Rona

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So far Rona has created 655 blog entries.

What makes a real estate website accessible to vision impaired and other disabled people?

In July, last year, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors® sent an advisory out that brokers were receiving demand letters regarding the inaccessibility of their websites. A group called Access4All, Inc notified Massachusetts and Florida Realtor® associations that having property information sites that were not accessible violated Fair Housing Laws, since blind, vision impaired, and other

By |2021-02-22T14:55:25-05:00January 22nd, 2021|Categories: House Hunting|Tags: , , , , |

What’s Inside a Dead Hot Water Heater?

Happy New Year. Today, I am nerding-out on you about hot water tanks. The basics of hot water: Direct-fire tanks are typical in Massachusetts. These are the gas or electric tanks that run a flame under a tank of water. When you open your faucet, you use some of that 30- or 40- or 50-

By |2021-01-03T14:39:06-05:00January 6th, 2021|Categories: Energy efficiency, Happy Home Ownership|Tags: , , , |

The Chimney, with Care

Santa has a hard time in eastern Massachusetts. So many of our chimneys are in rough shape. Some are no longer in use, but stick out of our roof lines, nonetheless.  In truth, the big guy couldn’t come down a modern chimney, even one in good shape. They tend to be two-foot square, at best;

By |2020-12-21T20:36:25-05:00December 23rd, 2020|Categories: House Hunting|Tags: , , , , , |

Direct Vent Heating Systems: What to Not Worry About

Direct vent heating systems are the ones that run so efficiently that they can vent through a PVC pipe instead of a chimney. Why does the efficiency matter? If the air coming out of the boiler is still very hot, it cannot travel through plastic PVC pipes. Newer high-efficiency boilers and hot water heaters use

By |2024-12-11T16:32:55-05:00December 17th, 2020|Categories: Energy efficiency, Winter|Tags: , , , , , |

Bedrooms since 2020: Health and Mental Health

One of the features that people want more than usual since 2020 is a big bedroom, preferably with an attached bathroom. I have some ideas about why. Bedrooms are multi-tasking in 2020 Home office: When physical school closed last March, students and their parents scrambled for spaces where online work and online school could happen

By |2024-12-11T16:36:20-05:00December 16th, 2020|Categories: Happy Home Ownership|Tags: , , , , , |

Realtors® Take Stand on Hate Speech

Is someone who participates in discriminatory speech (or hate speech) in their social settings trustworthy to practice Fair Housing Laws? The National Association of Realtors® says, “No.” There’s a new standard of practice being added to the Fair Housing Section of the Realtor Code of Ethics. It prohibits discriminatory or hate speech by Realtors®. How

By |2020-11-29T08:08:22-05:00December 2nd, 2020|Categories: Legal questions|Tags: , , , , |

Is multigenerational living coming back into fashion?

It has long been a truism in real estate that the number one retirement home location is “where the grandkids are” followed closely by “where the kids live.” According to recent research by the National Association of Realtors®, where the kids and grandkids are is exactly where the older generation wants to be. Apparently, multigenerational

By |2024-12-11T16:39:56-05:00November 25th, 2020|Categories: Uncategorized|