Jim At The Top (Jim Pedicord) Blog

Since it is "unofficially" summer now that Memorial Day is past, you may be thinking about how to keep kids occupied after school is out, and if one way you are thinking about would be adding a pool, here is some great information.   AND, if you are thinking about buying a home with a pool, this is worth looking at as well.  Of course I would be glad to help you find that perfect home with or without a pool.  Just let me know or use the exclusive interactive tools available at my website: http://jimatthetop.com Anyone have any personal experiences to share?  Feel free to comment!  Thanks! (If you saw this from me previously, sorry!  I screwed up the first try, lost the photo then the whole thing kinda went wacky. So, hopefully this will work without being repetitive !) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Pros and Cons of Adding a Pool to Your Home Does a pool add...

Did you know that a penalty-free IRA withdrawal may be used to help with your down payment to buy a home if you meet certain guidelines, regardless of age?  If you fit the definition of “first time homebuyer” (which the Internal Revenue Service defines to be anyone who has not owned a home during the prior two years), you might be closer than you think to your “dream home”! If you are considering buying and fit this description, or you know someone who does and might be ready to buy, check out the info I have at my web site: “Penalty-Free IRA Withdrawal” And, please feel free to keep an eye on my site jimatthetop.com to find the latest residential and commercial property listings, real estate news, market updates and special real estate opportunities.  Let me know what I can do to help you and yours get moving! JIM AT THE TOP Jim Pedicord   RE  /  MAX   Top Realty http://jimatthetop.com jimpedicord@remax.ne...

These days it’s all about being “green”, sustainable and energy conscious, so it isn't hard to find a lot of advice about how to incorporate features into a new home or remodeling project to reduce our adverse impact on the environment, not to mention our pocket books.   One popular improvement suggested is installing a tankless water heater rather than the traditional tank type units.  When we were adding on to our house, we had planned on changing out to one or maybe two of them.  But, we found that there are some misconceptions and misunderstandings about these devices and the big savings they promise.  Typical promises are: Unlimited (continuous) supply of hot water Instantaneous hot water if installed at point of use Reduced water-heating costs Small amount of space required for installation (usually wall-hung) Are they accurate?  Well, sorta, kinda. Unlimited? Not exactly – there are a variety of units on t...

I was thinking about how many of the seemingly peripheral parts of the home buying and selling process people tend to short change.  Is it to save a buck when so many of them (bucks) seem like they are going away, or are they just lost in the shuffle when there are so many things to do to get the transaction closed?    In my last blog I mentioned flood insurance, and how big a gamble it can be to “save” a few hundred dollars by skipping that.  What got me wondering again was reading about Home Warranties (aka Residential Service Contracts) , and how valuable they can be, but how they might be under-utilized, again, maybe to save a buck?  Well, I can tell you from experience that they are worth the cost whether the buyer or seller is footing the bill:  As our southeast Texas spring heated up a few weeks ago and the temperatures started rising, we switched to A/C, only to find that it was not getting cooler in the house. THEN I realized that th...

Are You A Gambler? I recently renewed all of my home insurance policies, the regular Homeowners policy, plus Windstorm and Flood Insurance.  Here in the Houston area, hurricane country, home insurance is always a hot topic, and a major pain in the wallet!  Where I sit, halfway between downtown Houston and the Gulf of Mexico, pretty much everyone understands that the wind can come calling and lenders generally require basic property hazard policies, but Flood Insurance is optional.  That seems odd to me actually, since I would expect the lender to demand as much protection as they can, and of course, they ARE in a position to insist.  Even more surprising, my insurance agent told me there are a LOT of people who don’t think they need flood insurance!  I find it hard to believe there are that many gamblers out there!   I just thought I’d share a few thoughts... and no, I’m not selling insurance, and I am not getting any kickbacks from ...