Chinese Drywall Settlement

Settlement for $80 million more for drywall victims

Lawyers representing thousands of victims of Chinese drywall have reached an $80 million settlement with insurance companies representing many of the builders and installers of the material.

That money will feed into a settlement announced in December that involves Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co., a German maker of defective Chinese drywall that could, by some reckonings, make $1 billion in repairs. The settlement called for Knauf to create an uncapped fund to repair 4,500 properties, mainly in Florida.

The latest settlement includes more than 600 defendants, including 80 insurers. The agreement covers as many as 8,000 homeowners, more of them Florida residents than any other state.

Read the full article here: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20120606/ARTICLE/120609750?p=1&tc=pg

Mark Cramer

Mark Cramer Inspection Services, Inc.

492 20th Ave.

Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785

727-595-4211

Tampa Bay Area Home Inspector

http://www.BestTampaInspector.com

Clearwater Home Inspector

St. Petersburg Home Inspector

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Will your smoke detectors work?

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Right now some significant issues are being raised about smoke detectors. Turns out that the type used in 95% of homes are not effective in detecting smoke from smoldering fires and these are the type fires that cause most of the 3,000 home fire casualties. Several states and many municipalities around the country have banned ionization type detectors because of the flaws in the system. Tennessee currently has legislation that would require photoelectric alarms.

Here’s some life saving tips to keep your family safe:

www.theworldfiresafetyfoundation.org

Mark Cramer

Mark Cramer Inspection Services, Inc.

492 20th Ave.

Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785

727-595-4211

Tampa Bay Area Home Inspector

http://www.BestTampaInspector.com

Clearwater Home Inspector

St. Petersburg Home Inspector

Advice for consumers on choosing a home inspector in Tampa, St. Petersburg or Cleawater

Posted via email from Clearwater St. Petersburg Tampa Home Inspection News

National Home Safety Month & Fire Safety Tips

Right now some significant issues are being raised about smoke detectors. Turns out that the type used in 95% of homes are not effective in detecting smoke from smoldering fires and these are the type fires that cause most of the 3,000 home fire casualties. Several states and many municipalities around the country have banned ionization type detectors because of the flaws in the system. Tennessee currently has legislation that would require photoelectric alarms.

Here’s some life saving tips to keep your family safe:

www.theworldfiresafetyfoundation.org

 

Link to video:  http://via.whnt.com/6Nsr7rS

Posted via email from Clearwater St. Petersburg Tampa Home Inspection News

Home Values Rise

Zillow issued a released Friday reporting that both national home values and rents rose in the month of April.

According to the April Zillow Real Estate Market Reports, national home values rose 0.7 percent in April to a Zillow Home Value Index of $147,300. This is the largest monthly increase in home values since January 2006, and it makes April the second month in a row in which home values climbed up.

Zillow also reported that rents rose from March to April, increasing by 1.6 percent, according to the Zillow Rent Index. Of the 178 markets covered by Zillow, 78 percent experienced a rise in rents.

The Miami-Fort Lauderdale and Phoenix metro areas saw the biggest increases in home values, rising 1.6 and 1.9 percent, respectively. Values continued to decrease in hard-hit markets like Atlanta, where home values fell 0.7 percent.

“The housing market continues to show positive signs, with home values increasing significantly in April,” said Dr. Stan Humphries, chief economist at Zillow. “The recovery is moving in the right direction, but we caution that negative equity will cast a long shadow over the housing market. With almost one-third of homeowners with mortgages underwater and unable to sell their homes, inventory is having a hard time keeping up with increasing demand in many areas. We’ll continue to watch this signal as increasing home values turn from a blip into a trend.”

Foreclosures also continued to decline in April, with 6.8 out of every 10,000 homes being foreclosed across the U.S. That figure was down from 8 out of every 10,000 in March.

We’re seeing increased activity in the Tampa Bay market. Home sales have been very strong in the first quarter of this year.

Mark Cramer

Mark Cramer Inspection Services, Inc.

492 20th Ave.

Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785

727-595-4211

Tampa Bay Area Home Inspector

http://www.BestTampaInspector.com

Clearwater Home Inspector

St. Petersburg Home Inspector

Advice for consumers on choosing a home inspector in Tampa, St. Petersburg or Cleawater

Posted via email from Clearwater St. Petersburg Tampa Home Inspection News