In a recent article, the Des Moines Register reported on several fires that have occurred as a result of lightning strikes to gas lines, causing the failure of corrugated stainless steel tubing (CSST) feeding gas appliances in homes. CSST is a flexible gas tubing system that has been used in home construction and remodeling projects [...]

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By now nearly everyone has probably heard the news that the U.S. Government has hit its debt ceiling – the legal limit which the government can borrow. This event has the potential to significantly impact home buyers, companies, or anyone with debt. U.S. Treasury officials estimate that the federal government has enough cash on hand to [...]

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As the U.S. recovers from the effects of the finanicial crisis, regulators have been charged with determining what went wrong and how best to fix the issues to prevent problems in the future. One of the solutions proposed by regulators is to require home buyers to make a minimum of 20% down payment when purchasing [...]

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The 2011 Iowa Legislative Session ended on Thursday, June 30, 2011. Legislators failed to come to an agreement on changing Iowa’s property tax structure, but vowed to make property tax reform a key issue in the 2012 session. View a list of session accomplishments by party priority from the Des Moines Register Commentary on property [...]

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USA Today reported today on new data that shows several Midwestern states (including Iowa) fared better than the nation as a whole during the economic recession of the last few years. Specifically, for the 12 months ending March 2011, the number of home sales in Iowa reached 70% of pre-recession levels. However, most other states did [...]

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The conventional wisdom is that “real estate is local”. But at least on the national level there are some signs that the slow spring 2011 housing market may finally be starting to pick up. This could mean good news for those trying to sell a home. Bloomberg reported today that according to a recent study by [...]

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A reverse mortgage is a program that allows older homeowners to tap into the accumulated value (equity) of a home. However, unlike a traditional mortgage where the balance owed is reduced with each monthly payment, with a reverse mortgage a lump sum or monthly payment is paid to the homeowner, and the balance owed actually [...]

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Iowa Legislators in the House and Senate have reached a tentative deal that may bring an end to the 2011 legislative session. The proposed deal includes additional spending for public safety programs, reconfiguration of the Iowa Department of Economic Development, and regulation of so-called “bath salt” drugs. However, at this point there has been no [...]

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The Iowa Department of Homeland Security has compiled an excellent list of resources for Iowans displaced by recent flooding. The list of resources includes: Property rental information and temporary housing options Health information Insurance information and much more Check the following website for the complete list of resources: www.iowahomelandsecurity.org/disasters/disaster2011.html  

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Now that warmer weather is here to stay, you can finally turn your attention to outdoor maintenance projects around your home. Here’s a few things you to add to your list. Gutters. Jammed gutters can send water in all the wrong directions and places. Water may damage landscaping and even crack your home’s foundation eventually. [...]

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