.

Again Thornbury Township is at the low end of the municipal tax spectrum – they pay no municipal taxes. Colwyn residents take the top spot for municipal taxes at 27.200 mills.

Complete Delaware County Tax Rate data is available at:

Wallingford Real Estate – Wallingford, PA 19086

Is Your Air Conditioning Working At It’s Peak?

August 3, 2012 by admin

There will be plenty more hot summer days coming this month, so an efficiently running air conditioner is a necessity when it comes to keeping you and your family comfortable. Air conditioning units do not last forever, and the middle of summer would be the worst possible time for your system to break down. Luckily, there are usually warning signs that let you know your system may be malfunctioning, and many of these problems are easy to fix.

Pay attention to the following warning signs and help ensure your air conditioning system makes it through the summer:

– If you are not as comfortable as you were last year, it could be due to restricted airflow. Filters should be changed every 30 to 90 days, so if you have not done so recently, the first step to take is to change the filter. You should also make sure nothing is blocking your cold air returns and registers.

– Your comfort level depends greatly upon where your thermostat is located. If it is in direct sun or near a hot oven, your system will keep running long after you’ve cooled off. Alternately, if it is located near a register, your thermostat will detect a cooler temperature and leave you too warm in another part of the house. Check the location of your thermostat, and relocate it if necessary.

– If it seems like the air coming out of the registers isn’t as cold as it used to be, the first thing to check is the refrigerant lines that connect the outdoor unit to the indoor system. These two copper lines should be covered with an insulating sleeve. If they are not, sleeves are easy and inexpensive to purchase. If the wires are covered, your system may need its refrigerant re-charged, a repair that typically costs around $150.

Wallingford Real Estate – Wallingford, PA 19086

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S. Clark Kendus