Home

Next foreclosure wave sparked by walkaway homeowners?

By Tom Kelly, Tuesday, July 22, 2008.

Where's the bottom? Are Phoenix, Denver, Sacramento, South Florida and Las Vegas still in a tailspin? Is it time to make a run at a second home you felt you could never afford?

Perhaps we have been too driven and proud of the fact that 70 percent of all families in this country own their homes. In order to get there, lenders, real estate agents and consumers dipped into a "too easy" bucket where the value of ownership sunk to the same level of the cost of getting in the door -- zero.  more...

Beamed ceilings needn't make life uncomfortable

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Tuesday, July 22, 2008.

Q: I have exposed 8-inch beams throughout the house and no attic. Is there some kind of attractive insulation I can put between the beams, not more than 4 inches thick, that will give me the maximum amount of insulation with the least thickness?

A: We don't know of any insulation that you can just tack up between the beams and have it look like anything but what it is -- cobbled together. But with a few more steps, we do have a good solution to give you much-needed insulation and an attractive ceiling.  more...

TGIF, whatever that means Premium Content

By Kris Berg, Tuesday, July 22, 2008.

I was in the grocery store on Friday when I overheard the man chatting on his cell phone: "Boy, am I glad it's Friday." Stopping just short of whacking him upside the head with my 10-pound bag of kitty litter, I instead chose to silently loathe him. Friday. I wish I could get me one of those things.

Everything about my chosen profession is just so difficult these days. First, there are the longer market times. Time is money, and not only is my overburdened Decade at a Glance threatening to file bankruptcy, but never have I had to throw my checkbook in so many directions for such prolonged periods as I do these days.  more...