08-28-19 RE Weekly

AUGUST 28, 2019 • Volume 14 • Issue 35

RE WEEKLY RESIDENTIAL • ACREAGE • FARM • COMMERCIAL • AREA DEVELOPMENT 515-233-3299 • 317 5th Street, Ames • All REALTOR® ads within are REALTORS® licensed in the State of Iowa

NEW CONSTRUCTION 5616 Maryland Street, Ames Birch Meadows Subdivision 5 bedrooms 1 - full & 2 - 3/4 bathrooms 1,436 sq. ft. main floor 782 sq. ft. lower level

$325,000 DENNY THOMPSON 515-290-7002

FURMAN REALTY

Licensed in the State of Iowa

SHELBY WIRTH 515-291-4863

FURMANREALTY.COM

Online at www.AmesTrib.com/realestateweekly

Page RE2 • REAL ESTATE WEEKLY • Wednesday, August 28, 2019

pansies Experiment (safely) with edible flowers The blue star-shaped borage is a lovely edible flower and can be candied as well. Calendula also makes a pretty decorative and edible flower. [W. Atlee Burpee Company]

By Carole McCray More Content Now

F

lowers in our garden are lovely in a vase on a table or as gifts to family and friends. But they can play another role.

There are the culinary uses of flowers; that is, there are flowers as popular edible foods. You might be surprised as to what edible flowers are in your garden.

Many flowers free of sprays, where you know chemicals were not used, are safe to eat. The safest place for edible flowers is your garden or where you might purchase flowers from a roadside stand and know the grower has not used chemicals.

My first experience to taste edible flowers was at Adelma Simmons’ gardens at the Caprilands Institute in Coventry, Connecticut. The famous herbalist was noted for lunches with edible herbs.

Colorful pansies, bright nasturtiums, blue borage flowers and calendulas were scattered about on a colorful garden salad.

Even the sorrel soup did not escape a floral touch, with a single golden calendula blossom floating on top.

Violets and Johnny jump-ups floated gingerly in the festive punch bowl.

Lavender buds, scented geranium leaves, violets and rosebuds are lovely for adding to salads, decorate a cake or as an embellishment on a plate. I have frozen the tiny blossoms of these flowers in ice cubes and made a pretty garnish for drinks such as lemonade and iced tea.

With beautiful summer blooms, nasturtiums make a nice hors d’oeuvre. The blossoms filled with crabmeat, cream cheese and minced parsley are a pretty canape.

The scents of geranium leaves are many: mint, lemon, chocolate, pineapple, orange, lime and rose. The flowers on the geraniums are miniscule but also can be edible. Place them on the top of a baked and cooled sponge or pound cake and dust over them with confectioner’s sugar, then remove leaves to form a delicate leaf pattern design on the cake.

Some people are timid to try an edible flower.

Going easy with first-timers can be simply adding a tall cutting of lavender to a drink as a stirrer, or enhancing a dip with the cucumber taste of a blossom of borage.

Be adventuresome and experiment. Edible flowers from your garden add a new dimension to cooking and entertaining.

Important considerations • Before consuming any plant or flower, check with a medical or plant professional.

• Not every flower and plant is edible — in fact, some can make you very sick.

• Never use pesticides or other chemicals on any part of any plant that produces blossoms you plan to eat.

• Never harvest flowers growing by the roadside.

• Identify the flower exactly and eat only edible flowers and edible parts of those flowers. Remove pistils and stamens before eating.

• Use flowers sparingly in your recipes because of the digestive complications that can occur.

• Most herb flowers have a taste that’s similar to the leaf, but spicier.

• Wash all flowers thoroughly before you eat them.

• Just because flowers are served with food served at a restaurant does not mean they are edible.

Source: whatscookingamerica.net

REAL ESTATE WEEKLY • Wednesday, August 28, 2019 • Page RE3

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Realtors, do you want to reach a wider group of potential buyers?

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In print and online.

Call Ali Eernisse 515-663-6956

RE WEEKLY

REAL ESTATE WEEKLY • Wednesday, August 28, 2019 • Page RE5

TIPS OF THE WEEK TIP OF THE WEEK

GARDENING

HOME REPAIRS

BOOST HOME SECURITY

LOOK FOR BAD BEETLES

TIME FOR NEW AC?

Summer is a peak season for home burglaries, according to the Burglary Prevention Council.

Here are some basic ways to boost your home’s security without breaking the bank.

August is Tree Check Month. Inspect trees for signs of the invasive Asian longhorned beetle, a highly destructive pest. “Look for round holes the size of a dime or smaller in tree trunks and branches. If you see them or black beetles that have long antennas with black and white bands, report them immediately,” said Josie Ryan with the Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

• Invest in a solid deadbolt lock and be sure to use it. Keep your doors locked when you leave the house and when you’re at home.

• Beef up security with a metal or solid core wood door.

To determine whether it is time to repair or replace your home’s air conditioner, use the 5,000 rule, according to Angie’s List. Take the age of the equipment and multiply that by the repair cost. If the number is more than $5,000, you should consider replacement. Also, if your unit is more than 10 years old, an energyefficient unit is a good option.

— More Content Now

• Re-enforce security of sliding glass doors by adding a heavy-duty lock at the top or bottom of the door. A solid metal jammer rod installed at the bottom is an extra layer of security.

DEAR MONTY

My real estate taxes doubled — is this legal? his or her assessment double in one year, but even that may be rare.

Each parcel of land has an assessed value. Improvements are also assigned a value. The combination of the land value and improvement value equates to a total property assessment.

Check the notice RICHARD MONTGOMERY

R

eader question: My real estate taxes went up over 100% this year. Is it legal to raise taxes so high in one year?

Monty’s answer: For real estate taxes to double in one year would be extremely rare. One has to wonder if any community in the United States has ever experienced such a tax increase. It would not be that unusual for a taxpayer to see

What likely happened is that your assessment went up 100% and your actual tax bill will be about the same.

There is a method municipalities use to calculate the tax levy called a “mill rate.” The taxing authority will establish the annual budget to operate the city and when the amount of money necessary to fund the budget is known, calculate the mill rate. Substantial adjustments in the valuation occur when there is a general reassessment, and almost every property will see an increase in assessed

valuation.

Without a general reassessment, there are reasons that a property may see a change in the assessed value. A change in use, a rezoning that increases the value, an addition to the improvement on the land or some other change can affect your tax bill.

Your remedy When you receive your notice of the change in the assessment, it often will provide the rationale for the increase.

If you do not understand the reasoning, you can contact the assessor. If you know the argument but believe the logic is incorrect, the law provides a platform for you to challenge the increase (no one ever challenges a decrease). The platform is called the Board of Review.

The Board of Review can vary in size, but typically there are three to five

members.

The members can be municipal officials, such as the assessor, or can also include community members with knowledge about real estate.

If you decide to appear at the Board of Review, you need to be prepared to defend your position. The Board of Review is there to make sure the assessor did not err, and you must be able to demonstrate that the assessor did make an error. The board denies many taxpayers because they show up unprepared.

Richard Montgomery is the author of “House Money - An Insider’s Secrets to Saving Thousands When You Buy or Sell a Home.” He is a real estate industry veteran who advocates industry reform and offers readers unbiased real estate advice. Find him at DearMonty.com.

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