Today we’re going to be talking about costly, big-ticket repair items in your home. A well-maintained home should last decades, if not centuries. We’ve sold homes built in the 1800s, new construction homes, and everything in between. One of...
Posted by Barker Hedges Group on Thursday, December 27, 2018 at 10:04 AMBy Barker Hedges Group / December 27, 2018Comment
If you’ve got fogged windows, you may want to think twice before entirely replacing them. In some cases, the fix may be more simple (and less expensive) than that.
Today I’d like to shed some light on a common concern among buyers and sellers in our market: fogged windows. This seemingly small detail can cause a lot of anxiety, as many people assume that the only...
Posted by Barker Hedges Group on Monday, June 26, 2017 at 10:07 AMBy Barker Hedges Group / June 26, 2017Comment
While a fire may seem like something that will never happen to you or your family, it is critical to know what to do if one does. Being knowledgeable on both preventing and on handling a fire could be the difference between life and death.
Posted by Barker Hedges Group on Tuesday, November 1, 2016 at 12:14 PMBy Barker Hedges Group / November 1, 2016Comment
With fall in full swing, today we’d like to ask you one simple question: is your home ready for the winter months? There are a few things you can do to the exterior of your home now to winterize it and avoid costly problems in the future:
Winter weather is a double-edged sword. Snow provides opportunities for us to enjoy ourselves, but it can also cause problems in and around our homes.
Ice dams are sheets of ice that form on the roof due to heat loss from the inside of your home. If left untreated, they can cause water to back up under the roof shingles. This water can then enter your home through your ceiling or exterior wall cavity and cause some serious...
Posted by Matt Barker on Monday, October 31, 2011 at 11:54 PMBy Matt Barker / October 31, 2011Comment
Minneapolis has received a $750,000 grant for North Side tornado repairs from Minnesota's Housing Board.
The money is to be dispensed in interest-free loans of up to $30,000 repayable when the house sells. The 30-year interest-free loans will be available for households earning less than 115 percent of area median income.
In other closely related new, an arrangement has been worked out for Minneapolis homeowners with tornado damage to access loans from a separate $1 million Quick Start fund that was awarded to the city by the state. So far, only five North Side homes have received Quick Start money, for a total of about $150,000.
Posted by Matt Barker on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 9:47 PMBy Matt Barker / December 15, 2009Comment
157 residents were going to receive weatherization assistance from the Anoka County Community Action Program. Now, thanks to $1.6 million in federal stimulus money, the program will be available to nearly 300 more. Additionally, workers will be able to look more closely at more clients' energy use than they've been able to in the past. This will enable them to find more solutions to bring a home's utility costs down.
Anoka County's allocation is part of $131 million in stimulus weatherization aid being distributed throughout the state. The federal money allows ACCAP to triple its client load and raises the average allocation per home from $3,000 to $6,500.
The program is available to county residents who qualify for federal home heating aid. The cutoff is about 200% of federal poverty guidelines, or $44,100 a year for a family of four. Those with the highest energy consumption generally get first priority because unusually high energy bills signal...
Posted by Matt Barker on Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 11:08 PMBy Matt Barker / August 18, 2009Comment
There is some economic and evironmental good news in the housing and construction sector. More than $10 billion of federal stimulus funding to retrofit homes, businesses and government buildings to be more energy efficient is starting to hit communities around the country, including Minnesota, Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Building energy retrofits save energy and reduce pollution at the same time they put people to work.
Energy use in buildings accounts for nearly 40% of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. Low-cost technologies and certain construction practices can cut energy use in many buildings by up to 30%. That difference could translate into cost savings and implementing the fixes will create jobs.
Cities that receive retrofit funds from the Minnesota Weatherization Assistance Program are spending the money quickly to create jobs. They're also trying to make sure they invest these resources in the best way possible...
