home repair

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.

Rude debt collectors brought in the top number of complaints to one Attorney General's office last year. Next on the list? Telemarketing scams, say BBB officials. The Better Business Bureau and Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster released a list of its top 10 scams for 2010, and most involved...

WalletPop is is joining with CostRefuge.and looking back each week at the top personal finance stories from mainstream publications and the blogosphere. Trying to determine which home repairs are actually worth it seems to be a common theme among homeowners, especially those who can not invest the...

The Illinois attorney general sued five home repair companies he says took payments but did substandard work or none at all, at a cost of more than $167,000 to consumers. The companies are: C & P Development, Inc., and DM Realty & Building Inc. -- The AG's office received five...

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...

Sunday night around 11PM we discovered there was no hot water to be found in our bathroom, kitchen or anywhere in our apartment for that matter! Faced with the prospect of an ice-cold start to our week we debated our options for reviving the failed water heater that late at night. After wasting 15...

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...