Must Sell. 1995 White Toyota 4Runner, Great AC, sun roof, running boards, ABS, Clean, appx. 130,000 miles, Great condition. Make an offer.

The Book - It Saved My Bacon!
We have all been warned, we all know how important the data on our computer is to us, but what do we do to protect ourselves?  A couple of weeks ago I headed to Dallas, Texas and prior to packing up the lap top, I plugged in my book, and hit back up entire system. Since my laptop is pretty close to capacity it takes a while to do a full and complete back up - I generally only have the system back up files that have been changed since my last back up.  When I am going to travel though, I create a full and complete back up and over write everything - I want one clean back up to make restoring a breeze.I have never had to use my back up - but there have been times in the past that I did not back up like this and some little gremlin would come in and destroy everything on my computer.  No back up meant I had to start everything over, had to recreate the wheel and years of hard work.Now, I back up all of my systems and do it regularly - and as is standard when you take precautions I have never needed my back up….. until this last week.  While in Texas I had a major malfunction - I was able to get my laptop back up and running and everything seemed great until yesterday - I lost it all… I hit the on button and nothing - I thought the lap top was dead - after 3 years of abuse it would not have surprised me - I was amazed - I found the rescue disk - installed and loaded my backup with the restore - a couple hours later I was up and running.  After completing a little maintenance the laptop is good as new - well maybe better - it has everything on it… my contacts, my programs, my documents and my photos - If you do not back up your system please do so, there are so many choices today that are so much more affordable, easy to store and easy to use. 

Back Up System - I love My Book - a Few Details For You
Backing up your computer, yesterday I wrote a quick post to remind all of you how important it can be and how it saved my bacon with my laptop. Many of you have asked what I use and the cost of my system, so here goes.Many of us remember the old tape driven back ups that we set up to back up at night and with the memory we currently use with larger photos, bigger files and more details these tape drives are pretty much non-existent today.The tapes of yesteryear were expensive and not as reliable or easy to restore as one would think. I remember having to restore a time or two and oh my, what a pain. Then some of us got CD burners oh that was a great system - how many CDs does it take to back up 100GB hard drive that is 80% full - someone else out there can do the math, my answer is…. Way too many and who has the time?Today we have a lot of options, from online services that you pay a small monthly fee to actual external hard drives. Personally I use a system by Western Digital called “My Book” it is the size of a book and resembles a book - it connects to my computers with a USB cord or a firewire cord. They do have a fancier option which if I ever need a larger system I will upgrade to that is wireless and works on your wireless network.I use the My Book; the first one I purchased is a 320 GB system, the cost of this is $99 to $150 depending on where you purchase it. I bought mine at Best Buy - this link will take you to a few of the choices they have. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcmcat77500050000&type=categoryI was not sure I would find the system to work well for me so I started small, if I were to be in the market today I would most likely buy the wireless one only because I have 3 computers to back up. If you are working with one computer or even two you may find that it is not a necessity to spend more than the $99.One of the features I like about the book - is you can use it as an extra hard drive. I can load files on it and when it is connected to the computer you can access the files and save them on the book… In my previous post several people mentioned the online backup services. I have never used one, and would struggle to do so because of the speed of our internet connections in central oregon. I have DSL which runs about the speed of a 56k modem, uploading all the photos I have would take an eternity. If your files are small and you are comfortable with having your data in cyberspace you might want to check out a few of them.So, I hope this helps some of you that asked the question of what I use. Let me know if I can help any further. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Thesa Chambers Broker Sunriver Realty 541-771-7064 Mailing Address PO Bo x 3650, Sunriver, OR 97707 Physical Address 57057 Beaver Drive, Sunriver, OR 97707

Ford Mustang - $6,800
2000 Ford Mustang 3.8 V6 Auto Silver Like new 95,000 miles Clean, quick 27 MPG Special all season Tiers a very nice car. CD Great Sound system

Sunriver Memories Waiting To Be Made!
Sunriver is a resort community located in the heart of central oregon. Sunriver is known for vacations, skiing at Mt. Bachelor, fishing the Big Deschutes and great family memories. Buying a home in Sunriver is not just a great investment but it is also a place you and your family will always reflect back to the days when you rode on the bike trails, golfed on the Meadows or Woodlands golf course. Had pizza at Blondies or just hung out in the hot tub as the snow fell.Today, we have a home that is perfect for you and your family to start building your own Sunriver memories at. Updates and furnishings were just recently completed, making this home a new Sunriver classic.With 5 bedrooms 2 of which are master suites, a bunk room and a family style bedroom there is truly a place for everyone. Huge great room is the perfect place for gathering after enjoying a sun filled day in Sunriver.This beautiful home is located at 9 Conifer, just around the corner from Ft. Rock Park and right off the bike path. The rear of the home backs to a huge common area which gives a privacy that is not easily found in Sunriver.View this tour and then call to set up your personal showing of the fabulous home! Be sure to click on the additional photos and the related shows for more about central oregon and Sunriver!

Homes Are Selling - What? No Way The Market Is Dead - Not in La Pine
Heard the market is slow, no one is buying and that we are all doomed?  I have good news and the proof to show you that 37 home sellers in La Pine Oregon are felling a lot different right now.  It is a buyer's market and buyers are certainly in the driver's seat, but they are buying.January is over, although there may be a few listings still showing pending that have actually closed escrow a quick search of the central oregon Association of Realtors MLS shows that there are 37 homes that either have an offer on them or have closed escrow. Prices vary and so do the style of homes, most of the sold properties did sell for less than listed for and many of these homes had multiple price reductions before finding a buyer… but they did find the buyer and the buyer did buy.Click here for the list of homes that are Pending (in escrow) or Sold in the La Pine area.Are you going to sit on the fence and wait until prices are lower?  What if they go up this spring?  What if the loan you qualify for now is no longer available or rates go back up?  Are you ready to have to wait for the next buyer's market or should you investigate if now is the right time for you?First time home buyers have some great financing options. Oregon Veterans you have some wonderful options out there.  Talk to your mortgage professional about these options or if you don't have someone you trust, call me I will provide you a list of mortgage professionals that know the market, the area and have a lot of different loan products to find the one that suits your needs.

Healthy Express Cookbook.
101 Fresh, Light & Quick Dinner recipes. Healthy Express Cookbook. - Please welcome Simply recipes guest author Garrett McCord of Vanilla Garlic. ~Elise Red velvet cake is classic Americana cooking with its roots in the south. Deliciously festive, moist, flavorful, and maybe a hint of playful tackiness it’s a […]

Home Warranty - Update - Help Appreciated!!!
About a month ago I wrote about a home warranty and how one failed my buyers.  Many people have contacted me asking for an outcome of the situation.  This has been a big lesson and one I hope some of the agents, buyers and sellers can learn from this post rather than having to go through the troubles we have. It is common in central oregon to find a home with a heat pump.  It is also common to find REALTORS® and sellers offering a home warranty as an incentive to purchase one home over another.  One of the most common home warranties is AHS (American Home Shield).  I know a lot of us use this program and many of us have had good service and representation with this company.  Did you know that AHS does not cover geothermal heat sources or any of the components of such a system?  Did you also know that you can not receive a copy of the actual policy until it is paid for, which here is typically a week and sometimes two from the close of escrow?  At that point they mail -  yes snail mail the policy and the option to add additional coverage to the policy - that option is only good for 30 days from closing - so 2 weeks have been eaten up with the company processing paperwork - then a third week in getting the policy to the new owner.  If the new owner does not intend to live at the residence full time - you might want to call the company and confirm the proper mailing address.  AHS assumes that the new home is where the policy should be mailed - can you see a problem with this system?So, I represented a buyer that purchased a beautiful second home on The Deschutes River.  We wrote the offer that included a water test, a septic pump and inspect and a home inspection and verification of zoning for a portion of the land which we though to be wetlands.  The buyer attended the home inspection, and the septic pump and inspection, keep in mind that the buyer lives 4 hours away when the roads are not covered with snow.We received a copy of the property disclosure and saw no issues.  The home inspection showed a few items that the seller quickly agreed to have repaired.  The home inspection also reveled that the heating system was "complex" it is what is called a water furnace.  The inspector inspected the furnace to the best of his ability and explained to the buyer that the furnace was beyond the scope of his inspection and that he was not familiar with this particular type of furnace.  His report indicates it may be a good idea to have a qualified HVAC specialist look at they system if he had questions, but that the furnace was putting out adequate heat at the time of inspection.The transaction is not the smoothest I have ever completed, but we are able to work through several issues, a leaky septic tank, and some electrical issues and so on.  In the end we work our way through them one by one and all is done prior to the closing.  We close escrow on November 1 and the buyer has allowed the seller an additional 20 days rent back to make moving easier.  Thanksgiving weekend comes and the new home owner arrives late that evening to find the home extremely cold, they turn up the thermostat and you guessed it nothing.  The buyer is not worried - he has a home warranty and an agent that has assured him that the relationship does not end with the close of escrow.  The next morning he calls me and we call AHS only to find the warranty which we do not have a copy of does not cover any geothermal heating systems.  GREAT!  I call a trusted local HVAC company that agrees to go out on the holiday weekend for a very reasonable cost to check the system.  They arrive, and presto a few wires have burned through they are replaced and we all think - wow that was easier than we thought it would be. Did you get the date there - November 20 -Today is December 31, and guess what - yep you guessed it the furnace is still not working correctly - HVAC costs are up over $2000 a plumbing bill of $550 and now possibly a well re-drill estimated to be $2,500. Had we known the heater would not be covered on a home warranty or that the seller had had these same issues in the past do you think this would have been the home my buyers chose? If any of you know of a home warranty that covers geothermal systems please let me know - because once this issue is completely resolved, I am fairly certain this home owner will want a warranty.To make this even more frustrating it appears the seller's agent may have known of this issue, because when I contacted him about these issues back in November, his response was, "your buyer may be SOL" makes me want to deal with him again for sure.Any suggestions on a better home warranty for heat pumps are appreciated.additional information added -warranty companies feel that any heat pump is geothermal - in the Pacific Northwest it is common to have a heat pump that provides heat in the cooler months and AC in the warmer.  These units use the heating and cooling of water to create heat - hence they are geothermal

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