Dawn (253) 307-6438
Brandon (253) 732-0778

Category Archives: Blog

How Being a Home Owner Can Change Your Life

There are plenty of reasons how being a home owner can change your life… But the following 5 reasons are the main topics we hear from our clients the most.

 

  1. Financial Security. Knowing that you are paying towards a mortgage and building equity rather than paying rent that helps someone else pay their mortgage and build their equity.
  2. Pride of Ownership. I was always told growing up to not ruin my toys and to take good care of the nice things in my life. Whether that was a doll, a new pair of shoes, or a car. Same strategy with a home. You worked hard for it so you better take good care of it. Be proud of owning something nice!
  3. Peace of Mind. When you own a home, it is yours! Unless you stop paying your mortgage (Don’t do that), you won’t ever have to worry about getting kicked out or not being able to renew your lease. No more moving boxes for awhile.
  4. Tax Breaks. Once you own your home, you can deduct the annual interest paid on the mortgage from income. There are also other fees that you could ask your accountant about deducting.
  5. Financial Responsibility. Yay! You bought a house! Now that you have the responsibility of owning a home, you need to think of all the money responsibilities that go along with it. Not just the monthly mortgage, but also budgeting other aspects of your life. For example, I spend a lot in daily coffee! (Thanks Starbucks) The more you spend, the less you have saved. Other things you need to think of is if appliances go out or you need a new roof. We encourage people to always have a little saved up just in case. Remember… Budgeting. Budgeting. Budgeting.

Although there are many other responsibilities of being a home owner and the thought of owning a home might be a little stressful to some people, the overall feeling is SO rewarding. We are lucky enough to get to witness and help people every day achieve the amazing reward of owning a home! If you would like to experience that same feeling, please call us and we would love to help you through the process!!

 

Dawn Heilbrun 253-307-6438

Brandon Heilbrun 253-732-0778

Megan Bonifant 253-737-7804

 

 

-The Heilbrun Team Continue Reading

Super Easy Vegetables to Grow!

Super Easy Vegetables to Grow!

Super Easy Vegetables to Grow…

  1. Tomatoes are hands down the most popular crop to grow! (Even though these are technically fruit.) These are also one of my favorite crop in our garden! Nothing beats a ripe tomato out of the garden. We usually get the tomato plants or starts because they are easier than just starting from seeds.
  2. Pumpkins are so much fun to grow! And they are SO easy! You need to make sure you have a lot of room because the vines go everywhere! We used ours to carve for Halloween and it was so much more special knowing we grew them ourselves! Make sure to keep them standing up straight so they don’t lay on their side and get weird shaped.
  3. Zucchini are also one of my favorites! So easy to grow and they grow FAST! Luckily, we have family members who love to bake zucchini bread so we always have a use for all the zucchinis we grow. Make sure to keep an eye on them daily because those things can get massive so quickly!
  4. Snap Peas are such a good summer time snack. Dip them in some ranch… YUM! These are usually one of the first crop that will be ready to harvest. You want to make sure to grow them next to a fence or pole because they will grow up and vine around whatever they’re next to. If you keep picking them, they will keep producing!
  5. Green Beans are a lot like snap peas. They need something to grow up on or they will just overtake everything around them. These also grow really fast so make sure to pick them when they’re ready! We canned a lot of our beans last year and they turned out great!! They’re also so tasty when you grill them on the BBQ!
  6. Beets are SO easy but we didn’t use ours much last year. We did give them to family members and they said they turned out amazing! Just be careful when washing them off or boiling them because the red beet juice will stain your hands, clothes, and counter tops!
  7. Corn on the cob is BY FAR my favorite summer snack! Nothing beats a corn on the cob straight off the grill. We had zero luck with our corn last year but they made for great Fall décor! I read if you only have a small area to grow them, group them together instead of putting them in rows, they pollinate much better when they are close like that. I am totally trying that this year!
  8. Green Onion (chives) are the best to top on baked potatoes and salads. I also love them in my scrambled eggs! I haven’t personally tried growing these yet but this year is the year! I have read that if you just keep trimming them, they will keep growing and they’re insanely easy to grow.
  9. Peppers are also easy! We tried all sorts of peppers last year and the ones that turned out the best were jalapenos! Again, we rarely used these but we gave them to family members to make home made salsa!! We grew 1 green pepper and it was on the smaller size but very tasty and fresh! Peppers are definitely easy and worth it if you cook with peppers often! We love Poblano Peppers so maybe we will try those this year!

Let us know if there are any other vegetables we should try or what some of your favorites are! We would love more input…

-The Heilbrun Team

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20 Cleaning Tips You Might Have Forgotten…

20 Cleaning Tips You Might Have Forgotten…

20 Cleaning Tips You Might Have Forgotten…

Happy Friday! I don’t know about all of you, but weekends are for cleaning in our household. These tips have come in handy the last few weeks! I hope you try some of them yourself. Happy Spring Cleaning!

 

  1. Don’t forget that your Keurig still needs to be cleaned. You can do this by running vinegar through it periodically.
  2. Dispose of those stinky sink smells! Got a stinky garbage disposal? Use a cleaning pod or make your own cleaning solution! Just mix some white vinegar with lemon zest and pour down the sink while the disposal is on. Fresh smelling and clean!
  3. Did you know even the lint behind the dryer is a huge fire hazard? Don’t just clean out the dyer vent, clean all around the dryer also.
  4. Did you know you can clean your mattress?? Just sprinkle some baking soda over it and vacuum it up after letting it sit for a few minutes. No more odors!
  5. Do you ever get little crumbs stuck in between the counter and oven? Don’t forget to pull your appliances out periodically to clean up those crumbs and to also scrub/disinfect under them.
  6. When the weather is good, open up your windows! Let the windows and room air out. During this time, you can clean out the window panes of dust, dirt, and moisture.
  7. Wash your dishwasher! Food can eventually build up and clog your dishwasher. We have heard that if you put Kool-Aid mix in the soap dispenser part of your dishwasher and run it once with no dishes in it, it can help from your washer clogging! Let us know if this one works, we haven’t tried it yet!
  8. Fan blades collect SO much dust, but since we don’t see the tops of the blades, this area gets forgotten a lot. Don’t forgot to wipe your fan blades the next time you’re thinking of it.
  9. Electronics also collect a lot of dust because of the static they create. Make sure to dust down all of your electronics and then wipe them with dryer sheets to prevent future dust.
  10. Taking the trash out is a normal chore, but what about cleaning the trash can? That can collect just as many germs! Clean that too! We encourage you to wipe down the wall that is by your trash can also just in case that is collecting germs too.
  11. While you’re at it, wipe down all of your walls! Walls can carry so many germs and also stain easily if you don’t wipe down periodically. Especially if you have little kiddos running around, the walls tend to get messier faster!
  12. Wipe down your baseboards. Avoid build up and smudges. Take warm water and a splash of vinegar and wash down all of the baseboards. Then wipe it up and dry. You can also wipe down with a dryer sheet once dry to prevent future dust build up.
  13. Tackle grout. Take 2 parts washing soda with 1 part hydrogen peroxide and scrub with a toothbrush. This will help disinfect and whiten the grout. Wipe down once you scrub and TA-DA! Squeaky clean!
  14. Change your water filter regularly. Most fridges tell you when you need a new filter to make it more easy and convenient on you. Keep your water fresh!
  15. Clean ALL of your toilet, even the base. Toilets are nasty, especially if you have boys! Make sure to scrub the whole toilet down the next time you’re cleaning the bathroom. Keep it all clean and disinfected.
  16. We depend on our vacuum to keep our floors clean, but we also need to help it out and clean it too! Your vacuum can collect some pretty nasty stuff. Periodically, wipe it out with a disinfectant wipe. Don’t forget to clean out the roller of all the hair too!
  17. We talked earlier about cleaning your dryer… But don’t forget the washer too! We depend on that to wash our clothes, so we want it clean too! Do a full cycle with no clothes in it and just run hot water along with washer cleaner. This will help keep your laundry clean and fresh!
  18. One of the top things that collect germs are gadgets… Your phone, remote, tablets, etc. Wipe them down with a disinfectant wipe every now and then just to avoid germs!
  19. Another thing we touch all the time without thinking about it… Door handles!! Go through your whole home and wipe down all the door handles.
  20. You know that super cute “welcome” doormat you have? That collects SO much dust and dirt. Don’t track that into your home! Shake out the doormat weekly to avoid getting dirt in your home.

Did you try any of these? Let us know!! Have a blessed weekend.

-The Heilbrun Team

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Serving Pierce, King, Thurston and Lewis Counties

If you are looking outside of our service areas, we have a team of agents we work with throughout the entire United States.
Call us and we can refer you to a quality agent in your area.

John L. Scott Orting
104 S. Washington Ave.
Orting, WA 98360
Office:(360) 893-3380
Fax:(360) 893-5590

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