HomeRepair

Too scared to spend amid today's economic uncertainty, homeowners are just saying no to remodeling. The number of homeowners who say the economy has them shying away from renovations jumped from 69% in the spring to 80% now, and remodeling contractors report their business is down 3.81% over the last 12 months.

Financial advice columnist Laura Rowley recently received an email from a homeowner who had negotiated a successful mortgage modification, but may end up as a short-sale candidate anyway -- because she can't finance home repairs. Her options are limited, but possible solutions do exist.

At tax time, there is plenty of advice out there about how to maximize income tax deductions. With so much publicity focusing on what you can properly deduct, it's easy to think that almost anything you spend money on during the year can be a potential tax deduction. Not so fast. That type of...

Home repair contractor Kaile Warren had a rags-to-riches story that was enviable. The former homeless home improver credits "divine intervention" with giving him the idea for a home improvement company and brand name that would ultimately place him on a national stage that included appearances on...

A gutter sags, the doorbell quits working, or birds build a nest in your chimney - who are you going to call? The torments of a homeowner are relentless, and good, reasonably priced help scarce. Sears has created a new web site, Servicelive.com, that proposes to hook you up by using a bid model,...

On the first warm Saturday of the spring, the local neighborhood mower shop is overrun with homeowners whose neglected lawnmowers won't start. Giving some love to yours now will help you avoid this frustration and get your money's worth from your machine -- Every extra year you can get from a mower...

According to KCTV in Kansas City, local resident Ronald Long was installing a satellite TV dish when he ran into a snag trying to drill a hole through the house's exterior for the cable. After several frustrated attempts, Long had the bright idea to let his pistol do the work for him. He fired the...

When I need some home repair, I use Angie's List. I think I'm paying dearly for it.Angie's List is founded on the idea that customer experiences are the best gauge of a company's performance. The membership organization functions as the intermediary between vendors, usually home-repair oriented,...