Heather Barber's (palmelite) Blog

The four hurricanes that hit Florida in 2004, along with Hurricane Katrina in 2005, set off a building boom that drained domestic supplies of drywall, a board used to create the interior walls of homes. Builders turned to imported materials, much of it from China. But serious problems soon emerge...

There are homes that are hard to insure and there are homes that are hard to finance. Homes in flood plains, adjacent to wildfire zones and in the likely path of hurricanes can be difficult and expensive to insure. When fire or wind risk is high, many homeowners wind up having to buy coverage fro...

Sometimes the problem isn't the house; it's the neighborhood. You won't be shelling out for repairs, since the issues typically can't be fixed. The real cost is the reduction of your home's value and how difficult your home may be to sell in the future. Neighbors who are slobs or hoarders can kno...