Consumer corner

Allow experience to lead the way. These timeless homeowner lessons address the unique ups and downs of being a homeowner. May these articles speed you back to what really matters.

MOLD - So what's the BIG deal?

By John Gura
Home Safe Environmental

For years mold has been accepted by most of us as Mother Nature's way of warning us away from spoiled food. Then, a few years ago, mold must have gotten a press agent.

Headlines about toxic mold and TV news reports on sensational lawsuits became common. On one national broadcast a homeowner was quoted as saying her house was so contaminated by toxic stachybotrys that it, "cannot be cleaned" so she was going to let her local fire department burn it for practice! Programs like 48 Hours, Primetime and even Oprah have jumped on the "toxic mold" story.

All of the hype has a lot of people who can't even pronounce stachybotrys; positive it's lurking under their kitchen sink. Mold is fast becoming public health enemy number one.

How did this happen?

Mechanics Liens for the Layman

By Ken Willis

One of the worst nightmares any homeowner can imagine is to be confronted with a mechanics lien for materials or work after they have paid the prime contractor. Yes, this happens. Our association has dealt with one roofing contractor who failed to pay his supplier for sixteen roofing jobs all within 90 days. The supplier filed liens against all sixteen homeowners who had already paid the contractor the full amount. As it turned out, fourteen homeowners were stuck with having to pay for their roofing materials a second time.

Lead poisoning in your home

By Kathleen Gura
Chairperson, Environmental Safeguards Committee, LCH

A Serious Threat to Kids

Americans will be hearing a lot about lead very soon. A new federal law requiring "disclosure of any known lead hazards" on residential property transfers and eases went into effect this past October. Right now, the State Legislature, as well as lending, construction, and insurance industries are scrambling to write laws and policies that will affect millions of consumers, homeowners and workers in the years to come.

How dangerous is lead?

How to make contractor payments

A chronic problem faced by many homeowners involves contractor payments. The League office receives calls on a regular basis from homeowners that involves advance payments to contractors who suddenly fail to reappear for work and even take extended leaves of absence from the job site. Meanwhile, the homeowner has to live with part of the house torn up and cannot get a return phone call from their contractor. Here is when the contractor has taken the homeowner's money and goes off to finish or even start another job without making arrangements with their client. This is highly unprofessional and unfortunately, it happens far to frequently. Here are a few rules to help you out:

5 Steps for Finding the Right Pro

By John Hawks

How to Find an Architect

Are you looking for an architect for a building, remodeling or renovating project? Great idea! Now you have another decision to make: Which architect? How can you find the right pro for your job?

Of course, you want someone who will provide the best judgment, technical expertise and creative skills at a reasonable cost to help you build or remodel a home that fits your practical needs as well as your dreams. So should you just open the Yellow Pages and pick a name, any name?

Nope. There's a better way. Follow these steps to help with your search.

Home Inspectors

If you are buying a home, it is always a good idea to have a complete home inspection performed by a professional who is capable of finding and identifying problems that may not be easily visible to you.

Homebuyers checklist

We often receive requests for "HOW TO TIPS" from potential homebuyers. The following are tips from The League of American Homeowners garnered from various consumer information resources. We hope that this information is useful to you.

On Buying a Home:

Residential Energy Savings "What Works?"

By Ken Willis

As the price of energy climbs higher, more homeowners are looking for ways to cut the cost for their own utility use. Conserving on home utility bills is not a "liberal vs. conservative" debate, it is a matter of good sense and financial survival. After all, it is not by coincidence that the words "conservative" and "conservation" share the same derivative "c-o-n-s-e-r-v-e." Point is, energy conservation is not a "liberal idea" in the political sense. Indeed, it is about saving money, making your home more comfortable and finally, just being practical.

But these days, people want to see the beef! What really cuts the cost of energy in your home? Not knowing where to start often causes many homeowners to avoid this question. The answer is not to be found in only one type of effort, but it rather a more eclectic approach that is required.

Checking the Price!

By Ken Willis

We are getting a lot of calls from homeowners regarding pricing for air conditioning, insulation and a number of other summertime home improvements. Probably the biggest concern has been air conditioning. By telling you about our experiences we hope that you will learn how to avoid problems. Here are some examples of situations we have encountered:

Canceling a contract

Homeowner Law: Rescinding A Home Improvement Contract

by Les Mark
Esq. Council to The League

Q. I recently signed a contract with a contractor to undertake a remodel of my kitchen at my home. I first learned of this contractor by way of an advertisement he sent to my home. Within two days of signing the contract, I had second thoughts about this particular contractor and I decided to get some other bids. I telephoned the contractor and told him that I would like to rescind the contract. He told me that I could not do so. In his words, we have a binding agreement. On that day, I faxed him a letter to advice him that I disagreed with his position and that I had no intention of honoring the agreement. Can the contractor successfully sue me for breach of contract?

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