Deducting mortgage interest, as well as interest on home equity loans and HELOCs, can save money on taxes.

Deducting mortgage interest is a great tax benefit that can make home ownership more affordable. Your first mortgage isn’t the only loan that qualifies, either. In many cases, you can also deduct interest on home equity loans, second mortgages, and home equity lines of credit, or HELOCs.
If you want to deduct all of your mortgage interest, there are limits on both how much money you can borrow and on what you do with the money you get. You also need to itemize your return to reap the benefits of these deductions. Calculations can be complicated, so consult a tax adviser.
Know your loan limits
A good place to check out what you can deduct before you borrow is the chart on page 3 of IRS Publication 936 (http://www.irs.gov/uac/Publication-936,-Home-Mortgage-Interest-Deduction-2). It’ll walk you through the requirements you must meet to deduct all of your home loan interest. It’s an hour well spent.

The first hurdle you’ll run into is the total amount of your loan or loans. In general, individuals and couples filing jointly can deduct the interest on up to $1 million ($500,000 if you’re married and filing separately) in combined home loans, as long as the money was used for acquisition costs, that is the cost to buy, build, or substantially improve a home, explains Scott O’Sullivan, a certified public accountant with Margolin, Winer & Evens in Garden City, N.Y. Any interest paid on loan amounts above the $1 million threshold isn’t deductible.

The same $1 million limit applies whether you have one home or two. Buying a vacation home doesn’t double your loan limits. And two homes is the max; you can’t deduct a mortgage for a third home. If you have a mortgage you took out before Oct. 13, 1987, you have fewer restrictions on claiming a full deduction. The calculations for “grandfathered debt” can get complex, so get help from a tax professional or refer to IRS Publication 936.

Whatever you do, don’t forget that you can also deduct the points and fees associated with a first or second mortgage when you initially buy your home, says Jeff Rattiner, a CPA with JR Financial Group in Centennial, Colo. If you refinance the same house, you have to deduct those costs over the entire term of the loan. If you refinance again, you can deduct all the costs from the earlier refi in the year you take out the new loan.
Spend loan proceeds wisely
The other limitation on how much you can borrow and still get your deduction comes into play when you take out a home equity loan or HELOC that you don’t use to buy, build, or improve your home. In that case, you can deduct the interest you pay only on the first $100,000 ($50,000 if married filing separately). This loan limit also applies in a so-called cash-out refi, in which you refinance and take out part of the equity you’ve built up as cash, says John R. Lieberman, a CPA with Perelson Weiner in New York City.

That means if you decide to take out a $115,000 home equity loan to buy that Porsche, you can deduct the interest on the first $100,000 but not on the $15,000 that exceeds the limit. Use the same $115,000 to add a new bedroom, however, and the full amount is allowable under the $1 million cap. Keep in mind, though, that the $115,000 gets added into the pot of whatever else you owe on your other home loans. In many cases, points and loan origination costs for HELOCs are deductible.

Consider this simplified scenario: You borrow $250,000 against your home at 8% interest. That means you’ll pay $20,000 in interest the first year. Spend the $250,000 on home improvements, and all of the interest is deductible. Spend $150,000 on improvements and $100,000 on your kids’ college tuition, and all the interest is still deductible.
But spend $100,000 on improvements and $150,000 on tuition, and the improvement outlays are deductible, though $50,000 of the tuition expense isn’t. That’ll cost you $4,000 in interest deductions. Preserve the $4,000 deduction by coming up with the extra money for tuition from another source, perhaps a low-interest student loan or by borrowing from a retirement plan. For someone in a 25% bracket, a $4,000 deduction lowers taxes by $1,000, plus applicable state income taxes.
Beware the dreaded AMT
Even if you’ve followed all the loan limit rules, you can still get stuck paying tax on mortgage interest. How come? It’s all thanks to the Alternative Minimum Tax (http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc556.html). Congress created the AMT, which limits or eliminates many deductions, as a way to keep the wealthy from dodging their fair share of taxes.

Calculating the AMT can be complex, but if you make more than $75,000 and have several kids or other deductions, you might well be subject to it. Problem is, if you fall into the AMT group, you may not be able to deduct interest on a home equity loan, even if the loan falls within the $1 million/$100,000 limit. If you’re subject to the AMT and borrow money against the value of your home, you’ll have to use it to buy, build, or improve your place, or you may not have a chance to deduct the interest, says Rattiner, the Colorado CPA.
This article provides general information about tax laws and consequences, but shouldn’t be relied upon as tax or legal advice applicable to particular transactions or circumstances. Consult a tax professional for such advice.

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.

Don’t rouse the IRS or pay more taxes than necessary — know the score on each home tax deduction and credit.

As you calculate your tax returns, consider each home tax deduction and credit you are – and are not – entitled to. Running afoul of any of these 9 home-related tax mistakes – which tax pros say are especially common – can cost you money or draw the IRS to your doorstep.
Sin #1: Deducting the wrong year for property taxes
You take a tax deduction for property taxes (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/taxes-incentives/property-tax-exemptions/) in the year you (or the holder of your escrow account) actually paid them. Some taxing authorities work a year behind – that is, you’re not billed for 2013 property taxes until 2014. But that’s irrelevant to the feds.

Enter on your federal forms whatever amount you actually paid in 2013, no matter what the date is on your tax bill. Dave Hampton, CPA, tax manager at the Cincinnati accounting firm of Burke & Schindler, has seen home owners confuse payments for different years and claim the incorrect amount.
Sin #2: Confusing escrow amount for actual taxes paid
If your lender escrows funds to pay your property taxes, don’t just deduct the amount escrowed, says Bob Meighan, CPA and vice president at TurboTax in San Diego. The regular amount you pay into your escrow account each month to cover property taxes is probably a little more or a little less than your property tax bill. Your lender will adjust the amount every year or so to realign the two.

For example, your tax bill might be $1,200, but your lender may have collected $1,100 or $1,300 in escrow over the year. Deduct only $1,200. Your lender will send you an official statement listing the actual taxes paid. Use that. Don’t just add up 12 months of escrow property tax payments.
Sin #3: Deducting points paid to refinance
Deduct points you paid your lender to secure your mortgage (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/tax-deductions/deduct-mortgage-interest/) in full for the year you bought your home. However, when you refinance, says Meighan, you must deduct points over the life of your new loan. If you paid $2,000 in points to refinance into a 15-year mortgage, your tax deduction is $133 per year.
Sin #4: Misjudging the home office tax deduction (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/tax-deductions/tax-deductions-when-you-work-home/)
This deduction may not be as good as it seems. It’s complicated, often doesn’t amount to much of a deduction, has to be recaptured if you turn a profit when you sell your home, and can pique the IRS’s interest in your return. Hampton’s advice: Claim it only if it’s worth those drawbacks. If so, here’s what to know about what you can write off (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/tax-deductions/tax-deductions-when-you-work-home/).
Sin #5: Failing to repay the first-time home buyer tax credit
If you used the original home buyer tax credit in 2008, you must repay 1/15th of the credit over 15 years. If you used the tax credit in 2009, 2010, or 2011 and then sold your house or stopped using it as your primary residence, within 36 months of the purchase date, you also have to pay back the credit.
The IRS has a tool (http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/First-Time-Homebuyer-Credit-Account-Look-up) you can use to help figure out what you owe.
Sin #6: Failing to track home-related expenses
If the IRS comes a-knockin’, don’t be scrambling to compile your records. Many people forget to track home office and home maintenance and repair expenses, says Meighan. File away documents as you go. For example, save each manufacturer’s certification statement for energy tax credits and lender or government statements to confirm property taxes paid.
Sin #7: Forgetting to keep track of capital gains
If you sold your main home last year, don’t forget to pay capital gains taxes (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/tax-deductions/tax-breaks-capital-improvements-your-home/) on any profit. You can exclude $250,000 (or $500,000 if you’re a married couple) of any profits from taxes. So if you bought a home for $100,000 and sold it for $400,000, your capital gains are $300,000. If you’re single, you owe taxes on $50,000 of gains. However, there are minimum time limits for holding property to take advantage of the exclusions, and other details. Consult IRS Publication 523 (http://www.irs.gov/uac/Publication-523,-Selling-Your-Home-1).
Sin #8: Filing incorrectly for energy tax credits (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/tax-credits/how-to-collect-tax-energy-credits/)
If you made any eligible improvements in 2012 — or will in 2013 — such as installing energy-efficient windows and doors, you may be able to take a 10% tax credit (up to $500). But keep in mind, it’s a lifetime credit. If you claimed the credit in any recent years, you’re done. Fill out Form 5695 (http://www.irs.gov/uac/Form-5695,-Residential-Energy-Credits).
Part II of the form, which covers systems eligible for a larger tax credit through 2016, such as geothermal heat pumps, can be incredibly complex and involves crosschecking with half a dozen other IRS forms. Read the instructions carefully.
Sin #9: Claiming too much for the mortgage interest tax deduction
You can deduct mortgage interest (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/tax-deductions/deduct-mortgage-interest/) only up to $1 million of mortgage debt, says Meighan. If you have $1.2 million in mortgage debt, for example, deduct only the mortgage interest attributable to the first $1 million.
This article was original published in Jan. 2011.
This article provides general information about tax laws and consequences, but shouldn’t be relied upon as tax or legal advice applicable to particular transactions or circumstances. Consult a tax professional for such advice.

By: Carl Vogel
Published: August 05, 2010

Before you put your home up for sale, use the right comparable sales to find the perfect price.

How much can you sell your home for? Probably about as much as the neighbors got, as long as the neighbors sold their house in recent memory and their home was just like your home.
Knowing how much homes similar to yours, called comparable sales (or in real estate lingo, comps), sold for gives you the best idea of the current estimated value of your home. The trick is finding sales that closely match yours.
What makes a good comparable sale?
Your best comparable sale is the same model as your house in the same subdivision-and it closed escrow last week. If you can’t find that, here are other factors that count:

Location: The closer to your house the better, but don’t just use any comparable sale within a mile radius. A good comparable sale is a house in your neighborhood, your subdivision, on the same type of street as your house, and in your school district.

Home type: Try to find comparable sales that are like your home in style, construction material, square footage, number of bedrooms and baths, basement (having one and whether it’s finished), finishes, and yard size.

Amenities and upgrades: Is the kitchen new? Does the comparable sale house have full A/C? Is there crown molding, a deck, or a pool? Does your community have the same amenities (pool, workout room, walking trails, etc.) and homeowners association fees?

Date of sale: You may want to use a comparable sale from two years ago when the market was high, but that won’t fly. Most buyers use government-guaranteed mortgages, and those lending programs say comparable sales can be no older than 90 days.

Sales sweeteners: Did the comparable-sale sellers give the buyers downpayment assistance, closing costs, or a free television? You have to reduce the value of any comparable sale to account for any deal sweeteners.
Agents can help adjust price based on insider insights
Even if you live in a subdivision, your home will always be different from your neighbors’. Evaluating those differences-like the fact that your home has one more bedroom than the comparables or a basement office-is one of the ways real estate agents add value.

An active agent has been inside a lot of homes in your neighborhood and knows all sorts of details about comparable sales. She has read the comments the selling agent put into the MLS, seen the ugly wallpaper, and heard what other REALTORS®, lenders, closing agents, and appraisers said about the comparable sale.
More ways to pick a home listing price
If you’re still having trouble picking out a listing price for your home, look at the current competition. Ask your real estate agent to be honest about your home and the other homes on the market (and then listen to her without taking the criticism personally).

Next, put your comparable sales into two piles: more expensive and less expensive. What makes your home more valuable than the cheaper comparable sales and less valuable than the pricier comparable sales?
Are foreclosures and short sales comparables?
If one or more of your comparable sales was a foreclosed home or a short sale (a home that sold for less money than the owners owed on the mortgage), ask your real estate agent how to treat those comps.
A foreclosed home is usually in poor condition because owners who can’t pay their mortgage can’t afford to pay for upkeep. Your home is in great shape, so the foreclosure should be priced lower than your home.

Short sales are typically in good condition, although they are still distressed sales. The owners usually have to sell because they’re divorcing, or their employer is moving them to Kansas.
How much short sales are discounted from their market value varies among local markets. The average short-sale home in Omaha in recent years was discounted by 8.5%, according to a University of Nebraska at Omaha study. In suburban Washington, D.C., sellers typically discount short-sale homes by 3% to 5% to get them quickly sold, real estate agents report. In other markets, sellers price short sales the same as other homes in the neighborhood.

So you have to rely on your REALTOR’s® knowledge of the local market to use a short sale as a comparable sale.
More from HouseLogic
What You Must Know About Home Appraisals (http://buyandsell.houselogic.com/articles/what-you-must-know-home-appraisals/)

6 Reasons to Reduce Your Home Price (http://buyandsell.houselogic.com/articles/6-Reasons-To-Reduce-Your-Home-Price/)
Other web resources
What’s the Value of a View? Research from Texas Christian University (http://www.sbuweb.tcu.edu/mrodriguez/research/viewppr.pdf)
Carl Vogel, a freelance writer and former editor of The Neighborhood Works magazine, lives in a home in Chicago that is not typical of those nearby, so he appreciates a savvy comp.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, increased 5.2 percent to 104.8 in October from an upwardly revised 99.6 in September and is 13.2 percent above October 2011 when it was 92.6. The data reflect contracts but not closings.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said buyers are responding to favorable market conditions. “We’ve had very good housing affordability conditions for quite some time, but we’re seeing more impact now from steady job creation, and rising consumer confidence about home buying now that home prices have clearly turned positive,” he explained.

Pending home sales are at the highest level since March 2007 when the index also reached 104.8. On a year-over-year basis, pending home sales have risen for 18 consecutive months.

Yun noted there are clear regional patterns. “Contract activity surged in the Midwest and is showing very healthy gains in the South, but was down slightly in both the Northeast and West,” he said.

“The Northeast saw some impact from Hurricane Sandy, but limited inventory in the West is keeping a lid on the market. All regions are up from a year ago, with double-digit gains in every region but the West,” Yun said.

The PHSI in the Northeast slipped 0.1 percent to 79.2 in October but is 13.3 percent above a year ago. In the Midwest, the index jumped 15.6 percent to 104.4 in October and is 20 percent above October 2011. Pending home sales in the South rose 5.5 percent to an index of 117.3 in October and are 17.4 percent higher than a year ago. In the West the index declined 1.1 percent in October to 105.7, but is 0.9 percent above October 2011.

I’m lucky and have a guest suite always ready for holiday (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/home-thoughts/holiday-hosting-tips/) guests. But even with a dedicated space, preparing my home for the annual onslaught of friends and family takes time and forethought.
Some preparations for holiday guests take only a few minutes; some take a lot longer. My advice: Start preparing your home for the holidays now.
Prioritize
The day before guests arrive is no time to pull apart junk drawers and clean out linen closets. Declutter (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/home-improvement/under-stairs-storage-stomps-out-clutter/) guest rooms and public areas – foyer, kitchen, living room, den, and dining room. Remove anything unnecessary from countertops, coffee tables, and ottomans; if it’s out of sight, keep it out of mind, for now.
If you run short of time, bag up the clutter and store it in car trunks, basements, and out-of-the-way closets. Sort and arrange after your guests depart.
Safety
Light the way: Even though you can navigate your home blindfolded, your guests can’t. Make sure outside lights are working so they don’t trip on the way to your door. Put motion-activated night lights in hallways, bathrooms, and bedrooms to ensure safe passage after the sun sets.
Child proofing (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/maintenance-repair/child-proofing-tips-protect-children/): Ask parents to bring hardware that keeps their small ones safe, such as baby gates and cabinet locks. Transfer toxic cleaners and medicines from base to wall cabinets. Hide matches and lighters.
Fire prevention: If you didn’t freshen smoke detector batteries (http://www.houselogic.com/blog/preventative-home-maintenance/smoke-detector-battery-fire-safety/) when you switched the clocks to Daylight Savings Time, change them now. After your guests arrive, run a quick fire drill: Make sure they can locate exits and fire extinguishers, and that they know how to open windows and doors.
Entryway upgrades
Your home’s foyer is the first place guests see, so make a good first impression.
•Upgrade exterior entry doors (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/windows-doors/exterior-door-installation-options/) or give old doors a new coat of paint. Polish and tighten door hardware (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/repair-tips/repair-and-replace-door-hardware-update-rooms/), and oil hinges to prevent squeaks.

•Remove scratches from hardwood floors (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/repair-tips/repair-wood-floors-and-erase-ugly-scratches/), stairs, and wood railings. Place a small rug or welcome mat at the entrance to protect floors from mud and snow.

•Clear out shoes, umbrellas, and other clutter.

•Add extra hooks to walls so guests can hang coats and hats.

•Add a storage bench where guests can remove boots and shoes.

Kitchen prep
Your kitchen is command central during the holidays, so make sure it’s ready for guests and extra helpers.
•To increase storage, install a pot rack to clear cooking items off countertops and ranges.

•Move your coffee station into a family room so guests don’t crowd the kitchen when you’re trying to fix meals.

•If you like to visit while you’re cooking, place extra stools and chairs around the perimeter of your kitchen so guests can set a spell.

Sleeping arrangements
If you’ve got a guest room, replace the ceiling fixture with a ceiling fan and light combo, which helps guests customize their room temperature without fiddling with the thermostat for the entire house.
To carve sleeping space out of public areas, buy a folding screen or rolling bookcase (http://www.bookcasesgalore.com/bookcases/modular/sage4x4storagebookcasewenge.cfm rel=”no follow”), which will provide privacy for sleepers. Fold or roll it away in the morning.
Bathroom storage
Bring toilet paper, towels, and toiletries out of hiding, and place them on open shelves so guests can find them easily.
If you don’t have enough wall space for shelves, place these items in open baskets around the bathroom.
Also, outfit each tub with a bath mat (to avoid falls) and each toilet with a plunger (to avoid embarrassment).
What tips do you have for getting ready for guests this holiday season?

By: Lisa Kaplan Gordon
Published: November 28, 2011

Don’t toss out those fallen leaves you’ve spent weekends raking and blowing. Autumn leaves make low-cost mulch and fertilizer to protect and feed your landscaping all winter.

Now that your trees are bare, make the most of those fallen leaves. Here are a few ways to recycle leaves to protect and feed your landscaping all winter.

Mulch
Mulching plants and shrubs is not just a spring chore. Your landscaping needs winter protection, too.

Autumn leaves are a low-cost mulch that insulate roots from frigid temperatures and hold moisture in the ground, which is vital to plant health in winter.

After you’ve removed dead blooms or rotting vegetables, rake or blow leaves (http://www.houselogic.com/blog/landscaping-gardening/leaf-removal-equipment-tips/) into garden beds, and mound them around the base of shrubs and trees. To quicken decomposition and feed plants all winter, run leaves through a shredder or run over them with a mower.

Composting leaves
Rotting leaves and pine needles make great compost. Just throw them onto your compost pile (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/composting/start-compost-pile/), and douse them with water before you drain your outdoor spigot for the winter.

Or, bag up the leaves and throw them into a corner of your yard. If you have a mild winter, dark plastic will catch the rays and cook the leaves, speeding up decomposition. Come spring, dump the rotting leaves on your compost pile, and save the bags for next fall’s cleanup.

Leaves as fertilizerInstead of raking or blowing leaves, run your mower over them a couple of times, and let them decompose and nourish your lawn.

What do you think of using leaves as mulch?

By: Courtney Craig
Published: August 29, 2012

Want your kids to pitch in and help save energy? Green parenting bloggers weigh in on getting kids to flip the switch and stop wasting energy.

Kids have more important things to think about than turning off the lights. But discovering the lights blazing in an empty room for the umpteenth time is enough to make any parent scream, especially when the power bill arrives.

The good news is, you can train your kids about the importance of saving energy (http://www.houselogic.com/green-living/saving-energy/) right from the start. Here’s great advice from some of our favorite bloggers who know a thing or three about kids.

1. Let them take charge.
Jenn Savedge, who blogs at The Green Parent (http://www.thegreenparent.com/), practices a little reverse psychology – she urges her kids to remind her to turn off the lights.

“They get such a kick out of ‘telling Mommy what to do’ that it’s first and foremost on their minds,” Savedge said. “If I walk out of a room without doing it, they’re happy to point it out and then dash back and do it for me.

“Works like a charm and keeps the whole thing from becoming just one more thing that Mommy nags them about.”

The key to getting children to do anything is to make it “theirs,” says Monica Fraser, a mother of two who blogs at Healthy Green Moms (http://www.healthygreenmoms.com).

“I get them to police me because they get inspired to turn off the lights ‘better than me,’” she said.

2. Find their motivation.

For Sommer Poquette’s 8-year-old son, it’s money.

“If I have to ask more than three times for my son to do anything in particular, he loses $1 out of his piggy bank,” says Poquette, who blogs at Green and Clean Mom (http://greenandcleanmom.org/).

“I do this so he learns that leaving the lights on costs me money, but also because he’s very motivated to earn money and spend money, so I hit him where it hurts the most: the wallet! Amazingly, he listens very well and never lets me get to the fourth ask!”

Fraser’s kids are motivated by the idea of helping out friends and neighbors.

“Because my children are quite young, I have said that we must remember to turn lights off and shut water off when brushing so that our neighbors have enough,” she says. “They know their neighbors, and certainly wouldn’t want to use all the water.”

3. Incorporate non-verbal reminders.

Gentle reminders, such as stickers on the light switches, help kids remember to turn off the lights when they leave a room.

“They’re each in charge of shutting off their bedroom lights each morning and during the day,” Poquette says. “We have stickers above the light switches to remind them. As a family, we all offer each other friendly reminders.”

Sticky notes don’t just apply to light switches, either. Tiffany Washko, who blogs at NatureMoms (http://naturemoms.com/blog/), places Post-It Notes labeled “Turn Me Off” and “Unplug Me” all around the house as reminders.

“Putting them by the light switch, on the side of the TV, on the wall next to the power bar that controls game consoles, etcetera, is a great visual reminder,” Washko says.

“We also require each child to do a walk-through each morning before they leave for school and turn off anything that may have been left on. Once they consistently remember, we stop requiring it … that is, until they have a few lapses, then we rinse and repeat.”

4. Explain to them why it’s important.
The full implications of saving energy may not immediately be clear to kids, but they’ll be more likely to remember to turn off the lights if they understand why it’s important.
“To teach them about the importance of turning off the lights and saving energy, we’ve read them several children’s books,” says Poquette. “My son understands the value of a dollar, so I’ve shown him our energy bill and explained to him what this means and how energy is produced.

“I think being up front with your kids, and explaining things to them in simple ways they can understand, is the best policy.”

How do you get your kids to turn off the lights when they leave a room?

By: Lisa Kaplan Gordon
Published: October 31, 2011

Halloween cleanup can be the scariest thing about the holiday. Here’s a tip sheet on how to remove eggs, toilet paper, wax, and other messes that go bump in the night.

Halloween can be a messy holiday. With pranksters about, you may end up with egg yolks dripping down your siding and toilet paper hanging from your trees. Inside, you might drip candle wax on your carpet, and your little ones could leave makeup stains on your furniture. Hey – it’s the price of having fun.
But when the fun is over, the cleanup begins. Here are some tips from the American Cleaning Institute (http://www.cleaninginstitute.org/clean_living/stain_removal_chart.aspx) and others on removing the Halloween mayhem that little tricksters leave behind.
Egg splatters on your house
Time is your enemy when your house has been egged, because sunbaked yolks can stain your siding (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/roofing-gutters-siding/how-to-clean-siding/). Also, micro-shards of shell can become embedded in paint or act as an abrasive when you clean off the gunk.
Instead of scrubbing, spray away the egg with your garden hose. But don’t aim the hose full blast at the yolk, which will splatter the mess. Instead, Popular Mechanics (http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/improvement/outdoor-projects/how-to-clean-up-egg-vandalism) magazine suggests first wetting the siding below the egg, then gently spraying the siding above the egg; the water will fall in sheets and flush away the mess.
If you need more cleaning oomph, dip a brush into a bucket of warm water (never hot, which will bake on yolks) and dish soap, and then scrub away the mess.
Toilet paper in your trees
Wet toilet paper is a beast to remove from trees. So wait until the sun evaporates dew; or, if rain is predicted, start removal right away.
Use a rake to grab and pull the TP down, a leaf blower to blast it, or a telescoping reacher/grabber to pluck it.
Start at the top and work your way down. Immediately throw paper away: Leaving it on your lawn can smother grass (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/lawns/lawn-aeration-tips-tools/).
Candle wax on the carpets Never try to remove hot wax from carpeting. Not only can you burn yourself, but you’ll likely spread the wax, making a bigger mess.
When the wax has cooled, break it with a dull knife or Popsicle stick. Throw away the pieces.
Cover remaining bits with a paper towel or rag, and press a warm iron to the area. Replace the towel frequently to avoid spreading the wax.
Halloween makeup on upholstery and carpet
Many commercial carpet and upholstery cleaners remove makeup from unwanted places. The only tricky part is applying these cleaners.
Always test the cleaner on an inconspicuous spot. Apply a dab of cleaner on a white cloth, then hold it to the test area for about a minute. If no color is transferred to the white cloth, the cleaner is safe.
Never rub cleaner on a stain. Rather, blot the stain starting from its outer edge and work to the center.
What pranks and Halloween messes have you had to clean up? Got some good cleaning tips?

Key Statistics:

$108,824 – 2012 average sales price, YTD
83,386 – 2012 single family units sold, YTD
$9.1 billion – 2012 total sales volume, YTD

Monthly housing statistics for MAR are reported by participating Michigan REALTOR® local boards and associations.
Reported by Michigan Association of Realtors.

By: Lisa Kaplan Gordon
Published: September 16, 2011

Labor Day through Halloween is your window for preparing lawns for a lush spring.

Although spring lawn care gets all the attention, fall lawn care (http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/lawns/lawn-maintenance-calendar/) is the make-it or break-it season for grass.
“I’m already thinking about next year,” says John Dillon, who takes care of New York City’s Central Park, which features 200 acres of lawn in the middle of Manhattan. “The grass I grow this fall is what will be there next spring.”

Fall lawn care is no walk in the park. It’s hard work, and Dillon guides you through the four basic steps.
1. Aeration
Aeration gives your lawn a breather in autumn and provides room for new grass to spread without competition from spring weeds. Aeration tools pull up plugs of grass and soil, breaking up compacted turf. That allows water, oxygen, and nutrients to reach roots, and gives seeds room to sprout.

If kids frequently play on your lawn, plan to aerate twice a year – fall and spring. If your lawn is just for show, then aerate once a year – and maybe even once every other year.

A hand-aerating tool ($20), which looks like a pitchfork with hollow tines, is labor-intensive and meant for unplugging small sections of grass. Gas-powered aerating machines (rental, $20/hour) are about the size of a big lawn mower, and are good for working entire lawns. Bring some muscle when you pick up your rental: Aerating machines are heavy and can be hard to lift into your truck or SUV.

Depending on the size of your property, professional aeration costs about $150.
2. Seeding
Fall, when the soil temperature is about 55 degrees, is the best time to seed your lawn because turf roots grow vigorously in fall and winter. If you want a lush lawn, don’t cheap out on the seed.

Bags of inexpensive seed ($35 for 15 pounds) often contain hollow husks, weed seed, and annual rye grass seed, which grows until the first frost then drops dead. Splurge on the good stuff ($55 for 15 pounds of Kentucky Bluegrass seed), which resists drought, disease, and insects.

Water your new seed every day for 10 to 20 days until it germinates.
3. Fertilizing
A late fall fertilization – before the first frost – helps your grass survive a harsh winter and encourages it to grow green and lush in spring. Make your last fertilization of the year count by choosing a product high (10% to 15%) in phosphorous, which is critical for root growth, Dillon says.

Note: Some states are banning phosphorous-rich fertilizers, which are harmful to the watershed. In those places, look for nitrogen-rich fertilizers, which promote shoot and root growth. Check with your local extension service to see what regulations apply in your area.
4. Mulching
Instead of raking leaves, run over them a couple of times with your mower to grind them into mulch. The shredded leaves protect grass from winter wind and desiccation. An added bonus – shredded leaves decompose into yummy organic matter to feed grass roots.

A mulching blade ($10) that attaches to your mower will grind the leaves even finer.