It often costs more if a plumber (or electrician) has to undo your "repairs" before actually performing the repair. Building a shelf, or patching drywall, or changing a lightbulb is one thing - trying to sweat a hot water line to make it fit your new gold plated faucet is another story altogether! Here is a useful do it yourself blog. Yes, there are many things that the King of the Castle can do by himself. Without much risk of damage to himself or to the thing being repaired. Some home improvement stores offer do it yourself classes - it can be fun and fulfilling, not to mention cost saving. And lest any charges of chauvinism fly, yes, women too are very good with tools and home repairs/improvements! (continued below)

While on the topic of mortgage payments, here is a little known secret that no bank will ever tell you about. With each monthly mortgage payment, make an additional payment equal to at least the principal amount contained in that payment - apply it against the principal of the loan. This will reduce your mortgage period by HALF, that is, a 30 year mortgage will be paid off in 15 years! As an example, if a monthly mortgage payment is $2000 and consists of $1100 interest + $200 escrow + $700 principal; make an additional $700 principal payment to cut your mortgage period in half. Be careful though, banks will try to be sneaky and apply any extra payments toward the LAST payment (therefore continuing to charge you interest on the paid off portion). Always check monthly statements and fight to have your extra principal payments recorded correctly. If more money is available, such as after a good tax return, you could apply more money to the principal amount of the loan. It saves you a ton of money over the lifetime of the loan by reducing the interest amount.

You also have to make sure that your new home is in a safe neighborhood. There should be zero crime in that area over the past several years - its a simple enough thing to consider, but many people don't bother checking into it before buying a new home. You really don't want to be in a location where you are likely to get shot at when walking your dog in front of your house - nor would you want to have drug dealers hanging out in front of your new home peddling their wares. Note that police presence does not necessarily make for a safe neighborhood. (continued below)

Last but not the least, the home prices in the area you are selecting for your new home to buy must be realistic and in your price range. Naturally, the safer the neighborhood and better the schools and municipal services, the higher the price of homes to buy. You may have to compromise on how "good" the neighborhood is, or on the level of services available in the area, to fit within your new home buying budget. Remember the age old golden rule; "you get what you pay for". If you want convenience, safety and services - expect to pay more for your new home in that location. Be absolutely clear about the tradeoff in safety, convenience and municipal services if you have to trade off some of these benefits to get an affordable home in the location. Your choice in location for buying a new home will stay with you for a long, long, long time.