Over the past weekend, my neighbor caught me in the yard and walked over to ask me what remodeling projects were we working on this month. I mentioned that most of our work has been roof replacements, siding projects, installing windows and a few bigger projects such as a detached garage.
As I described each project, my neighbor nodded that he too, would need to replace his roof within the next four months or that his wife wanted to take advantage of the Tax Credit for replacing windows before the deadline in November of this year. He seemed overwhelmed by the thought of each project, but agreed that these "home repair projects" were a necessity.
My neighbor is not alone.
More and more families are facing the same situation. We are living in homes that need to be "remodeled" or retrofitted. Regardless of the builder and no matter which decade your home was built, every house will age through stress, weather and the changing environment.
And, my discussion with my neighbor reminded me of a phone call that I received about a month ago from a past president of the NARI. He invited me to join him on a conference call to discuss a program that could be the most impactful intiative for us as American homeowners.
I am hoping that this is not the only time we will hear of the Home Star program. My wish for every homeowner is to have the opportunity to protect their biggest investment of their life, their home.
Last November, a program was proposed to the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board (PERAB) stimulus program similar to Cash for Clunkers program. This program would create more jobs in the construction indsutry as well as nd Retrofitting or remodeling homes require less energy to operate.
A $23 billion program to weatherize thousands of American homes. It is still too early to know if the program will be enacted, but it is currently gaining momentum at the highest levels of government.
As a struggling homeowner, I need this to be pushed through. I know that I am not alone.
"Home Star" (in a nod to the Energy Star program), the program would consist of $18 billion in homeowner incentives, $2 billion for quality assurance audits on energy efficiency projects, and $3 billion in retailer incentives as well as funds to create awareness for the program.
The question is, how quickly will we see this stimulus program gain momentum and can we get this pushed through Congress and the Senate?
Will the politicians delay such an important program for us to protect our homes and make the much needed repairs that are on the "to-do list" for every American?
Mark Whitlock
SouthEnd
mark@sehomeimprovement.com
http://www.sehomeimprovement.com/
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