Once the leaves have fallen, remove them and other debris from your home’s gutters; by hand, scraper or spatula. Then give the guttering a good hose rinse, so that winter’s rain and melting snow can drain. Clogged drains can form ice dams, in which water backs up, freezes and causes water to seep into the house. One of the best ways to winterize your home is to simply block obvious leaks around your house, both inside and out. The average American home has leaks that amount to a nine-square-foot hole in the wall. To find the leaks, on a breezy day, walk around inside holding a lit incense stick to the most common drafty areas: recessed lighting, window and door frames, electrical outlets. Then, buy door sweeps to close spaces under exterior doors, and caulk or apply tacky rope caulk to those drafty spots. (more…)

search for : gutter, Clogged drains, recessed lighting, door sweeps

One of the least thought-of items that causes excess energy consumption is a poorly designed and installed duct system. The consumer’s guide from the Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) says that unsealed ducts in attics and crawl spaces lose air and uninsulated ducts lose heat. Both waste energy and money. The solution is to get a professional to check your house for air leaks. But if plopping down several hundred dollars to find some air leaks doesn’t sound like a fun way to save money on heating, you can accomplish roughly the same results with a little time and a box of incense sticks. Light an incense stick and walk through the house, moving the stick near spots where the walls meet your floors, windows, doors and the ceiling, preferably on a windy day. (more…)

search for : excess energy consumption, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Major home remodeling jobs require more than just money and construction savvy. In most, if not all jurisdictions, homeowners must obtain a building permit, by law. Inspectors increasingly find that not every contractor or do-it-yourself homeowner applies for, and secures the necessary permit. This leaves the homeowner facing penalties for non-compliance with local building statutes.

Sometimes, the lack of a permit means that the contractor simply didn’t think the permit necessary for the size of the job. Other times, the contractor didn’t want the local building inspector poking around, keep an eye on the contractor’s workmanship. Or maybe the contractor wanted the job to be “under the radar”, maybe working for “cash”. For whatever reason, a building permit is good insurance for the homeowner as it requires that the local building inspector will oversee the quality and code compliance of the job.

search for : home remodeling, building permit, contractor, do-it-yourself homeowner

There are many factors to consider in selecting an agent in today’s real estate marketplace. One is that many of the agents working now entered the business recently. They’ve never seen a softer home-sale market before. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t use an agent who doesn’t have decades of experience. But, it means you need to find an agent with a definite set of skills. Most sellers in this market want and need an agent that will provide an aggressive and broad-based marketing plan. However, some sellers may not be aware of how important it is to hire an agent who is an adept communicator. Today’s successful agents don’t stop selling when they find a buyer for your home. They manage the transaction carefully and skillfully until the sale closes. (more…)

Home buyers with the very best credit are beginning to have a more difficult time getting mortgages, raising concerns that the real estate market value could fall much further, sending home values spiraling lower and toppling the country’s economy into recession. The drop in home values could cost the typical homeowner as much as $200,000 in lost wealth for some high-end residences. While most of the attention during the housing slump has been directed at subprime mortgages given to those with weak credit histories in high-cost regions have a different problem. Prime borrowers with excellent credit who’ve used subprime-style gimmicks in combination with jumbo loans to overpay for their homes are also effected. (more…)

search for : Home buyers, drop in home values, subprime mortgage

Oil prices have hit a record high as the price of a barrel came within touching distance of $100. This is a level never before seen during a regular trading session on the New York Mercantile Exchange The record prices are starting to torture consumers with questions of when and how the oil rally will impact spending on gasoline at the pump and home heating oil as the winter season approaches. Underpinning the rise was fresh supply fears and concerns over the weakness of the US dollar and a downgrading of expansion expectations in the States. Prices could continue to surge through the milestone barrier if US figures show stockpiles are lower than expected. Many analysts see heating oil supply levels as a problem to keep a close watch on.
“Each winter for the last five years or so, we’ve continued to operate without a safety net in so far as heating oil goes, and this year is not an exception,” said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service. (more…)

search for : Oil prices, home heating oil