In the Broadway hit “The Man Who Came to Dinner,” the imperious Sheridan Whiteside slips on an icy doorstep and stays in his hosts’ home until his broken leg heals.
Hopefully, your holiday guests did not slip and fall on the welcome mat and have returned to their principal residences – allowing you to begin the process of getting your home in shape for 2005.
One of the best places to start on your financial housekeeping is the Web site of the “Mortgage Professor,” Jack Guttentag, a professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Wharton School of Business His calculators at www.mtgprofessor.com can help determine how long it will take to recover refinance fees and the effect of a lump-sum payment on your principal balance.
From a financial point of view, paying off your home sooner with a higher monthly payment tends to limit other opportunities, especially if the market changes. But if paying off your home loan would make you saner, then by all means do it. It would not be worth getting a few more percentage points on your money if it were invested elsewhere.
If you are thinking about another refinancing, weigh all costs and rates carefully before deciding. Make sure you understand “no-fee” programs, and calculate how long it would take you to repay the refinance costs.
The first in-house place to start getting your home in shape for 2005 – especially for seniors – is household lights, including those near the entry where Whiteside’s accident sparked a tumultuous time. Winter’s short, dark days could use an increase in wattage in strategic places.
It’s difficult to perform any spur-of-the-moment inspections without a dependable household flashlight. Are there batteries in yours, or did you borrow them for Johnny’s remote rocket ship? Remember that batteries lose power even when rarely used.
Insurance companies report that most homeowner claims are not caused by fires or storms but by neglected maintenance that grows into a larger problem.
Here are a few of the easiest things to help you get your home in shape – things that do not take a lot of muscle and elbow grease.
* Burst washing machine hose. The rubber hoses that come with most washing machines eventually leak, and since the laundry room is usually in a low-traffic area of the house, the water damage can go undetected and be extensive. Recommendation: Replace rubber hoses every three years, or replace with metal mesh hoses available at hardware or home stores.
* Electrical fires. Cords under throw rugs, overloaded outlets and baseboard heaters are the most likely sources of electrical fires. Recommendation: Reroute cords around throw rugs and use certified power strips. Don’t place furniture or flammable items against baseboard heaters.
* Slow leaks around tub-shower grout and edges. Over time, cracks can develop or grout and caulking can decay, allowing water into the wall or floors. This damage is not usually covered by homeowner’s insurance. Recommendation: Check and maintain seals. Make certain you keep shower doors or curtains securely shut to prevent water from spilling.
* Garage door opener theft. Garage door openers stolen from cars parked outside the house can give thieves easy access to a house later. Recommendation: Remove the remote garage door openers if the car is not parked in the garage.
This is also a good time to substitute some furnishings with more workable pieces. For example, Lindsay Steenblock, owner-operator of Laguna Beach, Calif.-based County Clare Interiors, suggests removing glass-top tables – especially those with square corners – and replacing them a round-cornered alternative.
“Glass surfaces are often difficult to adjust to,” Steenblock said, “and rounded corners remove a lot of the danger when it comes suddenly turning around in a room that could have a number of other people.”
The Home Safety Council, www.homesafetycouncil.org, a North Wilkesboro, N.C.-based organization focusing on home safety and education, recommends injury-proofing the home to reduce slips, falls and other common injuries that occur to seniors.
“Slips and falls remain the No. 1 cause of unintentional injury and deaths in the home for Americans age 65 and older,” said David Oliver, president and executive director of the Home Safety Council.
Ouch! How old was Whiteside anyway?
Tom Kelly’s new book, “How a Second Home Can Be Your Best Investment,” (McGraw-Hill) was written with John Tuccillo, former chief economist for the National Association of Realtors and is available in local bookstores.
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