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William Raveis Lifestyles Realty

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Ice Dams

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Sometimes the snow is fun, but when its created an ice dam on your roof its a real drag. This is truly a plague this winter. After we had the first storm of almost 2 feet of snow, we then had a day where it rained hard for hours. All that rain stayed on top of the roofs and sank to the bottom of the snow. Then it froze. Now it hassettled down by your gutters and can cause your roofing to seperate and then...leaks. I have had calls or frantic e-mails from at least 2 dozens clients about this so far. So keep an eye out for any water stains in your ceilings. My gutters have taken on so much ice weight that they are all bent and going to need major repair come Spring. The roofing experts should be fully employed fixing these problems for the next 6 months!

Comments

  1. Brian Vancleve on

    Everyone loves the snow. However, it may cause damage to windows and roofs, and it's not that easy removing it. In certain companies, they hire window cleaning teams for office restoration. These people use roof anchors to keep them safe while they are cleaning. Attached to those anchors are the roof anchor points to keep it tighter and more secured.

    Lake House in Rue Mag!

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    Visit the new Rue Mag (link below), page 202, for a fabulous look inside Susanna Salk's home. It was a very satisfying to have found thiscottage for the Salks, and then watch it being transformed into a much larger home.I thank Susanna for the shout out in the article. Discover howshe masterfully transformed her summer lakehouse into a family-friendly full time residence right here on Lake Waramaug.Most lake houses are on postage stamps sized lots, but this onehas over 3 acres with lots of flat land, a dock, pool and tennis. A rare find!Article: Love At First Sight

    CNN and Wall St Journal Picking Bottom in Second Home Market!

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    I thought it was interesting thatI woke up to Clark Howard (who seems to always be telling people to save and not spend anything) telling people that now is the time to buy vacation homes!

    HLN's Clark Howard says if you can afford a second home, buy now while the prices are hot!

    I agree with Clark and with the gist oftoday'sWall St Journal article.

    WSJ Reports "Market for Vacation Homes is on the Rise"

    We are seeing a lot of inquiries and I think there will be a lot of deals done this Spring. Buyers are looking for deals and getting them!

    Enhanced Conservation Easement Tax Incentives Enacted for 2011

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    A provision of the tax bill signed into law by the President last week increases the tax benefits for qualifying conservation easements placed in effect between January 1st of this year and December 31st of next year.

    These temporary incentives increase the amount of income that can be shielded from 30 to 50 percent (100% for farmers and ranchers), and they extend the carry-forward period for any unused portion of a deduction from 5 to 15 years.

    These enhanced incentives are scheduled to expire automatically at the end of 2011, and, with mounting concern about Federal debt levels, it may be many years before the incentives are again made this attractive.

    If you are looking for a tax deduction, please note these new provisions. This a great time to buy and conserve land. For more information, please contact me matthews@raveis.com.

    KMR Arts Pop-Up Shop Event on December 10 & 11th!

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    Five seasoned fashion and design professionals have combined resources to bring a Pop-Up Shop to the KMR Arts Gallery in Washington Depot on December 10, 11 to 7pm and December 11 from 11am to 5pm, 2010 - planned to coincide with Holiday in the Depot!This will be a great chance to do some unique holiday shopping right here in Washington. The Pop-Up store is the latest trend in retail creating an air of surprise and exclusivity within a limited time span and offering unique selections of fine artwork, apparel and accessories.

    - The recently launched Gimme Power hand, designed by Linda Zelenko and Ana Piscuskas, has become an instant design classic. Dubbed a New Collectible by the New York Times Magazine, this unique iPhone charger will be available at the KMR Arts Pop Up Shop.
    - Bohemian Chic has a cult following for its access to unique and exclusive accessories featuring jewelry from India and stylish shawls and scarves from Italy.
    - Jane Veronis is a New York born designer whose current home on the island of Majorca, Spain provides constant inspiration for her jewelry, Balu Designs.Balu Designs has been featured on the pages of Elle, Vogue, Allure and Glamourmagazines.
    - Photographer Visko Hatfields client list reads like a whos who in the fashion, editorial and art worlds. Incorporating his lively, graphic photographs, Hatfield has designed a line of Plexi topped powder coated steel boxes with for artful storage, atop desk, counter, or dresser. Made in the
    USA, each box touches the hands of 8 jobs in Connecticut and Brooklyn, New York.
    - Leila Shahgholis LS Collection is crafted using Swarovski cut rhinestones, coloured gemstones and pearls. LS Collection pieces are bold yet timeless. Designer Leila Shahgholis background includes an architecture degree from RISD, fashion design at Ralph Lauren, painting and textile design. Her discreet clientele includes celebrities and style icons in NYC and abroad.

    ****With a purchase of $75. or more, get one raffle chance to win a Gimme Power Hand!!!

    KMR Arts

    2 Titus Road

    Washington Depot, Ct. 06794

    860-868-7533

    www.kmrarts.com

    QE2 and Higher Interest Rates?

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    This is an interesting article -lowest interest rates could mean this is the best time to buy ...

    "ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS." And this week, we saw a whole lot of loud action in the volatile financial markets...and also heard a lot of words, as the debate over the Fed's latest round of Quantitative Easing continued. Here's what you need to know about what was said...and what happened to home loan rates.

    If you've been wondering what Quantitative Easing (QE) actually is, it's the concept of the Fed becoming a buyer of Treasuries and Bonds to try and stimulate the economy. The Fed's goal for this latest round of Quantitative Easing (dubbed QE2) is threefold:
    1. To create inflation and avoid a deflationary economy
    2. To lower the unemployment rate
    3. To boost Stock prices

    To See Full Article with Graph, Click Here: Download ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS

    And while the Fed won't come out and say it outright as they don't want to be accused of currency manipulation one of the consequences of QE2 is that the US Dollar will weaken. And this helps make US exports more affordable abroad, as well as make imports appear relatively more expensive. In fact, as the image shows, the Dollar has weakened versus the Euro quite significantly since QE2 began. But this will help large multi-national companies, which have a large influence on the economy and the major Stock market indices. And stimulating our economy towards continued growth is the Feds main goal for QE2.

    Yet the debate rages on...even now that QE2 has begun...with respected opinions on both sides as to the wisdom of the Fed's policy. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble went so far as to call current US economic policy "clueless." But supporting the Fed's position were last week's tame inflation readings at both the wholesale and consumer levels, via the Producer Price Index and Consumer Price Index Reports. However, with news last week that Irelands banking system is in a dire situation, like Greece's earlier this year, opponents of QE2 point to those countries when they speak to the danger of taking on debt, like the Fed is doing again via QE2.

    One of the most important things to understand is this: the three goals of QE2, while meant to improve our economy overall and for the long-term, are unfriendly to Bonds and home loan rates. And that was evident last week, as Bond prices and home loan rates ended the week worse than where they began.

    In fact, last week legendary investor Warren Buffet said, "I think short-term and long-term Bonds are a very poor investment at the present time." If Mr. Buffet thinks long-term Bonds are a poor investment right now, he is saying home loan rates can't come down much further - and the risk in waiting around for that to potentially happen does not outweigh the potential reward. Give me a call if you want to review your situation, or forward this email to a friend, family member or colleague who might benefit. I'm always happy to talk to your referrals, and provide a complimentary consultation.

    Puppetry Festival returns to WMS, Nov 27

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    The Puppetry Festival returns to the Washington Montessori School for its 5th season, beginning on Saturday, November 27th with a VERY special holiday performance of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol", performed by the renowned, "Puppet People Theater". This year, we're DRAMATICALLY expanding the season--hosting 4 shows between Thanksgiving and year's end, and then an additional 12 shows, beginning in January, 2011. Our times will change slightly--shows will now be at 10:00A and 11:30A. All seats are just $8.50 per person. Reservations for our holiday performance may be made by telephoning the school at 860.868.0551.

    TinyTim[1]

    Kent Rates Best Town for Leaf-Peeping by Yankee Magazine

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    Congratulations Kent! We are very proud to live right next door to the official Best Fall Foliage winner in Yankee Magazine's September-October Issue. Yankee Magazine picked Kent for the top honor out of 25 New England towns known for great fall color display. The towns were judged in categories such as fall color, scenery, vistas, water, drives, hikes, culture, farmers markets, orchards, parks, covered bridges,, shopping, food and lodging, and more.

    Of course, we already knew this... but now so will the rest of the world!

    Click Here to see Associated Press coverage.

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