I encourage you to read the provisions of the phony climate bill called the ‘Cap and Trade’ Bill that has passed the House of Representatives and being considered by the Senate. Call your State Senators and start complaining now, or kiss your disposable income & freedom goodbye!

This Congress and the staff members who draft this garbage are truly out to destroy the middle class of the USA.

A LICENSE REQUIRED FOR YOUR HOUSE !

Thinking about selling your house? Take a  look at H.R. 2454 (Cap and Trade bill) This is unbelievable! Homeowners take note and mobilize your friends and relatives now!

Beginning one year after enactment of the Cap and Trade Act, you won¡t be able to sell your home unless you retrofit it to comply with the energy and water efficiency standards of this Act. H.R. 2454, the ‘Cap & Trade’ bill passed by the House of Representatives. If also passed by the Senate, will be the largest tax increase any of us has ever experienced.

The Congressional Budget Office (supposedly non-partisan) estimates that in just a few years the average cost to every family of four will be $6,800 per year.

NO ONE IS TO BE EXCLUDED.

However, once the lower classes feel the pinch in their wallets, you can be sure these voters get a tax refund (even if they pay no taxes at all) to offset this new cost. Thus, you Mr. and Mrs. Middle Class America will have to pay even more since additional tax dollars will be needed to bail out everyone else.

But wait. This awful bill (that no one in Congress has actually read) has many more surprises in it. Probably the worst one is this:

A YEAR FROM NOW YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO SELL YOUR HOUSE !  

The caveat is (there always is a catch!) that if you have enough money to make required major upgrades to your home, then you can sell it. But, if not, then forget it. Even pre-fabricated homes (mobile homes) are included.

In effect, this bill prevents you from selling your home without the permission of the EPA administrator.

To get this permission, you will have to have the energy efficiency of your home measured.

Then the government will tell you what your new energy efficiency requirement is, and you will be forced to make modifications to your home under the retrofit provisions of this Act, in order to comply with the new energy and water efficiency requirements.

Then you will have to get your home measured AGAIN, and obtain a license (called a ‘label’ in the Act) that must be posted on your property to show what your efficiency rating is– sort of like the ‘Energy Star’ efficiency rating label on your refrigerator or air conditioner.

If you don’t get a high enough rating, you cannot sell ! And the EPA administrator is also authorized to raise the standards every year, even above and beyond the automatic energy efficiency increases built into the Act !

The EPA administrator, appointed by the President, will run the Cap & Trade program (AKA the ‘American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009) and is authorized to make any future changes to the regulations and standards he alone determines to be in the government¡s best interest. Requirements are set low initially so the bill will pass Congress; then the Administrator can set much tougher new standards every year.

The Act itself contains annual required increases in energy efficiency for private and commercial residences and buildings.
However, the EPA administrator can set higher standards at any time.

SECTION 202

Building Retrofit Program mandates a national retrofit program to increase the energy efficiency of all existing homes across America .

Beginning 1 year after enactment of the Act, you won¡t be able to sell your home unless you retrofit it to comply with the energy and water efficiency standards of this Act.

You had better sell soon, because the standards will be raised each year and will be really hard (i.e., ex$pen$ive) to meet in a few years. Oh, goody! The Act allows the government to give you a grant of several thousand dollars to comply with the retrofit program requirements if you meet certain energy efficiency levels. But, wait, the State can set additional requirements on who qualifies to receive the grants.

You should expect requirements such as ‘can’t have an income of more than $50K per year’, ‘home selling price can’t be more than $125K, or anything else to target the upper middle class (THAT MEANS YOU),  preventing you from qualifying for ANYTHING!
Most of us won’t get a dime and will have to pay the entire cost of the retrofit out of our own pockets. More transfer of wealth, more of that ‘change you can believe in’ …

SECTION 204

Building Energy Performance Labeling Program establishes a labeling program that for each individual residence will identify the achieved energy efficiency performance for at least 90 percent of the residential market within 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

This means that within 5 years 90% of all residential homes in the U.S. must be measured and labeled. The EPA administrator will get $50M each year to enforce the labeling program. The Secretary of the Department of Energy will get an additional $20M each year to help enforce the labeling program. Some of this money will, of course, be spent on coming up with tougher standards each year.

Oh, the label will be like a license for your car. You will be required to post the label in a conspicuous location in your home and will not be allowed to sell your home without having this label.

And, just like your car license, you will probably be required to get a new label every so often (maybe annually).

But, the government estimates the cost of measuring the energy efficiency of your home should only cost about $200 each time.

Remember what they said about the auto smog inspections when they first started: that in California it would only cost $15. That was when the program started. Now the cost is about $50 for the inspection and certificate; a 333% increase. Expect the same from the home labeling program.

SECTION 304

Greater Energy Efficiency in Building Codes establishes new energy efficiency guidelines for the National Building Code and mandates at 304(d), Application of National Code to State and Local Jurisdictions, that 1 year after enactment of this Act, all state and local jurisdictions must adopt the National Building Code energy efficiency provisions or must obtain a certification from the federal government that their state and/or local codes have been brought into full compliance with the National Building Code energy efficiency standards.

H.R. 2454: American Clean Energy and Security Act

of 2009 (GovTrack.us)

Dear readers:

One of the nicest things about having a single-owner-operated business is that I can respond more quickly to situations which arise in the workplace, and within society in general. And so I’m announcing my intention to float a trial balloon, discounting the fee for my services until 31 DECEMBER, providing you with top-shelf work at mid-level prices.

Anyone who has had the opportunity to either read about or listen to the news these days would surely have to admit that times are pretty tough for Americans today.  Twice, this very week, I found myself faced with a client who found himself wrestling with the idea of whether to change all the locks on his new house, or to take a chance on merely changing the front door lock (which, in my opinion, would be a huge mistake). And it surely wasn’t because my prices are outrageous because, as my clientele can attest, you get a lot of bang for your buck when I come out to your house or business !

SO THIS IS WHAT I INTEND TO DO ABOUT IT ….

Beginning today (30 NOVEMBER), until 5 p.m. (31 DECEMBER), I will deduct 20% from the service call fee for any and all work ordered within that time frame). There is, however, one small catch…

YOU MUST MENTION THIS OFFER WHEN MAKING YOUR APPOINTMENT (WITHOUT EXCEPTION, SO I CAN GAUGE HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE REGULARLY ACCESSING THE INFO ON THIS WEBSITE). YOU DON’T NEED TO SIGN-IN, OR JUMP THROUGH ANY HOOPS WHATSOEVER!

So if you need an excellent locksmith, and if you’re looking to save money (and who isn’t?)

I’M ASKING FOR YOUR BUSINESS …

If you need a locksmith for WESTON, call me.                  (954) 382-2200
If you need a locksmith for DAVIE, call me.
If you need a locksmith for PLANTATION, call me.         (954) 382-2200
If you need a locksmith for COOPER CITY, call me.
If you need a locksmith for SUNRISE, call me.                  (954) 382-2200
If you need a locksmith for OAKLAND PARK, call me.
If you need a locksmith for CORAL SPRINGS, call me.   (954) 382-2200
If you need a locksmith for WILTON MANORS, call me.
If you need a locksmith for VICTORIA PARK, call me.     (954)382-2200
If you need a locksmith for PEMBROKE PINES, call me.
If you need a locksmith for HOLLYWOOD, call me.
If you need a locksmith for HALLANDALE, call me.         (954)382-2200

And if you need a locksmith for anyplace in Broward County that I’ve forgotten to mention,

CALL ME, and you will NEVER be disappointed…

Now get out there and have a great day!

Val

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

PART 4

PART 5

36  have been accused of spousal abuse

7     have been arrested for fraud

19  have been accused of writing bad checks

117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses

3     have done time for assault

71   cannot get a credit card due to bad credit

14   have been arrested on drug-related charges

8     have been arrested for shoplifting

21   currently are defendants in lawsuits

                                                                 And

84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year

Can you guess which organization this is?

MEMBERS OF CONGRESS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not too long ago, I received a call from a woman who said she needed her safe opened. As we spoke, she  mentioned that she had forgotten the combination to the safe. I told her I’d be very happy to help her in any way possible, gave her a tentative quote, and scheduled her for an appointment later that afternoon.

When I arrived at her home, I accompanied her to the bedroom closet where the safe has been installed. I almost lost a toe when my chin hit the floor, because staring up at me was an in-the-floor safe with its combination dial and handle completely destroyed. She had forgotten to mention that little detail. At that point I thought it would be a good idea to amend the quote immediately in order to reflect the additional work which would be required (something to which she apologetically agreed), and I went to work. As it turned out, this nice lady had inadvertently hit the jackpot without knowing it: her life savings and all of her most precious valuables had been protected from theft precisely because she had chosen the wrong safe in which to store them ! But this is merely the exception which proves the rule…

What this woman did not know was that her son (the little stinker) had known exactly what the combination to the safe was, yet he still found himself unable to open it. The simple explanation for his inability to get it open was that this woman had found so many reasons to use the safe that she had packed it to the rafters with stuff. She later admitted to me that she had to stand on the safe in order to lock it on the last time she had used it. And it was only because she had stuffed the safe like a Thanksgiving turkey that the internal bolt structure had bound up, leaving Junior unable to throw the handle. I suppose that’s what led to his decision to wipe the safe’s dial and handle out of existence.

This little episode cost Mom more money than she had planned on spending when she had rolled out of bed that morning, but it was peanuts compared to what she might have lost had her son remembered to stand on the safe when reopening it. Anyhow, all’s well that ends well.

This little story helps illustrate what is a fairly common problem in my line of work– helping people to understand what their security needs are insofar as a safe purchase is concerned. The more timid among prospective safe buyers tend to immediately balk at the price which, to a degree, is understandable. The price of a good safe, however, is miniscule in comparison to the price of walking into your home and finding your bargain-basement safe open, and EMPTY.

Before buying any kind of safe, ask yourself whether the primary function of the safe will be to protect documents only, or personal valuables, or whether it will be used for commercial applications. This will help you narrow things down a little.

If your anticipated use for the safe is for the protection of documents only, a good bet to be for you to consider a simple fire safe. These safes feature fire protection for periods ranging from 30 minutes up to more than two hours. Your choice in fire protective capacity should be based on the importance of the documents to be protected. Paper has a flashpoint of 451°, and fire safes are typically constructed in such a way that the internal temperature of the safe will remain below 350° for the time period for which the safe was rated. Obviously, the more important the paper, the more critical the fire rating.

For the protection of personal valuables, it’s very wise to consider purchasing a burglary-rated safe. My personal preference is for freestanding safes (rather than in-the-floor safes). And I prefer them for several reasons: firstly, because they don’t require that you dig a huge hole somewhere through the slab under the house (an unbelievably messy prospect that carries with it the risk of damage to the slab), and secondly, because if you decide to pick up and move somewhere else, you can take your expensive safe with you (rather than leaving it as a housewarming gift for the lucky new homeowner). My third and final reason for preferring a freestanding safe is that it holds way more stuff (eliminating the need to have your fattest family member lean on it in order to close the door). Always keep in mind that safes, like our homes, tend to accumulate 20% more stuff than they were built to hold, so try to keep this in mind when deciding on the size of the container you’ll be needing.

For those of you intending to purchase a safe for dual purposes (such as documents and personal valuables), you may consider purchasing a safe with a BF rating. These containers offer excellent burglary and fire protection, but they tend to reduce the usable interior of the safe significantly, due to the amount of fire-resistant composite needed in order to protect the safe’s contents from extreme heat.

For commercial applications one may turn to the safes we’ve previously discussed and, in addition, one might also consider under counter safes (which are typically installed under the cash register for till trimming), drop safes (in which deposits may be made through the top, front, or reverse). NOTE: I want you to know that I do not recommend the overnight storage of cash deposits in such safes, however. In such cases, it is my recommendation that one use either a TL-15 or TL- 30 high-security depository safe.

For cassettes, CDs, and diskettes I strongly recommend the use of data safes, as these are specifically engineered to protect sensitive data by keeping the internal temperature of the safe below 150°F.

Although the price of these items may leave you somewhat shell-shocked, it is nothing in comparison to the way you might feel if you had not taken such precautionary measures, only to find your cash, documents, and personal valuables either stolen or destroyed by fire. Try to look at the price of your safe in relation to the insurance deductible you have on your property — and then ask yourself if you would rather pay a pound of flesh to protect your valuables, or pay 5 pounds of flesh for an insurance deductible (a bitter pill to swallow after having lost everything, as I’m sure you’ll agree).

Anyway, I hope that this little newsletter will enable you to make a little bit more sense out of what is admittedly a difficult thing to do these days: protecting your goodies while you’ve still got ‘em. I’ll be writing much more on this commonly- misunderstood topic further on down the road, and I hope you’ll be there to read it. 

Thanks for visiting my site, and have a wonderful day. 

Valerie

copyright 2009, Valerie Tannenbaum. All rights reserved.

Dear reader:

If I had a dollar for every time someone told me what a hard time they had in finding a good locksmith, I’d have enough money to wallpaper my bedroom in hundreds. I’ve had clients tell me that the first company they’d called had sent out a pair of disheveled slobs who either showed up extremely late, or who had improper tools, or who apparently had NO tools, or who had either tripled or quadrupled the original telephone quote, or whatever! What all these clients had in common was the fact that, under stress and at the worst possible time, they had decided to call God- knows- who to come out to their home or business and help them with their dilemma.

As almost everyone in the country should know by now, phony, unlicensed scammers posing as locksmiths have been running rampant throughout our society, charging customers an arm and a leg, cutting themselves extra keys to the customer’s house for later, destroying locks that were otherwise perfectly functional, threatening the more mild-mannered customers with physical harm, and vandalizing the personal property of customers who refused to pay the outrageous fees they were charged.  The litany of the scammers’ wrongdoing is a long one, and extremely profitable, to boot.

It won’t be anytime soon before we have rid society of these lowlifes. They’ve tightly wrapped their tentacles around all of the major advertising venues in the nation: online 411, Yellow Pages online, Yellow Book online, Super Pages, etc., and all of these advertising venues have shown little or no interest whatsoever in straightening out the problem. All of which leads to your problem and mine– getting what you need when you need it, and without becoming a rape victim, if possible.

You can cut through a lot of baloney by following the steps I outlined in my free report “5 Dangers in Choosing the Wrong Locksmith (and how to avoid them) listed on this website’s home page. Follow your instincts, and feel free to tell me what you think of what I believe is a very simple solution– finding a reliable, trustworthy locksmith before you need one! If you don’t feel comfortable with a woman locksmith (I’m talking about me, of course), then make as many phone calls as you need to make in order to find a locksmith who answers the phone in a courteous manner (some locksmiths have their wives or girlfriends answer the phone for them because courtesy is not one of their strengths). See if the locksmith answers your questions in a straightforward manner, with minimal side-stepping. Be like a hummingbird– if you land on a flower which leaves a bad taste in your mouth, move onto another flower. My reason for saying so is that, after you’ve sucked on a few lemons, a phone call to me will taste 10 times as sweet. Once you find the right one–   

ENTER THAT LOCKSMITH’S NAME AND PHONE NUMBER INTO YOUR CELL PHONE’S SPEED DIAL ! (As much as I hope that name and number will be mine, I’m almost as happy just knowing that you’ve taken the time to reward an actual, legitimate locksmith with your trust). Like all other tradespeople, my greatest hope is that all my potential clients will come to like what they hear from me on the phone and reward me with their patronage. But this, however, isn’t my only wish. I also wish and hope that all others in my trade who work hard to stay ahead of the criminal curve will be able to hang onto their businesses, while enduring the scourge these scammers have inflicted upon them. My hope and wish is that what is good and true will continue to be valued in our society, and that those who prey upon the innocent will get what’s coming to them in spades!!

Good luck to everyone who works hard at living a decent, honest life. And have a great day, too, ’cause I know I’m gonna…

Valerie Tannenbaum, president
A2Z Locksmith, Inc.

copyright 2008, all rights reserved

Follow these steps to protect yourself, your family, and your belongings!

1. Define Your Puchasing Criteria Before You Call

Over the years I’ve received countless calls from potential clients who’ve asked me right off the bat “How much do you charge to—?”, and while I agree that price is of some importance, it is foolhardy and potentially dangerous to hire anybody just because they’ve quoted the cheapest price over the phone. Decide ahead of time whether or not you care if the locksmith you call can prove he’s licensed, or how long he’s been in business, or whether he’s done full background checks on his employees. Ask about warranties, or even guarantees (which are extremely rare). Ask if the employee they’re sending is licensed, experienced, or bonded. Ask how long he’s been with their company. Try to remember that all locksmiths are NOT created equal, and act accordingly.

2. Make Sure the Locksmith Company You’re Calling is Legal

Most people have no idea that the Yellow Pages and other advertising media make no effort whatsoever to confirm whether an advertiser has a legally obtained business license. When I first started out in business I was told that I needed to advertise in the Yellow Pages if I wanted my company to be considered as legitimate. Well, those days are long gone, friend. Today you are just as likely to reach some guy watching Judge Judy in New York City as you are to stumble upon a real, live, honest-to-God locksmith down here in South Florida! The techniques used by these companies are complicated and confusing by design, and they succeed in ripping you off by dominating the 411, the various Yellow Page- type ad companies, and internet search engines. The trick for them is to take advantage of your wish to get “something for nothing”—they quote you a very low price to come out to your home or business, ONLY TO SLAP YOU WITH MIND-BOGGLING, BOGUS FEES WHEN IT’S TIME TO PAY! There’s much you need to know about about this scandal, and you can read all about it in an article entitled “SCAMMERS DISCOVER THE LAND OF THE FREE”. Feel free to read the entire story on my website at: www.AFemaleLocksmith.com . And spread the word—the next person these predators scam might be someone you really care about!!

3. Make Sure the Locksmith Company You’re Calling is Local

It’s really all up to you to ask the person who answers the phone to tell you the company name of the ad you called (many phony out-of-state companies have multiple fake names and addresses and can’t answer this simple question, so they just answer the phone by saying the word “Locksmith” ). Ask if they’re familiar with your local area (fraudulent companies tucked away up in New Jersey can’t name the main roads leading to your home or business, or describe any key local landmarks). Ask for the listed business address of the number you called (I seem to remember once seeing MY mailing address listed on SOMEONE ELSE’S PHONY AD!) And try to keep in mind that a business isn’t necessarily illegitimate merely because they don’t rent a storefront–A2Z Locksmith (my company) is strictly mobile, and I’m as legitimate as can be!

4. Make Them Prove They Told You The Truth on The Phone

Always ask to see a copy of their business license when they arrive. If they refuse, send them away. Ask the person who shows up for the job to produce an ID card with the company name and logo printed on it (no sensible employer is going to give a company ID to someone acting as a subcontractor—that’s how they can deny any responsibility if he screws up the job, steals, or even worse, cuts himself an extra key once your plasma television catches his eye). It’s a sad thing, but it’s true—SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK WHEN YOU HAVEN’T CALLED THEM!           

5. Make Sure You Receive A Fully Itemized Sales Receipt

Always insist they provide real invoices and sales receipts (not the little receipt pads you can buy at Office Depot or Staples). If the receipts are numbered, so much the better for you—an honest company can’t afford to risk a government audit when their numbered sales receipts are either missing, or in disarray. And don’t forget you have a perfect right to have a complete record of the work performed in case you need to call the locksmith back for warranty work, OR WORSE YET, IF YOU NEED TO SUE. Don’t put yourself at risk by not doing your homework!

Summary:

It’s becoming more and more difficult these days to find a tradesperson who takes the time and trouble to work at a high level of expertise, and even more so when it comes to locksmiths. A dishonest plumber might leave you with a leaky faucet. A dishonest woodworker might leave you with squeaky flooring. But a ‘rogue’ locksmith could possibly leave you without much of anything worth having! Think it over for a second:

Even If the price you paid for a truly talented and knowledgeable locksmith were $100 greater than what you might have paid for so-so work, that may sound like a lot of money. But what if that work were so superior that it held up for 5 years or longer, the extra cost would break down to about 40 cents a week, or less than 6 cents a day. Wouldn’t you agree that the difference between real security and questionable safety is worth 6 measly cents a day? If you do, you’re smarter than an awful lot of people, and you’re exactly the type of client an honest businessperson will always appreciate the most – the sensible type!

If you’ve found this information helpful, I’ve done my job. Everyone is entitled to the best locksmith they can possibly afford, and no one ever deserves to be screwed. Call Valerie at (954) 382-2200, and you never will be! Or type www.AFemaleLocksmith.com into the address bar of your computer and see what else your locksmith never told you.

Warmly.
Valerie Tannenbaum, President
A2Z Locksmith, Inc (a female owned and operated firm)
“Because sometimes the best man for the job is a woman.”
Copyright 2007, Val Tannenbaum