Lifestyle

5 Household Dilemmas You Can Solve on Your Own

March 3, 2014

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL, Mar 03, 2014—While a house doesn’t come with an owner’s manual, there are several things you can do to stay on top of, and ahead of, your home. Knowing how to handle small maintenance fixes will save you stress and money,” says Rich Berges, Real Estate Professional of BerkshireHathawayHSFNR. Save your dollars for when it’s really time to call in a professional. In order to feel confident handling simple maintenance tasks, read through the following tips and tricks.:

1. Open the garage door when the power is out. Need to leave the house in a power outage? Pull on that red cord dangling from the ceiling-mounted operator. “This disengages the chain drive, allowing you to manually slide the door up its track,” explains Berges.

2. Remove the base of a broken light bulb. Accidentally break a lightbulb while it’s still screwed into your lamp? No need to panic, as long as you have a potato in the pantry. Take a raw potato, cut it in half, and press the sliced end onto the jagged glass. Then, simply unscrew. This is also a great party trick.

3. Learn how to locate a stud. Trying to hang a heavy mirror? Nothing is worse than ripping a hole in your drywall. Many people know how to rap on walls to locate a stud. But there is a systematical approach, as well. “The majority of studs are placed at 16-inch intervals, so once you knuckle one out, you can usually find the others,” explains Berges.

4. Remedy a seized lock. Can’t jiggle your keys in the door any longer? Don’t worry – your spouse didn’t change the locks. Chances are, your lock is seized. Instead of calling a locksmith who will hand you a hefty bill, head to the drug store and arm yourself with WD-40. “Spray some into the lock to get the gears moving again,” suggests Berges.

5. Unclog a sink. No, not with a chemical pour, which really only burns a hole in the blockage. To really clear out a block, you need to clear out the mechanism. To do so, remove the stopper and block off overflow holes. Then, notes Berges, run water into the sink and as the water runs, plunge the hole with a plunger. Not enough? Get yourself a hand snake and push the coil down the drain to clear out the block.

Know when to hire a handyman. You can only DIY so often. “Know when it’s time to bring in the professionals – anything involving electricity or wiring is usually a good time for the real deal,” says Berges.

For more real estate information, please contact BerkshireHathawayHSFNR at [email protected], 1-904-477-0799, or BerkshireHathawayHSFNR.

Contracting Your Contractor

February 21, 2014

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL, Feb 21, 2014—Choosing a contractor for your home building or remodeling can be a big decision. In order to choose the right bid, it’s important to be educated, says Rich Berges, Real Estate Professional of BerkshireHathawayHSFNR. It’s a good idea to shop aggressively for the most reasonable bid, not necessarily the cheapest. “Inexpensive, but shoddy, work will only cost you more money in the long run,” Berges reminds us. Read on…

Jax Beach Ranks 7th in Exciting Suburbs

February 12, 2014

Based on a metric considering, nightlife per capita (bars, clubs, comedy, etc.), live music venues per capita, active life options per capita (parks, outdoor activities, etc.), fast food restaurants per capita (the fewer the better) and percentage of restaurants that are fast food (the lower the better) Jax Beach receives (Movoto Real Estate Blog) its due credit as one of the country’s most electrifying places. Jacksonville Beach was second only to Miami Beach in terms of nightlife and live music on a per capita basis. Also of interest was Jax Beaches fourth place finish for active life options, from beaches to waterparks to golf. It doesn’t hurt that Jax Beach also ranked 13th for young residents contributing to the vibrant feeling after dark.

What You Should Know About Home Improvement

February 10, 2014

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL, Feb 10, 2014—Many potential first-time homebuyers list “home improvement costs” as a reason they’re wary about making the switch from renting to owning. While it’s true that being your own landlord means you will be doing a lot more work on your property, home improvement doesn’t need to be a time and money suck. In the following article, Rich Berges, Real Estate Professional of BerkshireHathawayHSFNR takes us through some home improvement basics. Read on…