How much does it cost to perform a deep-energy retrofit at a 100-year-old single-family home? Thanks to a recent study in Utica, New York, we now know the answer: about $100,000. Read more ...

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How I Snatched a Short Sale From Foreclosure Three Times- Once After The Public Trustee's Sale

So another year has slipped by and despite all of my resolutions to be disciplined and do better than in previous years, I have only a handful of blog posts to show for a whole year of work. I feel bad about this. My husband and colleagues say to me- "Blog." Yet I procrastinate. I try to think of what to blog about and then typically I think of something while I am in the car. By the time I get to a computer I forget what it was that I thought I had to say. So here I sit, before my computer-resolute to start the New Year off by blogging, trying to think of all the real estate wisdom I could share, of all the lessons I have learned in 40 or so transactions this year.
Unfortunately the only thing that comes to mind is a true tale of my most challenging short sale.

It began like most transactions; a friend called me and said she had a friend and colleague who had been through a messy divorce and needed help selling her home, which her ex-husband currently occupied, could I talk to her? Naturally I agreed and called the friend- let's call her Hope- for reasons you will see as this tale unravels. The first time I spoke to Hope, she was about to be remarried, her ex-husband and her 2 grown children were living in the house and hadn't made a payment in over 6 months. The value of the home was substantially less than the first loan not to mention the second and of course the house was headed for foreclosure and Hope's credit was headed down the proverbial crapper.

Since Hope was still on title and the notes with both lenders I had her sign a third party authorization and made inquiries on her behalf, after which I was convinced the only way to get her out form under the house would be via short sale. Somehow we managed to get both Hope and her ex-husband to sign listing agreement, addenda and all doce required for a short sale, We quickly got offers and submitted the highest one to the first lien holder- the infamous OCWEN FEDERAL. I should probably mention that we submitted a complete packet, as we always do, offer, lender letter, HUD, copy of earnest money, listing agreement and all of the sellers doc, including tax returns, pay stubs hardship letter etc After a week or so we called Ocwen to confirm that they got the packet and were reviewing the offer (I am a bit of a dreamer). We were transferred to Ocwen India where our negotiator was named Geeta Punjabi. Now Geeta asked for duplicates of many docs and had us faxing to her daily- the largest fax I recall was 68 pages- who cares about those trees anyway? After 6 weeks or so of this Geeta continued to assure me that approval would happen "by Friday"(maybe I should have asked, " which Friday?")

Meanwhile the trustee's sale was looming precariously close and Hope was a nervous wreck as was I. Geeta assured me that the sale would be postponed because they were working an offer. Because this wasn't my first short sale and I am cursed with a non-trusting nature I called a friend of mine who is an attorney. He drafted a legal document for Hope to take to court, a Demand for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO in attorney speak). So we held on to the doc until the day before the foreclosure sale and when neither the promised short sale approval nor the postponement of the trustees sale had come through, Hope and I went to court to plead her case. To both of our surprises she was granted a temporoary restraining order forbidding Ocwen to foreclose for another 60 days. We filed the document in all of the right places to get the foreclosure stopped and notified Ocwen's local attorney. As you might imagine noone was very pleased with this. The attorney called and informed me that I had no right to stop the trustee sale, I politely informed him that it was my client who had pled for the restraining order and the Adams county Judge who had granted it, therefor much as I would have liked to take credit, I could not. He wasn't amused.

Well we went right to work badgering Ocwen to accept that offer. Then, to our dismay, the buyer pulled out of the transaction saying it had taken too long to get approval. So we put it back up on the market and got an offer within a few days for more than the last offer and it was from a well known local agent and the buyer was a family member. WOW! We could not believe our luck adn quickly got a HUD and submitted it to Geeta, along with a termination of the previous offer. We requested a substitution of buyers which was denied; so we had to resubmit every doc- again, who cares about those trees?For the next 2 months we pushed, we shoved, we begged, we pled and we threatened, all to no avail. Geeta continued to promise approval by Friday and we continued to have no idea as to what Friday she was actually referring. By now buyer was getting nervous and we were frustrated but our next big break came when Geeta went on vacation. After much whining and complaining we managed to get a manager in India who reviewed the file and discovered that Geeta had submitted the file inocmplete. He resubmitted the file to Fannie Mae.

In about a week we received approval for the short sale on a Thursday morning. Excellent news right? Not so much. The buyer decided she didn't want the house anymore and Ocwen foreclosed on the house the same day they approved the short sale. I had no idea what to do- so I called the attorney owner of my favorite title company- First Integrity Title (yep that's a plug for them). He counseled me to request that the foreclosure sale be rescinded. Well that did it- Ocwen India had no idea who or what rescinding a foreclosure sale was so we finally got the file transferred back to Ocwen US!! We requested that the sale be rescinded and meanwhile put it back on the market and started praying.The sale was rescinded and we got another offer, this time it was a cash offer which was darn lucky as the scheduled closing was in less then 2 weeks. I called Ocwen US and explained the situation and once again asked for a substittution of buyers, which I was once again summarily denied. I was also informed that the sale had been rescinded and the approval letter signed for the first buyer and that they, Ocwen,wouldn't sell to the second buyer, who was actually the 3rd or 4th buyer we had procured for the property. This was interesting as the net to the bank was exactly the same, as was the closing date and all other terms. The only things that were different: the buyer and the fact that he was paying cash, which we all know made him a safer bet from the get-go.

After a sleepless night I got up and compared the 2 offer contracts to see if I could ferret out what was causing Ocwen to push back. I couldn't see anything different except buyer number one was named something on the oreder of Suzy WASP Sweetheart and buyer number 2 was named something on the order of Jose Fernando Marquez. HHM, I thought and then I called the buyers agent- Lupe and said," I think your client is being discriminated against." She and I talked and decided that if Ocwen declined to sell the property to him he should probably file a Federal Fair Housing complaint against Ocwen and Fannie. Since I love being the bearer of good news I called the negotiator at Ocwen and the foreclosing attorney and informed them both that if they didn't sell to the current cash buyer they probably ought to brace for a federal Fair Housing Claim. Well that got everybody but the attorney's attention (he once again scolded me). However, by the end of the next day we had a new approval letter and I had talked to the regional manager at Fannie as well as numerous other suits. the closing went off without any further troubles after a mere 18 months adn numerous offers. My commission for this little exercise?

Less than $750, as I had conceded the rest to help my client get to the table. But it was worth every minute to get her to the table and to have the opportunity to beat the bank that was so intent on simply taking the proeprty back, without any regard for the people involved. My advice to anyone facing a short sale with Ocwen? RUN - Run and Hide. And if youare intent on pursuing it- cozy up to a nice attorney adn settle in for a really long but interesting ride.

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Congrats Louisville

For the second time Louisville in Colorado, tops Money Magazine's list of the 100 best small towns, followed by Milton, Massachusetts and Solon in Ohio. They all have populations of 50,000 or less and offer the optimal combination of jobs, schools, safety, health care, cultural activities and even weather.

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Understanding Closing Cost

As we spring forward into the active homebuying season, there are plenty of good deals to be found, thanks to continued low interest rates and slipping home prices. But do you have saved enough in your bank account to cover closing fees? We'll examine who pays for what at the closing table and how buyers can cover these costs. What's the average closing costs you can expect to pay?


Who pays for what?
You have picked the perfect place to live, you've saved up a nice down payment, you're pre-approved for a loan and you're inching ever closer to finding the right house.


But how much do you know about the closing process itself? There's more than just price to consider. There are a slew of associated expenses to pay, plus taxes, insurance, appraisals and inspections. Whether buying or selling, you will undoubtedly see a bunch of little charges that collectively start to equal a big, four-digit number.


In general, the seller normally pays for most of the closing costs. But it can vary alot depending on the market conditions, location and the seller's motivation. In today's buyers market, many transactions are subject to negotiation.


Here's a common outline of what buyers and sellers are expected to pay:


Typical Buyer Expenses

• One half of escrow fees.
• Home inspection and any other inspections such as sewer line, roofing or structural.
• Survey to identify boundardies and easements.
• Appraisal for the lender to determine value for a good loan.
• Hazard insurance premium for the first year.
• Recording fees and notary fees for documents.

Typical Seller Expenses

• One half of escrow fees.
• Title insurance, to assure the lender that the property has a free and clear title.
• Repairs or remediation of any harzard or damage.
• Real-estate commission for seller's and buyer's agent.
• City and county transfer fees.
• Homeowners association transfer fees and any unpaid balance.
• One year home warranty to ease the buyer's doubts.
• Payoff for any bonds, special assessments and existing liens.

The tab for closing expenses can vary widely, from about 1% of the purchase price to 3% for Federal Housing Administration loans that require a mortgage-insurance premium and additional lender fees.


Many buyers are now requesting sellers to help assist them with covering these steeper FHA fees, in essence lowering the purchase price of the home.


However, there isn't as much room for expense negotiation with short sale or bank-owned properties. In fact, most don't provide a home warranty, and many won't cover any repair work unless it's a hazard to the buyer. Of course, the tradeoff is that these homes are often priced at a significant discount compared to normal listings.

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Expand your living space into the outdoors

Choosing Between A Deck Or Patio

What's the greenest way to build a deck? Would it be okay to utilize pressure-treated lumber? What's the simplest way to add on to your house? What type of decking is regarded as being sustainable, and what is the best way for attaching boards to the framing? Should the surfaces be finished? What product should I select? These are a few of the questions I hear about when designing outdoor living spaces.

Generally, the greenest deck is often a patio. Sure, wooden decks or balconies will be the only options should they have to be significantly above ground level, although there are masonry- and petroleum-based options that can be used in place of true lumber.

Outdoor living is a great way to expand our living space without increasing the level of conditioned space: it gets us out into the open air, to the nature we’re looking to preserve using the green building movement. But asking any “green” material to face up to the environmental exposure a deck is meant to is asking a lot. When the outdoor living area is going to be at or near grade, a patio-the masonry equal to a deck-can be a greener choice.

 When the word “patio” conjures images of dirty concrete with weeds sprouting up  through cracks, there are better options. Harvesting “urbanite” for reuse by breaking apart that old concrete into manageable pieces is one example; overlaying a drainage layer and topping it with permeable surface material. An intricate recessed patio can be assembled using salvaged granite stones from an old  foundation.

 Commercially ready, cement-based, interlocking modular paving blocks is definitely an affordable choice, although I'm partial to square concrete pavers occur a bed of crushed stone for any more formal look, or flagstones (flat, natural “cleft” surface fieldstone) for a rustic feeling. A designer I know built an extremely interesting patio using a mix of broken stone countertops, tiles, and glass. Slate roofing could be recycled into patio paving, but, like tile, the little, thin pieces would not be stable underfoot unless set into a bed of mortar. Stacked closely together on edge, though, the thin edges would create a unique, usable surface.
Brick, an old time patio surface, is hard to beat because of its combination of warm color and texture. Bricks could be locally made in most parts of the country or recycled from fine old buildings. Durability is definitely an issue in areas that freeze, though; search for “hard” bricks, tempered to be used as paving, or perhaps be prepared for them to disintegrate with time to their original type of clay particles.

Drainage options will be different based on several factors. If the patio sits over a well-draining site, it will likely be best and easiest to use a permeable base layer for instance crushed stone and leave gaps within the paving material to allow stormwater to drain through. The gaps could be filled with exactly the same material, or planted with moss (if it’s shady) or thyme (if it’s sunny). Weeds can be simply killed having a 50% solution of vinegar, or scraped out having a brush created for the purpose. Personally, I would not make use of a chemical for example Round-Up or burn the weeds having a flame, but those are other options, probably forget about harmful than standard deck maintenance techniques. If the site doesn't drain well, start with a well-compacted base of gravel with graduated particle size so the particles lock together. On top of that, construct a drainage layer using crushed stone, with a drain tile (4-in. perforated pipe is effective) to direct water to another the main site if necessary.

 Keep the size to roomlike dimensions, and when in doubt, make the length 1.6 times the width for any pleasing proportion. Patios require a sense of enclosure to feel inviting; masonry walls or shrubs and plantings produce a sense of containment. Whenever a tall wall looms over an abutting patio, bring the scale down with a trellis or pergola, or pull the patio from the house a little and plant a tall shrub or small tree between it and also the house. Full sun can make a patio (or deck) uncomfortably hot; a patio umbrella or perhaps a trellis engrossed in vines provides respite.

Consider low-level lighting and a source for cooking fuel-wood or gas-in the look stages. Outdoor cooking appliances keep heat out of the house (look for Energy Star models) and may be connected to gas or large propane tanks, if on site. Or, develop a fire pit or an outdoor barbecue. Your kitchen has had over the indoors as the heart of the house, the main gathering spot; duplicating kitchen functions outdoors will guarantee the patio is well-used.

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What Is A Walk Score

Walkable neighborhoods offer surprising benefits to the environment, our health, our finances, and our communities.

• Environment: Cars are a leading cause of climate change. Your feet are zero-pollution transportation machines.
• Health: The average resident of a walkable neighborhood weighs 7 pounds less than someone who lives in a sprawling neighborhood.
• Finances: One point of Walk Score is worth up to $3,000 of value for your property.
• Communities: Studies show that for every 10 minutes a person spends in a daily car commute, time spent in community activities falls by 10%.

Find A Walkable Place To Live

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Increase Your Energy Efficiency

Unless your home was specially constructed for energy efficiency, you can usually reduce your energy bills by adding more insulation. Many older homes have less insulation than homes built today, but adding insulation to a newer home may also pay for itself within a few years.

Heat flows naturally from a warmer to a cooler space. In the winter, this heat flow moves directly from all heated living spaces to adjacent unheated attics, garages, basements, and even to the outdoors. Heat flow can also move indirectly through interior ceilings, walls, and floors—wherever there is a difference in temperature. During the cooling season, heat flows from the outdoors to the interior of a house.

To maintain comfort, the heat lost in the winter must be replaced by your heating system and the heat gained in the summer must be removed by your cooling system. Properly insulating your home will decrease this heat flow by providing an effective resistance to the flow of heat.

To determine whether you should add insulation, you first need to find out how much insulation you already have in your home and where.

A qualified home energy auditor will include an insulation check as a routine part of a whole-house energy assessment. An energy assessment, also known as a home energy audit, will also help identify areas of your home that are in need of air sealing. (Before you insulate, you should make sure that your home is properly air sealed.)

When insulating your home, you can choose from many types of insulation. To choose the best type of insulation, you should first determine the following:

• Where you want or need to add insulation
• The recommended R-values for areas you want to insulate.

Understanding R-Value

The R-value is a measure of thermal resistance used in the building and construction industry. The higher the R-value, the greater the insulating effectiveness. Under uniform conditions it is the ratio of the temperature difference across an insulator and the heat flux (heat transfer per unit area). Heat transfer through an insulating layer is analogous to electrical resistance. R-value is the reciprocal of U-value. The U-value (or U-factor), more correctly called the overall heat transfer coefficient, describes how well a building element conducts heat.

The US Department of Energy has recommended R-values for given areas of the USA based on the general local energy costs for heating and cooling, as well as the climate of an area. There are four types of insulation: Rolls and batts, Loose-fill, Rigid foam, and Foam-in-place. Rolls and batts are typically flexible insulators that come in fibers, like fiberglass. Loose-fill insulation comes in loose fibers or pellets and should be blown into a space. Rigid foam is more expensive than fiber, but has a higher R-value. Foam-in-place can be blown into small areas to control air leaks, like those around windows. Increasing the thickness of an insulating layer increases the thermal resistance. For example, doubling the thickness of fibreglass batting will double its R-value,

The R-value is a measure of insulation's heat loss retardation under specified test conditions. The primary mode of heat transfer impeded by insulation is convection but unavoidably it also impedes heat loss by all three heat transfer modes: conduction, convection, and radiation. The primary means of heat loss across an uninsulated air-filled space is natural convection, which occurs because of changes in air density with temperature.

The amount of insulation or R-value you'll need depends on your climate, type of heating and cooling system, and the section of the house you plan to insulate.
Properly insulating your home will not only help reduce your heating and cooling costs but also make your home more comfortable.

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Have A Safe Holiday

Residential fires during the holiday season are more frequent, more costly, and more deadly than at any other time of the year.

Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/articles/holiday-fire-safety-tips/#ixzz18J4tTol4

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Thinking about remodeling in your home. Kitchen and baths give your home the biggest bang for your buck. Here are 11 kitchen and bath trends for 2010

Read on...

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Solar power meets consumer power: Group discounts help you buy home solar power. See how to save and be green.

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Its hot outside now but should be cooling off in the next month or so. Now is a good time to think about getting or building a fire pit. Its a very popular item to have now and you can add value to your home and landscape by building one. A built-in fire pit is a glorified campfire, with sturdy walls of stone that help contain the flames and heat. That's especially important in the parts of the country where there's a risk of brush fires. So the first task in building any fire pit is checking local codes on open flames. The pit must be located far from overhanging trees, the house, and any other flammable structure. Read More Here...

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Short Sales...Not For The Feint Of Heart

I have always had a fascination with the English Language and having studied linguistic anthropology I became even more interested and even a bit amused. Did you ever think about the way we say things like "how much does that run," when what we really are trying to ask is how much does the item cost? Why do we do that?

American idioms are a great source of entertainment- we use phrases and words in ways that native speakers typically understand without thought but are completely confusing to the non-native speaker. We say things like, "lipstick on a pig." I get the idea behind it - a quick fix to make something seem more attractive than it is... but really? Who had the chutzpah to put lipstick on the pig and did they really think it made the pig better looking? I wish I could have seen this little event- I can't even successfully give my cat a pill- I can't imagine getting the pig to hold still long enough to get a lovely shade of mauve applied to it's whiskery mouth. Perhaps my vision of applying the lipstick to the pig is too grounded in the literal or concrete ...but still what a fun visual.

In all fairness, I have to say that even though we have tortured the language with our slovenly grammatical habits and imprecise use of words, the language has never been all that clear. We have always had multiple meanings for words, and much of spoken language is contextual and non-verbal. We say the word "bear," which sounds just like "bare," and from the context of the sentence we determine which version of the word is being referenced and apply meaning to the sentence- all in the blink of an eye without even conscious thought. But what about when we get confused about the the meaning? Like the term "short sale," which is a source of great confusion for native speakers and non-native speakers alike.

The popular misconception is that a short sale will move through the transaction process and close more quickly( shortly in terms of time if you will), which it will not. A short sale is perhaps the longest transaction a buyer and seller can experience. The term "short" comes form the idea that the seller in this transaction is asking their lender to release their interest in the property. their lien, for less than the full amount that is owed- in effect allowing the seller to sell the property "short." There are a lot of component parts in these transactions: the seller must answer the question of why they stopped making payments or why they feel that they will no longer be able to make payments and they must demonstrate a true hardship. If they are able to do this then the next step is to establish the value of the property- or asset as it is known. The seller's lender will generally order a BPO (Broker Price Opinion) to get a guideline. After which, they may order an appraisal or another BPO. Once the lender is satisfied with the value they will respond to any offer that is on the table. There a lot of misconceptions about this portion of the transaction as most banks will not respond to a seller's request to short sale until they have an offer in hand- then they will evaluate the seller's docs and the buyer's offer. If the seller has a failed offer then they can honestly say their short sale has been approved, but it is important to remember that each offer is evaluated on its own merits. Just because a short sale was accepted at a certain price previously, there is no guarantee it will be again.

All of this verification of seller status and asset value can take a while so the informed, "would be short sale purchaser" should plan on 30-60 days to get a response to their short sale offer. Once agreement is reached on the offer price the bank will typically give a 30 day window in which to close with a per diem amount payable by the purchaser for any delays in closing. When contemplating purchasing a short sale properties there are additional considerations:

• Short sales are never guaranteed, neither to the seller, the buyer nor even the agents
• Contrary to popular belief banks do not have to accept a short sale- they can opt to foreclose, take ownership of the asset and do with it as they please.
• If a bank participates in short sales it is as a courtesy to the borrower
• If you decide to write an offer on a short sale property- do not get married to the idea- your odds of getting it are much narrower than on other types of transactions including REO properties, which are already owned by a bank.

When opting for a short sale, whether you are a would be buyer or a would be seller find yourself an agent who has experience with short sales and plan on a long and sometimes frustrating transaction. Short sales, although ubiquitous in the current market place, are not for beginners nor are they for the feint of heart. Contracting with a broker who has the certifications but lacks experience will do you little or no good as every short sale deal is different and good brokers learn from each transaction they successfully complete. A broker can never guarantee the outcome when they attempt a short sale but if they have a strong track record- your odds are better, so ask how many short sales they have attempted and how many they have successfully completed. If you are a seller this is especially important as you are relying on them for a great deal. As a seller you need a broker that is prepared to go the extra mile for you- to fight for you and creatively problem solve the obstacles that are guaranteed to pop up. Best of Luck to all in your real estate endeavours.

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Home Safety

An accident or injury can occur in any part of your home. Some safety hazards are obvious — such as a toy truck left lying at the top of the stairs. Others are not so easily identified — such as a stairway railing that has become loose. Check out this website for more information...

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Reduce your carbon foot print and get a new mower at the same time.

It's spring time in Colorado. That lovely time of year when all the rain and as the case is today, snow, we get starts to turn our lawns a lovely shade of green and marks the start of lawn mowing season. As we pull our lawnmowers out of their winter hibernation do you discover that you are in need of a new lawn mower? Maybe your lawn mower works just fine but you want to help reduce your carbon footprint? Well then you need to attend the Mow Down Pollution: Lawn Mower Exchange Event this weekend in Denver.

The Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) is pleased to announce its annual Mow Down Pollution Event for 2010. At the event, Colorado residents are invited to bring in an old, gasoline-powered lawn mower to exchange for a discount on a new, earth-friendly alternative. Participants can expect to remain in their vehicle while event staff unloads old equipment and loads new mowers.


WHEN: Saturday, May 1, 2010 9 am to 4 pm.

WHERE: RidgeGate Development off Lincoln and I-25. Enter near the corner of Ridgegate Parkway and Belvedere Lane in Lone Tree, Colorado southeast of Target, northwest of the Lone Tree Recreation Center.

Click here for a map of the location. Look for event signage and markers.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE: Click HERE (http://www.neutonpower.com/content/admin/aqi/raqc_info/index.html ) to REGISTER NOW to reserve your mower starting April 19, 2010. You must register for the event to secure your lawn mower.

PRICING:

The CE 5 model (retail price $299) will be sold for $175 to those without a gasoline lawn mower to recycle, and $150 for those who do have a mower to exchange.
The CE 6 model (retail price $399) will be sold for $275 to those without a gasoline lawn mower to recycle, and $250 for those who do have a mower to exchange.
The Neuton Reel Mower (retail price $99) will be sold for $65 to those without a gasoline lawn mower to recycle, and $55 for those who do have a mower to exchange.
To learn more about these models, please visit www.neutonpower.com.

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3 Small Steps to More Sustainable Living

Making little lifestyle changes will do a lot to enhance sustainability for the planet--and make every day Earth Day.

It's a great feeling every Earth Day to bike to work and show your love of the planet. But sustainable practices-managing how you use resources to ensure that there will enough for future generations-doesn't have to be limited to once a year. With a few adjustments, sustainable practices can easily become a part of daily life and save you money while you help improve the planet.

WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY?

Sustainable living is an umbrella term that covers many different ideas and programs. It can be as simple as recycling and using less water or as complex as changing state and federal policies to promote wind and solar power and high-speed rail transportation. Local planning commissions can promote sustainability by allowing higher density housing that uses less land. If you want to support some of these public sustainability programs, you can contact your government representative to express support. You could also support a nonprofit group like the Edible Schoolyard program, which teaches kids how to grow and eat locally.

OPPOSITION TO SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES

Not everyone is a fan of sustainable practices. Some people worry that conservation efforts produce more government regulation, increase living costs, and reduce corporate profits. Not sure where you stand on these major policies. Why not start small and see?

Eat locally. One of the biggest impacts a family has on the environment is what it eats. It takes around 10 calories of fossil fuel-in the form of fertilizers, processing, and transportation-to produce a single calorie of supermarket food, according to Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma. Cut down on your food's energy impact by eating food grown near your home.

A 2001 study conducted by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State University, found that the cost of transporting food from the region or the local area was four and 17 times less, respectively, than buying from national distributors.

FINDING LOCAL FOOD ISN'T DIFFICULT

• Local Harvest will help you find farmers markets as well as farms in your region that offer subscription programs. Signing up for a subscription means you pay up front, so there's a risk if the harvest fails. Costs vary depending on the size of the share and your part of the country. A good estimate from Local Harvest is that you'll spend about $600 to cover produce for a family of four during a four or five month growing season.
  


• Keep food even closer to home by growing your own, either in your backyard or in a shared community space. Expect to spend several hours a week seeding, weeding, and harvesting. Gardening is also a great way to teach kids about healthy eating.

The downside of eating locally is that food from a farmer's market often costs more than the same from the supermarket. And in winter, you may eat a lot of cabbage and potatoes if you stick to local eating.

BUY GENTLY USED

Everyone likes something new once in a while-and fast-growing kids require it. Consumer spending is also a big contributor to a healthy economy. But producing and transporting new products from the factory to you also uses lots of resources. One way to get new stuff and still promote sustainability is to trade something you no longer want for what you need.

• Freecycle is a 7 million-strong global network of people who share their possessions-for free. Once you join online, you'll receive regular email about used items that you can request and pick up. Eva Schmoock, a student nurse and mother of two in Carrboro, N.C., is an avid user. She's found new homes for everything, including paint and kids' bathing suits.
  


• A low-tech option: Organize swap meets with neighbors to lessen your environmental footprint without opening your wallet. Get your kids to put flyers in mailboxes to promote the swap. Or try a consignment shop.

REDUCE TRASH BY COMPOSTING

It isn't just what you buy that has an impact on the world's resources, it's what you throw away. The average American is responsible for almost 5 pounds of garbage a day, 12.5% of which is food scraps, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That trash clogs landfills and pollutes ground water.

Want to reduce waste? Consider composting. Just put those peels and pods (but no meat or dairy products) in a separate container instead of the garbage can. When the container is full, carry it to your compost pile.

A $10 plastic bucket with a lid will work; fancier models have charcoal filters that cut down on smells but cost two or three times as much. Let your kids scrape plates into the compost pail or empty the full container.

You'll find a compost bin for every budget. You can fence off a small (out-of-sight) section of your yard with less than $50 worth of mesh wire and poles. Plastic bins and barrels are neater, but can cost several times more. The best part of composting: In six months, nature will convert your waste into terrific fertilizer to sustain your vegetable or flower garden.

Article From Houselogic.com
By: Amanda Abrams
Published: August 28, 2009

Amanda Abrams is a Washington, D.C.-based writer who spent many years planning to be an organic farmer. Now she writes about how to make the world a better place for papers like The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times.

Reprinted from HouseLogic (houselogic.com) with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (R). Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

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Its almost St. Patrick's Day and time to eat cabbage and drink green beer. Did you ever wonder who St. Patrick was? Even though I love the day, why do we celebrate this silly holiday?

Saint Patrick was a Christian missionary, who is the most generally recognised patron saint of Ireland. Two authentic letters from him survive, from which come the only universally accepted details of his life. When he was about 14 he was captured from Britain by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Ireland. Patrick worked as a herdsman, remaining a captive for six years. He writes that his faith grew in captivity, and that he prayed daily. After six years he heard a voice telling him that he would soon go home, and then that his ship was ready. Fleeing his master, he travelled to a port, two hundred miles away he says, where he found a ship and, after various adventures, returned home to his family, now in his early twenties.[

After entering the Church, he returned to Ireland as an ordained bishop in the north and west of the island, but little is known about the places where he worked and there is no contemporary evidence for any link between Patrick and any known church building. By the eighth century he had come to be revered as the patron saint of Ireland. The Irish monastery system evolved after the time of Patrick and the Irish church did not develop the diocesan model that Patrick and the other early missionaries had tried to establish.

Pious legend credits Patrick with banishing snakes from the island, though all evidence suggests that post-glacial Ireland never had snakes; one suggestion is that snakes referred to the serpent symbolism of the Druids of that time and place, as shown for instance on coins minted in Gaul, or that it could have referred to beliefs such as Pelagianism, symbolised as “serpents”. Legend also credits Patrick with teaching the Irish about the concept of the Trinity by showing people the shamrock, a 3-leaved clover, using it to highlight the Christian belief of 'three divine persons in the one God'

The dates of Patrick's life cannot be fixed with certainty, but on a widespread interpretation he was active as a missionary in Ireland during the second half of the fifth century. According to the latest reconstruction of the old Irish annals, Patrick died in AD 460 on March 17, a date accepted by some modern historians. Saint Patrick's Day (17 March) is celebrated both in and outside of Ireland, as both a liturgical and non-liturgical holiday. In the dioceses of Ireland it is a both a solemnity and a holy day of obligation and outside of Ireland, it can be a celebration of Ireland itself.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

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Today In History: 1915 The Rocky Mountain National Park is formed by an act of U.S. Congress.

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Did you know... Valentine's Day originates from the ancient Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated on 15 February in honour of the gods Lupercus and Faunus, as well as the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. During the festival, young men would draw the names of women from a box, and each couple would be paired until next year's celebration. The fertility festival was celebrated until 496AD when Pope Gelasius replaced it with a similar celebration. For patron saint of the celebration, he chose the "lovers" saint, St Valentine. He also moved the date of the celebration from the 15 February to the date of St Valentine's death, 14 February. Through the centuries, Valentines Day became to be remembered more as the festival of love instead of a religious day. In 1969 it was dropped from the Roman Catholic calendar as a designated feast day.

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