Sam’s office is located at 1312 Bowman Road in Mt. Pleasant.  Call him and he will be glad to assist with your insurance needs!

Linda Gordon, RSPS

Prudential Carolina Real Estate

(843)324-3476 mobile (843)242-3011 lgordon@prucar.com

www.LindaGordonOnline.com

Need info on Sullivan’s Island properties? Call or email me! (843)324-3476

lgordon@prucar.com

Get a MARKET SNAPSHOT at www.LindaGordonOnline.com

Well, sure, but not by itself like a fine wine can. Almost all houses can improve over time – providing that you give them a little TLC now and then. Keeping your home in tip-top condition not only makes it more comfortable, energy efficient and secure, but also increases its value on the real estate market.

Now that the summer holidays are behind us and school is back in session, you might want to consider giving your abode some of that TLC before the chill of winter settles in.

September is traditionally a good time to catch up on what you’ve put off throughout the spring and summer months, such as cleaning gutters. If they’re full, you can always install (or have installed if you don’t like ladders) gutter guards.

It’s also a good time to prepare your patio furniture for winter storage, check the caulking around doors and windows, and inspect the weather stripping. Studies show that heating bills can be dramatically reduced by simply placing weather stripping, which is very inexpensive, around doors and windows.

Once your home is ready for cooler weather, take a look at a few ways to actually improve the quality – and saleability – of the house.

• Install a new wood floor – “Shopping for a Wood Floor”
• Update a kitchen – “7 Budget Considerations for Kitchens”
• Finish a basement – “A Finished Basement’s Storage Solution”
• Improve your home’s health – “25 Things to Know: Healthy Homes”

For even more home improvement projects and ideas visit the AT&T Home & Garden Channel.

By James R. Hagerty
From The Wall Street Journal OnlineThe number of homes on the market in 18 major U.S. metropolitan areas rose slightly in July.

Total listings in those metro areas at the end of July increased 1.2% from a month earlier, according to ZipRealty Inc., a real-estate brokerage based in Emeryville, Calif. The data cover all listings of single-family homes, condominiums and town houses on local multiple-listing services in those areas.

Inventories increased 19% from a year earlier.

The July data indicate that the supply of unsold homes — while still large enough to weigh on prices in most areas — is no longer increasing rapidly. That could change, however, as foreclosures add homes to the market and as severely tightened lending standards make it much harder for many people to get loans.

The biggest increase in supply was in the Seattle metro area, up 6.1% in July. Until recently, the supply of Seattle area homes on the market was lean, and the Seattle market has been strong while most of the rest of the country has slumped over the past two years.

But now “we’re seeing a significant slowdown in Seattle,” said Pat Lashinsky, chief executive of ZipRealty. Sellers generally have been reluctant to trim their asking prices, he said, and “buyers are sitting on the sidelines, trying to figure out what’s going on.”

While inventories continue to rise in most areas, the Boston metro area showed a decline of 2.8% in July from a month before. In early 2005, Boston was one of the first markets to start cooling after the housing boom of the first half of the decade.

(source-Wall Street Journal Online-article by James Hagerty)

To volunteer, contact:
Sue Schweikart, coastal coordinator,
S.C. Sea Grant Consortium, (843) 953-2078
Dave Lansbury, inland coordinator,
S.C. Department of Natural Resources, (843) 953-9335
or scroll down for a list of coastal site captains.Visit SCDNR River Sweep Web site for more information on inland cleanups.

2006 photos

Beach Sweep/River Sweep is South Carolina’s largest one-day volunteer cleanup event of its kind. Every 3rd Saturday in September, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., thousands of South Carolinians clear beaches, rivers, lakes, marshes, and swamps of aquatic debris. The cleanup, organized by the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium and S.C. Department of Natural Resources, has taken place annually since 1988 – when Sea Grant first started it. The Sweep takes place in conjunction with the International Coastal Cleanup, coordinated by the Ocean Conservancy. Once the Sweep is over, The Ocean Conservancy tallies all of the debris data. This data helps us learn the sources of litter so we can stop pollution before it starts.

Why pick up trash?

There’s always going to be garbage, right? What difference does it make? Aquatic debris is dangerous. Seeing the effects of it first-hand, by participating in the cleanup, can demonstrate that. Litter is a danger to our wildlife, our safety, and our economy.