Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Gearing Up For Summer
FARMINGTON — Legend Realty of Farmington will open its first branch office this spring.
The new office will be located at 115 N. Pittman in Prairie Grove, next to Gabby’s Mexican Grill Restaurant. Stacey Stills will be the executive broker in the new office and agents will be Gina Bailey and Katie Book.
The building is being remodeled and plans are to open for business in early April.
Legend is opening a Prairie Grove office to provide customers more opportunities to walk into a real estate office and talk to an agent about purchasing or selling a house. Legend believes that Prairie Grove is a growing market for the housing industry.
Legend Realty at 193 E. Main St., in Farmington, is locally owned and has been in business since 1998. It started in a small office building in Farmington with two agents and then grew large enough to move to its present building on East Main Street. Keith Marrs is the principal broker. Michael Tooley is another owner and executive broker. Bob Daughterty also is an executive broker.
The firm has 13 agents and currently has 100 listings that include commercial, residential, vacant land, a chicken farm and bank-owned properties.
Spring is a good time to shop for a home when the weather is nice and one can see flowers blooming, lawns turning green and trees sprouting new leaves. Interest rates are still fairly low for potential buyers.
Spring is also a good time to sell homes and Legend has had several properties go under contract recently so buyers are out there. Legend Realty’s volume in 2013 was more than $34 million.
The advantages of using a local real estate firm are that the firm handles all the transactions and paperwork involved with purchasing or selling a home. Legend will set up the title work, closing date and is insured for safety. In addition, research shows that homeowners will receive more for their house by selling through a real estate firm than trying to sell on their own because agents know the market value of the area.
The Legend website is www. legendrealty. com. Legend Realty agents have many years of experience and profiles of the individual agents and their phone numbers are posted on the website under the “Our Agents” tab. Office hours are 8: 30 a. m. to 5 p. m., Monday-Friday.
Preparing your home for energy efficiency during the summer is really similar to the way we prepare ourselves to be out in the warm sunny weather. There are steps this spring to take before hot weather arrives that can increase your comfort and save you energy.
First, consider a complete home energy audit. During a complete energy audit, our energy experts will test how tightly your home is sealed and make recommendations for improvement where it might be lacking. If you have an energy audit performed during the mild spring weather, you can make necessary repairs before temperatures outside and inside your attic or crawlspace become unbearable. Summer attic temperatures in Arkansas can approach 145o° F, which is extremely dangerous for anyone spending an extended period of time in that space.
Seal your HVAC system duct work. Nine out of 10 homes that our energy experts test show significant air loss outside (duct leakage). On average, duct leakage can waste as much as 30 percent of the energy you pay for each month. This makes sealing duct work a solution that can produce a noticeable difference on your energy bill and your comfort.
Ozarks Electric offers a rebate of up to $500 or half of the expense of sealing your duct work. To receive the rebate, you must first have a complete energy audit on your home. Make sure to visit our website for complete details.
For higher efficiency and longer equipment life, clean your HVAC system coils inside and outside. The inside unit ( air handler) requires a professional to clean the A-coil. Over time, the build-up of dust and dirt on it can rob you of 10 to 15 percent of the unit’s efficiency. Likewise, you should check the unit that sits outside your home and make sure it is clear of all debris and leaves. Simply wash the outside unit with a water hose and light pressure.
One of the easiest things that can help reduce energy bills is often overlooked. Regularly replacing your air filters increases the air flow across the coil, increasing comfort and helping your unit operate at peak efficiency. It isn’t necessary to buy the most expensive filters, but changing them regularly is necessary to keep your system in good shape.
If you don’t have “LowE” windows installed in your home, the sun’s radiant energy is penetrating your window glass, causing higher energy usage. Check into having your windows tinted or applying sunscreening (especially for windows on the south and west sides of your home) to stop unwanted heat from making your air conditioner work harder and increasing your energy costs.
Feeling Spring