Mountain View-based Google has unveiled new software which will hopefully reduce household energy waste by monitoring personal electricity consumption.
Do you know how much electricity is being wasted by keeping your computer running night and day? How about those long luxurious showers that wake you up each morning … how much energy does it take to heat the water? These are bad habits that could be changed by metering personal energy consumption. Studies show that by being able to analyze personal energy consumption will change behavior, which in effect save households 5-15% of electricity. Google is working on a new prototype tool called the Google PowerMeter which will provide consumers with near real-time energy consumption via iGoogle homepage; the software will be available later this year.
How does it work? The Google PowerMeter receives information from utility smart meters and energy management devices and provides users access to home electricity consumption on their iGoogle homepage. The energy usage can be viewed privately as a graph showing how much electricity is used by different household activities. And, this will be a FREE
service to both consumers and utilities!
In order to have the ability to monitor our electricity throughout the day with near real-time feedback an advanced electricity meter known as a ‘smart meter Catwoman movie full Showdown at Area 51 release The Bellboy film buy Felon
‘ is required. Over the next 3 years, more than 40 million homes in the United States are scheduled to get these upgraded meters, thanks to the Obama Administration’s proposed stimulus package. Unfortunately, there have only been 440,000 smart electricity meters installed (and 1.4 million smart gas meters); the lack of smart meters being installed is one of the biggest obstacles to scaling up this project.
In the meantime, good habits to reduce energy consumption should be performed every day in order for us all to save money and fight global warming. To learn how to start cutting your energy consumption visit the Alliance to Save Energy site for energy saving tips.
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Has your home declined in value? Are you are receiving mailing offering to help reduce your property value for a small fee? If so, please read this before you take any action… Just My Luck buy
Proposition 8 Temporary Assessment Relief
A Proposition 8 reduction is a form of assessment relief. It may be applied when a property’s assessed value exceeds the current market value. In May all property owners receive notification of their assessed value. An informal Proposition 8 request submitted to the Assessor is separate from a formal assessment appeal filed with the independent Assessment Appeals Board. In 2008 the Assessor’s Office has proactively provided over 41,000 properties with temporary Proposition 8 reductions in assessed value.
Here is a brief Proposition 8 Powerpoint presentation with further detailed explanation.
As of today, the deadline to file for Proposition 8 relief was September 15, 2008. You must wait to receive the property assessment postcard from the county assessor in late June before you can file again for this year. Keep in mind, if your proposition 8 relief request is granted, this is only a temporary relief.
So, why pay a company to do something that you can do for free?
Here is the form that you need:
- Decline In Value Request form (San Mateo County)
- Decline In Value Request form (Santa Clara County)
Hope this helps… feel free to leave your comments and any additional questions below.
2/9/09 Update: Funny, right after I posted both me and a past client received this exact notice in the mail. Here’s what my client had to say…
Thanx for this email. You might want to mention that some of these companies disguise to look like government organizations. For instance, we recently got a mail from a company that calls itself “Property Tax Reassessment”. The mail looks very official, states that response is due on a particular day and even mention “late fees”. I had to read it twice before I realized that this is just a scam.
Here’s the Scam Alert from Los Angeles County.
7/6/09: Received the county assessor postcard in the mail. Don’t know what Larry Stone
is smoking, but he would be the greatest real estate agent in the world if he could sell my home in today’s market for the assessed value that they given me. Will definitely be contesting this one…
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We recently attended a special invitation luncheon hosted by the sales staff at Toll Brothers for select buyers brokers in the community. In additional to learning about Toll Brothers special home buyer programs, we were asked to comment on what features were most important to our clients. Toll Brothers, realizes that most Santa Clara County home buyers are utilizing the services of savvy real estate buyers agents who know the ins and outs of buying into new home developments
to negotiate the best deal for them and protect their interests throughout the process from the initial deposit through inspections and final walk-through.
Toll Brothers is making it easier than ever for home buyers in Silicon Valley to purchase a brand new home. They are offering for a limited time, a special 3.99%, 30 year fixed
, financing mortgage rate to purchasers of homes in their exciting new luxury community, The Villas at Lundy in San Jose. The Villas at Lundy in San Jose is another exclusive, top quality home development from the award winning Toll Brothers. The Villas at Lundy joins a handful of other Toll Brothers Santa Clara County projects which include the Verona at Sunnyvale and Willow Glen Place, Courtyards and Terraces in San Jose.
Another advantage to buying now is that it may be the last opportunity to purchase new construction in Santa Clara County for several years. A declining real estate market, rising construction costs combined with the lack of available financing and a shrinking supply of available land in Santa Clara County has put a hold on future new housing development for the foreseeable future.
If you or someone you know is interested in obtaining more information about buying new homes in Santa Clara or San Mateo County, feel free to contact us
.
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Back in October 2007, Steve Leung of 1SiliconValley.com provided a great update on the real estate market in one of San Mateo County and often considered one of Silicon Valley’s most affluent planned communities, Foster City. This month, we have the opportunity give you an update on the Foster City market and share with you our most recent, completely remodeled and rebuilt condo listing, 172 Albacore Lane, located in highly desired Marina Green condo and townhouse development in the Carmel Village area of Foster City. This great neighborhood is conveniently located near the Bay Trail and the Marlin Cove shopping (check out our listing video Hero Wanted dvd
tour below for more shopping center info).
The Foster City condo market inventory seems to be relatively strong with about a little over twenty active listings on the market with the majority being two and three bedroom condos and townhouses. With 8 listings being sold in the past three months at an average 42 days on market, it seems that the lower end of the Foster City real estate market has been moving for first time home buyers.
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Check out our video tour below of our new listing at 172 Albacore Lane. This one-of-a-kind condo was completely rebuilt with a long list of designer finishes in 2008 and is aggressively priced at $549,000. There will be an open house this Saturday and Sunday February 7th and 8th from 1:00 – 4:00pm.
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