Punch Up Your Porch - Five ways to say "welcome" for under $100

By Rick Hazeltine

A door in an eye-catching red with attractive hardware and nice plants makes for a charming entry.

With spring having arrived, it’s a good time to put out the welcome mat with a little flair. Your front door and porch area is an invitation to guests and it also says a lot about you.

Here are five ways to add personality to the porch for less than $100.

 

Paint adds pop If there’s one thing that says spring, it’s color. Painting the front door is the easiest and least expensive way to add punch to your entry. But before running to the paint store for a gallon of fuchsia, take stock of your home’s existing color palette.

Dark colors draw more attention but extreme contrasts will detract from details, so it’s important to stay in the same color family. This doesn’t mean if your house is beige, you’re stuck with only browns.

Visit a paint store to see brochures of recommended palettes using your existing colors. Also, most paint companies offer color palettes and advice online.

A good quality exterior semi-gloss enamel costs about $15 a quart. Don’t forget to sand the door before painting, just enough to remove the enamel’s gloss finish, or the paint will eventually peel.

Fannie Mae offers help with closing costs to foreclosure buyers

Fannie Mae, the largest U.S. mortgage-finance company, is offering buyers of its foreclosed homes as much as 3.5 percent in closing-cost assistance to help clear an inventory of properties acquired during the housing slump.

The offer is good through May 1, the D.C.-based company said Thursday. Buyers can choose help on closing costs or an equivalent amount for appliances, the company said.



Fannie Mae has been trying to trim its stock of foreclosed homes, an inventory that has risen amid a three-year housing slump in which home prices have plummeted. The move is designed to foster sales in a still-weak housing market, said Terry Edwards, Fannie Mae's executive vice president of credit portfolio management.



"Attracting qualified buyers to the market and reducing the inventory of vacant homes is critical to stabilizing neighborhoods and helping the market recover," he said in a statement. "Many families are taking advantage of the federal homebuyer tax credit to buy a new home so this is a great time for Fannie Mae to offer some additional help."



The company sold 89,691 foreclosed homes in the third quarter, up from 39,864 in the previous period, it said in its most recent quarterly filing. Fannie Mae had 72,275 such homes, called real-estate-owned properties, as of Sept. 30.





-- Bloomberg News

Safety Tips to Protect Against Holiday Crime

 

Safety Tips to Protect Against Holiday Crime

 

The holiday season is a time for giving, sharing and enjoying family and friends. Unfortunately, it's also a season for criminals, who have more targets carrying extra money with lowered awareness.

 

But there are ways to protect yourself and to lessen your chances of a crime happening to you.

 

BASIC CRIME PREVENTION

• Stay alert.
• Keep your mind on your surroundings, who’s in front of you and who’s behind you. Don’t get distracted.
• Walk purposefully, stand tall, and make eye contact with people around you.

 

TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS.

• If you feel uncomfortable, leave.
• Personal Protection
• Make yourself a "tough target."
• Don’t think that it can’t happen to you.
• Should you resist? Every situation is different.
• Always be aware of your surroundings.
• If being followed call 911 or drive to a police station

 

Home and Neighborhood

• Good locks, simple precautions, neighborhood awareness, and common sense can help prevent most property crimes.
• Install and use good deadbolt locks in your doors (half burglars enter through unlocked doors and windows).
• Secure sliding glass doors with locks or a rigid wooden dowel wedged in the track.
• Lock double-hung windows by sliding a bolt or nail into a hole drilled at a downward angle through the top of each sash and into the frame.
• Trim back shrubbery hiding doors or windows. Cut back tree limbs that could help a thief climb to the second story.
• Make sure all porches, entrances, and yards are well lit.
• Maintain the neighborhood. Dark alleys, litter, and rundown areas attract criminals.
• Do not hide house keys in mail boxes, planters, under doormats or in other easy to find places.
• Do not put personal identification on key rings.
• Leave only your ignition key with mechanics or parking attendants, keeping other keys safe.
• Install a peephole or viewer in all entry doors so you can see who is outside without opening the door.
• Do not trust door chains. They can be easily broken.
• Don’t open the door to strangers. Insist service personnel verify their identity before letting them in.
• Don’t give any information to "wrong number" callers.
• Check references of any person calling about a survey or credit check before offering information.
• Hang up immediately on threatening or harassing calls.
• Make your home appear occupied when you go out

--Leave lights on and the radio playing.

 

--Keep your garage door closed and locked.

 

--Use timing devices to turn inside lights on and off.

 

--If you will be gone several days, arrange to have the mail and papers stopped or picked up. Many burglaries occur during the day when neighbors could report the thieves.

 

For more information http://www.roadandtravel.com/travelsafety/holidaycrime.htm