Transitioning towards winter means giving your home a once-over for winter storm preparedness. Here are several things you can do to help get ready. Winter is a dry time inside your home, and many people choose to use a portable or central humidifier to put much-needed moisture back into the air. Now is the time to check your humidifier to make sure it’s operating properly, that all necessary plates and filters are in place, and that the system is clean and the water supply is correct. Check your operating and maintenance instructions for more information.

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It’s feasible to clean and reuse bricksl. From a “green” standpoint, it’s better to recycle them than to send them to the landfill. Used bricks are good for building all kinds of things — they make handsome walkways, patios and planter boxes. If you’re a little more ambitious, a brick barbecue or fire pit is not out of the question. Your only limit is your imagination. Cleaning the brick is labor intensive, but it requires only minimal skill and perseverance. Be careful not to break too many bricks when deconstructing the wall. Stack the bricks in a pile so they’re accessible during the cleaning process.

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Beautiful Wilkes County NC Executive Country Club Home.

MLS Number: 51211 List Price: $359,000

Bedrooms: 3, Full Baths: 2, Half Baths: 1, Est Total SqFt: 3425+
Type/Style: Tudor, Two Story, Area: 6
Elementary School : Moravian Falls Elementary
Middle School: Central Wilkes
High School: Wilkes Central

Construction: Brick Veneer & Other, Solid Masonry Foundation: Basement, block & brick. Roof: Shingle - Composition, Two Years Old, Floors: Carpet/Hardwood/Tile
Garage/Carport: Garage-Double Attached
Interior Features: Smoke Detector(s), Ceiling Fan(s), Newly Decorated, Painted and Carpeted, Central Vacuum, Large Master Bedroom, Walk-In Closets, Hardwood Floors, Basement, Two Fireplaces (Rock and Brick), Gas Logs, Workshop in Basement, Walk-in Cedar-lined closet, Formal Living Room, Dining Room, Den with Oak Bookshelves and Cabinetry, Cable TV w. broadband Internet

Exterior Features: Tiled Patio/Deck and Walkways, Very Private Yard, Level Lot, Set Back From Street.
Subdivision: Farmington
Lot Size: 1.14 acres

Contact Elizabeth Carter, 336.973.5594 or Greg Stikeleather, Broker, 704.880.5247 or email eacarter@charter.net

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The Federal Reserve’s half-point cut on Tuesday could provide support for a slumping housing market. The Fed Funds rate affects a range of consumer loans, including home equity and mortgages. Lower mortgage rates would add to the number of home buyers able to afford to make purchases, increasing demand for properties and buoying home prices. Buyers generally care less about the actual purchase price than they do about the size of their payments. If rates drop, so will monthly debt obligations. But an important class of loans that might benefit from the big cut: the high-ticket home mortgages known as non-conforming or jumbo loans. These loans have no guaranteed secondary market because they exceed the $417,000 cap and Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will not buy them.

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Kurt and Vicki Oliver could lose their home to a bank foreclosure. They had great credit, long-term employment and excellent assets and income. But their main problem wasn’t a usual symptom of troubled borrowers: job loss, divorce, personal problems or health reasons. Instead, they say, it was a bad mortgage from a fast-talking broker. They never knew what hit them until it was too late - the process was that confusing. What they thought they were getting was an interest-only, adjustable-rate loan, where only the interest had to be paid for the first five years at 1 percent for the first year and no more than 4 percent during the first five years.

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The increase in August from the month before was about in line with the average over the past two decades. The supply of homes has risen at a more normal pace in recent months after surging in late 2005 and 2006 as home sales plunged. Prices are still falling in much of the country, particularly in Florida and parts of California, Arizona and Nevada where prices rose the fastest during the boom of the first half of this decade. Mortgage lenders have severely tightened their credit standards recently, making it harder for many people to obtain loans and adding to downward pressure on home prices. Inside Mortgage Finance, a trade publication, said originations of home-mortgage loans in August fell more than 30% from a year earlier, according to a survey of brokers. A rise in foreclosures is also increasing the supply of homes for sale in many areas.

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