Practical fire prevention tips for holiday cooking

The kitchen is the hub of many happy homes. We gather family, entertain guests, and cook special meals for loved ones. Unlike the basic kitchens of even thirty years ago, today’s kitchens feature double-ovens, deluxe, multiple burner stove tops, warming drawers, and even indoor grilling stations. But the kitchen can also be a dangerous place. Did you know that most cooking fires in the home involve the stove top? The leading cause of fires in the kitchen is unattended cooking. Any number of simple mistakes or lapses in attention can turn a festive time into a disaster. To prevent this from happening, keep these handy kitchen fire (and burn!) prevention tips handy, courtesy of the National Fire Prevention Association

How to save your plants this winter

When the colder months settle in, there’s no reason to sacrifice all of your plants. Depending on the type of plants you have and the severity of your winter, there are ways to help ensure your favorite decorative greenery sees another spring.

Before it’s too late, take the time now to plan your plant protection strategy. These tips selected from gardening experts from around the web should help many of your most beloved shrubs, bushes, trees, and potted wonders make it through the harsh weather.

Greener Lighting Solution: LEDs for Your Home

Do you want to make your home as energy efficient as possible, but you find the light from CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lights) unappealing? It’s time to take a new look at modern LED lighting.

Advancements in LED lighting have completely changed the face of energy efficient lighting. When they were initially developed, LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) were solid bulbs first limited to single-bulb use. Gradually manufacturers began to cluster these bulbs to create more powerful light sources for flashlights and directional lighting. Now, however, advancements in clustering, lens design, and positioning have made these bulbs suitable replacements for almost any home lighting scenario.

Four key areas to monitor in your home

A home doesn’t have to be a repair time bomb waiting to go off. In fact, one of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to prevent major repair bills is a simple schedule of inspection. Not having basic systems in your home inspected from time to time because you’re afraid of having to make a minor repair is like avoiding going to the doctor because you don’t want to know about a lurking health problem. Which is better: A wake-up call from your physician, or a major heart attack?

What is the FICO 9 score about?

Have major medical debts kept you from securing a mortgage? Have you found the terms of loans you’re able to qualify for too expensive? All of that might change soon due to an upgrade to the FICO credit scoring system. The new score is called FICO 9, and it aims to provide assistance to millions of Americans who have found themselves hit by major medical debt and cross-agency reporting problems. Here are the highlights about the FICO 9 score:

Pest Control Tips for Fall & Winter

When the temperatures begin to dip, humans aren’t the only ones who appreciate the warmth and shelter of a cozy home. Insects, rodents, and other small mammals are also drawn to the comforts your house provides. Ever have a mouse die in a wall? It’s not the sort of smell that one appreciates during the holidays. No one wants an expensive electrical repair when a rat chews its way through wiring in the attic or basement, either. Do yourself a favor and protect yourself from pests this Fall and Winter. Here are some tips:

Tips for Finding the Right House

So you’re thinking about hunting for a home. Congratulations! How do you plan on finding the home you want? It’s surprising how few people can answer this question. Most people say: “Well, I guess I’d look online and maybe contact a real estate agent.” Sure, that’s a fine place to start... but if you want to hunt for a home like a pro, here are some simple tactics that will make your experience much more efficient, pleasurable, and likely to land you a home you want to buy.

Is a home warranty right for you?

The idea of a home warranty can sound great. According to the National Association of Realtors, a home warranty is defined as, “a service contract, normally for one year, which helps protect home owners against the cost of unexpected covered repairs or replacement on their major systems and appliances that break down due to normal wear and tear. Coverage is for systems and appliances in good working order at the start of the contract.”

What’s a HELOC?

Part of the financial power of home ownership resides in your home’s equity. Unlike rent, which goes into a landlord’s pocket, the equity you build in your home can be a useful financial tool when the time is right. Home equity is defined as, “a homeowner's unencumbered interest in their real property—that is, the difference between the home's fair market value and the outstanding balance of all liens on the property.” (Source: Wikipedia)

A home equity line of credit (HELOC) is a useful way to access the equity in your home. Unlike a home equity loan (HEL), the HELOC operates more like a credit card. Rather than draw a fixed amount at one time, you’re able to draw on the line as-needed. Like a credit card, though, a HELOC can be risky. Since your home secures the line of credit, a failure to keep up with the payments can put your home on the line.

A typical HELOC allows you to access up to 85% of your home’s value, minus the outstanding balance on your mortgage. This can be a huge pool of credit to work with, depending on your equity position.

7 Signs a Bedroom Has Gone Bad

Bedrooms don’t come with an expiration date, but some really should. When buyers are touring a home, a stale bedroom with outdated style can be a deal-breaker. Problematically, many sellers simply can’t see their own bedrooms honestly anymore. Give your bedroom the “has it gone bad?” sniff test by checking for these common signs of stale design:

Small Bathroom Tune-ups

Not everyone can afford a master bath with twin sinks, a palatial tub, and luxury dual-headed shower. Some of us (well, most of us!) have to contend with reality. Reality means compromises, and sometimes that compromise means a small bathroom.

But just because a bathroom is small doesn't mean it has to feel small. In fact, many small bathrooms can be transformed into much larger-feeling spaces simply by making some adjustments to design choices.

Here are some design tips for your small bathroom that don’t involve major renovations. If you’ve been living with a small bathroom, perhaps these tips will help you make the most of what you have until you decide it’s time to make the upgrade:

6 Tough Home Pricing Truths

The pricing conversation is always a challenge. You want top dollar for your home, and your real estate agent will, too. After all, a better commission comes from a better price. But a lot of psychology and strategy goes into home pricing, and if you don’t go in with your eyes wide open, you could end up heartily disappointed.

Here are some tough truths about home pricing. While they can vary a little depending on unique market conditions, they should all be in the back of your mind as you prepare to list.

Does the walkability score matter to you?

Walk Score is a company which “analyzes hundreds of walking routes to nearby amenities. Points are awarded based on the distance to amenities in each category. Amenities within a 5 minute walk (.25 miles) are given maximum points. A decay function is used to give points to more distant amenities, with no points given after a 30 minute walk.”

Additionally, Walk Score looks at pedestrian friendliness, a component which takes into account population density, block length, and intersection density. (Source: http://www.walkscore.com/methodology.shtml).

Creative Water Conservation Tips

Water is our most precious resource. As our planet becomes more crowded and the demand for clean drinking water grows, it’s increasingly important that we look for creative ways to reduce needless waste. You might underestimate how small changes can really add up. Did you know simply by turning off the water while you brush your teeth, you may save up to as much as 25 gallons per month? (A great way to make this point with kids is to show them at the grocery store what 25 gallons of milk looks like... that’s a lot of water!) Even shortening your shower by two minutes can add up to 150 gallons per month.

Below are some creative tips you can use to cut down on your water consumption, lower your water bills, and preserve a resource we truly can’t live without:

What Must Go Before an Open House

For many, the open house is a make-or-break event for marketing a home. The mix of people stopping by can lead to an offer or a quality referral. With the directionals pointing your way, the balloons bumping off the sign posts, and the house looking its best, a successful open house creates a network of awareness around your listing.

A lot of cleaning and preparation goes into an open house, and it can be easy to forget some crucial elements which might impact the safety of the event or even make the difference between an offer or no interest. Before the doors open, be absolutely sure you've secured the following items in a safe, alternate location:

How to Part Peacefully with Your Landlord

If you've been thinking of buying a home, but the prospect of breaking your apartment lease has you holding back, you might be glad to know there are options available to you as a renter. A lease isn't always an iron-clad agreement with all the rights on the side of your landlord. Of course, buying a home isn't the only reason to break a lease. There are many reasons to break a lease: Your job may have changed, you might find the rent too steep, or you may have lost a loved one who used to share the space with you. Here are a few things you can do to help extract yourself from the situation:

Helpful Tips to Declutter Your Home

Preparing your home to sell means presenting a home which is attractive to buyers. If you’re going to be living in the home while it’s on the market, and you’re choosing not to stage it, you absolutely must go through a de-cluttering process. It can feel overwhelming at first, but I assure you the process can be broken down into manageable steps which will help your home sell potentially faster and for a better price.

Cleaning Up Credit Inaccuracies

Discovering an error on your credit history can be a rude surprise when you’re attempting to get pre-approved for a mortgage. Though most people don’t think about the details of their credit report until the need to secure a loan, it’s a good idea to check your report for inaccuracies periodically.

If you do find an error, the best way to attempt a correction is through a dispute letter. Dispute letters allow you to formally request a fix by the reporting agency. Though it may take a little time to get the errors removed, cleaning up these mistakes can have a direct (and favorable!) effect on your credit score, helping you secure lower interest rates and better terms.

Here’s what you’ll need to include for each mistake you find:

Summertime is for Grilling!

The good weather’s on its way. Let’s fire it up!

Whether you're a die-hard charcoal fan, or more of a Hank Hill "taste the meat not the heat" propane griller, I hope you enjoy these tips and recipes. One of the great joys of owning your own home is making a space for a little outdoor cooking. It can be hard to grill on an apartment balcony!

The Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association recently shared these interesting facts for National Barbecue Month. You can see why grilling is so popular!

Two Years to the Down Payment You Need

Every month you pay the rent, you’re probably thinking, “I wish this money was going into my future.” For a lot of would-be first-time home buyers, it’s the down payment which makes home ownership seem impossible. Climbing the “down payment mountain” isn't impossible. Like any major challenge, it’s all a matter of breaking your big, hairy, audacious goal down into practical steps.

Here are some tips to conquer saving for a down payment:

Making Little Feel Big: Tips to Upsize Your Small House

Has your home started to feel a little small for your family? It happens to the best of us. The things we own gradually end up colonizing a lot of our free space, and the house which felt “just right” a few years ago can suddenly feel as tiny as a shoe closet.

Fortunately, there are some simple tricks you can try to super-size your small space. Most of these tricks are a matter of changing perspective rather than opening up more square footage. Before you try them, consider a real effort to de-clutter first. If your de-clutter campaign falls short, though, these tactics may come to your rescue:

Lighten up the walls. Color can make the difference between breezy, cozy, and claustrophobic. Dark colors on walls make them seem smaller and denser, while lighter ones broaden your view and reflect more light. While white can be a bit harsh, there are other cheerful tones such as lemon, mint, and cornflower which can transform a space.

Aim high. Many times, our gaze tends to lock onto the things in the way of our feet. If you have zones of heavy storage occupying square footage, look for ways to get those items off the ground. Corner shelves, hidden cabinets, and even hanging racks can do wonders for widening up narrow spaces. Hanging pictures higher up on walls can make rooms feel taller, too.

Widen up the windows. Big curtain rods which extend beyond the border of the window can make a window seem larger, and making the move to keep them open (perhaps with sheer drapes for privacy) can let in crucial light. If you have a little renovation money, consider adding windows to rooms where less-than-ideal lighting conditions exist.

Cast mirror magic. Amplifying light is a big theme here, so position large mirrors across from windows to create “windows” where no window can exist. Even if you don’t have a window handy, a large mirror can double up the tiniest room.

Demand double duty furniture. Hidden storage in large furniture can be a boon for making the most diminutive room more manageable. Take, for example, raised bed platforms with drawers built in the frame. Look for any opportunity to hide storage in existing objects.

Hopefully these five tips will make your small house more spacious. If they still don’t make enough room for peace of mind, it might be time to consider up-sizing. I’m happy to help you assess how much home you can afford, and what you might be able to get for the house you've outgrown. Drop me a line if you’re ready for the big time! scatesrealtyinvestments.com

3 Things Buyers Forget to Check During a Home Search

Think you’ve found the perfect home? Think again. There are three little details which can turn an ideal house into the world’s most annoying location. Before you make your offer, take into account these three small, but surprisingly important details:

Couples advice: Share priorities when home buying

It starts innocently enough one Saturday morning. Maybe you find yourself wishing you could host family at your house. Maybe you’re already dreading the long Monday morning commute. You look up at your partner and say: “You know, maybe we should think about moving.” To your surprise you hear: “I’ve been thinking the same thing. Let’s start looking tomorrow!”

Not so fast! Knowing that you and your partner want to move isn't enough to begin your home search in earnest. Before you jump the gun and a start going to open houses, it’s a good idea to determine what’s behind the desire to move. Is it the neighborhood? Is it the commute? Is it the lack of space? If you don’t get an idea what’s behind your urge for a new house, you could end up house hunting with mismatched priorities.

Without a mutual understanding, you can end up wasting a lot of time looking at homes which don’t have a hope of satisfying your needs. Without articulating your needs to one another, you could end up fighting without knowing why. Worse, you might decide to spend more than you can afford in order to accommodate each disparate desire. 

Here’s a simple exercise to ensure you share your home priorities with one another:

Tips for deducting moving expenses

Are you planning a move for a new job? Are you relocating to find a new job? Are you moving and self-employed? Good news: If you meet any of these criteria, you may be eligible to deduct your moving expenses.

As an “above the line” deduction, you don’t have to itemize the write-off, either. Expenses can include an array of items that really add up, including:

•  Utility disconnection and reconnection fees
•  Up to 30 days of storage unit costs
•  Hotel rooms (though not the expenses like minibars and meals!)
•  Shipping and packing costs (from the boxes to the moving company, etc.)
•  Travel to the new home, as well as automotive deductions of 24-cents/mile

Clever kitchen hacks

You probably don’t need a scientific study to tell you that the kitchen is one of the most used spaces in a family home. It serves as a hub for food, a communal space for gathering, and often a message center for family traffic. Some consider it the “brain” of the home. While giant master bedrooms might sound nice, a kitchen with abundant space can be surprisingly satisfying!

Unfortunately, many homes have kitchens which are small or overrun by clutter. The mess can be a major barrier to enjoying the space, and without some systems in place to keep it organized, the kitchen can be rendered almost useless for many of the enjoyable aspects of cooking and entertaining. So, what’s the solution? Does opening up your kitchen require a total renovation? Not necessarily. Below are six clever kitchen hacks to open up your usable space.

Protect yourself from bidding burnout and save money on your home

You probably don’t need a scientific study to tell you that the kitchen is one of the most used spaces in a family home. It serves as a hub for food, a communal space for gathering, and often a message center for family traffic. Some consider it the “brain” of the home. While giant master bedrooms might sound nice, a kitchen with abundant space can be surprisingly satisfying!

Unfortunately, many homes have kitchens which are small or overrun by clutter. The mess can be a major barrier to enjoying the space, and without some systems in place to keep it organized, the kitchen can be rendered almost useless for many of the enjoyable aspects of cooking and entertaining. So, what’s the solution? Does opening up your kitchen require a total renovation? Not necessarily. Below are six clever kitchen hacks to open up your usable space.

Tips for considering a second home

If you’ve ever dreamed of owning a second home, it’s never too early to begin planning how to make that dream a reality. Whether you’re ready to buy now or think it may be a little while before you make the move, there are several key considerations that will inform your “second home strategy.”

5 tips to predict home values in any neighborhood

You probably don’t need a scientific study to tell you that the kitchen is one of the most used spaces in a family home. It serves as a hub for food, a communal space for gathering, and often a message center for family traffic. Some consider it the “brain” of the home. While giant master bedrooms might sound nice, a kitchen with abundant space can be surprisingly satisfying!

Unfortunately, many homes have kitchens which are small or overrun by clutter. The mess can be a major barrier to enjoying the space, and without some systems in place to keep it organized, the kitchen can be rendered almost useless for many of the enjoyable aspects of cooking and entertaining. So, what’s the solution? Does opening up your kitchen require a total renovation? Not necessarily. Below are six clever kitchen hacks to open up your usable space.

6 Pre-inspection tips for your home

Everyone wants a smooth home inspection. Sellers, buyers, agents... everyone’s rooting that this high-stakes moment passes without a hitch. Add to that list the home inspector, too! Save time, save money. If you’re selling, there are things you can do to make the home inspector’s job easier and help ensure the most accurate report possible.

Relocating? How Your Visit Matters

Are you considering a move to a new city? Maybe you’re trying to make the choice between two or three potential options. If so, how you visit your future home can have a dramatic impact on which one makes the final cut.

By making a few subtle shifts in how you prepare for your visit (and how you spend your time while you’re in town), you can gain more useful insight into the community.

Home Inspections

Part of my job as a real estate agent is educating and protecting my clients. Many of my clients get nervous about home inspections. They often ask: “Should I have a home inspection before I put my home on the market?” Here’s my take on the pre-listing inspection:

Smelly House?

Occasionally clients ask me about little extra tips and tricks to improve the appeal of their home while it’s on the market. This is especially true when it comes to open houses or showings. Below I answer a common question about home odors.

Q: Is it a good idea to add pleasant odors (cookies baking, cinnamon, fresh flowers) to a staged home for showings?

A: Not necessarily. Odors do matter, but assuming you know what "a nice smell" is to you buyers could be trouble.

If anything, your house should smell freshly cleaned, but not "chemical." Your best bet is to focus on eliminating foul or dominant odors.