Many homeowners believe their policies will cover them for any and all damages, but the reality can be an expensive surprise.

By Angie Mohr of Investopedia

Homeowners insurance is one of the most common types of insurance and one of the least understood. Many homeowners believe that their policies will cover them for practically any damage to the house or contents. The reality is that homeowners policies contain many exclusions and restrictions on coverage that can leave you with a coverage gap.

Here are five areas where homeowners assume they have coverage but may not.

1. Loss-of-use coverage
If you have damage to your home severe enough that you cannot live in it while it is repaired, you may expect that the insurance company will put you up in a hotel while the work is being done. But not all policies include a loss-of-use provision. If you have to pay for a hotel, meals and other services out of pocket, it can add up quickly and put you at financial risk. If loss of use is covered, it will be stated explicitly in your policy, along with any limits of coverage. For example, your policy may state a maximum per diem amount or restrict the length of time the expenses will be paid.

2. Replacement cost
Replacement cost in a homeowners policy refers to valuing the loss at the amount it will cost to replace the item. For example, if your four-year-old computer is lost in a fire, replacement-cost coverage would allow you to purchase a new one with similar features. Most homeowners believe that is what will happen if they have a claim, but most policies do not carry this clause. If not included, losses will be valued at what they were worth in their condition before the calamity. The 4-year-old computer might be valued at $250 — not enough to purchase a new one. Replacement-cost clauses are a valuable inclusion in a homeowners policy.

3. Flood coverage
Almost all homeowners policies exclude flood coverage, along with earthquakes and other natural disasters. Floods can occur from a number of causes, such as a hurricane, burst pipes or sewer backup. A flood is one of the most common causes of home damage and the destruction of contents. Some companies specialize in flood coverage. If you live in a susceptible area, look into having a separate flood policy. Your mortgage company may require this additional coverage.

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4. Termites
Termites live all over North America but are most destructive in Southern climates where their life cycles are not affected by cold weather. Termites eat wood — lots of it — and can eat the supports in your house as easily as fallen leaves in the forest. They live in large colonies and, collectively, can destroy the structure of your home. Repairing termite damage and eradicating them can cost thousands of dollars. Most policies exclude termites and other pest damage. If you live in a susceptible area, the best insurance is to have the house regularly checked and sprayed by a professional.

5. Valuation of loss
When you have a claim, the insurance company will send out an appraiser to determine the extent of the damage and the best way to fix it. The appraiser will assess a value to the loss, which will be the minimum the insurance company can pay in order to meet its contractual obligations. However, you do not have to take that value as final. If you can prove your loss should be valued higher, you can negotiate the settlement with the company. Keeping receipts and pictures of valuable items will help you back up your claim.

To know what is in your homeowners policy, you should read it thoroughly. Look for exclusions to coverage and decide how you will cover those risks. In some cases, your insurance company will have separate add-ons that it can attach to your policy, or you can get specialized insurance from another company. For risks that cannot be insured, analyze how you will financially cover those risks if they should happen.

by Sara Elliott

Don’t let the anticipation of a well-deserved vacation blind you to the risks of leaving your home unprotected. Go ahead and plan your beach, camping or city shopping holiday, but take precautions before you leave. We subscribe to the "better safe than sorry" philosophy, so review your home safety checklist before you head out. A little extra vigilance will help keep your property and belongings safer while you’re gone — and will keep you from obsessing about security once you’re on the road to fun and adventure.

Consider Hiring a House-or Pet-Sitter

The best way to make sure your house is safe while you’re gone is to have someone you trust still living in it. You may be lucky enough to have a tidy and conscientious relative who’ll move in temporarily and water the plants, feed the pets and pick up the newspapers. If not, there are services you can use for house-sitting and pet-sitting while you’re away. This can be a pricy option, but it’s a solution that touches all the bases.

Hold Your Mail

When you’re leaving for more than a couple of days, call your local post office to stop mail delivery until you get back. They can hold mail from three to 30 days. In many locations, you can even submit a stop mail request online. Just enter your address and stop and start dates. This is a free feature courtesy of your friendly United States Postal Service.

Stop Newspaper Delivery

A pile of yellowing newspapers on the doorstep is a movie cliché for a home that’s unoccupied. Stopping the newspaper when you leave town for a while is an easy detail to forget and one that will make you a sure target. If you’re still reading newsprint, make sure you stop service when you leave on vacation.

Keep Eyes on Your Property

Even if you stop newspaper delivery and mail service, there are still some gotchas that can make it obvious that you’re not around. How about those fliers that peddlers leave on your doorknob, or those periodic yellow page book deliveries? Because you can’t plan for every contingency, have someone in the area check your house periodically. Whether it’s a neighbor or relative, nothing beats having a person check the premises every day or two while you’re gone. Hey, while they’re there, they can water the petunias.

Make Your Home Look Lived In

An occupied home looks lived in. Lights go on and off, and cars come and go. When you’re away, everything stops. To help create the illusion that the residence is still occupied, invest in timers that turn on the interior lights for a few hours every evening. If you can get a neighbor to take out your garbage and put the cans back after the garbage pickup, it’s another way to send the message that everything is proceeding normally at your house.

Keep the Landscape Trimmed

If you’re a diligent homeowner who mows his lawn every week, and things start to look overgrown and neglected, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that you’re not around. If you plan on being away for an extended period of time, hire someone to take care of the landscaping chores in your absence.

Lock Up

This seems so obvious, but hey, it’s easy to forget. If you keep a window unlocked to allow the cat easy access, or never bother to turn the deadbolt on the kitchen door, now’s the time to clean up your act. Locking your home makes it less attractive to opportunistic burglars. If you don’t make it easy, there’s a better chance that when you get home, your house will be in the same condition as when you left it.

Don’t Project Your Moves

Show some caution when you talk about your trip. Your blog isn’t the best place to announce that you’ll be away from home for a month. Being aware of who’s around when you discuss your trip in restaurants and even at work isn’t a bad idea either. Make sure that your children are discreet, too. No one is saying that you should be suspicious of everyone you meet, but even a chance remark has the potential to lead to unintended and unfortunate consequences. The less information you put out there, the less likely it is to reach the wrong ears and eyes.

Pull the Plug on Electronics

Disconnecting the power to some of your electronics, like your desktop computer, coffee pot and television can save you money while you’re gone and eliminate the worry that you’ve accidentally left them on by mistake. Turning off your garage door is also an effective way to keep thieves from opening it with a universal remote. Oh, and don’t leave a portable GPS in your car when you use long-term parking at the airport. It’ll alert thieves that you’re not home and give them a convenient map to your house.

Install Added Security Features

Installing a home security system or even just exterior lights that run on timers is a good way to ramp up security around the old homestead and make your house safer whether you’re around or not. One of the nice things about these features is that they’re working when you’re awake, asleep, on vacation or hosting an outdoor barbecue. They fade into the background as far as you’re concerned, but still make your property less attractive to opportunistic thieves.

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson

To rent or to buy: what used to be a given – that you would buy a home as soon as you could afford to – has become an agonizing conundrum for many a would-be homebuyer, in the face of the housing market’s big bust and super-slow recovery. Low prices seem to create a wide-open window of opportunity, but they also create the concern that prices will keep falling after closing. And that Catch-22 has hundreds of thousands of buyers-to-be stuck on the fence.

Fortunately, there are handful of life, mortgage and local market signals which indicate that the time *might* be right to hop – scratch that – leap off the fence and into homeownership:

Mortgage rates are going up. Home prices have been low for the last several years, and in fact are currently looking like they’re heading back down to the same levels they were at the depths of the real estate recession. During this same time frame, interest rates have also been low – this one-two punch has created record-high affordability for the last four years running, causing buyers to believe that this window of opportunity won’t be closing anytime soon.

While prices don’t look like they’ll be skyrocketing anytime soon, interest rates are another story. Rates have been on a rollercoaster over the past few months, and with inflation and Fed rates set to spike later this year, today’s low interest rates might be as good as they’re going to get for a long time to come. And I mean a very long time – in the next few years, governmental intervention in the mortgage markets is likely to wind down, and that means higher mortgage interest rates are not only inevitable, they’ll probably be here for a long, long time.

Mortgage rates on the rise are one signal that now might be the peak of home affordability, and the peak of the opportunity to buy.

Rents are going up. Rental rates in many areas are also on the rise – in fact, the foreclosure crisis has acted created additional demand on many markets’ rental housing inventory in several different ways. First, former homeowners who lost homes to foreclosure now need to rent; as well, buyers in foreclosure hot spots have been hesitant to buy, many electing to stay renters far beyond when they would have otherwise. On top of all that, super-tight lending guidelines have stopped even some who would like to buy homes from doing so. As a result, rental homes are in high demand – and rents are rising.

Rising rents at a time when the prices of homes for sale are low and, in some places, falling? One more signal that now might just be the time to buy. (Of course, where foreclosures are high, the chances of continued depreciation are, too – to offset this risk, have a long-term plan, to minimize the possibility that you’ll owe more than your home is worth when you need to sell. Read on for more on how to plan for the long term and minimize your homebuying risk.)

Your income and career are stable for the foreseeable future. The smartest homebuyers look to their lives, not just the market, for signals about when the time is right to buy. Homebuying is a long, long-term endeavor these days. The goal is to be able to commit to staying in the same place, geographically-speaking, for 7 to 10 years before you buy (more in a foreclosureriddled market, less in an area that has been more recession-resistant). Most lenders will require that you’ve been at your job – or in the same general field of work – for at least two years before you buy. But that’s the bare minimum – beyond that, you don’t want to be barely beginning a career in which you think you may need to move sooner than that, nor do you want to buy when you’re advanced in your career, but in an industry which is dying or downsizing the workforce in your region (unless you have a strong Plan B).

When you get to the spot in your career where you can realistically project a stable income 7 to 10 years out, life might be giving you a green light to move forward on your homebuying dreams.

You can reasonably predict the home you’ll need in the years to come. Since successful homeownership requires that you be ready to be in the place for a good number of years, best practice is not just to buy a home with the space and number of rooms you need right now – rather, you should aim to buy the home you’ll need 5, 7 or even 10 years down the road (to the best of your ability to predict, of course). You might be a newlywed with no kids now, but you plan to have them in a few years. Or maybe you’re a newly minted empty nester right now, but can project that you’ll want to retire - and might not want to climb two flights of stairs to get to and from your bedroom - 10 years down the road. Before you buy, you should be in a position to buy the home that meets your future needs – not just your current ones; and that requires that you have a reasonable idea of your life vision and plan for the future.

If you’re able to predict – and afford, at today’s prices – a home with the space, amenity and geographic location you’ll need 7 to 10 years from now, you might be in a good phase of life to get off the rent vs. buy fence.

With that said. . .buying a home is a massive decision and includes multiple, long-term financial and lifestyle obligations, so if one or more of these signals are present for you, that doesn’t mean you have the green light to run out and buy a home tomorrow – rather, it’s a good sign you should begin down that path, if you’re so inclined. You’ll still need to do the work to make sure your personal finances and holistic life picture are also in alignment before you buy, as well of the work it takes to ensure that your real estate and mortgage decisions are sustainable and smart, over the long-term.

It’s not overkill to check in with a mortgage pro, a tax pro, a local real estate broker or agent and a financial planner to make sure all your ducks – not just one - are in a row before you make your move.

AHS American Home Shield

Besides recycling and water conservation, there are many other ways to live a little greener at home. We’ve put together 10 easy tips to help you get started today.

1) Take reusable bags with you when you shop. Most retailers sell their own reusable bags at checkout, but you can always bring your own. It’s a good idea to keep a few in your car for those spur-of-the-moment shopping trips. Think about how many plastic bags we’ll keep out of our landfills!

2) Buy in bulk. You’ll save on fuel and packaging material. Plus, you’ll spend less money in the long run.

3) Keep heating and air conditioning contained to the spaces you use daily. If you have rooms you only use for guests or storage, close off the vents and doors to help reduce costs and increase efficiency.

4) A programmable thermostat can make a big difference in your energy bill. They’re inexpensive and easy to install. You simply pre-program your ideal temperature settings for when you wake, leave and sleep. You’ll notice a difference in your bill the first month.

5) Does your computer or TV run 24/7? That’s unnecessary energy consumption for items that aren’t in use. Set your computer to sleep mode when you’re finished with the task at hand. If you need the comfort of the TV to fall asleep, you can set the sleep timer to automatically shut off.

6) Shower time. It’s a necessity, but to help conserve water and energy—install a low-flow showerhead. It’s highly efficient and affordable.

7) For less than $150, you can install ceiling fans in your living room and bedroom. You can reduce the thermostat temperature and the room will still feel cool with the fan on.

Painting is a quick and easy way to redecorate. When you start selecting colors, try to find low Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) or no VOC paint. Avoid most latex and oil-based paints to eliminate toxins being released into the air.

9) Anytime you remodel or redecorate, try to find green furniture manufactured from recycled or reclaimed materials. The local thrift stores, antique shops and flea markets have great options, so you can recycle and save money at the same time.

10) At any given time there are at least 10 items in your home that require batteries, so why not switch to rechargeable? You’ll help keep all the remotes and gadgets going while keeping dead batteries out of our landfills.

HGTV.com Rob Howard

Staging sells houses. If you can’t hire a stager, there are several ways you can stay ahead of the curve and catch potential buyers the moment they step in your house. Broker Rob Howard has learned the importance of preparing for showings, and here are his top 10 tips.

1. Nothing Personal But Remove the Photos:
People can be very photogenic, but many clients are distracted by portraits of the sellers, and miss out on key selling points of the home. As an amateur photographer, I love displaying my work, but if I’m selling my house, art will be displayed without people in it. No matter how nice the display, personal photos are just that: too personal.

2. Accentuate the Positive:
My clients usually know what they like best about their home. It’s usually what they saw that made them want to buy, or it’s something that they added to make the home particularly special. Whether it is a staircase, a great view from the kitchen sink, a pergola or a three-car garage, do something to make the buyers linger in that magic space.

3. Smells Like Home:
I’ve heard of many real estate agents bringing in a toaster oven to bake cookies or fresh bread. One colleague joked about keeping an Easy-Bake oven in the trunk of her car. I usually opt for a few plug-in air fresheners. I like using vanilla in the kitchen, fresh scents in the laundry, apple cinnamon in the living room and such. Specific aromas add a theme to the tour, even when it’s not an open house.

4. Ditch the Kitsch and Hide Your Opinions:
My favorite example of unnecessary and unwelcome kitsch is the pink pig sitting on the fridge door asking if you’re eating again. It oinks when your potential buyer opens the refrigerator. This and other comical quips are great fun when you’re living in your home, not when you’re trying to sell it. Especially avoid politically-charged material that expresses strong opinions. You don’t want a potential buyer to dislike you for your beliefs, so remove all questionable material out of sight.

5. Clean Up Your Act:
If you are selling your house, cleaning is a no-brainer. And clutter is a killer. Get a head start on packing, and begin boxing up extras that are taking up space on your mantel, table surfaces, etc. Clutter makes a house look smaller, and if you have a small house, it makes it feel claustrophobic. Not advantageous to a quick or profitable sale.

6. Embrace the Quietude:
When showing a home, music is not necessarily a bad thing. If you don’t know the potential buyer and their taste in music, don’t push yours. If you are going to play music, be sure it doesn’t have vocals. Avoid niche music; not everyone loves hard rock or country and western. If you are set on having music playing in the background for viewings, opt for soft jazz playing at a low level. Unless you have the music-only channels, keep the television turned off. It’s a distraction.

7. Paint the Story:
A coat or two of paint is always a good investment. If you decide to make the effort, consider flat paint in areas for resting and relaxing. You can add some colors, but neutral is always best. Satin paint is great for common areas and places where there is a bit more action taking place. It’s also easier to clean if someone spills some tomato soup on the wall.

8. "Debarkation": Pet-Proof the Pad
If you have pets, especially indoor pets, make sure that during your listing period, you are particularly fastidious in cleaning up after them. Ask a very good friend (or your real estate agent), who will tell you the truth, to come by and give it the sniff test. Also, if you have pets and are trying to sell your home, the purchase of a few air purifiers may also be a great investment. Consider buyers with pet allergies.

9. Show Off the Goods:
Consider placing laser-printed cards on items that remain with the home. Such things could include high-end appliances, dumbwaiters, laundry chutes, built-in sound systems and other goodies. These inexpensive cards are an under-utilized way to bring attention to such selling features. Don’t overdo it though; no more than 5-10 cards in an average-sized home. Be sure to lock up or take jewelry and other valuables with you.

10. Go Away:
No buyers want to discuss your home while you are standing there. On average, my clients spend about 20-30 minutes in a home that has some promise; very few stay more than 5 minutes in a house with the seller in earshot. If nothing else, go outside on the porch or in the yard, and let the home speak for itself.

By Dana Dratch of Bankrate.com

Searching for value

Today’s homebuyers want it all.

Items on their shopping list include a home in great condition with rooms that can do double duty. Areas that mingle indoor and outdoor living — patios, porches, decks and outdoor rooms — are always a plus. So are features that offer a little luxury, such as garden tubs, first-rate appliances and high-dollar countertops.

They’re also going back to basics and searching for solid, well-maintained properties that will give them their money’s worth.

"I think this year, they’re buying properties that are in good mechanical condition that have inherent value," says Ron Phipps, president of the National Association of Realtors.

But more than anything, buyers want to drive a hard bargain.

They want "great deals," says Patricia Szot, president of the MetroTex Association of Realtors in Grapevine, Texas. "And no matter where a seller prices their property, they’re looking to negotiate."

Here are nine items popular with buyers this year.

1. Homes in good condition

Buyers demand homes that are well-maintained, Phipps says.

"There’s not a lot of flexibility in that," he says.

The attitude is: "I’d rather spend the money getting into the house" and not have to spend more money later, he says. Buyers don’t want an unknown expense hanging over their heads.

Pat Vredevoogd Combs, past president of the NAR and vice president of Coldwell Banker AJS Schmidt in Grand Rapids, Mich., says she agrees.

"I’m not working with too many people who want a fixer-upper," she says.

One big reason: "Buyers have limited amounts of cash" in most transactions, Phipps says. "Even if they want to do a fixer-upper, they don’t have the money to do it."

"Buyers have enough money to buy," he says. "They don’t have enough money to buy and improve. And the lenders make it really difficult."

2. Rock-bottom bargains

"(Buyers) are more focused on negotiating, drawing limits in their mind and focusing on the strategy," says Justin Knoll, president of the Denver Board of Realtors.

Some of it is a point of pride, he says: "They want to tell their friends and family that they really got a smokin’ deal."

They also want value, says Alice Walker, president of the Greater Nashville (Tenn.) Association of Realtors.

"They are very picky. They’re just a lot more critical," she says. "They are not going to settle because they know they don’t have to."

Her advice to sellers: Repair, update, clean and stage.

"You have to remove every obstacle possible for the buyers," Walker says.

The more-for-less approach even holds when buyers consider bank-owned properties, says Joan Pratt, a real-estate broker at Re/Max Professionals in Castle Pines, Colo.

"They want the short sales and the foreclosures, and they want them to look like they’re owner-occupied," she says. "They don’t want to paint. They don’t want to put carpet in. They don’t want to clean."

And they’re surprised when they don’t find homes in this condition, Pratt says.

3. Outdoor living areas

"The thing that we’ve seen over the past couple of years is more outdoor living areas," says Laurie Knudsen, president of the Charlotte (N.C.) Regional Realtor Association.

Some popular features include screened porches, outdoor kitchens and two-way fireplaces.

"It’s a selling point if a house already has it," Knudsen says. "It’s going to make it more competitive on the market."

4. Incentives

Call it "Rock-bottom deals, part two."

Along with pricing, "it’s all about incentives," says Mabél Guzmán, president of the Chicago Association of Realtors.

To pique buyer interest, sellers offer everything from gift cards for new furniture and paint to financial assistance at closing.

Szot says she agrees and laments that this has made the road more difficult for sellers.

"Not only are (buyers) asking them to lower the price, but they are asking for a lot more," Szot says. "So negotiations are a lot more difficult now."

5. Practical ‘green’ features

Call it "Yankee frugality," Phipps says. What he sees on buyers’ shopping lists is a home that is easy on the planet because it’s easy on the wallet, he says.

Buyers are looking for features such as triple-glazed windows, high-efficiency boilers and energy-efficient appliances.

"The buyer of today wants to make sure that the ongoing operating costs of the house are as controlled and economical as possible," Phipps says.

Another popular item: green features that aren’t tech-related. Buyers are looking at how sun exposure relates to energy efficiency, he says. That will vary by area, he says.

"In some areas, you want larger overhangs to minimize the sun," Phipps says. "In my area (New England), lots of windows on the southern side to maximize the sun would be smart."

6. Open kitchens

"The wall between the kitchen and the family room is evaporating," Phipps says.

"The kitchen is becoming part of the gathering space. And it’s ironic — it’s the way it was 300 years ago. We’ve come full circle."

7. Repurposed materials

Buyers like a material that looks or feels natural, even if it’s not genuine, Phipps says.

"Granite (for counters) is still popular, but it doesn’t have to be granite," he says. "It can be stone, another natural material or something that looks like stone.

"We’re seeing lots of different materials and lots of reusable materials, which is interesting. Also, (we’re seeing) a lot of unusual uses of hardwood, like pine flooring reused for counters," and glazed terra-cotta slabs used for countertops.

8. Smaller, less formal homes

Buyers are buying smaller homes, but they want to be able to use every inch of space, Phipps says.

"They are being much more strategic and efficient with how they use it," he says.

Formal spaces that might be used only three or four times a year are disappearing.

"The slipcover rooms are gone," says Phipps.

That has "led to a repurposing of space," he says. Formal living rooms have been added to great rooms or converted into home offices or entertainment rooms.

"Three to five years ago, if (buyers) could get a loan that would get them into a McMansion with stone and tile and brick and more rooms than they needed, they would do it," says Jeff Wiren, president of the Portland (Ore.) Metropolitan Association of Realtors. "Now, they’re saying, ‘I don’t know if I want to heat that place and clean it.’ They’re being much more realistic."

9. Touches of luxury

Buyers like luxury. Sometimes, the amenities that convey the feeling of living large are relatively simple and inexpensive.

One example is coffee bars in the master bedroom.

"It’s like a butler’s pantry in your bedroom — an area for your coffee pot and accoutrements and a little fridge," Pratt says.

The feature has been popular, especially in high-end homes, for about five years, she says.

Another luxury touch: high-dollar finishes in less-expensive homes, Knoll says. Granite counters and stainless-steel appliances, marble tiles in the bathrooms, and vessel or undermounted sinks continue to impress, he says.

Buyers also like "a living space where you can have bar stools and do some entertaining," he says.

"There is a sex appeal about housing," Knoll says, "and (buyers) do get excited about those kinds of things."

April 1, 2011

By Dona DeZube for HouseLogic

WASHINGTON (March 31, 2011)—The battle over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two mortgage market giants that currently guarantee 70% of the securities backed by U.S. home loans, heated up on Capitol Hill yesterday.

Arizona Sen. John McCain and Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch introduced legislation that would force Fannie and Freddie to either become private companies or dissolve within five years. The two also would have to raise the fees they charge banks, which could raise the cost of mortgages for home buyers and refinancing home owners.

The two senators’ proposal would also lower to $417,000 the maximum loan size Fannie and Freddie could purchase. That’s a substantial drop from the current maximum of $729,750, used in metro areas where average home prices are high, such as New York City and San Francisco.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy mortgage loans from banks and other lenders and then package the loans into securities sold to investors. Without Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and other securities-market companies, banks would have to come up with cash to fund the loans they make and then await repayment over the life of the loan.

Meanwhile, Edward J. DeMarco, acting director of the agency that oversees Fannie and Freddie, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, told Congressional leaders yesterday that keeping Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac operating will protect the taxpayers from losses, ensure a stable mortgage market, and give Congress the flexibility to take its time deciding how the U.S. mortgage finance market should operate.
“Even though we do not know the future of the companies, it makes no sense to diminish, denigrate, or erode their tangible or intangible assets,” he told members of the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises said. “Because government supported mortgage activity constitutes nearly the entire mortgage market today, we will need to balance contraction of [Fannie and Freddie] with what we trust will be a growing capacity of private firms to step in.”

Testifying at the same hearing, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® President Ron Phipps voiced concerned that pushing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac out of the market without a comprehensive plan for reforming the mortgage securities market would leave home owners without access to mortgage financing.

Phipps said the pendulum on mortgage credit has already swung too far in the wrong direction and is hurting consumers and the economy. Quick decisions aimed at punishing certain market players will only punish the taxpayers by limiting their ability to get mortgages, he said.

Fix fences, tighten your home’s energy efficiency, repair a screen door and make 8 cheap, fun improvements to give your home’s entrance some spring sparkle.

By Marilyn Lewis of MSN Real Estate

Finally, it’s spring. To celebrate, do a few improvements indoors – tweaking your home’s energy efficiency and getting doors to operate smoothly – and then get outdoors to do some work that shows off your home’s exterior. Install a new screen door or repair an old one. Maintain fireplaces and gas appliances while avoiding the scammers who pop out of the woodwork like bugs this season. Repair fences. Remove stubborn stains from concrete garage floors, patios and sidewalks. And try one or all of our eight cheap and fun ways to give your home’s entrance some exciting spring sparkle.

Inside
Install a programmable thermostat
Energy is wasted when you push up the temperature when the room feels cold or turn down the heat manually when it’s too warm. You can save about $180 a year with one of these devices.

A programmable thermostat lets you set the temperature in your home, then leave it. The most useful products give you options for establishing different temperatures for day and night (62 at night, for example, and 65 during the day), weekdays and weekends (keep the house cooler while you’re away at work and warmer when you’re home) and also let you turn the heat way down during vacations without changing your daily settings. (Learn more and find out how to get a federal tax credit and possible rebates in this Energy Star article on programmable thermostats)

Cut energy expenses further
While you are in the mood to reduce energy consumption, call your electric utility and/or your heating-fuel company to ask about financial incentives for installing energy-efficient appliances or improvements. Some utilities subsidize the cost of improvements: adding insulation or weather stripping, or installing that programmable thermostat, for example. Others give rebates for purchasing Energy Star appliances such as water heaters, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, heat pumps and fans. Also, remember to take the federal tax credit for such purchases. See the entire list at the Energy Star site. Senior citizens may qualify for additional subsidies.

Look for additional savings: Many states offer additional incentives. Find programs in your state on this map, at the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency.

Straighten out problem doors
Walk around the house with a can of silicone lubricant and a rag, trying each door. If a door is sticky, open it partway and pull the hinge pin out. The pin is found in the center of the hinge, in the joint between the plate on the wall and the one on the door. Lightly oil the pin and the hole into which it will fit, using the rag to stop drips. Drop the pin back in place. (Find inspiration and tips at "Door repair 101: How to fix a squeaky door hinge, gaps and more.") If a pin is stuck in a hinge, use a hammer and small screwdriver to knock it all the way out. Sand off accumulated oil, dust and rust from pin and lightly lubricate it before re-installing. You may have to do this with both pins.

Outside
Repair or replace screen doors
Get ready for bug season by hanging screen doors. You can repair torn screens yourself:

• Measure the screen opening. You’ll need overage, so add at least an inch to each side. Bring the measurements to a hardware store and purchase a new length of screen.
• The screen is held in place by a flexible cord fitted into a channel that runs around the screen frame. Lift out the cord. If it is old and brittle, measure it and buy new cord at the hardware store.
• Place the new screen over the opening, fit it snugly in place by settling the cord in its channel around the entire opening (poke it in place with a screwdriver). Trim the excess screen with scissors or a box cutter.

If the door sags, see if you can tighten it by replacing missing or corroded hinge screws.  If that doesn’t work, or if the door is bent or battered, purchase and install a new aluminum screen door.

Install a chimney cap
You could send out an invitation to birds and squirrels to come nest in the warmth of your chimney, or you could install a cap to protect the stack from dripping rain and uninvited critters.  A cap, sometimes called a “crown,” shelters the opening while it lets smoke escape. A cap prevents wind from entering your home and helps create a good draft that feeds your fireplace or stove with oxygen. Metal chimneys usually come with caps, but if yours doesn’t have one, ask the manufacture for advice.  Caps are not appropriate for all chimneys. Ask your chimney sweep to inspect the chimney each year for damage and to advise you on whether to install a cap.

Beware chimney-sweep scams
Yes, you should have your chimney swept by a professional to remove flammable creosote that builds up inside the flue from wood smoke. (If you don’t use the stove or fireplace much, you can wait two to three years between cleanings.) But not every chimney sweep is right out of “Mary Poppins.” Door-to-door scammers prey on homeowners, dangling deliciously low prices, then pressuring owners into “repairing” expensive but fictitious problems. Protect yourself by using a chimney sweep with an established business in your town. Check a company’s track record through the Better Business Bureau and locate certified sweeps at the National Chimney Sweep Guild or the Chimney Safety Institute of America.

Have gas-burning furnaces and appliances inspected
Every year a licensed gas technician should clean out dust and debris and examine the appliance for safety, efficiency and repairs. Find a repair pro through your gas company or utility or search the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association’s site.

Spiff up the front entry
Few things say "spring" like freshening up the front entrance of your home. Try any or all of these improvements:

1. Remove the doormat and sweep and dust the entry and all the way around the door. Clean the threshold with soapy water and a rag and gently wipe down the door.
2. Take a hard look at the flower pots, furniture, plant hangers, toys, boots, shovels, brooms and tools cluttering the entrance; remove and store or throw away all but the most essential items. Wipe down porch and patio furniture.
3. Stand back from the entry and decide what simple steps will most improve its appearance. A fresh coat of paint for the front door? Installing new house numbers? Adding two tall pots to flank the entrance (in colors that match or contrast nicely with the door)? Also consider painting the porch ceiling – a traditional color is blue, for the sky — or floor.
4. Replace the doormat with a new one. Use mats inside and outside each door; they’re not just decorative. They protect your floors from damaging grit.
5. Replace rusted or ugly exterior light fixtures. Get inspiration from this slide show: "Fix up your front entry in one weekend."
6. As soon as the weather permits and the wood has dried, repaint front steps with deck paint or other surfacing made for heavy traffic. Ask paint store professionals for recommendations. Take care to choose a color for the steps that works well with the house color and front door.
7. Wipe down railings; sand, prime and repaint flaked, chipped or bubbled paint.
8. Add another note of color by planting spring annuals in pots at the door, at the top of the steps or marching down the steps.

Check the fence line, cowboy
Take a tour of your back forty to see how the fence is holding up. Wiggle supporting posts to make sure they’re solidly in the ground. Use a mallet to drive them in deeper if necessary. Look for holes made by animals burrowing under the fence. You can fill these holes with big stones or install a wire mesh barrier as deep as necessary, then fill the hole with dirt. Repair or replace broken fence posts, and sand down potentially dangerous splinters. Check wood fences for rot (soft, spongy or crumbling wood) and insect damage, holes, sawdust and weakness in boards. Repaint or restain every couple of years or when you find chips and flakes in the paint. Use a durable product intended for use on fences. Ask paint store experts for recommendations.

Rake up
Take a leaf rake and a big tarp with you as you circle the house, gathering leaves, wind-blown debris and tree branches onto the tarp. When the tarp has a pile of leaves a couple of feet high, gather the corners and empty the contents into a yard-waste bin or a compost pile. With a broom, sweep off paths, sidewalks, steps and flagstones with an eye to removing obstacles on which people could trip.

Clean stains from concrete
For patios and sidewalks stained by fallen leaves and dirt, rent a pressure washer and clean the concrete. Auto oil stains on the garage floor or driveway are tougher to remove and call for some imagination. Fresh oil is easiest to get up. Tackle it as quickly as possible, soaking up the liquid with paper towels and sprinkling cat litter on the stain, crushing the litter in with your shoe, then sweeping it up. (Call your garbage company or city waste department to ask where to take oil-soaked rags, paper and litter. Don’t put them in the garbage can.)

Next, scrub the stain with soap, warm water and a nylon (not wire) scrub brush. This may do the trick, although you might need to scrub, rinse, check your progress and scrub again several times.

For really stubborn stains, get creative. You’ve heard that there are a million crazy ways to use Coca-Cola (see "20 Crazy Uses for Coke," for example, at Gomestic). James and Morris Carey, at OnTheHouse.com, have one more cola trick: They soak stained concrete with cola, brushing it in with a stiff broom while the pop fizzes, keeping the concrete wet. Flood the stain with clean water once the fizzing stops, then bleach the area with this mixture: one cup of liquid chlorine bleach, one cup of powdered laundry soap and a gallon of really hot water. Rinse.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, in real estate, that picture’s worth translates to dollars and then, if it’s an excellent picture, you can add a few more zeros to that number. That’s why getting the right photos of your home are critical.

Before having your home photographed or, in some cases, videotaped, you’ll want to make sure that it’s in the best possible shape. But what exactly does that mean?

Getting your home ready for a photo shoot is not quite the same as getting it ready to have dinner guests. Yes, there’s the same cleaning rituals such as dusting, and picking up items lying around the house. But making a home picture perfect is about creating an atmosphere that’s welcoming, interesting, and even beckoning viewers and then capturing that with your lens.

How is that done? Professional home photographers use the right equipment to get the job done. Wide angle lens to make the home look larger and show off adjacent rooms in a single photo are one good method. Early morning and late afternoon photo shoots make use of the best lighting times in the day.

Whether you’re going to photograph your home or have a professional do it, adding some props and taking away the clutter will be top priorities.

Let’s start with empty rooms. Showing an empty house isn’t ideal for in-person visits or pictures. Why? You can’t get a feel for how to use the space and when you see an empty room in a picture and it’s hard to grasp its size. The Wall Street Journal suggests bringing in props such as furniture (even just a chair and small table) that will help give the viewer a sense of scale.

If at all possible, rent, borrow, or beg your friends for furniture to have at least a few objects in the room. You don’t need as many pieces of furniture as you would have if you’re living in the home, just some nice tables, lamps, and chairs to create a homey mood.

If you have to photograph the room empty, use a wide-angle lens and capture a bit of an adjoining room like a bathroom–this adds depth and interest. And always use a tripod.

Kitchen comfort. Here’s where you get to have some fun. Think of yourself as a set designer. Your job is to look closely at your kitchen and tuck away all the unnecessary objects. If you leave out an appliance (maybe a good-looking stainless steel one) hide the cord. The appliance isn’t there for use - it’s just a prop.

Now, add some other props–a basket of colorful fruit in a clear glass bowl (nothing too distracting). A plate of cheese and bread with a wine bottle nearby helps set a scene to make the viewer feel welcome.

Clouds are our friends. When you’re shooting outside, a bright sunny day isn’t always the photographer’s friend. If there are big trees and the sun is creating dark shadows, that can make parts of your photo look dreary. Clouds can greatly add mood to the photo without distracting from the exterior shot of a home. On an overcast day, the shadows aren’t as strong and the flowers can actually show up better.

But before you snap that exterior photo, put away those unsightly garbage cans, the seasonal decorations, and those "no soliciting" signs. Remember, you’re making your home not only picture-perfect but model-home perfect too… and that could just be priceless.
Written by Phoebe Chongchua

By: Les Shu

Published: February 17, 2011

Downloadable iPhone and Android apps offer ways to maintain, improve, and save money on your home.

Smartphones like Apple’s iPhone and those based on Google’s Android do more than make calls, thanks to hundreds of thousands of downloadable mini-software items called apps. There are many home improvement apps designed to help you save money or take care of projects. Here are some of the best:

Match that paint color

If you see a color at a friend’s house that would look great in your home, use Benjamin Moore’s Ben Color Capture or Sherwin-Williams’ ColorSnap, free mobile apps for iPhone, to conjure up a matching paint color and code in a jiffy. Take a photo with your phone, and the app matches the paint as closely as possible, and will display secondary and complementary colors. (ColorSnap is also available for BlackBerry.)

Get rid of stains

Good Housekeeping magazine has placed all their best stain-removal and cleaning advice into their free @Home app. It also includes decorating ideas and a searchable list of the 5,000-plus products that have earned a Good Housekeeping seal.

Look for recycled stuff

If you’re searching for a cheap replacement part, or looking for a deal on slightly-used appliances and materials, eBay’s free Mobile app lets you search the auction site’s entire marketplace from iPhone, Android, Windows Phone 7, and BlackBerry devices. You can also put any of your disused-but-functional household items up for sale and recoup some cash.
For listings close to home, search the popular Craigslist site through the free Craigsnotifica for Android or Craigspro for iPhone.

Price comparison

Finding lower prices on electronics and appliances used to mean driving from store to store or scanning Sunday circulars. With the free Price Check by Amazon, you can scan a product’s barcode at a store and compare the price against Amazon and other merchants. (Android and BlackBerry versions are also available.) PriceGrabber has a similar app for iPhone and Android.

Carpenter’s tools in one

For $1.99, the iHandy Carpenter app puts a ruler, protractor, bubble level, surface level, and plumb bob into your iPhone, allowing you to make measurements without lugging out the tool box. It’s perfect for simple jobs like hanging frames and mirrors.
Need just a level? There’s a free app for iPhone from iHandy and for Android from Johnson.

Calculate materials you’ll need

Before you approach a home improvement project, use the $1.99 Handy Man DIY to record dimensions of flooring, windows, walls, and more. It calculates how much material you’ll need and gives you a cost estimate.

Order supplies

If you’re in the middle of a home improvement job and need supplies, use the $4.99 Work Shop app to order them from your iPhone. It’s also a great tool for keep track of expenses or plan your budget for a future project.

Light the way

With the iPhone’s bright display and the super-bright LED flash, you can use it in place of a traditional flashlight to illuminate crawl spaces, attics, cabinet recesses, and other dark spots. There are many apps for this purpose, but two favorites are the 99-cent Flashlight (and 99-cent Flashlight+.

Know what and when to plant

Wonder why certain vegetation isn’t growing in your yard? Landscaper’s Companion provides a reference guide to more than 2,000 plants. You can search for a plant based on your garden’s sun exposure and garden zone, helping to ensure you won’t get any dead leaves after planting. The app costs $9.99.

Find a stud

Using your iPhone’s magnetometer, StudFinderPRO can help you locate studs by locating the magnetic fields emitted by metal objects like screws and nails. The app costs $2.99. A free Magnetic Stud Finder is available for Android devices.

Hire a virtual designer

Need decorating ideas for inspiration? Check out Home Interior Layout Designer—Mark On Call for $2.99. Created by an interior designer, the app can help you plan a space and determine if furnishings will fit. Also consider the $4.99 Living Room app for iPad and the 99-cent Dream Home app for iPhone.