We’re now in the mist of the coldest of months and you’re finding your older home to cold and drafty.  The question now is what can I do to make this better without spending a whole lot of money? I will mention three things that will not cost a lot and will pay for themselves very quickly.  Most heat is lost through the ceiling as hot air rises- therefore you may want to get more attic insulation.  You can buy this yourself at any of the local or big box hardware stores and install it yourself without too much difficulty.  You could employ a insulation contractor and have a few inches of blown insulation spread  into your ceiling space but this is a Saturday morning project you can do yourself if you want.  The second thing to do is to deal with those drafty windows.  For the winter take some plastic and cover those single strength glass windows and seal them off from the wind.  You can buy actual kits to do this if you want but some type of clear plastic will work  just as well.  The third item on my short list is to get some weatherstripping and seal those drafts coming in at your door and window openings.  This is easy, inexpensive, and will pay for itself this year in your heating bills.  These are simple and easy tasks and could be done in a single day.  It will save you money and make you feel warmer and keep you healthier.  Good luck and keep warm in this cold weather.  Spring is coming.

As the fall turns into winter homeowners need to look at the winterization of their homes.  It doesn’t matter whether you have a brand new home or an 100 year old home.  In both cases it will need to be winterized.  In an older home their is reasonably more work to do but still manageable.  The most obvious thing in both is to make sure there are no openings to allow cold air inside the home.  Things to check are crawl space doors (if you have a crawl space), foundation vents- make sure they are shut (many new homes shut automatically in the winter), and check your chaulking around your doors and windows.   Other items that we need to check include servicing you heating equipment, cleaning your gutters and downspouts, and making sure your outside hoses are disconnected and faucets turned off if that is required of your outside faucet.

If you still haven’t taken advantage of the $ 1500 Energy Tax Credit that is set to expire the end of December of 2010 you can always replace older windows, install newer energy efficient doors or install insulation.  All are good items and with a 30% Tax Credit up to $ 1500 they will be a “better buy” this year than next.  In addtion, you will enjoy savings on your energy bills for many years to come.  I have already installed additional insulation in my home and garage to take advantage of the tax credit and energy benefits.  If you notice in your home cold air drafts and feeling a “breeze as you sit your easy chair” it may be something to consider. 

Good luck with your energy needs and winterzing your home.

Washington County, Maryland has instituted a wavier of excise tax until April 1, 2010.  It is a great opportunity for buyers in the market for new homes to take advantage of up to an $ 8,500 credit on their new home.  Building permits need to be issued by the April 1st date.  Early on in the program the public was not aware of how it worked but have now become more informed and are taking advantage of this offer from the county.  It is great that Washington County Commissioners have made this offer to the homebuying community as they have felt some resistence from those that may not see the need of this offer for new construction.  As an group numbers run around 25% unemployment in the construction industry.  Anything that can be done to keep this industry employeed will do wonders for the economy in this community.  Thanks to the Washington County Building Department and the Washington County Commissioners.

Some people may still not know about the $ 8,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers and the $ 6,500 credit for the second time buyers but it’s still here until April 30, 2010.  We are happy to have the new year upon us but the deadline to sign a contract to buy a home is still April 30 and will get here sooner than we think.  Give us a couple weekends  of bad weather and it’ll be March before we know it and then we’ll be busy with spring type things and soon it will be April 15th and we’ll need to do our taxes and next thing you know we’re scrambing to find a home to buy the last couple weeks of April.  I encourage you, that if you’re in the market for a home under the tax credit don’t wait.  I know you read about the availability of homes on the market but a lot of them are not in excatly “live-in” condition.  If you think you’re going to buy a short sale or foreclosure between now and the end of April unless you’ve had it under contract for about 6 months right now it will not happen.  Note- I did not say it probably will not happen – I said it will not happen. You cannot at this stage get a contract on a bank owned or short sale and get it ratified by April 30, 2010.  You can talk to anybody that has tried to do it and you’ll find I’m telling you the truth. 

Remember, you second time buyers also get a tax credit also but only for $ 6,500.  Really, that’s a great deal.  I didn’t get a tax credit when I bought my last home.  This warning holds true for you in finding a home.  You need to start ASAP.  You also need to deal with selling you current home.  Don’t think it can’t be done either.  I know a guy who recently decided to put his home on the market and sold it in 10 days and then had to figure out where he was going to move because he heard all the things about the real estate market being slow so he didn’t really look- so get started and be persistent. 

Good luck in you home searches.