There's roulette and there's skydiving. Then there's investing in Detroit and Cleveland real estate.

America's Riskiest Real Estate Markets
Matt Woolsey, Forbes.com
Apr 10th, 2008

There's roulette and there's skydiving. Then there's investing in Detroit and Cleveland real estate.

That's especially risky because those markets are in freefall. Lenders have fled, foreclosures are on the rise, homes aren't selling and local economies have stalled

The riskiest were those that had the highest foreclosure rates, slow job growth (or job loss) and a rash of listed homes. By these measures, Orlando has everything working against it. Other spots, Denver, for example, exhibit negative characteristics like foreclosures, lending problems and vacancies, but are adding jobs, a sign that the local economy can better handle these difficulties.

Risky Business

Before "write-down" entered the national lexicon, the biggest risk facing real estate markets was the prevalence of subprime loans and adjustable rate mortgages. Last year, before the shoe-drop of the credit crunch and the dropping value of banks' loans and debt, we identified ARM-heavy Miami, Fla., Orlando, Fla., and Sacramento, Calif., as the markets most at risk of further fall.

Subprime still matters, as do the concentration of adjustable rate mortgages. Transaction volume, however, especially over the next 12 months is becoming an increasingly important gauge of a market's health. This month the National Association of Realtors reported that sales volume of existing homes was up 2.9%, the first such month-to-month rise since July.

In cities like San Diego, one of five major metros where transactions rose, that's good news, assuming it's sustained. What makes transaction volume a good indicator is that it shows how easy it is for people to get loans and how much confidence there is in the market. If mortgages are available and buyers have some faith in the value of the home, they're more likely to buy.

San Diego's present conditions suggest that over the next half-year, prices may start to rise. That's because "there's usually a three- to six-month lag between when transactions go up and prices go up," says Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, a Manhattan real estate appraisal firm.

Another good sign for the coming year? Increased credit availability.

We took into account increased Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (GSE) loan limits. The new legislation will open up credit in markets such as Sacramento and San Diego by boosting the GSE loan limit by 125% of the median price. That's a huge deal for San Diego, where 18% of the market will see improved lending conditions, based on projections by Radar Logic, a New York-based real estate research firm.

Not as fortunate are hard-hit foreclosure markets such as Denver, which saw 50,000 foreclosure filings last year, according to RealtyTrac, which comes out to a 2.6% foreclosure rate, ninth in the nation behind the likes of Las Vegas and Detroit. Here, GSE loan limits won't change to boost liquidity, though at the beginning of this year the local economy had added jobs at a rate of 2%, which is triple the national average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The availability of jobs gets at the critical question of how much money is available within a market. A market with money on the sidelines has better recovery prospects because it means potential buyers are out there. A market without economic activity to generate buyers is simply sinking.

"People aren't pulling the trigger right now," says Steve Cesinger, vice-chairman at Dewberry Holdings, an Atlanta-based real estate investment group. "But it's a big difference if they're not pulling the trigger because the prices haven't declined enough or because they're waiting to catch the bottom."

Housing market is flooded

Housing market is flooded

April 13, 2008

Here is a look at metro Detroit's housing supply as of Dec. 31, 2007, according to Real Estate One in Southfield. The sales figures are for October 2007 through December 2007.


Livingston
County
Sales For
sale Months
supply
Brighton 55 388 20.7
Cohoctah 6 41 20.0
Conway 4 50 36.6
Deerfield 1 40 117.1
Fowlerville/Handy 21 109 15.2
Genoa 32 339 31.0
Green Oak Twp. 38 219 16.9
Hamburg 47 306 19.1
Hartland 31 194 18.3
Howell 36 215 17.5
Iosco 10 60 17.6
Marion 27 177 19.2
Oceola 29 181 18.3
Pinckney/Putnam 25 150 17.6
Tyrone 17 120 20.7
Unadilla 6 32 15.6
Total 385 2,621 19.9
Previous year 371 2,645 21.4

Macomb
County
Sales For
sale Months
supply
Armada 7 39 16.3
Bruce 5 48 28.1
Center Line 3 44 42.9
Chesterfield/
N. Baltimore 91 514 16.5
Clinton/Mt. Clemens 104 701 19.7
Eastpointe/Fraser/Roseville/St. Clair Shores 156 962 18.1
Harrison 29 252 25.4
Lenox/New Haven 8 57 20.9
Macomb Twp. 119 651 16.0
Memphis/Richmond 9 125 40.7
Ray 1 23 67.3
Romeo 2 26 38.1
Shelby/Utica 88 503 16.7
Sterling Heights 167 630 11.0
Warren 89 586 19.3
Washington 23 206 26.2
Total
901 5,367 17.4
Previous year
1,416 7,005 14.8

Oakland
County
Sales For
sale Months
supply
Addison/Leonard 12 69 16.8
Auburn Hills 15 175 34.2
Berkley 40 170 12.4
Beverly Hills 16 137 25.1
Birmingham 64 576 26.3
Bloomfield Hills 14 134 28.0
Bloomfield Twp. 80 713 26.1
Brandon/Ortonville 36 167 13.6
Clarkston/
Independence Twp. 76 439 16.9
Clawson 28 102 10.7
Commerce Twp./
Walled-Wolverine Lake 78 601 22.6
Farmington/
Farmington Hills 140 931 19.5
Ferndale 34 233 20.1
Franklin/Bingham 5 76 44.5
Groveland 9 75 24.4
Hazel Park 6 91 44.4
Highland 27 233 25.3
Holly 25 159 18.6
Huntington Woods 5 78 45.7
Keego Harbor/
Orchard Lake 7 117 48.9
Lake Orion/Orion 50 399 23.4
Lathrup Village 13 61 13.7
Lyon Twp./
South Lyon 38 286 22.0
Madison Heights 37 195 15.4
Milford 38 256 19.7
Novi 98 663 19.8
Oak Park 19 211 32.5
Oakland Twp. 51 281 16.1
Oxford 37 271 21.4
Pleasant Ridge 9 27 8.8
Pontiac 20 272 39.8
Rochester/
Rochester Hills 157 810 15.1
Rose 7 67 28.0
Royal Oak 136 769 16.6
Southfield 91 872 28.1
Springfield/
Davisburg 18 167 27.2
Troy 139 620 13.1
W. Bloomfield/
W. Bloomfield Twp. 135 897 19.5
Waterford/Sylvan Twp. 118 895 22.2
White Lake 49 357 21.3
Wixom 19 89 13.7
Total
1,996 13,741 20.2
Previous year
2,388 13,974 17.6

Washtenaw
County
Sales For
sale Months
supply
Ann Arbor 218 662 8.9
Chelsea 25 174 20.4
Dexter 52 220 12.4
Lincoln 89 401 13.2
Manchester 11 115 30.6
Milan 18 112 18.2
Saline 57 294 15.1
Van Buren 88 486 16.2
Whitmore Lake 19 83 12.8
Willow Run 13 170 38.3
Ypsilanti 29 204 20.6
Total 619 2,921 13.8
Previous year 589 3,210 16.4

Wayne
County
Sales For
sale Months
supply
Allen Park/Ecorse/River Rouge/Wyan/Melvin/Southgate 111 635 16.7
Belleville/Van Buren 66 422 18.7
Brownstown/
Flatrock/Woodhaven 60 475 23.2
Canton 195 847 12.7
Dearborn/
Dearborn Heights 316 1501 13.9
Detroit 158 2757 51.1
Garden City 49 265 15.8
Gibraltar/Grosse Ile/Riverview/
Rockwood/Trenton 47 346 21.6
Grosse Pointe 113 517 13.4
Harper Woods 20 164 24.0
Huron 16 137 25.1
Inkster 7 139 58.1
Livonia 208 837 11.8
Northville 78 443 16.6
Plymouth 100 447 13.1
Redford 106 678 18.7
Romulus 31 267 25.2
Sumpter 9 80 26.0
Taylor 49 424 25.3
Wayne 19 158 24.3
Westland 128 753 17.2
Total
1,886 12,292 19.1
Previous year
2,390 13,464 16.9


Downriver

Sales For
sale Months
supply
Allen Park 42 172 12.0
Brownstown 34 276 23.8
Ecorse 1 19 55.6
Flat Rock 8 92 33.7
Gibraltar 6 59 28.8
Grosse Ile 15 181 35.3
Huron Township 9 70 22.8
Lincoln Park 34 222 19.1
Melvindale 12 62 15.1
River Rouge 1 11 32.2
Riverview 15 77 15.0
Rockwood 7 20 8.4
Southgate 31 189 17.9
Trenton 36 170 13.8
Woodhaven 18 124 20.2
Wyandotte 38 197 15.2
Total 307 1,941 19.5*
Previous year 520* 2,645* 15.3*


* Includes alternate counts for Taylor and Romulus.

Race heats up for $1 homes

Race heats up for $1 homes

Both county, cities want property

BY KATHLEEN GRAY • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • April 13, 2008


Wayne County's plan to buy more than 700 federally subsidized and foreclosed homes in Detroit and another 500 elsewhere in the county for $1 each has hit a snag.


Competition.

The cities where the homes -- mostly abandoned and in disrepair -- are say the county is trying to poach what belongs to the cities.

Many of the cities had applied or were planning to request the $1 homes when they learned Wayne County was doing the same thing. Many had plans to rehabilitate the homes, sell them to the public or employees or demolish those in the worst shape.

The cities took their cases to the county, U.S. Rep. John Dingell and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, saying they knew better what was best for their neighborhoods. Twenty western Wayne communities signed a resolution last month saying they wanted first dibs on the houses.

The homes -- which are among 11,000 foreclosed HUD homes in Michigan and Ohio -- are another sign of the nation's mortgage foreclosure crisis. The $1 program began in 2003 to help communities fight blight. City officials know that one deteriorating vacant home on a block can begin to bring property values down for entire neighborhoods.

"We know what's best for our community, and we're very interested in partnering with the county on counseling programs to help residents save their homes," said Riverview Mayor Tim Durand. "But at the end of the day, we want the houses."

Bulk sales on hold
Since the complaints, HUD has put a hold on the bulk sales of $1 homes in Michigan and Ohio, which has affected the Wayne County Land Bank's inventory. The bank obtains and resells vacant properties, as well as foreclosed and criminally seized homes. Many of the $1 homes would have been turned over to community groups like Blight Busters or churches to be resold to residents within six months.

Any revenues generated from the land bank would go into a foreclosure prevention program for county residents. The county said it was ready to deal with the large inventory of homes. It had contracts with landscaping companies, had purchased 50 lawn mowers and had 22 inmates serving alternative sentences available to keep up the properties.

"We have a very vested interest in putting these properties back into productive use," said Deputy County Executive Turkia Mullin. "We need to make sure we nip this problem in the bud."

Difference of who knows best
Cities across Wayne County agreed but still thought they could do the job better.

In Dearborn Heights, for example, two homes the county bid on were along the Ecorse Creek, which floods every spring. The city was putting together an application for the homes and several other HUD properties in the city when it caught wind of Wayne County's competing request.

"We think it's ... wise to purchase those parcels now while we fix the problems with the creek," said Dearborn Heights Mayor Daniel Paletko. "Some of the other homes, we hope to use to encourage our employees to move into the city."

Program under review
Last week, HUD sent a memo to Wayne County, saying it was suspending sales of more than 10 of the $1 homes to any one community until the entire program could be reviewed.

HUD spokesman Lemar Wooley wrote in an e-mail to the Free Press that "we need to determine that there is a responsible plan and the capacity to implement the plan so that houses don't continue to sit vacant."

After evaluating about a dozen homes in Lincoln Park, the city wants to buy about 10 of the foreclosed homes and has set aside about $30,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant money to fix them up.

"Those homes are more in our face, and we can take more prompt action when problems arise," said city manager Steve Duchane.

In Redford, the township has set aside up to $400,000 for redevelopment of about a dozen HUD homes and will try to lure the city's police and firefighters into some of the homes at a discounted sale price.

"We'll purchase every one we can for $1," said Supervisor R. Miles Handy. "The way we look at it, if we demolish the property, then we can sell the lot. If we fix the home up ... put $40,000 into making it a nice attractive home site, we get a resident in our community and get rid of a potential eyesore."

County officials, however, aren't giving up. They are working with HUD on a pilot program to prove they can turn vacant foreclosed homes into family domiciles.

"When you get pummeled with 30 foreclosed houses, there's not a single community that has the resources to manage those properties," Mullin said. "We're certainly willing to back off, but we hope that the elected officials in those communities have the common sense to see how well we can do with these properties."

Crisis yields 18.9-month supply of homes for sale

Crisis yields 18.9-month supply of homes for sale

Inventory hurts owners but great news for buyers
BY GRETA GUEST • FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER • April 13, 2008

Metro Detroit had a staggering 18.9-month supply of homes for sale at the end of 2007, and some cities were swamped with four years or more worth of housing inventory that people are desperately trying to sell.


That's almost double the national average of 9.6 months of existing home inventory at the current sales pace, itself a sign of trouble in the U.S. housing market where a three- to six-month inventory is considered normal.

The vast oversupply of houses could depress prices further as Michigan struggles to remake its economy, said Caroline Sallee, a consultant for Anderson Economic Group in East Lansing, and others said the phenomenon is crimping retirement plans or the ability to move for jobs.

Sales prospects in many spots are grim. Huntington Woods had a 45.7-month home supply, and Oakland County had a 20.2-month inventory overall, according to listing data released last week by Real Estate One in Southfield.

Detroit had a 51.1-month inventory of homes listed.

Home sellers in some spots had better prospects, such as in Pleasant Ridge, with an 8.8-month supply on the market. But most places were well above the national average.

The 18.9-month combined inventory for Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw and Livingston counties marks an 11.8% rise from the end of 2006 and a 60% climb from 2005.

High unemployment and continued cutbacks for Detroit's automakers has hit Michigan's real estate market harder than most around the country. And while speculators drove prices sky-high in Florida, California and Nevada, metro Detroit did not ride the price bubble up as far.

Still, metro Detroit led the nation last year in the rate of foreclosures, pushing up inventory, and home prices have fallen 15%. Even with prices down, prospects for droves of home buyers are darkened by such factors as the state's net outmigration of 90,000 people for the 12 months ending in June 2007.

And the inability to sell a home is affecting lifestyles and the ability to seize opportunities.

Home becomes a burden
Many people can't move to take better jobs in other cities, can't downsize their housing or retire because their biggest asset -- their home -- can't be sold, said Dana Johnson, chief economist at Comerica Bank. Some who took buyouts from the auto companies are staying put because they don't want to take a beating on their home sales price, he said.

"I think it is creating less mobility for people who for career reasons or life changes may want to move. You are stuck to a greater degree than normal," Johnson said.

Don Grimes, a University of Michigan economist, said buyers are here but they are waiting for prices to hit rock-bottom before they buy. Family formation is still going on. Once they start buying, inventories will fall to normal levels, he predicted.

"From what I am able to tell, it may be getting down to the bottom in the Detroit area," Grimes said. "People need to see that prices have hit bottom so they won't be kicking themselves six months from now."

One of the biggest reasons for the oversupply is that sellers overpriced their homes, Grimes said.

That seems to be the issue in Huntington Woods, said Greg Barnas, an agent with Sine & Monaghan in Royal Oak.

"A lot of what is still out there in Huntington Woods is still overpriced. The houses that are priced well and in good condition are still showing well and selling," Barnas said.

Other agents in Huntington Woods say that sales have picked up this year.

On Friday, there were more children playing in yards and riding bicycles along the city's tree-lined streets than real estate signs. A few signs had "sold" on them while others advertised a reduced price.

Betsey Rubel isn't worried about selling her 2,086-square-foot home on LaSalle Boulevard. The four-bedroom, two-bath home has been listed since January for $299,900. The Rubels, who want to move to Bloomfield Township to be closer to their daughter's school, paid $220,000 in 2001.

"We're not in a time crunch," said Rubel, 33. "When our house is ready to sell, it will."

Rubel said she has seen houses linger on the market in the city over the past several months, but she said she believes some of them have been overpriced -- like one down the street that sat for about a year, listed at more than $800,000. The Rubel house has drawn interest, with about 10 showings.

Money matters
Charlie Lutz, a realty agent with Re/Max Acclaim in Roseville, said it's all about price. He has had a Macomb Township home listed for six months that's gotten two offers in the past three months.

But the home has been on the market for more than two years with different agents and had no offers until this year. Seller Jackie Odbert won't budge off the current price of $249,900. That's down from the original price of $329,000 for the four-bedroom, 2,600-square-foot home.

"After over 40 showings, Jackie is one of many sellers who are in shock when they understand the market controls the price, not the seller or the Realtor," Lutz said. "The buyer is the market and they don't negotiate on an overpriced property."

Odbert, 52, a nurse at St. John Macomb, built a new house in St. Clair County just before putting her home on the market in August 2005, just when the market started to slow. She's working overtime to take care of both homes.

"As we keep going down with the price, it's disappointing," Odbert said. "The people come in, and it seems they want everything for nothing. They want you to pay closing costs, they want a finished basement, a three-car garage. They don't seem to realize how much the owner put into it, and we won't get it back.

"I just might have to let it go to the next person who makes an offer of $220,000," she said. "Who knows if it's going to get better in Michigan?"

Buyer's paradise
Although sellers find anguish and frustration in the market, realty agents and builders say there won't be another buyer's market like this for a decade or more.

Herb Lawson, president of Windham Development in Bloomfield Hills and past president of the Building Industry Association of Southeastern Michigan, said pent-up demand in the area will be unleashed soon.

"At the end of 1983, they claimed there was a 12-year supply of homes. It was a matter of 36 months when they were all gone," Lawson said. "There hasn't been new development in the last two to three years. People buying today are going to say how smart they are for having bought a home or condominium."

He noted that in the new home market, the supplies are smaller. For example, when looking at single-family detached housing in the five counties, there is a four- to 10-month supply, according to Housing Consultants Inc. in Clarkston.

The Real Estate One report compiles closely guarded multiple listing services data usually available only to Realtors and is the first comprehensive look at metro Detroit's housing supply. Real Estate One started compiling the reports two years ago for its agents, but decided to issue them to the public late last year, said Dan Elsea, president of brokerage services.

The report, issued quarterly, pulls listing information from several sources including RealComp Inc., a multiple listing service in Farmington Hills.

The report predicts that as a recovery starts in early 2009, this year will be remembered as the "best buying point over the next 10 years or more."

Richard Komer, president of homebuilder Wineman & Komer Building Co. in Southfield, couldn't agree more.

"Something like this only happens once every 25 years or something. This is a real drop," Komer said. "I don't know if the buying public really understands that."

10 skills every homeowner should learn

Fix it, patch it, replace it
BY ALLEN NORWOOD • MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS • April 5, 2008

There are 10 skills every homeowner should master. No excuses.


You don't need to run out and learn them all immediately, of course. But you'll appreciate them -- and save yourself lots of money.

You can tackle most with simple hand tools that cost $10 or less. The only power tool is a variable speed drill.

Let's start at the front door.

1. Replace a door lock. Especially if you buy an existing house, with lots of old keys floating around, you might want to replace the exterior locks. On the inside of the door, remove the two long bolts holding the front and back of the lock together; remove the front and back of the lock. On edge of door, remove screws holding latch in place, and pull latch out.

To replace, just add new hardware in reverse order.

Door hardware needs tightening and lubricating over the years, so understanding how it works will pay off in more than extra security.

• Before buying new hardware, check the "backset," or the distance from the edge of the door to the center of the hole for the deadbolt or doorknob. Replacement hardware will need to match; some locksets are adjustable, and accommodate the two standard backsets. Also, the helpful guy at the home center can key all locks alike.

2. Change furnace and air conditioning filters. Be sure you know where all the filters are -- on air returns or at the air handler -- and how to change them.

• Make a note of filter sizes and keep the information handy. (You want to be sure you have the right size BEFORE you climb the tall stepladder.) Also, learn how to clear the pipe that carries condensation from the air handler during the cooling season. The pipes can get clogged with mold and algae -- and the water usually backs up and starts dripping from your ceiling when you have a house full of company in July. If your air handler is in the attic or a utility room, it should have two drains: one from the unit, and the other from the safety pan under the unit.

3. Learn the location of the main water cutoff. It's probably in a utility room or closet, but could be at a water tank or near the meter. You don't want to go looking for it after a pipe bursts.

• Familiarize yourself with other cutoffs, too; the dishwasher and icemaker, for instance. Learn how to turn off the gas in an emergency: Gas valves, indoors or at the meter, are open when parallel to the line and closed when perpendicular.

4. Find a stud in a wall. Locate studs anytime you're hanging a heavy object, or installing molding or cabinets. Most homeowners know the tap-tap-tap routine; you'll usually get a hollow sound between studs, a solid thunk on the stud. The centers of the studs are 16 inches apart -- so if you find one, you can usually locate the others pretty easily.

• Look for the heads of finishing nails near the top edge of the baseboard. Those nails will be in studs. Or, hold a flashlight against the wall, shining the light parallel to the wall. Turn the flashlight slowly to sweep the wall with light. You'll be able to spot the patches over drywall nail heads or screw heads that aren't visible otherwise.

5. For spaces between studs, use hollow-wall anchors. Use these to mount towel bars, drapery rods and the like on walls. The most important rule is to match the anchor to the weight of the item you're mounting. From weakest to strongest, anchors include plastic expansion anchors, threaded drywall anchors (Zip-It), winged plastic anchors, molly bolts or sleeve-type anchors, and toggle bolts.

When installing anchors, you can make small holes in drywall with an awl or sharp nail, but you should use a drill for larger holes.

• You'll be more accurate if you make small starter holes even for those anchors that screw in. And, if you're not going to mount something in the same spot, it's easier to patch over anchors such as mollys than it is to remove them. Here's how: Remove the bolt or screw; tap the anchor lightly with a hammer until it's below the face of the drywall; cover with spackling; sand.

6. Hang a ceiling fan. This is a popular upgrade and involves skills that you'll use to replace light fixtures and receptacles.

The first step, any time you're dealing with electricity: Turn off the power at the breaker box.

A ceiling fan must be anchored properly or it can fall. If you can move the electrical box with one finger, it won't support a fan. It's best to anchor the fan directly to the ceiling joist.

This can be a time-consuming job; give yourself a couple of hours.

Assemble the fan, minus blades. Then attach the fan's ceiling bracket. Hang fan in the bracket. Connect wires -- black to black and white to white -- according to the directions. Attach blades. Fans work best if blades are at least 10 inches from the ceiling, and fans should be no lower than 7 feet from the floor.

• Your first electrical project is a good time to make sure the breakers are labeled clearly and correctly. When hanging fans -- or light fixtures or dimmer switches -- make sure wires are securely fastened, and avoid jamming wires into crowded boxes. If you try to force wires, you could pull them apart and create a dangerous short.

7. Learn to drive drywall screws with a variable speed drill. You'll repair drywall nail pops that way, of course. Pull nail, drive screw into the stud or joist a few inches away from nail hole. The screw head should dimple the surface, with the screw head just below the face of the drywall. Cover screw head and nail hole with spackling, let dry and sand.

With screws and drywall clips, you can make larger wall repairs. U.S. Gypsum, the maker of Sheetrock drywall, offers a handy explainer at www.usg.com, search for repair clips, click on "Install Guide."

You use the same screw-driving skills to repair loose boards on your deck. Pull any loose nails and replace with decking screws. Be sure you use coated or galvanized screws in treated lumber.

• To drive screws with a drill, practice on a scrap of 2-by-4. Also, buy extra No. 2 Phillips screw bits. You'll tear them up, especially when working on decks.

8. Master a caulking gun. Some say squeeze tubes are easier for do-it-yourselfers to master. We think they're wrong: A gun's trigger gives you more control.

There are some tricks. Cut the tip of the tube at an angle, but with a smaller hole than you think you might need; you can always trim the tip again if the hole needs to be larger. Break the inner seal.

Quit squeezing before you get to the end of the area you're caulking. The caulk will continue to come out. When you reach the end, lift the gun from the surface and immediately remove the tension on the push rod.

• It's important to choose the right caulk for the job. Use mildew-resistant bath and kitchen caulk for tub or shower; use paintable acrylic latex for that gap between wall and baseboard. Read labels carefully. Also, when smoothing caulk with your finger, resist the temptation to overwork it. Smooth it with two passes -- because the third will make a mess.

9. Learn to seal stains. Here's another lesson from Homeowner 101: You can't paint over crayon, ball-point pen, grease splatters on the kitchen wall or water stains on the ceiling without the stains coming through.

There are lots of good sealers and primers these days, but one old standby is pigmented shellac. A familiar brand is B-I-N from Zinsser, and the company's Web site is a good place to learn about the wide array of specialty primers. Visit www.zinsser.com.

• Remember that you can tint primers to make them easier to cover with the finish paint. Ask your paint pro.

10. Replace the flapper ball in a toilet. Every homeowner deals with a toilet that leaks water from the tank to the bowl (and mysteriously flushes in the middle of the night). The problem is usually a bad flapper ball, the valve that opens when you press the handle to flush. Buy a replacement, read the directions on the back of the package, install it.

• Be sure to pay attention to proper chain length. A chain that's too short or too long can interfere with proper operation. Also, clean the opening at the bottom of the tank thoroughly before installing the new flapper ball. Grit and minerals build up and keep the ball from seating properly.