Keep It Safe

Nigerian advance-fee fraud has been around for decades, but now seems to have reached epidemic proportions: Some consumers have told the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) they are receiving dozens of offers a day from supposed Nigerians politely promising big profits in exchange for help moving large sums of money out of their country.

Over the past few years, smart lighting companies have been innovating ways to mitigate these seasonal mood declines and imitate natural light in the home – both to create a comfortable, cozy ambiance and to allow people to experience the health benefits of circadian lighting, even on gloomy winter days or dark mornings.

Sunlight is essential for the body's health, wellbeing and balance – but reduced sunlight in the fall and winter can affect serotonin and melatonin levels and disrupt the body's natural circadian rhythm, leading to the "winter blues."

The Body's Natural Clock

"During the darker months, it's important for people to know what options are available to support their wellbeing and circadian health," said Daryl Friedman, global president and CEO of CEDIA, the association for smart home professionals. "Integrating professionally installed smart lighting technologies that replicate natural daylight can help individuals maintain their body's natural clock and make their homes feel warmer year-round, even when the sun isn't shining."

Professional smart home integrators, certified by CEDIA, can help homeowners curate a custom smart home solution with a variety of smart lighting products:

Smart Lighting

Circadian Lighting: These systems automatically adjust lighting based on time-of-day, providing dynamic lighting that aligns with the body's internal clock. For example, sunrise alarm clocks simulate a natural sunrise by gradually increasing light intensity in the morning, helping users wake up more gently

Smart Shading Solutions: Automated window shades and blinds adjust their position based on time of day, allowing homeowners to curate the amount of natural light entering their home. Smart home professionals can ensure these systems work in tandem with smart lighting to simulate natural light cycles. As a bonus, smart shading systems improve insulation in the colder months, increasing energy efficiency in the home.

Adjustable Color Temperature Bulbs: A more budget-friendly option, these bulbs feature adjustable color temperatures to mimic the natural progression of daylight, shifting from cool, bright light in the morning to warmer, softer light in the evening.

"Embracing smart lighting tech isn't just about convenience and luxury—it's about enhancing quality of life," continued Friedman. "Professional integrators can help homeowners identify the best smart lighting advancements for a home, so they can enjoy practical solutions for mitigating the impacts of reduced daylight."

When you have pain in your muscles or joints, what is the best treatment, heat or ice? What should you do first, use an ice pack or pull out the heating pad?

The answer, according to pain experts, is it depends on the type of injury and the location of the pain. Is the injured place swelling? Are your joints stiff?

ICE – Use for acute injuries, inflammation, and swelling

Tips:

• Start ice therapy as soon as possible after an injury.


• Apply for no more than 20 minutes at a time, several times daily.


• Do not apply ice directly to your skin. Use a towel, bag, or ice pack.


• Don’t use ice if you have poor circulation, or for stiff muscles or joints.

HEAT – Use for muscle pain or stiffness

Tips:

• Aim for warm temperatures, not hot temperatures, to avoid burns.


• More severe pain may benefit from longer-duration heat therapy.


• Do not apply to areas that are swollen, bruised, or have an open wound.


• Do not use if you have a health condition that affects your sensitivity to temperatures.

The bottom line: Both ice and heat are an option. Patients are reminded that if they’ve tried a heating pad and ice packs but are still in pain, or if they have noticed numbness or weakness in the affected area, they should contact their doctor.

There have been many technological advances in hearing aids in recent years, and finding the right one for your lifestyle and budget can make a big difference if you’re coping with hearing loss. Before you buy a hearing aid, it’s important to understand the various types of hearing loss and what to consider when you’re shopping, so you get the product that’s most appropriate for your particular kind of hearing loss, your lifestyle, and your budget.

The Internet is convenient for comparing prescription drug prices, researching health products and services, and preparing for your next medical appointment. Use these tips to be smart and safe when researching health products and services online.

The second cardinal rule of safe home food preparation is: Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.

The increase in cell phone use has generated concern about possible health risks related to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from this technology, and a market for shields as possible protection against the radio waves the phones emit.

If your computer is attacked by a virus or a hacker, it really doesn't matter what type of connection you use: the damage is done. You could lose important personal information or software that's stored on your hard drive, as well as valuable time trying to make repairs. And your computer could be used without your knowledge to attack other computers, including those that protect our national security.

Owning a home has long been considered a crucial way to build wealth, but making such a purchase has become increasingly difficult for many residents. In addition to steep housing prices and high interest rates, there have been a growing number of all-cash buyers who can close a deal quickly, beating out competing offers from buyers who need to finance their home with a mortgage.

The convenience and certainty of all-cash offers appeals to sellers so much so, that they pay on average 10 percent less than mortgage buyers, according to a new study from the University of California San Diego Rady School of Management.

"When sellers accept a mortgage offer, it comes with risk," said Michael Reher, study coauthor and assistant professor of finance at the Rady School of Management. "There is a risk the deal will fall through because there's a third-party mortgage lender who needs to approve the loan for the borrower and there are other caveats such as issue the appraisal, or inspection, which is why around 10 percent of transactions fail when the buyer is paying with a mortgage. We find sellers are willing to leave money on the table to avoid the risk."

Good Credit Helps

The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Finance, finds that while 10 percent is the average difference between mortgage and cash buyers, it does not necessary apply to all buyers who need to purchase a home with a loan. For example, mortgage buyers with a relatively good borrowing profile pay only 6 percent more than all-cash buyers, especially if the sale is taking place in an area where most real estate transactions are successful.

In areas where there may be more low-income buyers and mortgage transactions carry greater risk, a mortgage buyer can expect to pay up to 17 percent more, if the seller has a competing offer from an all-cash buyer.

"Considering that about a third of home purchases are all-cash deals, these differences are highly relevant for real estate market participants," said Rossen Valkanov, study co-author and professor of finance for the Rady School.

A More Cost-Effective Route

He added that understanding the "cash discount" in real estate is important because it highlights the friction between mortgage buyers and sellers.

"In policy terms, U.S. taxpayers subsidize $8 trillion of mortgages to promote homeownership," Valkanov said. "If policy makers made it easier for mortgage buyers to close escrow, it could be a more cost-effective route to promoting homeownership than subsidizing mortgages for first-time homebuyers."

An example of reducing friction between mortgage buyers and sellers could be reducing the degree of "ambiguity" about the home sale process, from the standpoint of home sellers. This could potentially be achieved by requiring listing agents to make sure that home sellers are well-informed about the amount of risk and the time to close when accepting an all-cash versus a mortgaged offer.

Another Hurdle

"At the time a mortgage offer is submitted, a listing agent can disclose an easy-to-understand statistic, such as: 'over the last 12 months, 97 percent of mortgage offers resulted in a sale after 60 days,'" Valkanov said.

The implications of a liquid housing market edging out many first-time buyers

Most first-time home buyers have to finance the purchase with a mortgage and the 10 percent "cash discount" all-cash buyers receive represents another hurdle in a competitive real estate market. In California for example, where inventory is low, the average age of the first-time homeowner is now almost a decade older compared to the 1980s.

Real Estate as a Savings Vehicle

But it has other implications for real estate. The increase in buyers with deeper pockets choosing to finance homes with cash because of higher interest rates also equates to a greater number of buyers possibly getting real estate at prices below the property's actual value. Therefore, a liquid housing market with more all-cash buyers may erode the value of real estate as a savings vehicle, the authors note.

Reher and Valkanov embarked on the study after they both had experienced mortgage offers to homes being rejected because sellers went with an all-cash offer instead.

They replicated the findings in three different studies with the first assessing data from 2 million home sales across more than 90 percent of U.S. counties from 1980 to 2017. The data from county recorder offices revealed that mortgage buyers paid on average 11 percent more than all -cash buyers.

Mortgage Buyers Pay More

The second study utilized data from Redfin which provided the authors with information on more than 20,000 home sales as well as offers on homes that were sold from 2013 to 2021. This data set revealed mortgage buyers paid 8 percent percent more than all-cash buyers.

The third study involved an experimental survey designed by the authors where they asked 3,000 independent homeowners to imagine scenarios where they had to sell their home and received two competing offers—one from a mortgage buyer and one from an all-cash buyer. The responses revealed that the participants would only accept the mortgage buyers offers if they had paid on average 10 percent more than the all-cash buyer.

^{Source: Reher, M, et al. "The Mortgage-Cash Premium Puzzle." 6 November 2023.}