February 19, 2009
By T.S. Bernard
The Obama administration’s housing plan aims to help millions of homeowners who fall into two categories: either they have been struggling to pay their mortgages or they have been shut out of the refinancing market.
The initiative gives lenders incentives to modify the mortgages of the three million to four million homeowners on the brink of foreclosure or who cannot make their monthly payments. The goal is to reduce the payments to levels they can afford.
The plan also aims to help the four million to five million homeowners who have been unable to refinance their mortgages because their home values dropped, erasing much or all of their home equity. Some of them would have a fresh shot at refinancing.
While the administration offered some details about the programs, more information will be available on March 4, when the programs begin.
Below are answers to some of the questions that troubled borrowers may have.
REFINANCING
Q. Am I eligible?
A. Your loan must be owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, the government-controlled companies that together account for about half of the mortgage market. The problem is that many of the most problematic loans do not fall under the Fannie-Freddie umbrella. You can call your mortgage lender after March 4 to find out if your loan qualifies.
You will need to have “sufficient income to make the new payment and an acceptable mortgage payment history,” according to documents about the initiative. Precise details will be released next month.
In the meantime, you should get your financial house in order. That means collecting the paperwork you will need to refinance, including information detailing your gross monthly income; most recent income tax returns; information about any second mortgages; payments made on credit cards if you carry a balance; and payments on other loans, like auto or student loans.
Read the rest of the story here. . .
Friday, February 20, 2009
Bringing Wind Turbines to New York City Rooftops
Rooftop Wind Turbines
The New York Times by Anne Eisenberg on February 15, 2009
WIND turbines typically spin from tall towers on hills and plains. But in these green times, some companies hope smaller turbines will soon rise above a more domestic spot: homes and garages.
The rooftop turbines send the electricity they generate straight on to the home’s circuit box. Then owners in a suitably wind-swept location can watch the needle on their electricity meter turn backward instead of forward, reducing their utility bills while using a renewable resource.
One new model, the Swift Wind Turbine, is designed to do its job quietly, said Dave Anderson, co-director of Renewable Devices in Edinburgh, which has partnered with Cascade Engineering in Grand Rapids, Mich., to offer the turbine in the United States.
“The noisiest it gets is 35 decibels,” roughly the sound of a quiet conversation, he said of the whir of the blades. The turbine, which looks like a large wagon wheel, has a ring around its blades designed to diffuse noise and limit vibration. “The air is steered toward the diffuser ring and dispersed, rather than leaving the blades with a ripping noise,” Dr. Anderson said.
The turbine costs $10,000 to $12,000 including installation, said Michael Ford, manager of the renewable energy business unit at Cascade Engineering. When the wind is blowing briskly at 30 miles an hour or more, it will generate 1.5 kilowatts of electrical power, he said. Enough, for instance, to run fifteen 100-watt light bulbs.
“You need a strong average wind speed,” he said, recommending that prospective customers make careful measurements before they buy. “Don’t trust your memories about the wind power around your house,” he said. “People always remember when it’s windy,” but forget about the lulls.
Residents may measure wind speed with an anemometer, often available for rent, as well as by entering their address at the Swift Web site, which has listings of average wind speeds for localities.
Read the rest of the story here:
The New York Times by Anne Eisenberg on February 15, 2009
WIND turbines typically spin from tall towers on hills and plains. But in these green times, some companies hope smaller turbines will soon rise above a more domestic spot: homes and garages.
The rooftop turbines send the electricity they generate straight on to the home’s circuit box. Then owners in a suitably wind-swept location can watch the needle on their electricity meter turn backward instead of forward, reducing their utility bills while using a renewable resource.
One new model, the Swift Wind Turbine, is designed to do its job quietly, said Dave Anderson, co-director of Renewable Devices in Edinburgh, which has partnered with Cascade Engineering in Grand Rapids, Mich., to offer the turbine in the United States.
“The noisiest it gets is 35 decibels,” roughly the sound of a quiet conversation, he said of the whir of the blades. The turbine, which looks like a large wagon wheel, has a ring around its blades designed to diffuse noise and limit vibration. “The air is steered toward the diffuser ring and dispersed, rather than leaving the blades with a ripping noise,” Dr. Anderson said.
The turbine costs $10,000 to $12,000 including installation, said Michael Ford, manager of the renewable energy business unit at Cascade Engineering. When the wind is blowing briskly at 30 miles an hour or more, it will generate 1.5 kilowatts of electrical power, he said. Enough, for instance, to run fifteen 100-watt light bulbs.
“You need a strong average wind speed,” he said, recommending that prospective customers make careful measurements before they buy. “Don’t trust your memories about the wind power around your house,” he said. “People always remember when it’s windy,” but forget about the lulls.
Residents may measure wind speed with an anemometer, often available for rent, as well as by entering their address at the Swift Web site, which has listings of average wind speeds for localities.
Read the rest of the story here:
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Google PowerMeter Can Reduce Your Power Bill!
Googling Your Home Electricity Usage
by Miguel Helft for the New York Times
If people knew how much electricity they are using every time they turn on the lights, fire up the oven or lower the thermostat on their air conditioner, they would make smarter decisions about their energy use, and presumably, conserve more.
That’s the idea behind a prototype service that Google unveiled on February 10, 2009 which New York Times reporters Matthew Wald and Miguel Helft wrote about in on February 10, 2009.
The service, which will be called Google PowerMeter, will allow users to measure their energy use in real time. It one of many new consumer products that would-be enabled by so-called “smart grid” technologies, and it is one of Google many new initiatives in the energy area.
Google is unveiling the prototype for PowerMeter well before it has a functioning product available as a way to attract partners to its endeavor. The company also hopes that the announcement will bolster its own advocacy efforts at the state and federal levels in support of policies and investments that would promote the development of a smart grid.
Read the whole story here:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/googling-your-home-electricity-usage/?hp
by Miguel Helft for the New York Times
If people knew how much electricity they are using every time they turn on the lights, fire up the oven or lower the thermostat on their air conditioner, they would make smarter decisions about their energy use, and presumably, conserve more.
That’s the idea behind a prototype service that Google unveiled on February 10, 2009 which New York Times reporters Matthew Wald and Miguel Helft wrote about in on February 10, 2009.
The service, which will be called Google PowerMeter, will allow users to measure their energy use in real time. It one of many new consumer products that would-be enabled by so-called “smart grid” technologies, and it is one of Google many new initiatives in the energy area.
Google is unveiling the prototype for PowerMeter well before it has a functioning product available as a way to attract partners to its endeavor. The company also hopes that the announcement will bolster its own advocacy efforts at the state and federal levels in support of policies and investments that would promote the development of a smart grid.
Read the whole story here:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/googling-your-home-electricity-usage/?hp
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