Want to start saving more money? Try DIY home improvement jobs!

How many times have you glanced around your home and thought, “That room really needs painting,” or “I should really get around to redoing the bathroom”.

If you’re like the rest of us, you will no doubt have had a few instances when this has happened. But the thing you need to ask yourself is whether or not you can do the necessary job yourself, or whether you need to call someone else in to do it for you.

5 DIY Home Improvement Jobs You Can Do To Save Money

To keep more of your money in an account that earns top savings bank rates, you can certainly attempt to tackle your own projects yourself, rather than hire someone to do the work for you. The following five jobs could be considered as pretty doable DIY home improvement jobs. Always make sure you are happy to do the job before you take it on though –- some people hate DIY (or do-it-yourself) of any kind, and in this case, they would rather spend the money on someone who does it for a living.

1. Painting – both interior and exterior. If you aren’t happy about going up a tall ladder, then get an expert in to do the upper levels of your home. You could still save money by doing the lower levels yourself, if you wish.

2. Laying a new lawn – provided you have access to a good step by step guide (which you can find on the internet), you can do this yourself quite easily. The biggest thing to remember is to prepare the surface you want to turf before you actually start working on it.

3. Tiling – this may not be ideal if you have lots of areas that require some time-consuming work where you have to cut tiles into various small pieces. But if you only have a simple area to cover with whole tiles (like a splash back for example), then you’ll be fine. Just make sure you have the right tools to do it with.

4. Landscaping your garden – just as long as you don’t need any brick walls built or complicated water features installed, you could do much of the landscaping work yourself. And even if you are looking to set up a proper wall or something similar that you know you can’t tackle, you can always get an expert to do just this bit for you. You can do the rest of the work yourself, step by step, which will help you save loads of money.

5. Installing raised flower beds – Here is another great job for the garden, that anyone can do –- and it doesn’t even matter if you aren’t that good with screws or nails, since you won’t see them by the time you’re finished. All you have to do is to get lengths of chunky wood to form the beds, and some brackets to attach them together. You can then stain the wood to give the frame some outdoor protection, and hey presto you’ve got a lovely raised bed you made yourself.

Believe me, there are some great ways to save money when it comes to tackling certain jobs around the home. Take note though, that it might require a bit of patience to get to the end result because you are bound to be slower than some of those who do these jobs for a living.

But as you can see there are some tasks which are relatively simple and don’t require much knowledge to tackle successfully. Provided you don’t try and rush it, you can get a great sense of achievement by doing stuff yourself.

This is a post from The Smarter Wallet.

5 DIY Home Improvement Jobs You Can Do To Save Money

If you’ve got an upside down mortgage or if you’re behind on your mortgage payments, perhaps it’s time to consider a mortgage loan modification!

Since last November, we’ve been on a quest to modify our mortgage loan. Health problems, rising costs and lowered income were factors we realized might impede our ability to meet our monthly mortgage payments. When our mortgage payments were increased in February, we missed our first payment in eight years. We are now many days in default. Following is what we’ve learned so far about the loan modification process.

Behind On Your Mortgage Payments? Get A Mortgage Loan Modification

This is our personal story on how we are going about pursuing a mortgage loan modification.

HUD Hope For Homeowners Is For Educational Purposes

In the beginning, we relied on HUD Hope for Homeowners to make progress on our behalf. We soon learned that this housing assistance program gives you options but does not pursue them for you. By giving you basic information about the process, HUD attempts to give you a greater understanding of loan options for you to negotiate with your lender directly.

Banks Want All Their Money

Despite the fact that the government has jumped in with a mortgage bailout and rescue plan, many homeowners are still finding themselves in trouble. With times the way they are, even banks and insurance companies that participated in a bail out still want all their money; they’re not going to cut you too much slack. In my case, my conversations and files with these companies were “lost” several times, impeding and halting the loan modification process. When I attempted to follow up, I was hit hard for payments rather than given negotiable options.

Visit A Physical Location

After several months of meaningless banter and lost paperwork, we decided to visit a physical location personally. Our mortgage lender has a branch bank in our neighborhood. We sat down and discussed our situation with the branch manager on two occasions. On our second visit, she realized we were serious about meeting our obligations and saving our home. The bank manager facilitated our first meaningful negotiations with the homeowner retention division of the bank. She also faxed paperwork on our behalf to ensure that the documents were received.

Assemble Your Paperwork

If you need a mortgage loan modification, make sure you have crucial paperwork at your fingertips including:

• Two months of bank statements if you are self-employed or receive direct deposits;
• Two months of records, if you receive pay stubs;
• Tax returns with W-2s for the past two years;
• A letter or affidavit of hardship explaining why you cannot currently meet your monthly mortgage payments, i.e., health issues, unemployment, increased expenses, etc.; and
• A summary of your current financial obligations including monthly utilities, insurance and outstanding loans and credit cards.

Follow Up Constantly

Each time I send paperwork or receive a warning from the mortgage lender, I call to speak to a representative about it. Following up is crucial to making progress. Every month, the number of foreclosures increases, which means you are just another account number in a stack of papers. Making calls keeps your file moving. Recently, I was told by the bank that I did not qualify for a loan modification but a negotiator was finally assigned to my file. The negotiator will attempt to work out a viable arrangement based on one of several programs. I was told to wait for the negotiator to call me in the next few weeks.

Keep On Moving, Don’t Stop

As I waited for the negotiator to call back, I continued to worry that my loan might fall into default given the wait. Foreclosure proceedings could be initiated after 90 days, after all. Though I was reassured that all procedures were stayed while my file was being evaluated, I haven’t had much luck with the lender in the past. I decided to call the State Banking Department to explore my options and here’s where I found out about several free debt counseling services that helped people face mortgage modifications. These free services including the state Fair Housing Authority, Catholic Charities and the United Way. Be prepared, however, to leave messages with these agencies as they are all overburdened with telephone calls about foreclosures.

Don’t Get Discouraged

I felt a bit anxious and discouraged after I found out that my home loan modification was declined and there was nobody I could talk to. But eventually, I received a call back from all three agencies. And here’s the good news: because my husband is a disabled veteran and we feel we were victims of a predatory lender, the Fair Housing Authority will represent us in negotiations. There is no fee for their services and we’ve scheduled a meeting with them. Hopefully, something positive will result from these meetings. I’ll be sure to update you about the progress we’ve made!

This is a post from The Smarter Wallet.

Get A Mortgage Loan Modification If Behind On Mortgage Payments

I have a dear friend who is “big” on real estate. He owns several houses here in the San Francisco Bay Area and has been a long term landlord. In fact, he is currently eyeing some new homes for sale in top neighborhoods which are now selling for a song. Being that he’s a real estate investor, he closely monitors the housing market reports and is kind enough to share some of those reports with me.

He’s brought to my attention some reports that indicate that the housing market will most likely get worse over the next few months, due to more foreclosures. According to some economists, we can expect a further decline in home prices by the third quarter of 2010.

If you take a look at the S & P / Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, which is the index that tracks the U.S. residential housing market by measuring real estate pricing changes for 20 metropolitan areas in the nation, then you’ll see that prices peaked in 2006 and carved out a bottom in early 2009. But there is some speculation that by the latter half of 2010, we’ll see prices sliding again based on expectations that people with negative equity won’t be able to hold on to their homes much longer.

At this time, troubled homeowners are hoping that loan modifications will help them resolve their housing issues. But when these loan modification applications are fully analyzed, mortgage lenders will likely determine that many of the applicants won’t be able to qualify for these restructurings. Plus, there are indications that the job market may continue to stay bleak. If all these events hold true, then we may have to brace ourselves for more bad news on the housing front.

Here’s hoping that things DO start to look up! May 2010 prove these predictions wrong.

For related discussions on this topic, please check my articles:

• The Upside Down Mortgage: Would You Walk Away?
• Can A Housing Assistance Program Prevent Foreclosure?
• Our Mortgage Bailout and Rescue
• 4 Ways To Survive The Credit and Mortgage Crisis

Personal Finance Articles

For additional articles in the world of personal finance, you can check out this list:

• WiseBread: 7 Free and Low Cost Ways To Protect Your Credit
• Out of Debt Again: Don’t Always Listen to Conventional Advice
• Ask Mr. Credit Card: Airline Credit Cards Survey and Study for 2009
• Lazy Man and Money: “Debt Crisis in America” & JCR Advertising are Evil
• One Mint: S & P 500 ETF List
• Credit Shout: Save Money on Holiday Shopping with Your Credit Card
• A Gaishan Life: Carnival of Personal Finance

This is a post from The Smarter Wallet.

Housing Prices Still Down: Predicting Home Price Trends

The real estate bust has been pretty bad news for many of us homeowners, but it’s proven to be a fortuitous turn of events for wannabe homeowners. Not only are they eligible for the first time home buyer credit, they are also privy to great home bargains dotting the nation these days.

The following is a look at some cheap homes around urban Detroit, brought to us by CNN Money. I couldn’t believe how affordable some of these places are. This city looks like one place you can consider if you’re looking for true homeowner affordability.

Cheap Homes In Urban Detroit, For Sale At Fire Sale Prices

1. Corktown Community

For $130,000, you can own a colonial with 7 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms with a living space of 2,200 square feet. If you apply a 20% down payment, you’ll pay only $560 a month, which includes a property tax of $50 a month. Wow. That’s half what you’d pay for in rent in San Francisco, for a 1 bedroom apartment! Corktown is a residential neighborhood located a mile away from downtown Detroit and is considered one of the oldest areas in that city.

2. Boston-Edison

When we think of mansions, we think of fancy and swank homes selling for many millions of dollars. But these days, you’ll find homes on palatial grounds going for $375,000 right in Detroit. There’s this example of a 5 bedroom, 3 full and 3 half bath Tudor mansion sized up at 5,700 square feet with the following awesome amenities: a new granite kitchen, game room with wet bar, fireplaces, central A/C, two car garage, steam shower in the master bath, media room with invisible projection screen. The house is massive with marble arches and columns, French doors, crown moldings and a patio, and it’s all for just $375,000? Where’s the catch (don’t say it’s location!)?

3. Palmer Woods

Almost the same size, but much cheaper, is a 7 bedroom, 4 full and 3 half bath Tudor mansion that’s all of 5,300 square feet, which went into foreclosure for $189,900. You’ll get wood wainscoting, arched ceilings, doorways, fireplaces, built-ins, a library, rec room, deck, patio, workshop, two car garage and did I say more rooms?

4. Woodbridge

For under $100,000 ($99,900 to be exact), you can get an 8 bedroom, 2 bath home for 4,894 square feet Victorian home a few miles from downtown Detroit. It’s a bit of a fixer upper but it has a great foundation. But think about it — if a buyer puts down 20% for home financing, they’ll pay under $450 a month for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage, plus only $1,320 a year in property taxes. What a deal!

5. Hubbard Farms

Relatively “pricier” is a 3 bedroom, 2 full and 1 half bath at 2,500 square feet for $179,900. It has great landscaping, hardwood floors, stained glass, crown moldings, fireplaces; and the grounds are well-maintained. Considered a quiet place to live, Hubbard Farms is only a few miles from downtown Detroit with a lot of stores and restaurants close by.

6. Fitzgerald

So did I read this right? $14,900 for a 5 bedroom, 2 full and 1 half bath home for 1,549 square feet? It’s a Tudor cottage but it’s being sold “as is” as a place that requires some work (it sports some damage). It’s also smack in the middle of Detroit. So fixer uppers in the heart of Detroit cost less than most cars today!

7. University District

From what I read, it’s a beautiful area where they have this 5 bedroom, 3 full and 2 half bath limestone Tudor home for 3,953 square feet. The house is going for $295,000 and is located in north-central Detroit (close to University of Detroit – Mercy, which is what the neighborhood is named after). What more, this house is only a block away from a 220 acre private golf and country club.

So would you be willing to move to a new state or new city to partake of these rock-bottom real estate prices? Now THAT is the question. Anyone from Detroit who can tell us what the real estate mood is like over there?

This is a post from The Smarter Wallet.

Bargain Homes In Detroit: Mansions For A Song

Got An Upside Down Mortgage?

It’s hard to believe that it was a mere couple of years ago when homes were selling like hotcakes with multiple bids. Back then, I was wondering when we’d be facing the end of the real estate bubble. Well, many of us are now living the American Nightmare: thanks to the real estate bust and subprime mortgage mess, we face foreclosures and worry about our unemployment checks running out, while we try to manage job loss and avoid debt collectors.

These days, we’re now talking about how people are facing the prospects of walking away from their upside down mortgage, or a mortgage that keeps them financially underwater. Here’s what’s amazing: reports are stating that 20% of homeowners (or 1 in 5 families) now owe more than what their properties are worth.

What’s frustrating to me is that this was something many of us could have probably seen coming. Many of us probably anticipated that the market would eventually receive its comeuppance sometime in the future, given how crazy prices were back then, except that we didn’t do anything about it. At least I didn’t. I still remember a moment when I was tempted to call out the peak of the real estate (and stock) market (I was actually spot on, in hindsight), but still remained fully invested in the stock market. Oh well… we can only wish we can turn back time and do things over.

Now believe it or not, when a basic cost-benefit analysis is done, it makes more sense for people to actually walk away from their devalued homes. But for those who are now wallowing in negative amortization and upside down mortgages — the surprising fact is that they’re actually sticking it out. There are people have chosen to address their debt and loan problems by working to consolidate debt or by signing up for loan modification services instead of walking away from their obligations. As behavioral economics would have it, most people don’t make the rational decision of moving on and cutting their losses. Now why is that?

Why You Probably Won’t Foreclose and Walk Away From Your Mortgage

Why is it that most people will prefer to stay put and will refuse to walk away even if it’s in their best financial interest to do so?

1. There’s this thing called the “endowment effect”, where homeowners have the tendency to value their homes above their market price. Because people don’t want to admit they’ve actually lost money, they’d rather stick things out and avoid selling at a loss.

2. Homeowners place more importance on immediate outcomes than they do long-term effects. Now what does this mean? There’s a visible cost to walking away that people anticipate right away, while they don’t see very much material benefit to actually abandoning their homes. The impact of walking away (there’s effort, time and money involved) has an immediate negative effect whereas the positive impact isn’t easily felt until possibly later. Hence, people will wrongfully assume that there’s a heavier cost to walking away than it is to staying put.

Check out this interesting article on this difficult dilemma. What would you do if you’re faced with an upside down mortgage?

This is a post from The Smarter Wallet.

Got An Upside Down Mortgage? Would You Foreclose and Walk Away From Your Mortgage?

What do you think of Obama’s foreclosure bailout plan? Should there be help for homeowners? According to our government, here’s one more way of solving the U.S. financial crisis.

The Mortgage Bailout and Rescue Rubs Some People The Wrong Way

An interesting debate erupted (yes, just like a volcano) between CNBC’s vociferous Rick Santelli and the White House regarding the mortgage rescue. Rarely does a President bother to answer those who criticize him in the media, but in this case the response was humorous and coffee-laden. “Read the document before attacking it” was good advice for Santelli and anyone else. President Obama is of course referring to the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, which outlines how the government will be bailing out homeowners in the coming months.

The Debate Behind Obama’s Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan

Santelli asked a populist question: “Do we want to finance our neighbor who can’t pay his mortgage because he/she was careless and added an extra bathroom when he/she couldn’t afford it?”

But shouldn’t the real question be: “Do we want to add multiple layers of bureaucrats paid by our taxes to check on every troubled mortgage loan (that’s how we had it under Bush’s plan), or do we want to speed things up and address the 8 to 10 million mortgage owners whose imminent demise may sink this economy even further (that’s how we have it under Obama’s plan)?” No doubt, this plan will be under heavy debate for a while, and while we wait for the program to get executed, let’s check on some of the issues and questions homeowners are having with it.

Common Questions About The Mortgage Bailout and Rescue Plan

Many worried homeowners have been wondering: “What will this package do for me if I am barely holding on to my home?”

Here is one answer given by a couple of AP real estate writers:

To qualify, the house must be your primary residence, your mortgage payment must be greater than 31 percent of your monthly gross income and your loan mustn’t exceed current Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits, which vary by region and max out at nearly $729,750. This is for those who are behind in their payments or who are struggling to make payments.

More specifics exist out there for those interested in finding out how they will be impacted by this foreclosure bailout plan. Make sure you check out the rest of the details here.

Do You Qualify For Refinancing? Talk to Your Bank

With the Homeowner Plan in the works, you may be wondering whether there’s something here for you. As it stands, I’m understandably curious about the present market value of my home. Since I don’t want to pay a certified appraiser, I’ve gone to this website to check out the approximate value of houses on the market in my neighborhood. Now say you’ve decided to check out your home’s value this way and have discovered that you owe more than the value of your house, then in specialized terms, your mortgage is now “underwater”. Another term for this is “upside down mortgage“.

Can you breathe underwater? Not for very long, so the housing bill aims to rescue homeowners in this difficult predicament by allowing them to refinance their mortgages into acceptable monthly payments. Some banks are already doing this, so if you’re one of those facing this situation, check with your mortgage holder to see whether you qualify.

Caveat: To qualify, homeowners can’t owe more than 105 percent of their home’s current value on their first mortgage. For example, if your home is worth $100,000, your first mortgage can’t exceed $105,000. I don’t know what brilliant mind came up with that limitation, but it is sure to leave many people out.

Bankruptcy Help

Finally, the most promising measure for homeowners that is sought by the Obama administration allows judges to modify the terms of a troubled mortgage in the case of bankruptcy. Lenders are incensed, of course, but this would certainly allow many people to retain their homes while continuing to make reduced payments to the bank. If you’re so inclined, you may want to write your congressman (or congresswoman) to vote for the bill that supports the amendment of bankruptcy laws. But as it stands, the whole mortgage bailout plan has its vocal opponents (like Santini and countless Republicans), so it’ll be interesting to see just how things do pan out in the future.

This is a post from The Smarter Wallet.

Our Mortgage Bailout and Rescue: Obama’s Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan

This week, we’re seeing a lot of stuff being unveiled by President Obama’s administration, from the stimulus package details to a new mortgage bailout plan. That’s a lot of taxpayer money going out to pay for big rescue packages.

I have been wondering what long-term effect this will have on all of us. Will this all work? What kind of changes should we expect in our future once the plans are placed into action?

I shared more of my musings over at Wisebread, in the piece: The Economic Stimulus Bill: Will The Heavy Debt Be Worth It? Hope you can check it out.

For more on what others are saying in the financial blogosphere, here is some mid-week reading material:

Recent Carnivals

• Festival of Frugality: Our post on how to develop skills for managing your life was chosen as an Editor’s Pick in this carnival. Thanks to Jeff at Good Financial Cents!
• Festival of Stocks: Wow, we made the Editor’s Choice for this carnival too, with 5 Stock Sectors To Avoid In A Recession. Thanks to Penny Daily for the aweseome carnival!
• Blogging About Losing Weight
• Carnival of Everything Money
• All Things Eco
• Total Mind and Body Fitness
• Millionaire Mind and Making Money

This is a post from The Smarter Wallet.

The Latest Rescue Package: Bailing Out Homeowners

When problems come up with your home improvement contractor, life can be stressful and trying. Here are some ways to resolve contractor disputes.

Are you working on a home improvement project? Such projects are great because they can very easily increase the value of your home. But before you get started, I’d like to share with you some tips I learned from experience with regards to dealing with home contractors.

Choosing My Home Improvement Contractor

When I was looking for a home contractor, I got references galore and checked all of them. I had to make sure that the contractor’s insurance, bonding, licenses and other credentials were current and above board. When I narrowed down the list to my three favorite home contractors, I asked if they had done any similar projects to the Florida room I wanted to add on to my house. Two of them had, so I asked for their references. Once I got the clients on the phone, I asked the following questions of each one:

• How was the communication before and during your projects? Were you kept informed about the status of your home improvement project, of any problems that came up or of any changes that needed to be made?
• Were you satisfied with your contractor’s answers to your questions?
• Was your contractor willing to listen to your suggestions and input?
• Did they arrive at work on time every day, and did they clean up after themselves?
• Did you end up with costs that were outside of your original estimate? What were they?
• Was the project completed in a timely manner or were there delays?

Believe it or not, I had one of the references let me stop by and see the completed work on their home to get a better idea of the accuracy of their project. I was actually pretty impressed with the work done and the openness of the client!

How To Avoid and Resolve Contractor Disputes

With my home contractor picked, I checked with the Better Business Bureau to see if there were any complaints against the contractor. I was pleased to find that everything looked good. No red flags came up. I chose my home contractor for the following reasons:

• He didn’t require me to obtain the building permits (he’d do that himself).
• He didn’t request cash only payments.
• He didn’t solicit door to door.
• He didn’t give me an instant quote, site unseen (pun intended). You should discuss the job in detail before receiving a quote.
• He didn’t require a large down payment.

But still, the unthinkable happened: his workers showed up for work late two days in a row. I was fit to be tied, as I really wanted our room addition finished quickly. I had to stop and count to 10 before picking up the phone to make a call. I knew that if I yelled or screamed, it wouldn’t accomplish anything except a headache and hurt feelings. So I tried my best to talk sensibly with my home contractor and try to work out the problems.

It is best to deal with any conflicts that come up immediately — don’t wait. My home improvement contractor apologized for the crew and we agreed that he would have them work extra to make up the lost time. Thank goodness I had a friend who advised me to keep my cool. I was prepared to contact my attorney next to help settle the dispute with my home contractor. I was hoping that a letter from my attorney would settle the problem, but it turned out to be unnecessary. My lesson from this whole experience? Start out with a good attitude, communicate with your contractor and address things amicably. By doing so, things should progress nicely for you and your home projects like it did for me.

This is a post from The Smarter Wallet.

Home Improvement Contractor Problems: How To Resolve Contractor Disputes

There are many ways to prevent foreclosure. One way is to sign up with a housing assistance program. That is, if it delivers as advertised.

A while back, I wrote a post about ways to survive the credit and mortgage crisis. This time, I’d like to follow up with some information for those who find themselves facing foreclosure. Lots of people are in the midst of losing their homes unless they do something. Maybe our information here will help!

Let’s take the case of a delinquent homeowner who’s falling behind on their mortgage payments, a scene not too uncommonly replayed these days. Unfortunately, it’s often the case that their mortgagor hasn’t been too helpful, refusing them reasonable options to help ease their debt burden.

Now because of the magnitude of the nation’s debt and credit situation, the government has taken notice and is now offering several federal programs to help people keep their homes. Let’s check out these programs and see how well they work.

Can A Housing Assistance Program Lighten Your Mortgage Debt Load?

1. Check out what the FHA offers.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is part of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These government agencies insure mortgage loans and help provide housing solutions. For instance, the FHA offers FHA Secure, a refinancing option that allows people who are current or delinquent on their mortgage payments to get out of non-FHA adjustable rate mortgages. These homeowners are given the ability to refinance into a FHA-insured mortgage, which should be a much more affordable option. Check out the FHA site for further assistance. You can also call HUD-approved housing counselors for more information.

2. Evaluate the Hope For Homeowners program.

Hope for Homeowners is an FHA program designed to help homeowners get out of mortgage loans they cannot afford to pay. Find out more about this program here and here.

In recent news, however, it seems that this program has met with some criticism, with media outlets reporting that this program has been a flop and has hardly helped anyone. Because this program relies on the cooperation of lenders to find resolutions for delinquent borrowers, the program has been less successful, as lenders aren’t too willing to compromise, in most cases.

Here’s my own personal story with regards to trying out this program:

I recently called the number for this program to see if the counselors could review my case and to find out whether we could qualify for assistance; they patched a call through to my mortgage company. The counselor discussed several possibilities including a deed in lieu of foreclosure and a short sale. After talking to a friend who is a mortgage broker, we discovered that we faced two major problems. Both avenues will leave a negative impact on our credit rating. Furthermore, Hope for Homeowners only works if you are two or three mortgage payments behind; if you’re behind many more payments than that, you may not be eligible for assistance. We don’t want to go into foreclosure, but it seems that no programs exist at this time to help those on the brink of disaster.

We’ve been dealing with Countrywide. Their website has indicated that they will have new programs for homeowners by December 1st, 2008, courtesy of Bank of America. I’ll keep you posted on our progress.

A recent article by attorney Dana Wilkinson summed up the problems with this new program. This program hinges on your lender being willing to work with you. There are also some eligibility requirements (if you’re a homeowner who’s either way far behind with payments, or hasn’t missed a single payment yet, then you’ll probably not qualify). It’s a program that best works for those who aren’t too far behind with their payments, with a mortgage company that’s willing to negotiate.

3. There’s disaster relief, and debt assistance for those in the military.

If you ever end up facing down a disaster (as officially declared by the government), then there are additional resources for you. Ditto for those on active military duty. For more information about homeowner’s assistance for those seeking disaster relief, you can contact the HUD’s National Servicing Center. Also, here’s where you can find out about the possibility of reducing your mortgage interest rates when you are on active military duty.

This is a post from The Smarter Wallet.

Can A Housing Assistance Program Prevent Foreclosure?

The dos and don’ts of winterizing your home.

Now that the winter is on its way, it’s time to make sure that your living space can handle the season. Contractors know your concerns and may try to dupe you into costly updates you don’t really need. To avoid signing up with unscrupulous contractors who may bill you for unnecessary home services, let’s review these tips for winterizing your home.

Photo by Robbie1.

Tips for Winterizing Your Home

Let’s get ready for winter!

DO work with qualified professionals when having work done to your house. If you’re handy, it will save you money to do the work yourself, but if you need expertise, make sure that you find reputable people to help you address your home requirements. These online services may be able to help you find the right help:

• Angie’s List is a site and online community where you’ll find thousands of unbiased reviews and reports of service companies. Service providers included in the site range from handymen to health service professionals. Join here!
• Service Magic is a site that focuses on connecting homeowners with prescreened service professionals. The site even has a specific category for “winterizing your home” and finding the right workers for this job. Join here!
• ReliableRemodeler is a contractor referral service. Once you submit a description of your project to the site, you’ll be matched with 4 local contractors; you’ll then receive free estimates. Join here!

DON’T forget to check with the Better Business Bureau on background information of the service providers you are considering for your winterizing job. Do your due diligence.

DO have your furnace and ducts inspected by a professional to ensure everything is working properly. Last minute furnace repairs can be very expensive, especially if the burner breaks down on a holiday.

DON’T get a new furnace or burner without getting a second opinion. In some instances, it may be sufficient to repair the old furnace or add insulation to keep your home warmer. We added insulation to our attic and pipes last year. This year, we are using about 1/3 less oil to heat our home!

DO have your chimney cleaned and get a cap or screen for the top of the chimney to keep birds and rodents out. Last year, we had two squirrels trapped in our chimney for Christmas Eve. It sounded like Santa was stuck in there and the kids were so upset! By the time we got a chimney inspector to check out our chimney the day after Christmas, it was already too late and we could only clean out a rather icky scene. We immediately had a cap put on the fireplace in order to avoid this problem in the future.

DON’T hire fly-by-night chimney sweeps. Often they try to scam you into a new chimney liner or other expensive fixes you don’t really need. Hire a sweep certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) to ensure you don’t get scammed.

DO ensure that the damper on your fireplace opens and closes freely and that the mortar between bricks is in good shape.

DON’T keep wood near your home because it attracts termites, bugs and rodents. Store wood in a dry location, away from the exterior of your house. Now when people end up with pests, they usually try home remedies to get rid of them. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. If your bug problem becomes bigger than you can handle, then it’s best to bite the bullet and get a termite control company to help you out before any more damage is done.

DO inspect your home for cracks and openings and seal them. Use weatherstripping around doors and windows and cover windows with plastic shields. Switch out summer screens for storm windows.

DO add insulation to your attic to keep hot air from escaping to your roof and causing ice problems (or what is called an “ice dam”). Service Magic tells us more about it here. Insulate all plumbing pipes to avoid freezing. Also, fix any broken roof tiles that you find.

DON’T rush to spend money on a completely new roof. A minor repair does not mean that a major replacement is required. Get a detailed assessment and get a second opinion before you invest thousands of dollars in a new roof.

DO clean out the gutters and downspouts to get rid of debris that could freeze and cause clogs during cold weather.

DO look for cracks in the foundation and seal them to keep rodents out.

DO know where your water main is located in case you need to shut if off during an emergency.

DO clean out and get rid of stuff you don’t use. Give your unneeded items to charity before the holidays. You’ll make someone else’s life a little easier and happier while you keep your living space organized. We had kept a lot of our children’s old unused items in our basement. So when we donated 18 bags of beautiful clothing and toys to the local Goodwill, we (along with our kids) felt great about the cleanup!

While you’re winterizing your house, make sure to look for applicable programs to reduce costs. State, government and community programs exist to help you pay for heating, electricity and home improvements. The Citizens Energy website offers plenty of information about national and state programs you might be eligible for.

With proper planning, a warm winter is an affordable reality!

This is a post from The Smarter Wallet.

Winterizing Your Home: Dos and Don’ts