Chance Gates' Blog

Frozen pipes are one of the most distressing problems a homeowner can encounter. Here’s how to prevent freezing pipes and how to un-freeze pipes if you’re in a fix.

Freezing can create leaks because the frozen water expands and cracks the copper tubing. Not only do you have little to no water supply, but when the pipes do thaw out, you can have some serious leaks to repair.

Rules to Prevent Frozen Pipes

• Keep all water-supply piping away from outside walls, where it could be exposed to cold winter weather.
• If it is imperative to have pipes located on an outside wall, they must be well-insulated.
• Piping insulation is sold in both rubber and fiberglass.

Tips to Fixing Frozen Pipes

• Try the hair-dryer trick. Find the area where the pipe appears to be frozen, and work the dryer up and down the pipe. If the pipe has cracked, water will start gushing out as soon as the ice is dislodged.
• You may want to know where your nearest turn-off valve is before you try using a hair-dryer.

Duct tape is a fibered tape known for its strength, durability and water resistance. It’s a quick fix for everything from leaky canoes to ripped seat covers to damaged pipes to broken furniture.

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As a Reno/Sparks Nevada real estate professional and property manager, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.com http://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  To checkout some of  my property manager services goto http://chancegates.com/property-management-services/

If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable

If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

Fences should not be considered an indication of property boundaries. Legal property boundaries are demarcated by surveyor pins or stakes. These are typically 1/2″ to 3/4″ round iron pipes flush or buried slightly below land surface. Newer pins might have yellow or orange caps that indicate the surveyor’s license number.

Locating property lines can be challenging. Older surveyor pins tend to erode. Older property markers could be metal posts, rebar, pipes or car axles. Those having difficulty locating their surveyor pins, also called corner pins, should contact their city or county government and get a copy of their plat map.

A plat map will identify each specific lot located in a subdivision — as well as the shape and dimension of the lot — and where the surveyor pins are located.

If a plat map is not available, or no pins are found, the next step is to contact a registered land surveyor to locate the property lines and set new surveyor pins. The boundary surveyor will thoroughly research city and county records relating to the land and all adjacent property. After research, the field work begins, reconciling the research with the onsite analysis on the property to determine the final boundary lines.

Boundary surveys might also include property improvements, fences, power lines and any encroachments crossing the property lines. Costs of a boundary survey can vary depending on property size, terrain, vegetation, location and season.

A survey is strongly recommended before subdividing, improving or building on land. Building beyond property lines could result in being forced to alter or remove a structure, fines and lawsuits.

Special thanks to my friends over at Prospect Mtg. http://www.myprospectmortgage.com/yfoster

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As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

http://www.almanac.com

During the chilly months of winter, no matter what heat source you use—oil, gas, electricity, or wood—you can cut costs by adopting temporary measures to keep the thermostat turned down. Here are some money-saving tips for cutting the cost of cold snaps.

• Temporarily close off heat to some rooms by shutting doors. (This requires a heating system that can be controlled room by room.) Shut the doors to unheated closets, the pantry, and the basement and attic.
• Hang blankets over the windows at night. Tape or thumbtack the sides and bottom of blankets to the walls or windowsills to maximize the insulation value. (Press the tacks or tape under the bottom of the sill and over the top of the frame to hide any damage to the finish.) Remove the coverings on the south side of the house during the day.
• Cover cracks around doors and windowsills with rugs, newspaper, towels, or other insulation.
• Use electric space heaters in living or work areas. These are more efficient than the furnace for localized heating, and they will allow you to set the thermostat lower for the whole house.
• Put on a sweater.
• Cook a hot meal.

What do you do to save money on heat in your house during the winter? Comment and let us know!

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As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Most-people-playing-checkers-underwater-/photo/14604416/7691.html

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/william_beveridge.html

Ignorance is an evil weed, which dictators may cultivate among their dupes, but which no democracy can afford among its citizens.
William Beveridge

Scratch a pessimist and you find often a defender of privilege.
William Beveridge

The object of government in peace and in war is not the glory of rulers or of races, but the happiness of common man.
William Beveridge

Mark your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and status changes.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

To remove warts blow on them nine times during a full Moon.

Last 7 Days

Sunday, August 14, 2011

If you glimpse the new Moon over your right shoulder, you will have good luck.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

For the best-tasting sauerkraut, make it just after the full Moon.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Marrying during a waning moon is unlucky.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

If the new Moon stands on its points, expect precipitation to spill out.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

The moon with a circle brings water in her break.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

To dream of a red or “bloody” Moon warns of catastrophe or war.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Moonrise occurring in the evening brings fair weather

read more at:  http://www.almanac.com/moon/folklore

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As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/e/e_f_schumacher.html

Eagles come in all shapes and sizes, but you will recognize them chiefly by their attitudes.
E. F. Schumacher

Infinite growth of material consumption in a finite world is an impossibility.
E. F. Schumacher

It might be said that it is the ideal of the employer to have production without employees and the ideal of the employee is to have income without work.
E. F. Schumacher

Many people love in themselves what they hate in others.
E. F. Schumacher

Never let an inventor run a company. You can never get him to stop tinkering and bring something to market.
E. F. Schumacher

The printing press is either the greatest blessing or the greatest curse of modern times, sometimes one forgets which it is.
E. F. Schumacher

The system of nature, of which man is a part, tends to be self-balancing, self-adjusting, self-cleansing. Not so with technology.
E. F. Schumacher

You can either read something many times in order to be assured that you got it all, or else you can define your purpose and use techniques which will assure that you have met it and gotten what you need.
E. F. Schumacher

Mark your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and status changes.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

http://www.reno.gov/index.aspx?page=1510 Reports

Mark your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and status changes.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/v/vince_lombardi.html

A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a medieval study hall.
Vince Lombardi

Coaches who can outline plays on a black board are a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their player and motivate.
Vince Lombardi

Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence.
Vince Lombardi

Dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you’re willing to pay the price.
Vince Lombardi

Fatigue makes cowards of us all.
Vince Lombardi

Football is like life – it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.
Vince Lombardi

I don’t think there’s a punch-line scheduled, is there?
Vince Lombardi

I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.
Vince Lombardi

If it doesn’t matter who wins or loses, then why do they keep score?
Vince Lombardi

If winning isn’t everything, why do they keep score?
Vince Lombardi

If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.
Vince Lombardi

If you can accept losing, you can’t win.
Vince Lombardi

Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.
Vince Lombardi

It’s easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you’re a winner, when you’re number one. What you got to have is faith and discipline when you’re not a winner.
Vince Lombardi

It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.
Vince Lombardi

Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.
Vince Lombardi

Leaders aren’t born they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.
Vince Lombardi

Once you agree upon the price you and your family must pay for success, it enables you to ignore the minor hurts, the opponent’s pressure, and the temporary failures.
Vince Lombardi

Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.
Vince Lombardi

People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defenses, or the problems of modern society.
Vince Lombardi

Mark your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and status changes.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney