Fun With A Buried Oil Tank

OK,

It really isn't fun. But it is educational and it does prove the benefit of having a thorough home inspection.

More to come on this topic soon!

Here are some links:

Here is the extreme crazy expensive residential oil tank issue:
http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=faebd04d-2991-442c-b181-2ed6f34a817c

Here is a site from an Oregon company who had decomissioned a bunch of tanks:
http://www.danatanks.com/cgi-bin/danat.cgi?photo_page_button=yes


Here is the state of Michigan's resource page:
http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135-3311_4115_4238---,00.html

Here is the state of Michigan's list of qualified experts:

http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135-3311_4115_4238-9723--,00.html

Finally, the state's statement on home heating oil tanks:

http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135-3311_4115_4238-9379--,00.html

Radon system outside the home

Good Video on Tax Credit For 2009 First Time Home Buyers

The National Association of Home Builders put together a nice video on the $8,000 Tax Credit.

Sewage ejector crock

I'm at a home inspection today at a country home.

There is a bathroom in the basement and that means there is a sewage
ejector pump in a sewage crock.

Here is a photo.

Real estate agent steals stuff from houses, including booze!

I subscribe to a bunch of industry newsletters and the National Realty News just ran an article on a real estate agent in Oregon:

HILLSBORO, OR - A Cornelius realtor has been arrested and accused of breaking into at least two homes to raid the liquor cabinet and steal petty items, police said.

Michael Troy Messmer, 41, is accused of burglarizing homes in Hillsboro and Cornelius by using his pass code to access real estate "lock boxes," commonly used when realtors show homes on the market while the owner isn't around.

Lt. Michael Rouches, spokesman for Hillsboro police, said Messmer was charged with a Feb. 1 break-in of a home in the 3600 block of Northeast 8th Ave. Rouches said the homeowner returned from a business trip and found Messmer in his house, drinking a White Russian.

"It's obvious Messmer had been in his liquor cabinet," Rouches said. "(The homeowner) asks him, 'What are you doing in here?' Messmer says, 'I'm a realtor.' "

Rouches said Messmer is alleged to have left the home and taken a box of material that had been gathered beforehand, containing a Sony PlayStation video game system, perfume and household goods.

In all, the material taken was worth about $260, he said. A woman was also with him.

Days later, Messmer was discovered in a home in Cornelius, said Cmdr. Ed Jensen, of Cornelius police. He is alleged to have taken alcohol and toiletry items such as shaving cream and air freshener.

The guy must have been a real idiot or he wanted to get caught. I hope he can get his life back together.

Jon Boyd
Saline / Ann Arbor real estate buyer's agent
The Home Buyer's Agent of Ann Arbor, Inc.

What is that stamp worth? What are these old stamps worth?

I had that question recently as I was sending postcards out to home owners for a condo buyer. (We sometimes need to dig a little deeper that the properties that are on the market at any one time for our buyer clients.)

What I found out was that the post office has a page devoted to these "nondenominated" stamps.

Here is the link:

http://pe.usps.gov/text/qsg300/Q604a.htm

So here is my question:

If these stamps go to church, do they go to a nondemonimation service???

US Gov. suggested New Years Resolutions

I thought this was interesting:

The government has posted a set of popular and constructive New Years Resolutions.

Very cool, but where is the one about buying a great
Saline home in 2009!???