(Continued in Part 1)

Now that you know the benefits of keeping the air clean in your home, it is time to consider how to clean it.

5 Ways to Keep the Air Cleaner Inside Your Home

Improve the quality of the air in your home easily with these quick tips:

*Change your air filters.
Filters remove certain pollutants from the surrounding air. This includes, dust, dust mites, allergens, pollen and smaller particles. Every time you open the door or window, you are letting in more than just air. Not cleaning the filters in your A/C or heating units causes them to circulate dirty air plus, it forces them to work harder as well. This in turn makes them burn more energy and operate less efficiently, resulting their losing even more of their ability to pull the dirty particles out of the air.

*Buy houseplants.
Houseplants absorb the waste products we breathe out, provide cleaner air as a result. Several houseplants can help to keep the indoor air free of pollution. Some varieties to consider include, Peace Lily, Gerbera Daisy, Red-Edged Dracaena and English Ivy. For optimum results, keep houseplants wiped down and well-watered and fed, and keep out of reach of all children and pets.

For some people, however, who are allergic to mold or spores, plants might not always be the best idea. Here are some suggestions for helpful house plants which can even beautify your home (with excellent pictures): http://www.aerias.org/DesktopModules/ArticleDetail.aspx?articleId=126#plants-problems
And information about which plants can help counteract certain chemicals in the home.

http://www.aerias.org/DesktopModules/ArticleDetail.aspx?articleId=126

It also discusses health reasons for not to having a plant in the house.

*Keep your ceiling fans clean.
Ceiling fans are an environmentally friendly way to keep the air circulating in your home, but they also collect dust. A dusty fan can keep all sorts of pollutants blowing all around the room and the house. Dust them regularly to cut down on poor air quality. Also remember to turn the direction of the paddles depending on the season. Warm air rises. Have them face down in the winter and up in the warmer weather.

*Check for mold and mildew.
Keep moisture from creeping into the little nooks and crannies of your house, such as around bathroom fixtures, under cabinets and in bathtubs. Mold that becomes airborne can make your family sick. Let shower curtains dry flat and completely after washing. Clean out washing machines and dishwashers to stop mildew from forming. Keep your refrigerator, basement and closets clean and dry. Beware of wall to wall carpeting, as it can absorb a great deal of moisture and start to get moldy.

*Open your windows
You might not want to open them all the time, but letting in fresh air from outdoors can boost the air quality of your home. Also clean the inside of your windows so that dust doesn’t blow back into your home.

How good is the quality of the air in your house? Try these simple ways to keep the air quality high and see if it makes a difference to your family’s health.

When it comes to pollution, we often think about the air outside our house or apartment, picturing smog and exhaust fumes from cars and trucks. But the truth of the matter is that a great deal has been done to curb harmful emissions from factories and vehicles.

If you are subject to allergies, have you ever stopped to think about the quality of the air in your home?

If you have not had a good spring cleaning yet, now is the time to start thinking about not only improving the cleanliness of your carpets, curtains, counters, and other surfaces, but the air in your home as well.

The Need for Clean Air

Air is a mixture of elements including nitrogen and oxygen. The unique mix provides us with fresh air to breath into our lungs to help us feed all the cells in our bodies with nutrients through the oxygen in our blood stream.

Trees take in the carbon monoxide we breathe out and turn it into the oxygen that we need to breathe in. it is a symbiotic relationship that has kept life thriving on this planet for billions of years, until of course we started to de-forest our planet.

When it comes to clean air in your home, you really can never have too much of it. Most people don’t think about the air that they breathe in their homes, but they might be polluting it far more with their own habits than any factory or car exhaust. Polluted air can fill the lungs with particles that can predispose us to certain illnesses and other health problems if we are not careful, including asthma and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease).

The air passes through our nasal passages, our sinuses, down the back of our throat, all the way down to our lungs. If you find yourself coughing or sneezing more than usual, it could be seasonal allergies, but more than likely, it will actually be the air quality in your home.

If you or any member of your family suffers from respiratory problems, you might want to consider the best ways to purify the air inside your home.

(Continued in Part 2)

Yes, it is that time again, getting ready for hurricane season.

Here is a list of useful websites, so you can get together your go bags for you and your family and pets now.

hurricane and disaster preparedness for families

for businesses

www.semo.state.ny.us
www.ready.gov
www.floodsmart.com
nyredcross.org

national hurricane center nhc.noaa,gov
national weather service www.weather.gov
www.fema.gov

Generally speaking, it may be a good time to consider refinancing your home when you can obtain an interest rate that is at least 2% lower than your current mortgage interest rate.

However, there are other considerations that come into play.  With the current economic recession brought about by the sub-prime mortgage crisis, home values have declined.

If you decide to refinance based upon the immediate need to pay off high interest rate loans or credit cards, or if you plan on making improvements to your home to increase its value, it may be necessary to wait until the home values increase before taking this step.

You may be better off bootstraping now, in order to avoid a whole lot of pain later on.  Better to pay down those credit cards in a disciplined way, than tap into the equity in your home which you’ve worked so hard to build.

You will also have to take into consideration the cost of refinancing a mortgage.  Several questions need to be answered, such as:

How much will I save if I refinance now?

Can I afford to pay the fees associated with refinancing such as PMI (prepaid mortgage insurance), inspections, title search, and points, without having to add these to the initial refinance cost?

Research will be required to determine if it is feasible to refinance your home.  This may include visiting your lender and discussing the pros and cons of refinancing at this time.

You may also wish to compare the difference between refinancing and the cost of your current mortgage to determine if refinancing will yield a significant saving.

There are many online mortgage calculators that can help you in this endeavor, so make sure you do your research in order to look before you leap.

Another consideration is the length of time you will remain in your home.  Re-fi for the whole of the house’s equity pretty much wipes you all you’ve put into it. If you are not careful, you could end up in worse shape than before, and without a safety net any longer.

Therefore, whether you revisit your current lender or research other mortgage lenders, having accurate accounting of your monthly mortgage versus how much it would cost to refinance (including the aforementioned fees) and whether or not there is an actual savings will be the deciding factor.

Most experts advise that if, within seven years, the cost of refinancing does not yield a substantial savings to the homeowner specifically as relates to paying off all the fees incurred during the process, it is not worth the time or the money to refinance.

Make sure you look at your financial situation realistically. Have a budget, and stick to it. If you are just trying to re-fi in order to pay off credit card debt, don’t.  The sacrifices you will make now will be worth it in the long run, without adding all sorts of fees and paperwork into the mix.

Things to Watch Out For With Mortgage Insurance When the sub-prime mortgage crisis occurred, the reason why many homeowners went into foreclosure was because they could not pay their inflated mortgages.

Since there may have been no insurance offered at the time, both the lenders and the homeowners suffered a loss.

Private Mortgage Insurance is primarily utilized for homeowners who are considered at high risk for payment.  It does not count toward a home’s equity, or provide any other benefit than ensuring that if a homeowner goes into default, both the lender and the homeowner are protected.

Private Mortgage Insurance  or PMI is being widely demanded by lenders today, especially if new homeowners cannot put up a down-payment of 20% or more, or if they are borrowing more than 8% of the market value of the home.

Keep in mind, however, that you are protected as a homeowner under the Homeowners Protection Act, or HPA.  It is important to know your rights as it pertains to PMIs.

According to the Federal Reserve, under the Homeowners Protection Act, you have the right to request cancellation of PMI when you pay down your mortgage to the point that it equals 80 percent of the original purchase price or appraised value of your home at the time the loan was obtained, whichever is less.

You also need a good payment history, meaning that you have not been 30 days late with your mortgage payment within a year of your request, or 60 days late within two years.

Your lender may require evidence that the value of the property has not declined below its original value, and that the property does not have a second mortgage, such as a home equity loan, taken out against the value of the property.

The Homeowners Protection Act also requires that: “For loans obtained on or after July 29, 1999, the HPA establishes three different times when a lender or servicer must notify a consumer of his or her rights.  Those times are at loan closing, annually, and upon cancellation or termination of PMI.

“The content of these disclosures varies depending on whether: (1) PMI is “borrower-paid PMI” or “lender-paid PMI,” (2) the loan is classified as a “fixed rate mortgage” or “adjustable rate mortgage,” or (3) the loan is designated as “high risk” or not.

At loan closing, lenders are required to disclose all of the following to borrowers:

* The right to request cancellation of PMI and the date on which this request may be made.

* The requirement that PMI be automatically terminated and the date on which this will occur.

* Any exemptions to the right to cancellation or automatic termination.

* A written initial amortization schedule (fixed-rate loans only).

Annually, your mortgage loan servicer must send borrowers a written statement that discloses:

* The right to cancel or terminate PMI.

* An address and telephone number to contact the loan servicer to determine when PMI may be canceled.

When the PMI coverage is cancelled or terminated, a notification must be sent to the consumer stating that:

* PMI has been terminated, and the borrower no longer has PMI coverage.

* No further PMI premiums are due.

The obligation for providing notice of cancellation or termination is with the servicer of the mortgage.”

PMI can be a significant amount of money every month, so know your rights and the rules on PMI, and keep track of your dollars and cents in these tough times.

If your parents or grandparents are considering a reverse mortgage, it pays to do your research in order to know exactly what they are getting into, in order to stay safe, and avoid scams.

Currently there is only one type of reverse mortgage available.  It is called the HECM, or Home Equity Conversion Mortgage. This mortgage is insured by FHA.

You can obtain this type of mortgage from a HUD lender.  Since the credit crunch, there are new rules and regulations these lenders must abide by.  The fees are specific, and set by law.  There are some HUD lenders, however, who may offer some type of discount.

The maximum amount a lender can offer for a reverse mortgage is $417,000.  In addition, the origination fees will be charged as follows: 2% on the first $200,000 and 1% on any amount above $200,000.

What are the fees associated with a reverse mortgage?  As an example, let’s assume a house is valued at $200,000.  The origination fee would amount to $2500; the Mortgage Insurance Cost would be $4,000; the Closing cost is estimated at $2,200; and the Service Fee is approximately $5,345.

The origination fee is charged by the lender to implement the loan.  Again, it is 2% of the first $200,000 and 1% thereafter.

The mortgage insurance cost is a requirement of HUD and is based on 2% of the home’s value up to $417,000. There is an additional .05% of the loan balance attached.

The closing costs encompass services that are performed prior to the reverse mortgage’s finalization, for example, the appropriate surveys, inspections, title searches, taxes, and credit checks.

The service fee is used to cover the costs of any future service fees, and they can range from $20 to $35.

You can compare a reverse mortgage to home equity loans, second mortgages, or a home equity line of credit.  However, while a home equity loan may incur lower interest rates, since it is a variable rate, it is also possible that the monthly payments will be significantly higher.

Considering a reverse mortgage requires a great deal of research.  Before the credit crunch, there were three types of Reverse Mortgage loans: HUD, Fannie Mae, and the Jumbo Reverse Mortgage.  Due to decreases in home values at present, a result of the economic crisis, the only reverse mortgage now available is through HUD.

Do your research, and if you really think a reverse mortgage is right for your family, move forward with caution only through HUD. Avoid scammers or anything that sounds too good to be true. A reverse mortgage can help many seniors, but only if they don’t fall prey to reverse mortgage scammers.

With the current recession in full swing and unemployment rising, the quest by unscrupulous predatory lenders to take advantage of seniors is on the rise. One of the areas in which they are particularly insidious is in selling reverse mortgages.

There are a host of reverse mortgage scams that are plaguing our senior citizens, and steps are being taken to stop it. In this article, we will try to highlight the main things you need to watch out for when it comes to reverse mortgages.

According to HUD, deceptive practices and allegations of high-pressure sales tactics are being more frequently encountered as senior citizens are being taken advantage of under the guise of a helpful and legitimate reverse mortgage.

Borrowers also run the risk of being steered into inappropriate loans and annuities by sales agents and insurance brokers who could be working together without disclosing that relationship to the borrower. They are all in it for their percentage, and since greed is what got America into the current credit crisis, it will certainly not get us out. Common sense will.

A reverse mortgage can be of real benefit to people who truly need it, since it frees up equity in your home. Unfortunately, reverse mortgage scams were on the rise even before the current economic crisis hit. A case in point is California:
According to the Oakland Tribune dated Sept. 6, 2006, “Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill into law that adds protections against scam artists offering reverse mortgages.”

The new law requires that before getting a reverse mortgage, people must receive independent advice about the pluses and minuses from a certified counseling agency that does not have any profit motive. This shows you how profitable reverse mortgages can be, so buyer beware.

The law also requires that mortgage documents be translated into the language in which the loan was negotiated, ensuring that a borrower who doesn’t speak English has full access to the complex financial information. This reverse mortgage law also blocks the questionable practice of requiring people to buy annuities they may not need.

For more information on reverse mortgages, visit HUD at: http://www.consumerlaw.org/initiatives/seniors_initiative/tips.shtml.

Our seniors are particularly vulnerable these days to the scams that pervade our society. They have seen their retirement funds asvested in 401ks virtually vanish, and greed run rampant. They have seen higher taxes, and their children lose their homes to foreclosure. They have lost jobs, or are now reluctant or unable to retire.

Given the fact that so many seniors may be in financial trouble now, and are feeling more and more desperate, they become victims of relentless individuals and companies that seek to prey on their immediate financial concerns by offering seeming good advice and a quick fix to their problems.

But remember, buyer beware, and if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

If your parents or grandparents are considering a reverse mortgage, make sure you get involved as a back up person. By all means accompany them when they seek advice from a counseling agency so that you can assist them with any and all questions relating to reverse mortgages. Take notes, read the fine print, and get independent advice from a non-profit source.

Look up reverse mortgage scams online. Stay informed, and stay safe. Again, a reverse mortgage might be a great idea for some seniors depending on their situation, but beware of reverse mortgage scams now, to avoid disaster later.

Except for seniors who require long-term care, most are fiercely independent.  Many seniors who feel they might be a burden to their family are opting for a reverse mortgage.

With seniors living longer than ever before, and baby boomers dealing with their own financial and senior issues, and possibly having to take on the added responsibility of caring for their older parent if they become ill, many older people would rather take out a reverse mortgage than submit their children to this fate.

According to statistics, approximately 40% of long-term care is paid for by seniors.  If there are those who cannot afford to do so, the children are forced to pay for these services.  This poses a problem for a senior who wishes to live out his or her life independent of their children.  It also raises issues among the children such as who will care for mom or dad, and other sibling issues.

One woman writes, “My parents are 86 and 87 respectively, and both living alone now.  If either one or both became ill and needed financial assistance, it seems to me that a reverse mortgage is a viable alternative in these difficult economic times.  My sister and I agree that we would never put them into a nursing home.  Their independence is crucial to their mindset and way of life.  To deny them that independence would be cruel. At the same time, though, we need to worry about our own families, college, and making ends meet. A reverse mortgage, when done correctly, can make all that possible.”

Reverse mortgages alleviate the burden felt by seniors and their children.  Imagine living in a home most of your adult life, and then suddenly becoming ill and discovering that you cannot afford to pay the bills or other expenses associated with home ownership any longer.

One of the things some of us fear, and seniors in particular, is change.  Our parents usually have a schedule they live by.  They receive their monthly social security and pension checks and try to stick to their budgets.  They treasure every moment of life in ways only they can appreciate. But any bump in the road financially can threaten all that.

They ask for nothing other than being allowed to live out their lives in comfort and financial stability.  However, if they become ill and cannot afford medical expenses or prescription drugs, their world can turn topsy-turvy.

A reverse mortgage can free their minds from worry, since it will help them secure day to day living expense. However, it is good to check out the latest options first before pinning your hopes on a reverse mortgage as the solution to your difficult problems. Given the current economic climate, the credit crunch is affecting even this area of the market.

However, if your parents or grandparents are struggling to make ends meet, it is an alternative that is well worth investigating.

Even though oil prices seem to be dropping at the moment, why pay more than you have to? And, you might also want to consider global warming.

There are a lot of myths about being energy efficient in the home. Here are a few myths versus facts. The more you learn, the more you can save.

So stay warm this winter with these handy hints and tips.

Myth

Furnace filters work no matter how long they’re in use.

Fact

Replacing or cleaning old filters can reduce dust and save 5% in heating costs.

Myth

Keeping drapes and blinds closed keeps in heat.

Fact

Opening up drapes and blinds on windows facing the sun lets the sun in, heating your home for free. Southern exposures will catch the sun pretty much all day.

Myth

Fireplaces are great sources of warmth in the winter.

Fact

Fireplaces pull heated air out of the house, so use it sparingly and be sure the damper is closed when it’s not in use.

Myth

Humidifiers add moisture to the air, making it feel cold.

Fact

Moister air feels warmer, so by adding a humidifier, you can set your thermostat lower, to help you save money.

Myth

Only experts can tell if your outer doors have air leaks.

Fact

Place a piece of paper between the door and frame and shut the door. If you can pull the paper out without tearing it, you should weather-strip around the door to keep the heat in and the cold out this winter.

Here is a good article for any of you getting ready for the holiday season and trying to tidy up and settle in for the long winter ahead.

There is nothing worse than living in a cluttered, crowded environment. So if you want to free yourself from the burden of ‘stuff’, read on here:

Clinging to Clutter