• Remote energy usage reading by PG&E
• Allows you to view hourly and daily energy usage
• Faster problem resolution
• Faster power restoration
• Energy alerts via text, email or phone
• A positive impact on the environment by helping customer make better energy choices

Since getting the Smart Meter my husband and I have been able to discern exactly when we are using the bulk of our energy throughout the day.  We know that the heater takes up X-amount of energy when it comes on, we can now determine just how much the washer and dryer suck up, and our computers as well.  Very cool!

Watch your bills though, seems a few of the meters are faulty.  May take a couple of billing cycles to see the new meter results.

For more information about the PG&E SmartMeter program, visit www.pge.com/smartmeter or call 1-866-PGE-0263.

Federal law requires contractors that disturb painted surfaces in homes, child care facilities and schools, built before 1978 to be certified and follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination. Always ask to see your contractor’s certification.

Federal law requires that individuals receive certain information before renovating six square feet or more of painted surfaces in a room for interior projects or more than twenty square feet of painted surfaces for exterior projects or window replacement or demolition in housing, child care facilities and schools built before 1978.

• Homeowners and tenants: renovators must give you this pamphlet before starting work.

• Child care facilities, including preschools and kindergarten classrooms, and the families of children under six years of age that attend those facilities: renovators must provide a copy of this pamphlet to child care facilities and general renovation information to families whose children attend those facilities.

Click here for more information: http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovaterightbrochure.pdf

Interested? Call me today and I will connect you with the best rehab mortgage guru I know.

Source: Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune

Checked the weather lately?
Did you know that it is supposed to rain for the NEXT TWO WEEKS?

A biologist friend sent me an email from a climate scientist that said “The next 2-3 weeks (at least) are likely to be more active across California than any other 2-3 week period in recent memory. The potential exists for a dangerous flood scenario to arise at some point during this interval, especially with the possibility of a heavy rain-on-snow event during late week 2. This is likely to be a rather memorable event.”

My friend also said that she remembers waking up a few years back to a flooded basement so it got me thinking:

Are you prepared?

Is your house prepared?

This is that time of year when you want to check that your sump pump is working, that your windows seal, that your gutters are cleaned out, that your roof is in good shape, that your outside drains and rain barrels are free of debris, and that you have fresh batteries in case of a power outage.

The scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are predicting heavy precipitation, powerful winds, and dangerous flooding. I know I wouldn’t want to be wading through my basement when it could have been prevented. If you need a referral to a tradesperson to help you out, just let me know. Until then, here is a recipe for your rainy day forecast:

DVD’s? Check. Jammies? Check. Hot Cocoa? Check. Sump Pump? Uh oh.

Time to pull out your slickers and galoshes…hope you stay dry!

Top 10 inexpensive ways to freshen up your home

1. Buy new towels for the bathroom
2. Upgrade outdoor lighting
3. Install new doorknobs and caminet handles
4. Make a centerpiece for your dining room table
5. Buy a new mailbox
6. Polish or replace your house numbers
7. Place fresh flowers or houseplants around the home
8. Buy color-coordinated pillows for the sofa and bed
9. Replace your worn doormat
10. Set out subtle potpourri or scented candles

Current design trends

1. Warm it up.  Instead of doing a complete remodel, try resurfacing cabinets and replacing laminate countertops.  Instead of adding a whirlpool tub, try adding multiple shower heads.  Instead of changing out vanities, replace sink fixtures.

2. Choose hard flooring.  Get rid of your carpet.  Try bamboo, cork, laminate or vinyl.

3. Create storage.  Homes today must come with Costco-size cupboards!  Use built-in dressers, shelving systems in closets, adding shelving in your garage.

4. Design with light.  Use accent lights, undercounter lights, and dimmers to help brighten the mood.

Love “The Green Guide.”  Lot’s of great eco-friendly advice.  Check out this recent article on living roofs:

http://www.thegreenguide.com/home-garden/garden/budget-green-roofs?source=email_gg_20090520&email=gg

I was touring a house on Santa Fe in Albany, a cute little 3 bedroom house.  Downstairs, through a very narrow stairwell, was the 3rd bedroom.  In the corner, next to the stairs, was a small bookshelf, about 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide.  The bookshelf was on a hinge.  Swing “open” the bookshelf and you will find another opening, leading to the large workshop and laundry room! 

Surprise! 

And creative.

Oh, the $10,000 question.  Or in most cases, the $75,000 question. 

Most of my clients, and even my family and friends, will at some point ask me what I think about earthquake insurance and whether they should get it.  Each time I say “You need to contact an insurance representative, go over the costs together, and then make a decision.”  Or basically I am saying “I abstain from providing any personal judgement in the matter.  If I tell you not to get it, and there is an earthquake, I don’t want you yelling at me.  If I tell you to get it, and an earthquake comes, but your insurance won’t pay, again…no yelling at me.” 

Here is what I will say: You need to way the risk in your life…how risky are you?

I don’t have earthquake insurance.  For me, the deductibles were high enough that we are willing to take the risk.  And I lived in Northridge when the Northridge Earthquake hit so I watched FEMA at work.  Instead, we decided to invest the money into retrofitting our house.  Of course, there is no guarantee with that either, but at least we will get some of that money back when we sell.

In a recent poll, here were some of the comments about earthquake insurance:

“I don’t have earthquake insurance and don’t have a good reason why. However, I do know that only about 1/3 of the households in Albany/Berk area have it according to my Farmer’s agent
Don’t have it.”

“We got it recently mostly to protect our large equity. It about doubles our insurance premium and the deductible is 15%. Pro=peace of mind Con=money down the drain if no EQ. Since we hope no EQ, it’s mind bobbling to be paying so much just in case……”

“EQ insurance is a waste of money! Can you imagine relying on insurance to cover the cost of repairs from earthquake damage, only to find the insurance companies don’t have enough money to go around? Pay for the retrofit and ensure the home’s safety, so you can continue living in the home after the big one and not be put out of housing wondering if you’ll get enough insurance $ to make repairs.”

“We do not have it……it is very expensive and only covers only a percentage of the costs.”

“I have it. It’s expensive…don’t remember how much…also deductible is high…10% value of our house…don’t know why not to have it.”

“I live in a condo and the reason that I don’t have earthquake insurance on my unit is because my HOA doesn’t have insurance for the building – it doesn’t make sense for me to get money to rebuild “my home” without the rest of the building(s) being rebuilt.”

“Don’t carry it.”

“I had it the whole time I lived in Montclair. I was within the fault zone. Many people I talked to think that since the insurance was often denied in the last quake, it’s not worth it. But I always felt that since the last State Ins. Commissioner lost his job over that, it would be tough for them to pull the same thing again. BUT it is critical that the insurance cover full replacement costs – and premium estimates are usually low as they under estimate price/SF.”

“Last I heard, EQ coverage doubles the cost of a standard homeowner’s policy, has personal contents limit of $15,000, and a deductible of 15% of a home’s value ($90,000 on a $600,000 home, for instance).”

“Howard Cook, of Bay Area Retrofit (www.bayarearetrofit.com) says why buy such expensive coverage with poor maximums and high deductibles when you can secure your home with a proper retrofit, especially a flatlands home on stable soils?”

“Yes, I have it. My premium is $1,676/year. Deductible – a whopping $78,000! That’s 10% of the covered single limit of liability of $780,000. I have to have it since I’m so close to the fault line.”

“I sleep better at night knowing I have it, just in case.  And I retrofitted my house.”

This last one is clearly not a risk taker.  How much of a risk taker are you?

We are all making an effort to become more green.  The easiest switch is changing out your lightbulbs.  So when I walked into a house over the weekend I noticed that one of the CFL’s was broken.  I thought, “Hmmm, this can’t be good.”  It never occured to me what would happen if it did break.  Here is what I found.

1. Isolate the site.

Get everyone out of the area. Open windows, leave the room, and close the door behind you. Turn off the heating or cooling system. Children and pregnant or nursing mothers should not return until cleanup is complete.

2. Air out the room for 5 to 15 minutes.

Give mercury vapor time to disperse and settle into tiny dust-like beads. Don’t wait longer: mercury spreads easily.

3. Don safety gear.

Wear rubber gloves, safety (or other) glasses, work clothes and a dust mask or face covering when cleaning up the broken bulb.

4. Put large bulb pieces and other waste in a large glass jar with a screw-on metal lid, such as a Mason jar.

Scoop up glass fragments and dust with stiff paper or cardboard and deposit in the jar. Pat the area with sticky tape to collect tiny splinters and dust, then wipe with a damp cloth, baby wipe or moist paper towels. (Second choice: a plastic jar with a screw-on lid.)

5. Seal up the waste.

Put paper, cardboard, tape and wipes in the jar and close the lid. Throw away any contaminated fabrics, like clothing or bedding, that have come into direct contact with bulb fragments.

6. If a bulb breaks on a rug or carpeting:

Fabrics are harder to clean than hard surfaces; removing all mercury may be impossible. Hang a CFL-contaminated rug outside. Experts disagree on whether to vacuum carpeting. EPA recommends doing so and cleaning the vacuum afterward. Scientists with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection disagree: after testing various CLF cleanup scenarios [link], they concluded that vacuuming can spread mercury vapor and permanently contaminate the vacuum.

Keep infants, children and women of childbearing age away from the carpeting for several weeks.

7. Wash up.

The clothes you wore to clean up the breakage can be washed unless they made direct contact with the broken bulb or dust. Wipe your shoes with wet wipes or a moist paper towel, then add the wipes to the waste jar.

Wash your hands and face.

8. Follow your state’s disposal rules.

Use EPA’s website to find the nearest location for disposal of household hazardous waste www.epa.gov/bulbrecycling If no facilities exist it may be legal to send well-packaged waste to your local landfill.

http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/wastetypes/universal/lamps/index.htm

10. Ventilate the room for several more hours.

Next time you clean the area:

Turn off heating or cooling systems, close the room’s doors and open the windows before vacuuming. Leave doors closed and heating or cooling off for 15 minutes post-vacuuming. Follow this regime for several cleanings.

CFLs can be smart choices. Just be careful.