Debbie Roney Smith, REALTOR®

Saving money on our power bills is always a great thing. As the new year begins here are a few ideas to help save money and energy.  January is usually the coldest month we have here in the panhandle and normally 50% of your power bill is heating and cooling costs.

~Let the sunshine in: for additional warmth, open drapes over windows that receive sunlight during the day. Close them at night, which can reduce heat loss from a warm room by 10%.

~Limit energy use during peak times. In the summer that is 2pm to 7pm and in the winter it is 5am to 9am. During those hours, adjust your thermostat for maximum energy efficiency, avoid washing or drying clothes, delay baths to conserve hot water, and run the dishwasher later.

~Slow cookers use less electricity than an electric oven does. So try some great crock pot meals and if you have a really great one please share by emailing it to debson1999@gmail.com with blog in the subject line. Who knows you may get a special gift from me!

~An average household uses around 45 to 60 gallons of water per day. To reduce energy usage and protect against scalding, set your water heater to no higher than 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

~Seal air leaks: caulk around the fireplace hearth and caulk or weather strip around doors and windows.

~Protect your pipes: wrap exposed pipes and water heaters that are in unconditioned spaces.

 

A reminder to the homeowners of Jackson County who have moved, bought or built a home, or/and placed a mobile home on their property in 2019: Make a new application for Homestead Exemption in 2020. A mobile home must be declared as real property by the owner(s) in the Jackson County Property Appraiser’s office to be assessed on the tax roll.

Property owners must reside on their property as of Jan. 1 to be eligible for Homestead Exemption. In order to qualify for Homestead Exemption, the property owner(s) will need a current Florida driver’s license or Florida ID card, Florida car registration and if the owner(s) vote, a Jackson County voter ID card in the precinct where they live. These documents should reflect your current address and be dated prior to Jan. 1, 2020. This information, along with a Social Security number, is required for all owners who live on the property.

If you have any questions concerning the requirements, please feel free to call the Jackson County Property Appraiser’s office at 850-482-9646. They are accepting applications Jan. 2-March 2. Receiving this exemption saves you on your tax dollars.

Remember: January and February of each year is the period of time to apply for any type of tax exemption. Other than Homestead, there is Widow or Widower’s Exemption, additional Homestead Exemption for senior citizens, various disability exemptions, including the disabled first responder, church/non-profit exemptions and veterans’ exemptions (if you are a disabled service-connected veteran and are not receiving this exemption, please contact them). Also, there are benefits for the surviving spouse of a veteran and/or first responder. A deployed service member with Homestead Exemption may qualify for an additional exemption if deployed for a named operation outside the United States during 2019. Please contact the Appraiser’s office immediately for information on any tax exemption a property owner may qualify for. They will assist you with any benefits available to you through the Property Appraiser’s Office allowed by state laws. They want to help you with any tax exemption you are entitled to. Property owners who acquired agriculture land in 2019 should also make a new application in 2020 for the agricultural classification, if it is bona fide agricultural property.

*Information above from Rebecca Morris-Haid Jackson County Property Appraiser Jan 3, 2020.

 

 

As we are all getting used to writing the date for the new year, keep the following in mind!

We have a decade of having to write 20_ _. May as well be safe and start writing it out from the beginning. Authorities are warning that shortening “2020” to just “20” when writing the date could leave you vulnerable to fraud. Instead of abbreviating, just write out the whole date as it keeps scammers from forging the date on documents and paperwork. Some may be skeptical of this issue but for example, if there’s a stale check laying around that’s dated 1/7/20, someone could find it and easily alter the date to 1/7/2021. Just like that, the check is no longer stale. The same can be done with any contract. If you sign a credit contract and date it 1/7/20, the lender could easily add “19” to the end of that date and claim you owe more than a year’s worth of payments. In either situation, the result is not something very pleasant for the one who abbreviated the date. In the end, as a safety precaution to your bank account, credit, and everything else super important – write out the whole date. There’s no evidence of this type of scamming yet but better to be safe than sorry, and it likely won’t be much longer until someone tries the trick.