To Preserve Home Equity Help Your Neighbor

The following is an article from the Wall Street Journal. I am including it here only because in these times of uncertainty, one thing we can all do is look out for one another.

"With falling house prices in the news every day, many homeowners are asking: What's the best way to preserve my home's equity?

Unfortunately, unless you can quietly buy your neighbor's house before it becomes a short sale, or convince vulture capitalists to purchase all the foreclosures in your neighborhood, there's little you can do to protect property against today's main drags on home prices.

But you're not powerless in this crisis. Just as it's important to keep up personal appearances when you're feeling depressed, it's also vital to keep your house looking spiffy in an economic downturn. It may seem like throwing good money after bad to keep the house repaired and the yard groomed when home prices in your area are sinking. But it's actually a wise business decision, since a sparkling house has an uplifting impact on buyers, appraisers and real estate agents.

While this isn't the time to install unnecessary, expensive upgrades like a hot tub or home theater, you definitely should tackle any maintenance issues that may have been deferred, like overgrown shrubs, leaky roofs or dented siding. Focus on curb appeal, and get professional assistance if the job is too big to do yourself.

But don't just care for your home; care for the community. If you know that someone on your block is in financial trouble, consider getting the neighbors together and lending a helping hand, perhaps by mowing the yard or helping with minor painting and repairs. If your neighbor's place has already gone back to the lender, find out who owns it and make sure that the company keeps on top of maintenance. If it doesn't (lenders are becoming overwhelmed by foreclosures in some places, and some yards are getting scraggly), perhaps you could still make a pass with the lawn mower or plant some flowers in the yard -- with the lender's permission, of course.

I know it seems bizarre: Why help the people who are the most responsible for blighting the neighborhood and bringing down home values? The answer is that communities are only as attractive as their ugliest properties -- so it is in everyone's self-interest to pretty them up."

reprinted from The Wall Street Journal, April 10, 2008 12:53 p.m.

Bans Persist on Solar Panels and Wind Energy

THIS IS ACCEPTABLE

THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE

Dennis Massachusetts Board of Selectmen, in their infinite wisdom, have banned windmills from any location in town except the worse possible spot as asscessed by the U.S. Coast Guard Wind Energy Site Survey of Cape Cod, the town landfill. This ban was conveniently done just prior to the Town of Dennis Alternative Energy Advisory Committee's town survey for possible sites. And of course, the site survey of the land fill failed. Not only did it fail, but if it did pass, the town would side with any objection from abbutters that the windmills were "unsightly". Meanwhile home heating oil is $3.89 a gallon, natural gas is expected to rise 40%, and Cape Cod has nearly the highest rate for electricity in the nation. If a homeowner wanted to install solar panels on their home and lives in the "Historical District" they are most likely out of luck. That person can't even paint their home without approval. Meanwhile...

Neighborhood covenants that ban solar panels are a “growing concern and trend,” says Monique Hanis, a spokeswoman for the Solar Energy Industries Association.

A half-dozen states, including Arizona, New Jersey and Florida, have passed measures that prevent community associations from banning solar panels.

"Solar access" laws have met with opposition from community associations, which generally reject solar panels because they are unattractive. Associations object to outside interference with their ability to make decisions affecting neighborhood peace and property values.

"We, as a policy, want to make sure that associations are able to dictate how they are running their communities, which is why people join associations, so they have that kind of insurance [about] how things are going to be operating," said Paul Hanscom, executive director of the Community Associations Institute of Minnesota.

Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune (03/26/2008)