Get geared up for Downtown Life; farmer's market, concerts on the square, shopping, restaurants & more! This bright and cheery open studio located just 2.5 blocks from the Capital Square. The large skylights and 14' cathedral ceiling makes the space glow with natural light. This home, office, studio offers wood floors, W/D, a full kitchen & a patio. The incredibly low condo fee will make this even more amazingly affordable.;

visit www.GlassSlipperHomes.com for more details. For a private showing, call Heidi - (608) 444-6831

If you would like a copy of my Preferred Vendor list, simply email me at Heidi@GlassSlipperHomes.com

So if you are looking at properties and see one that you love, it meets your criteria, and it is in your price-range, I would encourage you to be bold and move forward before someone else does it first.

Home Buyers: links to down-payment assistance

Investors: rental rehabilitation allowances.

Current Owners: Low rate loans supporting improving energy efficiency. Don’t forget to factor the increase in federal energy tax credit. “Tax credits are available at 30% of the cost, up to $1,500, in 2009 & 2010″ (energystar.gov)

Check it out! City of Madison Residential Housing Programs

“The basic result is that instead of making twelve monthly payments during the year, you make thirteen. The extra payment reduces the principal, substantially reducing the time it takes to pay off a thirty year mortgage. “  (www.realestateabc.com/glossary)

Communicate with your lending institution to set up this payment program.

I recently had an energy assessment done in my own home. Brian Paull from Premier Inspection used a thermal imaging camera to find the cold spots in my house.  We followed him around the house looking over his shoulder at the camera. We saw that some of the insulation had blown back in a corner of the bedroom, the outlets on the outer wall and one light fixture need insulation, the uninsulated garage door needs to be replaced, and obviously the upstairs windows need to be replaced. As a bonus, he offered some ideas on sources for remedies. Even making some of the smaller changes will make a difference.

MG&E is a great resource for other energy conserving ideas. Visit their website and review Saving Energy.

Once we have made the changes, I will post the improvement in the utility bill during our next chilly billing cycle.  In the meantime, it’s off to Home Depot!

This youTube video says it all: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svhq4C9HhUg

Expect to see this as an annual event with more publicity this coming spring!

Thanks to all that participated in this event, there will be a homeless child that benefits from your support.

The Streets Division recently went through the local recycling bins to identify some of the common mistakes made by Madison recyclers. Here are the most common items that residents are putting in their recycling bins that should have been put elsewhere:

-         Glass: Broken glass of any kind should be put in your tan refused cart.

-         Metal: Please bring all metal to a drop off site for recycling.

-         Styrofoam: Styrofoam should not be in your recycling cart. A common mistake! Any Styrofoam to be thrown away should be placed in your tan refuse cart.

-         Plastic Packaging: Now when you by a toy for your child it comes wrapped in three different plastic bags and a plastic box. These items do not belong in the recyclable container but should be placed in your tan refuse cart.

-         Rigid Plastics: Hard plastic can recycled by bring it to one of the local drop off sites.

-         Cups: All cups: whether it’s paper or plastic cannot be put in the green recyclable cart. They need to be put in your tan refuse cart.

To find out more about recycling click here.