Pontotoc Homes October 2019

OCTOBER 2019

Real Estate Guide to Pontotoc County & the surrounding area

FEATURING (Page 10)

Pickens Pest Control

Preventing pest from entering your home

We work here, Live here, Play here.

We are your neighbors!

PROPERTIES Selecting the right real estate professional to work for you is the most important step in the process.

PONTOTOC RIDGE REALTY, INC. EACH MOSSY OAK PROPERTIES OFFICE IS INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED.

BROKER: SUSIE CHAPMAN 419-3265

BROKER: PATTI STARK 296-5301

BROKER: MARILYN SAPPINGTON 488-5477

ASSOC.: ALISHA GALLOWAY 509-2677

BROKER: DAVID ANDERSON 419-5318

BROKER: CAYCE CONTI 396-1967

ASSOC.: LENA CHEWE 297-4079

49 S. Main St., Pontotoc, MS • 662-489-2848 • www.pontotocridgerealty.com

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 7 7 7 8 10 15

Patty Turk Properties, LLC

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Matthews Real Estate

First Choice Insurance Pickens Pest Control Distinctive Design Mossy Oak Properties Pickens Pest Control feature Differences between real estate agents and brokers

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Southern Hills Realty & Appraisal, Inc. Hamilton Mortgage Dennis Cox, Tommy Morgan, Inc. Cold weather outdoor entertaining Crye-Leike Realtors, Beth Walker Houseplants can clean indoor air First Choice Bank

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Advertising Consultant: Angie Quarles • Designer: Chelsea Williams Pontotoc Progress • 13 Jefferson Street • P.O. Box 210 • Pontotoc, MS 38863 • 662-489-3511

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Preemptive Prevention Pickens Pest Control fights vermin outside the home 10| PONTOTOC HOMES

P

Story by GALEN HOLLEY

revention is the key; kill the pests and rodents before they get into your home. That’s the advice from the professionals at Pickens Pest Control.

“Always find the source, whether you’re dealing with termites, fleas, lady bugs or bed bugs—know where they’re coming from,” said Lee Chrestman, manager for the Oxford-based extermination company, most of whose exterminators live in Pontotoc County.

As a basic rule, pests and rodents, like all sentient beings, want to escape the merciless heat of a Mississippi summer, and they’ll seek it in your home.

“Water sources, such as sprinklers, for many of our beautiful lawns, moist spaces around water pipes, dark, damp corners, drains—these places provide livable conditions for vermin,” said Chrestman.

“Despite the best cleaning efforts of even the most vigilant homeowners, pests can creep in,” Chrestman said.

More than once he’s discovered fleas in homes that had no pets. They came from families of raccoons living in the attic.

Dreaded bed bugs are often ferried in aboard the suitcases of travelers who return home and promise to do their laundry in a few days. Brown recluse spiders are sneaky, insidious—and quite dangerous pests--that loom silently in old coats and dark closets.

These are in clean homes.

Mike and Donna Pickens started their extermination business in 1985. “Pest control used to involve smelly chemicals and invasive spraying, but no more,” Mike Pickens said. “Highly trained professionals will perform a thorough inspection, then treat the interior and exterior to form a barrier to prevent pests from entering,” said Pickens.

That barrier, according to Chrestman, includes spraying three feet up the wall of the home, and six-to-nine feet out, from the base.

This fall homeowners might encounter lady bugs, not native to Mississippi, as well as kudzu bugs, also imported visitors. “The lady bugs were brought in to eat the aphids off cotton plants, and the kudzu bugs are self-explanatory,” Chrestman said.

“Neither insect knows how to survive the Mississippi weather, so they’re looking for shelter,” said Chrestman.

A technician sweeps spider webs down from the eves of a home as the first defense in getting rid of the eight legged pests.

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Under sinks and anywhere pests may hide keeps the professional staff busy to make your commercial and residential property pest free.

Donna Pickens (middle) with her daughters, Michelle (left) and Beth.

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Chrestman recommended quarterly spraying, which includes evaluation of the property.

As part of their outside prevention focus, Pickens’s technicians install guarded stickytraps in customers’ yards, to trap vermin before they besiege the premises.

“They’re weighted, so that children can’t easily pick them up and play with them,” said Chrestman. “They’re also locked, so that only our technicians, with keys, can open them.”

“In all their services, Pickens personnel strive to give a personal touch,” Mike Pickens said.

“I started my company to give customers someone reputable with whom to deal,” said Pickens. “I’ve seen several instances where customers were deceived or mislead. We take care of our customers. We give them exceptional service at a fair price.”

Pickens Pest Control makes house calls Monday-Friday, from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Visit the website at pickenspestcontrol. com, or call (662) 234-2207.

Pest control in all the nooks and crannies is important to the professional staff at Pickens Pest Control.

“Always find the source, whether you’re dealing with termites, fleas, lady bugs or bed bugs—know where they’re coming from,” Lee Chrestman

manager for the Oxford-based Pickens Pest Control

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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN

Real Estate Agents and Brokers

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eal estate transactions often involve significant amounts of money. As a result, it’s common for both buyers and sellers to enlist the services of a host of professionals with real estate experience.

Both buyers and sellers may work with real estate agents and/or real estate brokers en route to buying or selling their homes. Agents and brokers are not one and the same, and there are some important distinctions between the two.

property owners rent their homes. The amount of training real estate agents need to earn their licenses varies by state.

Once individuals finish their required training, they must take a written exam that tests their knowledge of federal real estate laws and general principles as well as the laws specific to the state in which they want to become licensed. Only after passing this exam do individuals become recognized real estate agents.

REAL ESTATE AGENT

Real estate brokers are those professionals who have continued their education past the agent level and obtained a broker’s license. Each state has its own requirements in regard to

According to Realtor.com, real estate agents are professionally licensed individuals who can help both buyers and sellers. Agents also may help

REAL ESTATE BROKER

becoming a licensed broker, but education and examinations are necessary regardless of where a person lives.

Realtor.com notes that the extra coursework to earn a broker’s license focuses on various topics, including ethics, contracts, taxes, and insurance.

Agents may learn about these topics as well, but coursework for prospective brokers goes into more depth than it does at the agent level.

Brokers also will study and learn about legal issues in regard to real estate. The legal issues brokers may learn about include brokerage operations, real estate investments, construction, and property management. Requirements vary, but Realtor.com notes that

brokers often must work as licensed real estate agents for no less than three years before they can earn their broker’s license.

There is more than one type of real estate broker. Principal/ designated brokers oversee all agents at a given firm and ensure the agents act in compliance with all real estate laws.

Managing brokers tend to focus on the hiring and training of agents. Associate brokers have their broker’s license but work directly under a managing broker.

Real estate agents and brokers can help buyers, sellers and investors successfully navigate real estate transactions, and each can serve their clients in different ways.

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Cold weather

OUTDOOR ENTERTAINING

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utdoor entertaining has never been more popular. As more and more homeowners turn their homes into their own personal oases, extending the party outdoors has become a bigger priority.

According to the American Home Furnishings Alliance’s 2015 Outdoor Furniture Trend Report, out-of-doors areas on a property are the favored venues for celebrations with family and friends. While outdoor entertaining was once relegated to the warm weather seasons, advancements in technology have now made it more comfortable and enjoyable to entertain outdoors for much of the year. But hosts who want to extend the outdoor party after summer has come and gone should consider a few important entertaining tips.

Outdoor entertaining need not end because summer has come and gone. But hosts must take a different approach to hosting when throwing outdoor gatherings in late fall and early winter.

Outdoor Entertaining Tips START THE PARTY EARLY

Summertime backyard barbecues and pool parties benefit from late-evening sunsets that illuminate patios and pool areas well into the evening. In addition, many hosts prefer to start such parties later in the day to avoid the sun during the early afternoon when it is at its most blazing.

However, start the party earlier in the day when hosting in fall or early winter. Temperatures can drop considerably once the sun begins to set, so starting early can save hosts and their guests from cold air.

HEAT THINGS UP

Summertime hosts might employ canopies to protect themselves and their guests from the heat, and it’s important for hosts to take similar steps when the weather is chillier. The AHFA report found that 38 percent of homeowners intended to purchase fire pits for their outdoor entertaining areas, and such fire pits can keep guests warm as the sun goes down and the night air gets chilly. Fire pits have become musthave items for outdoor entertaining areas, and hosts can surely find one that suits their needs.

CHANGE THE MENU

Grilling hot dogs and hamburgers might still work when entertaining outdoors in fall and winter, but hosts may want to stray from other summertime fare like watermelon or pasta salad. Embrace the cold weather by roasting some nuts and making s’mores over an open fire. In lieu of summertime beverages like lemonade and beer, serve hot chocolate or wine to keep guests warm.

ENSURE THERE IS ADEQUATE LIGHTING

Mother Nature won’t offer much lighting when you host a party outdoors in late fall and early winter, so make sure your patios and sidewalks are well lit. Guests will want to see one another and what they’re eating, and well-lit walkways will reduce the risk that guests take a tumble or turn their ankles when walking to and from the house.

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Houseplants G

CAN CLEAN INDOOR AIR

ardening is a rewarding hobby that can pay a host of dividends, both for the planet and the people doing the gardening. Healthy plant life can help clean the air by absorbing carbon dioxide and various air pollutants, while the act of gardening can help gardeners combat stress.

Published in 2011 in the Journal of Health Psychology, a study from researchers in the Netherlands found that gardening promotes relief from acute stress. In the study, two groups of participants were asked to complete a stressful task and then instructed to either read indoors or garden outdoors for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, the latter group had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol and even reported being in a better mood than the group instructed to read indoors.

But gardening does more than just provide gardeners with a reason to spend some time relaxing outdoors in an effort to relieve stress. Gardeners who raise certain plants may be able to bring those benefits with them when going inside as well. According to an article published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives in October 2011, houseplants can work

wonders when it comes to improving overall health, removing toxins from air, soil and water by metabolizing some toxic chemicals and releasing harmless byproducts while sequestering such toxins by incorporating them into plant tissues.

Clean indoor air is important for everyone, but especially so for those people who suffer from respiratory ailments like asthma. In fact, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and

Immunology considers indoor air filtration an essential part of any strategy to improve respiratory health. But filtration systems and air purifiers are often not enough, and those who want the air in their homes to be as clean as possible may benefit from introducing certain houseplants into their homes.

Gardening has been proven to be a soothing hobby that can help gardeners reduce stress. But the health benefits of gardening can extend indoors as well.

Plants that help improve indoor air quality ALOE VERA

Aloe vera might be most often associated with hand creams and hand soaps, but the aloe vera plant, a succulent that even novice gardeners should have no problem growing, can clear indoor air of formaldehyde and benzene, two common byproducts of chemical-based cleaners many people use in their homes.

SPIDER PLANT

Spider plants are resilient, and that makes them great houseplants for busy men and women who tend to be forgetful when caring for their plants. In addition, spider plants are pet-friendly and can be used to combat benzene, carbon dioxide, formaldehyde and xylene.

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ENGLISH IVY

NASA researchers exploring the possibilities of long-term space habitation found that certain houseplants were more effective at cleaning air inside energy-efficient, nonventilated buildings than others. One such plant was English ivy, which can effectively combat the formaldehyde found in certain household cleaning products.

BAMBOO PALM

Bamboo palms also found their way onto NASA’s list. Bamboo palm plants thrive indoors, where they are especially effective at filtering out the chemicals benzene and trichloroethylene.