Mar 12, 2014 | Uncategorized
Are you working on decorating your home? Perhaps you want to spruce up your decor, but you aren’t sure where to start. Where can you find inspiration for your home decor, besides the obvious home decor magazines and websites?
Here are some fun and creative ideas that will inspire you when designing your decor:
Luxury Hotels
The next time you go on a vacation, you can find decor inspiration at your hotel. Most hotel rooms in mid-range to luxury hotels have beautiful, comforting and understated designs, so take photos if you find something that you like.
Perhaps you can invest in plush throw pillows for your bed, a sleek bed table lamp or thick white towels for your bathroom to recreate the look of a luxury hotel.
Art Galleries
Take a walk around your local art gallery and see if you can find some inspiration there. Perhaps the harmonious colors of Impressionist paintings or the angular shapes of Cubism will inspire you to add visual interest to your decor.
You might not be able to afford an original Picasso or Monet, but you can always order prints of your favourite artists online and add art to your home on a budget.
The Beauty Of Nature
Another place to find beauty and inspiration is from Mother Nature herself. Take a walk outside in the country and take some photos of what you encounter.
Perhaps you will be inspired to paint your walls a shade of green just like the spring leaves, or create a centrepiece for your table made from pinecones.
Fashion Design
You can also find inspiration from the colors, textures and patterns that are popular in the world of fashion design. Look at magazines, fashion shows and advertisements to see what colors and styles are popular at the moment.
If you love the look of a certain item of clothing, think about how you can incorporate that color, texture or pattern into your decor.
If you have an open mind, you can find inspiration for your home decor all around you. These are just a few ideas to get you started, but of course there are many other sources of inspiration out there.
For more info and tips regarding your home, contact your trusted real estate profesional.
Mar 11, 2014 | Uncategorized
Moving can be a stressful and exciting process, and when moving with pets, your furry friend most certainly feels the stress and excitement as well.
Pets don’t always respond well to a new environment, so it’s important to do whatever you can to ease your pet into your new house.
Settling yourself and your pet into your new home may take time, but you can make it a smoother process by doing some research and planning. Here’s how you can create a stress-free transition for your beloved pooch or kitty.
Where To Put The Pet During The Move
During the actual move itself, it is best for your dog or cat if you can get them away from the action altogether. Ideally, it’s best if a neighbor or family member that your pet is familiar with can take the pet for the day.
For long haul moves, some pet owners opt to take their dog or cat to a kennel for a few days to help them avoid the stress of the moving atmosphere.
A slow and steady packing of boxes will also indicate a change to your pet, and if done over a longer period of time, can help them prepare for the upcoming change of scenery.
The Interior Introduction: Getting Your Pet Settled
Before the actual move of all the boxes, it might be a good idea to take your pet’s belongings to the new house first. Having some of their familiar items, such as toys, a kennel, and blankets, can help to ease the process of settling into the new home.
You may also want to dedicate a room or part of the house as your pet’s sanctuary, where they can feel safe and secure while boxes and pieces of furniture are being moved into the new home. Ensure that you don’t switch your pet’s food too much around the time of the move, as this can exacerbate the effects of the change.
Some pet owners have found it effective to wait until the new house is unpacked and settled before introducing their pets to the home. This way, the pet can becoming acquainted with the new atmosphere without the chaos of movers, piled up boxes, and a stressed-out, scrambled owner! If using this method, you can keep your pet at the kennel of family member’s house until you are settled in.
The Surroundings: Exploring The New Neighborhood
If you have a dog, it is just as important to get him acquainted with the new neighborhood as it is to get him acquainted with the home itself. This is something you can also do well before the move; when preparing for a move, drive your dog over to your new neighborhood and let him explore where his new home will be.
This way, when you arrive to introduce your dog to the home itself, he will already be familiar with the area, thereby reducing the stress of the new atmosphere in the house.
Moving is no easy feat, and it’s even more complicated when pets are involved. By following some of these simple steps and planning ahead, you can achieve a move that involves much less stress.
Avoid the furry friend blues and introduce your pet to its new home in a gentle way. For more great moving tips, or to find the home that’s right for you, contact a professional realtor today.
Mar 10, 2014 | Uncategorized
Last week’s economic news included construction spending and the CoreLogic Home Price Index for January. Reports for February included ADP Employment, Non-Farm Payrolls and national unemployment data.
The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book report and weekly reports on mortgage rates and new unemployment claims rounded out the week’s economic news.
Highlights for last week include:
Consumer spending gained 0.40 percent for January. The expected reading was 0.20 percent and the reading for December was flat.
The Commerce Department reported that increased spending was less an indicator of consumer discretionary spending than an indicator of high utility costs caused by severe winter weather.
Construction spending ticked upward in January with gain of 0.10 percent as compared to expectations of -0.40 percent and the prior month’s reading of 0.10 percent.
January’s reading translates to a seasonally adjusted annual figure of $943.1 billion.
Federal Reserve: Winter Weather Obscures Accurate Economic Outlook
According to the Fed’s Beige Book report, much of the U.S. economy was impacted by severe winter weather. The report is based on anecdotal information provided by business contacts and industry leaders throughout the 12 regions of the U.S. Federal Reserve System.
Eight regions reported slow economic growth. Janet Yellen, chairwoman of the Fed, noted that winter weather was not expected to alter the Fed’s plan to continue reducing its asset purchases under its quantitative easing program. She also said that it may be months before accurate economic readings can be obtained in the aftermath of winter weather conditions.
Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey brought good news on Thursday as mortgage rates fell across the board and discount points were also lower in most cases.
Average mortgage rates were down nine basis points for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at 4.28 percent. The average rate for a 15-year fixed rate mortgage was 3.32 percent, a decrease of seven basis points.
The rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage was 3.03 percent, down by two basis points from the prior week. Discount points were unchanged for 30-year fixed rate mortgages at 0.70 percent, but dropped to 0.50 percent for 15-year fixed rate mortgages and 0.40 percent for 5/1 adjustable rate mortgages.
Employment Sector: Surprise Results
The ADP payroll report showed a reading of 139,000 jobs added in February as compared to the prior month’s 127,000 jobs. ADP tracks private sector jobs. The BLS released its Non-Farm Payrolls report for February, which also surpassed expectations.
175,000 jobs were added against expectations of 140,000 jobs added and January’s reading of 129,000 jobs added. The national unemployment rate rose to 6.70 percent against an expected drop to 6.50 percent from January’s reading of 6.60 percent. Once again, foul weather was seen as a major influence.
What‘s Ahead This Week
This week’s economic news schedule is relatively light with no releases set for today.
Mortgage rates will be released by Freddie Mac on Thursday, along with weekly jobless claims. Retail sales and the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index round out next week’s schedule.
Mar 7, 2014 | Uncategorized
There is a fine line between adding color to your home decor and using too much color, so that you feel like you are living inside a rainbow.
A little bit of color will add a lot of fun and interest to your home design, but too much color can be overwhelming. How can you achieve that perfect balance?
Here Are Some Tips To Keep In Mind For Using Color In Your Home In A Subtle And Balanced Way:
Before choosing the colors for your decor, do a little bit of research into color schemes and how they work, so you know how to combine colors harmoniously.
For example, you can choose a complementary color scheme with shades that are across each other on the color wheel – such as blue and orange or purple and yellow.
Or you could try an analogous color scheme, which is a scheme where the colors are next to each other on the colour wheel – such as blue, green and purple.
This is a rule that interior decorators use in order to use colors in a balanced way. Use the dominant color on 60% of the room, so that it will create a unifying look.
Then, use the secondary color on 30% of the room in order to add visual interest. Lastly, use an accent color for 10% of the room to add that little extra.
For example, you might use the dominant color for the walls and carpet, the secondary color for the upholstery and the accent color for some pillows, a wall hanging or a throw rug.
Perhaps you have found a gorgeous paint color, but it’s just a little too bright and overwhelming to use for all four walls of a room.
In this case, you can simply paint one wall with the color and the other walls with a neutral tone, so that you can enjoy the shade without it being overpowering.
You could also simply use the color in one aspect of the room, such as the baseboards or the door jams.
These are just a few of the ways that you can incorporate color into your home design, without it being overpowering. For more information, call your trusted real estate professional.
Mar 6, 2014 | Uncategorized
These gray, dreary winter days can really sap your energy and dull your enjoyment of life. To survive the winter doldrums, brighten your home.
Use These Easy Tips:
- Open your home’s window treatments during the day to let the light brighten and warm your room. Close them again as soon as night falls to retain heat.
- Brighten dark rooms with few windows by placing spotlights on the floor behind furniture.
- Add a mirror. Wherever a mirror reflects light in a room, it visually doubles that light. Place a mirror opposite a window to immediately brighten your space. No window? Hang a large mirror above a console table and place a pair of lamps in front of the mirror.
- Install higher watt bulbs in rooms that tend to be dark.
- Eliminate dark corners by adding recessed lighting.
- Use full spectrum lighting in areas where you read, knit or do other up-close work.
- Lighten living areas with colorful throws and pillows.
- Lift the winter blues by adding flowers and plants to your decor. Colorful indoor blooming plants include the African violet, Cyclamen, Orchid and desert cactus. Use tropical flowers to transport yourself mentally to climates where the sun always shines.
- Do A Little Winter Cleaning:
- Wash the inside of your windows. Fireplace and candle soot coats windows with a dingy film that blocks the sun.
- Polish your furniture. Shiny furniture reflects ambient light.
- Wash ceiling light fixtures in soapy water. Light is muted when filtered through dirty light fixtures.
Lighting can change how you (and potential buyers) feel about your home. It’s one of the easiest and least expensive ways to quickly improve the ambiance of your home.
If you’d like to sell your home, I can help. Contact your real estate professional today.
Feb 19, 2014 | Uncategorized
By Amy Tierce
Real Estate appraisals are performed by independent, licensed and in most cases certified appraisers.
How an appraiser views a property and the nature of the appraisal investigation is highly regulated and restrictive. Among many data fields, the appraisal report is required to address:
• Town and registry data on the property
• Recorded data on the immediate neighborhood
• If the property is legal per city and town records
• The condition of the property along with major systems
• Room count, size and general dimensions
• If improved, if proper permits were issued
• Market statistics and conditions
• Comparable sold properties
• Comparable properties on market
• Complete photographs as required by secondary market
• Floor plan on property is drawn by appraiser
Any errors or discrepancies on the appraisal report as compared to other data in the application process must be resolved. This means that all data throughout must match, for example street address, zip code, and property tax figures.
Much of the frustration with the appraisal process comes from the selection of comparable properties to support the value of the subject. It is required that these comparables be as close as possible to the subject in terms of style, age, size and proximity and timing of the sale.
Condominiums require additional work by the appraiser because the appraiser must validate the condominium information and many times this information can only be acquired by obtaining a completed condo questionnaire. To assist the appraiser and help expedite the process a copy of the lenders condo questionnaire will help.
Depending on market conditions, an appraisal can take up to two weeks to obtain. However, your lender can have the full credit approval completed on the borrower while waiting for the appraisal to be completed.
In this competitive market be sure to speak with the lender about the risks associated with the waiving of an appraisal or mortgage contingency.
Admittedly, the appraisal can be one of the most frustrating components of the mortgage process especially if the seller and real estate agent believe that the valuation is low.
Content courtesy of
Amy Tierce, Regional Vice President, Fairway Independent Mortgage
http://amyrates.com/
