Weighing up to several hundred pounds, the garage door is the heaviest moving item in your house. To avoid garage door injuries and help ensure safe, reliable operation, follow these tips from Door & Access Systems Manufacturers Association International and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Test the balance. To see if your garage door's springs and cables are working properly, close the door and engage the automatic opener's release mechanism or emergency disconnect. You'll know your door is balanced if it opens and closes easily by hand and stays 3-4 feet above the floor when you let go. Consult a professional if you don't feel comfortable doing this yourself.
Inspect the hardware. Periodically examine the garage door's screws, rollers, hinges and other moving parts for wear, rust or other structurally compromising damage. Giving the parts an occasional coat of lightweight oil will help prevent rust. Avoid using thicker oils and grease.
Check the safety reversal system. If your garage-door opener was made after 1993, it likely has an auto-reverse safety function. In most cases, this is a sensor beam that stops and reverses the door if the beam is disrupted while the door is moving. If your opener doesn't have this feature, it's best to replace it. If your opener does have an auto-reverse mechanism, test it by placing a 2x4 in the door's path before closing it. If the door doesn't stop and reverse upon sensing the object, the opener needs repair.
Call in the pros. Whether you're dealing with broken hardware or you need to replace your door altogether, it's best to hire a trained technician to do the job. Garage door springs, cables and hardware are under high tension and can cause serious injury or death if they break or come loose.
Source: State Farm
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
Mortgage Rates Dip below 4%..
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A plunge in mortgage rates is giving homeowners a rare opportunity to lock in a 15-year fixed-rate loan for less than 4 percent.
Rates haven't dipped this low in decades. For those who can qualify, it's the chance to pay off a home in half the time while saving tens of thousands of dollars -- if not more.
But the lower rates on short-term loans are not likely to ignite the refinancing market. Most people can't afford the higher monthly payments required by a 15-year fixed mortgage compared with a more traditional 30-year loan.
"That's not what most people need right now. They need lower payments," said Leif Thomsen, CEO of Walpole, Mass.-based lender Mortgage Master Inc.
High unemployment, slow job growth and tight credit have hampered the housing industry. And fewer people are also in position to refinance, because low real estate prices have left many with little equity in their homes. Many people who would qualify have already refinanced in the past year.
The average rate on the 15-year fixed loan dropped to 3.95 percent last week, according to mortgage company Freddie Mac. That's the lowest on records the company has kept since 1991. The average rate for a 30-year fixed loan fell to 4.49 percent. Rates haven't been that low since the 1950s, when longer-term mortgages typically lasted 20 to 25 years.
On the surface, there might not seem to be a huge difference in the two rates, both of which are historically low. But consider the savings on a $200,000 mortgage over 15 years at the current rates.
A borrower who refinances over that term could expect to save $65,000 in interest compared with the 30-year fixed loan. Still, they would pay $1,474 a month before taxes and insurance. With the 30-year loan, the payments would be $1,010 a month.
Most people in a weak economy don't have an extra $464 a month.
Peter Thompson, senior loan officer with Prospect Mortgage in Naperville Ill., said 15-year loans make up about 20 percent of his refinancing business these days. They are popular among homeowners with solid finances and plenty of equity in their homes.
"They're not the people who bought within the past five years," he said. "You're looking at very well-qualified people who have owned their home for a while."
In the refinancing boom of 2003, when the economy was healthier, moving from a 30-year loan to a 15-year loan was more common. Loans with 15-year terms made up about a third of mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Now, that number is around 20 percent, according to data from Credit Suisse.
Credit Suisse mortgage strategist Mahesh Swaminathan said the ideal candidate already has considerable savings or a high monthly income.
"It's just problematic for borrowers who don't have that cash flow," he said.
Applications to refinance loans rose 1.3 percent last week and those to purchase homes increased 1.5 percent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. That's hardly enough to energize the housing market.
Rates have fallen since spring as investors seek the safety of U.S. Treasury bonds. That has lowered the yield on Treasurys. Mortgage rates tend to track those yields.
To calculate the national average, Freddie Mac collects mortgage rates on Monday through Wednesday of each week from lenders around the country. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a given day.
Rates on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 3.63 percent, down from 3.76 percent a week earlier. Rates on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages fell to an average of 3.55 percent from 3.64 percent.
The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. One point is equal to 1 percent of the total loan amount. The nationwide fee for loans in Freddie Mac's survey averaged 0.7 a point for all loans.
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Mortgage-rates-hit-low-of-449-apf-739903100.html?x=0
Rates haven't dipped this low in decades. For those who can qualify, it's the chance to pay off a home in half the time while saving tens of thousands of dollars -- if not more.
But the lower rates on short-term loans are not likely to ignite the refinancing market. Most people can't afford the higher monthly payments required by a 15-year fixed mortgage compared with a more traditional 30-year loan.
"That's not what most people need right now. They need lower payments," said Leif Thomsen, CEO of Walpole, Mass.-based lender Mortgage Master Inc.
High unemployment, slow job growth and tight credit have hampered the housing industry. And fewer people are also in position to refinance, because low real estate prices have left many with little equity in their homes. Many people who would qualify have already refinanced in the past year.
The average rate on the 15-year fixed loan dropped to 3.95 percent last week, according to mortgage company Freddie Mac. That's the lowest on records the company has kept since 1991. The average rate for a 30-year fixed loan fell to 4.49 percent. Rates haven't been that low since the 1950s, when longer-term mortgages typically lasted 20 to 25 years.
On the surface, there might not seem to be a huge difference in the two rates, both of which are historically low. But consider the savings on a $200,000 mortgage over 15 years at the current rates.
A borrower who refinances over that term could expect to save $65,000 in interest compared with the 30-year fixed loan. Still, they would pay $1,474 a month before taxes and insurance. With the 30-year loan, the payments would be $1,010 a month.
Most people in a weak economy don't have an extra $464 a month.
Peter Thompson, senior loan officer with Prospect Mortgage in Naperville Ill., said 15-year loans make up about 20 percent of his refinancing business these days. They are popular among homeowners with solid finances and plenty of equity in their homes.
"They're not the people who bought within the past five years," he said. "You're looking at very well-qualified people who have owned their home for a while."
In the refinancing boom of 2003, when the economy was healthier, moving from a 30-year loan to a 15-year loan was more common. Loans with 15-year terms made up about a third of mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Now, that number is around 20 percent, according to data from Credit Suisse.
Credit Suisse mortgage strategist Mahesh Swaminathan said the ideal candidate already has considerable savings or a high monthly income.
"It's just problematic for borrowers who don't have that cash flow," he said.
Applications to refinance loans rose 1.3 percent last week and those to purchase homes increased 1.5 percent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. That's hardly enough to energize the housing market.
Rates have fallen since spring as investors seek the safety of U.S. Treasury bonds. That has lowered the yield on Treasurys. Mortgage rates tend to track those yields.
To calculate the national average, Freddie Mac collects mortgage rates on Monday through Wednesday of each week from lenders around the country. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a given day.
Rates on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 3.63 percent, down from 3.76 percent a week earlier. Rates on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages fell to an average of 3.55 percent from 3.64 percent.
The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. One point is equal to 1 percent of the total loan amount. The nationwide fee for loans in Freddie Mac's survey averaged 0.7 a point for all loans.
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Mortgage-rates-hit-low-of-449-apf-739903100.html?x=0
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