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Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Area experts walk potential first-time home buyers through the process
Mar. 21—"Every one of us works for you. If you don't like what we are doing, you can fire us." — Juli Rasmussen, Country Financial MOSES LAKE — How to facilitate a first home purchase was the topic of a seminar in Moses Lake Tuesday. The Homebuying Process Workshop, hosted by Opportunities Industrialization Center, or OIC, of Washington, featured three experts in home purchasing and a ton of advice for people new to the process. One of the biggest hurdles to homeownership is saving up for a down payment. OIC has a program that can help with that, said OIC Support Service Counselor Jose Vasquez. The Down Payment Assistance program will provide up to $20,000 or 20% of the home's purchase price for eligible buyers. There are other programs that can be combined with OIC's to make coming up with a down payment within reach, said Rosa Cabrera, a loan officer with Self-Help Credit Union in East Wenatchee. One is the Equity Boost program, which is open to either first-generation home buyers — people whose parents did not own a home — or those with an income of 80% or less of the Area Median Income. In Grant and Adams counties, the AMI is $90,000 per year, which makes that 80% maximum $72,000. The Equity Boost program also finances the closing costs, Cabrera added. "We have signed loans where families have bought their homes with as little as $3,000 out of their own pocket," she said. Another SHCU program, for buyers whose income might be just a little bit over that minimum, is a zero-down program, but the buyer pays the closing costs. That one involves a little more out-of-pocket expense for the buyer, she said. Both of those programs can be layered with OIC's DPA, Cabrera said, or any other assistance the buyer can find. It applies to almost any sort of housing, she said. "I can finance a home, I can finance a duplex, I can finance a triplex. I can finance a four-plex (if it's the) first-time buyer's primary residence," she said. "You have to live in the home that I will finance. If it's a duplex, you will live in one (and) rent the other. I can also finance condos, townhomes (or) manufactured homes." There are certain restrictions on a manufactured home, Cabrera added: It must be from 1994 or newer, it must be at least a doublewide. It must also be on its own lot and its own foundation. Once the financing is secured, it's time to find a house. That process can have its pitfalls, and it takes a good agent to help the first-time buyer navigate it, said Stacy Lopes of Re/Max in Ellensburg. That agent should form a team with the lender and the title company to make the process as smooth as possible, she said. "The reason I became a Realtor is because I had a terrible Realtor, and I was like, 'Oh, I can do this. I can definitely do this,'" Lopes said. The first step that buyers sometimes aren't prepared for is earnest money, Lopes said. "It's basically your promise to purchase," she said. "This seller, if they accept your offer, they're putting their house (on) pending, so pretty much no one else is going to want to look at it. So, you have to have some sort of skin in the game, a promise to purchase their place. It's typically 1% of the purchase price, but it's definitely negotiable and flexible." Once the seller has accepted the offer, the buyer has three business days to get that information to the title company, and then 10 days — not business days, that includes weekends — to get an inspection done. "That's hiring the inspector, booking it, paying for it, having the inspection, receiving the report and responding back to the seller," she said. "We have 10 days, so it's good to get on that." The inspection is likely to reveal problems in the house that need to be fixed before the purchase is complete, Lopes said. That may be a broken garage door or funky wiring, among other things. Sometimes the seller will have the problem fixed, or sometimes they'll reduce the price of the house to accommodate the buyer dealing with the issue. "That purchase price doesn't always remain that purchase price," she said. "But one thing you have to watch out for is that anytime you mess with the purchase price, you have to check back in with your lender. Not all Realtors will do that, and it creates problems towards the end. So it's really important to have great communication throughout the whole process with every party involved." The last presenter was Juli Rasmussen, an agent and financial advisor with Country Financial Insurance in Moses Lake. She emphasized the importance of not following any professional blindly simply because they're a professional. "I say this at every home buyer seminar that I do: We work for you," Rasmussen said. "Every one of us works for you. If you don't like what we are doing, you can fire us ... You have the right to do business with whomever you want, to interview real estate agents, interview insurance agents. Just because you have car insurance doesn't mean that that (insurance agent) is the perfect fit for you in your home." Insurance agents should have that same approach, Rasmussen said, and be ready to stand up for their clients. "You've got a plumbing issue, let me know," she said. "If there is a problem with that house and it was remodeled within the last year I want you to call me, because I will tell you, 'Oh no, we're going to go after that contractor. He has to warranty that work,' and I will stand right beside you and make sure it gets done on his policy, not coming out of your wallet." For more information: Antonia Mende, OIC of Washington Down Payment Assistance Program: 509-731-5332. Rosa Cabrera, Self-Help Credit Union, 509-317-7246 Stacy Lopes, Re/Max: 509-972-7459 Juli Rasmussen, Country Financial: 509-766-9197
New York Times
06-03-2025
- Climate
- New York Times
How to Prevent Frozen Pipes From Flooding Your House
Chances are, you can stop reading this article right here. If you follow the steps above, and all the plumbing in your home runs through interior walls or up through the floors, and your home is reasonably well weatherized, 'the risk of frozen pipes is very low,' Abrams says. That's true even in chilly parts of the country, where temperatures can stay below freezing for days or weeks at a time. In a 2014 interview with The New York Times, building scientist William B. Rose noted that homes in cold climates are generally built such that the plumbing has good protection from cold temperatures. On the other hand, 'Southern plumbers have been much more careless about that,' Rose said. That difference shows in the insurance data: State Farm regularly publishes a list of the 10 states where it has covered the greatest losses from frozen pipes. In many years, warm-weather states dominate the rankings. During the winter of 2020–2021, for example, State Farm covered a staggering $343 million in losses in Texas alone (roughly 17 times as much as the next most-affected state, chilly Illinois). Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Louisiana also made State Farm's top 10 that winter. Texas again topped the list the following winter. And the winter after that, Georgia took the lead, while Tennessee and Texas again found their way into the top 5. Kohlbecker says that Country Financial has observed similar claims patterns across the states where it does business, with Georgia and Alabama sitting in its top 5 for frozen-pipe claims over the past three years. Regardless of where you live, your home is at a much higher risk for frozen pipes if any of your plumbing runs through areas with little heat and poor insulation—and therefore has more exposure to low temperatures. Common weak points include: Exterior walls: Kohlbecker says that this is one of the most common scenarios that lead to frozen plumbing, even in brand-new homes. 'Pipes on the north side of the home are more susceptible to freezing,' he says, because they get the least sun exposure. Kohlbecker says that this is one of the most common scenarios that lead to frozen plumbing, even in brand-new homes. 'Pipes on the north side of the home are more susceptible to freezing,' he says, because they get the least sun exposure. Unconditioned attics, crawl spaces, or garages: 'If the pipes aren't properly insulated, extreme cold events will cause those pipes to freeze and burst,' Abrams says. It's more common to find plumbing in these uninsulated spaces in warmer parts of the country, where homes aren't always built with freezing temperatures in mind. If your plumbing does run through any of those risky areas, the most permanent fix is to improve your weatherization. That means adding insulation to your home—or at least around the water lines themselves—and sealing any air gaps to reduce the pipes' exposure to freezing temperatures. But those steps aren't always affordable or practical, especially if you're facing a cold snap on short notice, so you might consider the following workarounds: Let your faucets drip: This practice dramatically reduces the risk of a burst, even for high-risk pipes. (Just confirm first that your utility company allows it.) Open both the hot and cold taps, or go straight up the middle on a one-handle system, just enough so that the water comes out at a trickle. Conventional wisdom says that moving water takes longer to freeze, and there's some truth to that. But as Rose explained to The New York Times, the open faucet actually works as a relief valve for the pressure that builds up inside a pipe as the water freezes and expands. This practice dramatically reduces the risk of a burst, even for high-risk pipes. (Just confirm first that your utility company allows it.) Open both the hot and cold taps, or go straight up the middle on a one-handle system, just enough so that the water comes out at a trickle. Conventional wisdom says that moving water takes longer to freeze, and there's some truth to that. But as Rose explained to The New York Times, the open faucet actually works as a relief valve for the pressure that builds up inside a pipe as the water freezes and expands. Open your under-sink cabinets and the dishwasher door. Doing so helps heat circulate around your pipes and drain traps. If you're already dripping your faucets, they're unlikely to burst. But this is an easy additional step you can take to help spare yourself the inconvenience of a frozen drain line. Doing so helps heat circulate around your pipes and drain traps. If you're already dripping your faucets, they're unlikely to burst. But this is an easy additional step you can take to help spare yourself the inconvenience of a frozen drain line. Use a space heater or heat tape for at-risk areas. Even a weak space heater can prevent nearby pipes from freezing; just be sure to follow space-heater safety advice. For vulnerable supply lines in a cold crawl space or attic, heat tape is an affordable, widely available option. (The Times actually published a how-to article on heat-tape installation back in 1980.) After you wrap it around your at-risk pipes (or hire a handyman to do that) and plug it into a standard outlet, the tape applies gentle heat across its length. Some heat tapes work with a thermostat so that they warm up only when necessary. If your pipes have already frozen, experts recommend opening your faucets to relieve air pressure, shutting off the water main to your house to prevent uncontrolled flooding if your pipes have cracked, and warming up any frozen stretches of plumbing that you can find with a hair dryer, space heater, or heat tape. Once the water starts flowing again, keep an eye out for leaks. Generally, insurance will cover cleanup and repairs as long as your heat was on, Kohlbecker says. Take photos and file a claim as soon as possible. Consider hiring a professional water-damage restoration company to clean and dry the affected area, especially if pipes leaked inside a wall or through the ceiling. Although insurance typically covers water damage, it usually doesn't cover mold remediation, so preventing mold from growing in the first place is important. Again, there's no need to panic: As long as you take a few easy steps to prepare your plumbing for freezing temperatures, you shouldn't have any problems with pipe bursts. This article was edited by Megan Beauchamp and Maxine Builder. Winter storms are coming. Prepare with standout tools that'll save your back—and your pipes. Then enjoy playing in the snow or cozying up inside. One in 50 homes suffers water damage every year. These smart devices will alert you to leaks before they get bad—and can even prevent damage from occurring. Smart thermostats like our pick, the Ecobee Premium , can make your home's HVAC more energy efficient without sacrificing your comfort. An electric snow shovel can't replace a real snowblower for a big driveway or after a major storm. But it has its merits.
