Repair those leaky faucets first before tackling more aesthetic fixes. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Wallets strapped, homeowners these days are looking to cut expenses. Sometimes, that means deferring maintenance that should be done– things like fixing leaking pipes or getting a new water heater, reports Jen A. Miller for Cyberhomes …Full Story

Now, all this wine cellar needs is a Zebra rug.

Television sitcom actress Suzanne Somers and husband, Alan Hamel, are still trying to sell their lavish Palm Springs, Calif., estate, Les Baux de Palm Springs, which they’ve owned for at least 30 years. Here at the blog, we recently spotted their home’s for-sale listing on the website for luxury real estate magazine, Unique Homes. Scott Lyle of Scott Lyle Realtors has the listing, which includes a high-quality slideshow of the property …Full Story

Sometimes it can be difficult to nail down the right contractor. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Homeowners know how difficult it can be to find good contractors. But what happens when you find the perfect guy and he’s too busy to fit your job into his schedule?

That was the situation I faced with a plaster-stucco-and-paint guy I wanted to hire to make some repairs to my house. The house has settled some over the years, and while I wasn’t quite ready for a paint job, I wanted the worst of the cracks and holes fixed up in the meantime …Full Story

My plans with my significant other have been washed out, but at least I can remake my space. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Ending a relationship is heartbreaking, but redecorating is easy. When some women go through a breakup, they cut their hair.

I, apparently, redecorate.

And it appears I’m not alone. Apartment Therapy had a great post about things to do with your home post-breakup. Among them are: …Full Story

Some people may be stumped as to why it'd be good to cut down a tree, but to me it's clear. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Cutting down a tree is a big job that takes a sturdy ladder and some heavy equipment. Tree-cutting is also dangerous. Tree cutters can be injured or killed by falling trees or branches or by falling out of a tree or off a ladder. If a branch strikes a power line, the tree-cutter could be electrocuted. Homeowners who need to cut down a tree should hire a professional or follow tree-cutting safety procedures …Full Story

RealtyJoin offers a place for real estate industry professionals to meet online. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Looking for a place to connect with other real estate professionals or investors? If so, a new website might be for you: RealtyJoin.com, a social networking site developed exclusively for the real estate industry. Membership is free to the real estate community. It's sort of like a "Facebook" for the real-estate set …Full Story

In my neighborhood, contractors paint your address on the curb and then demand a "donation" for the service. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Every six months or so, a fly-by-night contractor—and it’s always a different face and a different name—comes through my neighborhood with a house numbers stencil and repaints the house numbers on the curb in front of each house. Usually there is a flyer, photocopied on colored paper, that’s distributed a few days in advance to inform the homeowners that the number-painting guys are on the job and that we’ll all have to pay a “donation” of, say, $15 for this service …Full Story

The kitchen in Katie Lee's home, on the market for $12.9 million, looks well appointed.

Food critic, Katie Lee, the ex-wife of Billy Joel, stands to get a pretty penny for the New York townhouse that she has listed on the market with broker Dolly Lenz. That is if Lee sells the home for its asking price, $12.9 million. The word from NYmag.com is that Lee bought out Joel’s half of the home in their divorce …Full Story

Is it fine to walk away from a mortgage when your debt is higher than your home's value? (Photo: iStockphoto)

By walking away from its mortgage for Manhattan properties Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, the real estate company Tishman Speyer Properties, and its partner, investment firm BlackRock, have raised an issue in many people's minds that was aptly described by Rachel Beck in an article for the Associated Press.  …Full Story

I plan to save on drapes and bedding this year by sewing them myself. (Photo: iStockphoto)

It looks like the new bedroom that I resolved in January 2009 to create for my daughters is near completion. My husband is putting the finishing touches on the paint, and I am about to order some new furniture for the room. (I’ve chosen two “Lily Rose” storage beds and a double dresser from the same manufacturer – let me know if you have any other cost-effective storage beds you’d recommend.) And even though the furniture I’ve chosen is fairly inexpensive, the bill will come to more than $700 – and that’s before buying mattresses …Full Story