To hear professional home inspectors tell it, Americans take better care of their automobiles than their homes. Consequently, every home buyer should plan to spend the $400 to $600 necessary to have the house they like best thoroughly examined by an independent third party.

But before you order an inspection, you should do some preliminary investigating of your own. That way, you can protect against picking the wrong house and allowing a better-maintained property to slip away.

Even rookie buyers can get a good idea of just how well a house has been kept. Even when the seller has given the place a fresh shave and a haircut that is, painted the house and trimmed the lawn or done whatever else is necessary to make the property presentable, there can still be telltale signs that the seller hasn't been as diligent as he or she could have been.

For example, a clean furnace filter can be taken as an indication the house has been well cared for. But who's to say the seller didn't just change that filter for the first time in years? If the filter hasn't been changed regularly, the furnace hasn't been working efficiently and it may not last for its expected life span.

So how do you know? You don't. But if you spy a pile of spare filters, it's a pretty good sign that the owner is on the ball. Someone in the process of selling isn't buying extra filters he or she won't use.

Another clue that the furnace is in good shape: Look for a service log showing that the machine has been serviced regularly, at least once a year.

Of course, home buyers shouldn't substitute this kind of rudimentary investigation for a complete and exhaustive inspection by a trained professional. Even if the furnace has been serviced consistently, it could be on its last legs, and only a pro will be able to determine that.

If you are really interested in a property, make an appointment with the owner to return without an agent in tow. Give yourself plenty of time to give the place a good once-over.

Don't be afraid to kick the tires. You have every right to open closets, flush toilets, run the dishwasher through a full cycle, turn on all the cooktop burners, check the refrigerator and open the windows. The owners shouldn't object, not if they really want to sell.

You don't want to put every house you tour under this kind of microscope. That would be counterproductive. But once you narrow your choices down to two or three, it's time to take a harder look. Then, after you make your final decision, it's time to call in the experts.

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Buyers should look for signs that a home hasn't been well-maintained

GLENDALE, AZ (CBS5) -

Determined to know who burned down the home he was constructing, a Glendale man has put up signs across his future neighborhood offering a cash reward for information that leads to the arrest of those responsible.

On the morning of Saturday July 5, fire crews from Glendale, Peoria and Phoenix responded to a massive blaze on West Tonopah Drive in the Arrowhead Legends neighborhood.

According to Glendale fire officials, witnesses saw a car with four teenagers inside pull up to the home and two teens jumped out. Those witnesses then saw the teens run out of the home followed by a loud boom and the car drove away.

"The fireman on the scene said some joggers heard a loud boom, looked here, saw two kids get into a red car and bolt," homeowner and builder Mark Vandever said.

Vandever is a licensed chiropractor and he wasn't just having the home built, he was building it himself.

"I did all the plumbing. Gonna do all the wiring," Vandever said. "Nice neighborhood. We didn't expect this."

Glendale Fire officials tell CBS5 the Glendale Police Department is also involved in the investigation and teenagers seen in the neighborhood fit the description of the suspects.

Flyers have now gone up all over the Arrowhead Legends neighborhood offering a reward of $2,500 for whomever can help Vandever find out who destroyed three months of work in less than three hours.

"You shouldn't be able to burn someone's house down and walk away," Vandever said. "If someone burned your house down, wouldn't you want to know who did it and why?"

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Arson suspected in Glendale house fire

With this weeks above normal temperature conditions, the Yakima Fire Department is advising residents to take the following precautions with respect to home safety:

* Install smoke detectors in each room. In one of the two most recent fires, the smoke detector in a hallway was drowned out by the sound of the air conditioner in the bedroom. Keep a smoke detector in the same room as your air conditioner in case you are sleeping in that room. A smoke detector in each room can help alert persons earlier, if there is a fire in any room.

* Check your portable air conditioners owners manual to be sure your home has an adequate electrical power supply for your window unit. In both fires, investigators determined that the air conditioning units power supply was inadequate and over loaded the homes electrical systems. If you are not sure about the adequacy of your homes electrical system, consult a licensed electrician.

* If possible, do not leave a portable air conditioner operating unmonitored. If theres a malfunction, you stand a better chance at reducing problems by catching the problem early.

* If you are using a portable air conditioner. Watch out for:

A smell of smoke or other abnormal smells coming from the air conditioner

Electrical circuit breakers tripping off whenever you use your air conditioner

Avoid using inadequate electrical wiring systems and devices for your air conditioner

* Never go back into your home once you have escaped the fire no matter the reason. Call the fire department immediately and advise us, if necessary, of the exact location of trapped persons in a fire.

* If you have any further questions call the Yakima Fire Department at 509- 575-6060

See more here:
AC unit fire displaces second Yakima family this week

Sylvan Beach (WSYR-TV) Investigators in Oneida County have arrested two people after they say drugs were found at a home in Sylvan Beach on Wednesday.

44-year old Scott Leisner and 42-year old Chrystal Palmeter are charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance and Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia, after a search warrant was executed at a home on 15th Avenue.

Deputies say they found methamphetamine and heroin during the search.

The case sparked an evacuation of about 20 homes nearby when a suspicious item with wiring was found during an initial sweep of the home. The New York State Police Bomb Disposal Unit was called to the scene and determined the device was not a real explosive.

Several streets in the neighborhood were blocked off until detectives felt the area was safe.

Palmeter and Leisner were arraigned and taken to the Oneida County Correctional Facility.

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Two people arrested after meth is found at a home in Sylvan Beach

Sylvan Beach (WSYR-TV) Investigators in Oneida County have arrested two people after they say drugs were found at a home in Sylvan Beach on Wednesday.

44-year old Scott Leisner and 42-year old Chrystal Palmeter are charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance and Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia, after a search warrant was executed at a home on 15th Avenue.

Deputies say they found methamphetamine and heroin during the search.

The case sparked an evacuation of about 20 homes nearby when a suspicious item with wiring was found during an initial sweep of the home. The New York State Police Bomb Disposal Unit was called to the scene and determined the device was not a real explosive.

Several streets in the neighborhood were blocked off until detectives felt the area was safe.

Palmeter and Leisner were arraigned and taken to the Oneida County Correctional Facility.

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Two people arrested after police say meth is found at a home in Sylvan Beach

Sylvan Beach (WSYR-TV) Investigators in Oneida County have arrested two people after drugs were found at a home in Sylvan Beach on Wednesday.

44-year old Scott Leisner and 42-year old Chrystal Palmeter are charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance and Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia, after a search warrant was executed at a home on 15th Avenue.

Deputies say they found methamphetamine and heroin during the search.

The case sparked an evacuation of about 20 homes nearby when a suspicious item with wiring was found during an initial sweep of the home. The New York State Police Bomb Disposal Unit was called to the scene and determined the device was not a real explosive.

Several streets in the neighborhood were blocked off until detectives felt the area was safe.

Palmeter and Leisner were arraigned and taken to the Oneida County Correctional Facility.

Read the original here:
State Police questioning 2 people in connection with suspected meth lab in Sylvan beach

SHERMAN, TX - Three Sherman men are behind bars, accused of stealing property from a vacant home two days in a row. Residents who live in the neighborhood say burglary is a big problem on their block.

Tools, wire, and even a floor lamp are now missing from a vacant Sherman home on North Ross Street.

"They were breaking into the house," said Sherman police Sgt. D.M. Hampton. He says 61 year old Larry Thacker, 48 year old Kenneth Moss, and 59 year old Robert Riles were arrested Tuesday, after officers found a large amount of stolen property in their truck, in the alley behind the home on the 1600 block.

"A little window unit, just odds and ends kind of things, some tools, and they ended up getting some wiring," said Sgt. Hampton.

Sherman police say they got the call from a nearby resident who also saw a red truck at the house the day before.

Neighbor Jesse Martinez and his wife tell us thieves will steal anything that's not locked down, and they target vacant homes on the block, "It happens a lot you know sometimes we call and they'll get caught and stuff, it happens once or twice a month sometimes three times. I come out with my dogs and my flashlight, but I carry a stick or something."

Sgt. Hampton says the suspects took anything that could be sold, probably to sell as scrap.

69/82 Metal Recyclers say there's no way to tell if someone's bringing in stolen materials, but before they buy from anyone they require a photo ID and a license plate number. They also tell News 12 hundreds of people come through the scrap yard on a daily basis, and every sale is captured by surveillance cameras.

All three suspects in this case are charged with burglary of a habitation, a second degree felony.

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Police arrest 3 for burglarizing vacant Sherman home 2 days in a row

Enlarge photo

JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald

Because of the legalizing of marijuana Durango and La Plata County, residents can now grow for their own use. It has been safer than before because

JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald

Because of the legalizing of marijuana Durango and La Plata County, residents can now grow for their own use. It has been safer than before because

Growing marijuana at home has become safer and, some say, less popular as Colorados legal landscape has changed.

Under Amendment 64, Colorado residents age 21 and older may grow up to six plants at home. But many users say they arent growing their own.

At the end of the day, theres not that many people exercising their right to grow marijuana under Amendment 64 and thats because people can just go into a store and buy it, said Brian Vicente, executive director of Sensible Colorado. Its like you can homebrew, but you can just go into the liquor store and buy it.

Marijuana stores also offer a greater variety of products than any home grower can hope to match, featuring different strains, edible marijuana-laced products and accessories.

Before Amendment 64 went into effect, home marijuana grows were often haphazard, and some were blamed for causing fires. Most tragically, in 2009, a Durango man named Dan Middleton was killed when his grow operation caused a fire in his condominium.

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Pot growing grows up

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--INSTEON, creators of the worlds best-selling home automation and control technology, today announced the opening of two new offices in Ecuador and Guatemala. Each location will feature a connected home and office showroom, product inventory and local tech support for the companys growing user base.

Training sessions for INSTEON dealers will also be available. The upcoming session, Introduction to Technology and Applications, will take place Wednesday, July 16, 2014 in Queretaro, Mexico from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time. The session will also be presented as a webinar for dealers in Ecuador and Guatemala on Wednesday, July 30, 2014 from 10 a.m. 12 p.m. local time.

The new offices in Latin America not only expand INSTEONs global footprint, but also serve the connected home and office market in a highly populous region of more than 600 million residents, said Joe Dada, CEO, INSTEON. Local retail customers are delighted that INSTEON is expanding availability of its simple, affordable and reliable home automation products and technology to homes and businesses in Latin America. With our new offices and professional INSTEON trainings for dealers in Latin America and Mexico, we aim to provide unprecedented access to the most innovative connected home offerings on the market.

INSTEONs reliable dual-band technology uses both the existing wires (power line) in the home and radio-frequency (RF) communication instead of relying on spotty Wi-Fi connections and routers, which dictate where smart devices must be placed to work properly. By making every networked device talk to each other via RF and the power line, INSTEON eliminates the need for custom wiring and ensures that every device is always connected. Adding remote control and automation to everything from home monitoring to lighting, INSTEONs dual-band network and devices allow users to manage the home or office in more variations than any other home automation technology.

To sign up for one of the distributor trainings, please contact Luis Pedraza at luispedraza@insteon.com.mx.

For more information on INSTEON, please visit http://www.insteon.com.mx.

About INSTEON

Developed in Irvine, California, the award-winning INSTEON remote control product line includes more than 200 devices, from lamp dimmers to thermostats and LED bulbs. INSTEON delivers the fastest, most reliable wireless device communication in the industry with its innovative dual-band and simulcast mesh technology, creating the optimum platform for the coming Internet of Things. INSTEON products are available throughout the U.S. and Canada as well as internationally. For more information about INSTEON, please visit http://www.insteon.com, or connect with INSTEON on Facebook (www.facebook.com/insteon) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/insteon).

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INSTEON Expands Presence in Latin America and Mexico

In July Computer Weekly visited Martin Vesper, CEO of digitalSTROM, who has kitted out his home with smart technology, allowing him to control lighting and electrical appliances and monitor usage.

In this video Computer Weeklys Cliff Saran talks to Vesper about how the internet of things technology forms the basis of an open, expandable platform developed by his company, that is able to integrate with other smart devices like a SonusHi-Fi and Philips Hue smart light.

The technology from digitalSTROM starts with a patented mains terminal block, that has an integrated processor. Vesper says this can be connected into a wiring circuit in a house, where it is able to provide intelligent switching.

Communications with the terminal block is achieved over mains cabling using powerline Ethernet. A central control console and Linux server, fitted in the homes fuse box, provides a way to share data between other intelligent terminal blocks to coordinate activities and monitor events such as when a smoke detector has been tripped. The system uses orchestration software from Tibco.

Vesper believes that a smart home needs to be built on software and open technologies, since electrical appliances have different lifespans. Cloud connectivity is also important, both for configuring the system and to enable best practices and updates are filtered down to the home.

Continued here:
Interview with Martin Vesper, CEO, digitalSTROM on smart home technology