MATTOON (JG-TC) -- A home at 86 Old State Village southwest of Mattoon was apparently a total loss after a fire Thursday afternoon.

Firefighters arrived at the scene about 12:15 p.m. and found fire showing through the front windows of the modular home, Mattoon Assistant Fire Chief Sean Junge said.

There was one person at home at the time but neither the occupant nor any firefighters were injured, Junge said. He said the investigation determined the fire was caused by a wiring problem in the home's bedroom.

The resident's dog was already outside when fire crews arrived and firefighters rescued two cats, Junge said. However, four cats died in the fire and two others couldn't be located, he said.

He described the damage to the home as "very extensive" and said it was likely a total loss.

Fire crews were at the scene for about 2-1/2 hours and firefighters from the Charleston Fire Department helped with the fire, Junge said. Mattoon police and the Coles County Animal Rescue and Education Center also assisted, he said.

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Old State Village home likely a total loss after fire

Jane #39;s Story
Calling on the Government to better protect private tenants. Six years ago Jane #39;s daughter Thirza moved to Cornwall to start an exciting new life with her husband and their two young children....

By: Electrical Safety First

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Jane's Story - Video

ROANOKE This is how Holly McDuffie describes her home: The crappiest house in Roanoke.

Its got mold, exposed wiring and plumbing problems. The air conditioning doesnt work. Bricks are separating from the house.

Camille Maxwell is concerned about her daughters safety, fearing that her house may simply collapse around them because the master support beam is broken in three places.

Her master bathroom caved in last fall.

As you can see, there is no frame underneath this side of house anymore, she said, pointing to the massive hole where her bathtub and hot water heater once sat in the Collin County home.

McDuffie and Maxwell dont know each other. But they do have something in common: Khosrow Sadeghian.

Hes the landlord News 8 recently told you about who specializes in renting to people with no credit or bad credit. Sadeghian owns in excess of a 1,000 properties throughout North Texas in Denton, Collin, Dallas and Johnson counties.

He had rented a house in the Sanger area to Jim and Debra Bowers. He promised that fixes would be made to the property. When the repairs werent made, the Bowers couldnt move into the property.

That left the Bowers living with their three children in a motel, paying rent there in addition to paying for the mobile home they couldn't live in.

The plumbing was in disrepair. The toilets didnt work. The air conditioning system was malfunctioning. There were holes in the floor throughout, letting rodents and other creatures into the home. There was evidence of mold under the sink and elsewhere.

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Landlord facing more tenant complaints

By Simon Perry

06/23/2014 at 09:30 AM EDT

Kate and William (inset), Kensington Palace

Andrew Holt/Getty; Inset: REX USA

The price, after $1.6 million was spent last year, has increased by another $5 million, it has been claimed, bringing the total so far to $6.6 million. An official report will be announced Wednesday.

Shouldering the bill is the U.K. taxpayer, via what is known as the Sovereign Grant, though the family, and in large part Prince Charles, were responsible for the fixtures and furnishings in the living section of the compound.

The apartment itself is, in fact, a four-story home, with up to 30 rooms, including nine bathrooms furnishings for which Kate shopped for personally, it is believed.

The royal family is also privately paying for the improvements being carried out at the couple's country home, Anmer Hall on Queen Elizabeth's Sandringham estate. The 10-bedroom country mansion, complete with tennis court and swimming pool, was a gift from the Queen, 88.

Constructing new internal areas, including the kitchen and Prince George's nursery (requiring the ripping out of asbestos, installing a new roof and modernizing the wiring and plumbing), has increased the cost at Kensington Palace. Because it is a historic building, stringent guidelines must be adhered to in the renovations.

Aides stress that Apartment 1a will be their official home for many years to come and had to be converted from offices into a suitable home. Moreover, it had not been renovated for at least 50 years, the last extensive update being in 1963.

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William and Kate's Home Refurbishment Approaches $6.6 Million

Homeseer home automation controller unboxing
http://www.discount-low-voltage.com/Connectivity/Home-Control/HT-ZEE Here #39;s a quick unboxing look at the cool Homeseer home automation controller. These are ...

By: Mercy Salinas

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Homeseer home automation controller unboxing - Video

For those looking to score a deal on a home, foreclosed properties can offer a great opportunity. Lenders are looking to unload the property and will often offer up a deep discount to do so quickly. But the process of buying a foreclosed home can differ a little from traditional home sales. Here are some things to consider before you make an offer on one of these properties.

The As-Is Sale

Disgruntled homeowners in foreclosure can feel like they have nothing left to lose. Faced with the prospect of losing their house, homeowners sometimes leave the place stripped of anything valuable or useful, including door knobs, fixtures and wiring. In cases like this, the lender is unlikely to make repairs and will sell the home as-is. While you can get the place at a steep discount, it might only be a bargain if youve got some DIY skills. This shouldnt necessarily discourage you from buying, but youll need to figure out if the cost of repairs will offset the discounted offer price.

Not Knowing What Youre Getting Into

With most homes, youll likely get some disclosure from the current owners. A helpful homeowner might give you a little advice, like the best place to start a garden, or offer you a heads up on minor repairs, like a bathroom door that sticks. And when it comes to big repairs, such as a shoddy foundation or termite damage, the owners might be legally required to let you know before you buy the place. But a lender has no history with the home, so dont expect to get a run-down of problems before you move in. A foreclosure might be a good deal, but it can also turn into an unexpected adventure.

Dont Assume Theyll Take Any Offer

While a foreclosed home can often be a bargain, you shouldnt expect the lender to accept a lowball offer. Even in a market flooded with foreclosures, a bank might balk at a low offer, preferring to wait until housing prices bounce back rather than take a huge hit on the investment. However, you can use local foreclosures to your advantage. Take a look at recent sale prices for homes sold by lenders which are often called real-estate owned, or REO sales to help you price the place.

It Takes More Time

Most mortgages are backed by big banks and financial institutions, which means you will likely run smack into a large, slow-moving bureaucracy when trying to buy a home in foreclosure. With a traditional home sale, you can expect to find out if your offer has been accepted within a day or two. But when buying from a financial institution this process can take weeks. So have patience and dont freak out if you dont immediately hear back from the seller.

A Different Kind of Sale

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5 foreclosure buying tips

Ideally, you want to be able to take your home's electrical system for granted. It should power your lights and appliances reliably, safely and invisibly.

But it's important to notice warning signs that an experienced professional should examine a system. Our researchers compiled these indicators, based on interviews with highly rated electricians:

Flickering lights, a sizzling sound when lights are switched on or off, plugs that spark, plugs that fit loosely in receptacles or lights that dim when appliances start. These may signal a loose wiring connection, which can be a fire hazard.

Warmth in a wire, extension cord or fuse box. This may indicate a faulty or unsafe wiring connection, which could cause an overload and lead to fire.

A breaker that repeatedly trips, indicating an overloaded circuit.

A breaker that never trips, especially in an older home. That may be a sign that your wiring system lacks adequate electrical safeguards.

Also, make sure you know what kind of wiring winds through your home. Copper is the ideal material. Pre-1940s knob-and-tube wiring and 1960s-era aluminum wiring are associated with greater fire risk.

Knob-and-tube systems feature porcelain knobs that anchor wires to studs and floor joists and insulated tubes that carry wires through walls and other obstructions. Such systems have separate hot and neutral wires that run parallel to each other and dissipate heat into the air. They can become a fire hazard if overburdened, improperly retrofitted or come in contact with insulation.

Problems with aluminum wire generally occur at connections, where exposed aluminum wire may rust, resisting current flow and generating heat. Aluminum also expands and contracts in response to load and temperature changes differently than copper or other materials, so connections between aluminum and other metals can lead to problems that reduce conduction.

If you live in an older home and aren't certain of its wiring type or safety status, schedule an inspection by a licensed, experienced electrician.

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Dont take electrical systems for granted

Going out and finding a bargain financial investment home, on paper, is just one-half of the process of property investment. The other half of real estate investing is going down to the property or courthouse to examine the real estate financial investment house literally for problems either in terms of the building, legal title and various other liens that can be on the property.

Unless you locate a residential property that is truly run down and you wish to tear it down to its structures, you really want to look out for homes that could have prospective electrical and water piping problems. The reason this is important is that, wiring and water piping is typically hidden behind walls and other furniture installations and mending them could be a really costly event since you have to hack into the wall surfaces and run the piping and circuitry if the issue is really severe. If you are new to home investing attempt to make an electrical engineer along with you when you are doing some property assessment.

Secondly, structure problems are typically harder to identify. When perambulating the home, look for cracks showing up beside your house and the foundation that enters into the ground. Search for big uncommon holes found beside the home and fractures on the outside paint of the structure. You may wish to bring a civil designer and a professional along to identify how much it would certainly set you back to take care of the property if you think the repair entailed will be considerable. You could also bring them along to give a grim price quote to our home owner and pull down the price of the residential property.

Finally, roof problems could be a consistent headache to you and your prospective occupant if you are buying the property for occupancy functions. When examining your home, look around the ceiling near the glass and around the edges of the wall surfaces to look for new paint or yellow spots or fractures with water in them. The majority of homeowners would be wise to remove the water bubbles after a heavy rain when trying to make an offer for the property, yet it is consistently crucial to determine if there is a major leaking roof which might cost you are lot into repairing it. Use this flaw to work out the cost of the home additionally if you want the residential property.

Fourthly, an additional reason the financial investment home concerned might be a bargain may be because there are legal issues linked with it. Common ones include, a number of proprietors that could not concur whether to offer or not. Lawsuits here would certainly be futile and you ought to stay clear of such residential property once you find out concerning it.

Another problem could be a lack of clean title. Did you know that the vendor can be selling you only the structure without the land or perhaps there are existing tax liens on your home or some other liens that can avoid you from acquiring good title to the home? Investing time talking with a trusted real property attorney to find out about typical realty problems in your area can save you bunches of lawful problems later on.

Fifthly, bankruptcy of your homeowner or one of the part proprietors of your property might depending upon the lawful proceedings of your state impact your ability to move title quickly. The majority of states make it a demand that the receiver of the broke needs to concur so pay cautious focus on the bankruptcy regulations of your state. That being shared, often the banks want to offer you at a deal so as to recover the bad debts quickly so do your homework before purchasing such a financial investment residential property.

To conclude, these 5 reminders could be made use of as a beginning factor for you to review your property financial investment. Spend time to believe rationally about the properties that you have actually viewed and see if they have any one of the above flaws and think about if you want to proceed buying them and whether the costs that you may sustain in fixing them will justify the rebate of the residential property to the market worth. Most importantly, take substantial activity today and seek your property financial investment dreams.

Take Action and you will be successful.

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Looking for Another Investment Home? Here Are Some Issues You Should Avoid

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) Steve and Mary Payne have not lived in a home of their own in 10 years.

Singularly and together, they've lived in shelters, with family and in a tent in an encampment under the Pete Hollis bridge known as Tent City.

They recently saw the two-bedroom, one-bath house with a glassed-in porch that, once renovated, will become their home for the next year.

It's available through a new program from United Housing Connections called Restore a Home.

"I still think it's a dream," Steve Payne said, standing in a large kitchen that was clearly his wife's favorite room.

"It's big," she said. "Won't be running into people."

"We used to have Thanksgiving and Christmas. The whole family," her husband said.

"Let's plan on that again," said Rick Ingram, the interim executive director of United Housing Connections who showed the Paynes the house, which is in the beginning stages of renovation.

Steve and Mary Payne were featured in a five-part series in The Greenville News last November that showed Greenville County has the second highest population of homeless people in the state after Richland, where Columbia is located. The series described life under the bridge, where the Paynes were new residents, where they celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary.

The newspaper found that people with unreliable income or on disability, as the Paynes are, couldn't afford a place to live, sending them into the streets, shelters and tent communities. The problem is exacerbated by low-paying jobs and limited public transportation.

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Homeless couple gets home from Upstate volunteers

Joe J.C. Ganote celebrated Fathers Day with his son and grandchildren at his home in Lees Summit, Mo. But if the younger Ganotes hadnt made the cross-country trip from San Diego, you can bet that grandpa would have logged on to Skype to watch them on the 106-inch screen in his basement.

We can see them walking around. They ham it up, boy! They know they are on camera, J.C. Ganote said about the 11-month-old twins, Michela and Caleb.

Across town, Terry Maskil of Shawnee, Kan., often settles into one of the plush reclining theater chairs next to his sons Adam, 13, and Nicholas, 6, to watch a movie in their basement home theater, which features a 120-inch screen.

These days, home theaters are the family rooms, and money can buy you all the amenities, including surround sound, subwoofers and popcorn makers.

Photo by SHANE KEYSER

The components sit in a cabinet outside of the room in the Maskil family home theater in Shawnee, Kan. Home theater systems are often installed with dad in mind, but turn out to be a good way for the whole family to spend time together. (Shane Keyser/Kansas City Star/MCT)

Photo by SHANE KEYSER

The main floor home theater at the home of Joe Ganote in Lee's Summit, Mo. (Shane Keyser/Kansas City Star/MCT)

Photo by SHANE KEYSER

A bag of popcorn at one of five custom recliners in the Maskil family home theater in Shawnee, Kan. Home theater systems are often installed with dad in mind, but turn out to be a good way for the whole family to spend time together. (Shane Keyser/Kansas City Star/MCT)

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Home theaters are growing in popularity