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Smartphone Apps for the Savvy Homeowner

Owning your own home means managing a combination of day-to-day details, longer term projects and unexpected repairs. Although your phone can’t fix that leaky faucet for you, it can help you figure out what you need to do the job yourself, or help you find a local plumber to do it for you.

Enter the smartphone  — a homeowner’s new best friend.  Culled from lists from Freshome, The New York Times, and HouseLogic, these smartphone apps aim to make owning and maintaining your home just a little easier:

iHandy Carpenter — a bevy of typical carpenter’s “tools” in one place, including a ruler, protractor, bubble level and plumb bob. (iPhone)

• Landscaper’s Companion — a veritable encyclopedia of more than 1,000 types of flora at your fingertips, complete with photos and water and sun requirements, as well as helpful gardening tips. (iPhone and Android)
• ServiceMagic Home Improvement — free access to 60,000+ contractors and service providers, along with previous customers’ ratings and reviews. (iPhone)
• Good Housekeeping@Home — want to know how to get that peanut butter stain off the rug? Or the coffee stain off your favorite chair? This app not only offers stain solutions and cleaning tips, it also comes with a library of home décor tips. (iPhone)
• ColorSnap —  from Sherwin-Williams, this app matches colors from pictures you snap on your phone with paint colors, offering expanded palettes based on your color choices and detailed color information including names and RGB information (iPhone and BlackBerry)

For more cool apps for homeowners, visit the lists posted on houselogic.com, nytimes.com and freshome.com.

And because homeowners all have shopping lists — check out RedLaser and ShopSavvy, two of the most popular comparison shopping apps, which let you scan a barcode and compare pricing and availability (local and online) on the spot. RedLaser is known for its accuracy and also offers food allergen data on scanned items. ShopSavvy not only provides product price and availability information, but also coupon codes, sales and rebates. Both apps are available for iPhone and Android.