Ready to Work

If you're feeling stuck in your home because of the current housing crisis, now is the time to make lemons out of lemonade by taking advantage of the availability of contractors and craftsmen. Since the housing market is down, there's plenty of carpenters, plumbers and electricians with more time on their hands to help you remodel your kitchen.

"A lot of contractors that I talk to, they'll say 'A year ago I had six months of work ahead of me, now I have three,' " Howard with the Builders Association of Greater Boston told the Boston Globe. "If someone calls, they probably are taking it. They're not going to turn down work."

Many homeowners are forgoing new homes and investing tens of thousands of dollars in order to get more life out of the ones they already have. Jobs that used to take months to fill now often take a matter of days and the craftsmen have more time to listen to what you need.

Although prices of many materials have risen, the overall cost of remodeling has not. The Globe found that the average cost of remodeling a kitchen only went up $1000 from 2006 to 2008. It seems like the contractors—now more than ever—are willing to bargain.

Have you already taken advantage of the bad housing market by jump starting your kitchen remodeling? Share your story and advice with us! [The Boston Globe]