Indy Home Marketing Newsletter

October, 2011 Newsletter

Volume 5, Number 10

Click HERE to use your internet browser to read and view the web version of this newsletter.


			It's Gutter Cleaning Time Again ... Cleaning your gutters is one of those icky chores that needs to be done at least once a year to ensure that rain water is diverted away from your house. Ignoring gutters can result in a host of ills including rotted fascia boards, water damage to the sides
	of your home, and foundation problems. You've probably seen a few homes with small trees and ferns growing in gutters because the homeowner hasn't cleaned the gutters in recent years. Over the course of time, organic muck builds up and creates a won- derful medium for growing all kinds of stuff. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to clean gutters. Continued


	Lower Mortgage Rates Doing Little to Spur Home Sales... In recent weeks, fixed mortgage rates have fallen to historic lows... and may fall even further. But, according to most experts, the low rates are doing little to boost home sales or refinancing.
	The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently reported the number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes fell in August, after a weaker-than-expected peak buying season. NAR's index of sales agreements also fell 1.2% last month to 88.6. A reading of 100 is considered healthy. Continued


			FOR THE KIDS Rogues' Gallery of Pumpkins... The tradition of pumpkin carving hasn't always had such a lighthearted purpose. According to one Halloween legend, a notoriously mean-spirited blacksmith named Jack was doomed to wander the earth forever, finding his way through the darkness with only a hollowed-out turnip lit with embers from the devil's
	furnace. Whether to help guide Jack or to ward him off, people placed their own jack-o'-lanterns in doors and windows. You can use jack-o'-lanterns to safely lead trick-or-treaters straight to the goodies by lining your walkway with illuminated pumpkins. Here's a great web site with carving instructions and hundreds of face patterns for you and your kids to create really spooky pumpkins of your own!


	RECIPE OF THE MONTH Grilled Chicken with Brie and Baby Spinach Salad Here's a tasty recipe that's easy to prepare and the perfect choice for a friends and family will rave about! Courtesy of: The Food Network

INGREDIENTS:

•	4 slices bacon, cooked	•	Cooking spray
•	1 tablespoon olive oil	•	2 shallots, chopped
•	2 tablespoons vinegar	•	2 tablespoons honey
•	4 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
•	Salt and freshly ground black pepper
•	Salt-free garlic and herb seasoning
•	4 to 8 slices Brie cheese, about 1/2-inch thick
•	4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, about 5 ounces each

DIRECTIONS:

Heat a stove-top grill pan or griddle with cooking spray and
set over medium-high heat to preheat.

Season both sides of chicken with salt, black pepper, and
garlic and herb seasoning. Add chicken to hot pan and cook
3 to 4 minutes per side, until browned and cooked through.
Remove from heat. Place 1 to 2 slices of Brie on top of
chicken, cover with foil and place back on grill pan for
another 1 minute, until cheese melts.

Meanwhile, heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add
olive oil and chopped shallots to the pan and saute. In a
small bowl, combine the vinegar, honey and salt and pep-
per, to taste. Add the mixture to the skillet and stir to
combine. Pour the warm vinaigrette over the spinach
and toss to coat. Crumble the bacon strips over the
dressed salad.

Transfer chicken to a serving plate or plate with spinach

Serves: 4 - 8. Cook Time: 15 minutes.

It's Gutter Cleaning Time Again... (continued)

To cut down a bit on the amount of debris that gets trapped in
your gutters, make sure that trees and tall shrubs are not touch-
ing or arching over the house. You'll have less to clean up, and
cut down on moss on the roof, too. A ladder, preferably an
articulating type, can be set up so it doesn't rest directly on the
gutters. It prevents dents or damage to the gutter. If you don't
have one, it's not a show stopper, just be forewarned that placing
a ladder against the gutter could cause damage unless you're
cautious.

What You'll Need

You'll need gloves, a bucket or plastic bags,
and a hose. Gutters are fraught with sharp edges and are no place
for unprotected hands. Rubber gloves are flexible and protect you
from most things that can poke or slice you. Keep a bucket with
you instead of tossing the muck over the side of the gutter to the
ground below. It helps keep the periphery of the house tidy. Rather
than climb up and down with a bucket, hang a small bucket from
the gutter and slide it along until it's 2/3 full. (Make a "gutter
bucket" by cutting the bail of a plastic bucket in half. Bend the cut
ends so they can be hooked on either side of the gutter edges.)
Secure and hook the hose to the gutter so it slides along the gut-
ter, too. The fewer things you carry up and down, the faster the
process goes. Keep in mind that gutters are not designed to take
any appreciable weight, so don't let your bucket get too full.

Cleaning

Use your hands or a scoop to clean out the muck and
leaves in the bottom of the gutter. Inexpensive scoops are sold at
home improvement centers or you can easily make your own by
cutting the end out of a 1/2 gallon plastic milk jug. Hold the handle
to scoop and dump into your bucket. When full, toss the muck in
the compost. Once the gutter is reasonably clean, use the hose to
flush out the last of the debris. Look for leaks or holes that need
repair and note their location.

As you clean the gutters and hose them out, the downspouts should
run freely. If you have blockage in the downspout itself, try dis-
lodging it by running a hose down the spout. The water pressure
shouldn't be too strong—you don't want to blow it up. If it's still
tight, use a plumbing snake to clear it.

If there are angled joints, you may need to remove the downspout
from the gutter to clear it. If you break a seal, clean the old caulk
off with a wire brush and then apply silicone caulk to reseal. Re-
attach the clean, sealed downspout. Install downspout strainers to
trap debris so you can clean it easily and prevent knots of debris
from blocking them.

Gutter Repair

Once your gutters are clean and dry, it's easy to
check for leaks or damage. If you consistently clean your gutters
in spring and fall, repairs are usually minor and require little more
than a hammer, screwdriver, extra fasteners and nails, and a
silicone caulk for sealing seams. If pieces are worn or damaged,
replace them as necessary. Seams between pieces of downspout
or where the gutters corner connect are susceptible to leakage,
so pay close attention to these areas. Leaks left unattended for
a couple years can result in rotted fascia, which requires com-
plete removal and replacement... a project that can suck up
the better part of a weekend.

Roofing cement is commonly used in the gutter itself to heal
small leaks or holes. Use a putty knife to patch the hole taking
care to keep the repair flat. For more substantial damage, repair
the whole section with new gutter.

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Lower Mortgage Rates Doing Little... (continued)

The last time the index reached that level was in April 2010, the
final month that buyers could qualify for a federal tax credit that
has since expired.

The number of people signing home contracts rose in both May
and June. But those increases didn't make up for a huge drop in
April, when signings fell more than 11%. Over the past two
months, signings have declined 2.5%.

Contract signings fell across most of the country. July's index fell
5.8% in the Northeast, 3.7% in the Midwest and 2.4% in the West.
It rose 2.6% in the South. Contract signings are usually a reliable
indicator of where the housing market is headed. There's typically
a one to two-month lag between a contract and a completed deal.
But, NAR says a growing number of buyers have canceled contracts
after appraisals showed the homes were worth less than the buyers
had bid. A sale isn't final until a mortgage is closed. Home loans
are also harder to come by. Some lenders are now requiring 20%
down payments and strong credit scores to qualify.

The pace of sales for previously occupied homes is slightly above
last year's 4.91 million sold, which was the fewest since 1997. In
a healthy economy, Americans would buy roughly 6 million homes
each year. In August, sales of new homes fell for a fourth straight
month. This year is shaping up to be the worst for new-home sales
on records dating back to 1963. Even so, homes are the most
affordable they've been in decades.Prices in some metro areas
have been cut in half. Still, sales in most areas remain weak.
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