Branden Schroeder's Blog: All Categories

As compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) have increased in popularity due to their significant energy saving attributes (they consume about 75% less electricity and can last almost 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs), concern has arisen about the mercury content within the bulb. 

It is true that CFLs do contain mercury.  According to a 2007 paper issued by the EPA’s Energy Star program, each CFL bulb tube contains about 5 milligrams of mercury, which is an element essential for the cool-burning functionality of the bulb. 

Although mercury is a naturally occurring element, accumulation at certain levels in humans can be toxic. Efforts are underway to reduce the necessary amounts of mercury in these bulbs, but the nature of CFLs will likely always…

Beginning January 1, 2008, property owners of a principal residence in Maryland will be required to file a one-time application in order to receive the Homestead Tax Credit.  This credit limits the amount of assessment increases for real estate tax purposes.  Previously, eligibility for the credit was automatic, but new legislation passed in 2007 by the Maryland General Assembly now mandates the one-time paper or online application filing. 

The Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation will be sending notices to all homeowners beginning in January 2008 for the 1/3 of homeowners being reassessed for this year.  All other homeowners (the other 2/3) who will be reassessed in 2009 and 2010 do not need to file the application until that time, and may…

Although Zillow clearly dominates the market of providing free, instantaneous real estate valuation estimates, it is not the only source.  A variety of websites now offer similar online valuation calculators that provide results simply by having a user enter a residential address. 

There has been and will continue to be significant debate about the accuracy of results from these online algorithm-based valuation calculators.  While many of the criticisms leveled against Zillow and similar websites  have some merit (i.e., some online estimates do not reflect true market values), it is not the intent here to rehash the reasons for these shortcomings.  And so, with the broad caveat of ‘user beware’, here is a list of some sources of free online home… Read Full Post

All Maryland residents can now receive special discounts on compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs through a unique mark-down program sponsored by Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE). 

The program provides an automatic $1.50 markdown on each CFL bulb purchase and $3.00 on multipacks.  The great thing is, there are no coupons, mail-in-rebate forms, etc., involved in receiving this discount.  The discount is already reflected in the price of the bulbs paid at the register when purchased at participating retailers, which include The Home Depot and Costco.   

Given the fact that CFLs use about 75% less energy and can last as much as 10 times longer than conventional incandescent bulbs, buying CFLs makes good sense for homeowners from a monetary perspective… Read Full Post

If you are thinking about a remodeling project or are perhaps just considering ways to lower your electric bill by making small home improvements, all the available options now being discussed in the media may seem a bit overwhelming.  As “green” issues have become recently in vogue many people are holding themselves out to be experts and the array of recommendations and sources of information have grown considerably. 

To help remodelers, whether homeowners or contractors, make decisions that will actually make a proven difference in terms of energy efficiency and natural resource conservation, the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) recently issued a “Top 10” List for Remodeling.  PATH, which is a joint venture between various… Read Full Post

Sometime in the next few weeks yet another website, www.RealUmbrella.com, will be launched with the goal to fundamentally change how residential real estate transactions are handled.  “Stand by for The Real Estate Market shake up!”, claims the home page of RealUmbrella.com, under the motto “Be Your Own Agent” as it ambitiously touts itself as “The For Sale By Owner of the future - today.”  

At its core, the plan of the business model is to allow buyers, sellers and any other supporting parties to the transaction (lender, title company, etc.) to complete the entire sale online -- from listing to closing.  And all this completely without the assistance of real estate brokers/agents. 

According to the RealUmbrella.com website: 

“With Virtual… Read Full Post

What do these three “T” items have in common? In their respective markets, they have all been the source of severe overvaluations and bubble bursts because people failed to pay proper attention to the foundations and fundamentals of value in the hope to get-rich-quick.   The so-called ‘tulip bulb craze’ that occurred in 16th Century Holland is one of the most vivid demonstrations of wild speculation run amok. When the “bulb bubble” burst it created a prolonged depression in Holland.    The tech-stock crash of the ‘dot-coms’ in the late 1990s is probably still fresh in the minds of most investors. The “irrational exuberance” (a phrase of former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan) of that period resulted in significant Wall Street losses as company… Read Full Post

Earlier this year, the National Association of Home Builders released a study of the life expectancy of house components covering the anticipated useful lifespan of just about every imaginable product, item or material that makes up a permanent fixture in a home. 

As just a small sampling of the results, here are some estimate lifespans of the following items:

Dishwashers...9 years
Electric water heaters...11 years
Air conditioners...10-15 years
Heat pumps...16 years
Wood deck planks...20-25 years
Kitchen sink faucets...15 years
Linoleum flooring...25 years
Carpet...8-10 years
Smoke detectors...<10 years
Aluminum downspouts...20 years

The results of this study could be a great home maintenance planning resource for homeowners. 

The entire…