New Year’s Resolutions for Homeowners
The beginning of a new year is when many people take stock of their lives. In light of the new year, we’ve included 10 New Year’s resolutions for homeowners:
1. If you have been stressing out about being “underwater” on your mortgage, now may be a good time to discuss your options (short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure, walking away, staying put, etc.) so that you can make a final decision and be at peace with that decision.
2. If you’re struggling to make your mortgage payments, call your lender and see if a loan modification may be available to you. Banks are still difficult to deal with, but the process is getting a little easier.
3. Check with your county property appraiser to make sure that you are getting all of your property tax exemptions and discounts you’re entitled to. Besides discounts on your primary residence, you may be eligible for discounts based on disability, spouse’s death, low income senior, disabled veteran, active-duty military and more. While you’re at it, make sure that the appraised value of your property is on target.
4. If you have not done so already, get a windstorm mitigation inspection done. It can save you significant money. But be informed about the process.
5. Make sure that your homeowner’s insurance coverage is correct. With declining home values, many people are now over-insured and paying for coverage they no longer need.
6. Check to see if you still need to maintain flood insurance because the flood zone maps have changed.
7. Make sure that the title to your home is properly vested to save money and troubles for your loved ones when you pass away. A properly drafted deed can save thousands of dollars in probate expenses after you’re gone.
8. Have your will checked if it is more than five years old. If anything has changed, have a new will drafted or your existing one amended. If you don’t have a will, get one. It isn’t as expensive as you might think — less than $500, in some cases.
9. Take a walk around your house with a pad and pen. Make a list of all of those small repairs that you have been meaning to do and then do them. It is much easier to accomplish chores if they’re written down and making small repairs now is much less expensive than making large repairs later.
10. Consider renovating your bathroom or kitchen. Home renovations cost a lot less now than just a few years ago. It may be a good alternative to moving.
Happy New Year from Turnquist Partners!
Source: www.SunSentinel.com
12 Tips for Safer Holiday Home Decorating
The year-end holidays can be a time for beautiful home decorations, but injuries can come from stringing up those festive lights. Between 2006 and 2008, there was an annual average of four deaths and $18 million in property damage related to Christmas tree fires.
Here are 12 safety tips to help keep your home safe this holiday season:
- Check for freshness when buying a live Christmas tree. A fresh tree is green, its needles are hard to pull from branches, and don’t break when bent between your fingers. The bottom of a fresh tree is sticky with resin and, when tapped on the ground, the tree should not lose many needles.
- Keep trees away from heat sources. Fireplaces, vents, and radiators can rapidly dry out live trees and increase the risk of flammability. Be sure to keep the tree stand filled with water and monitor water levels daily. Place the tree out of the way of foot traffic, and do not block doorways with the tree.
- Check for a “Fire Resistant” label when buying an artificial tree. It indicates the fake tree is more resistant to catching fire. But still exercise caution since an artificial tree, like a live evergreen, can still catch fire.
- Avoid sharp, weighted, or breakable decorations when trimming a tree with children. Keep trimmings with small removable parts or ones that resemble food or candy out of children’s reach to avoid choking dangers.
- Keep burning candles within sight. Extinguish all candles before you go to bed, leave the room, or leave the house.
- Keep candles on a stable, heat-resistant surface. Chose a place where kids and pets cannot reach or knock over burning candles. Lit candles should also be placed away from flammable items—trees, decorations, curtains and furniture.
- Use only lights that have been tested by nationally-recognized laboratories, such as UL. Decorative indoor and outdoor lights must meet strict requirements. UL’s red holographic label signifies that the light decorations meets safety requirements for indoor and outdoor usage. UL’s green holographic label signifies the lights are safe for indoor use only.
- Check each set of lights for damage. Discard decorative light sets with broken or cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires, or loose connections. Do not use electric lights on a metallic tree.
- Check each extension cord to make sure it is rated for the intended use. Indoor extension cords should not be used for outside lights.
- Check outdoor lights for labels showing that the lights have been certified for outdoor use, and only plug them into a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI)-protected receptacle or a portable GFCI.
- “Fire salts” should be used with care. The salts, which produce colored flames when thrown into lit fireplaces, contain heavy metals that can cause intense gastrointestinal irritation and vomiting if swallowed. Keep them away from children.
- Do not burn wrapping papers in the fireplace. A flash fire may result as wrappings ignite suddenly and burn intensely.
Home Buyer Shopping Checklist
One of the most important things you can do is to make a checklist as you search for, find and buy a home. By staying on top of your game plan at all times you will greatly increase your chances of success. Use this home buyer checklist as your wants and needs list to help you determine what to look for when you shop. Also use the checklist for each home you visit to help you keep track of the houses you see and determine which one comes the closest to your wish list. When completed, give a copy of this list to your Realtor and discuss your preferences!
Click here to download a checklist that you can print off before your next showing.
Note: Checklist adapted from www.hud.gov.
Staging Tips When Selling Your Home
You don’t need granite countertops and state-of-the-art appliances to sell your house. A few home-staging concepts put into practice can help your home sale get off the ground.
1. Declutter
To get decluttering right, remove all items that are smaller than a breadbasket (and of course, personal photos, too). Be aware that clutter may also come from crowding larger items, too. Look for clutter on floors, walls and even in closets. You want to make homebuyers envious of your organized home — and you can’t do that if it’s filled with clutter.
2. Arrange for space and flow
Once all the rooms are cleared out, focus on arranging what’s left. To make rooms feel bigger, rely on the “Rule of Three.” You only need three pieces of furniture to stage a room and three decorative items (of varying size) to stage a surface, such as a mantel or dresser. Apply the rule of three with flexibility. For example, in the living room, the rule of three applies separately to soft and hard furniture.
When you’re done staging furniture and décor, there should be ample space to move into, out of and around furniture in each room. Also, the pieces you’ve selected should illustrate a purpose for each room (i.e. don’t blend office furniture into your living room).
With the clutter gone and the space opened up, the next phase of staging turns the house into a home. Most of the warmth in a room comes from painted walls and lighting, as well as fabrics such as window treatments. If you need to repaint cheaply, Home Depot and Lowe’s sell mistake paints for about $5 a gallon.Portable lighting such as floor or table lamps enhance both warmth and brightness. Also, colored bulbs are an inexpensive tool to perk up dull, dark or small rooms. Use blue daylight bulbs to brighten and pink bulbs to warm and flatter.
4. Clean and freshen
The last major home staging element is cleaning. Once the house is clean, keep that fresh, clean smell. Smells wield a strong influence over our opinions, so homeowners should not assume that all buyers are warmed by the smell of cookies, your favorite spices or beloved pets.
Home staging might feel like a lot of work, but the effort pays. You might be signing that contract in no time!
Source: AOL Real Estate
The 5 Sure Fire Ways to Kill Your Curb Appeal
“Curb appeal” is Realtor-speak for how attractive a home looks from the street. That curb side view is a homeowner’s first (and sometimes only) chance to dazzle a prospective buyer.
While most homeowners put lots of effort into boosting their home’s curb appeal, some owners just don’t care. This kind of neglect is a huge mistake. As a former Realtor, I discovered that certain types of exterior neglect are so alarming to buyers that they become “deal killers.” Here are five ways to kill the curb appeal of your home and squash any potential interest:
Massive overgrowth. One or two slightly overgrown shrubs isn’t going to scare off a customer. But massive overgrowth, such as the type that requires a machete to get into the backyard, is a definite turn off. Overgrown shrubs and overhanging trees not only make a home look smaller, darker, and creepier, they also contribute to rot and bug infestation. If your place is buried beneath foliage, don’t be surprised to see clients zoom away from the curb without getting out of the car.
Front yard junk pile. Is your yard littered with busted bikes, lumber, dead toys, bits and pieces of nondescript rusty things, and other debris? Cluttered, untidy yards look smaller and less inviting to potential buyers. Junk piles in the yard will kill the curb appeal of any home, even cute vintage ones.
Bad roof. A roof not only insulates, it protects the structure from the weather. A roof in really bad condition has clients mentally tabulating the extent of hidden damage to the insulation, framework, and ceilings to determine that this home is probably not worth viewing.
Zero scape. Xeriscaping is an attractive, low-water landscaping plan that boosts curb appeal. But “zero scape,” consisting of 30 yards of gravel dumped in the front yard, is highly unattractive. It will also eliminate most of your buyers who would have preferred a more inviting yard for kids and pets.
General seediness. Unless you are advertising your home as a fixer-upper, signs of neglect and overall seediness are usually deal killers too. Broken or cracked windows, chipped or missing chunks of siding, peeling paint, hanging gutters, and broken garage doors are all signs of a home that hasn’t been well maintained. A seedy home tends to turn off potential buyers, which is not a wise strategy, especially in today’s competitive market.
Source: http://www.associatedcontent.com
5 Tips For Buying A Foreclosed Home
Buying a foreclosed home is a little different from buying a typical resale. In many cases, only one real estate agent is involved. The seller wants a preapproval letter from a lender before accepting an offer. There often is little, if any, room for negotiation. The home comes as is, and it’s up to the buyer to pay for repairs.
- Get preapproved for a mortgage.
- Find an agent specializing in foreclosures.
- Know how long it takes to sell a home in your price bracket.
- Study the sale prices of comparable homes in your area.
- Remember the sale is for the home as is.
What To Expect During A Home Inspection
During a home inspection, the home inspector will concentrate on the condition and structure of your home and point out observed safety concerns. The home inspection is a visual inspection of the house - home inspectors do not do any destructive testing, nor can they inspect what they cannot see.
A professional home inspector should, at a minimum, inspect the following items:
- Exterior Home Site
- Building Foundation
- Exterior Home Walls
- Roof Coverings, Flashings & Gutters
- Roof Support Structure
- Attic
- Basement
- Insulation Quality
- Garage
- Electrical
- Visible Interior and Exterior Plumbing
- Central Air and Heating System
- Interior Condition of the Home
Home Inspectors are generalists - they need to know the home’s many systems and components and how they work, both independently and together. In addition, they need to understand why and how the system(s) fail. Consumers should expect a written report to describe the actual condition of the home at the time of the inspection and to provide an indication of the need for major repairs.
Source: http://www.nahi.org
25 Ways To Conserve Energy
With the ever-rising cost of living, everyone is looking for ways to save money. One great way to do so is to lower your monthly electricity costs. By making small changes in your everyday routine, you will being to see differences.
1) Change or clean your furnace filter once a month.
2) Install a programmable thermostat.
3) Don’t set the thermostat higher than you actually want it.
4) Don’t let furniture and draperies block the air flow from air vents.
5) If your home has a boiler system, avoid covering radiators with screens or blocking them with furniture.
6) Use rags or hand towels instead of paper towels or napkins.
7) When using the fireplace, turn down the furnace to 55 degrees. If you don’t, all the warm air from the furnace will go right up the chimney, wasting energy and money.
8) Keep plantings at least one foot away from your central air conditioning unit for adequate airflow.
9) During late afternoon and early evening, turn off unnecessary lights and wait to use heat-producing appliances.
10) Shade south- and west- facing windows during the hottest part of the day in the summer.
11) Plant a tree. One well-placed shade tree can reduce your cooling costs by 25 percent.
12) When planting trees, place leafy shade trees to the south and west, and evergreens to the north.
13) Use cellular shades for your home or office.
14) A ceiling fan should blow air down in the winter and up in the summer.
15) Set the fan on your central air conditioner to “on” rather than “auto.” This will circulate air continuously, keeping the temperature more even throughout the house and aiding in dehumidification.
16) Make sure your window air conditioner is the proper size.
17) Vacuum registers and vents regularly.
18) Raise the thermostat to about 78 to 80 degrees whenever you go to bed or leave the house.
19) If your home can’t accommodate central air conditioning, try a whole-house attic fan.
20) During the winter, remove window air conditioners and seal the windows with caulk and weatherstripping.
21) Use safety plugs in all unused outlets. These are prime places for outside air to leak into your home.
22) Hire an environmental consultant to assess your residence for hazards.
23) If your home has a large, single-pane picture window, use heavy draperies during the winter to help hold back cold air.
24) Reflective window film can help reduce heat gain during the summer, and it will keep furniture and carpets from fading.
25) Check window panes to see if they need new glazing. If the glass is loose, replace the putty holding the pane in place.
Tips Courtesy of: http://www.savewithces.com
What Is A Short Sale?
Recently the term “short sale” has become increasingly common among home buyers. This isn’t really surprising since they allow people to buy a home at a great price while taking advantage of mortgage rates that are still near historic lows.
So, what is a short sale? Below you’ll find a brief explanation of the process.
Real Estate Short Sale Definition
A short sale in the real estate industry is when the sales proceeds of a property fall short of the balance on the mortgage loan. In other words, the seller of the property owes more than what he or she is selling it for.
The mortgage lender (or bank) also has to agree to discount a loan balance or agree to take less money that what is owed. Typically the owner needs to prove financial hardship before a lender accepts a real estate short sale.
Even though this is not the ideal situation for the owner, it is a much better option than going into foreclosure because a short sale typically doesn’t hurt the owner’s credit score as much as a foreclosure.
Advantages of Buying a Short Sale
- Get a great deal
- Get a great mortgage rate
- Get through the process with ease (if you have an experienced real estate agent)
Disadvantages of Buying a Short Sale
- Long process
- Homes are sold “As-is”
- The seller can make changes that affect you
- Risk of getting your offer rejected by the lender
Have you recently bought or sold a property through short sale? Share your experiences with us in the comments section below.
Source: http://www.quickenloans.com/blog/short-sale-process-explained
3 Ways To Improve Your Home’s Curb Appeal
Are you looking for a few ways to improve your home’s curb appeal for potential buyers? We can’t all have breath-taking yards but a little cash can go a long way to improve your home’s curb appeal. We’ve included 3 tips below to get you started!
Trim Branches
If you haven’t already done so, go out to the street and make sure there are no shrubs or low hanging tree branches blocking the view of your home. You want potential buyers to get a clear look at the house when they drive by. If there are any obstructions, trim them back now.
Create An Entrance That Makes A Statement
Invest in a couple of great, architectural pots that make a statement at your entrance. Add rounded boxwoods for a classic look, or try a seasonal planting of ornamental grasses, and colorful annuals and trailing plants for an eye-catching display.
Pressure Wash
Use a pressure washer to clean sidewalks and driveways. Pressure washing cement, especially, can make it look as though it was freshly poured.
If you’re selling your home, take the time to add curb appeal right now. Remember, you only have one chance to make a great first impression!
