Local banks and credit unions have some great products to help make that home of yours a special place. I am going to breakdown two affordable primary loan types. Both can be tax deductible, but check with your tax accountant to see how it works for you.
Home equity line
This option has excellent purposes. It's flexible for use in home improvements, debt consolidations (as long as you are diligent and do not run up the credit accounts you just paid off), large purchases, vacations, future needs, children's college expenses, and especially for emergency needs.
Your limit is based on the equity in your home.
It's a variable rate, but it is tied to prime. Check with your bank.
The line comes with a borrowing period usually up to 10 years with an additional 15 to 20 years for payback of any remaining balance at that time.
Borrow as you need, and pay it back quickly or on a minimum payment amount.
Beware of early an closure fee. You can have a zero balance, just dont close the account. Your bank will have specifics on this.
Traditional home equity loan
Good for one-time purchases like fixed home improvement projects or large ticket items. By fixed home improvement projects, I mean projects with a set budget that will not change.
The rate and term are fixed, and all funds are borrowed up front. You begin paying interest from the start. However, beware of a pre-payment penalty if you pay it off early. Each bank will have specifics on this.
Even if the market was better, I'm an all cash guy anyway like Steve. When I bought my new Jeep Grand Cherokee at the dealership, I used all cash, $100 bills. They looked at me like I was a drug dealer and the dealership's cashier was upset with me because they made her check every single bill, all 300 of them, with one of those counterfeit detecting markers. I did not feel bad for them :-)
My guess is they had three people counting separately fearing a screw up. Next time have a cashiers check to save yourself some time.
Now when it comes to landscaping hands off, that's my job :) I've got the itch already with all this warm weather, and my grass is already growing in areas close to the house.
Indeed, they made me sign the FinCEN form, so I'm sure Hoffa's name is in the FBI and/or secret service database. I kinda did it on purpose just to see the reaction I'd get. I've actually bought two cars that way - one for $30k and the other for $18.5k. Surprisingly, the reaction I received on the $18.5k transaction was almost the complete opposite of the reaction I received on the $30k transaction. Go figure! Surprisingly though, when I withdrew the $18.5k in cash, my bank didn't ask me to sign a FinCEN form. They also screwed up and gave me $6k over the requested amount. Lucky for that teller, Hoffa is an honest dude and returned the next day with the extra cash when the mistake was realized.
Karma is a good thing.
@JRH -- I have to go with what I can do myself. Metal wouldn't suit the architectural style of my house, unfortunately. I have to tear down to wood, replace some of the decking, and re-shingle with 25 year shingles this time. Beyond that, let my kid worry. @Mau -- When we had a major leak last fall I called a roofer. He took a look and said "You'll need a carpenter to fix the decking." I rolled my eyes and figured I could do shingling myself for a lot less money. And I can fix the decking too.
When they were building the subdivision nearby I saw the roofers lay the tar paper vertical instead of horizontal. On other houses they laid it horizontal but left no overlap.
They do make metal roofing that appears to be shingles- even with granular texture. 40 year shingles are not a lot more costly, at least compare them. If you have to do a tear off, I like the idea of ice and watershield over the entire roof. It gives you time to nail on the new shingles, and is not a lot of extra bucks in material. Cheap insurance. The ice and water shield directions say to cover 3 feet from the inside wall- not the gutter. This equates to two rows on a typical overhang- something not done by some roofers.
Is the decking ply, particle, or something else?
@Craig -- our overhang is deeper than two rows, and it's flatter than the rest of the roof so we have a flat roof system on it. I'm only doing work on the pitched part. The flatter areas we redid in 2005, and we had a contractor for it. I'm doing it myself from now on. Is ice and water shield a higher grade of tar-paper?
If you were pleased with the contractor's work on the flat part, get an estimate for the pitched roof and ask some questions if the Ice and Water shield is a good applcation. Then when you do the work yourself, you have some expert advice to follow. ;)
The 1/2" ply should be a great foundation to work with. Those with particle board, I feel for, as that stuff is completely worthless in roofing applications in my honest opinion! What kind of damage is there with the ply exactly? I had two sheets that were cracked from a large branch falling on the roof. Instead of replacing, I merely added some lateral supports between the trusses, screwed down (like mau), tar papered, and shingled over. Dry as bone to this day and never a problem. Water damaged/warped ply will still work just fine if perfect aesthetics aren't an issue. Keeping water from getting to the ply is the important part that counts. The rubber membranes around your chimney and vents, as suggested by Craig, would be ideal in helping to prevent ice dams and adding an extra layer of vapor/moisture protection in those areas. Most important though is still doing the flashing correctly and layering the flashing into your rows of shingles. Best tip I can give you is to make sure to nail your shingles on the designated nail line and be sure to stagger your tar paper and shingles appropriately. The most frequent problems occurring with poor roofing jobs are almost always resultant from nailing outside the designated nail line on the shingles. Contractors are notorious for doing this! Good luck with the project and I hope it turns out great for you and the Mrs!