My New Blog

I am a licensed Real Estate Agent, and a member of the Ocala Marion County Association of Realtors. I specialize in Property Management. Part of that is to advertise my listings EVERYWHERE.

I received a phone call this morning from a young woman wanting to rent a home that I had listed in Silver Springs Shores in Ocala, FL. She told me that she had seen my ads before and recently saw an ad listed on Craigslist.com but it had a different email address on it: jayneandrea@yahoo.com
That is not my email! She said she had tried to reach me through that email and was contacted by a man in Africa. He claimed that he had hired me previously but just decided to rent it out himself.

A few words of advice on this type of thing.

It is public record and free to find out the real owner's name on a property. This is kept with the Marion County Property Appraiser's office.
I verify every single owner that places their property in my care to make sure that they are the owner of the property and that they have home owners insurance, and that their mortgage is up to date. These are things that protect the owner and the potential resident.

If you are renting from someone out of Country and your toilet breaks...how are you going to have them fix it for you? It really does make a difference having someone 5 miles away and 5,000 miles away.

I adore the internet, I think it is a great tool! But, a word of warning to those surfing the waves of the internet: 'these waters are shark infested'. There are predators out there looking for your identity, money, or worse. Please surf with caution.

When in doubt, check it out.

I can't say enough for the wisdom of this young woman who not only was smart enough not to be fooled by a very convincing story, but also to take the initiative to contact the real me and verify what was going on.

Thanks!
We appreciate it.

I have contacted the FTC and IC3 in regards to the poster, notified craigslist and yahoo, but I wanted to take a moment to let you all know that scums that scam are out there and they are looking for you.

Some of these ideas may seem too big, and some may seem silly, but doing whatever you can over the year can result in some major annual savings!

A: Check your Air Conditioning Unit every year. I would normally reccommend getting the A/C checked prior to the really hot expensive days of summer especially since most A/C companies might give you a discount (if you ask) during their slow times.

B: Opt for the energy saving light Bulbs. You don't have to do it all at once, but start replacing your old Bulbs with those great flourescent ones and watch your electricity bill savings grow.

C: With the new detergents we have out there, sometimes using Cold water in your washing machine is better than using hot. Not to mention that it is usually better on the clothes.

D: Dryer, dryer, dryer...Clean out the lint trap, clean out the dryer vent and make sure that it is not too long and getting clogged, and a very cool trick is to throw 2-3 dry hand towels in with a load of wet clothes.

E: Eliminating drafts by checking the seals around windows helps keep out the hot air and keeps in the cooler air, this goes a long way in reducing your electric bill.

F: Change your a/c Filters once a month. They are only a buck or two but they provide you with cleaner air throughout your home and the electricity will be lowered since the a/c doesn't need to work as hard to push air through a dirty filter. By changing the filters regularly, you will be saving an a/c bill when the lines get backed up with gunk and you have to call the repairman to come in and clean out the system.

G: Don't forget to seal up any Gaps in doors. The idea of paying for cooler air and then letting it blow right out the door is almost painful.

H: Save big bucks by Hanging your clothes up on a clothes line outside.
This is really great if you have a larger family since you are probably needing to do clothes in the dryer everyday.

I: Look into getting rebates and Incentives from your local electric company and local government for buying stuff you need anyway. If you need a new appliance, or window unit a/c you might be able to get money back just for buying an energy efficient model. Hmmm...more energy efficient AND a rebate check??? Too cool!

J: Just turn on a fan. Why crank the a/c all the way if it's not needed?

K: Keep the doors to the garage, attic, and basement closed.

L: Install a Low flow shower head and save on heat and water at the same time.

M: General Maintenance on your refrigerator, a/c, dryer etc takes very little time and effort but can lower your electricity bill dramatically each month.

N: Embrace the Nightlights! They are great! You can pick up some really cute ones at your local dollar store, cost almost nothing in electricity and you can even get some that only turn on when it gets dark. This way, when you get up in the middle of the night for a glass of water, you don't have to sting your eyes with mega bright overhead lights.

O: For Outdoor lighting, install the motion sensor lighting to add security but also save on electricity as well.

P: Program your thermostat, it seems simple enough not to run the a/c in an empty house all day but so many people don't take the time to save the money.

Q: Quit yelling at your kids (and sometimes your spouse) to turn off the lights when they leave a room, instead, opt for motion sensor lamps for inside the house.

R: Request an energy inspection from your local electric company, sometimes there is not even a charge for them to come out. Basically, the inspector will come out and let you know any and all areas in your home that are costing you big bucks.

S: Solar, I know it is intimidating, but solar panels are amazing! Not only do they really help reduce the electricity that you get from the local electric company, but sometimes the electric company will pull from your additional power and give you a credit on your electric bill. Who wouldn't love to get money from the electric company?!?

T: Think about Tinting your windows, this will keep your home cooler in the hot summer months.

U: Unplug any machine when you are done with it. Some have found it to be helpful to even unplug the microwave while not in use. Look for the lights! You know at night when you walk through the house and the lights are already off, and yet there are little blinking lights from the dvd player, and that alarm clock that you never use, not to mention the camcorder, laptop, cellphone and handheld dirtvac that are sitting there 'charging' constantly. Unplug the little electricity thieves. Obviously, if it is something you use every single day, you need to charge that item every night...but what about the rest of the stuff?

V: I know it sounds scary, but when you Vacuum your refrigerator coils just to remove the excess dust, it actually makes your refrigerator much more energy efficient. Just make sure not to bend or break the cooling fins.

W: Stop Wasting the Watts. When you are done in one room, turn off the light.

X: Tank less water heaters typically reduce water-heating costs from 30-50% by replacing your eXisting storage tank design, while initially expensive to install, the investment pays off in reduced water heating costs over time.

Y: Try a few things out this Year, then compare to last summer's electric bills and those of previous Years. Let me know what you tried and what you saved. Let others know too.

Z: Zilch<----the amount you are saving right now by not trying some of these ideas. :)