Theft-proofing your home

5 Tips Home Edition: Make it hard for burglars to get in. Here's how.

By Gerri Willis, CNNMoney.com contributing columnist
May 18, 2006: 4:29 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Suntan lotion...check. Bermuda shorts...check. Now that you're packed and ready to hit the road, make sure your most valuable asset will remain safe and sound.

1. Know the stats
There were over 2 million burglaries nationally for the 2004 year, the latest year that stats are available, according to the FBI. Most burglaries happen in July and August - exactly when many homeowners are off on their summer vacations. In fact, most communities will experience a 10 to 18 percent increase in home burglaries during the summer, according to the Burglary Prevention Council.
Southern states had the most burglaries, followed by the Midwest, the West and finally the Northeast. The average home loss totaled over $1,600 dollars. The most common time for a burglary to happen was during daylight hours from 6 am to 6 pm. Burglars spend no more than 60 seconds breaking into a home, so you'll want to make it as hard as possible for them.

2. Unplug your garage door
Before you pull out of the driveway, disable the electric garage door opener and make sure the door is locked securely. If you have manual lock make sure you use it. While it might be rare, you don't want someone with a universal garage door opener gaining any access to your garage and your home.
In some cases, it's even easier to break into a garage than into the house. Remove the tools, the ladder, the sledgehammer or the ax you may store in the garage. If a burglar does make it into your garage, you don't want these tools making it easier for them to break into your house.

3. Make your yard burglar-unfriendly
Take a walk around the yard. If you see shrubs or trees that provide sufficient cover to a would-be burglar, you'll want to trim them. Keep these bushes far away from the house. You may also want to plant thorny bushes, like firethorns or rosebushes, closer to the windows.
Pay special attention to your first floor windows. Over 60 percent of burglars come through a window that should have been locked, according to the National Crime Prevention Council. People that break into homes usually find an opening that should have been closed, says Tom Kraeutler, host of the radio show, "The Money Pit."

4. Follow the light
Burglars want to blend in as much as possible. So consider investing in motion detector lights for the outside and light timers for the inside of your home.
With a motion-sensitive light, an intruder is bathed in light the instant he steps into your yard. You'll also want to use light-timers on lamps near the front and the back windows. This way you'll be able to create the impression the home is lived in. You can buy them for as little as $20 to $50.

5. It's not just thieves
While you're on vacation, the last thing you want to think about is coming home to what could be a disaster. Before you leave, turn off the main water valve, says Kraeutler. If a pipe bursts while you're away, you could return to a pool of floating furniture.
Make sure you also unplug your appliances, like your TVs, computers and toaster to avoid fire hazards. Even if you have these items turned off, the circuits are still active.
____________________________
Gerri Willis is a personal finance editor for CNN Business News and the host for Open House. Send your questions, your comments and your own ideas to us at 5tips@cnn.com.

Existing Home Sales Ease Slightly from Last Month

Jun 27, 2006, 10:15 am PDT

News provided by Quicken Loans

The National Association of Realtors announced today that total existing-home sales, including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, eased 1.2 percent in May in a month-over-month comparison to April. Sales were also 6.6 percent below existing home sales of May 2005.

"Despite the drop in May, low long-term interest rates continue to support existing home sales, as does the strong economy. These two factors are also responsible for the elevated housing starts last week and a much stronger than anticipated new home sales report yesterday," said Bob Walters, chief economist of Quicken Loans.

This article is reprinted by permission from Quicken Loans © 2006 Quicken Loans Inc. All rights reserved.

Selling home is all about 'curb appeal'

BY: Bob Bruss

If you are a home seller, real estate agent or a homeowner who cares about how a home looks from the street, "Curb Appeal Idea Book" by Mary Ellen Polson will anticipate your questions and help you show a home at its best.

"You only have one chance to make a first impression" is an overused but extremely true phrase when it comes to home sales, as the author thoroughly understands. However, while studying this unusual book, I couldn't help notice Polson presents hundreds of beautiful color photos of houses but she fails to cast even one critical word.

As I read this one-of-a-kind book, I was very impressed by the wide variety of the hundreds of color photos of many different types of homes. Where the author located all these unique houses to illustrate her topics is hard to understand.

Although the author and photographers went to great efforts to find houses that are excellent examples of the topics under discussion, it would have been very helpful if Polson added critical comments such as "This house's curb appeal could be enhanced by adding a Japanese maple tree or planting evergreens to add warmth to the structure."

One thing all the color photographs have in common is fresh paint on the houses. Everything, including the patio and front porch furniture, is in pristine, near-perfect condition to add to the home's curb appeal.

But this very complete book isn't just about adding attractive landscaping to enhance a home's curb appeal. It is also about home components, such as roofing materials, windows and doors, which all add attractiveness.

There are a few before-and-after houses shown, but these were major makeover projects to enhance the attractiveness and usefulness of the homes. "Big bucks" were obviously spent to re-do the houses and their landscaping to transform the exteriors.

Some of the older homes photographed before and after are virtually impossible to recognize after their major upgrades, which greatly enhanced their curb appeal. It would have been helpful to readers to see photos of less intense and less expensive renovations.

Chapter topics include "Style on the Outside"; "Exterior Appearances"; "The Entry"; "The Approach"; and "Supporting Players: Fences, Walls, Gates, Driveways, and Garages."

As the book's title says, this is an "idea book" about enhancing a home's curb appeal. It is structured so a homeowner can point to a photo and say, "That's what I like." But occasionally I looked at some photos and said "yuk!" On my scale of one to 10, this beautiful book rates a solid 10.

"Curb Appeal Idea Book," by Mary Ellen Polson (Taunton Press, Newtown, CT), 2006, $19.95, 165 pages; Available in stock or by special order at local bookstores, public libraries, and www.Amazon.com.

Pulte's Del Webb Unit Is Looking at Land in the ABQ Metro

Monday, June 26, 2006

AlbuquerqueJournal
By Richard Metcalf Journal Staff Writer

National builder Pulte Homes is looking at two sites in the immediate metro area for a major housing development for buyers ages 55 and over.

"We want to make sure they're the right sites for Del Webb," said Gerard Sanchez, president of Pulte's New Mexico division. "There are certain requirements (that must be met) before we put our stamp on them."

Pulte's Del Webb division, based in Phoenix, is a major national developer of "active adult" communities geared to older couples whose children have grown and moved out. New Mexico is beginning to attract more active adult communities.

Alegria, a 376-home Centex Homes project on 80 acres just west of the Rio Grande bosque near Bernalillo, just opened for tours.

Down south near Las Cruces, another phase of the seniors-only Boulders at Sonoma Ranch opened for sale in the past year. And ground is expected to be broken in the coming months for the first phase of a 1,600-home active adult development called Jubilee Los Lunas.

Del Webb developments typically have 500 to 2,000 homes each, although some have been as large as 10,000 homes. The focus of a Del Webb community is a staffed clubhouse with a fitness center, but one might also include an aquatics center, walking trails and, in some instances, a golf course.

One of the sites under consideration is within the city limits of Albuquerque, Sanchez said. He wouldn't be more specific, nor say where the other potential site is, except that it is in the general Albuquerque metro area. "I can't divulge a lot of that information right now," he said. The price of the homes would range from the high $180,000s to the low $300,000s, Sanchez said. Projections are that about 60 percent of the buyers would come from Albuquerque, while the remainder would be people moving here. A more detailed announcement is expected by the end of the year.

Publicly traded and headquartered in Michigan, Pulte entered the Albuquerque market in 2003 with its acquisition of privately owned Sivage Thomas Homes. Speculation began immediately about prospects for a Del Webb project here.

In February, a local Pulte official disclosed plans for an active adult community with 1,000 homes in the metro area. No further information was available at the time. For now, the company is focusing on the Albuquerque market. Las Cruces, Santa Fe and Silver City have all received high ratings as "great places to retire" but are considered too small for a Del Webb project.

"We want to target areas where we know we can sustain a reasonably sized business," said Pulte Homes president and CEO Richard J. Dugas Jr., who visited the Duke City recently. "Albuquerque is a nice-sized city but not a gigantic city," he said, adding that what makes Albuquerque attractive is "a combination of affordability and weather."

Pulte, which built 45,630 homes nationwide in 2005, has a presence in 53 markets in 27 states. About half of those markets have a Del Webb community. The goal is to increase the Del Webb presence to 80 percent of the markets by 2008, Dugas said.

Pulte Homes was the metro area's fourth largest home builder in 2005 with 714 homes. The company recently signed a deal to develop a master-planned subdivision on 440 acres in Rio Rancho. Preliminary site work is expected to begin in three or four weeks. The project will have about 900 houses and a 47-acre commercial area on Loma Colorado near Rio Rancho High School. As part of the deal with the city, Sanchez said, Pulte is contributing just over $4 million for a planned aquatic center, library and drainage improvements in the area.

"That's an example of what a large, responsible public builder can do these days that 10, even five years ago would have been difficult," Dugas said.

Most Bernalillo County Homeowners To See Same Property Value Rise

Thursday, June 1, 2006

By Dan McKay Albuquerque Journal Staff Writer

Bernalillo County homeowners can expect few surprises when they get their property-value notices from the assessor this week.

Most people will see their values climb about 3 percent, Assessor Mark J. Carrillo said Wednesday. That's because, with certain exceptions, state law caps the increase at 3 percent if assessed values countywide are relatively close to the market values.

Homeowners who recently bought a house, however, could see their property valued at the market price, even if it's a big jump from what the property had been on the rolls for, Carrillo said.

The assessor's office is mailing out 265,000 notices. Property owners have through June 30 to protest the value.

The 3 percent increase "is pretty much across the board," Carrillo said.

The goal is to keep up with sale prices. The assessor tries to value properties at 85 percent to 100 percent of the market value.

A recent change in state law requires homeowners to disclose the sale price of their property to the assessor.

Carrillo said there are restrictions on how that information can be used and how much values can be increased, such as the 3 percent cap.

In some cases, companies violate the law by refusing to disclose the sale price, he said, and county attorneys have had little interest in prosecution.

Nevertheless, the assessor's staff checks mortgages and sale notices to help determine the value of each neighborhood, Carrillo said.

Value notices are only part of the calculation for tax bills anyway.

The actual tax rates won't be set until September after local governments establish their budgets for the new fiscal year.