NOVEMBER 2, 2016 Volume 11 • Issue 44
RE WEEKLY STORY COUNTY
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
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DEAR MONTY
Tips to avoid chipmunk damage to your home
R
eader Question: We own a townhome, and our paver patio is collapsing due to tunneling by chipmunks. We have seen the chipmunks and their tunnels, so we know that is the issue. We installed the patio with homeowner association approval. We don’t wish to do any repairs until we are aware who is liable for extermination now and in the future. We have homeowners insurance that we are investigating. We need advice on how to proceed. Monty’s Answer: HOA documents such as bylaws, articles of association and declarations are the most likely source for your answer. If you do not have them in your possession, the
RICHARD MONTGOMERY
HOA will provide you copies. The second source may be HOA meeting minutes. These sessions deal with budgets, neighbor relations, rule interpretations and possibly even chipmunk damage. The HOA minutes’ history may reveal how they have treated requests such as yours in the past. Some HOAs are responsible for everything outside your home’s
walls, and others are not. From an insurance perspective, your policies contain the answer, although a phone call or a note to your insurance agent should produce an instant answer. The verified source of the damage may affect the coverage. Consider acting sooner than later to treat the problem. Depending on the age of the building you live in and the construction date of the patio, improperly compacted soil or some other issue, such as an underground water line leak or a sinkhole, could be other candidates. Because chipmunks and their burrow entrances are readily visible, they are sometimes identified as the source
of settlement problems when another condition is the actual cause. In either event, allowing the problem to intensify waiting for outside relief may cause further damage and increase the cost to repair. If it is chipmunks causing the problem, the first line of defense may be removing the cause of their presence, their food source. They love birdseed. Make certain if you are feeding birds that the feeders are inaccessible to chipmunks, and do not allow the seeds to scatter on the ground. This method may take a season or two to produce results. Do an Internet search for “chipmunk removal” and you
will find many solutions. Many pest control services offer chipmunk removal if you prefer not to be the executioner. For nature lovers like myself, relocating them using live traps is a more humane solution. Check with your municipality or the county government to see if they have the staff or a department that advises on wild animal control issues. Another potential source is a nature center in the area with a smallanimal biologist on staff. — Richard Montgomery is a real estate industry veteran who has championed industry reform for over a quarter century. Send him questions at DearMonty. com. More Content Now
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Story County Sun • Wednesday, November 2, 2016 • Page 13
House rich By Laura Firszt
More Content Now
W
hether you are a homeowner or a renter, the natural tendency is to make the place you call home an attractive and cozy spot to live in. But as you have no doubt discovered, this can become a very pricy proposition. If you continually find yourself with more month than money when it comes to looking after your home, try these simple tips and save.
■ DIY – within reason. Small household fixes, like caulking cracks, are simple and cheap to do yourself. (They will also save you money on your home heating bills.) Be sure to spend smart on supplies. For example, high quality paintbrushes will give you better coverage with fewer ugly streaks, and good, low- to no-VOC paint not only lasts longer – meaning an extended period before you need to invest time and money on your next touchup – it also results in better indoor air quality. Know your limit, though; for larger projects like painting the whole house, it may actually make better financial sense to shop for a reasonably priced pro.
■ Remember “more is more” when it comes to kitchen appliances. Your trusty refrigerator will actually function more efficiently when it is full. If you don’t keep a lot of perishables on hand, fill up your fridge and freezer shelves with containers of water to optimize effectiveness. By the same token, avoid running partial loads in your dishwasher. Most models use the same quantity of water whether they’re fully loaded or contain just a couple of plates and a handful of forks. Maximize your oven by planning ahead; for example, when you’re about to bake a casserole for dinner tonight, add a pan of bell pepper slices to roast for tomorrow’s lunchbox salad.
Take care of your home and save cash
also encourage the growth of mold and mildew – all costly problems to remedy.
■ Get a little help from your utility company. You are probably used to a one-way relationship with your local electricity or gas company, where you are the one writing the checks (or these days, making the bank transfers) to them. However, many utility providers offer a money-saving basket of goodies to their customers such as free home energy audits and incentives or rebates on your purchase of energyefficient appliances. Check it out. — Laura Firszt writes for networx.com.
■ Ventilate. Run your bathroom exhaust fan every time you shower. (Best practice: turn it on before you step under the spray and keep it going for a few minutes after you’re done.) Ditto for your range hood. Ventilating your bath and kitchen will get rid of excessive moisture in the air, which is otherwise very likely to damage key components such as your tile grout, cabinets, walls, and flooring, and
■ Shop with a list – or at least a mental game plan. Random impulse purchases for your house – including everything from grocery items to home decoration – frequently end up in the compost bin or giveaway pile. When you head out to the supermarket, home improvement warehouse, or even the corner dollar store, decide on your shopping guidelines ahead of time, whether these may be menus for the upcoming week or a color scheme for your decor. Set yourself a spending limit too, while you’re at it. Whenever feasible, shop your closet and garage – or neighborhood yard sales – for accessories and furniture.
BIGSTOCK
■ Stay warm and spend less. We’ve said it before but it’s well worth repeating: insulate, insulate, insulate. You pay good money to run your HVAC system, so keep the heat (or cool) inside where you want it. Insulate and seal the areas of your home that allow warmed air to escape, such as your crawl space, attic, and ductwork for your heating and cooling system. The cost in materials will be modest, and the potential energy (and cash) savings substantial.
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