Erika and Greg Tansey couldn’t afford the house they really wanted in Lake Oswego, an upscale suburb of Portland, Oregon, so they opted for Plan B: buying an outdated, dilapidated Cape and remodeling it. “The bathroom was so small that your knees hit the tub when you used the toilet. The hallways were narrow and dark. And the garage was basically falling over,” says Erika.

Erika and Greg started demolition in September 2005, with more significant plans than they’d first imagined: raising the roof, putting in an addition, doubling the square footage and reconfiguring the floor plan. Erika, 34, a freelance marketing consultant, and Greg, 35, a venture capitalist, budgeted $200,000 for their extreme home makeover. But the project took six months longer than expected, cost $80,000 more than planned and finished just as the bubble began deflating. By the time they finished this past August, they were exhausted but eager to share the lessons they’d learned. (more…)

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As the number of foreclosures rises, homeowners unable to make their mortgage payments are facing another growing threat: “foreclosure rescue” scams. State and federal authorities say they are investigating an increasing number of homeowner complaints about fraud and deception by companies that engage in lending to financially distressed borrowers seeking to avoid foreclosure. Several states have recently passed or are contemplating new laws to provide more protection against dishonest businesses trying to take advantage of already vulnerable homeowners.

The problem centers on foreclosure-rescue companies, which target homeowners behind on their mortgage payments through newspaper ads or fliers claiming services such as “fast cash,” “equity funding” and “no credit check.” According to some recent cases filed by consumers and regulators, the companies mislead borrowers into believing they can save their homes from foreclosure in exchange for a transfer of the title for a year or two. The companies promise borrowers they can stay in their homes by paying rent for that period, giving them time to catch up financially until they can buy back their property. (more…)

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Americans are involved in a new “space race.” According to the American Institute of Architects, Americans are making their outside spaces more and more elaborate - and more like their inside ones. The outdoor living room trend is a wholesale repackaging of the typical patio/pool area into something much more elaborate and comfortable. It goes way beyond lounge chairs and barbecues. Outdoor living rooms often resemble plush, luxurious parlors. They feature not only cushiony furniture, they even have entertainment centers with built-in plasma screen televisions and hi-fi systems.

The feature most in demand for these modern Edens is a fireplace. These not only infuse soirees with an atavistic atmosphere, they also make it possible for those in cooler climes to enjoy being outside for a greater part of the year. Part of the impetus for these spaces may have come from the decreasing tolerance for smoking. Hosts may abhor the smell of tobacco smoke, but they also want to be hospitable. Modern guests are used to retreating to the back yard to grab a quick coffin nail. Now they can do it in style. (more…)

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It stretches nearly 2,200 miles, a ribbon of mountains and meadows, forests and fauna. But scientists, hikers and land managers say the Appalachian Trail is more than a footpath. Passing through 14 states and eight national forests from Georgia to Maine, it’s also a living laboratory that could help warn 120 million people along the Eastern Seaboard of looming environmental problems.

The Appalachian Mountains are ideal for the project because they are home to one of the richest collections of temperate zone species in the world, and the trail has a natural diversity that is nearly unsurpassed in the national park system. It also has different ecosystems that blend into one another - hardwood forests next to softwood forests next to alpine forests. The idea for the Appalachian Trail Mega-Transect is in its infancy but it already has support from the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service, Cornell University, National Geographic Society and the earth-conscious beauty products company, Aveda Corp. (more…)

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The cost of homeowners’ claims for damage due to lightning strikes is soaring because of the burgeoning number of high-end electronic items and appliances in the average home, insurers say.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. says that the cost of claims the company paid due to lightning strikes rose 77% between Jan. 2001 and July 2006, even as the number of claims fell in the period by nearly half. Some of the nation’s largest insurance companies, including State Farm Insurance Cos. and Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., also say they’re experiencing a similar trend.

Insurers partly attribute the higher losses to the growing number of home-theater systems, plasma and high-definition television sets, game consoles and personal computers in the average American home — which all can be fried by a surge of voltage in a home’s electrical wiring that can occur from a lightning strike. Rising rebuilding costs are also a factor because in the worst instances, lightning torches the house either from overloading appliances or from a direct hit. (more…)

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James Andrew Ryan pleaded guilty to four counts of forgery involving fictitious quitclaim deeds. In each instance, Ryan went looking for what he judged to be run-down homes with unkempt yards. He wrote down the address and researched the owner’s name through county records. Ryan then forged the owner’s name on a quitclaim deed and finished it off with a bogus notary public seal. The phony quitclaim deed, showing the owner’s interest conveyed to Ryan, was then recorded at the Pierce County, Wash., auditor’s office.

The Ryan case may be the first known case of real estate fraud focusing of run-down homes coupled with bogus quitclaim deeds. The most common real estate fraud known as equity skimming, or rent skimming, typically includes a supposedly good-hearted investor looking to help a desperate homeowner. Instead, the investor persuades the homeowner into believing the investor will pay the bank a sum of cash to keep the mortgage from going into default if the homeowner “rents back” the home from the investor. The investor then runs off with two to three months of rent and sometimes even the title to the house. (more…)

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Fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages are the two main types of mortgages of the home-lending world. Let’s take a look at the differences. A fixed-rate mortgage is very straightforward. The borrower knows from the beginning what the interest rate will be for the entire duration of the mortgage, and the monthly payments due are likewise fixed. Simple.

Slightly less simple is the adjustable-rate mortgage, or ARM. It changes from year to year, to reflect the interest rate environment. If rates are plummeting, your rate will also drop — and vice versa. ARMs typically have an extra-low “teaser rate” for the first year, as well as an upper limit, or cap. The amount that an ARM can rise each year is also limited, so that it won’t rise too quickly. Fixed-rate mortgages are good because they come with no surprises. But for this benefit, you’ll likely pay a slightly higher rate than you would with an ARM. Fixed-rate mortgages are good for people who enjoy stability. They’re also especially attractive during periods when interest rates are low, such as they have been in recent years. At such times, fixed-rate mortgages permit you to lock in low rates for many years to come. (more…)

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