home: Foolproof Holiday Hostess Gifts
- 12/18/15 07:46 AM
With Christmas right around the corner, you've probably made a good dent in your shopping list for all of those important family, friend, and colleague presents. But have you tackled the tough task of purchasing a hostess gift? This is often one of the most challenging gifts because:
*You don't want to go overboard
*But you don't want to look cheap
*You want your gift to be memorable and unique
*You may not know the host as well as other people on your gift list.
You can't go wrong with these foolproof holiday hostess gifts:
Custom-Feel Ornaments
Scoutmob has a slew of ornaments and gifts … (1 comments)
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home: 6 Tips For Selling Your Home In Winter 2016
- 12/18/15 01:41 AM
Winter can be a harsh, unappealing time of year to sell your home. With 2016 about to rev up, it's especially important to make your home stand out if you want to sell in the New Year. Here are some essential tips for making your house #1 on the market as the year begins:
#1 Warmth is top priority.
Your home should always be warm when a realtor conducts a walkthrough with buyers. Set a timer on your thermostat so it's warm when they arrive. Also make sure to check there are no leaks or problems with your ducts and vents, as this … (1 comments)
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home: 20 Quick Fixes To Do Before Holiday Guests Arrive
- 12/16/15 05:32 AM
So, you've been working like mad so you can take a few days off over the holidays and Christmas shopping like a champ in your free time. Now it's days - or maybe hours - from when your family will be descending on your home, and it looks like a Ronda Rousey fight just took place in your living room. When you don't have time to call a housekeeper or do a top-to-bottom overhaul, you need tips for quick fixes to pull it all together.
1. De-clutter in a pinch
"If you have heaps of laundry and a mishmash of toiletries in the … (2 comments)
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home: Why It's Smart To Buy A Home During The Holidays
- 12/16/15 05:26 AM
Spring is the start of the hot real estate season for a few obvious reasons, nice weather and the desire to move during the summer when kids are out of school at the top of the list. But embarking on a home search during the holidays can be advantageous to buyers. Thinking about taking the plunge? Here are a few reasons you should be looking for a new home now.
The potential for a great deal
There's an assumption that anyone selling over the holidays, and thereby taking time away from family get-togethers and Christmas shopping and is selling because they have to, … (0 comments)
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home: Real Estate Moves To Make Before The End Of The Year
- 12/14/15 10:20 PM
Many of us know about some end-of-the-year financial tips we can use to lower our tax obligations - maxing out our 401(k), funding an IRA, and making charitable donations. But there are several real estate-related actions that can also help. With time ticking down before the calendar rolls over to a new year, jump on some of these smart strategies that can help you hold on to more of your money.
1. Buy a house
With a quick escrow, you can close before the end of the year, which will mean you can take a nice deduction on your 2015 taxes. "We calculated … (3 comments)
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home: Land Sales Contracts: A Useful Tool
- 12/11/15 07:37 AM
Many buyers are being priced out of the real estate arena because of two important factors: prices are high and concern that interest rates are starting to creep up.
If the circumstances are right, sellers have yet another option to consider, namely a land sales contract. It is also referred to as a contract for deed or an installment sales contract.
Under this arrangement, the seller and the buyer enter into a real estate contract. The parties agree that the deed to the property will be held in escrow by a neutral third party -- usually the settlement attorney. The buyer agrees to … (1 comments)
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home: The Challenges of International Homebuying
- 12/11/15 12:37 AM
Think we have it tough with difficult bank approvals and credit score requirements? Buying a house in the U.S. can be a breeze compared to what it's like in other countries.
Cash is king
In many countries, mortgages are nonexistent or represent a small percentage of home purchases. That can put Americans who are used to being able to make a small down payment and finance the rest of the home price at a disadvantage.
"Borrowers first need to realize that many countries don't even have mortgage lenders," said Kathleen Peddicord, founder of Panama City-based Live and Invest Overseas, in the Wall Street Journal. … (0 comments)
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home: What Makes A Home a Good Buy?
- 12/10/15 04:19 AM
There's no perfect home, but some homes are more ideal for your household than others. When you look for your next home, carefully consider these four criteria –price, features, location and condition. The closer you get to meeting all four criteria, the better your chances are of making a good buy.
Price
In any market, price has to come first. To determine what you can comfortably afford, talk to your real estate professional. He or she can recommend a lender who will prequalify you for a purchase loan. When you know how much you can spend, it will be easier to shop for … (0 comments)
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home: Zombie Apocalypse,Earthquake:Managing Risk In Canada's Housing Markets
- 12/09/15 04:45 AM
Canada's housing market is actually made of many regional markets, going through very different cycles. Most of the publicity is centred on the big cities and particularly in Vancouver and Toronto, where prices continue to rise to record levels.
Organizations ranging from the International Monetary Fund to the Bank of Canada have suggested the market is overvalued. The Economist magazine recently said it was "scarily overpriced."
But most economists in Canada think that fears of a housing crash are overstated and that a "soft landing" -- a gradual stabilizing of the market -- is more likely to happen.
"High prices and overvaluation will not … (0 comments)
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home: Real Estate Gifts Can Disrupt Family Harmony
- 12/09/15 04:39 AM
When unresolved family issues and ingrained family dynamics stand between you and your real estate goals, you won't get far by pretending family influence doesn't exist or by returning to old behavior patterns and squabbles.
When giving a gift of real estate, the giver expects a happy ending for receivers, but within families, problems can arise. From the start of a gifting project face relevant family issues and dynamics head on. Work to transform them in the context of current issues and constructive dynamics so you'll enable achievement of the desired real estate outcome[—]the happy ending.
The problem can distract you from the … (0 comments)
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home: Are You Like Most Home Sellers?
- 12/08/15 05:49 AM
According to its latest homebuyer and seller survey, the National Association of REALTORS® has an idea of what current home sellers are like. Because of the housing boom and bust, many sellers waited for underwater homes to appreciate in value so they could have enough equity to sell their homes and purchase larger homes.
The typical seller in 2015 was 54 years old, up from 49 in 2010, and married with a household income over $104,000. They occupied their homes for nine years and realized a median equity gain of $40,000, 25 percent more than a year ago. Their homes increased 23 … (0 comments)
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home: It's Not Too Late to Winterize Your Home
- 12/08/15 05:38 AM
Winterizing your home is one of the best ways to get comfortable this year, and it's not too late to get a few projects done before the holidays.
If you live in one of the states that got soaked over Thanksgiving, you might find a lot of debris on your roof and in your gutters. While you're hanging holiday lights, sweep out the gutters so that other rains and snows are less likely to cause damage to your walls.
You may have to invest in a heavy duty scrubbing brush to clear sludge and decomposed leaves. The benefits of keeping your gutters maintained … (2 comments)
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home: Dealing With Powers Of Attorney
- 12/07/15 06:32 AM
You and your spouse own your home and you would like to sell it. However, your spouse is currently unable to sign the sales contract. This is because he is either out of the country in some exotic far-away-place where fax and overnight delivery is unavailable, or because he is physically and mentally unable to make decisions or sign legal documents.
What to do?
There is a document called a "power of attorney", whereby your spouse signs a legal document authorizing you to act on his/her behalf. The giver of the power of attorney is called the Principal. The receiver is generally called … (0 comments)
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home: Home Sellers: How Your REALTOR Does It Better
- 12/07/15 01:08 AM
As you think about selling your home, it may have crossed your mind that you should just sell it yourself. In 2015, approximately 89% of home sellers hired a REALTOR®. What do they know that you don't?
To sell your home yourself, you'll be competing against experts who have more tools and connections than you do. In addition to multiple listing services, broker Websites, real estate Websites, personal Websites, and professional-grade videos and photos, real estate professionals network with each other to sell many homes before they are introduced to the marketplace.
You'll have to perform all the jobs a professional would do … (0 comments)
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home: Are Extended Warranties Worth the Cost?
- 12/07/15 12:14 AM
Extended warranties offer consumers longer terms of coverage on service, repair and replacement for their home's appliances than the standard out-of-the-box warranty from the manufacturer. These warranties are highly profitable for retailers, as they can run up the total cost of your purchase by $100 or more, with very few claims being filed per year. Are they actually worth it?
You can argue the benefits both ways.
In the fast paced world of home electronics, by the time the extended warranty expires, future technology will far outclass today's. Digitaltrends.com states that household electronics have seen great improvements in product reliability, making the price … (1 comments)
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home: Understanding Smart Home Technology So You Can Explain It to Buyers
- 12/03/15 06:37 AM
The Internet of Things is quickly becoming a reality, and there's no place where this is more obvious than in our homes. According to predictions from market researcher MarketsandMarkets, the global smart home market will grow to about $58.7 billion by 2020, fueling a 17 percent compound annual growth rate and creating a significant consumer market for smart homes. Buyers know the benefits that come with these systems, and they want them in their homes — do you know how to sell it to them? Here are a few of the more common smart home features real estate agents should be … (0 comments)
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home: Controlling The Look And Feel In Your HOA
- 12/03/15 06:26 AM
Homeowner associations maintain control over the common elements and exterior appearance of the structures for a variety of reasons. Most HOAs are built with a design theme, exterior materials s and color palette that, if compromised, reduces the value of the homes. Well designed and enforced architectural design policies help maintain uniformity, which in turn helps support the highest home market values.
Maintaining high quality designs and materials improves maintenance by reducing repairs and frequency of replacement. Uniformity standards does not mean that changes can't be made. For commonly requested modifications, the board should establish standards and specifications that include cost, durability, … (0 comments)
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home: 10 Tips For Creating a Chic Home Office
- 12/02/15 08:12 AM
Who says a home office has to be boring? Not this fashion blogger, who's been turning Instagram upside down with pics of her impossibly chic space.
"When you're a fashion blogger, your good taste is everything, so it's no surprise that Christine Andrew of Hello Fashion and POPSUGAR Select took her time perfecting every detail of her home office," said POPSUGAR. "After months of trial and error, she's just revealed her stunning home office - and it was definitely worth the wait!
Done up in pink and white with flashes of blue and green and feminine touches throughout, this home office breaks a … (2 comments)
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home: What Kinds of Mortgages are Available?
- 12/01/15 11:55 PM
Once you have signed a contract for the purchase of your new home (or condominium or cooperative apartment), and assuming that you do not have all of the cash in your bank account, you will need to obtain a mortgage loan.
There are many different loans on the market — and many different loan programs from which to choose. You should contact at least three different lenders, and ask them to give you a list of the loans which they can offer you. Take careful notes, and remember one important thing: do not give any lender any money until you are absolutely … (0 comments)
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home: Should You 'Park' Yourself In a National Park?
- 12/01/15 10:42 PM
Are you so obsessed with the interior details of your "dream home" that you've overlooked how important a "dream location" is to real estate value and your enjoyment of property ownership?
If a natural setting is a vital element of your dream location, but you lack the finances or land-management skills to own significant rural acreage, the National Park System may offer a viable alternative. Does your idea of a perfect vacation include a trip to a National Park? If so, perhaps you should explore the possibility of living within a National Park.
"I'm fortunate to live where others want to visit," said … (1 comments)
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With Christmas right around the corner, you've probably made a good dent in your shopping list for all of those important family, friend, and colleague presents. But have you tackled the tough task of purchasing a hostess gift? This is often one of the most challenging gifts because:
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