A singer told the IRS that the reason the deduction for her clothes were so high was because she had to throw away her outfits after every performance.  The “energy levels of her performance and the heat generated on stage from lights and physical exertion” ruined the clothes.  Wonder if the IRS bought that.

A Massachusetts man tried to avoid paying taxes on lottery winnings by claiming $65, 000 in gambling debts.  To support his deduction he rented a truck full of losing tickets from a lottery ticket collector and claimed they were his.  Needless to say the IRS was not amused.  (Who collects losing lottery tickets by the way)

Rather than risk an audit, check with the IRS if the “beat your taxes” scheme sounds to good to be true.

Don’t forget your taxes need to post marked by by 11:59pm April 17th.  And don’t forget to sign the check, IRS doesn’t buy that one either.

The replacement cost of your home is the starting point of your home insurance.  Ask yourself this question: if your home was destroyed, how much will it cost to rebuild. Check with your insurance agent, they should have software to help with the calculation.

Note there are limitations in your policy for theft of jewelry, furs, guns, silver, etc.  Once again check with your agent, but a rule of thumb is get specific coverage for items over $1,000.00

Boats, snowmobiles and ATV may also need specific coverage. While your at it check the amount of insurance on your Personal Property.  The amount you have should be enough to replace your personal belongings at todays value.  Take a household inventory and keep it in a safe place.  This will help in determining proper values.  A video does a great job in identifying what you have.

Ask your agent about Ordinance or Law coverage, If new building codes require updates or demo on undamaged portions of your home, this endorsement will extend coverage to the undamaged area.

Ask about flood and earthquake coverage.  Do you need to increase your Auto, Homeowners liability protection?

These are just a few things you should consult your insurance agent about.  I know we are.

Choosing a contractor isn’t just about the price.  Here are the 3 questions you need to ask yourself before making your decision.

1. “Do I have a rapport with this contractor?  Do I feel you can talk to them easily?  Do  I feel comfortable around them? How well does the contractor listen to me?”  This contractor could be in your home for weeks, so hiring one you have no rapport with can make this process much more disruptive than it has to be.
2.  “How do the contractor’s previous customers feel about him/her?”  Ask for references and then call them.  Were there any issues and how did the contractor resolve them?  Did the contractor show up as promised?  How accurate was the contractor’s estimate?  Would they use that contractor again?
3.  “Does the contractor have the experience to do the job I am hiring him/her for?”  If you wanted your bathroom remodeled, would you hire the roofer your neighbor recommended?  Sadly, we know of a situation where this happened. Six months and thousands of dollars later, the bathroom was still unusable and the home owners were forced to go to court to try and recoup some of their money.

The question now is why is Contractor C’s estimate so much lower than the others?  In our experience most contractors’ estimates are fairly close in price.  So a huge difference could signal any number of unfavorable issues, such as: unlicensed, or uninsured contractor, inferior materials or the estimate doesn’t adequately cover what you actually want.  In those instances the your project may end up costing thousands more than originally quoted. We often are the ones who have to clean up these situations for distraught home owners.

When you find a contractor whom you do want to work with and the price is still an issue, talk to the contractor.  He or she is a professional who will be able to help craft the your project to work within your budget.  You will end up with a room you love and a remodeling experience worth telling your friends about.

Celebrating 10 years in business, Paglione Remodeling, Inc. is located in Brighton Michigan.  If you would like more information and tips about remodeling your home, sign up for our free e-Newsletter.

http://www.housingzone.com/industry-data-research/urban-urban-migration-study-6-10-largest-metros-had-net-migration-loss

If you are like me, February finds us wanting to get outside and do something.   Here are a few things you can do outdoors.

Prune grapes now, removing most of the old wood.

Sharpen all your garden tools, especially shovels and edgers.  This will make the work easier in the spring.

If you see coal black knobs on your fruit trees – a fungus called black knot- prune and immediately burn all the affected limbs.  Don’t leave them on the ground as spores can develop and spread.  Disinfect your pruning shears with bleach.

If the ground ever freezes (and I don’t count on that happening) now would be a good time to haul and spread manure on your garden.

Happy Presidents’ Day, have some cherry pie in George’s honor

PS. Alan Shepard was the first American in space.

1. Cooking.  Leaving a stove or oven unattended is just asking for trouble.  40% of all household fires start in the kitchen.

2. Kids and Matches.  Little children don’t always understand the risks of their actions.

3. Smoking.  I know someone who fell asleep while smoking in bed.  Lucky for them they woke up in time to save themselves, but the mattress was ruined.

4. Heating.  Make sure to have your furnace check regularly and change those filters.  Keep on eye on space heaters.

5. Electrical.  Extension cords, frayed wiring are just a couple of the things that can cause electrical fires.  It might not be a bad idea to have an electrical evaluate your wiring and install more outlets if you need them.

6. Candles.  Yes they do set the mood but never leave them burning unattended.

7. Fireplace.  Make sure your damper is open and don’t cook in your fireplace.

8. Clothes Dryer.  Clean the lint trap after every load and clean behind your dryer once a year (might as well clean behind the washer while you are at it)

9. Flammables stored in the house.  Big No No.  Store them as far away as possible.  Make sure the rags you used with this items are dry and stored away from the house as well.

10. Christmas Tree.  If you have a real tree make sure to keep it watered and never leave it lit if you are not home.

Make sure you have smoke detectors on every floor of your home and replace those batteries on a regular basis (we replace ours when the time changes).  Have an emergency plan for your family and practice it just like you did in school.  If you have a second story check into an escape ladder that can be used at one of the windows.

For more information on fire safety go to the NFPA

Doctors say that the most important thing you can do as a patient is ask questions, but that most patients don’t and actually may hinder or their care or recovery.  Or the pharmacy.  How many times when you pick up your prescription are you asked “do you have any questions for the Pharmacist”.  If you are like me the answer is alway no, and then later I wonder, why didn’t I ask.

A reputable contractor should welcome your questions.   I know we do.  We understand that the remodeling process can be a little bit unnerving and we want to make it the best experience possible.  After all we want you to tell all your friends not only what a great job we did, but how easy it was to work with us.  So ask your questions, ask them all and if  you remember something later, call, send an email, or smoke signals if you have to but ask.  You will feel more comfortable about the process and that is the goal here, besides that beautiful new (you fill in the blank) you will have.

So, what is the one question you wished you asked but didn’t?  I really want to know. Because when you ask me, I want to make sure I have the answer.

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Many statistics show that people who are retirement age or are planning for retirement prefer to stay in their home as long as their health and financial situation permits.  A 2008 long term care study done by Prudential insurance has some surprising information regarding the costs of care for services needed as we age. This is information is important to assist in making plans for the “golden years”.  The study shows that the average cost of a nursing home can exceed $70,000 a year for a semi private room. A break down of the daily charges is $194 per day.  A private room can exceed $79,000 a year or $217 a day. These costs will, of course depend on the area of the country you live in. Some areas will be more and some less. It was also noted that there has been a 7% increase in the cost of living in a nursing home over the past 2 years. Nursing home costs have had an increase of over 30% in the past 5 years.

Assisted living facilities have seen the greatest increase in costs over the past 2 years. The average for living in an assisted living facility rose to nearly $39,000 per year. This is an average daily charge of just over $100 per day.

There was an average of a 15% increase in rates for the assisted living facility that provide care for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.

In -home care has had the smallest increase rate of all the service providers. The rate of in-home care has had an increase of 5% over the past two years and only 17% over the past 7 years.

The average cost for a certified nursing assistant providing in-home care is $21 per hour. The services provided by a certified nursing assistant are bathing, dressing and care provided under the supervision of a register nurse. These services are ordered by a physician and generally covered by insurance. These services are only provided intermittently and for a limited amount of time.

The 2008 Genworth Financial study of cost of care also covers the non skilled in home care. This is a growing segment of the in-home care services, as many individuals want to remain in their homes as long as possible.

The average cost for homemaker services is $18 an hour. The rate of these services has increased by 4% over the last year. A homemaker provides companionship, light housekeeping duties, assistance with cooking and running small errands.

As these studies show preparing your home now for your golden years can be a worthwhile investment.

Check out this great article about how to make your home help you age.

Aging-in-Place-Resolutions-for-the-New-Year

1. Only use the turkey fryer outdoors; they should never ever be used on decks, in the garage or any enclosed space
2. Never leave the fryer unattended
3. Keep children away from the fryer and propane tank
4. Monitor the temperature of the oil closely

For tips on how to prepare your turkey for deep frying go to:

http://bbq.about.com/cs/turkey/a/aa101699.htm

Here is something that may or may not surprise you.  Actually, fried turkey is just one fire peril on turkey day: the 2006 and 2007 Thanksgiving days were the top day in the United States for home cooking fires, reports the National Fire Protection Association. More than 1,400 structural fires in each of those years started from home cooking equipment — three times greater than the daily nationwide average.

Be smart, stay safe and enjoy your day.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families from all of us at Paglione Remodeling.

There are some great web sites that will help you figure out just how much insulation you need.  One is Zip Code Insulation Calculator  or you can go to the Department of Energy  for more information.

One of the more interesting products we saw at a remodeling show was insulation made from recycled blue jeans.  It was a great green product and from what I have read it is remarkable energy efficient and doesn’t have the “fiberglass itch”

There is one other thing you should do for winter.  If you have a wood burning fireplace, make sure you get your chimney cleaned.  Burning wood creates creosote.  Creosote builds up in your chimney and can catch fire.  Not to mention what may be lurking in your chimney if you don’t have a chimney cap.

So lets recap.  Check your attic insulation, check your windows and doors for drafts and clean your chimney.  Those are just a few of the things you can do to help stay warm and toasty this winter.

HAVE A SAFE HALLOWEEN.