Do you have a water leak?

Your water bill will tell you how much water you used this past month compared to last year. If there's a big difference you may have a water leak.

I found this informative page on the Chandler, AZ website:

How to check for a water leak

Finding water leaks can save you water, which means saving money on water and sewer bills. Follow these easy steps to determine if you have a leak in a home or irrigation system.

Step 1. First, locate your meter box. It is generally located near the sidewalk in front of your home in a direct line with the main outside faucet. It’s important to make sure the meter box lid is uncovered and visible at all times. A black circular disc on the lid provides the signal to the meter reader with an electronic signal - a ‘radio read.’

Step 2. Turn all water-using appliances off so that no water is being used. This means turning off all water inside and outside the house including showers, sinks, washing machines, ice makers and any appliance that uses water. If you have an automatic irrigation system, turn off the controller.
In leaky toilets, the flapper valve often needs to be replaced.

Step 3.Carefully remove the meter box lid by using a tool such as a large screwdriver. Stand back. There are sometimes ‘critters’ inside the box that will be startled when the lid is removed. Give them a chance to get out of the way. The meter uses a straight-reading dial which is read similar to a car’s odometer. The meter measures water use in thousands of gallons. (Photo at right.) The small pointer or dial near the center of the meter is the flow indicator and should not move if you are not using any water inside or outside the home. If the flow indicator is moving, you may have a leak.
If there is no indicator and the actual meter dial hand is moving, water is running somewhere in your system and you have a leak – go to step 4.
If the hand is not moving, note the position of the hand and wait 10 minutes. Check the meter again, if it has moved, you have a slow leak - go to step 4.
If no movement is recorded, you probably don’t have a leak. The meter may not be able to detect leaks irrigation systems.

Step. 4.To isolate the leak, turn the water off to your house. Your home’s valve is usually located under the outside faucet near the front of the house. With all water turned off in the house, there should be no movement of the small pointer or any of the dials on the meter. (see photo)

Step 5.If the leak indicator or dial hand is still moving, water is flowing between the meter and the shut-off valve. That means you could have a leak between the meter and the valve where water enters your home. This is called the ‘service line’. Consider that movement in your meter can also be caused by things like an automatic pool filler, a leaky irrigation valve, or an evaporative cooler.

Step 6.Check your irrigation system. If you have leaks in your irrigation system, they may not be noticeable unless your system is running. Turn your controller on manually and walk your property looking for broken sprinkler heads, missing emitters (which will produce small streams of water) or breaks in irrigation piping or tubing. Check for leaks inside the house including toilets, washing machines, faucets, etc.

Step 7. To check a toilet for a leak: Add 2 or 3 drops of food coloring to the water in the reservoir or tank (as shown in Figure 1). Wait 15-30 minutes. If the water in the bowl changes colors, the rubber flapper needs to be replaced. In leaky toilets, the flapper valve often needs to be replaced.

Step 8. Congratulate yourself! You’ve just completed a leak-detection investigation. If you have questions or need help, our Water Conservation Specialist can visit your home and perform a free water audit. Call 480-782-3580 for more information or to set up an appointment.

Addendum to Post - ASU Report on Housing Market

I read an article which came out several days after the post below ' ASU Report on Housing Market'. It said that the data used for that report included banks taking over homes that have been foreclosed upon, which are not true sales. Normally, those numbers would not affect year over year comparisons in any significant way; but, this year that is not the case.

To learn more read the AZ Republic article - Home-sales Data are at Odds.

The California Advantage

Sorry we haven't posted in the last few days. We took a much needed short family vacation to San Diego. One of the advantages to living in the Phoenix area is that it is only a six or seven hour drive to San Diego, Los Angles, or Las Vegas. How long it takes can depend on where in Phoenix you are starting from and how many stops you make. If you stop for a meal, you might need to add on to that time. There was not a lot of traffic on the highways despite it being around Memorial Day weekend. We think this was probably due to the gas prices. One fill up of the tank on our mini-van was $69! The gas prices are higher in CA.

While July and August are considered the prime beach months in CA, we enjoyed an afternoon at the beach while we were there. Went to the beach on Coronado which was very nice and clean. The kids even went in the water eventhough it was pretty cold. We also attended a Reds - Padres baseball game that went 18 innings. Yes, we stayed for the whole thing. It started at 1:00pm and ended around 7:00pm.

Getting a Home Loan - Made Easier

I just read an article, Fannie Mae Reduces Downpayment Requirements, in today's Arizona Republic. For those of you who don't know, in December Fannie Mae had increased the downpayment requirements for home loans in high risk zip codes. Zip codes were considered high risk if home prices were expected to go down in the near future. Maricopa County was considered a high risk area. This change should ease downpayment requirements somewhat for buyers in our area. No longer will one standard be applied to all neighborhoods within a zip code. The article does not make it clear when this change will go into affect.

Even with the existing requirement, FHA loans have provided a way for buyer's to obtain seller assistance with their loan. FHA loans have become much more common this year.

If you would like to know more about what loans are available for you, talk to your lender or contact us and we can recommend a lender to you. (Contact us at Pat@RealtySecrets.net)

Safety, it's a good thing.

I received this email from a good client of mine. Thanks for sharing Pauline.

PUT YOUR CAR KEYS BESIDE YOUR BED AT NIGHT

Tell your spouse, your children, your neighbors, your parents your Dr. office, the check-out girl at the market, everyone you run across.Put your car keys beside your bed at night If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will be set off, a nd the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies.
This tip came from a neighborhood watch coordinator. Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this:It's a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation. Test it. It will go off from most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key fob chain. It works if you park in your driveway or garage If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break in your house, odds are the burglar rapist won't stick around... after a few seconds all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and sure enough the criminal won't want that. And remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there ...... This is something that should really be shared with everyone. Maybe it could save a life or a sexual abuse crime.P.S. I am sending this to everyone I know because I think it is fantastic. Would also be useful for any emergency, such as a heart attack, where you can't reach a phone.

Google Reader

I went to a class on real estate blogging last week and learned a few things. One thing I found out about was Google Reader. You can sign up for a free account or use your current Google login. Then, you search for and sign up for various feeds of news stories that would be of interest to you. I'm still learning how use this to just feed me the information that I want. You can see what we've been reading through Google Reader by looking at the box on the right of this blog labeled "What We've Been Reading". You can click on any of the articles of interest to you.

I also learned about CommonCraft.com which has some great easy to understand videos. Here is one of their videos that explains how to make the news come to you.

ASU Report on Housing Market

Realty Studies from ASU's Polytechnic Campus posted a housing report on May 13Th which shows some positive news. April had 5,585 recorded sales a 15 % increase over the 4,855 sales in April of 2007 and an increase of 29% over the 4,335 sales in March of this year.

One of the factors driving the market is the increase of home affordability as average home prices have decreased since they peaked in 2005. The amount of change in home prices varies considerably by neighborhood and city. Generally those houses in centrally located areas have retained their value better than homes in outlying areas. The increasing gas prices have also affected the price of homes in outlying areas as fewer buyers are willing to purchase a home in these areas even though the prices are lower because they will have longer commutes.

To read the full article, click the link below:

Greater Phoenix resale numbers up for April, median prices down

Has the Housing Market Reached Bottom?

There was an interesting opinion column in the Wall Street Journal on 5/6/08, The Housing Crisis is Over. I recommend that you read the article. Everyone always wants to know when the market has hit bottom because they want to time the market perfectly. However, we all know that few of us ever get to time the market perfectly, whether it is the stock market or the housing market. Who doesn't wish they had bought stock in Microsoft back at the beginning? Buying a house should not be just about timing the housing market. Buying a house should be based upon personal factors including affordability, how long you plan to live in the area, and your financial situation. Is this the right time for you to buy a home? One of the factors to consider is affordability, which the WSJ article's writer indicates will be a driving factor in the improvement of the housing market. I agree with this. Home affordability is coming back in line with pre-2005 levels. Interest rates are good and loans are still available. One factor I will be watching for is a decline in inventory of existing homes for sale. I'll continue to post the numbers here as they become available. (I'm still waiting for ARMLS to post numbers for April.).

There is a follow-up article from the Wall Street Journal on 5/7/08 which is also interesting. In it one college professor offers the opinion that there have to be bargins in Arizona, Florida, and Nevada. The Housing Crisis is Over? There are lots of comments following this article from people all over the country.

Leave a comment here to tell us what you think of the housing market in the East Valley.

AZ Archer to Compete in Olympics

Brady Ellison who is from Glendale, Arizona won the men's U.S. Olympic Archery Trials this weekend at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix. He is one of three men who will be representing the United States at the Beijing Games. Brady is 19 years old and in the past has competed as a youth archer in Arizona. He has also spent time at the Olympic Training facility in CA. Brady Ellison Article- AZ Republic 05/04/08.

If you are interested in target archery, Arizona has tournments for youth and adults. Our son used to compete and we have meet a lot of great people through archery. For more information:

• Arizona State University Archery Club


• Arizona Junior and Collegiate Archery (JOAD)


• Arizona State Archery Association