Furnaces are often uncomplicated and relatively easy to keep up. The purpose of systematic maintenance is effective operation. Whatever kind of furnace that is heating the house, there are several steps to take to preserve the heating in prime operating condition.

Three Components of Heating System
When a heating system does not work correctly, one of the three workings, the source of heat, the circulation system or the thermostat, may be the cause of the problem. IF the furnace will not run, the issue is most likely at the heat source. Possible causes could include loss of power, fuel not reaching the unit or failure of the oil or gas to ignite. If the furnace does turn on, but the warmed air does not spread to the rooms, the difficulty could be in the blower. A defective thermostat will stop the heating system from turning on or could make the furnace turn on and off.

Initial Steps to Furnace Maintenance
There are initial steps to take to work on a furnace. Be certain that the heating unit is receiving power by checking for fuses that are blown or circuit breakers that are tripped at the main panel. Check the reset button which is close to the motor housing. If the motor has been running, wait 30 minutes for the motor to cool down and then press the button one time. If the unit doesn’t start this time, wait another 30 minutes and press the reset button again. Try one more time if necessary. If the furnace has a different power switch, turn the switch on. Set the thermostat at the proper temperature. If the furnace is powered by gas, inspect the gas source to be certain it is turned on and the pilot light is burning. Double check for a sufficient supply of oil.

It’s the proverbial question that crosses every business leader’s mind, “How do we take our business to the next level?” Best-selling author and Stanford business professor, Jim Collins, set out to discover just that when he wrote his book, “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't”. This book focuses on what principles great companies have used to get there and are easily adapted for real estate professionals. Here are three principles, rooted in discipline, which can help real estate leaders make a breakthrough and go from good to great.

Step 1: Disciplined People. First it’s about who, then what. Recognize that strong people and leaders are the absolute foundation to running a successful company. Get the right people on board first that share your business vision and strategy and weed out the ones who don’t. Collins identifies five levels of leadership, which include the following types:

1. Highly capable individual
2. Contributing team member
3. Competent manager
4. Effective leader
5. Executive

Years after the housing market crash, one thing is certain: it’s incredibly difficult to qualify for a mortgage, and that fact is significantly holding back the housing market recovery. Thankfully, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac took notice and, just this week, instituted new lending guidelines that will make mortgages easier to obtain for Main Street homebuyers.

The new, less rigid standards mean borrowers with lower credit scores have a much better chance of qualifying for a home loan. In the past, lenders were extremely selective when approving loans because of the penalties they faced when approving bad mortgages. The result was a reluctance to approve anyone without stellar credit and, subsequently, a sluggish market rebound.

Don Frommeyer, CEO of NAMB – The Association of Mortgage Professionals, believes the new regulations are appropriate and will go a long way to positively influencing the housing market.

Following years of retrenchment among prospective first-time homebuyers and the dampening effect it has had on the recovery of the housing market, first-timers will return to the market next year, according to the realtor.com® 2015 Housing Forecast released Thursday. This is among several key developments projected for the coming year by realtor.com®, a leading provider of online real estate services operated by News Corp subsidiary Move, Inc., in a report that includes predictions for home prices, home sales, mortgage rates, and affordability, as well as the Top 10 Markets for Housing Growth.

“The residual financial effects of recession-driven job losses and subsequent unemployment have impeded millennials’ entry into the home-owning market. In 2015, increases in employment opportunities will empower younger buyers to return to the market and fuel the continued housing recovery,” said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for realtor.com®. “If access to credit improves, we could see substantially larger numbers of young buyers in the market. However, given a high dependency on financial qualifications, this activity will be skewed to geographic areas with higher affordability such as the Midwest and South.”

Realtor.com®’s Top 5 Housing Predictions for 2015

1. Millennials will drive household formations: Both population and households have grown at a slightly higher pace in 2014 and this trend will continue in 2015 with modest improvement over this year’s increases. Households headed by millennials will see significant growth as a reflection of economic gains. Millennials will also drive two-thirds of household formations over the next five years. Next year’s addition of 2.75 million jobs and increased household formation will be the two key factors driving first-time buyer sales.

House hunters these days use any and every portal to connect with a real estate professional. Unless you’ve got clones of yourself ready to record every exchange between you and a potential new client, keeping up with constant streams of communication is a challenge. (And if you do have clones, you’re probably way too advanced for this blog, and humanity in general.)

Think of note-taking apps as your clones. Platforms such as Microsoft’s OneNote, Google Keep and Evernote take the guesswork out of managing relationships. Evernote, in particular, provides agents with capabilities that are light-years beyond traditional note-taking. Here’s what I mean:

Client Notebooks – Real estate agents can create a comprehensive log of everything by grouping notes by client, effectively crafting individual, digital notebooks. Use your client notebook to store anything from appointment notes and negotiation conversations to transaction information and client feedback. Because documents are categorized by client, searching for something takes seconds.

Fresh holiday trees are beautiful, smell great and really add to the spirit of the season. Following some proven safety tips might help you avoid a disaster and keep the Grinch away.

• Select a tree with fresh green needles that don’t fall off when touched or when the trunk is tapped on the ground.
• When trees are cut too early, they have a greater risk of drying out and can become more dangerous especially with electrical lights.
• Cut 1” to 2” off the base of the tree before placing it in the stand to facilitate it drawing water to the limbs and quills.
• Trees require water similar to cut flowers or they’ll dry out. Tree stands should hold at least one gallon of water and it should be checked every day. A six foot tree could use up to a gallon of water every two days.

Two times per year, at NAR’s major meetings, the idea exchange council for brokers comes together to share broker challenges, ideas and solutions. And the goal is always the same: to raise the caliber of the industry by sharing good ideas. Earlier this month, during the REALTORS® Conference & Expo in New Orleans, La., brokers from companies of all sizes and geographic locations took advantage of the think tank to bounce ideas off one another. Topics covered included agent retention, risk management, multiple offer situations, liability in a digital world and assistants/teams.

Agent Retention
When it comes to retaining agents, it’s clear to see that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. In fact, broker attendees pointed to a wide range of best practices that have been instrumental in keeping productive agents on board, noting that a lot can be accomplished when brokers don’t have to spend time replacing agents. Whether it’s paying attention to small details (birthdays, names of children, etc.) and letting your agents know you value them as people to bringing in Gen X/Gen Y to do administrative work for successful agents so that they generate income before they come on full time, creating a positive culture—one full of loyalty—is crucial. Other popular ideas included:

- Offering $500 on their first three deals if they bring another agent in
- Talking about culture (to those on staff, and those you want to bring on)
- Teaching brokers how to recruit agents

If you have a mortgage with an escrow account to pay your property taxes and insurance, you expect the company servicing your loan to pay this year’s taxes this year so that you can deduct them on your 2014 income tax return. After all, your monthly payment includes 1/12 the annual amount so there will be money available for them to be paid on time.

IRS requires that expenses must actually be paid in the year that a deduction is to be taken.

In much of the country, winter is quickly approaching, or already here. I was just clued in by my colleagues at AARP about fantastic opportunities in late fall that could give you a real jump on beautifying your lawns and landscapes next spring.

According to a new AARP report by author Jeff Yeager aka 'The Ultimate Cheapskate,' (ultimatecheapskate.com) fall is a good time to plant trees, shrubs, and many other perennial plants in most U.S. climate zones.

He says the soil is nice and warm, which promotes good root growth, and — unlike in the spring — young upstarts don't face the potential of a long, hot, dry summer. Plant perennials in the fall and they can get established before going dormant for a winter's nap.

Best of all, Yeager says you can find terrific bargains on perennial garden stock, as nurseries and garden centers liquidate their summertime inventory

Freddie Mac recently released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates little changed from the previous week with the 30-year mortgage still hovering around 4 percent.

"Fixed mortgage rates were slightly down on mixed results from October's employment report,” says Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac. “While the unemployment rate declined to 5.8 percent, nonfarm employment rose by 214,000 jobs, which was below consensus expectations. Net revisions for payroll employment in August and September added 31,000 more jobs to the initial readings."

The survey noted that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.01 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending November 13, 2014, down from the last week when it averaged 4.02 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.35 percent.