Archive for the 'Home Improvement' Category
HOME OWNERSHIP - Buying vs. Renting
Posted by Pam & Joanna | Leave A Comment »
Should you buy or should you rent? This has become a complicated question for thousands of consumers. Not only is this question loaded with personal and lifestyle considerations but financial issues as well. For some, buying is the only sensible thing to do and for others, renting is much more convenient.
Most homeowners enjoy the pride of owning such a large investment, and others enjoy having a place to call Home. There are several advantages that go along with homeownership. Here are just a few;
Tax Breaks
Federal tax laws strongly favor homeowners. Mortgage interest and property taxes are generally tax deductible on your federal return. This can in turn provide you with an enormous tax benefit.
Capital gains benefits allow the homeowner to profit without paying taxes when selling their main residence. Please consult your legal or tax expert for restrictions and application of this popular tax benefit.
Renovations
As a homeowner, you have almost unlimited ability to adapt your living space to suit your individual tastes and needs. You can paint, wallpaper, decorate, landscape, and even have the potential to add more rooms. The possibilities are virtually endless.
Leverage
When buying a home, you will probably use some of your own money (your down payment) and a large amount of someone else (borrowed funds from your bank or other mortgage lender). If you are buying your second home, you can leverage the appreciated equity or profit into the purchase of your next home.
Buying a house is a huge decision for a large investment. Your neighborhood real estate professional is a good place to start when considering a purchase of a home.
Equity Title contributed to this article.
Popularity: 26% [?]
Related Posts: Buyers, Financial news, Home Improvement, Investment Properties
Make the Right First Impression & Sell Your House Quickly!
Posted by Erica Vautier | Currently 2 Comments »
Experience shows that taking time to prepare your home before a viewing can give it the marketing "edge" it needs to sell. Buyers may look at dozens of houses, so it is important that you make a good first impression.
Many agents suggest having a home professionally staged before putting it up for sale. Others give their clients a checklist of minor home improvements to complete. While both approaches will initially cost you money, in the end you will make out better.
In fact, a HomeGain survey of more than 2000 Realtors showed that sellers who spent $1000 staging their home actually recovered 200% of their investment in the cost of their home sale. Moreover, homes that are staged are known to sell in half the time.
Here are some QUICK and EASY ways you can INSTANTLY improve your home’s Curb Appeal for a potential buyer:
- Turn on all of the lights in your home, even during the day
- At night, turn on the outside lights
- Turn on soft music
- Keep the heat at 68 degrees
- Keep pets in a separate area; change the litter daily
- Put money and other valuables out of site
- Keep draperies and shades open
- Open all the doors inside the home, except for closets
If you have an agent showing your home, here are some more things to keep in mind:
- A buyer will be more likely to spend more time viewing your home if you are not around
- If you can’t leave the home, group children around a television with the volume on low or have them play in a specially designated area
- Do NOT precede or follow buyer through your home
- Let the agent show and sell your home
For a printer friendly copy of these tips, just click here .
Want more information? How about a Guide to preparing your home for sale? Click here for a printer friendly version of a market preparation guide.
Be sure to let us know if you need any more help in how to prepare your home for sale.
Popularity: 52% [?]
Related Posts: Home Improvement, Homeowners, Marketing, Sellers
What is a “Slow Home” & How Can it Make My Life Better?
Posted by Carole Ferris | Currently 2 Comments »
Slow Home is an international movement devoted to bringing good design into real life. Slow Home got its name from the Slow Food Movement which came about as a counter to the processed food industry.
Quoting John Brown who is the editor of TheSlowHome.com and founder of the Slow Home Movement:
“The sprawl of cookie cutter housing that surrounds us is like fast fast food-standardized, homogeneous and wasteful. It contributes to a too fast life that is bad for us, our cities, and the environment.
In the same way that Slow Food Movement raises awareness of how the food we eat and the choices we make affect our lives, Slow Home provides design focused information to empower each of us to take more control of our homes and improve the quality of where and how we live”.
John Brown is a registered architect, real estate broker and a Professor of Architect at the University of Calgary.
The Slow Home Declaration is: “We acknowledge our collective responsibility to create CLOSE, SIMPLE, LIGHT places to live that leave a positive legacy for future generations”.
To heck with fast food and fast homes ~~~ I say slow down and smell the roses!
Watch the following interview John Brown conducts with Carl Honore, Canadian-born author of the bestselling book In Praise of Slowness (in which he plots the lineage of our speed-obsessed society)
If you value quality and craftsmanship, you can sign the Slow Home Declaration and show your support for beauty.
Want to learn more? Call me at (760) 434-4340 or email me!
Popularity: 45% [?]
Related Posts: Find A Home, Home Improvement, Homeowners, New Homes, Video Interviews
More Money? Who wouldn’t Want More $$$
Posted by Ron Brownell | Leave A Comment »
Who wouldn’t want to have more money?
More time to spend it and more time to do what you really want to do…
Sounds like a dumb question. Everyone has the ability to achieve all the above.
This article from Brian Tracy really hit home with me and hits the mark when it comes to using your time wisely. I hope it does as well with you.
“It’s really not the money that makes you happy! It’s what having money allows you to do.” You may want to spend more time with your family, attend more of your kid’s events or work more with your favorite charitable organization. It’s really up to you to decide.
Boost Your Productivity
By: Brian Tracy
Push to the Top
All successful people are very productive. They work longer hours and they work better hours. They get a lot more done than the average person. They get paid more and promoted faster. They are highly respected and esteemed by everyone around them. They become leaders and role models. Inevitably, they rise to the top of their fields and to the top of their income ranges, and so can you.
Everything is Learnable
Every single one of these tested and proven strategies for managing your time and doubling your productivity is learnable through practice and repetition. Each of these methods will eventually become a habit of both thinking and working.
The Payoff is Remarkable
When you begin applying these techniques to your work and to your life, your self-esteem, self-confidence, self-respect and sense of personal pride will go up immediately. The pay off for you will be tremendous, for the rest of your life.
Make A Decision!
Every positive change in your life begins with a clear, unequivocal decision that you are going to either do something or stop doing something. Significant change starts when you decide to either get in or get out, either fish or cut bait.
The Vital Quality of Success
Decisiveness is one of the most important qualities of successful and happy men and women, and decisiveness is developed through practice and repetition, over and over again until it becomes as natural to you as breathing in and breathing out.
Why People Are Poor
The sad fact is that people are poor because they have not yet decided to be rich. People are overweight and unfit because they have not yet decided to be thin and fit. People are inefficient time wasters because they haven’t yet decided to be highly productive in everything they do.
Become An Expert
Decide today that you are going to become an expert in time management and personal productivity, no matter how long it takes or how much you invest in it. Resolve today that you are going to practice these principles, over and over again until they become second nature.
Action Exercises
Here are two steps you can take immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, hold your own feet to the fire. Resolve to start earlier, work harder and stay later. Don’t let yourself off the hook.
Second, become an expert in time management. Learn and practice time management techniques every day until they become habits.
Now, make it your heart’s desire to become the person you really want to become and don’t let anything stand in your way.
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Related Posts: Education, Escondido, Home Improvement, Picture Perfect San Diego, Training, Windermere Agents, Windermere Managers
