A: In an effort to save money, some homeowners have made cuts to their insurance coverage. This may not be the best idea. While you don’t want to pay too much, you also don’t want to be short on coverage should something happen. The ideal amount of coverage would allow you to rebuild your home in the event it is completely destroyed.

You should review your policies annually so that you understand what is and what is not included. If you have made any changes to your home, for example, if you undertook a large renovation project, you need to inform your insurance company of those changes.

Also, understand that most standard policies provide coverage for such disasters as fire, lightning, hurricanes and winter- related damage, like fallen tree limbs or burst pipes. They don’t, however, usually cover flood damage, including flooding from a hurricane. If you live in an area that is prone to flooding, you may want to consider purchasing extra protection.

As your trusted real estate professional, I’m here to help you.

• Go bold. If you tend to use neutral colors for your walls and furnishings, you can make your mantle really stand out by adding a bright “pop” of color. Consider using a vase of crimson tulips, a bowl of sunny citrus fruits or an array of colorful glass bottles.
• To balance or not to balance. If you like traditional décor, you might like a symmetrical look for your mantle. Try hanging a large painting, photo or mirror centered above your fireplace, then arrange a set of candlesticks, books or other matching knick-knacks on either end. But if you prefer to be a little different, go for an asymmetric look by using the decorator’s rule of “three to one.” According to this rule, artfully group three similar (but not the same) objects at one end of your mantle, then place one large object at the other end.
• Show off those photos. Select photos of friends, family and pets, then place them in a variety of frames. Mix shapes, styles and colors. Try to coordinate colors in the photos with the frames for a sophisticated, finished look.

National Association of Realtors article…. A simple/small typo created a complicated/huge headache for this homeowner.   The lesson to learn?  Check and double check your payment history.  If you find an error, correct it immediately.  Especially if you have done a mortgage modification.

1. Get ready. The first step to any do-it-yourself project is to gather the necessary tools and supplies. For this project, you will need: a hammer, a wooden spacer, a screwdriver, two sawhorses, an old blanket or drop cloth, sandpaper of various grits, stain or paint and brushes to apply these finishes.
2. Remove the door from its hinges. Open the door and support it by sliding the wooden spacer under the lock side. Next, remove the hinge pins by tapping the head of the pin up with a screwdriver. Remove the top pin last to keep the door stable while you work. Once removed, carefully carry the door to your work area and place it on top of two sawhorses that have been covered with an old blanket or drop cloth. This layer of padding should prevent your door from getting damaged while you work.
3. Remove hardware. Remove the existing lockset, deadbolt, and any other hardware. If you plan to reuse the hardware, note how it was attached to make reassembly easier.
4. Sand both sides of the door. Begin with a rough grit sandpaper to cut through the existing finish and smooth the weathered wood. After the door has been sanded to bare wood, switch to finer grit sandpaper to give the door a smooth surface.
5. Stain or paint your door. Remove any dust with a tack cloth or vacuum. When the door is ready for finishing, apply stain or paint according to manufacturer’s instructions. Next, finish the door with UV-resistant exterior polyurethane. For best results use a quality brush or apply the finish with a sprayer. To minimize brushstrokes, brush the finish in the direction of the grain.
6. Reapply hardware. Once the door has dried completely, you’re ready to reapply the hardware. If your door didn’t previously have a kick plate or door knocker, you may decide to dress it up by applying these as well.
7. Hang your new door. Carry the finished door back to your entryway. Rest the lock end of the door on the block of wood on the floor, and align the two halves of the hinges. Use a hammer to tap the pins back into the hinges, then remove the block.

Many people get confused by these terms and think they mean the same thing, when actually they are quite different. Being prequalified doesn’t mean that you have a commitment from a lender; it’s merely an indication of how much home you can afford. The preapproval process, on the other hand, is more in depth. Being prequalified means a lender has evaluated your income, monthly debt, employment and available down payment to determine the best loan for you and the amount for which you would likely qualify.

When you are preapproved, you actually have a lender’s written commitment to grant a loan once certain conditions have been met. For example, you will have to obtain a purchase contract to receive the money, as well as a satisfactory appraisal and a clear title report.

You can get preapproved even before you begin the house-hunting process. In some cases, the mortgage broker will honor the commitment for up to three months.

Sellers will likely view you as a preferred buyer if you are preapproved because they won’t have to wonder if you will be able to obtain financing. If a seller receives an offer from you with preapproval and one from a buyer who does not have financing, your offer is likely to get stronger consideration.

Call me if you have more questions. I would be happy to clarify the home buying and selling process and help with all of your real estate needs.

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• Refinish it. If your wooden headboard is showing signs of aging, you can give it a fresh look by sanding it, then following with a few coats of stain or paint.
• Cover it up. If you have a padded headboard, you can easily update it by reupholstering it with new fabric. A plain headboard can be turned into a pretty, padded headboard by lightly gluing some padding to it, then stretching fabric across and stapling it to the back.
• Fake it. If your bed doesn’t have a headboard, you can hang a piece of artwork or tapestry behind your bed to create an interesting focal point for your bedroom.
• Save it. You can also turn salvaged architectural pieces, like a mantle or doors, into a unique headboard.

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In addition to a well-rounded diet, regular exercise and a cheery disposition, here are some other things from WebMD® that you can do to help protect your health long into your senior years:

• Be conscientious. An 80-year study found one of the best predictors of a long life is a conscientious personality. Researchers measured such attributes as attention to detail and persistence. They found that conscientious people do more things to protect their health and they tend to make choices that lead to stronger relationships and better careers.
• Be friendly. Friends not only contribute to happiness, they also encourage good health. People with strong friendships are less likely than others to get colds, perhaps because they have lower stress levels. And if you should happen to be under the weather, a friend can run errands for you or bring you soup.
  Choose your friends wisely, however, because research has also found that people are likely to pick up the habits of their friends. In fact, your chance of becoming obese increases by 57 percent if you have a friend who becomes obese. The good news is that healthy behaviors are contagious too.
• Be forgiving. Letting go of grudges has surprising physical health benefits. Chronic anger has been linked to decreased lung function, heart disease, stroke, and other ailments. Forgiveness, on the other hand, can reduce anxiety, lower your blood pressure, and help you to breathe more easily. These benefits tend to increase as you get older.
• Be calm. Stress can be deadly. The body responds to stress by releasing stress hormones. These hormones make blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar levels go up. Long-term stress can help cause a variety of health problems, including mental health disorders (like depression and anxiety), obesity, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Exercise can tame stress, but so too can a cat nap. A recent study with 24,000 participants suggests that regular nappers are 37 percent less likely to die from heart disease than occasional nappers. Researchers think naps might help your heart by keeping stress hormones down.

After the holidays are over and a new year has begun, it is time to get rid of the old and ring in the new. And what better time to finally throw away that fruitcake you received as a gift but didn’t eat?

The annual date observed by most for National Fruitcake Toss Day is January 3, but there are some who celebrate it as a floating holiday during the first week in January each year.

The first fruitcake toss was believed to be the Great Fruitcake Toss in Manitou Springs, Colorado in 1995. Since that time, it has been an annual celebration with more than 500 people coming from all over to participate.

“We encourage the use of recycled fruitcakes,” says Leslie Lewis of the Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce. The all-time Great Fruitcake Toss record is 1,420 feet, set in January 2007 by a group of eight Boeing engineers, who built the Omega 380, a mock artillery piece fueled by compressed air, pumped by an exercise bike.

More than just a fun way to get rid of old fruitcakes, the Colorado celebration also acts as a food drive because participants must bring one canned item to gain admission.

The tradition of making New Year’s resolutions dates all the way back to the time of ancient Rome. In 153 B.C., Janus, a mythical king of early Rome, was placed at the head of the calendar (January derived its name from him). With two faces, Janus could look back on past events and forward to the future. Since it was believed that Janus could forgive transgressions, many Romans would give gifts and make promises at the beginning of the new calendar year to please Janus in the hopes that he would see this and bless their lives for the upcoming year.

While people may no longer believe in this mythical king, many still consider the beginning of a new year an opportunity for a fresh start and make resolutions that they believe will make their lives better. Almost half of Americans set New Year’s resolutions. Most of these are vows to improve their health – like quitting smoking or losing weight – and to augment their lifestyles – like finding a better job or reducing debt. But most of these resolutions are also forgotten before Spring.

Why? Part of the reason resolutions are left by the wayside is that, well … change is hard. But if you alter the way you look at change, you are more likely to succeed.

For example, instead of simply saying “I want to lose weight”, resolve to opt for the salad bar in place of a greasy burger for lunch twice a week, you’ll be more likely to drop those unwanted pounds. You’re giving yourself a tasty alternative and setting a realistic, tangible goal.

Also realize that quick fixes don’t work. If you set a resolution on the first of the year, you’re not likely to have achieved it by the evening of January 2nd. Real change takes time. Once you set a deep commitment to change, you may not reach your end goal right away, but if you keep working, you’ll begin to see positive and lasting change.