How to Repair Household Appliances - Overview

By the DIY experts of The Family Handyman Magazine

Oven won't heat? Clothes won't dry? 

Fix the oven and clothes dryer yourself 

and avoid expensive service calls.

If you're like most people, you expect to have to pay a repair professional when an appliance breaks down. After all, it's pretty tough to be without an oven or a clothes dryer for very long, and most of us don't have a clue where to start looking for the problem. But surprisingly, many common appliance breakdowns are easy to diagnose and fix. With little more than an inexpensive multimeter and nut drivers, you can do many repairs yourself and save hundreds of dollars. In this article, we'll show you how to find and fix some problems you're likely to have with ovens and dryers.

The parts for these repairs, none of which will take more than a few hours, are moderately priced. You'll need the model number and serial number of the appliance to buy parts. Look for the tag with this information under the lid of washers and dryers, or behind the door or bottom drawer of ovens. To find parts, check the Yellow Pages under “Appliance Parts,” go online to a parts service, or contact the manufacturer.

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Fannie Mae Mortgage Tips

From the Superpages.com

A Fannie Mae mortgage is a mortgage issued by the Federal National Mortgage association, which is a government sponsored entity (GSE). Fannie Mae was established in 1938 as a federal agency. In 1968, Fannie Mae was chartered by Congress and became a private shareholder-owned company. Fannie Mae was run in this manner until September of 2008, when the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) was appointed as conservator. At this time, the Department of Treasury provided up to $100 billion in capital to be used on an as-needed basis to ensure Fannie Mae could continue providing funds for the housing market. Fannie Mae’s mission is to make home ownership more affordable to everyone in America.

What Are the Types of Fannie Mae Mortgage?

Fannie Mae does not provide mortgages, but instead works with bankers and brokers to help these lenders provide funds for people with less than stellar credit. In working with its partners, Fannie Mae provides a series of Fannie-Mae mortgage products. However, the Fannie Mae charter specifies certain requirements for the two major types of loans they offer: conforming loans and jumbo loans.

Fannie Mae Mortgage Conforming Loans

Fannie Mae’s charter defines a conforming loan as a loan that fills within certain loan limits. As of January 2009, new loan limits are in effect. There are two sets of loan limits, one upper limit for mortgages in most areas and another for loans in high-coast areas:

• A conforming Fannie Mae mortgage loan must be under $417,000 for a single family unit in the contiguous states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico
• In high cost areas, Fannie Mae may authorize a Fannie Male loan up to $625,000.
• In Alaska, Guam, Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands, conforming Fannie Mae mortgage loans encompass loans up to $625,500.
• In high cost areas of Alaska, Guam, Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands, a conforming Fannie Mae mortgage loan can be up to to $938,250.

Fannie Mae mortgage loans that exceed these limits are referred to as jumbo loans and have different requirements.

Payment Structure for Fannie Mae Mortgage Loans

Fannie Mae offers several different payment structures for the mortgage loans they back:

• Biweekly mortgage: Under this accelerated payment structure, the homeowner pays on his mortgage every 14 days. The benefits of this mortgage include multiple lower payments and faster payoff of the principal. It is a fixed-rate mortgage. Payments are generally deducted from your bank account. Paying biweekly can save you thousands of dollars in interest and you can pay off a 30 year mortgage in approximately 22-years.
• Community Solutions: This mortgage has no minimums for borrower contributions. It is designed for teachers, police, firefighters and healthcare workers. Some of the other benefits include 40-year term mortgages and lower initial monthly payments via an interest only loan (for the first five or ten years). Loan to value ratios are up to 100 percent if the borrower is buying a single unit property. This loan may also be available to those with nontraditional credit histories
• Community HomeChoice: This loan is tailored to borrowers with a disability or with a family member that has a disability. The perks for this loan are similar to the Community Solutions mortgage.

Fannie Mae also provides funding for standard 30-year fixed rate mortgages, 15-year fixed rate mortgages, 20-year fixed rate mortgages and 40-year fixed rate mortgages. You canvisit the Fannie Mae website to learn more about Fannie Mae mortgage loans.

Jane Fonda Selling Santa Fe Sanctuary, Forked Lightning Ranch

AUTHOR:EMILY HEFFTER
ZILLOW

Source: IMDb

Jane Fonda is selling the New Mexico ranch she bought in 2000, calling it a sanctuary she loves but doesn’t have time to visit anymore.

The actress, activist and ’80s aerobics game-changer built the luxurious, 9,585-square-foot Spanish colonial-style home on a 2,000-acre property near Santa Fe. She told Architectural Digest that when she visited the property for the first time, “its sheer beauty made my hair stand on end.” The magazine featured the ranch in its pages in March.

“Forked Lightning Ranch has been a sanctuary and place of significant healing for me,” she said in a news release about the listing. “I think of myself as a steward of this land, and, while my vision for the place has been realized in the design of my home and careful care of the property’s ecosystem, the land itself remains the ranch’s true value and essence.”

According to the listing, Fonda spent two years fly-fishing, hiking, camping and horseback riding to learn everything about the property and its sunrises, sunsets, views and weather patterns. That is how she chose the best location for her house.

While she built the large house, Fonda stayed in a 2-bedroom log house on the property. There is also a 2,125-square-foot guest house, called the Hacienda, and a gym and 12-stall horse facility.

Fonda bought the property soon after separating from Ted Turner, who owns ranches. She decorated her ranch with antiques, artwork, rugs, furniture and books that are also for sale in addition to the ranch, which is listed for $19.5 million.

The listing, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, is held by Swan Land Company in Bozeman, MT.

Photos courtesy of Swan Land Company.

Fix Lawn Spots - Problem: Thatch

By the DIY experts of The Family Handyman Magazine

An ounce of prevention

1. Mow often and cut no more than one-third of the grass height.

2. Water your lawn less often but for longer periods to prevent shallow root systems.

3. Reduce the amount of fertilizer you spread at any one time.

4. Reduce the use of pesticides. This will help keep the worm and microorganism populations healthy.

5. Aerate at least once every year if your lawn is prone to thatch.

Photo 1: Check the turf
Slice the turf grass with a shovel and pry it back.
If the thatch depth measures more than 3/4 in., aerate at least 3 in. deep.

Photo 2: Aerate
Make two or three passes with an aerator until you've made 3-in.-deep holes 2 in. apart throughout your yard.

Photo 3: Rake in topsoil
Spread 1/4 in. of topsoil on the yard's most thatchy areas and then rake vigorously to fill the holes with loose soil.

Symptoms: If your grass feels soft and spongy when you walk on it, your lawn may have a thatch buildup. Thatch is a fibrous mat of dead stalks and roots that settles between the lawn's green leaves and the soil (photo above). When this mat becomes greater than 3/4 in. thick, it can cause your lawn to suffer from heat and drought. Affected lawns will rapidly wilt and turn blue-green, indicating they're hot and dry.

Cause: Cutting off too much at each mowing (letting the grass get too long) and cutting too low. Both will produce more dead grass tissue than microbes and earthworms can recycle. Thatch can develop in any soil but is most often associated with high clay content. Other causes are overfertilization and frequent, light watering, which encourage a shallow root system.

Remedy: Slice open a section of your lawn (Photo 1). If your grass shows 3/4 in. or more of thatch, it's time to rent an aerator. An aerator is a heavy machine that opens the soil by pulling up finger-size soil cores. The lawn will absorb more oxygen and water, which will encourage healthy microbe growth and give worms wiggle room.

Aerate in the spring or fall when the grass is growing but the weather is not too hot to stress the plants (Photo 2). If the machine isn't pulling plugs, your lawn may be too dry. To avoid this problem, water thoroughly the day before you aerate. You can also rake in topsoil (Photo 3) to increase the healthy microorganisms that aid thatch's natural decomposition. Topsoil is available at any garden center.

Recovery time: You can expect the thatch layer to decrease by about 1/4 in. per year, about the same rate at which it forms.

Renting a Lawn Aerator

If your goal is to have one of the nicest lawns on the block, you can go a long way toward achieving it with annual aeration.

When a lawn lacks sufficient air (a “compacted” condition), it grows slowly and becomes vulnerable to disease, insects and heat damage. The soil will become impermeable and shed water instead of absorbing it.

Gas-powered aerators are available at most tool rental stores. They're slow-moving but powerful machines, so ask the clerk for handling directions. An aerator weighs about 200 lbs., so be prepared for some heavy lifting or ask your rental store for a ramp to get it into a truck bed or van.

Cool-season grasses should be aerated in the late summer or early fall. Spring is best for warm-season types. (If you're not sure what type you have, take a sample to an expert at a local garden center.)

Resist the temptation to remove the thatch with a rented power rake. Power raking is less effective than aerating because it typically removes less than 15 percent of thatch and may damage the healthy grass as well.

CAUTION!

Call your local utility provider or 811 to mark your underground utility lines before you dig.

Miami Design District Updates

Maria Tettamanti - Miami.com

By 2016, the Miami Design District will boast over 100 international high-end retailers. We show you what is on the horizon.

As the construction dust settles in the Design District, we've got some stellar updates for you, Miami. In fact, by 2016, the Design District will boast over 100 international high-end retailers, a dozen restaurants, renowned art galleries, cutting-edge design showrooms, a world-class boutique hotel, luxury residential condominiums, and numerous large-scale public art installations.

Here is what is on the horizon:

PUBLIC ART & PUBLIC SPACES: Woven throughout the District will be public art installations and open public spaces. The former Plummer Alley will be re-named as the Paseo Ponti, a mid-block pedestrian path of shops, cafes, and greenery cutting through the heart of the district. At its center is Palm Court, an intuitively pedestrian plaza featuring the Buckminster Fuller-designed Fly’s Eye Dome. Additional public art will be on display by the following artists and designers: John Baldessari, Konstantin Grcic, Marc Newson, Nate Lowman and Zaha Hadid

SHOPS: International retailers are flocking to the District with over 100 luxury brands expected to open doors by 2015-16, including: Almechist, Amani, Audemars Piguet, Bulgari, Burberry, Cartier, Celine, Christian Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Givenchy, Harry Winston, Hermes, Hublot, Loewe, Louis Vuitton, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Marc Jacobs Collection, Max Mara, Miu Miu, Piaget, Pucci, TAG, Tiffany & Co., Tod’s, Tom Ford, Valentino, Van Cleef & Arpels, Versace, Zadig & Voltaire and Zegna.

Miami among top cities for green commercial buildings

Brian Bandell

Senior Reporter-South Florida Business Journal

Many Miami real estate investors are doing their part to ward off global warming and save energy as the city ranked high for green commercial real estate.

A new study by CBRE Group and Maastrict University ranked Miami ninth in the nation, with 19.4 percent of its commercial real estate certified as green. There are 79 buildings totaling 21 million square feet of office space with either U.S. Green Building Council LEED certification or Energy Star labels.

Given that South Florida would be among the first places in the nation to be swamped by sea level rise, that’s a helpful move.

“Miami was slow to embrace green building standards relative to cities like San Francisco and Manhattan, but has caught up quickly thanks in part to good public policy and buy-in from owners and investors who realize there is growing demand from tenants for more sustainable, energy efficient space,” said Patricia Nooney, LEED AP, who leads investor services for CBRE Florida, in a news release.

In fact, Miami’s municipal code requires all new private development over 50,000 square feet to achieve LEED Silver certification.

The study rated Minneapolis as the greenest city for commercial real estate, with 77 percent of buildings certified as green.

Since 2005, the number of LEED certified buildings has increased more than 1,000 percent nationwide.

Florida homeowners are also going green. A recent study by the USGCB ranked Florida seventh for the most LEED-certified homes, with 1,860. California was first, with 9,186.

Beach Boys Songwriter’s Home Has ‘Good Vibrations’

AUTHOR:ZILLOW TEAM
ZILLOW

One of the original Beach Boys band members is putting his California dream home on the market once again. “California Girls” songwriter Mike Love and his wife Jacqueline are looking to part ways with their Pebble Beach residence.

The 7-bed, 5-bath Tuscan-style home is priced at $5.79 million. The property rests on 1 acre and boasts a nearly 9,000-square-foot interior that includes “every possible amenity of the highest quality,” according to the listing description.

The home at 3108 Flavin Ln. features a detailed scrollwork stair rail, an elevator, high ceilings and interior columns. The well-manicured, gated property also boasts spectacular ocean views and a patio.

The home’s open floor plan is perfect for entertaining. A large kitchen comes with impressive wood cabinetry and a big eat-in bar. The future owner can indulge every whim — the home is complete with a wine cellar, game room, exercise room and movie theatre.

The “Good Vibrations” lyricist reportedly invested nearly $7 million in upgrades and renovations to the property, which has periodically been listed for sale. Love told the Wall Street Journal in 2012 that since their children are grown, the couple were selling the home and seeking a lifestyle change. Their primary residence is near Lake Tahoe, CA.

Want to buy the dream home? With 20 percent down, a monthly mortgage payment on a 30-year fixed mortgage will be $22,274.