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U P S I Z I N G   Y O U R   H O M E Unfortunately, our homes do not always grow with us. What may have initially worked fine for a single person, a young couple’s starter home, or a family with a newborn can quickly become too small as families expand and multiple generations live under one roof. Remodeling and adding to your home is one option for creating more space, but it can be costly, and the size of your property may be prohibitive. That is when moving to a bigger home becomes the best solution. WHERE DO YOU NEED MORE SPACE? The first thought when upsizing your home is to simply consider square footage, bedrooms, and bathrooms. But it is important to take a more critical approach to how your space will be used. If you have younger children (or possibly more on the way), then focusing on bedrooms and bathrooms makes sense. But if your children are closer to heading off to college or starting their own families, it may be better to prioritize group spaces like t...

Top things homeowners forget when prepping their home for winter (BPT) - In the winter, keeping the cold out and the heat in is everything. For many busy homeowners, it can be easy to overlook a few simple preventive maintenance tasks before cold weather sets in. Doing so can reduce the risk of home damage and help maximize energy efficiency. So before frigid temperatures are here for good, you can use this list to make sure your house is shipshape. Check for exterior gaps and cracks Take a walk around the exterior of your home. Get up close and inspect the windows, the siding and the doorways to check for cracks or gaps that need fixing and caulking. Plugging the gaps and making necessary repairs can help you keep the cold out. Because the freeze-thaw cycle can exacerbate these gaps, you’ll want to get ahead of that damaging cycle and fix these today. Check your attic insulation Heat rises, and the layers of insulation are an important barrier between you and the cold. The more the ...

Vacation home sales are up 44% year-over-year according to the National Association of REALTORS® based on sales during the July to September period.   Not only are the number of units up, but they are also selling faster than in previous years. On a national basis, 72% of existing vacation homes closed in October were on the market for less than one month. The increased desirability and affordability of vacation homes, according to the National Association of Realtors, seems to be influenced by the pandemic and low mortgage rates.   The ability to work from home seems to be contributing to this increase.   Freddie Mac reports the average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage decreased to 2.83% in October compared to the aver commitment rate for all of 2019 which was 3.94%.   There may also be a safety factor involved with these decisions to purchase vacation or second homes.   Contagious diseases flourish more in highly pop...

YOUR GUIDE TO THE HOME APPRAISAL You have found your dream home and now it is time to cross all your T's and dot all your I's before it’s all your own. And one of the first items on your closing checklist the home appraisal. So, what exactly is that? The home appraisal is essentially a value assessment of the home and property. It is conducted by a certified third party and is used to determine whether the home is priced appropriately. During a home appraisal, the appraiser conducts a complete visual inspection of the interior and exterior of the home. He or she factors in a variety of things, including the home’s floor plan functionality, condition, location, school district, fixtures, lot size, and more. An upward adjustment is generally made if the home has a deck, a view, or a large yard. The appraiser will also compare the home to several similar homes that were sold within the last six months in the area. The final report must include a street map showing the prop...

A home inspector is another key professional involved in a real estate transaction.   Many times, the sales contract will have a provision that allows the purchaser to have inspections made to discover issues that are not readily apparent or have not been disclosed by the seller. It is important to have a qualified individual perform the inspection.   Regardless of whether a license is required, buyers should ask about the inspector's experience, training, years in business and if they are familiar with the area and type of property involved. Membership in professional associations can indicate an inspector's commitment to education and training.   References from both customers and agents are helpful and may be more meaningful.   You are encouraged to call the references, especially, if you are concerned about any specific areas. Errors and Omission insurance is intended to cover mistakes made during an inspection.   It would be good to find out if the in...

TURNING A BEDROOM INTO A LUX BEDROOM For most of us, our bedroom is little more than a place to sleep and relax. However, just because it has always been that way doesn’t mean that we have to settle for drab and dreary. One trend that is gaining steam these days is converting your current bedroom into a luxury suite (or something comparable). If you want to live like you are renting a room at the Ritz, then you want to follow these tips. Compartmentalize Your Activities Making your bedroom more functional is going to make it more luxurious. Add a gorgeous desk for working and a TV area for entertainment, and you will be living it up in no time. Make it Chic Choose a color palette that is both luxurious and classy. Silver and gold can seem tacky, so choose muted shades that compliment each other. Also, a brilliant and commanding headboard can instantly upgrade the look of your room without any other changes. Light it Properly Finally, make sure that you have the right ...

If you are making a particular meal for the first time, it is essential to have a recipe so that it turns out the way it should.   Knowing the ingredients and preparation can guide you through the process. Buying a home is really no different than making a new recipe.   There are certain things that need to be done, many of which should occur in a particular order to save time, money, effort and disappointment.   Your first inclination may be to start searching the Internet for homes and schedule some showings or possibly visit open houses.   Even though this is very gratifying, it shouldn't be done until you have gone through the preliminaries. Buying a home for the first-time implies you haven't been through the process before and even though, you may have a rough idea of what needs to be done, selecting the right agent in the beginning will give you the benefit of years of personal and professional experience that can help you avoid some of the common mistak...

WHAT TO REPAIR BEFORE  YOU LIST When you’re getting ready to list your home, it’s of the upmost importance to ensure you are showing it in the best light. Taking time to highlight its strengths and fix up some of its possible weaknesses can make a big difference in how fast it sells. Here are our top four recommended repairs to make before selling your home. Repaint walls . Giving your home a fresh coat of paint is one of the most cost-effective ways to spruce it up, and generally, it can be a do-it-yourself project. Make sure cover any walls with scratches and chips and consider updating any accent walls with a more neutral coat. Repair floors. Hardwood floors are a very desirable feature in a home, so you want to ensure they look their best by fixing scratches or dull areas. If your carpet is worn or stained, consider replacing them. And don’t forget the tile in your kitchen or bathrooms. Re-grouting can go a long way in making dingy tile work look brand new! Refresh the lan...

  49 Coronavirus and Quarantine Jokes to Retrain Your Face to Smile It's a pundemic. By  Emily Kelleher   Updated Oct 20 2020, 1:21 PM   Humor is essential, even — or especially — in tough times.  Shared laughter  gives us strength in adversity and can help us feel a bit more in control when  the future looks uncertain . Most important,  funny jokes  — even funny  coronavirus  and quarantine  jokes  — bring us together and help us to feel connected, one pandemic quarantine pod to another. And laughter literally makes us stronger: Recent studies have found that a  good laugh  can boost our dopamine levels and even shore up our immune systems. So, while we all obviously continue to take COVID-19 very seriously, and follow the  recommendations from the CDC  and the WHO, we also  need to laugh  and to have a few moments in the day that  feel lighter . A few pandemic  jokes  might ju...

We are all spending more time at home and will probably need to continue to do so for a while longer.   Depending on the makeup of your family, your home is now a home office, a gym, a virtual classroom and considerably more meals have been prepared in your kitchens in the past six months than normal. Some businesses have undergone a metamorphosis that has shown them that maybe they do not need the big commercial spaces for their employees.   They realize that they can be just as productive with their work force offsite which will cut expenses. If this scenario sounds familiar, it may be worth exploring what moving would look like for your situation.   To analyze the options, you will need to know what your home is worth and what the net proceeds will be after selling it. You will need to know what homes are available with the amenities you are looking for together with the prices and mortgage money.   Depending on the interest rate on your current mortgage, th...