Election Day is just days away. We’ve been subjected to way too many negative ads for the candidates, but have seen few for the issues that we’ll also be voting on. If you’re unclear on the specifics of the issues, a good place to read about them is at VotersGuide.Dispatch.com. Enter in your home address to review the candidates and issues that will be on the ballot that you’ll be given.
Regarding the issues and how much they will cost in your property taxes, you can find that info on the county auditor’s web site, at least if you live in Franklin County or Delaware County. Both these counties show the levy or levies for your home’s address and show how much it will cost you based on your home’s assessed value.
NOTE: both counties refer to the assessed value as “market” value. Market value is what a buyer is willing to pay to buy your home. The auditor offices have no knowledge of whether your home has upgrades galore or 30-yr old shag carpet. In fact, during our recent meeting with the Franklin County Auditor at the Columbus Board of Realtors®, we asked him to change this wording to “assessed” value, since it’s really an obscure value used to charge property taxes.
Here’s how to check how much a given levy will cost you:
FRANKLIN COUNTY AUDITOR’S SITE
- On the top bar, mouse-over YOUR PROPERTY then click on PROPERTY SEARCH.
- On the left bar, choose to search for your home by NAME or ADDRESS.
- On the left bar, click on CURRENT LEVY INFO.
DELAWARE COUNTY AUDITOR’S SITE
- In the left column, under the title PROPERTY SEARCH, choose to search by your NAME or your ADDRESS.
- In the left column, click on LEVY INFO then click the link to the info.
VOTE SMART … BUT VOTE!
Hey, Manufacturers – women use tools, too!
Women buy houses. The last statistic I saw indicated that single women make up about 25% of the purchases. I’ve worked with quite a few single gals to buy their first home on their own. It’s exciting.
But this is not about “women buying houses”.
It’s about what women have to deal with AFTER they buy the home. Lowe’s and Home Depot have made an effort to be more “female friendly”. I’m thankful for that as Home Depot is one of my favorite stores. I always get the urge to begin a whole bunch of projects whenever I go there.
This is about manufacturers.
I don’t think manufacturers consider a woman’s size and strength when designing their products. It’s been a bone-of-contention for me since I bought my first home 23 years ago. I’ve learned over the years that it doesn’t pay to buy “small & lightweight” because I end up working harder than the tool does. Women need to be able to buy tools that do the job, but don’t require the strength of the Hulk to operate them.
Last weekend, I decided that leaf raking was becoming such a chore (my trees have grown – a lot) that it would be helpful to join the other obnoxious homeowners with a leaf blower.
The machine works great … if you’re a 6 ft tall person. Notice the man in the top illustration. His hands are near his waist with the vacuum tube on the ground sucking up the leaves with the bag supported easily with the strap. It looks easy doesn’t it!
Well, I’m not a tall person, so in order to hold the tool as shown in the illustration, I had to have my hands up near my shoulders & chin. Doing that also positioned that bag too high for the shoulder strap on the bag to have much effect in carrying the bag’s weight.
After a period of time – as my arms were becoming numb – I lowered it to allow the bag to drag on the ground with the vacuum tube aimed outward like a gun. Not exactly the image in the illustration. I’m sure I looked more like a person in desperation.
I’m thinking that I need to drag out my trusty heavy-duty circular saw and cut off about 6″ of that sucker.
Copyright © 2010. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.
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Posted in Commentary, Delaware County, Fix-ups, Homes, Lewis Center Ohio
Tagged Home Depot, Toro leaf blower