With energy costs up and rising, more than a few people have considered alternative forms of energy in their home. Solar power is one alternative.
FindSolar.com has information about solar power, including a nifty "solar estimator" that, based on your location, will estimate costs, energy savings and more.
For those people that just want to go "green" to save the environment and are willing to pay for it, NStar will soon offer customers wind power.
If you're willing to pay a premium for your power, NStar is offering customers the ability to power their homes with environmentally-friendly wind power, The Boston Globe reported May 1, 2008.
Consumers will have a choice between having half or all of their power originated from wind farms.
Customers who opt for the green power will pay $4.25 a month for half their electricity from wind farms and $7.25, if they buy all their electricity from wind power. The program, called NStar Green, is the first of its kind for a Massachusetts utility.
"NStar, with 1.1 million electric customers in Eastern and Central Massachusetts, proposed the program last summer. The Boston utility signed 10-year contracts with two wind farms to buy a total of 60 megawatts, enough to power about 60,000 homes."
The wind farms are located in Maine and upstate New York.
Apparently maxing out your home equity line of credit will have an impact on your credit score, Bankrate.com reported April 24, 2008.
Yale economics professor Robert Shiller says not to fear gradually falling home prices.
In a February 21, 2008 article by Reuters news service, Shiller is quoted as saying that, "'There's nothing troubling about a gradual correction of home prices. If we keep our incomes at the current level and home prices go down we are richer, we can buy more housing.'"
It is sharp declines that erode consumer confidence and bring on recession, Shiller believes.
If you have an adjustable-rate mortgage about to adjust, now is the time to negotiate with your lender, according to a January 15, 2008 article in The Boston Globe.
"If your mortgage is ratcheting up to a monthly payment you can't afford, you may have some leverage in lowering the rate. Your lender may even welcome the move and allow you to do a low-cost loan modification."
Although your loan may be serviced by a company that doesn't hold the loan and may not be able to change the loan's terms, your first call should be to the customer service department of the mortgage servicing company.
Generally, the best rates go to those individuals with the best credit scores, but you'll never know until you try.
Read The Boston Globe Article
One of the nation's largest investors in mortgages, Freddie Mac, has produced a video about how to spot foreclosure scams and avoid becoming a victim of these scams.
Freddie Mac decided to produce the anti-fraud video for YouTube after a 2007 company-sponsored study discovered that 25 percent of delinquent borrowers go to the Internet first for mortgage information, only slightly less than the number who called their mortgage lender (28 percent) or bank (32 percent).
Rona Fischman, who is a buyer broker and writes for The Boston Globe's real estate blog, recently attended a "green building" seminar.
She shared the following tip on November 28, 2007 about using shades to save energy.
"Insulated window shades and curtains are very effective in lowering heating (and cooling) costs. I saw a modern high-tech building designed with timers to open and close shades for energy efficiency. You can use the low-tech tool -- your hands -- to do the same. Open the shades when it is sunny; close them at night. In the summer, do the opposite. Simple, effective, not very expensive."
Spending on home-improvement projects is
expected to decline for the first time since late 2003, according to Harvard
University's Joint Center for Housing Studies, REALTOR® Magazine Online reported November 19, 2007.
Overall, remodeling spending in
2007 is projected to be 2.3 percent lower than 2006.
Read The REALTOR Magazine Online Article
Real Estate attorney Stephen E. Meltzer, writing for the Boston.com real estate blog on October 31, 2007, provides good advice for dealing with builders and contractors.
Many builders and contractors are feeling the pain brought on by the sluggish housing market. Attorney Meltzer provides some tips to protect yourself.
If you're planning on buying new construction or considering an addition or a renovation, you'll want to take a look at this post.
As if buying a home in Massachusetts wasn't already expensive enough, living in one with oil heat will cost you more over the winter.
The Boston Globe reported November 7, 2007 that the average price of heating oil in Massachusetts jumped 14 cents a gallon in a week, rising to a record $3.05 a gallon.
"This week, a Division of Energy Resources survey of full-service dealers found prices ranging from $2.80 a gallon to $3.30 a gallon."
The average price per gallon was 70 cents more expensive than it was last year at this time. That means filling a typical 275-gallon heating oil tank at the average statewide price would be $838.75, or $192.50 more than the same time last year.
I am a Massachusetts lawyer and real estate broker and co-founder/owner of Buyers Brokers Only, LLC. I am also a partner in the law firm of Rosa & Kres, LLP.
If you have a question for me about any aspect of the home-buying process (i.e., house hunting, mortgages, negotiations, buyer agency, purchase and sale, etc.), please don't hesitate to send me an email. I'm happy to try to answer your question.
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