It's a Good Time for Home Improvements: Cheap Contractors and Tax Credits

If you've had your eye on the housing market lately, you know two things for sure:

1) The construction industry has been hard hit over the last few years, leaving many contractors out of work. And ...

2) ... So have home values, leaving many homeowners upside down in their homes (i.e., owing more than they could sell the place for), or simply possessing less equity than they did a few years back (sometimes considerably less).