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Carbon monoxide poison is a silent danger that claims over 400 lives in the U.S. annually, as well as over 20,000 visits to the emergency room, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To keep your family safe, know the signs of carbon monoxide poisoning:

• Headaches
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Dizziness
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue

“Safety is our top priority at DTE Energy, and we urge residents to be particularly alert to carbon monoxide danger during the fall and winter heating season. It’s when CO exposure most frequently occurs,” says Brad Burcz, senior safety and health engineer, DTE Energy. “One of the best defenses against CO poisoning is to install a carbon monoxide alarm near all sleeping areas in your home. If dangerous levels of CO are detected, an audible alarm will alert you.”

DTE offers the following tips to prevent CO poisoning in homes and businesses:

• For businesses, install carbon monoxide alarms in main areas away from vents and appliances or equipment that produce smoke or steam.
• Replace batteries in CO alarms annually.
• If a CO alarm is activated, or the presence of carbon monoxide is suspected, immediately get out of the house or building into fresh air, and if necessary, seek medical attention.
• Ensure all fuel-burning appliances are operating and venting properly.
• Get an annual furnace inspection by a licensed professional.
• Check yearly to verify flues, vents and chimneys are connected, in good condition and clear of debris.

Like this update? As your local real estate professional, I can provide more great tips like this and answer any real estate information questions you may have. Contact me today!

Source: dteenergy.com

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Choosing a real estate professional you’re comfortable with is an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to putting your home on the market, but anyone going through the buying or selling process needs to be aware of the different types of listing contracts available”and which suits them best.

Exclusive Right to Sell
Most commonly used, this type of listing gives the listing agent complete control of the transaction, no matter who finds the buyer. In this type of situation, even if you have a friend who wants to purchase the home, the listing agent will earn the sales commission. If a second cooperating agent is involved in the deal, the commission is normally divided between the two. A normal contract runs 90 or 120 days, but if the house doesn’t sell and you’re happy with your agent, you can always re-up for additional time.

Open Listing
Often used by sellers who are trying to sell the home themselves, an open listing allows a real estate professional to be involved in the showing process. Multiple agents can be involved; however, the real estate professional that brings the buyer gets the commission. An agent who accepts an open listing isn’t going to do much other than show the home. For instance, they won’t market it or put it in the MLS, but if the home fits the criteria for one of their clients, and it’s convenient, they may be willing to bring someone around.

One-Time Show
Very similar to an open listing, a one-time show is most often used by real estate agents who are showing a FSBO (for sale by owner) to one of their clients. The seller signs the agreement, which identifies the potential buyer and guarantees the agent a commission should that buyer purchase the home, preventing the buyer and seller from negotiating later and trying to avoid paying the agent’s commission. As with an open listing, agents will not be spending money marketing the home, and it will not be placed in the MLS.

Multiple Listing
A multiple listing service will send listing information and photos to members who are working with appropriate buyers, and many listings are available elsewhere on the internet, allowing prospective buyers to research what’s for sale on their own. MLS members can submit exclusive agency and exclusive right to sell listings to the local MLS.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Life can change fast. For example, you could lose your job, a family member could fall ill, or an accident could occur. For many homeowners, unforeseen circumstances like these can cause financial problems that hinder their ability to keep up with mortgage payments, putting them at risk of losing their house.

If youre having trouble paying your mortgage for any reason, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) offers 10 tips to help you avoid foreclosure:

1. Don’t ignore the problem. The further behind you get on payments, the harder itll be to reinstate your loan and the more likely youll lose your house.

2. Contact your lender as soon as you realize you have a problem. Lenders dont want your house. They have options to help borrowers through difficult financial times.

3. Open and respond to all mail from your lender. The first notices you receive will offer good information about foreclosure prevention options that can help you weather financial problems. Later mail may include important notices of pending legal action. Your failure to open the mail wont be an excuse in foreclosure court.

4. Know your mortgage rights. Find your loan documents and read them so you know what your lender may do if you can’t make your payments. Learn about the foreclosure laws and timeframes in your state (as every state is different) by contacting the State Government Housing Office.

5. Understand prevention options. Valuable information about foreclosure prevention (also called loss mitigation) options can be found on HUDs website.

6. Contact a HUD-approved housing counselor. HUD funds free or very low-cost housing counseling nationwide. Housing counselors can help you understand the law and your options, organize your finances and represent you in negotiations with your lender, if you need this assistance. Find a HUD-approved housing counselor near you.

7. Prioritize your spending. After healthcare, keeping your house should be your top priority. Review your finances and see where you can cut spending in order to make your mortgage payment. Look for optional expenses, such as cable TV or memberships, you can eliminate. Delay payments on credit cards and other “unsecured” debt until youve paid your mortgage.

8. Use your assets. Do you have assets, such as a second car or jewelry, you can sell for cash to help reinstate your loan? Can anyone in your household get an extra job to bring in additional income? Even if these efforts don’t significantly increase your available cash, they demonstrate to your lender that youre willing to make sacrifices to keep your home.

9. Avoid foreclosure prevention companies. You don’t need to pay fees for help”use that money to pay the mortgage instead. Many for-profit companies will contact you promising to negotiate with your lender. While these may be legitimate businesses, theyll likely charge you a hefty fee for information and services your lender or a HUD-approved counselor will provide for free.

10. Don’t lose your house to scams. If any firm claims it can stop your foreclosure immediately and you sign a document appointing the firm to act on your behalf, you may well be signing over the title to your property and becoming a renter in your own home. Never sign a legal document without reading and understanding all the terms and getting professional advice from an attorney, a trusted real estate professional or a HUD-approved counselor.

These 10 tips could help you safely overcome troubled times and remain a homeowner.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Are you considering having your children share a bedroom? Maybe your current place or new home youre looking at doesnt have a lot of room, or maybe you want to save space for other purposes. Like with most decisions, there are both pros and cons for you to weigh:

Pros

More Space Options: Having kids bunk together could free up space to use as a playroom, office or guest room. If you plan on having another child within the next year or so, you could also turn the extra room into a nursery when the time comes.

Sharing: All parents try to teach their children about sharing, and when kids live in the same room, they are encouraged to not only learn how to share a space, but also how to share each others toys and other items. The experience could also help prepare children to share space when they have roommates at summer camp or later in college.

Bonding: Living in the same room could inspire siblings to spend more time together and become a team. If your children are young, you might walk in to find them reading a book together. If theyre older, they might confide in their sibling or console each other when something bad happens, thus building a stronger bond.

Sleep: Young children tend to sleep better and feel more secure knowing theres a sibling next to them in the room, especially if one of your kids is afraid of the dark. This could mean fewer late nights getting up to check closets for the Boogeyman or sleeping in a crowded bed with your child. Also, older children might go to bed”or at least quiet down”quicker if their sibling is an early sleeper.

Cons

Sickness: Its difficult enough to keep everyone in the family from catching a members cold or flu, but it is nearly impossible to prevent siblings who share a room from getting each other sick.

Privacy Issues: Children have little to no privacy when sharing a room, which could lead to frustration and feelings of rejection. Even if siblings enjoy spending time together, that doesnt mean theyll want to include each other when it comes to having playdates or sleepovers with friends. Many older children, especially teenagers, also crave privacy and independence.

Clutter: A messy room is bound to be twice as bad when youve got two kids throwing clothes and other items around. If your home doesnt have a separate playroom, a shared bedroom can get cluttered with toys fast. Furthermore, kids piles of stuff and necessary furniture tend to get bigger as they get older; the room, however, stays the same size.

Fights: Siblings naturally fight from time to time, but living in a confined space together might intensify or spur more arguments, especially if the kids personalities are polar opposites. When sharing a room, children wont have their own rooms to escape to and cool off.

Decision
Some people believe its beneficial for siblings to room together, while some claim it only works when the kids are of the same sex or similar in age. Conversely, others suggest its best to give siblings their own rooms whenever possible.

Ultimately, its up to you to decide whats best for your family and circumstances.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Homeowners insurance companies routinely review policies to decide whether to renew or cancel them. Your insurer could decide to cancel your policy for several reasons, but you might be able to convince it to reconsider.

Too Many Claims
A homeowners insurance company might cancel a policy if a homeowner filed several claims in a short period of time and the company paid out more than it collected in premiums. If the claims were related to a common problem, you might be able to persuade the company to keep you as a customer if you made changes or repairs to address the underlying issue and prevent future claims. The company might also be willing switch you to a policy that excluded that specific peril or that had a higher deductible.

Unsafe Conditions
If you put off maintenance for so long that your house is dangerous, the insurance company might be unwilling to cover you. The risk of damage to the house, its contents and people could simply be too great for the company to accept, unless you offered to make major repairs to make the house safe.

Change in Risk
Perhaps you made a change to your property that increased the risk of an accident. For example, if you installed a swimming pool, a child could drown, which could result in a liability claim against the insurance company. The company might be willing to continue to insure your home if you installed a fence with a locked gate and alarm around the pool.

Missed Payments
If you havent paid your premiums on time, the insurance company might decide to cancel your policy. If you lost your job or had an unforeseen medical problem that left you unable to work, the insurer might be willing to work out a payment plan and keep you as a customer.

Illegal Conduct
An insurance company also considers the behavior of policyholders. If you have a criminal record, the company might be concerned about damage or liability related to future illegal acts that you might commit on the property. If you caused intentional damage to your home to file an insurance claim and got caught, the company could cancel your policy.

Risky Location
Sometimes an insurance company makes individual policy decisions by looking at characteristics of a wider area. For example, if your home and others in the neighborhood were burglarized recently, the insurance company might consider the entire area too risky to insure. It might be willing to keep you as a customer, however, if you installed a home security system.

Talk to Your Insurer
If your homeowners insurance company has notified you that your policy will be canceled, call and discuss the reason for the impending cancellation and find out if theres anything you can do to change the companys decision. If not, youll need to start looking for coverage with another company before your current policy ends.

Published with permission from RISMedia.