Do-it-yourself Q&A

Q. The bathroom grout in our 14-year-old house has become stained, and we haven't been able to clean it with various products, including bleach. How do we restore the color? -D. Lilly

A. Bathroom grout can pick up several difficult-to-remove types of stain, including minerals from hard water, soap scum, mildew and mold. Grout cleaners generally help, but the method of cleaning is often as important as the cleaner. It often helps to spray on the cleaner, let it work for several minutes, then scrub with a soft brush. Regular household cleaners such as Mr. Clean or Simple Green sometimes work well. Some home owners swear by oxygen-type bleach, not chlorine bleach. Others prefer special tile cleaners such as Tilex or Kaboom. When just cleaning doesn't work, a good option is to dye the grout, restoring either its original color or picking a new color. You can find grout dyes at some ceramic-tile dealers, and the Internet has many sources. One source, groutrevive.com, offers a grout-coloring kit ($43) that includes a pre-treatment, colorant, applicator brush, gloves and other materials. Available colors include white, black and several shades of gray. Cleaned or newly colored grout will stay that way longer, and be easier to clean, if the grout is coated with a sealer. Grout sealers are available from tile dealers or on the Internet.

Q. Our builder used polystyrene foam panels to insulate the ceiling over the crawl space below our kitchen addition. The floor still gets quite cold. If I remove the foam and staple high-R batt insulation between the joists, would it help? -A. Francese

A. It depends on the thickness and type of the polystyrene insulation used, but there is a good chance you can improve the insulation in the crawl-space ceiling. Polystyrene panels have insulating values ranging from about R-3.5 to about R-5 per inch of thickness. Panels two inches thick would give an R value of no more than about 10, which isn't enough for floors in even warm-climate regions, where R values of R-13 to R-19 are recommended for retrofitting floors in existing homes. In cold climates, R values of 25 to 30 are recommended. You can achieve high R values with fiberglass insulation tucked between the joists of the crawl-space ceiling, although you might be limited in the thickness of your insulation by the depth of the joists. Fiberglass insulation can be held in place with lengths of stiff wire jammed between the joists under the insulation; the wires are sold by insulation dealers. You don't mention the floor of your crawl space, but it should be covered with a layer of thick plastic sheeting to help keep moisture from migrating into the crawl space. Hold the plastic in place with bricks or stones.

Q. I cleaned my vinyl siding with a mixture of three quarts of warm water, one quart of chlorine bleach and one cup of TSP. It did a great job on the siding but left white stains like water drops on the window glass. Windex didn't remove the spots. Can you help? -Tom

A. I think that cleaning solution was too heavy on the bleach and TSP (trisodium phosphate). TSP is a very powerful cleaner, and that much bleach shouldn't be needed even if the siding has some mildew stains. A cup of bleach and a quarter-cup of TSP in a gallon of warm water might have been better. A soft brush is the best applicator, but it sounds like you used a sprayer of some sort. In any case, it is a good idea to protect windows by taping plastic sheeting to the frames. You should also rinse the surface with clear water as soon as possible.

It is possible that the glass has been etched by the mixture, but you can try this cleaning method. Test it first on a few spots in the corner of one of the window panes. Get some very fine (4-0) steel wool and soak it in Windex. Rub the stains gently at first to make sure you are not scratching the glass.

If the stains soften and come off, rinse the test area and check again for scratching. If all is well, proceed with the remaining stains. If Windex doesn't work, try the steel wool and a couple of other solutions - a quarter-cup of ammonia in a quart of warm water or a 50-50 mixture of white vinegar and water. Caution: Don't try mixing ammonia and bleach; it generates a dangerous gas.

Questions and comments should be e-mailed to Gene Austin at gaus17@aol.com. Send regular mail for Gene Austin to 1730 Blue Bell Pike, Blue Bell, Pa. 19422.

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Borrower has second thoughts about that second chance

Q. I was going into foreclosure, but the bank gave me a loan modification. I agreed to the modification at the beginning, but now I see it was a mistake and think foreclosure would be better. What do I have to do - just stop paying?

A. A quick answer to your question is yes. If you stop making your payments, the lender will certainly reinstitute the foreclosure proceedings to sell the home and satisfy all or part of the debt you owe.

The whole loan modification process has been a nightmare - not so much for the big-box lenders but for troubled borrowers. The government held out the promise that loan modifications would help people save their homes. But it was far from the truth. At first, lenders were overwhelmed by the volume of applications and lenders took forever to get through the files. Borrowers were given the impression that they would be considered for a loan modification if they met a certain minimum standard and were granted a trial loan modification.

Those trial loan modifications were anything but a trial. Borrowers were told to follow the lenders' instructions, pay a certain amount and wait for a response from the lender. However, what the borrowers got was months on hold waiting for lenders, lenders that reported those same borrowers - whom they claimed they wanted to help - to the credit-reporting bureaus as either delinquent on their loans or as paying less than required.

Those same borrowers were being hurt by the system that was supposed to be helping them. Borrowers who had stellar credit histories and credit scores soon found that their trial loan modifications had hurt their credit scores so much that they would be unable to qualify for a traditional refinance because of their participation in the government-sponsored loan modification program.

Recently released statistics indicated that only a small number of people who applied for loan modifications actually received a permanent loan modification.

Those who did not receive a permanent loan modification and were bounced from the trial loan modification received a rude awakening. Their lenders told them they would, at once, have to cough up the money to bring their loans current, even though the borrowers had paid the amounts they were told to pay during the trial loan modification. Now those same borrowers faced a higher chance of foreclosure than before their participation in the loan modification plan.

Decide for yourself whether you should make any more payments to your lender.

You might want to get a copy of your credit history from annualcreditreport.com to see how the loan modification has affected your credit history. You can download a free copy from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus at this site. The site will also offer you a copy of your credit score for about $8.

You might find this information helpful in seeing where you stand now, what impact a foreclosure will have on your future credit history and score, and what you will need to do over the next several years to restore your credit.

Q. I purchased a beach property in North Carolina with a friend a couple of years ago. We put down 10 percent and financed the rest. We thought we could sell the property quickly, but we were wrong. The co-owners have been having financial problems and stopped paying their share of the mortgage, taxes and insurance about two years ago. Since then, they have been paying the utilities and I've paid everything else.

Renting it out covers about 60 percent of the expenses, but we lose money on the whole. Our property is about 20 percent underwater.

View the original article here

Color of Money Live

Need advice about how to handle your personal finances? Post columnist Michelle Singletary offers her advice and answers your questions.

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Michelle Singletary: Just finished my video chat. Hope you view it later. Got lots of questions so let's get started.

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Thanks for your advice!: I printed out the payoff for my husband's car today and am mailing in the final payment. We've paid off my car and all of our credit cards in the past year. We still have my student loans and a mortgage, but we are definitely moving in the right direction. It feels soooooooo good.Thank you for your wonderful advice. It has been incredibly helpful. :)

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College Loans: I'm starting graduate school in the fall and need to borrow a chunk of money. I've done all of the FAFSA stuff and am waiting for a reply. I'm starting to get a little worried and wonder if I should contact a private lender now. (I paid out-of-pocket for undergrad so I don't know how this stuff works.) I've got 6 months until I start school and wonder how long I should wait for a reply before I take my own action. What say you? Thanks!

Michelle Singletary: Would you kill me if I said you need to wait?You paid cash for undergraduate, why not continue that trend and stay out of debt?

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Student Loans - PAID OFF!: Good Afternoon! I have already received my tax refund (Federal and D.C.) and used it to pay off my student loans. They were basically 0% interest but I paid them off in 8 years instead of 10. I'm so excited! I'm taking a combination of tips I've read in this chat and set up automatic transfers into various accounts (new car, savings and Roth IRA) that total the amount of what my student loan payment was each month. I even set it up for the same day, so that I will not go a month without seeing a withdrawal on that date. I'm saving for a new car (one of the accounts) and hope to not finance more than $10K (assuming the current car allows that....) of the purchase price. I'm almost 32, SINK and feel like this will be my best financial year! Thanks for all the great tips you provide!

Michelle Singletary: Oh my, I'm so very proud of you. Say, you deserve one of my debt defeater tee-shirts. They are free, well free if you send me your story to colorofmoney@washpost.com.I just highlighted a debt defeater in my live video chat. So come one one of my club members.Again, congrats. I know it feels great to get that student loan monkey off your back. And your savings strategy is right on the money!

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Michelle Singletary: Don't worry, Jim is here. Just having some computer problems. I'll start posting his answers to your questions in just a bit. I think it's the rain!

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Please, what next?: Michelle, I've been reading your columns and chats for years, and I agreed with so much of your advice that I followed most of it. Now I'm 37 with no debt, a paid-off house, a maxed-out 401(k) every year, and enough savings to live on for several years if I needed to. My husband and I are not having kids, so the only things we're really saving for are elder care for my parents and our own retirements. I am having a terrible time figuring out what to do next, and I don't remember ever seeing you cover the next steps. Do you have any columns that cover what happens once you're financially secure and just accumulating savings? Are there any books you can recommend? Safe things like CDs have a godawful rate of return, the stock market is frighteningly volatile, and real estate investments don't seem much more secure. Any advice you can give would be appreciated. (Text chat only please, if you respond. I don't know if you pull from the text chat for your video.)

Michelle Singletary: What's next?Rejoice. Running in the streets.Seriously, you are in a position few people are. So what's next is really what else you want to do with your money -- more charitable giving, helping other family members (any niece or nephews piling on college debt). Once you decide what you want to do with the money, the you decide where to invest it or whether to invest any more money.

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Amended return: After filing my 2010 taxes last month and receiving a refund, I realized I'd forgotten something...extra income, which means I need to pay the IRS. How much time do I have to do an amended return? Does that need to be done by April 18 because I now owe money?

James Dupree: You are correct. Filing an Amended return on IRS Form 1040X will prevent late filing penalties and interest if filed before April 18.

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Refinancing student loans: This isn't a tax question, but I hope that you answer it. I used my income tax refund to pay off my credit cards, and I now want to refinance my student loans, which are at 8 and 10 percent. How long after the credit card payments will my credit score be adjusted, such that I can reap the benefits on the refinancing?

Michelle Singletary: The answer to that question is a mystery. The credit scoring companies won't really say. But you should see a jump in your credit score within the next several months. The card companies report to bureaus regularly so once the card company systems update for your payments that will be sent to the bureaus.However, I'm not sure a higher score will result in your being able to get a loan to pay off those student loans. You would have to get a personal loan and if you owe a boat load of money that will be difficult in this credit market where companies are very reluctant to make such loans.

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Energy Tax Credits: We put in a new efficient water heater and washer and dryer and new electrical panel in our second home last year? Can we apply that to the energy tax credits?

Michelle Singletary: Here's what the IRS says about this credit:Nonbusiness energy property credit. This credit, which expired after 2007, has been reinstated. You may be able to claim a nonbusiness energy property credit of 30% of the cost of certain energy-efficient property or improvements you placed in service in 2010. This property can include high-efficiency heat pumps, air conditioners, and water heaters. It also may include energy-efficient windows, doors, insulation materials, and certain roofs. The credit has been expanded to include certain asphalt roofs and stoves that burn biomass fuel.Limitation. The total amount of credit you can claim in 2009 and 2010 is limited to $1,500.You can find a nice list of qualifying home improvement equipment from the EnergyStar web site. Before you take the credit be sure you qualify.

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settlement money: I received a large settlement for physical injuries from a traffic accident in 2010. Should I put down the settlement figure as income on my income tax form?

Sarah Halzack: From James Dupree:Physical injuries or physical sickness settlements are generally non-taxable. If you receive a settlement for physical injuries or physical sickness and did not take anitemized deduction for medical expenses related to this injury in prior years, the full amount is non-taxable and generally does not need to be reported on your income tax return. If you receive a settlement for physical injuries or physical sickness and did deduct medical expenses related to the injury, the tax benefit amount is taxable.

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Child Care Tax Credit (CCTC): Is there an income limation for the CCTC? Can parents with joint custody get credit for their respective payments even during the years when the child is not claimed as a dependant?

James Dupree: The child must be claimed as a dependent on your return and lived with you for more than half of 2010.

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Yikes!: I'm freaking out! I need to save a large amount of money in a small amount of time ($2000/6 weeks). My salary is not huge. I have a student loan and hardly ever use my credit card. Any mantras to help get through? Thanks sooo much.

Michelle Singletary: But I know freaking out won't help the situation.

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W-4 Federal Withholding Tax Information: Michelle... I recently changed my W-4 withholding number from 2 to 4... From my understanding, will this number increase the amount of money I bring home during the year and decrease my annual tax refund? Although I do like to receive the refund, I am more interested now in bringing home more money during the year versus getting a big refund...

Michelle Singletary: To really tell what the change will do, you should get help from a tax professional or walk thu your tax return with the higher withholdings. Don't just guess.

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Debit card not the same as cash?: In Wednesday's column, you briefly said that using a debit card is not the same as cash. Can you elaborate? Any links/resources would be great too. Thanks!

Michelle Singletary: In the battle over swipe fees, consumers will lose

Michelle Singletary:

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Taxes - refunds, children, etc.: I am curious - every year we file our taxes (we have 3 minor children), are homeowners (mortgage holders), both work full-time, use the Flexible Spending Accounts, one of our children is in Pre-K, about to start Kindergarten. We know people who pull in $10,000 tax refunds. We are not those people. We have tweaked our W-4 each year and it never comes out "a wash" - we owe nothing, we get no refund. Are we calculating incorrectly? Or is this just something we have to learn to live with? I would love to neither owe or gain at tax time. Just file and be done with it. If we get a large refund, I think "we left $ with the gov't all year". If we owe, that just hurts. NOTE: The last few years, hubby has gotten laid off and collected Unemployment - requested no taxes be taken out - so we have to pay them at tax filing time. If he had the taxes taken out, it would eat into an already smaller paycheck. Then, he is called back to work and we go on through the year. THANK YOU!!!!

James Dupree: Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate to avoid having too much or too little Federal income tax withheld from your pay. You can use your results from the calculator to help fill out the form.

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Worth it to Amend?: Is it worth it to amend three years of prior filings if it nets us about $800 per year but my spouse (gay couple filing single with federal) will not only have to pay back $4000 in refunds per year, but also owe the government about $2000 per year in taxes? We had two houses for the past 3 years and each of us claimed one house in our taxes. However, I make more money than my spouse and just learned this tax year when we sold one house that we would have received $800 more per year in refunds if I had claimed everything. Is there a way we can figure out if it's worth it to amend? For instance, what, if any, interest my spouse would have to pay on (1) the $4k he received each year in tax refunds; and (2) the$2k he would owe each year? Can we do this without raising audit suspicions? I'm thinking it's not worth it - live and learn - but the frugal side of me wants to do the calculations. Do you think it's worth it?

Michelle Singletary:

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debit cards: Hello Michelle! I have to disagree with the idea that *I* am addicted to my debit card - I use it just as I use cash, except that I don't have to carry as much cash in my wallet or deal with personal checks. For me, it makes my life so much easier. And I have yet to bounce any transaction!On another note, I followed your advise 3 years ago and had my credit card debt negotiated with MMI. I'm still on the program and was able to pay one of my credit cards off today! Several more steps left to go, but I am closer to being debt free today than I was 3 years ago. Thanks!

Michelle Singletary: Perhaps addicted was too strong a word but the fact that people can't imagine operating without it suggest a strong attachment to this form of payment. I have counseled a lot of people who think they are doing just fine using debit and not cash. But they are also overspending because they don't see all the cash going out of their account. There is something about having to hand over cash that gives your brain a signal that money is being spent. That is my point.And good for you for taking care of that credit card debt.

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Coming out a "wash": You'll never be able to get your withholding to exactly match what you owe. You can minimize the difference, so maybe you get a $53 state refund and owe the Feds $102 (or vice versa), but it will never come out even. There are too many variations throughout the year--your mortgate interest deduction goes down slightly every year as you pay off your mortgage, your property tax rate changes, your charitable contributions vary, etc.

Michelle Singletary: Thanks. I think this will help folks understand.

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Question for Jim Dupree IRS rep...: I'm embarrassed to ask my local IRS person this...I'm on a payment plan for my taxes. Has anyone ever requested to have their wages garnished? I take extra out of my paycheck every month to pay the next year's taxes anyway...seems like I could do the same for taxes that I currently owe.

James Dupree: Payment by credit card via phone or Internet, orhttp://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f2159.pdf

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Student loan interest: My daughter graduated from college in 2010. She is now getting the bills for student loans, but is applying for Grad school. I told her I would pay the undergraduate loans while in Grad school. Since I am a co-signer on the loans, would I be able to claim the interest on my taxes or can only she claim this? Thanks.

James Dupree: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/index.html

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to retire or not to retire?: Hi Michelle, love you and your chats. My husband and I are in our early 30s, with secure and stable careers. We both have 401(k)s that are worth less than 100k right now and a life insurance/investment program that will pay dividends when we turn 55. We used to have a Roth IRA accts, but have less than 10k in there because we no longer qualify with our incomes. At this point, I feel like we're not doing enough for our retirement. Should we open a regular IRA? Contribute more to our 401k instead of just matching? What should we do more to ensure a better retirement fund? Thank you.

Michelle Singletary: Go to www.choosetosave.org. There is a ballpark retirement calculator that will help you figure out if you are saving enough for retirement.

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Re Yikes: Saving money is a slow race, not a fast one. Is the 2k a want or a need? It is something that you can put off a couple of months? Do you already have a budget in place?

Michelle Singletary: Good questions for the person trying to save. I figured it was necessary otherwise why the rush.

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Re: What next? : I know what I want to do with the money - use it to try and retire earlier, and be as comfortable as possible during retirement. (We already donate to charities every year and help out our families.) So now how do we figure out where and how to invest? Is it just time to move beyond the limits of your advice and find a financial planner?

Michelle Singletary: Probably. The important thing is to figure out how much income you want in retirement and then figure out if you have that already and if not where can you/should you invest it to meet your goal. That, I'm afraid, is not something I can do for you.

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Paying it off!: Michelle -- We just paid off $15,000 in credit card debt over the past two years (hooray!!). Nice feeling to have that behind us. Now -- what do we tackle next? Between my spouse and me, we have $75,000 in student loans with interest rates between 1.85% and 2.25% and we have $51,000 in a second mortgage with an interest rate of 9.25% (I know, I know ... big mistake ... no need to get into that. What's done is done). We can't refinance the second mortgage as the house is underwater. Many thanks.

Michelle Singletary: In this case your lowest debt is also the debt with the highest interest rate so I would aggressively go after paying off the second mortgage. And I agree, what is done is done. I don't typically lecture folks when they've made a mistake UNLESS they are in denial. No need to kick a debtor when he or she is already down (smile).

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Paying attention: You are a clarion call for consumers to pay attention to those transaction fees, debit card debits, service charges, bag taxes and the creeping cost, often cent-by-cent, of living.I used to shrug off the complicated Pepco bill, Comcast charge and the more than occasional "I don't what that $3 is for but it's not worth fighting about" fee from some company and just write my check or click pay. No more. I'm being taken; and if I don't stand my ground, no one else will.I'm looking at my bills. I'm looking at how and when I pay them. I'm looking at what is necessary or luxury. (E.g., ATM fees? No, thank you.)Appreciate your column. Keep up good work. And in what ways do you think most households miss ways to save money?

Michelle Singletary: And really it's food that bust many people's budget. They don't pay attention to the extra they spend in the grocery store and eating out. Second is transportation. Second biggest item in people's budget because we can't hold unto our cars. Got to upgrade all the time.

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Estate Tax Audit: Hi, this question is for Jim. I am the personal rep for my father's estate, and the IRS is auditing the 706, which is not unexpected. We really cannot afford the attorney who prepared the return for help with the audit, as he would charge $14,000 for the initial response to the auditor's request for information. Am I crazy to think I can handle this on my own? I already have all the information compiled, but is the IRS auditor out to try to find more tax come hell or high water? Or does the auditor really simply want to make sure we're paying the correct amount of tax? We took a discount on the property where my father lived because he was murdered there (per the advice of the attorney). So my fear is that the auditor will not allow this, even though we have multiple offers on the property which were withdrawn specifically because the buyers learned of what happened there (and we have that reason in writing from buyers). Thanks!

James Dupree: I can assure you, the IRS Auditor's job is to make sure you are paying the correct amount of taxes due, if you have to pay.

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Deadline for 1099 MISC Income form?: I have a full-time job and also do some freelance work. One of my clients still hasn't gotten me my 1099. Claims to have mailed it two weeks ago. They finally sent a pdf so I can finish my taxes. But this has happened before with them. Client is actually fine, it's the accountant who has worked for them for years who is remiss. And has been so in the past (missed W4s, 1099s, late payroll).Is there an IRS deadline by which I should have received the form from the client and if so and accountant missed it, can I report him to the IRS?Thanks.

Michelle Singletary: Here's a good article on this on ehow.com since I don't have a lot of time. There is a deadline, Jan. 31 I believe.http://www.ehow.com/info_7839914_companies-required-mail-w2-forms.htmlIf a company does not furnish employees with correct W-2 forms by the deadline, does not receive an extension and cannot show good cause for the delay, it may be penalized by the IRS. But just so you know, it's possible the company will be penalized not the bad accountant.

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MFJ on 1040a: What forms do I use if my spouse died in April of 2010? I always use 1040a and we always filed jointly.

James Dupree: For more information about each of these filing statuses, see IRS Publication 501: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p501/index.html

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Michelle Singletary: Hey, I know we didn't get to as many tax questions as I had hoped. Computer issues. But I'll get Jim to answer some leftover questions and either print them in my Post column or in my eletter. So if you don't subscribe to the eletter please do.Thanks for joining me today.

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Military buyers: Home-shoppers on a mission

To those who haven't worn the uniform, their ways can be a mystery. But anyone trying to sell a home in the Washington metro area would be wise to learn more about the needs and habits of military officers, enlisted people and their families. It's the season for them to begin some serious house-hunting.

The D.C. area is home to more than a dozen major military bases, and thousands of service members and their families move in and out of the region every year.

Across the services, transfers frequently take effect in June or July. "Starting in March, April and early May, there's really a strong demand for military families transferring into the area," says Greg Wilson, a retired Navy officer who owns RE/MAX Riverside in Occoquan, which specializes in military relocation. "They start looking online in March and are generally here in April and May to visit the houses in person for a July move, especially the spouses. A lot of times they have less than a week to come to the area and look at homes," he says.

Military households tend to move every two to four years, often with little notice, and usually arrive in the D.C. area with sticker shock, despite access to a tax-free housing allowance and special government-guaranteed mortgages with little or no down payment required. Often they base their price range on the Department of Veterans Affairs loan limits and monthly housing allowance - important numbers for sellers to keep in mind when pricing their homes. In most of the Washington area, the VA loan limit is $818,750. (In some areas close to Fort Meade, the limit is $500,000.)

And there's an added incentive for some service members to buy this spring: The $8,000 first-time home-buyer tax credit expired for most people last year, but service members (as well as members of the Foreign Service and the intelligence community) who were stationed outside the United States for at least 90 days between Dec. 31, 2008, and May 1, 2010, have until April 30 to enter into a binding contract and until June 30 to close on a property and qualify for the credit.

Lt. Col. James Gifford, an Air Force pilot, has plenty of experience with fast and frequent moves. He was stationed in England with the 494th Fighter Squadron before being transferred to the Pentagon in 2003. "I was coming back from overseas with two little children - my daughters were 2 and 3 years old - and had just 10 days to find a new home," he says.

As he was preparing to leave England, a buddy in his fighter squadron told him about Wilson, who helped him find a townhouse in Springfield. Just two years later, in 2005, Gifford was transferred to Enid Air Force Base in Oklahoma. He sold his Springfield home for a $100,000 profit. "It was complete luck," he says. "The market was so crazy good at that point."

After five years in Oklahoma, Gifford was about to be sent to the War College in Carlisle, Pa., when his assignment was changed to the Pentagon at the last minute. He had just one month to find a home in the D.C. area before his June 2010 transfer date.

His wife, Cindy, started looking at properties on the Internet and found 30 good prospects, then narrowed the list to 10 based primarily on price range, commute and the school district for their daughters, now 10 and 12.

Cindy flew to D.C. and she and Wilson visited her top 10 homes and picked her favorites. But soon after she returned to Oklahoma, someone else put an offer on her favorite, a four-bedroom house in Woodbridge. The Giffords quickly made an offer on the house, and it was accepted - all before James had a chance to travel to Virginia to see any of the houses.

Gifford knows he will be transferred again, in July 2012, but he would like to keep the house for at least seven or eight years before selling, and he hopes to return to the D.C. area in the future. This made him conscious of the rental market when calculating how much house he could afford and how much of a down payment to make.

He based his calculations the way many military households do: He looked at the housing allowance for an Air Force lieutenant colonel with dependents ($2,880 per month), knowing that would probably be the rental budget of a similar officer moving to the area. Then he subtracted about $300 per month for utilities and management fees when calculating his target monthly payment. This way, he knew that he would be likely to get enough rental income each month to cover his mortgage payment and carrying costs.

If you'd like to attract military buyers, it's important to keep those housing-allowance numbers in mind when pricing your home. The Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) varies by rank, location and number of dependents. The amounts are available by using the Department of Defense's calculator at defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm.

A major in the Army, Air Force or Marines, or a lieutenant commander in the Navy with dependents in the D.C. area (including suburban Maryland and Virginia), receives $2,739 per month and often looks for a house with monthly payments that equal the BAH.

Showing prospective buyers that there is a strong rental market in your area is also very important. Many service members plan to rent out their homes if they are transferred after just a few years, especially if they expect to return to the D.C. area at some point. "In the Fort Meade area, we have seen a huge boom in the rental market," says Laura Roskelly, a real estate agent in Millersville who spent four years in the Army and traveled with her Navy husband for 16 years. She now specializes in military families buying properties in the Fort Meade area.

Home prices and reasonable commute times tend to be very popular with military families. "I find that many military families that are relocating to Fort Belvoir usually start their search in Lorton, which has a short commute to Fort Belvoir," says Sarah Phelps, an agent with Ron & Susan Associates with Long & Foster in Lorton.

"Most of the Quantico military transfers I help purchase are buying homes in Dumfries, Stafford and sometimes as far south as Fredericksburg," she said.

Wilson finds a lot of families interested in Burke, because it has good schools and easy access to Fort Belvoir via the Virginia Railway Express.

Roskelly says many people stationed at Fort Meade are buying or renting in Annapolis, Severn, Odenton, Gambrills, Crofton, Piney Orchard, Severna Park, Arnold, Columbia and Ellicott City.

Most military households, like home buyers in general, begin their search on the Internet. MilitaryByOwner.com tends to be popular because it makes it easy to see information about houses available for sale or rent near military bases. "It's a great place to advertise your home to military people coming into the area," Wilson says. He recently listed a client's home in Manassas for rent for $2,850 per month, "and within an hour, we had four serious inquiries." The house was rented in just three days.

Simply including the name of a nearby base in any home listing on the Internet can help attract prospective buyers. For example, Roskelly's Web site, FortMeadeHomes.com, makes it easy for buyers throughout the country to find listings in communities near the base. "Think like a relocating home buyer and what search terms they would probably use to find a home near the base," she says.

Also highlight services available at the nearby base - such as the new 120-bed Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, which will be replacing a much smaller clinic on the base and no longer requires families and retirees to travel to Walter Reed Army Medical Center at the northernmost tip of D.C. or to Bethesda for a lot of their medical care.

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Diner’s Journal Blog: What We’re Reading

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The family focus endures in Montgomery's Sherwood Forest

The Victorian house in the center of Montgomery County's Sherwood Forest neighborhood has overlooked the surrounding land for more than 200 years. Back in those early days, it lay just off the Glenmont-Colesville Road in the midst of Westover Farm, where crops such as corn and oats grew on nearly 300 acres.

Now, the house is encircled by Colonials, split-levels, ramblers and an elementary school. Families arrived more than 50 years ago, after the farm was sold in pieces to developers. But Richard Curtis, whose family owned the land, kept 10 acres, including the house at the center of the property, and moved there to raise his own family in the late 1950s.

Curtis, a former Navy pilot, still lives in the house at age 92 and has watched a community grow where those rolling farm fields once were. His children grew up in Sherwood Forest, and the neighborhood remains family-friendly.

The Robin Hood Swim Club, the focal point of the community throughout the summer, sits on a portion of Curtis's original 10 acres. He leased the land to the neighborhood's community association years ago and guaranteed a loan that eventually enabled the membership to build the swimming pool and purchase the land and the surrounding grounds.

Curtis called it a "natural chain of events."

"I had four children," he said. "They had friends that needed a place to swim. [The association leaders] were looking for a spot to build a pool. I suggested this one and helped them with it. . . . I think the pool has been a nice feature in bringing the community together."

That pool has now served generations of Sherwood Forest families. Carolyn Bauer's parents helped get the swim club started, and she spent her childhood summers at poolside, competing with her friends on the Robin Hood swim team. Now Bauer, 46, has moved back to Sherwood Forest, and her three children, ages 16, 13 and 9, are enjoying summers at Robin Hood. "It's a huge deal in the neighborhood," said Bauer, who is on the pool's board of directors. The swim club has a picnic area; features volleyball, tennis and basketball; and sponsors a Fourth of July parade.

Bauer's community connections helped find her family's current home, which was purchased from a woman whose son she knew from the swim team. "She said, 'I can only sell my house to someone I know,' " Bauer recalled.

Bauer has lived in her Sherwood Forest split-level for 11 years and says the neighborhood is perfect for families. "You have [Westover] elementary school you can walk to, a pool you can walk to. . . . That's what makes this neighborhood different from another one." Bauer's parents still live nearby, and three of her neighbors are original homeowners.

Dave Michaels, 59, moved to Sherwood Forest with his parents in his early teens. I thought I died and went to heaven," he said. "Anything any teenager could want was here." Michaels soon met a group of friends in the neighborhood who attended local schools together. He remembers the arrival of the McDonald's at New Hampshire Avenue and Randolph Road as a big event for young people in the late 1960s.

The neighborhood has transitioned from those original families, and a new generation is beginning to move in. "I welcome the changes," Michaels said. "It's a natural thing, keeps things dynamic," noting that the county's work to upgrade Westover Elementary School has added to the neighborhood's value.

Long & Foster agent Dave Savercool and his wife, Susan, moved to the area about 15 years ago from another Silver Spring neighborhood, seeking a bigger house for their three children. Many families come to Sherwood Forest seeking more space, Dave Savercool said. "There's a fair share of government workers, university types," he said, and in the past five or six years, workers from the nearby Food and Drug Administration have discovered the neighborhood.

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Details on the Potomac Crest neighborhood

BOUNDARIES: Cedar Ridge Drive to the north, Foxcrest Court and Potomac Crest Drive to the east, Turncrest Drive and Potomac Crest Drive to the south, and Cobble Creek Circle to the west.

SCHOOLS: Beverly Farms Elementary School, Herbert Hoover Middle School, Winston Churchill High School.

HOME SALES: In the past 12 months, four homes have sold, for prices ranging from $825,000 to $1.1 million, according to Debbie Cohen, an agent with Long & Foster. Recently, there were three homes listed for sale at prices ranging from $847,000 to $1.278 million.

WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE: Cabin John Mall, Montgomery County Ride On bus stop on Tuckerman Lane.

WITHIN 10 TO 15 MINUTES BY CAR: Cabin John Regional Park, National Institutes of Health, Suburban Hospital.

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Do-it-yourself: How to remove soap scum

Q. I have a fiberglass shower wall and tub that have accumulated a lot of hard-water stains, soap scum and dirt. I have tried all kinds of products, and they just don't clean it. Can you help? ¿ C. Davis

A. Fiberglass surfaces are rather easy to keep clean once you get them that way, but removing existing crud could take a lot of scrubbing.

Don't use abrasive cleaners; they can dull or scratch the surface. One product worth trying is Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Bath Cleaner. This is an oversize version of the regular Mr. Clean Eraser. You will probably need several to remove a lot of accumulated grime.

Another product sometimes recommended is ordinary baking soda. Put a generous amount of baking soda on a soft, white cloth, moisten it and scrub.

Some hard-water stains can be removed by scrubbing with full-strength white vinegar. For tough stains, make a paste of vinegar and baking soda and scrub with that.

Once you get the fiberglass clean, here is how to keep it that way: After every shower or use of the tub, use a squeegee to wipe water from the flat surfaces. Then use your towel to wipe down the walls and tub, leaving them as dry as possible. The wipe-down takes only a minute or so, and it pays off by not giving the hard and soapy water a chance to form stains.

Q. I just moved into a building where the previous occupants must have played indoor baseball. There are several holes in the drywall about the size of a baseball. Is there a fast, easy way to patch these holes? ¿ G. Arnold

A. Holes in drywall aren't difficult to patch, but the job is seldom fast and easy. It is usually necessary to repaint the entire wall after patching.

As for the holes, which are often caused by the bumping of doorknobs or the corners of furniture, there are at least a dozen ways to patch them. Many do-it-yourselfers prefer to use a repair kit, sold at many home centers and on the Internet. Kits generally contain all or most of the materials needed to make the patch. Look for a kit that includes drywall joint compound, which is needed to smooth over the patch.

If you have several holes and don't want to use kits, you can buy the materials separately. Buy "setting type" joint compound, which comes in bags and lets you mix only as much as needed for the job at hand.

The following is my favorite method for patching drywall holes: Make a square pattern from cardboard that covers just the hole and draw an outline of the pattern around the hole. Neatly cut the edges of the drywall around the hole to match the pattern lines, using a sharp utility knife or a fine-toothed keyhole saw. Next, cut a piece of drywall that is about one inch larger on all sides than the pattern; this will be the patch.

Place the cardboard pattern on the back of the patch and draw its outline so that there is a margin on all sides. Cut out only the back of the patch, along the pattern lines, so that the front paper covering is left in place to form four thin flanges.

Test-fit the patch in the hole, then butter the back of the flanges and the edges of the patch with joint compound and press it in place with a six-inch-wide drywall joint knife. The paper flanges should hold the patch in place.

When the compound dries, smooth over the flanges of the patch with more joint compound; three coats are usually needed. Let each coat set up for several minutes, then carefully smooth it with a damp sponge and let it dry. This will reduce the need for sanding. When the patch is smooth and all the compound is dry, prime the patch and repaint the wall.

QUICK TIP: Reader Les Hamilton suggests trying an oscillating multi-tool for power removal of old tile grout. These small, hand-held power tools, sold under a variety of brand names that often include the word "multi," have a very rapid reciprocating action. They can be fitted with a variety of small blades that perform tasks such as sanding, sawing and scraping. Hamilton says his MultiMax tool kit, made by Dremel, includes a blade for grout removal. Dremel MultiMax kits sell for about $100.

If grout removal is one of the main reasons for buying a multi-tool, I recommend checking first to make sure a grout-removal blade is included or is available as an extra accessory. Multi-tools are excellent for working in tight places and are available in corded and battery-powered versions.

¿McClatchy-Tribune

Questions and comments should be e-mailed to Gene Austin at gaus17@aol.com. Send regular mail for Gene Austin to 1730 Blue Bell Pike, Blue Bell, Pa. 19422.

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D.C. newcomers searching for their dream home might get a few wake-up calls

Anyone who has searched for a home in the District, for convenient parking - or even for a bar stool during happy hour - may have sensed what census statistics confirm: There are a lot of newcomers around town. And these newcomers - and their housing wish lists - are helping reshape the city's neighborhoods and housing stock.

From July 2008 to July 2009, a net of 6,550 people migrated to D.C., according to a Census Bureau analysis of Internal Revenue Service data. Last year, the District's population surged past 600,000 for the first time in two decades. Developers are taking notice.

"When newcomers . . . come to Washington for employment, they generally rent first," said Ann Scully, executive vice president of Mayhood, which has been developing condominiums in the District for almost 30 years. "They pick a neighborhood and they rent in that neighborhood. If they end up liking it they might look for something to buy in that area after a year or two," added Scully, who has been with Mayhood since 1984 and is involved with the Workforce Housing Committee of the Urban Land Institute, a nonprofit group that advocates for increased development for moderate-income households.

In addition to favoring rentals, experts say, newcomers generally gravitate toward neighborhoods they recognize.

"Typically newcomers are looking for areas that are nationally identifiable. So we get a lot of people asking about Georgetown, Dupont Circle and downtown," said Ken Johnson, who founded DCRealEstate.com, a marketing, sales and leasing company. "For someone who is coming from outside the area for a job, they're usually not looking to pioneer. They want something they see as safe and that's in the center of things," added Johnson, who also edits the DCMud real estate blog.

Affordability shock

But newcomers soon find that prices in those neighborhoods are among the highest in the city, so many have to broaden their search.

Alefiyah Mesiwala, 30, a preventive-medicine resident at Johns Hopkins who is doing a rotation in Washington, and her husband, Aadil Ginwala, 32, a business consultant, said that after renting in Baltimore for the past few years they were ready to settle down and buy in D.C.

"Our requirements were that it would be Metro-accessible, that it would be physically convenient, that if we needed to rent the building out at some point it would be really easy, and we would be in a fun part of town," Ginwala said.

They considered Dupont Circle, Chinatown, Penn Quarter, Adams Morgan and U Street but soon discovered that their options, given what they could afford, were limited.

"Our initial goal was condos, but they were so expensive and the fees were so high," Mesiwala said. "You might be paying $2,000 or $3,000 for a mortgage and on top of that anywhere from $400 to $1,000 in maintenance."

In the end, they found an attractive two-bedroom rowhouse between U Street and Dupont Circle that had been lingering on the market. They recalled that the garden was unkempt and mold had grown on the deck.

"Really all it needed was a good power washing," said Ginwala, who suggested that the building's modest neglect helped the couple afford their neighborhood of choice.

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Mortgage applications rise as loan costs hold steady

Mortgage interest rates were little changed from last week, keeping borrowing costs steady as demand for home loans increases.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed loan rose to 4.88 percent this week from 4.87 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac. The average 15-year rate was unchanged at 4.15 percent, the mortgage-finance company said in a statement.

Adjustable-rate mortgages that are fixed for five years averaged 3.73 percent this week, up from 3.72 percent. Rates on one-year adjustables averaged 3.21 percent, down from 3.23 percent last week.

Mortgage applications rose 16 percent in the week that ended March 4, the biggest gain since June, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's index. The group's measure of purchase applications increased 13 percent and its refinancing gauge jumped 17 percent.

The median price for an existing home fell to $158,800 in January, the lowest since 2002, according to the National Association of Realtors. Home sales rose 22 percent from October to January, the realty group said.

This week's rise in the 30-year mortgage rate was the first in four weeks. Rates began climbing from a record low of 4.17 percent in the week that ended Nov. 11 and reached a 10-month high of 5.05 percent in February. The rate's decline since then has pushed the monthly payment for a $300,000 mortgage down to about $1,589, from $1,620.

Freddie Mac's average rates do not include prepaid interest, known as points. Each point equals 1 percent of the loan amount. This week, there was an average 0.7 of a point charged on 30-year and 15-year fixed loans. There was an average 0.6 of a point on five-year hybrid ARMs, and 0.5 of a point on one-year ARMs.

- From news services

4.87%

Last week

4.88%

This week

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Beef Goulash Soup

Beef Goulash Soup Recipe window.Krux||((Krux=function(){Krux.q.push(arguments);}).q=[]); (function(){ function retrieve(n){ var m, k='kx'+n; if (window.localStorage){ return window.localStorage[k] || ""; } else if (navigator.cookieEnabled) { m = document.cookie.match(k+'=([^;]*)'); return (m && unescape(m[1])) || ""; } else { return ''; } } var kvs = []; Krux.user = retrieve('user'); if (Krux.user) { kvs.push('u=' + Krux.user); } Krux.segments = retrieve('segs') && retrieve('segs').split(',') || []; for (var i = 0; i help Q&A newsletters bhg products free offers sweepstakes subscribe Join now! More Close /* */ We LikeDelicious Dinner Recipes Easy Dinner Recipes Recipes & Cooking DessertsHealthy RecipesChickenSlow CookerQuick & EasyParty Recipes New Recipes Food Blog See All Decorating & Home Ideas Gardening Entertaining Holidays Health Magazine Pets Videos Shop BHG.com  /  Recipes & Cooking Beef Goulash Soup Share Save Already Saved Print Rate Makes: 4 servings Prep 30 mins Cook 20 mins Average rating 3.5 from 6 reviews 1 2 3 4 5

make this recipe user reviews () Beef Goulash Soup 1 2 3 4 5 Loved It? Ingredients 6 ounces  boneless beef top sirloin steak 1 teaspoon  olive oil 1/2 cup  chopped onion (1 medium) 2 cups  water 1 14 ounce can beef broth 1 14 1/2ounce can low-sodium tomatoes, undrained and cut up 1/2 cup  thinly sliced carrot (1 medium) 1 teaspoon  unsweetened cocoa powder 1 clove garlic, minced 1 cup  thinly sliced cabbage 1 ounce  dried wide noodles (about 1/2 cup) 2 teaspoons  paprika 1/4 cup  light dairy sour cream Snipped fresh parsley (optional) Paprika (optional) Directions 1. Trim fat from steak. Cut steak into 1/2-inch cubes. In a large saucepan cook and stir steak cubes in hot oil over medium-high heat about 6 minutes or until beef is brown. Add onion; cook and stir about 3 minutes more or until tender.

2. Stir in the water, broth, undrained tomatoes, carrot, cocoa powder, and garlic. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 15 minutes or until beef is tender.

3. Stir in the cabbage, uncooked noodles, and the 2 teaspoons paprika. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 to 7 minutes more or until noodles are tender but still firm. Remove from heat. Top each serving with some of the sour cream. If desired, sprinkle with parsley and additional paprika. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts (Beef Goulash Soup) Servings Per Recipe 4, cal. (kcal) 188, Fat, total (g) 7, chol. (mg) 36, sat. fat (g) 3, carb. (g) 16, Monosaturated fat (g) 3, Polyunsaturated fat (g) 1, fiber (g) 3, sugar (g) 6, pro. (g) 14, vit. A (IU) 5053, vit. C (mg) 23, Thiamin (mg) 0, Riboflavin (mg) 0, Niacin (mg) 4, Pyridoxine (Vit. B6) (mg) 0, Folate (?g) 40, Cobalamin (Vit. B12) (?g) 1, sodium (mg) 397, Potassium (mg) 592, calcium (mg) 101, iron (mg) 3, Vegetables () 2, Starch () 1, Medium-Fat Meat () 2, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet Add your review 1 2 3 4 5 Loved It? Top Brands

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'Net zero' house to be built in Maryland should produce as much energy as it uses

It sounds like an idea out of a sci-fi novel: a house that can produce as much energy each year as it uses. But most buyers aren't interested in houses from a sci-fi novel, and they aren't much interested in paying extra for them, either.

But a test house about to be built on a federal research site in Gaithersburg is designed to look like a typical home in the Washington area, and its inventors are going to great lengths to calculate how well the normal-looking sci-fi house would generate and consume energy when occupied by a family of four.

Groundbreaking is set for March 25, and construction is to begin in March or April, with completion expected in 15 months. Gaithersburg-based commercial builder Therrien Waddell Construction Group is the contractor, working with residential builder Bethesda Bungalows, which focuses on high-end "green" building.

The four-bedroom, three-bath house will be built with the latest in energy-efficient techniques and technology - plus redundant alternative-energy systems that will be tested later. It was designed by Building Science Corp. in Somerville, Mass. The two-story bungalow could be right out of Takoma Park, Hyattsville, Bethesda - or from Bethesda Bungalows' new-project files.

The 2,700-square-foot wood-framed house with detached, electric-car-ready garage will sit on a small hill on the north end of the campus of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, near Clopper and Quince Orchard roads. The location is next to the institute's engineering lab, where 50 or 60 scientists in the building environment division will monitor how the energy-saving technologies work when the home is in use. The $2.6 million research project was funded through federal stimulus money, after two years of preparation and design.

But no one will really live there. Instead, scientists will track what happens with a simulated family of four. "To simulate the family, the showers, toilets, lights and appliances will actually be turned on and off by computers . . . located in the detached garage," says A. Hunter Fanney, chief of the building environment division. "The computers will send signals to every device in the home to control its operation. In the case of water [used in the showers, faucets and toilets], the computer will actually open and close the water valves to extract the correct amount of hot and cold water."

Other automatically cycled appliances include a range with oven, a washer and dryer, microwave, dishwasher, and refrigerator with a door that opens and closes regularly.

Standing in for the parents and two kids, to generate body heat that will be factored into the energy-usage equation, "we'll have people simulators - devices that are similar in appearance to little hot-water heaters that will give off heat and moisture to simulate humans" in every room, Fanney says.

The "people" will be turned on and off on schedule, too. The two heaters in the master bedroom and one in each of the kids' rooms will go on at night when they're "sleeping" and off in the morning when they leave for work or school. Units in the bathrooms will cycle on and off, as will heaters in the family room, dining room and kitchen.

The house also will have a 1,518-square-foot basement, complete with people simulators.

If the notion of human simulators and computerized utilities sounds cutting edge, it is. But Fanney says much of the "net-zero" building approach is within many homeowners' grasp. Betsy Pettit, president of Building Science Corp., who served as the architect and building sciences consultant, agrees.

"In most buildings, you can lower energy usage by 40 to 50 percent by using existing off-the-shelf technology, if it's selected properly, installed properly and maintained properly, and attention is given to detail," Fanney says.

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Ask the builder: Fixing water-damaged drywall

Q. A water line burst in our home and created a significant leak. We were home and able to contain most of the water, but quite a bit got through the floor, ruining the drywall ceiling in the basement. Is there an easy way to deal with water-damaged drywall? Can we just wait for it to dry and then repaint it? How do you decide whether to replace the drywall? - Susie W., Baltimore

A. I've been dealing for three decades with drywall that has suffered the indignity of getting wet. Sometimes we have saturated the drywall with water on purpose at the job site to get it to bend, but most times a roof leak, foundation leak, plumbing misfortune or chronic condensation has caused the drywall to fail.

I can clearly remember past calls from shocked customers who have lost entire ceilings when, without notice, the drywall crashes to the floor. The weight of the water and loss of structural integrity of the gypsum core causes the drywall panels to tear away from the fasteners. It usually happens at the worst possible moment.

You may not think that much water leaked, but it doesn't take much to create a disaster. The first signs that your ceiling is in danger of falling are depressions around the fasteners. You'll see small dimples form as the drywall surrounding the nails or screws succumbs to gravity and starts to droop, leaving an upside-down crater. If you see this happening, move all valuables and furniture from the room in anticipation of a ceiling collapse.

If a bubble or droop appears in the drywall, water could be ponding on the other side. Use a nail to punch a drain hole, allowing the water to escape. Capture it with a bucket.

Test the ceiling with your fingers. Poke at it. If it seems as hard as drywall that has not gotten wet, you may have dodged the bullet. But if the drywall seems soft or spongy, you're going to be best served by cutting out the damaged section before it sags and possibly falls. Cut carefully, as all sorts of wires, cables, water lines, radiant heating pipes and so forth can be just on the other side.

Repairing water-damaged drywall is not too hard. Ceilings will present the most difficulty if you're not a professional. Working over your head is not easy, and getting the repair to blend in with the rest of the ceiling will be tough to achieve if you're not highly experienced at finishing drywall.

It's best to try to cut out the wet drywall as soon as possible so that you minimize any mold growth. Mold spores are hidden in the typical ceiling; the temperature is perfect, and they have food. The only ingredient missing was water, and now that's present. Mold can bloom within days if you don't act.

Be sure to wear goggles or other eye protection as you remove the damaged drywall. The last thing you need right now is a scratched cornea from a nugget of gypsum falling into your eye.

One of the biggest challenges in getting the ceiling ready for a new piece of drywall is cutting back the water-soaked drywall to the center of one of the ceiling joists. This is accomplished with any number of tools, from a sharp razor knife to a reciprocating saw held at a low angle so the blade just cuts into the drywall and not the wood joist.

You can also cut to the side of a joist and then nail on a scab or sister 2-by-2 that will be the lath catcher for the new drywall. Just be sure the bottom of the framing material is flush with the bottom of the existing joist. If it's lower, you'll end up with an unsightly hump in the ceiling.

-Tribune Media

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Green Scene: Good books for the gardener

Since spring is right around the corner, I felt it appropriate to share some titles that will fit well into your gardening library. Books are still one of the best ways to keep up with the latest in landscape design and the needs of plants. These new favorites of mine cover a wide range of garden- and landscape-related subjects.

l"Flowering Plants: A Pictorial Guide to the World's Flora," general editor Leon Gray (Firefly Books, 2011, $24.95), has more than 700 detailed color illustrations and interpretations of plants listed by family. Each plant is identified by its common and scientific name. Illustrations throughout the book explain the story of each plant, the type of flower, plant similarities and differences, and the general distribution of plant habitats. This volume is an excellent way to learn about plant relationships. For example, some plants can be members of the same family but look completely different from one another. Take this 288-page softcover field guide on your next long trip, and you'll find that you only need batteries for a flashlight, not an iPad.

l "Continuous Container Gardens: Swap in the Plants of the Season to Create Fresh Designs Year-Round," by Sara Begg Townsend and Roanne Robbins (Storey Publishing, 2011, $19.95), will show you how to stay green through the year. The authors use hundreds of high-quality color images to demonstrate their design guidelines and suggest numerous possibilities for plant use. This 271- page softcover book beautifully illustrates numerous ways to grow plants, including flowering trees.

l "Ornamental Grasses: Wolfgang Oehme and the New American Garden," by Stefen Leppert (Frances Lincoln Ltd., 2009, $45), is the ultimate grass book. Ornamental grasses were not used very much in gardens 20 to 30 years ago. In the 1970s, landscape design primarily consisted of installing trees and shrubs as foundation plants against houses, with trees used in lawns. The New American Garden changed that approach to garden design and introduced a new style to landscape architecture and design. Having come from Germany, Oehme was designing on this continent with plants that hadn't been tried here. His intense enjoyment of Beethoven could well have influenced his sweeping design style. This 143-page hardcover, full-color "idea" book has about 225 photographs. It's a valuable reference book to have on your shelf or coffee table.

l "Attracting Native Pollinators: The Xerces Society Guide to Conserving North American Bees and Butterflies and Their Habitat" (Storey Publishing, 2011, $29.95), a 370-page book, has images to illustrate the intricate ways that pollinators communicate, congregate and move. The greater the diversity of pollinators the better yield from your garden. Providing foraging habitat, nesting sites and egg-laying sites for pollinators will boost your crops.

l "The Secret World of Slugs and Snails: Life in the Very Slow Lane," by David George Gordon (Sasquatch Books, 2010, $14.95), is about animals that the author admits he didn't like until he started learning about them. It's apparent from one comment, "To err is human, to slime is sublime," that as his appreciation for these creatures grew, he became fascinated by them. This 150-page softcover reference book includes fun facts such as these: Slugs are simply snails without shells. French diners consume more than 14,000 tons of escargot snails every year. In the mid-1980s, students at the University of California at Santa Cruz chose the native banana slug as the campus mascot. Snails and slugs are hermaphrodites, equipped with male and female reproductive parts and can, under certain conditions, mate with themselves.

l"Fifty Plants That Changed the Course of History," by Bill Laws (Firefly Books, 2010, $29.95), presents interesting information and impressions about plants. For example, trade in tulip bulbs in 17th-century Holland led to the world's first major financial crash. Agaves have supplied raw materials for products ranging from ships' mooring ropes to tequila. And rubber plants in South America were known to indigenous people as weeping wood, and the sticky compound was used to keep feet dry and protect skin from fungal infections. Hardcover, 224 pages.

l "The Small Budget Gardener: All the Dirt on Saving Money in Your Garden," by Maureen Gilmer (Cool Springs Press, 2009, $16.95), will save time and money. Gilmer has broken the 238-page hardcoverbook into 11 useful sections. The book offers suggestions for saving money on energy and water, and it promotes recycling and the reuse of anything that can be handy in the garden.

Joel M. Lerner is president of Environmental Design in Capitol View Park, Md.

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Phasing out Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae could boost what other borrowers must pay

Fixed 30-year mortgage rates in the 5 percent range? Minimum down payments below 5 percent? Jumbo-size home loans for high-cost markets at regular interest rates? Kiss them good-bye - possibly sooner than you might guess.

Take a snapshot of today's mortgage market conditions and frame it, because it's highly likely you'll never see anything like these favorable combinations of rates and terms again. That's the inescapable conclusion emerging from the Obama administration's "white paper" on optional remedies for the two ailing giants of housing finance, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with events already underway in the national economy.

The administration's long-delayed housing report, released Feb. 11, drew a mix of catcalls and mild applause. Apartment developers praised the report's emphasis on expanding opportunities for people to rent their housing as opposed to the idea that homeownership is for everybody.

Big banks and their allies in Congress welcomed the prospect that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who together account for about 60 percent of the mortgage market but have cost taxpayers a net $150 billion in bailout money in the past three years, will be heading into oblivion.

Consumer and real estate industry groups lamented the phaseout of Fannie and Freddie, which supplied steady streams of mortgage money for decades despite their recent crashes.

The report offers not only options for Congress to consider in winding down the two companies but also recommendations on more immediate "transition" measures to achieve a smaller federal footprint in the mortgage market. Some of these transitional steps require no congressional approval and therefore are likely to affect borrowers and homebuyers in the months ahead. Factor these changes into your timing for any loan application or purchase you're contemplating this year:

l Higher insurance fees on FHA mortgages - another quarter of a percentage point on annual premiums. That's vitally important to people with moderate incomes and assets, especially in the African American and Hispanic communities, where FHA loans are the dominant route to homeownership. The report also hints at a possible increase in minimum down payments for FHA, currently just 3.5 percent, but provides no specifics. Any change would require congressional approval.

l Significant reductions in maximum loan amounts later this year for FHA and conventional loans eligible for purchase by Fannie or Freddie, unless Congress votes to retain the current statutory $729,750 limit for high-cost areas before it expires Oct. 1. Loans above each local market's limit - whatever the reduced ceiling turns out to be - will be considered jumbos and come with higher interest rates from private lenders.

l Raising the fees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge lenders to guarantee pools of their mortgages for resale to bond investors. Lenders will automatically pass those on to borrowers as a cost of doing business. The report also calls for raising down-payment requirements at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to 10 percent.

l Retaining the controversial and costly add-on fees now charged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that can increase the expense of obtaining even a moderate-size mortgage by thousands of dollars.

These add-ons now extend to applicants with FICO credit scores of 800 and above who are making substantial down payments. The white paper actually applauded the imposition of these fees, calling them one of several "first steps" on the path to weaning consumers off reliance on Fannie and Freddie for mortgage money.

The administration wants to not only wind down the two companies over the coming several years but also severely reduce the size of FHA's role, cutting its market share from about 30 percent to as low as 10 percent. Where will the buyers who depend upon FHA today for affordable financing turn when that sharp cut has been accomplished? That's not clear.

The white paper makes an oblique reference to a major issue bubbling on the back burner that could also push rates up: Regulators are debating what should and shouldn't be a "qualified residential mortgage" under the terms of last year's financial reform legislation. Loans that are not "qualified," in terms of down payment size and other criteria, will require extra investments by lenders when they pool them into bonds. That could raise rates for nonqualified mortgages by as much as three percentage points.

Among the proposals: Make 20 percent to 30 percent down payments the minimum to meet the "qualified" test.

The worst-case scenario: If you only have enough money for a small down payment, you'll be charged significantly higher rates.

Bottom line: Get ready to pay more for mortgages, no matter what ultimately happens to Fannie and Freddie.

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A common-sense way to mend the draconian appraisal process

If federal regulators are truly concerned about the quality and independence of home appraisals - a cornerstone of sound mortgage lending - why don't they simply prohibit appraisers from learning the contract price before they perform their assessment of a home's value?

Instead of this commonsense solution, regulators continue to come up with schemes that govern how appraisers are chosen - and which simultaneously drive up prices to consumers while cutting the income of appraisers.

On April 1, a new regulatory scheme called Appraiser Independence Requirements, will go into effect. This AIR replaces the much-maligned Home Valuation Code of Conduct but does little to improve it. Both AIR and HVCC were designed to ensure that the home valuation process conducted by appraisers is conducted in a strictly independent manner. Unfortunately, in practice AIR continues the legacy of HVCC, causing borrowers to pay more for their appraisals and appraisers to earn less for their work.

Appraisals "gone wild" were, at least in part, to blame for the housing meltdown. In some cases, real estate agents, mortgage loan officers and others whose livelihoods depended upon home purchases and refinances going to settlement exerted undue influence on appraisers. In an effort to correct this, regulators have set out to change the way home appraisals had been conducted for decades.

Those changes became law when President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in July. That law tasked the Federal Reserve and other agencies to promulgate regulations that, among other things, sought to make sure that appraisers' independent judgment would not be tainted by any influence or pressure from those having a financial interest in the underlying transaction.

AIR applies to all loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac originated for the acquisition or refinancing of one- to four-unit residential properties. It does not apply to FHA or VA loans. AIR seeks to restore independence to the appraisal industry by prohibiting coercion, bribery, collusion, conflicts of interest and other similar activities; prohibiting appraisers and appraisal management companies from having a financial or other interest in the property, and mandating that appraisers receive reasonable and customary compensation for their services.

For decades, appraisals were the domain of the loan officer. After the officer had taken a loan application, part of his or her duties would be to directly order a home appraisal. Over time loan officers would get to know the local appraisers and select those that they felt they could trust to obtain an honest, timely and complete valuation. After all, the honest valuation of the property was of critical importance to the underwriter who would approve or deny the mortgage loan. Loan officers would collect the appraisal fee upfront from the borrower- often no more than $200 to $300, all of which would be paid by the loan officer directly to the appraiser upon commencement of his written appraisal report.

As the real estate market began to heat up in the new millennium, in too many cases, honest, independent valuations became of secondary importance. What became of primary importance was "hitting the number"- the contract price in a purchase transaction, or the desired loan amount in a refinance - and closing the loan.

To correct these excesses, AIR errs on the side of absolute isolation of the appraiser from any undue influence. Loan officers are absolutely prohibited from ordering appraisals. In fact, AIR prohibits lenders from relying on an appraisal if the loan officer had any role in selecting, retaining or compensating the appraiser. The non-sales staff of mortgage lenders may order appraisals directly from appraisers.

To accommodate this draconian "cone of silence" between appraiser and loan officer, something called an Appraisal Management Company has come into use. Although these types of companies have long been used for sourcing commercial appraisals, their widespread use in the residential context is relatively new. Now virtually all lenders are arranging appraisals through an AMC.

The AMC's role is to source appraisers who are willing to work for prices that in virtually all cases are less than they had earned when they were being retained directly by loan officers. Loan officers I've spoken with say that, where experienced appraisers pre-HVCC were earning about $300 per appraisal, now AMCs pay them between $150 and $250. But borrowers' cost for appraisals now ranges between $450 and $600, with the extra money used to pay the AMCs for arranging, and sometimes for reviewing the appraisal.

Loan officers have been forced to sacrifice trust in their known appraisers for anonymity. Instead of being able to winnow out the incompetent from the competent appraisers over time, now the loan officer must rely on the luck of the draw and on the ability of a far-away AMC to substitute its judgment as to the appraiser's competency.

Incredibly, despite AIR's avowed mission of maintaining the integrity of the appraisal process by strict separation of loan officers from appraisers, AIR permits lenders to own all or part of an AMC - and to require its loan officers to order appraisals from its own AMC.

This apparent loophole appears to eviscerate the spirit of the AIR regulation.

If the regulators are truly intent on creating an independent appraisal industry with valid, untainted valuations based solely on the professional judgment of the appraiser, they should simply prohibit the appraiser from learning the contract price. Regulation could require that the purchase price be redacted from the sales contract before being delivered to the appraiser.

If appraisers were not privy to the actual contract price there would be no subliminal or overt influence leading them to arrive at that valuation.

Harvey S. Jacobs is a real estate lawyer in the Rockville office of Joseph, Greenwald & Laake. He is an active real estate investor, developer, landlord, settlement attorney and lender. This column is not legal advice and should not be acted upon without obtaining your own legal counsel.

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Make room for Daddy - or Granny, or Junior, or . . .

Over the last 39 years, Michael Litchfield has built one new house, acting as both designer and contractor, and extensively remodeled five others. He has written nine books on the design, construction and renovation of houses, including one on remodeling that runs to more than 600 pages, and he writes the Cozy Digz blog for Fine Homebuilding magazine, where he was a founding editor.

Clearly, Litchfield is an expert. But, as he demonstrates in his latest book, "In-laws, Outlaws, and Granny Flats: Your Guide to Turning One House into Two Homes" (Taunton, $25), he still remembers the befuddled perspective of a beginner. He has tailored his message accordingly, with lots of information, no jargon.

Knowing from his own experience that many readers may decide to do the entire project themselves, Litchfield begins "In-laws" with tasks that would ordinarily be undertaken by an architect or builder, including a primer on the planning review process and potential zoning issues that could derail your project before you start. He advises readers to attend one or two public hearings held by their local zoning commission to get a sense of what to expect. Success with getting your plans approved, he adds, can also depend on the support of your neighbors. Like most of us, they do not embrace change easily, so it's important to bring them on board early, explaining what you want to do, how it might affect them and how you are trying to minimize this.

Should you decide to hire an architect and a builder, Litchfield advises that you have their contracts reviewed by a knowledgeable real estate attorney, advice I routinely offer but have never read elsewhere.

At the heart of the book are 39 examples of in-law units, technically known as accessory dwelling units or ADUs. Litchfield divides these into six approaches: going up (converting the attic); going down (converting or excavating to create a basement); carving up (reconfiguring the space within the existing building envelope); bumping out (adding an addition); converting the garage; and building a separate unit on your property.

From a planning and zoning perspective, what differentiates these projects from a typical renovation project is the addition of a kitchen. This enhancement creates the possibility that your unit may eventually become a separate rental, even if you intend it for your elderly parent who will hardly disrupt the neighborhood or add to the parking problems.

From a design perspective, Litchfield said in an interview, the major difference between this type of project and a typical renovation is the relationship of the owners to the person who will occupy the accessory unit.

If the occupant will be a renter, maximum privacy between the units and very separate entrances is paramount, subject to the constraints presented by your building lot, and local setback and height restrictions, Litchfield said. If the occupant will be an older parent, the owners will need a design that affords privacy while it facilitates communication and interaction. Although the granny flat may have its own kitchen, the parent may eat most meals with the family, so easy access to the main house will be important. The owners may eventually need to monitor the parent, so this will also have to be factored into the design.

On the other hand, given the changing demographics of American households, the family member who will occupy the "granny" flat may be an adult child who wants independence and privacy, especially for overnight guests. But the child will still welcome interaction with Mom and Dad, want to share the laundry and welcome old family rituals like having dinner together.

When the occupant is a family member, another issue is the degree of input and control that person can have in the design process, Litchfield said. It's reasonable for the owners to take charge of the overall design, but leaving the final decisions, including such things as paint colors, to the occupant, can help that person to feel that it's "his place."

Of Litchfield's 39 examples of granny flats, only one addressed the design issues involved when a parent has dementia, confusion and frailty, often cited as the reasons for moving a parent into a household. In this case, the 340-square-foot unit was physically separated from the main house because the mother, who has Alzheimer's, was given to singing and constant repetition. Tailoring the plan to the special needs of someone with this disease, the architect, Anne Phillips of Berkeley, Calif., simplified the space to minimize confusion. As she explains in the text: "People with Alzheimer's can get lost in their own homes. So you have to reduce the number of choices they must make to get around." All the interior doors were eliminated except for the bathroom, and the "hallway" is a tiny spot where it's possible to see into the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom at the same time.

The units described in the book range in size from about 250 to 550 square feet - from tiny to merely small. Nonetheless, the designers have managed not only to include the necessities - kitchen, bathroom, and living and sleeping areas - but to do so with an inventiveness that can make the spaces look and feel twice as big.

The only serious omission is an example of how the enormous, 4,000-square-foot, five- or six-bedroom McMansions that dot the country could be creatively subdivided into separate living units. This strikes me as an obvious move because it would create affordable housing for renters while helping financially pressed owners to stay in their houses.

Litchfield concurred that such conversions seem obvious, but in most cases, he said, suburban residential zoning prohibits it.

Katherine Salant has a degree in architecture from Harvard. A native Washingtonian, she grew up in Fairfax County and now lives in Michigan.

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Adams Morgan: Looking beyond nightlife

Back when heading east of 16th Street after dark felt risky, Adams Morgan was ground zero for Washington's nightlife scene. One of the city's most ethnically and racially diverse neighborhoods, the community had a quirky vibe and a reputation for tolerance, and the area's spine, 18th Street NW, was studded with dozens of eclectic restaurants and bars.

That was a couple of decades ago. These days, Adams Morgan's restaurants and bars are still there, but the surrounding city has changed dramatically. Little by little, neighborhoods all over the area - from Arlington's Clarendon to H Street NE - have been colonized by swanky eateries and intriguing nightspots, and the city's range of going-out options has mushroomed.

Adams Morgan, meanwhile, doesn't seem to have changed much at all. During the day, 18th Street's garishly painted buildings and empty storefronts give it a look bordering on seedy, and in the evenings, the place has become almost a caricature of itself. Crowds of partying 20-somethings, many hailing from Virginia and Maryland, clog the streets and sidewalks for hours every weekend, regularly resulting in drunken brawls, crime, and trash-strewn streets.

The evening craziness has turned the neighborhood into Washington shorthand for "out of control" - as in "We didn't choose to live in an Adams Morgan-like environment," the justification one Barracks Row resident recently gave for supporting a moratorium on liquor licenses along that stretch of Eighth Street SE.

Within Adams Morgan, though, residents are enthusiastic about their neighborhood, citing upsides including its central location, its plethora of independent businesses, and that multi-ethnic, mixed-income variety of residents that has always been the area's hallmark. And with a few tweaks - developments that are slated for the next few years - the community's strengths may once again become clear to the rest of the city, too.

Walking around the neighborhood is a study in contrasts. On 18th Street, there's Tryst, the ever-crowded coffee shop and hipster magnet; Idle Time Books, a used-book store; and Amsterdam Falafel - all quirky, locally owned businesses with strong followings. And with its hole-in-the-wall shops catering to the area's Latino population, plus a few new outliers such as Urban Sustainable, which sells hydroponic gardening equipment, Columbia Road is always bustling.

But there's also the dusty B&K News Stand, with its extensive "over 18" section; Tattoo Paradise; and several papered-over windows, some belonging to establishments that have been "coming soon" for months and others that closed after only a brief tenure.

Sefika Kurt explained what it takes for a business to thrive in Adams Morgan. Her store, A Little Shop of Flowers, isn't visible from 18th Street, but she said she's built up strong relationships with residents in the 20 years she's worked and lived in the area. "Adams Morgan is about more personal service; it's not a Metro location, so whatever business you're in has to be personal," she said. "Most of my clients are in the neighborhood." But she also complained that the late-night "get drunk" crowd (as she put it) pushes away potential customers.

Most residents seem to have long accepted that their main street turns into a zoo on weekends. "The bars aren't a huge issue; people get upset on principle, I think," said Mike Gould, 72, who lives west of 18th Street.

But John Glick, a homeowner living east of 18th Street, pointed out that he worries more about potential trouble from drunk rowdies who hit the streets after the bars close than he does about the gang violence that has beset the neighborhood from time to time. There's currently a moratorium on new liquor licenses, but, of course, that doesn't affect the bars currently operating.

Members of the area's Business Improvement District are aware of the issue. "We have great restaurants and bars and gift shops, but I'd like to see more diversity," said Kristen Barden, executive director of the Adams Morgan BID. "We always want to attract more daytime retailers, but we don't have the foot-traffic numbers."

Some new additions, however, could have a serious impact on that. The most significant is the boutique hotel that will incorporate the hulking, unused First Church of Christ, Scientist, sanctuary near the corner of 18th Street and Columbia Road. Hotly debated throughout the neighborhood, in part because the developers asked for a $46 million tax abatement, the project was approved by the Advisory Neighborhood Commission and, in late December, by the D.C. Council. It still awaits zoning approvals and probably won't be operating until 2015, but with 174 rooms, it may add that foot traffic much desired by local businesses.

Then there's the streetscape project, a 15-month District Department of Transportation effort that's about to get underway. It's likely to transform 18th Street, eliminating diagonal parking spaces, widening sidewalks, and adding new streetlights, trees and bike racks.

"The hotel plus the 18th Street reconstruction could be a game changer for us," said Wilson Reynolds, chairman of ANC 1C, the committee that covers Adams Morgan. He added that the committee is also starting to see an uptick in new development proposals, especially in the area east of 18th Street, which is already home to a number of small condo developments nestled among older rowhouses.

And then there's the WY18 condos, two historic buildings on 18th Street that are undergoing gut renovations and will emerge as condominium buildings, with 43 units in total expected to be priced between $300,000 and $600,000.

So change is in the air for Adams Morgan, though the result is unclear. Some residents say they hope things won't change too much. "I love it. It's got everything," said Gould, who has lived in his rowhouse near Calvert Street since 1987. "It's next to the park, you can walk to restaurants, I can ride my bike downtown, it's aesthetically beautiful, it's diverse - no, it hasn't really changed, but my God, what more could you possibly want?"

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