Homeowners

 

Are you a new homeowner in New Jersey? Perhaps you have owned a home for the past 10 years, or owned 10 homes over the years? ? Whatever your homeownership background, stay tuned to REAL Story’s Homeowner page for information on what you, as a homeowner, need to know on such topics as home improvement, prepping for the holidays, saving money on insurance and more.

Learn more about homeownership with:

  • Houselogic.com - a free source of information and tools—from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®—that can help you make smart and timely decisions about your home.

 

Home Economics: Recurring question in tough times: Repair or replace?

When should you repair and when should you replace?

With the economic downturn keeping people in their homes longer and money ever tighter, it is a choice being considered by more homeowners these days.

For example, with winter coming, and concerns about energy costs mounting, many cash-strapped homeowners are trying to figure out how to reduce the $1,900 per year that the Department of Energy says the typical family spends on utilities.

Read the rest of this article.

Generator buying guide: Portable and standby models supply emergency power in an outage

Going days without electricity has a way of making a person plan ahead for the next time the lights go out.

Portable generator makers and big-box retailers are reporting increased demand for portable generators among the hundreds of thousands of New Jersey residents who endured extended power outages after Hurricane Irene and again just two months later with a Halloween eve snowstorm.

Read the rest of this article.

Apps for Home Improvement

Evernote - Free

Available for iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, Palm and Web

While Evernote was not designed with home improvement in mind, it is an invaluable tool that allows you to create text, picture or voice notes, which are then stored in “the cloud” and are accessible from any other device(s). You can use this app to capture information about a room you want to remodel, or if you need to remember how something looks, snap a picture and save it for later reference.

Evernote also allows you to capture and store client lists or photos of listed properties. Images with printed or handwritten text, or scanned documents that are stored on Evernote’s servers are searchable and can be shared with anyone via e-mail.

Home Depot - Free

Available for iPhone

The Home Depot application has evolved from a simple display of the latest store circular to a full-fledged application designed to help the average homeowner get things done around the home. You can now build shopping lists, watch instructional videos, search for stores based on your location and purchase gift cards.

Handy Man DIY - $1.99

Available for iPhone

Handy Man DIY is a home improvement planner that is geared towards the general homeowner. It allows you to create projects based on different rooms within your home. Each project can store room dimensions, shopping lists, estimated costs and tasks associated with it. When the user enters in the room dimensions, Handy Man DIY will calculate the wall and floor square footage, room volume, and the total length of the walls. The app also features detailed instructions and videos on common home improvement endeavors.

BuildCalc – Advanced Construction Calculator - $19.95

Available for iPhone

BuildCalc is intended for a homeowner who needs to do complex calculations for home improvement projects. Need to figure out how much fencing you need to enclose a yard, or figure out the layout of a staircase and its stringers? With BuildCalc you can take the guesswork out of your home improvement projects.

Home 3D - $8.99

Available for iPad

Home 3D is intended to help you visualize what a home renovation will look like. Enter in some of the room dimensions and layout where windows, doors and furniture are placed, and this application will render a 3D layout for you.

Handy Construction Calculators - $7.99

Available for Android

With 26 easy-to-use calculators and estimators, this handy application is useful to both the do-it-yourselfer and the professional. Some of the calculations it can perform include: brick block, concrete & rebar, drywall, drop ceiling, framing, insulation, paint, flooring, etc.

 

Tips and Feature Articles

  • Spring Cleaning Guide

    Make spring cleaning less of a chore by following these smarter—and mostly greener—tips for this annual rite of homeownership. Read

  • Pamper Your Backyard Birds For Free

    Wild birds are our backyard buddies: A swallow can eat a thousand mosquitoes daily; and watching birds glide and listening to their songs can soothe our jangled nerves. Read

  • 12 Simple Home Repair Jobs to Lift You Out of Winter’s Funk

    Winter’s doldrums got you down? Grab a screwdriver and a hammer and fight back with easy home repairs that’ll raise spirits and get your house ready for spring. Read

  • Perennial Flowers: A Little Care Says ‘Encore! Encore!’ Each Year

    Don’t take your old garden friends — perennial flowers — for granted. A little routine love keeps these stunners growing for bloomin’ ever. ROI, anyone? Read

  • 7 Killer Ways to Get Rid of Weeds

    Here are 7 ways to murder weeds with household items. You’ll save money and show no mercy to your garden’s uninvited guests. Read