Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Protecting Your Home From Fire

By Jim Thorpe


In a perfect world, we would learn to properly maintain every potential fire hazard in the house. Our heaters would always be in perfect working order. We would never leave a flammable object close to the open flame of a stove.

1. Before You Need It The best time to start preparing for a great mortgage is before you need it. There is a very good change that you will not rent your whole life and a pretty good chance you will not pay $400,000 cash. With the knowledge that you will eventually need it there are a number of steps that you need to take.

I was sitting at the kitchen table getting some work done and the kids were in the other room playing quietly when a loud knock rapped on the door. I got up and walked to the door expecting a neighbor's child asking to play with the 4 year old. Instead, when I opened the door, I was immediately overwhelmed by the smell of natural gas.

2. Just Before Your Search Spend a few hours and research mortgage jargon. This will make you more knowledgeable and help you understand exactly what you are purchasing. It will also catch lenders off guard and dissuade them from trying to tack on extra expenses. Determine your budget and stick to it. This is a big decision and needs to be made before you speak with lenders. If you go with no budget you may end up taking a loan much too large for you needs.

Behind him I could see a neighbor lady, her kids in a stroller, with a concerned look on her face peering around the officer. I shut the door and went to inspect the various rooms of the home to see if I could smell anything inside. A few minutes later another knock sounded and I went to answer the door.

The USFA believes strongly that the routine maintenance of your fire alarm could protect more lives than just those of those in the home, and reducing fatalities from fire damage is the USFA's number one goal.

I hurried to grab shoes, the diaper bag, my computer, and snacks for the children. I went into the room where they were playing and took each of them by the hand and walked out of the house suddenly feeling like a homeless bag-lady with two small kids. The neighbor generously offered to let us come to her home while we waited for the response team to show up.

You are much more likely to hear the alarm if it's blaring in your ear, not when it quietly enters your dreams from down the hall. Test these alarms monthly. They also recommend installing ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms (or dual sensor smoke alarms).

5. Call again and Negotiate Now that you understand what your options are. Go to your top three lenders and call them. Explain what your needs are and what better deals you have been given. Give them reason to bid against each other. The better your credit score and history the more bargaining power you have. Call them until you receive the deal that you are looking for. You will probably feel like a jerk when negotiating.

Ultimately the fire fighters found the leak outside the home, checked the home to make sure it was safe to be inside, and called the gas company to come out and fix the line. (After their initial inspection of the leak on the day of, they didn't fix until a week later. But that's another story for another day.)

6. Authorize and Sign After having looked at all of the details you are ready to make your decision. If the details have changed be ready to walk away unless they give you what you agreed upon. Authorize the pull on your credit. Let the bank write up the agreement and make sure to read it in depth.

Many general contractors try and work their way around the tight regulations but these laws are strict and there have been many law suits in the past because people tried to bypass them. Safety should be everyone's #1 goal.




About the Author:



No comments: