Disaster Recovery For Your Home

How would you recover from a disaster at your home? What would you do if a tree fell on your house, or if a storm ripped off the roof?  How about a flooded basement?  Of course, these things seem to happen in the middle of the night, to make things worse.

I had an opportunity to talk with Shawn McDonough of Laurens Construction Company about this kind of event.  Shawn is a former insurance adjuster – so he knows that side of the business pretty well.  As a repair specialist for Laurens Construction, a 24/7 response company that serves all of SE Michigan, he’s seen some pretty amazing things.

This interview is just under 9 minutes long.  Listen to it – then call your insurance agent and review your coverage.  If there’s anything worse that your home suffering damage at the hands of Mother Nature, it’s finding out you’re not carrying the right rider to your homeowner’s policy.

Bob Smith, SRES
Preview Properties, PC
130 W. Grand River, Brighton, MI 48116
810-220-1478
http://www.RealEstateMich.com

Keeping Wine Fresh

I don’t often have wine that sticks around for more than a few days after being opened, but for those of you that do, you may have struggled with keeping wine fresh.  This is definitely more of a problem with red wine.  White wine can be capped and placed in the refrigerator and seems to ‘keep’ so much easier.

A few years ago, I purchased a Vacu-vin for around $10.  Special stoppers and a hand pump that suck the air out of the wine bottle works very well for my short term storage of open bottles.  But I came across an article this morning that reviewed five different wine storage techniques – with varying prices and varying degrees of effectiveness.

I know that wine is a much more popular choice for many people than in years past and thought I’d share it with you (the article, not the wine!).  If you have a favorite way to keep your wine fresh, feel free to share it here.

image courtesy of vacuvinusa.com

Free Fishing Derby For Kids - Brighton Michigan

Saturday, June 8th, from 8:30-11:00, the Brighton Optimists will hold their annual Free Fishing Derby for Kids in Downtown Brighton, at the Millpond.  Registration starts at 7:30am.

Bring your rod and reel and a bucket for the fish. This is a catch and release event. We also have a limited number of loaner poles and buckets.  Free bait while supply lasts.  We will provide free pizza to the kids and the local jump rope team (Jumpin' Allstars) will be performing prior to awards.

While you’re downtown for the fishing derby on Saturday, be sure to check out the Farmer’s Market.  The kids will enjoy the Imagination Station, too.  And if they get warm, you can cool them off at Jack’s Custard, the Dairy Queen, or the Yum Yum Tree.  Plenty of options!  For a complete list of downtown events and businesses, check out the downtown Brighton web site!


The Brighton Optimists are looking for community service-minded individuals. If you have an interest in making your community a better place to live, contact them at info@BrightonOptimist.org.

Drones and Real Estate

This article about an experimental drone system to deliver Domino’s® Pizza caught my eye.  Tongue-in-cheek, I wondered if the pizza was still hot when delivered.  But it made me think about a short excerpt that I saw back in March about drones (technically called ‘unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAV’s) and real estate.

A few real estate professionals have experimented with camera-carrying drones to get wonderful photos of their listings.  And why not?  In the past, if you had a large parcel of land or a magnificent estate, agents would hire small airplanes or helicopters with photographers to get photos that would show the property at its best.  Now, with drones, it can be done quicker and more affordably.

Ah, but there’s a catch. Isn’t there always?

Local law enforcement and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have ordered some drone operators to cease, citing lack of regulations for commercial use - and this is considered a commercial use.  Congress has ordered the FAA to have a plan by September 2015, although it’s expected that there will be guidelines for units that weigh less than 55 lbs or less earlier than that, perhaps by the end of this year.

Still photos are easier to get with a UAV than video footage, due to motion stability issues.  A quick internet search revealed that you can buy a drone from around $100 up to over $5,000.  Some Realtors® cited in the articles say that they paid $700-$900 for theirs.  I guess it’s OK for consumers, but for now, drones and real estate is off limits.

Domino’s® Pizza, which stirred me to write this blog entry, is an early adopter of technology.  They were the first to use an insulated heat bag to keep pizza warm, developed the first corrugated pizza box, and later started the online pizza builder and order tracking service.  For the record, I have no affiliation with them and consider their product ‘alright’.  Not the best pizza I’ve ever eaten, and certainly not the worst.

photo courtesy of victor habbic/freedigitalphotos.net