Tuesday has brought another welcome rise across global stock markets. The FTSE 100 is up by triple-digits as I type as infection rates slow and there are hopes that the world economy might not be hit as badly as first feared.

It still pays to dig out top defensive shares to protect your portfolio though. Those with resilient profits that should be able to ride out the worst of the coronavirus crisis. A growth hero with such characteristics Id be happy to buy today is Homeserve (LSE: HSV). And fresh financials released today illustrate why.

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Profits have been powering higher at the emergency callout specialist despite severe Covid-19-related lockdowns in many of its territories. Homeserve says that adjusted pre-tax profits are expected to have soared 12% during the fiscal year to March 2020, to 181m. This is also above analysts expectations.

The FTSE 250 growth stock continues to operate resolutely despite the coronavirus crisis. It has resisted the temptation to either furlough or make redundant its employees, it said. Around 6,000 of its office-based workers are now operating from home, while its emergency repair teams continue to answer around 150 callouts every hour.

The safe-haven appeal of utilities stocks is no secret. It doesnt matter how badly the economy is performing or whatever political chaos is raging. It also matters not whether other crises like public health disasters are developing. We all need running water to wash, electricity to boil the kettle and gas to put the heating on. And this keeps profits rising at these growth heroes. Its what makes the likes of FTSE 100 giants National Grid and Severn Trent such brilliant buys for turbulent times like these, I feel.

Its clear, too that Homeserve can be added to the list. If your plumbing is blocked or leaking, your boiler is kaput, or your homes wiring system shorts out, this companys services remain in demand, whatever troubles are going on outside.

The essential nature of its services has helped keep annual earnings barrelling higher at Homeserve in recent times. But this is not the only story. Through a steady stream of acquisitions and partner agreements, customer numbers continue to boom, rising by 100,000 year-on-year to stand at 8.3m as of March. It is making huge waves in the gigantic North American marketplace in particular. Its client base here swelled to 4.4m from 4m over the same period.

City analysts expect earnings at the growth stock to rise 8% in fiscal 2021, and by 15% the following year. And this creates expectations of more meaty dividend growth, resulting in yields of 2.2% and 2.5% for this year and next. It might be expensive on paper, sure. At current prices Homeserve commands a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 26.1 times. I consider this to be a fair price considering its exceptional defensive characteristics and ambitious growth plans, however.

Savvy investors like you wont want to miss out on this timely opportunity

Heres your chance to discover exactly what has got our MotleyFoolUK analyst all fired up about this pure-play online business.

Not only does this company enjoy a dominant market-leading position

But its capital-light, highly scalable business model has been helping it deliver consistently high sales, astounding near-70% margins, and rising shareholder returns in fact, in 2019 alone it returned a whopping 151.1m to shareholders in dividends and buybacks!

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Royston Wild has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Homeserve. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

More here:
Here's a growth stock I'd buy and hold for 10 years - Motley Fool UK

What You Should Know:

Scammers may be trafficking counterfeit or faulty protective equipment (PPE) duringCOVID-19 in what is now known as the grey market.

Premier outlines five common types of COVID-19 grey market scams for hospitals to avoid and key best practices to avoid them as hospital brace for the surge in COVID-19 patients.

Healthcare providers are working around the clock to safelycare for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic,and the last thing they need to worry about is whether their protectiveequipment (PPE) are reliable, safe and legitimate. Premier, a healthcare improvementcompany finds that scammers are now preying on hospitals by peddling counterfeitor faulty PPE includingsurgical masks, face shields, surgical gloves and gowns, isolation gowns, capsand shoe covers.

Defining Grey Market

Premier defines gray market as a supply channel that isunofficial, unauthorized or unintended by the original manufacturer. In marketswhere the products are scarce or in short supply, gray markets may crop up to sellthe item at any price the market will bear. In the case of COVID-19, where morethan 2,000 unique stock-keeping units (SKUs) are on allocation fromdistributors, gray market vendors are attempting to capitalize on providersneeds, offering difficult to obtain supplies at a 50X markup.

According to a survey of our members, 60 percent of facilities have received at least one of these offers, and Premier itself has received hundreds of these solicitations. Regardless of the form, these scams typically end with providers losing time, money and/or resources. Others find themselves the recipients of substandard or unsafe products if they receive anything at all.

5 Common Types of COVID-19 Grey Market Scams

Premieroutlinethe following five common types of COVID-19 grey market scams for hospitals:

1. Pay ahead.A broker requests and receives a deposit from hospitals for PPE such as medical-grade N95 masks. After wiring the funds, the broker vanishes, ceasing all communications.

2. One certificate, infinite masks.Multiple brokers have suggested they have millions (upon millions) of masks and all point to the same fraudulent certification documents.

3. Or just infinite masks.One broker reached out to Premier with the promise of a number of masks so high, that when we called the manufacturer to check the claim, we were told that it would have taken years of dedicated, international production without a single sale to reach that kind of stockpile.

4. Product exists, but it doesnt work.Weve had members pay for and receive products, as advertised, only to learn that the entire batch has to be discarded after they fail basic quality and authenticity tests.

5. Welcome to their humble abode.Solicitations sometimes come with an address. A quick Google Earth check will show that more often than not, the address isnt for a factory, a warehouse or even an office. Its usually home. That should serve as a warning that the product being offered is illegitimate if it even exists.

4 Best Practices for Hospitals to Avoid COVID-19 Grey Market Scams

In order for hospitals to avoid these common COVID-19 grey market scams, Premier recommends the following best practices:

1. Demand access to the physical item before paying for it.Not only does this require the seller to send proof that the item exists, it also allows an opportunity to vet the product through a trusted partner like Premier or the manufacturer to confirm its legitimacy.

2. Do homework on parties involved.Google their addresses, check with peers or Premier on the legitimacy of goods theyve delivered and ask questions. Err on the side of caution and be skeptical; if the seller has trouble answering questions or seems cagey in responses, walk away immediately.

3. Thoroughly vet vendors,including checking registrations with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Be wary of links embedded in email offers, which could be aphishing cyber scam.

4. Take monetary precautions.For those that choose to buy, at a minimum provide funds via an escrow account to avoid theft.

The rest is here:
5 Common Types of COVID-19 Grey Market Scams for Hospitals to Avoid - HIT Consultant

Bobby Berk may not be home, but hes making the most of his situation.

Today, the Queer Eye starcaught up with Daily Pops Justin Sylvester over Instagram Live. While chatting about the current Coronavirus pandemic, the famed interior designer confirmed hes sheltering-in-place in Austin, TX.

Why? Well, as Berk explained, his Netflix show was down in the Lone Star State filming season six when everything began shutting down.

So, we were here filming season sixand we got through almost one episode when production got shut down, Berk shared with Sylvester. Me and a few of the other boys just decided to stay here, because we didnt really know how long we were gonna be shut down.

In hindsight, Berk said he feels like he maybe shouldve head home. Nonetheless, Berk couldnt be happier in Austin, a city which he really like[s]. In fact, per Berk, the rental hes in looks and feels like my house.

It probably helps that Berks husband Dewey Do is social distancing with him in Austin. As Berk noted, his doctor spouse had been in New York for work and Queer Eyes design expert demanded he come to Texas.

He went to New York for work. Hes a doctor, he goes back and teaches at Elmhurst Hospital once a month, Berk detailed. He was supposed to be there a week longer and I made him leave and come here to Austin. So, hes been here with me, which is great. Luckily, we werent quarantined separately.

As E! readers surely know, Berk and Do have been together for 16 years. Thus, it wasnt surprising when Berk said he didnt have any qualms about being with his spouse all day, every day.

His advice? Fight the pressure to constantly be engaged, its ok to sit in silence.

As for what people can do in their homes during this time? Berk encouraged viewers to organize and clean.

Organize it! Clean it! You know, you dont need to buy anything to do that, Berk wisely expressed. Get rid of the stuff that you dont need, go through those drawers and those closets and under the bed. All those things that youre like, Ah! One day when I have time, Im gonna do that! All you have is time now.

However, if you are looking for inspiration, be sure to check out BobbyBerk.com!

Be sure to catch Berks full chat with Sylvester on the Daily Pops Instagram account, which you can find HERE.

Read the original:
Queer Eye's Bobby Berk Reveals the One Thing You Should Be Doing at Home - Brinkwire

The NBA has used the shot clock since the 1950s and the colleges abide by a 30-second shot clock, for high school basketball its a wild west of possessions that can see a score end 5-4 if they wanted. In todays game of up and down offense, you dont see it too much, but you do see the stall game work its way into todays game.

The Arkansas Activities Association received permission from the NFHS to use a 35-second shot clock for Class 6A games next year as run for the next three seasons.

Many want a shot clock. Its what they are accustomed to when watching Kansas, Kansas State or Wichita State basketball play. There are a lot of hurdles to get said shot clock. Arkansas has been using a shot clock for non-postseason tournaments for two seasons now. The transition to the full season shot clock seemed to be all but inevitable.

What about Kansas? Where does the shot clock fit into our game that we dearly love?

You get situations where teams run four-corners and stall out the game, draining the clock until either the defense steps up and forces the ball out of the handlers hands or the team scores.

Nine other states currently have a shot clock implemented - Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, Rhode Island, North and South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin, and California.

"I think for our game in South Dakota, its helped make it more fun," Assistant Executive Director Joe Auch said. "Weve had little to no complaints since weve implemented the shot clock."

The state of South Dakota had been using the shot clock in their largest class for two seasons before adding it to the entire state. The SDHSAA uses a 35-second shot clock at all levels.

"We had some stall tactics and some low scoring games," Auch said. "Its been a breath of fresh air having the shot clock. Games are higher scoring; coaches are finding new ways to win games and fans are enjoying it. Its a win all around."

While statistics are boring, the Butler County Times-Gazette re-watched 10 basketball games via the NFHS Network and the average possession within those games was 36.5 seconds. The only time the possession drew longer was in the final minutes of the game when the score difference was within 10. Possessions that were off a basket and not a foul or turnover, were on average 22 seconds long.

Andover, a team that had been known for pace and threes, held the ball up top for 30 seconds on multiple possessions in the fourth quarter, before initiating its offense. BV Southwest used the stalled offense to get back into the game. Andover would eventually prevail over BV Southwest.

"Sometimes the defense doesnt let you do the things you want to do," Andover head coach Martin Shetlar said after his teams first-round win over Blue Valley Southwest in the Class 5A State Tournament.

For a majority of the season, the Trojans averaged under 20 seconds per possession for the first half 32.5 seconds in the second half on games available via NFHS Network.

When the game entered the fourth quarter, possessions for the winning team increased by six seconds and the trailing team decreased by five seconds. The rush to beat the clock when trailing had an obvious effect on how the trailing team operated their offense due to them not having a potential opportunity of never seeing the ball again if the opposing team wanted to stall.

There are coaches who support the shot clock, however it may come about.

"Basketball is fun for people to watch and for kids to play because it is a fast pace game," Andover Central head coach Stana Jefferson said. "Lets keep it moving and for the kids moving on to the next level."

When the Butler County Times-Gazette re-watched four of Andover Centrals games, the Jaguars averaged 29 seconds per possession when you excluded fouls and turnovers.

There are some major hurdles when it comes to getting prepared and implementing shot clocks before you even consider the materials and installation. You have to get labor first and foremost and find those who are competent enough to run a shot clock.

There are typically 3-4 workers at a table. You have your scoreboard operator, who sometimes manages the game clock as well; the official scorebook; public address announcer; and sometimes there will be a person solely responsible for the start and stop of the game clock.

The latter is tough to find. While at bigger schools you may see it, you dont see it at smaller schools, such as Flinthills where the book runs the scoreboard, too. The PA will run the game clock. Now, youll have to find a third person to run a shot clock.

"There are always passionate people who love sports and want to be involved," Auch. "You have to properly vet they are capable enough and as educators and administrators, thats what we do every day. It would be no different in this sense."

In Maryland, they have been using a shot clock for some time and as one reporter put it, give people credit. Thats fine in Maryland to find competent people. However, what about a 1A school when they have a different clock operator every game? Even at El Dorado, a 4A school, they split scoreboard operators during tournaments this season.

"Outside of our first season with the shot clock, we have not had many complaints about errors in their use," Auch said. "We put out a crash course for officials and table workers."

When an official has to stop, reset the shot clock and put or take off time, those seconds add up to minutes and we have not begun to add it into other functions of the game.

The cost might be the most prohibiting thing to KSHSAA adopting a shot clock. While the shot clocks themselves start just over $5,000, on the personnel side, that can add up.

Andover Central pays their table workers $20-25 per game and typically will do 3-4 games on game night. When you break that down to add in a shot clock operator as Andover Central runs three at their scorers table, with nine regular season home games, that is almost $2,900 to pay your table workers.

Then, finding someone competent enough to run the shot clock. It has to be hit at the right time and not early or reset late. The delays could push a game beyond the anticipated ending time.

When it comes to adding the shot clock, your initial costs shoot sky high. There are plenty of questions that have to be answered: What type of shot clock? Is the scoreboard that is currently installed compatible with the shot clock? The venue, layout, installation, and wiring are also things you have to consider when you plan to install a shot clock.

"The up-front cost was not nearly a concern as you would think," Auch said. "Daktronics worked with us on the pricing as the entire state was installing them at the time."

According to a sales representative with Daktronics, the estimated starting cost for two shot clocks for the main gym is around $6,000. Then, if your gym is not compliant with the shot clocks and you have to re-wire or add a new scoreboard, your local school could end up adding an additional $6,000. This does not include the schools secondary gymnasium. Pricing would double in that case. All but one school in Butler County utilizes multiple gyms when hosting a varsity night.

When it comes to implementation of the shot clock, there is more than just cost and concern within the schools, the state association has to look out for themselves. When you implement the shot clock, you lose your seat on rule committees. As for South Dakota, they can make recommendations, but they cannot serve on those rule committees.

"Every year there are proposals on the shot clock," Auch said. "Its something we sacrificed for our game."

While you are not on those committees, associations can still recommend certain rule changes.

If you ask some athletic directors, there are bigger things to worry about than the shot clock for the state of Kansas.

"Id rather see the block/charge circle under the basket before a shot clock," Augusta Athletic Director Travis Olive said.

Kansas isnt getting the shot clock next season and probably not any time soon if the votes keep coming up negative. However, state adoption is the way to go. With the NFHS voting each year to give each state their adoption of rules, that would be the entry for Kansas to allow classes to use the shot clock.

"The rabbit hole of allowing states to adopt their own rules opens up a pandoras box of issues," Auch said.

That could give states their ability to adopt any sort of rules, really changing the game of basketball and not only the shot clock.

While Kansas continues to make their decision, the rest of the nation presses on. While what they do may be best for their state, the question continues to loom: is this what is right for Kansas?

Original post:
To shot clock or not: Is it time for Kansas to head that route? - The Hutchinson News

Article By : Cabe Atwell

For those whom that is impossible, be it cost-prohibitive, unavailable to their location, affected by an outage, or any other issue, how do they gain access to information? Take a look at the top six methods of broadband delivery...

The flow of information in the world is what keeps it running. For the average household, Internet access is possible through a wired broadband connection, which also offers the fastest and most reliable service of current delivery methods. But for those whom that is impossible, be it cost-prohibitive, unavailable to their location, affected by an outage, or any other issue, how do they gain access to information? While they may not be the commercial standard, there are several other methods of broadband delivery. Take a look at the top six below, plus a method for real-time news delivery with no Internet connection.

Wireless Connectivity (LTE)

Mobile Broadband Offers Wireless Access from Our Phones.

Plenty of us have another source of connection in our pockets. With average U.S. LTE speeds at almost 14 megabits per second, mobile broadband can be a perfectly serviceable alternative to traditional broadband. There are plenty of devices on the market to convert your cell signal into a Wi-Fi hotspot, and using a data-only plan, this can be a relatively low-cost, high-speed option. You may be subject to data caps and limited battery life with this method. Still, for the purposes of web browsing, social media, and email access, your cell will undoubtedly do the trick, as long as your location offers reliable LTE service.

Satellite Broadband

Satellite delivery can be an excellent option for areas where connections such as cable or phone lines simply arent readily available. The signal is transmitted using three satellite dishes one in space, one at the service providers hub, and one on your property. Traditionally, this method has been a last-resort service for rural areas. Satellite Internet has always had issues: high latency, limited broadband capacity, and signal disruptions due to weather or minor obstructions to your dish. However, in an effort to better reach these unserved or underserved areas, many companies are working to install low-altitude satellites, called Low Earth Orbits or LEOs, which could come to provide service to the entire planet.

FTTx

Fiber-Optic Technology Offers Reliable High-Speed Service.

Fiber-optic technology has been gaining traction in the U.S. for some time now, touted as the fastest and most reliable connection available. The service functions using wires made of transparent glass fibers as small as the diameter of a human hair, which transport data in the form of light signals. Unlike the copper wiring used for cable connections, these wires are not easily disrupted by environmental conditions. While the speeds enable rapid download and the service is incredibly reliable, fiber to the home is not yet widely accessible as it requires new infrastructure for delivery. Its also not clear fiber to the home is absolutely necessary to get blazing-fast broadband; if a broadband provider can get fiber close to a customers home, coaxial cable continues to be a great way to close the gap and support gigabit transmission rates.

Fixed Wireless (5G)

Fixed Wireless Connects Remote Areas Via Radio Waves.

Another wireless method delivers broadband to you via radio waves. Fixed wireless Internet uses an antenna on your property to communicate with nearby towers to send data onto a wired network. This comes with several difficulties. Often fixed wireless is more expensive than a purely wired connection, requires additional equipment and installation, and may encounter issues without line-of-sight on the tower. The pros, however, are that fixed wireless has no data cap and doesnt suffer from the high latency issues of satellite. Deployment areas are limited, as it is most useful when building a wired network to individual homes isnt cost-effective in rural and remote areas.

Broadband Over Powerline

Power Lines Provide Internet Access with Existing Infrastructure.

Broadband over power line (BPL) provides Internet access via ordinary power lines so, in theory, any location not served by conventional delivery methods but connected to a power grid can be given access. BPL uses radio-spectrum frequencies transmitted over the same lines as electrical signals to transmit data at speeds equivalent to cable or DSL. Power line communication (PLC) is not entirely new; BPL can be traced back to technologies developed by AT&T as early as 1914, and electricity companies have been bundling radio frequency and electrical current on the same line for years to monitor their own power grids. These radio signals are received by a modem-like BPL device that plugs into an outlet and sends the signal to your device. Deployment attempts have so far been plagued with issues, however, with trials stymied by limited reach and low bandwidth.

Balloons

Broadband Via Balloon Delivers Internet Connectivity to Remote Areas Worldwide.

Devices relaying signals while attached to balloons serve to extend connectivity to areas of the world without Internet access. The initiative began as a research project by Google X called Loon, which partners with global mobile network operators to expand their LTE service reaching places that lack coverage, supplementing existing networks, and providing coverage following natural disasters. In 2018, Loon became a separate company that continues to provide an aerial wireless network to areas without conventional access. Their balloons, maneuvered by adjusting their altitude to a wind layer with the desired speed and direction, use patch antennas to transmit signals to ground stations or LTE users. In 2019, they announced their fleet had reached one million hours of flight, all while delivering Internet access to unserved and underserved areas.

The Fallback Project

The Fallback Project Serves as an Information Access Alternative.

When there is no possibility of an Internet connection, one project seeks to offer continued real-time access to information. Developed to aid those with restricted communications due to Internet shutdowns by authoritarian regimes, The Fallback Project provides an alternative web platform that transmits encrypted data from sources preselected by a user to their Portal device via satellite. The Portal offers a hotspot to transmit data to any Wi-Fi enabled device on which news can then be browsed with a text-based UI. Since no data is stored locally, the setup maintains anonymity for the user. The project seeks to maintain the normalcy of information access during the most extreme circumstances, using forecasting algorithms to predict Internet shutdowns and providing backup right when its needed.

Related

Read the original:
6 Alternatives to Get Broadband - EE Times India

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Technavio has been monitoring the automotive wiring harness market and it is poised to grow by USD 10.7 mn during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of almost 4% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. LEONI AG, Nexans SA, Samvardhana Motherson Group, Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. and Yazaki Corp. are some of the major market participants. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

Increasing use of advanced materials for wire harnesses has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. Request a free sample report

Automotive Wiring Harness Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Automotive Wiring Harness Market is segmented as below:

Application

Vehicle Type

Geographic Segmentation

To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR40233

Automotive Wiring Harness Market 2020-2024: Scope

Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our automotive wiring harness market report covers the following areas:

This study identifies advances in autonomous vehicles as one of the prime reasons driving the automotive wiring harness market growth during the next few years.

Automotive Wiring Harness Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the automotive wiring harness market, including some of the vendors such as LEONI AG, Nexans SA, Samvardhana Motherson Group, Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. and Yazaki Corp. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the automotive wiring harness market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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Automotive Wiring Harness Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

Table of Content

PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT

PART 03: MARKET LANDSCAPE

PART 04: MARKET SIZING

PART 05: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS

PART 06: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY APPLICATION

PART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE

PART 08: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE

PART 09: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY VEHICLE TYPE

PART 10: DECISION FRAMEWORK

PART 11: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES

PART 12: MARKET TRENDS

PART 13: VENDOR LANDSCAPE

PART 14: VENDOR ANALYSIS

PART 15: APPENDIX

PART 16: EXPLORE TECHNAVIO

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavios report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavios comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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Automotive Wiring Harness Market 2020-2024 | Increasing Use of Advanced Materials for Wire Harnesses to Boost Growth | Technavio - Business Wire

NEWBURYPORT A faulty electrical outlet was identified as the cause of a one-alarm fire Tuesdayaround 11 a.m. that threatened to destroy an early 19th century home at 71 Washington St.

Newburyport Fire Chief Christopher LeClaire said the fire was quickly spotted by the homeowner who called for help. If no one had been home atthe 1820 house the fire could have easily destroyed it.

"It could have been a lot worse," LeClaire said.

Local firefighters, along with Salisbury and Amesbury firefighters, made quick work of the fire which had spread from the outlet, located in the rear of an upper floor, into the wall.

As firefighters cleaned up the fire site, the city's electrical inspectorexamined the wiring in the house.

Thetwo-family houseis across the street from Cushing Park and was last assessed at $772,600, according to the city's online assessors database.

Read the rest here:
Fire threatens 19th century Newburyport home - The Daily News of Newburyport

As technology continually improves the world we live in, its only natural that it can do the same for your business. While this is a relevant point for any company, its particularly applicable if you run a home inspection business.

In fact, advances in recent years have seriously changed the way home inspectors operate. From the way inspections are carried out to the way a home inspection report is shared with others, technology has changed the game.

In that regard, are you feeling left behind with your home inspection business? Dont worry. The following article will detail the technology you should be adopting for your company. Once the tech is in place, you will notice a significant increase in productivity alongside a reduction in long-term costs. Its a win-win.

If you have been running a home inspection business for some time, you will already possess a number of tools. After all, inspecting a home requires certain equipment that can detect issues the human eye cannot spot.

As for what this standard equipment package comprises, it features the following:

If, for whatever reason, you are missing one of these pieces of equipment from your arsenal, stop reading this, jump on eBay, and buy it right away.

Due to the price of standard thermal imaging equipment, this type of technology can usually be out of range for home inspectors. However, thermal experts FLIR has developed a cost-effective camera that attaches to smartphones. With this device, you can easily inspect a property for any problems that would otherwise be invisible.

What type of problems can it detect? Well thermography utilizes special color patterns that can identify cold, warm, and hot spots of a property. Due to this, it can indicate if a home is suffering from water damage in the basement, air leaks around doors and windows, and insufficient attic insulation. Thats just the start of why thermal imaging is an excellent tool for home inspectors.

Thats right: drones are more than just a fun toy to play with as a hobby. In the home inspection world, they provide efficiency and security.

Admittedly, they dont directly help in terms of security. However, a drone with an attached camera allows you to easily inspect a homes rooftop. No longer is it necessary to climb up a ladder and risk walking on a roof to check for any existing defects.

Remember the previous point about thermal imaging? Well if you mount a specialist thermal imaging camera to a drone, this will supply a clearer picture as to whether the roof is suffering from air leaks or insulation issues.

Technology doesnt just need to have a practical part to play during the home inspection. In fact, specialist home inspection software can greatly increase the overall quality of your business.

Due to the time-saving tools offered via this software, your business can instantly benefit from greater efficiency and reduced expenses. As well as automating certain tasks and streamlining others, the software also helps to reduce human error. This, again, helps to boost efficiency levels.

Of course, home inspection software has a lot more under the hood too much to list in this small section, in fact. It can assist with scheduling, management, communication, storing information, business reporting, and more.

In any business, you have to move with the times. If you sit around with what you have for too long, the competition will soon pass you by. This logic applies when it comes to the technology you utilize in your business.

However, its more than simply a case of implementing technology to stay ahead of the competition. This tech can also massively improve all aspects of your business.

View post:
How Technology Can Improve Your Home Inspection Business - The Apopka Voice

Lisa Harrison Rivas, Staff writer

What to expect from a home inspection

For most of us, buying a house is the biggest investment well ever make. People often spend months searching for their dream home. But before the packing starts, its a good idea to call a home inspector.

Heres what you can expect from a home inspection.

An inspection is done after a house is under contract, meaning a signed offer has been accepted. If you are working with a real estate agent, he or she can provide a list of licensed inspectors. Lenders require houses be inspected for structural defects and pests, such as termites and carpenter ants. All lenders require a Wood Destroying Insect Report on pre-existing homes before funds will be advanced for the sale. The report will state if the house has an infestation or damage from a previous infestation and if the house has been previously treated for termites. Sheds can be a haven for termites, so they also should be inspected. Keep in mind, the Wood Destroying Insect Report must be done within 30 days of closing the sale on the house, so its a good idea to have this inspection done last in case the closing is delayed.

RELATED:Renovating your old farmhouse: a journey worth taking

After the structure of the house is examined, the inspector will issue a report on the roof, foundation, heating and cooling system, electrical system, plumbing and other visible defects. Common issues inspectors find include damage from moisture, aging roofs, heating/cooling problems and improperly installed insulation. Cracked or shifting foundations are common in South Texas. In older homes, especially in rural areas, the wiring can be a problem. Inspectors will check to see if the house has sufficient electrical capacity needed to power newer appliances safely.

Once the inspector finishes the report, decisions will be made about which items need to be addressed before moving forward with the sale of the house. The buyers agent will send repair requests to the sellers agent, and both parties will sign off on which items will be repaired. The long summers in South Texas mean air conditioning systems are running most of the year, so potential homebuyers generally want sellers to pay a licensed technician to do routine maintenance on the heating and cooling system before closing on the house. Inspectors say a lot of the problems they see are caused by unlicensed Mr. Fix-its.

If youre the seller, make sure to keep all receipts for completed repairs. And if youre the buyer, make sure you ask to see them during the final walk-through. The buyer, unless he or she is financing with a VA loan, usually pays for both the general structural inspection and theWood Destroying Insect Report, but like anything, this is negotiable. The cost varies depending on the size of the house, but expect to spend from $300 to $500 for the structural report. Again, depending on the square footage of the house and whether the foundation is a slab or pier and beam, a Wood Destroying Insect Report can cost between $75 and $200.

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What to expect from a home inspection - Shelton Herald

Age of AutomationThe design trend known broadly as home automation comes in many forms, from a command to Amazons Alexa to turn off the lights to a smartphone app that controls door locks and room temperature and a dozen other functions from across the country. This technology is attractive, says one local expert, because it solves problems in a very individualized way and people like technology that makes their lives easier.

When people think of home automation, what comes to mind? Heat controls and security cameras, for sure. Maybe the TV and music, or door locks, or window blinds.

Bill Laplante also thinks of his shower.

I have a digital control panel in my shower, said the president of Laplante Construction in East Longmeadow, noting that he inputs a user profile that gives him the exact temperature and flow he wants. My wife has a different profile, so hers is four or five degrees cooler, and a different shower head. A lot of this stuff is pretty cool.

Its stuff thats becoming more common in the modern home, as the rise of whats known as the Internet of things has people connecting any number of household functions to the Internet and controlling them from smartphone apps.

Take lighting systems. We changed our bulbs, and now the lights are controlled by cell phone, Laplante told BusinessWest. Ive gotten pretty lazy with the technology instead of getting up to turn on the lights, I just grab my phone.

But hes not just enjoying smart-home technology at his own house; hes building homes for customers who increasingly demand such features themselves. He works with EPOS Systems in West Springfield a company whose motto is Your future home. Today. on whole-home automation systems that run off one app, known as Control4. But people can take an a la carte approach as well.

Bill Laplante says homeowners have many options when it comes to automation, but many today are opting for full-home systems that run off a single app.

I see a combination of both. Some people, usually in the higher-end homes, will want a whole-house smarthome system thats controlled by one app and can do multiple things with lighting, television, heat, cameras, all of that stored on one app, he explained. And then there are other people who want less expensive options, who have multiple apps that do different things, but its not necessarily controlled by one central program.

The uses for such a system are myriad.

When youre away for vacation and you forgot to turn your heat down, you can do it remotely. Even the door locks you can send a code from your phone to unlock the door for someone cleaning the house or someone coming over to watch your kids, Laplante said. Control4 is really a home-management system, a technology-management system. You can create lighting scenes, you can control television, music, security, garage-door cameras virtually everything that could link together, you can link through this central system.

The popularity of so-called smart homes is only expected to increase as more people experience it and costs continue to drop. According to Forbes, the value of the smart-home device market will grow from $55 billion in 2016 to $174 billion by 2025.

Dan Crouss says home automation is about solving problems and quality of life.

Dan Crouss, owner of EPOS, said homeowners have many points of entry to choose from.

Sometimes you start out small, but then we tie in the music and the TVs and all that stuff into one app. You kind of piecemeal it as you go start small and work your way up over the years. Some people do it all at once when they build their house, but usually its small increments.

And its not as foreign a concept as some people may think, he added.

Everyones got some type of automation from their phone, even if its just Siri or Alexa controlling the lights. What we do is take it a step further, put it into one app instead of having 15 apps. Everybodys got a little bit, but were able to tie it all into one interface.

EPOS was launched in 2007, the merger between two companies, Perfect Sound and Olympic Electric. Its services have evolved considerably since then, both because technology is always advancing and because people are attracted to products that make their lives easier, Crouss said.

Home automation can start out as a simple Alexa that turns on lights. Then door locks and heat are two things people usually do. Being able to unlock your door for somebody when youre not home is a big deal. And with heat, I can save a lot of money. I get home at random times because of my job, so, if Im getting home at 5:30, I can log on at 4 and pump up the heat a little bit, so when I get home, its nice and warm, but I saved a lot of money during the day.

Then homeowners may add options from there, he added, from window shades which can be adjusted or programmed to bring some extra sunlight into the house during the winter or keep it darker and cooler in the summer to strategically placed cameras, both for outdoor security and to monitor the interior of a home when residents are away for the winter.

Sometimes you start out small, but then we tie in the music and the TVs and all that stuff into one app. You kind of piecemeal it as you go start small and work your way up over the years. Some people do it all at once when they build their house, but usually its small increments.

You can get a notification on your phone if you have movement at the front door, Laplante said. And you can pull up the camera view and pull up the audio and say, can I help you? and do it all remotely. You can be on vacation and youre answering your door, essentially. There are all types of things like that that are pretty cool, and most manufacturers now are incorporating things like this into their own apps and making everything as seamless as possible.

As he noted earlier, many people opt for buying individual devices, such as one that manages the garage door.

When your car pulls into the driveway, it will automatically open the garage door rather than actually pushing a button. You can also let somebody in your garage door remotely with your app. So you have individual products like this, with their own apps, which create the, quote-unquote, smart home, or you can have a central control system that controls all of the various components of the house.

The whole-house system can be preset for any number of situations, from delivering the exact heating and lighting arrangement upon waking up in the morning to creating a variety of lighting scenes in the kitchen, such as for cooking, dining, or hosting a party or telling the Christmas tree when to turn on and off every day.

Basically, what home automation does is solve peoples problems, and everybodys got different ones to solve, Crouss said. When my kids were growing up, theyd get off the bus and would put in their [front door] code, and I would get a text to let me know my daughter was off the bus. Or lets say cleaners come to your house, who bill by the hour. Theres a time stamp when they put in the code and a time stamp when they lock the door.

As another example, people with oil tanks have smart sensors that automatically e-mail you when the tank is getting low, or e-mail people who deliver the oil. A lot of people with vacation homes show up, and the oil is way down. This is a way to avoid that problem.

In Forbes, Bernard Marr, a futurist, author, and business and technology advisor, recently noted a few developments on the horizon when it comes to smart homes. One is increasing standardization, as manufacturers of smart-home devices are increasingly ensuring their products and services will work on platforms provided by Amazon, Google, Samsung, and Apple to capture the broadest customer base.

He also sees smart homes actually becoming smarter over time as they make use of machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing, and other technologies that are capable of making decisions and learning. Smart thermostat systems from Nest and Honeywell already use machine learning to adapt their behavior to the inhabitants of a house, based on observing and then replicating their habits, and that trend should accelerate to other devices as well.

Finally, the global rollout of 5G, as well as improved wi-fi technology, mean smart-home devices will be linked by faster, more powerful networks, meaning better access to data and processing resources in the cloud.

The smart-home technology has come way, way down in price, Laplante said, especially when it comes to buying multiple devices. The Control4 system is nice because everything runs through one app. But people have multiple apps on their phones for multiple things anyway.

There are many different components, he added. The cost depends on how much you bring into the system. The big advantage to having a one-hub system is that everything runs through that system, so youre going to one app.

EPOS continues to introduce new services, Crouss said, like smart outlets that can reboot cable or Internet if it goes down, rather than having to deal with physical plugs and wires. In fact, those devices can now send a signal on their own and be rebooted automatically when a problem is detected.

Most of my customers want this technology, want to be able to do those things, Laplante said. Especially when youre going away, you want to be able to control things, you want to keep an eye on the house. If you go away for the winter, you want to be in contact with your home, to monitor the temperature and see if there are any issues.

Not to mention that much of this technology whether its changing the music coming out of the ceiling speakers or stepping into a perfect shower is just, well, fun.

Its something the average person today is expecting especially the younger generations, he said. They grew up with technology, and they expect it. And it is kind of neat.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [emailprotected]

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Smart-home Technology Puts Homeowners in Full Control Wherever They Are - Business West