Realty Insights for Home Buying, Home Selling, and Indy Info

With our recent snowstorm and frigid temps, here are 2 quick tips for heating your home: Thermostat : One of the most cost effective strategies that a homeowner can employ to save on home heating energy costs is a programmable Thermostat. Setting the program to lower the temperature when the family is either sleeping or not at home can help conserve energy and lower heating costs. Furnace Filters : Most manufacturers recommend replacing your furnace filters monthly during the heating season. Many heating systems offer a choice between a disposable filter and a reusable one. Reusable filters should be removed and vacuumed or washed each month. Be sure to use the correct size filter for your system.

It's Thursday and you are so looking forward to the weekend. But what exactly are you looking forward to? Don't have any plans? Want to know what's going on around Indianapolis? Check out www.aroundindy.com for a calendar of events, information on attractions, museums, concerts, sporting events and links to Indy websites.

Many older homes unfortunately have drop ceilings and many sellers are worried about selling their homes with them. Susan Brackney , writer for First Impressions, offers some advice when it comes to ditching those unsightly drop ceilings: * Before removing a drop ceiling, find out why the ceiling was dropped in the first place. There could be electrical wires, plumbing pipes, or damage to the old ceiling that the dropped ceiling is hiding. Decide whether the hassle of fixing those problems is worth not having a dropped ceiling. * If the drop ceiling is a grid-and-panel type, most homeowners can easily remove those themselves. If it is a drywalled drop ceiling, it may be wise to hire a professional because you will have to re-dry wall the ceiling and down the sidewalls. * Don't forget to rewire...any overhead lights will have to be readjusted or replaced completely once the ceiling is out.