Homeowners need to be proactive in making energy-efficient home renovations. Here is a list of easy check-ups every homeowner can do to optimize the energy efficiency of their home:
Windows and Doors
Holes in windows and doors allow conditioned air to leak from your home and allow outdoor air to infiltrate, which can tax your heating and cooling systems and raise your energy bills. Caulk around windows and doors where there are gaps. Also caulk areas where plumbing lines or electrical wiring extend to the exterior of the home.
Floor and Wall Insulation
Insulation acts as a barrier to heat movement and helps keep any home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter—all while using less energy. Making sure insulation is used at potential gaps such as around an attic stairway or over the attic access door is important as well.
Shedding a Little Light on a Simple Solution
By replacing traditional incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents, you can use up to 75% less energy on lighting alone. A wide assortment of CFLs is now available for almost any type fixture found in a home.
Appliances and HVAC Systems
Your major household appliances are a good place to focus on to make your home more eco-friendly. Start by changing the filters of your HVAC systems regularly and consider upgrading older appliances to take advantage of newer, more efficient designs.
Buy a Programmable Thermostat
This energy-saving step can have a positive and noticeable impact right away. Programmable thermostats are fairly easy to install and once they are set up a homeowner can adjust them as the weather changes. For every degree that a thermostat is set back, you may realize a savings between 1-3% on your heating or cooling bills.
When buying a home, there are a lot of things to look at to ensure you make the right decision. It is a significant investment on your part as a buyer, so one of the things you need to be aware of is the cost involved in buying the home.
You'll need to consider the down payment. While just a fraction of the selling price, it will still be a significant amount. Your lender will set the down payment they require, depending on the type of loan you're seeking.
If you're financing more than 80 percent of the value of the property, you may need to pay for private mortgage insurance. This is required by lenders as a form of protecting the property. If you do not want this extra cost, you can opt to put down a higher down payment which is usually 20 percent of the selling price to avoid PMI. Aside from saving money on private mortgage insurance, you can also request a better interest rate if you put down more cash up front.
You'll also need to consider loan fees. This is labeled by different names by different lenders but it will usually be a form of payment for the processing of your loan. Be prepared for this as it will always be a part of what you will be paying once you take out a loan with a lender like a bank or any financial institution.
The lender may also require you to have the property inspected before you buy it. Of course, you would need to pay the person or firm that would do the inspection. You should also add other things like the money you would use when going around looking for a property or visiting your real estate agent.
Setting your budget is one of the first things you need to do when buying a house, so use these tips as a guideline for getting started.
The REO (Real Estate Owned) to Rental Industry is about to explode with an onslought of reposessed homes turning into rental property. Here's the story from CNBC News…
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Many home buyers forget to shop for home insurance until the last minute and end up choosing the first company that comes along.
Well, don't be that buyer! If you're buying a home, make sure you start shopping for homeowners insurance as soon as your offer is accepted.
Here are some tips to help you save money on homeowners insurance:
- Keep tabs on your credit score. Just like with home loans, the better your credit score, the better pricing you'll be able to get for homeowners insurance. By keeping track of it, you can identify any mistakes and fix them before they affect you negatively.
- Combine policies. Check with your current car insurance company to see if they offer special pricing when you combine policies. Many companies do offer combined policy discounts.
- Ask for a discount (if you've been with same insurance company for many years, they want to keep you). Many times companies will agree to lower your premiums if you have been their customer for a while, have never missed a payment and always pay on time. Also, many companies offer discounts for seniors.
- Insure only what you need to. Sometimes homeowners don't realize they're paying to insure the land where the house is located. However, this isn't really necessary because if something were to happen, like a fire or flood, the land remains unchanged. So, in reality, you only need to insure the actual structure. It's also a good idea to review your policy every once in a while, to make sure you're not overpaying for items that may not be as valuable to you now as they were when you first insured them. (Remember – Flood and earthquake insurance may not be included in a standard homeowner insurance policy).
- Learn about small home improvements that make your home safer. Simple things like smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and burglar alarms can make your home much safer and cheaper to insure.
- Increase your deductible. Increasing your deductible can also save you some money, if, of course, you have an emergency fund large enough to cover it in case of a disaster.
- If it's a new home, learn about the safety of the area. Is the home in a flood zone? Your real estate agent has to let you know whether the home you're interested in is located in a flood zone. Also, it's a good idea to research the crime rate and the locations of the closest police department and fire station. All these things mentioned can affect your premiums.
- If it's for your existing home, let your insurance company know of any changes that may improve the safety of your neighborhood. For example, additional fire hydrants or new storm drains will make your neighborhood safer.
There may be other ways to reduce your homeowners insurance premiums, so contact your insurer and ask them what you can do to save some money. Because of the increased competition among insurance companies, they'll want to make sure they do everything to keep you as a customer.
For more insurance tips and articles, see our "Insurance" category in the list of categories in the right hand column.
Here's a cheap and quick way to save money and energy.
Stopping drafts is an easy way to reduce your heating bill in winter. If you own your home you'll probably want to add weatherstripping as a permanent solution, but if you're renting or low on funds you can re-purpose a 6ft length of pipe insulation available for $1-1.50 at any big box home improvement store into two door draft guards.
The only disadvantage is that the pipe insulation cannot be used on windows unlike the Door Draft Guard.
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