In the March/April issue of Smart HomeOwner magazine,
there were several recommendations for protecting your
health. The most surprising I found was the direction to
always keep your water heater above 140 degrees
(Fahrenheit.) Studies have shown that the virus responsible
for Legionnaire's Disease grows well above 50 degrees F and
below 140 degrees F. Years ago it was recommended that
people turn down their water heater thermostats in an effort
to prevent scalding. According to this article, the risk of
contracting a deadly disease outweighs the relatively rare
event of scalding.
If you live in an older home, installing a pressure
balance valve in your shower can prevent those pranksters
from scalding you while you're in the shower. Code has only
required the mixing valve in the last five years. If your
fixture is older than five years, you may want to call Henry
Plumbing Supply (314-773-3636) or another plumber and
provide them with the name of the maker of your faucet. They
may need to ask additional questions and then they can
advise you as to whether you should replace your valve.
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Gently hose the outside of your air conditioning unit. Be
sure to use LOW water pressure so as not to bend any metal.
Make sure that no weeds or plants are growing into your unit
as well. Keeping your condenser clean will extend its life
as well as keep your cooling costs down. The cleaner it is,
the less it will have to work.
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Why exchange real property? To save taxes, yes, but said
more succinctly, to build your estate with pre-tax dollars.
Using proper exchange techniques will result in what is
effectively interest free money from the government. Taxes
you owe can be paid later, allowing you the use of that
money today to buy more or more expensive investment
property. Other reasons to exchange include.....
For the full article via email, email a request to 1031@marksellsstlouis.net
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The Management Assistance Program was created by DeSales
Community Housing and St. Louis Development Corp. to help
stabilize the rental markets in the Fox Park, McKinley Fox,
Tower Grove East and Benton Park West neighborhoods. MAP
provides free professional property management services,
including tenant screening & leasing, rent collection
and delinquency monitoring, eviction assistance, maintenance
repairs, 24 hour answering service, inspections and monthly
owners statements. The MAP program gives owners advice on
the latest regulations affecting your property and tenants.
We also offer suggestions on how to help control costs while
continuing to deliver the necessary services to your
residents. The MAP program is funded annually through
Community Development grants. An owner is eligible to stay
in the MAP program for a two year period. Upon graduating
from the program an owner may opt to manage their own
property or continue to use professional property
management.
For more detailed information, send an email to MAP@marksellsstlouis.net
To receive a list of available properties in the
neighborhoods served by MAP, send an email to map.prop@marksellsstlouis.net
And of course, feel free to call Mark from 8 am to 8 pm
at 314-772-HOME (4663) or toll-free at 1-866-971-HOME.
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As many of you already know, we moved to the City in May.
We bought a great, 2nd-Empire 3-story building with lots of
room - and as we knew before we bought it, it needs a little
TLC. See the article "Our Old House" for tales of
our project. :)
Our phone numbers have changed. They are as follows:
Our
new address is:
We
Sell St. Louis
3424
Missouri Avenue
St.
Louis, MO 63118
Feel free to come by and visit our offices - be warned,
though - it's still a 'work in progress.'
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We bought a brick 3-story, two-family Second-Empire
Victorian home in the City knowing it needed a little work.
It's a great old house - 110 years old! We have almost 3000
square feet to ramble around in. The first floor is all
office space. We started out by cleaning throughout and
painting the old pine floors before moving in. We thought we
could paint all the floors AND all of the rooms in just over
a week! We got the first coat of paint on the floors done
with almost enough time for it to cure before moving in.
During the move, Mark seriously sprained his ankle and was
in a brace for nearly two months. Further painting was put
on old.
Now that Mark is mobile again, he and Jen evicted the
pigeons from the roof. It took several days and quite a bit
of ingenuity. Once their nest was removed, Mark & Jen
devised a way to string fishing line along the gutter so
'trip up' the pigeons. They can no longer successfully land
on the gutters. :)
The house didn't have central heat and air, so that was
our next big task. Mark & Jen have been working with our
heating and a/c contractor to install ductwork throughout
the second and third floors of our building. There's plaster
everywhere, but the 2nd floor is cool now. :) The third
floor will have a/c within the week.
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Rhonda
Lemmon joined us last week and we are SO excited! Rhonda's a
native St. Louisan and a local investor. Rhonda comes to us
with a background in marketing, computers and graphics.
She's already showing properties and will be writing her
first offer in the next few days. Join us in welcoming her -
send her an email at rhonda@marksellsstlouis.net
or check out her new website www.RhondaSellsStLouis.com
(be warned - it's not complete yet.)
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