Resources
When shopping for a new house, most families also find themselves shopping for a school district. Study up at SchoolMatters.com, published by Standard & Poor’s. On it you’ll find all the relevant numbers – size, test scores, teacher/student ratio, and so on – by district and school. The site also compares community income, education levels and median home values with state averages. Now if only it told you which teachers to request.
There’s no shortage of mortgage calculators out there, but this one ranks high for efficiency. No ads, no popups, nothing but straight number crunching. Here you’ll find the standard offerings: What will your mortgage payment be? When will you pay it off? But the site also features more advanced arithmetic: With ‘prepay vs. invest,’ for example, you plug in the amount of a recent windfall to determine whether it’s better used on your mortgage or on stocks.
About 40 million Americans move annually, according to the Census Bureau. Next time you’re breaking out the packing peanuts, ballpark your budget with the moving calculator at Move.com. Estimates are based on how far you’re going and how many furnished rooms you have. If you’re taking the contents of a two-bedroom house from Seattle to Sioux Falls, S.D., expect to pay between $4,200 and $5,100.
At any given moment, you can look up the value of your stocks. But what about your biggest asset, your home? Launched earlier this year, Zillow.com delivers a free instant estimate, based on public records. Type in your address and the site returns a value quicker than you can say “town assessor’s office”.
It’s no substitute for a professional appraisal or a realtor’s comprehensive market analysis (CMA), as the records used can be outdated; and for now the site can give estimates on only 47.4 million homes, so it’s hardly comprehensive. But it’s a starting point. Not to mention a great resource for nosy neighbors. Who’ve you ‘zillowed’ lately?
Scroll down to the bottom of their home page and click on ‘what is being green?’ This site clarifies all the many ways we can live and build green. There are so many choices we can make on a daily bases that don’t necessarily cost more or pose any inconvenience at all. This site shows us where the choices are. They want you to subscribe to their publication (it’s worth it!) but there is a ton of free information here also.
Want to turn your roof into a clean, green power plant? I do! This site tells you why, how and who to contact. Thanks to Energy Trust incentives and state and federal tax credits solar energy is more affordable than you think. Your savings will grow over the years as energy costs continue to rise. Here’s a site that gives you information and contacts to get started.
Basic information about indoor air quality. This is a huge issue for the health of us all since we spend more time in our homes and offices than anywhere else. This site shows us the three most serious indoor air quality issues, and how to improve them. I like that part…showing us how to improve our air!
If you have an interest in green building, energy conservation (lowering your utility bills), improving indoor air quality, landscaping to conserve resources, etc. please call me or email at . I have many, many more links where you can read more, gather information, and get great ideas for your particular home. And if you are looking for a home, let me help you find a healthy one.