I have an embarrassing admission to make. The other day I was in the bathroom, and well, I was having a little trouble with my plumbing. I tried and I tried but I could not get the bathroom sink to drain. A bottle of Drano and a gallon of liquid plumber later and it was finally draining….barely. I was determined so I took apart the pipes under the sink and that’s when I discovered the real issue. My pipes were full of rock hard petrified sludge…no wonder the pipes didn’t drain. I put the sink back together unable to solve the problem and I was pretty upset to say the least. I was complaining to a friend of mine and he said, “Joe, why don’t you just use MiracleMites?” “MiracleMites!!! What the heck are they?” Well, let me tell you about this drain cleaning miracle.
MiracleMites are organic farm raised termites especially bred to eat the sludge and crud that builds up in your pipes. They literally scrape you pipes clean with their tiny little jaws. You can even order them on the Internet at www.MiracleMites.com and they will be shipped to you overnight from the MiracleMite farms in El Centro, California. That’s what I did. I ordered enough for 2 treatments. I put ½ cup down the sink drain and another ½ cup down the toilet. My pipes work great now and I haven’t had a clog since.
For extremely restricted pipes, the folks at MiracleMite farms have an extra strength solution. They have discovered a rare breed of Formosan Termites that lives in Asia three times the size of regular termites and they are just plain mean. They eat all the sludge from even the most neglected pipes in just three days. Only specially licensed plumbers can use the Formasan variety. Treated pipes must be scalded afterwards to kill all living termites since given enough time they will eat through the pipes to get to the wood inside the walls with their razor sharp jaws.
The incredible success of MiracleMites has caused a lot of copycats. Be sure you get the authentic MiracleMites which are guaranteed. A lady in upstate New York heard about MiracleMites on the Oprah Winfrey show. Frustrated with the chronically clogged pipes in her century old farm house, she asked her husband to order some MiracleMites. Instead of ordering them from the MiracleMite website, he ordered his on Ebay. What he got in the mail a few days later were not the environmentally safe, guaranteed MircleMites but black market Formosan termites. They cleaned the pipes alright, and then ate through the ancient cast iron in 5 places causing over $100K in damage.
Each year American use over 5 million gallons of drain care products, polluting our environment and poisoning the eco system and wreaking havoc with sewage treatment plants. Not Miraclemites. They are a totally safe green solution. Several cites, including Oxnard, now offer their citizens rebates on MiracleMites. Today, April 1st, the folks at the MiracleMite Farms have 25% off for the first 50 customers who mention they read about it on my blog. Just click on the “Termites at Work” button to take advantage of this special offer.
Here is a great calculator for evaluating the cost of your commute as it relates to your housing choice. If you like it, (or not) let me know.
Buying a home that is farther away from work may have a lower mortgage
payment, but you'd be surprised at how much more you'll spend by driving to
work. Try comparing a house in-town to a less expensive house out-of-town & see
the actual cost of commuting for yourself.
Ventura County Officials Unveil Updated Display Case in the State Capitol-Strolling down the hall in the first floor of the State Capitol in Sacramento, one will notice hundreds of curious visitors gazing at glass cases lining the walls. For Capitol veterans who stroll down these halls everyday, this is just another day in the State Capitol, but for other Californians, it is the excitement at seeing their home county on display. The display cases lining the walls contain an exhibit of each California county, depicting the best of what each has to offer. However, some displays are out of date and haven’t been updated for many years. They don’t accurately reflect the beauty of their respective counties. That is why Assemblymember Pedro Nava recently joined Ventura County Supervisor Kathy Long, Lynn Suter (Ventura County advocate in Sacramento), and guests in the State Capitol to unveil, with much pride, Ventura County’s display case. “It is always an honor to showcase and promote Ventura and Santa Barbara counties in the work that I do in Sacramento. Ventura County has created an exhibit that will be here to stay for the millions of visitors to admire for years to come,” said Assemblymember Nava.
The new display is a stunning tribute to Ventura County and it includes photos by acclaimed home town photographers Tim Huaf and Joe Virnig, brief histories of our communities, and historical photos from the Ventura County Museum of History and Art. Special thanks to Ventura County business owners Chris and Laura Meissner who made the generous donation to the county that enabled the display to become a reality.
The first time I listened to someone give a presentation on the benefits of home staging my eyes rolled so far back in my head I saw the Realtor sitting behind me. I mean really, the furniture and decorations don’t come with the house—so who cares? And some of the claims for home staging seemed pretty over the top too, such as the assertion that staged homes sell for 3-10% over the list price. Of course back then it was a red hot seller’s market and fixers could make the same claim. But times have changed, and the market’s changed along with it. I can’t promise that staging your home will get you more than your asking price, but it will give you an edge in getting the most money in the least amount of time.
Properly done, home staging leads the eye to attractive features and minimizes flaws. This is achieved by cleverly arranging furniture and lighting to create a feeling of space, which lends to the appeal of the property. For vacant homes, rental furniture is used to create living spaces where buyers can imagine themselves. One of the best ways to learn about home staging is to watch Sell this House on A&E. On the show, professional Home Stagers help sellers transform their homes using a little paint, furniture placement, and creativity. The results can be extraordinary.
You can hire a professional Home Stager for as little as $200, or spend thousands. If you’re so inclined, you can try to do it yourself, but we tend to have blind spots when it comes to our own homes. So what about your real estate agent? Can’t a good Realtor give you tips on what to do? Yes and no. Speaking for myself, I can and do give such advice to some clients, but for others I wouldn’t dare. It’s too easy to alienate a seller with advice that’s shall we say, too candid.
The bottom line is: Home staging should be part of your presale preparation. The potential rewards make the small investment in time and money more than worthwhile. There’s only one downside: You might like the new look of you home so much you won’t want to move at all.
Welcome to my blog on Ventura County Real Estate. My name is Joe Virnig and I’ve been a Realtor in Ventura County since 1986. My long suffering assistant, Anne Gustin, (picture at right) has been encouraging me (she never nags) to start one for some time. Hopefully with her nag..oops I mean encouragement this blog will be kept up-to-date with important news, trends and real estate tips that you will find useful. I welcome your comments.