Torontos red-hot real estate market has turned an elderly homeowner into a wealthy woman with the simple stroke of a pen.

Her dilapidated Roncesvalles home sold Wednesday night for $803,649 more than $150,000 over the asking price after a flurry of more than a dozen offers from contractors and families looking to put down roots in one of Torontos most up-and-coming neighbourhoods.

Interest was so intense and competition so close for the Galley Ave. home that listing agent Chander Chaddah plotted all the offers on a simple spreadsheet so they would be easier to understand for the owner, who is in her 80s and currently in hospital.

Whenever youre selling a home for somebody, its a bittersweet experience, says Chaddah. Ive had moms break down in tears as were signing an offer because their children were born and grew up in that house.

You are saying goodbye to a big part of your life.

The buyer is a contractor who apparently plans to live in the home, which is just steps from Roncesvalles Ave., once the extensive renovations are done.

More than 300 people showed up for open houses at the five-bedroom, soot-smeared home where the owner, who inherited the detached house from her mother more than three decades ago, had been living with her daughter.

For years, they had relied on kerosene heaters to keep them warm in winter because the house had no working furnace.

It also had a badly leaking roof, is missing windows, has knob and tube wiring and needs a complete gutting, if for no other reason than to get rid of the insidious soot.

While its become a common ploy among Toronto realtors to list homes well below market value to drive up interest and spur on bidding wars in a market where demand continues to far outstrip listings, Chaddah insists he wasnt doing that here.

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Roncesvalles fixer-upper draws a crowd and a hefty $803,649 sale price

PASCO, WA - Faulty wiring in a light fixture is to blame for a fire that left six people without a home Tuesday morning, in Pasco.

The fire started around 5:00 a.m. in the attic of the home, on the 900 block of South Lindsay Avenue.

Firefighters had to rip open the ceiling in the living room to get to the flames. It took them about a half hour to put out the fire.

The family was inside at the time, but was able to get out safely.

"Crews had to go in and gain access to the attic. It was lath and plaster construction-- so, they had a difficult time getting in--but once they got in there, we got the fire under control real quickly," said Battalion Chief Dave Hare of the Pasco Fire Department.

Firefighters said the family was able to salvage most of their belongings. The Red Cross is helping them with what they need.

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Electrical Fire in Pasco Leaves Six Without Home

A Provo woman and her two teenage daughters safely escaped an electrical fire that destroyed their mobile home early Saturday.

Provo Fire and Rescue

PROVO Giselle Hurtado said there was only one thing on her mind when her mother discovered a fire in the family's mobile home.

"All I wanted to do was just get out, be safe," the 15-year-old said. "You don't really think of anything, like grabbing anything, it's just like it happens really fast."

Giselle, her mother and her 12-year-old sister all safely escaped an electrical fire that destroyed their mobile home early Saturday. Giselle said her mother smelled smoke, got up to investigate and saw a flame near a closet full of shoes.

"We're very fortunate that she woke up to the smell of smoke. That typically doesn't happen," said Provo Fire Marshal Lynn Schofield.

Once the mother, Leticia Quesada, noticed the smell of smoke in her trailer at 850 W. Columbia Lane #29, she alerted her two sleeping daughters. Giselle said her mother first told her to get a bucket of water, but she couldn't see because of the smoke.

They were able to escape the burning home and call for help about 12:15 a.m., Schofield said.

The home is a total loss and the family is receiving temporary shelter from the local chapter of the Red Cross, as they don't have relatives in the area.

"When you see it happen to other people it's like, 'Oh it happened to them,' but when it happens to you it just like hits you real bad," Giselle said. 'It's sad seeing all your stuff gone. It makes you stronger and you realize what you had and appreciate the stuff."

Continued here:
Mother, two daughters homeless after a fire destroyed their mobile home

DEENA COSTER/ Fairfax NZ

HOME SWEET CHURCH: Bruce and Gail Thompson enjoy the peace and quiet of their converted church.

Pulling up a pew takes on a whole new meaning for visitors to Bruce and Gail Thompson's Taranaki home.

The couple live in what was the former St John's Church located by the main road, about 11km south of Hawera.

Thompson, who has owned the property since 1997, originally had plans to run a business from the address, but after the venture fell through, he decided to live in it instead.

"It just sort of became a home," he said.

The church, which was built in 1926, has been completely transformed by Mr Thompson but some of the original features remain.

These include the brick archway, which extends to the roof, as well as the church's pulpit which takes pride of place in the couple's living room.

The majority of the work on the one-bedroom house was done by a builder but Thompson did the painting, wiring and the fittings himself.

He said a lot of the material used in the home was recycled.

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Church becomes home, sweet home

PITTSBURG -- Modified electrical circuitry and wiring for an illegal marijuana grow operation sparked a two-alarm fire early Friday morning that destroyed a new home on the western end of the city, fire officials said.

Contra Costa firefighters responded shortly after 1 a.m. to a home on the 2600 block of Tampico Drive, where they found the attic and second floor ablaze. A second alarm was called to help fight the fire, as a collapsed roof and ceiling prevented crews from searching inside, fire investigator Vic Massenkoff said.

It took about 80 minutes and 35 firefighters to control the fire, officials said. No one was injured by the blaze.

Fire investigators and Pittsburg police are still investigating, including trying to track down the home's owner. The illegal wiring, which was set up to bypass the meter, likely caused the fire, police and fire officials said.

The home, built in late 2012, is a total loss, with the damage estimated at $400,000. The home had fire sprinklers, but its water supply was shut off at the valve, Massenkoff said.

Police recovered "a decent portion of the plants that weren't burned," Lt. Ron Raman said. All told, they recovered about 100 mature plants and about 200 smaller plants.

The home was unoccupied, though a caretaker may have stayed there on occasion, Raman said.

Hash oil labs and illegal marijuana grow houses are becoming common throughout the county, Contra Costa fire officials said Friday. About 35 have been identified in the county Fire District's jurisdiction in the past two years, Massenkoff said.

More often than not, newer tract homes are being used and catching fire in the same manner. The "hot tap" into electrical service is meant to keep the grow homes "off the radar because of their usage," Massenkoff said.

Earlier this month, police seized 960 marijuana plants and cultivating equipment from a two-story home in Antioch following a fire. That Jan. 14 fire began in a wall behind a fuse box where wiring had been installed to bypass detection by any utility company, officials said.

Excerpt from:
Marijuana grow discovered during Pittsburg house fire

PITTSBURG -- Modified electrical circuitry and wiring for an illegal marijuana grow operation sparked a two-alarm fire early Friday morning that destroyed a new home on the western end of the city, fire officials said.

Contra Costa firefighters responded shortly after 1 a.m. to a home on the 2600 block of Tampico Drive, where they found the attic and second floor ablaze. A second alarm was called to help fight the fire, as a collapsed roof and ceiling prevented crews from searching inside, fire investigator Vic Massenkoff said.

It took about 80 minutes and 35 firefighters to control the fire, officials said. No one was injured by the blaze.

Fire investigators and Pittsburg police are still investigating, including trying to track down the home's owner. The illegal wiring, which was set up to bypass the meter, likely caused the fire, police and fire officials said.

The home, built in late 2012, is a total loss, with the damage estimated at $400,000. The home had fire sprinklers, but its water supply was shut off at the valve, Massenkoff said.

Police recovered "a decent portion of the plants that weren't burned," Lt. Ron Raman said. All told, they recovered about 100 mature plants and about 200 smaller plants.

The home was unoccupied, though a caretaker may have stayed there on occasion, Raman said.

Hash oil labs and illegal marijuana grow houses are becoming common throughout the county, Contra Costa fire officials said Friday. About 35 have been identified in the county Fire District's jurisdiction in the past two years, Massenkoff said.

More often than not, newer tract homes are being used and catching fire in the same manner. The "hot tap" into electrical service is meant to keep the grow homes "off the radar because of their usage," Massenkoff said.

Earlier this month, police seized 960 marijuana plants and cultivating equipment from a two-story home in Antioch following a fire. That Jan. 14 fire began in a wall behind a fuse box where wiring had been installed to bypass detection by any utility company, officials said.

Continued here:
Marijuana grow discovered after Pittsburg house fire

PITTSBURG, Calif.

Modified wiring for an illegal marijuana grow operation was suspected to be the cause of a two-alarm fire that destroyed a house in Pittsburg early Thursday morning, a fire inspector said.

The fire at 2610 Tampico Drive was reported at 1:10 a.m., Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Inspector Vic Massenkoff said.

Firefighters found the second floor and attic of the two-story home engulfed in flames and worked outside to keep the blaze from spreading to two adjacent houses, Massenkoff said.

When firefighters tried to enter the house, the roof and ceiling collapsed and a second alarm was called. After about 80 minutes, they finally brought the fire under control.

Crews investigating the wreckage found the modified wiring for the illegal marijuana grow operation, which is suspected to be the cause of the fire, Massenkoff said.

Damage to the home, built in late 2012, was estimated at $400,000 and the home is considered a total loss. There was a sprinkler system inside but the water had been shut off so it was not activated.

No one was injured by the blaze, Massenkoff said.

A total of 35 firefighters responded, including ones from Pittsburg, Antioch, Bay Point, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill and Pacheco.

Fire officials are asking anyone who sees suspicious activity in unoccupied houses, including alterations such as bars on windows, people coming and going at unusual hours or aluminum foil covering windows, to report that to avoid fires from grow houses or hash oil labs.

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Illegal marijuana grow triggers cause of 2-alarm fire

A low-power, multiroom sensor network watches for drips and runs on a coin-cell battery.

Earlier this month, as Google was snatching up the smart-thermostat maker Nest for $3.2 billion, a lesser known home sensor company made its own announcement. SNUPI Technologies, a Seattle startup, said it had garnered $7.5 million in funding. That might be pocket change compared to the Nest deal, but it was a significant endorsement just ahead of SNUPIs first product launch: a low-power wireless sensor network called WallyHome that tracks humidity, water leaks, and temperature throughout a building.

There are already many home monitors on the market; some, such as Lowes Iris Home Management System and a water leak and flood sensor from General Electric, are even wirelessly networked. What makes WallyHome novel is its use of a low-power communication scheme that lets sensors send data back to an Internet-connected base station over significant distances and through obstructions like walls and floors while sipping power from a coin-cell battery.

SNUPI cofounder Gabe Cohn believes this long-distance, low-power approach will endear the product to homeowners who want a reliable sensor network that requires little maintenance and can be installed easily. The base station plugs into a wall outlet and an Internet router via an Ethernet cable. Six wireless sensors are placed in leak- or humidity-prone areas, such as behind a toilet, under a dishwasher, or near a sump pump. And each sensors battery should power the device for up to 10 years without a replacement, Cohn says.

Most sensor networks rely on wireless protocols like Wi-Fi, ZigBee, or Bluetooth to send a signal to a base station tens of feet away. Some of these networks require devices that boost a wireless signal so it can go around walls or through floors, and they tend to require multiple battery replacements during their lifetimes.

Instead of blasting a wireless signal tens of feet, the WallyHome sensors emit a relatively weak wireless signal. While the signal isnt powerful enough to reach a base station on its own, it can reach inside walls and resonate with the copper wiring that carries electricity. WallyHome effectively turns these internal power lines into antennas, propagating sensor data to a base station, which is plugged into the same lines. Data is then uploaded to a cloud-based data collection and analysis service, and a person can check the status of a sensor using the Web and a smartphone app. The system sends a text, e-mail, or mobile phone alert if water is detected or temperature and humidity thresholds are exceeded. You have these wireless sensor nodes you can place anywhere in the house or building because power lines go anywhere, says Cohn.

The concept of using power lines to augment wireless sensor networks arose from research conducted by Cohn and co-inventors Matt Reynolds and Shwetak Patel, both professors at the University of Washington. In addition to cofounding SNUPI (Sensor Network Utilizing Powerline Infrastructure) in 2012, Patel, who was one of MIT Technology Reviews 35 Innovators Under 35 in 2009, also cofounded Zensi, acquired by Belkin in 2010. Patel was awarded a MacArthur award in 2011.

Elizabeth Mead, an analyst at IHS, a research firm, says that energy management is crucial for home networks. Low-power devices are becoming increasingly important, especially as the number of sensors in home networks proliferate.

Cohn hopes WallyHomes water-watching network will appeal to people who might have a second home that isnt regularly occupied, or who have previously experienced water damage, which can cause thousands of dollars of damage.

Over time, the system, which runs sensor data through machine-learning algorithms, will eventually be able to infer trends and anticipate changes in the environment, Cohn says. It could, for instance, notice that leaks from frozen pipes are common in certain areas at certain times of the year and issue warnings to customers.

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Nest Competitor Monitors Your House’s Leaks on the Cheap

Home Security Systems Inc.
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Ann Arbor, MI (PRWEB) January 21, 2014

As the new year gets under way and winter continues, so does the increased danger of having a house fire, due significantly to open flames, electrical problems, cooking and kitchen dangers, and improper usage of heating equipment in and around the home. Michigan residents should be extra careful when preparing to heat their homes this winter. This January, Ann Arbor-based Finns JM&J Insurance Agency wants to help area residents prepare for the increasingly cold weather, as well as the associated dangers with staying warm, with tips about fire hazards and how to take the right precautions to stay safe.

As always, Finns JM&J Insurance Agency is steadily focused on bringing a unique and personal brand of customer service to the community through news, advice, and insurance solutions. The agency is happy to build personal relationships withand provide peace of mind toits clients and hopes that residents will stay warm and safe throughout the winter months. Customers interested in learning more about staying covered with home insurance this winter can visit the Finns JM&J Insurance Agency website, call 888-285-6582, or stop by the offices in Ann Arbor or Dexter, MI.

About Finns JM&J Insurance Agency: Finns JM&J Insurance Agency believes that insurance coverage shouldnt be a hassle, and customers should be treated like friends and family. With home base offices in Ann Arbor and Dexter, Michigan, the agencys professional agents are happy to serve clients and help them find the right personal and business insurance products that meet their unique needs and goals. Emphasizing educational, friendly, fun, and dedicated service, Finns JM&J Insurance Agency has built its business on providing clients throughout Michigan with affordable, high-quality, and flexible insurance solutions that leave their customers satisfied. To learn more about becoming part of the family, call Finns JM&J Insurance Agency today at 888-285-6582.

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This January, Finn’s JM&J Insurance Agency Warns of Increased Danger of Fire Hazards in and Around the Home