Carbon Monoxide
Approximately 250 people in the United States died last year from the "Silent Killer" -- carbon monoxide (CO). This deadly gas is hard to detect because it is odorless, colorless and tasteless. UL recommends that consumers follow these steps to help prevent carbon monoxide poisoning:
1. Have a qualified technician inspect fuel-burning appliances at least once each year.
2. Fuel-burning appliances such as furnaces, hot water heaters and stoves require yearly maintenance. Over time, components can become damaged or deteriorate. A qualified technician can identify and repair problems with your fuel-burning appliances.
3. Be alert to the danger signs that signal a CO problem: streaks of carbon or soot around the service door of your fuel-burning appliances; the absence of a draft in your chimney; excessive rusting on flue pipes or appliance jackets; moisture collecting on the windows and walls of furnace rooms; fallen soot from the fireplace; small amounts of water leaking from the base of the chimney, vent or flue pipe; damaged or discolored bricks at the top of your chimney and rust on the portion of the vent pipe visible from outside your home.
4. Be aware that CO poisoning may be the cause of flu-like symptoms such as headaches, tightness of chest, dizziness, fatigue, confusion and breathing difficulties. Because CO poisoning often causes a victim's blood pressure to rise, the victim's skin may take on a pink or red cast.
5. Install a UL Listed CO detector outside sleeping areas. A UL Listed CO detector will sound an alarm before dangerous levels of CO accumulate. CO indicator cards and other devices are also intended to detect elevated levels of CO, but most are not equipped with an audible alarm, and cannot wake you at night, when most CO poisonings occur.
6. Read the manufacturer's instructions carefully before installing a CO detector. Do not place the detector within five feet of household chemicals. If your detector is wired directly into your home's electrical system, you should test it monthly. If your unit operates off of a battery, test the detector weekly and replace the battery at least once a year.
7. Avoid placing your detector directly on top of or directly across from fuel-burning appliances. These appliances will emit some CO when initially turned-on. Never use charcoal grills inside a home, tent, camper or unventilated garage. Don't leave vehicles running in an enclosed garage, even to "warm up" your car on a cold morning.
8. Know how to respond to a CO detector alarm. If your alarm sounds, immediately open windows and doors for ventilation. If anyone in the home is experiencing symptoms of CO poisoning -- headache, dizziness or other flu-like symptoms -- immediately evacuate the house and call the fire department. If no one is experiencing these symptoms, continue to ventilate, turn off fuel-burning appliances and call a qualified technician to inspect your heating system and appliances as soon as possible. Because you have provided ventilation, the CO buildup may have dissipated by the time help responds and your problem may appear to be temporarily solved. Do not operate any fuel-burning appliances until you have clearly identified the source of the problem. A CO detector alarm indicates elevated levels of CO in the home. Never ignore the alarm.
With Winter already here is is very important to be aware of Carbon Monoxide. I hope these tips help!
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Friday, November 9, 2007
Bill would ease tax debt for many in foreclosure: Senate could vote on Stabenow plan during December
This story was featured in the Lansing State Journal today. This could help a ton of people in our area. Will it pass? What do you think?
Mara Lee
State Journal correspondent
Sue McClung lost her $40,000-a-year secretarial job in May 2006. Then, as her job search dragged on for more than a year, she lost her $130,000 home in Lansing.
For seven months, she stayed current on the $1,000 monthly mortgage, thanks to unemployment benefits and a pension from a previous state job. But when benefits ran out, a $7.50-an-hour retail job wasn't enough to cover the payments and support herself and a daughter in college. "I just thought, 'I can't do this,' " she said. McClung, 54, now has a new job, and is renting a duplex in Mason.
But her nightmare isn't over.
Although her house, which is owned by the bank, now sits empty, it still could cost her.
If it sells for less than what she owed, McClung will owe taxes on the difference between her mortgage balance and the price the bank gets. Debt forgiveness is considered a loss to the bank and taxable income for the former owner.
A bill from U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, would change that. Under Stabenow's bill, people who lose their homes to foreclosure would be absolved from future tax liability on the sale of the home. Similar legislation passed the House last month, but it has yet to be considered in the Senate. Stabenow called this week for a vote on the bill, saying the tax change is urgently needed.
Many factors
Analysts at the Congressional Budget Office project 400,000 U.S. homeowners have been or will be in McClung's position this year and in the next two years because of a downturn in the housing market. Just this year, about 100,000 foreclosures have been initiated in Michigan, according to Realty-trac, a foreclosure research firm. Stabenow said owning a home is the American dream. "Too many people now are seeing that (dream) slip away," she said.
Around the country, sharply rising adjustable-rate mortgages among people with poor credit and small-scale real-estate investors have driven the rise in foreclosures. But in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, subprime lending is only part of the problem - many borrowers also have trouble meeting their obligations because of unemployment and replacement jobs that pay less.
That's what happened to McClung. She found a new job as a receptionist and executive assistant in September, although it pays $10,000 less than her former job.
"I was picked out of 400 people," she said. "I'm very blessed."
But she worries about what will happen if the bill doesn't pass. How can she pay taxes on tens of thousands of dollars she never even saw?
Stabenow agrees.
"That makes absolutely no sense," she said.
Many other priorities
A vote on Stabenow's bill could come next month, but her proposal has to compete with many other must-do priorities before Christmas - including passing the budget for next year.
McClung, meanwhile, says owning a house as a single person is too hard, and she'll never do it again.
"I'm still recovering," she said.
Mara Lee
State Journal correspondent
Sue McClung lost her $40,000-a-year secretarial job in May 2006. Then, as her job search dragged on for more than a year, she lost her $130,000 home in Lansing.
For seven months, she stayed current on the $1,000 monthly mortgage, thanks to unemployment benefits and a pension from a previous state job. But when benefits ran out, a $7.50-an-hour retail job wasn't enough to cover the payments and support herself and a daughter in college. "I just thought, 'I can't do this,' " she said. McClung, 54, now has a new job, and is renting a duplex in Mason.
But her nightmare isn't over.
Although her house, which is owned by the bank, now sits empty, it still could cost her.
If it sells for less than what she owed, McClung will owe taxes on the difference between her mortgage balance and the price the bank gets. Debt forgiveness is considered a loss to the bank and taxable income for the former owner.
A bill from U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, would change that. Under Stabenow's bill, people who lose their homes to foreclosure would be absolved from future tax liability on the sale of the home. Similar legislation passed the House last month, but it has yet to be considered in the Senate. Stabenow called this week for a vote on the bill, saying the tax change is urgently needed.
Many factors
Analysts at the Congressional Budget Office project 400,000 U.S. homeowners have been or will be in McClung's position this year and in the next two years because of a downturn in the housing market. Just this year, about 100,000 foreclosures have been initiated in Michigan, according to Realty-trac, a foreclosure research firm. Stabenow said owning a home is the American dream. "Too many people now are seeing that (dream) slip away," she said.
Around the country, sharply rising adjustable-rate mortgages among people with poor credit and small-scale real-estate investors have driven the rise in foreclosures. But in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, subprime lending is only part of the problem - many borrowers also have trouble meeting their obligations because of unemployment and replacement jobs that pay less.
That's what happened to McClung. She found a new job as a receptionist and executive assistant in September, although it pays $10,000 less than her former job.
"I was picked out of 400 people," she said. "I'm very blessed."
But she worries about what will happen if the bill doesn't pass. How can she pay taxes on tens of thousands of dollars she never even saw?
Stabenow agrees.
"That makes absolutely no sense," she said.
Many other priorities
A vote on Stabenow's bill could come next month, but her proposal has to compete with many other must-do priorities before Christmas - including passing the budget for next year.
McClung, meanwhile, says owning a house as a single person is too hard, and she'll never do it again.
"I'm still recovering," she said.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Federal Reserve Lowers Interest Rate Again, not everyone agrees it is best..
This story was reported in the Lansing State Journal today:
Fed's move might help amid foreclosure crisis. Interest rate cut to 4.5 percent
Staff and wire reports
The Federal Reserve's latest interest rate cut - its second reduction in six weeks - could eventually help the housing market and mid-Michigan consumers.
On Wednesday, the Fed cut the key federal funds rate one-quarter of a percentage point to 4.5 percent to help the economy weather a deepening housing slump.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and all but one of his colleagues agreed to lower the key rate. Banks started to cut their prime lending rates for their best customers by a corresponding amount - to 7.5 percent in this case.
But Wednesday's rate cut won't automatically mean lower rates on home equity loans and credit cards, said Michigan State University economics professor Charles Ballard.
What the cut will do is make it easier for lending institutions to make loans to consumers by reducing the short-term interest loan rate charged to banks.
Banks, in turn, may lower interest rates and mortgage rates.
Michigan already has one of the worst foreclosure rates in the nation, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketplace of foreclosure properties.
According to RealtyTrac's quarterly report to be released today, Michigan had the fourth-highest number of foreclosure filings in the third quarter, with 1 in 104 homes in the state the subject of a default notice, auction sale notice or bank repossession. That is up 65.7 percent from the second quarter and 110.7 percent from a year earlier.
The mid-Michigan area fared slightly better than the state, with foreclosure filings made at the rate of one for every 110 homes in Ingham County, one for every 188 homes in Eaton County and one for every 209 homes in Clinton County.
Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac's filings data includes default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions.
The Fed rate cut won't necessarily help people with adjustable rate mortgages. But it may make it easier for people to refinance with standard mortgages.
"Hopefully, this will help more people to quality to buy a house or buy more of a house," said Denny Moore, associate broker for Coldwell Banker Hubbell Real Estate Co. in Delta Township.
Lansing State Journal business writer Barbara Wieland and Associated Press writer Jeannine Aversa contributed to this story.
What do you think? There are critics that say this is just window dressing and that it furthur hurts the American dollar worldwide because no other countries want to finance our debt anymore. Will it help or just make people temporarily see some hope? Let us know your thoughts by clicking on the "Comments" link below.
Fed's move might help amid foreclosure crisis. Interest rate cut to 4.5 percent
Staff and wire reports
The Federal Reserve's latest interest rate cut - its second reduction in six weeks - could eventually help the housing market and mid-Michigan consumers.
On Wednesday, the Fed cut the key federal funds rate one-quarter of a percentage point to 4.5 percent to help the economy weather a deepening housing slump.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and all but one of his colleagues agreed to lower the key rate. Banks started to cut their prime lending rates for their best customers by a corresponding amount - to 7.5 percent in this case.
But Wednesday's rate cut won't automatically mean lower rates on home equity loans and credit cards, said Michigan State University economics professor Charles Ballard.
What the cut will do is make it easier for lending institutions to make loans to consumers by reducing the short-term interest loan rate charged to banks.
Banks, in turn, may lower interest rates and mortgage rates.
Michigan already has one of the worst foreclosure rates in the nation, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketplace of foreclosure properties.
According to RealtyTrac's quarterly report to be released today, Michigan had the fourth-highest number of foreclosure filings in the third quarter, with 1 in 104 homes in the state the subject of a default notice, auction sale notice or bank repossession. That is up 65.7 percent from the second quarter and 110.7 percent from a year earlier.
The mid-Michigan area fared slightly better than the state, with foreclosure filings made at the rate of one for every 110 homes in Ingham County, one for every 188 homes in Eaton County and one for every 209 homes in Clinton County.
Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac's filings data includes default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions.
The Fed rate cut won't necessarily help people with adjustable rate mortgages. But it may make it easier for people to refinance with standard mortgages.
"Hopefully, this will help more people to quality to buy a house or buy more of a house," said Denny Moore, associate broker for Coldwell Banker Hubbell Real Estate Co. in Delta Township.
Lansing State Journal business writer Barbara Wieland and Associated Press writer Jeannine Aversa contributed to this story.
What do you think? There are critics that say this is just window dressing and that it furthur hurts the American dollar worldwide because no other countries want to finance our debt anymore. Will it help or just make people temporarily see some hope? Let us know your thoughts by clicking on the "Comments" link below.
Sorry for the delay!
We had a few technical problems with the posting of our stories, but all is fixed. Sorry for the break!
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