I wanted to thank you for making me your real estate professional of choice. May every day of the upcoming new year glow with good cheer for you and your family.
I wanted to thank you for making me your real estate professional of choice. May every day of the upcoming new year glow with good cheer for you and your family.
According to 1 2013 Hanley Wood survey, remodeling sales were up 10 percent compared to 2012, and 45 percent of remodelers of remodelers surveyed expected another 10 percent growth in 2014.
Home remodeling is back in again, and with the desire to improve our homesteads come a bunch of new and exciting trends we’ll start seeing next year.
1. Modern Kitchens
According to data compiled by Hanley Wood and Remodeling Magazine, 61 percent of remodelers surveyed expect to complete kitchen remodels in 2014, more than any other room in the house. And, those remodels are expected to follow a new trend.
Not so long ago, remodeled kitchens had a rustic feel with warm paint colors and cabinetry, and wrought iron hardware and lighting. Now, modern is in, with white or gray cabinetry, simple countertops, glossy finishes and minimalist designs. Appliances are more likely to be blended into the design or hidden away from view entirely to give the kitchen a sleeker appearance.
2. Brass Accents
Brass made a comeback at home-design and remodeling conventions this year and the trend is expected to pick up in 2014. While brass is nothing new, it has gotten a facelift. Highly polished, bright brass hardware and lighting is gone; rustic, dull and hammered brass is in. The new looks will be incorporated into kitchen and bathroom hardware as well as lighting and door hardware throughout the house.
3. Updated Bathrooms
In the Hanley Wood survey, bathrooms came in second to the kitchen with 58 percent of remodelers planning to do bathroom remodels in 2014. As far as style, vintage bathrooms with wainscoting and claw-foot tubs won’t be as popular as resort-style bathrooms that feature amenities such as large walk-in showers with multiple shower heads, heated floors or towel racks, and jetted bathtubs. For coloring and style, glass tiles will be a popular feature as well as neutral and cool colors like ash gray, light blue and off-white.
4. Vibrant Colors
While the kitchen may be getting the modern single-shade treatment next year, designers have a different idea for other rooms. Bright accent colors such as turquoise, yellow and orange that were popular in 2013 have a new twist; in 2014, they’ll be more of a focal point and even more vibrant with colors such as Green Flash, Lemon Zest, Nectarine and Rouge Red, according to Pantone, the international authority on color. Designers will start featuring vibrant accent walls, main paint colors and flooring throughout bedrooms and main living spaces.
5. Sustainable Materials
Going green is nothing new, but sustainability may get easier in 2014 remodels. According to Craig Webb, editor-in-chief of Remodeling Magazine, “Manufacturers and builders are constantly getting greener and greener in the way they source materials and put up homes.” As a result, “Energy efficiency is becoming an assumption, not an add-on.” Next year, remodels will include more renewable materials such as bamboo, energy-efficient appliances and additional designs that incorporate the local climate.
copyright 2013, realtor.com
It’s that time of year when we think back on the past year. Ease, comfort, and a return to rustic touches marked this year’s interior design trends. As we’ve noted, bright pops of color — such as purple, teal and emerald — coupled with cool neutrals made up the palate of 2013. But what about the overall decor? We scoured the blogosphere and checked in with Sheila Schmitz, editor at Houzz, a home design and renovation site, to round up the year’s interior trends.
1. Brass Went Big
Brass was one of the big predictions for 2013, and it didn’t disappoint. This metallic accent has a warmth that stainless steel lacks, but still blends well with other metallics. It easily transitions from modern to classic and works especially well for fixtures, from pendant lights to plumbing.
2. Wood Became Even More Ingrained
Natural-looking wood grains appeared in more than just floorboards. Blonder woods showed up in kitchen cabinets and butcher block counters, offering a light, modern feel while still adding a homey comfort that white or steel can’t match. As onecustom cabinet business owner noted, customers wanted clean lines coupled with a sense of craftsmanship.
3. Tile, Tile Everywhere
Nontraditional tile exploded, Schmitz said. Tile with a natural touch continued the wood trend, with grain and uneven edges that mimicked boards. “That’s borrowing a little bit from the salvaged-barn-wood trend from a few years ago,” Schmitz said. And it’s not just for the kitchen and bath. Faux wood tile went in the living room and on bedroom walls.
4. The Farmhouse Utility Sink
A large sink used to be a farmhouse workhorse, and today’s trends have cycled back to the deep, double sink with clean lines and classic usage. This design often comes in under-counter or apron styles. The trend has been building for a few years and accelerated in 2013.
5. Comfy Sofas and Chairs
Skip the stuffy furniture. Homeowners wanted sofas to sink into and chairs with perfectly positioned armrests, trendsetting decorator Martyn Lawrence Bullard told the Huffington Post: “Deep seats with well-proportioned arms and heights are vital.” That style, he noted, also left plenty of room to indulge in oversized throw pillows.
6. Furniture, Not Architecture
Flexibility in furniture was key, Schmitz said, with pieces that could be shifted, moved and customized, rather than built into an existing room. Kitchen islands expanded like dining room tables for laid-back family gatherings. And multifunctional pieces weren’t just reserved for smaller rooms. They helped make a large area feel cozier, with more room for, say, an ottoman — especially one that also includes some storage.
7. Storage Goes Bold
“Storage has gotten more beautiful,” Schmitz said. “People aren’t trying to hide it anymore.” Homeowners are making better use of their dead space and letting some rooms, such as the kitchen, breathe more. They might put cabinets along an interior wall and leave more room for a window above the sink, or space between a cabinet and the ceiling to open up the room a little. Or, go all out with a storage cube.
8. Technology Comes Home
Almost everyone picked up a few new technology trends this year. But we’ve already got that covered.
9. DIY Changes to Hire a Pro
After years of decorating on a dime, more people were seeking out professional help in 2013, Schmitz said. They realized that the tile they laid didn’t look nearly as good as work done by a professional, and maybe it was worth paying someone to save them time and headaches. In some cases, homeowners might hire a professional for a consult or some coaching to help them through a project.
10. Decorating Piecemeal
Asking for a professional assist with the handiwork hasn’t kept homeowners from forging their own paths, which might be the biggest trend from the 2013 design season, Schmitz said. The economic recovery meant people picked up décor projects that had fallen by the wayside. They eschewed buying a roomful of furniture from one shop. “It’s a part of the bigger trend,” Schmitz said, “where people are really designing for themselves.”
copyright 2013 realtor.com
During this holiday season, I like to reflect on family and give thanks for those who enrich my life. Thanks for making me your real estate professional of choice. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
I reached out to my friends and asked them what are some great places in Central Florida to get them in the Christmas Spirit this week. They gave me a lot of great ideas that I wanted to share with you.
If you know of other places that I should add to my list, message me. I’d love to know!
Question: I am self-employed and make a good living. I want to buy a house, but it’s hard to document my income. So I’ve been getting turned down for a mortgage, even though I’m willing to make a large downpayment. Any hope for me? – Trevor
Answer: With banks and the federal government tightening lending requirements, it has become increasingly difficult for people who don’t get regular paychecks to qualify for loans. Although still rare, “stated income” loans are making a comeback. But they require very high credit scores, large downpayments and deep cash reserves.
If this is not available, you will have to try to get a loan based on your tax returns. Still, this can be difficult because the self-employed tend to use expenses to offset their net income, resulting in low numbers. That forces them to choose between favorable tax treatment or getting a loan.
If you can’t find a loan from a traditional bank, there are a growing number of private lenders. Some, such as “hard money” lenders, will offer a smaller amount based only on the value of the house, perhaps lending 50 percent of its value. Others also will look at your credit, income and debts and lend larger amounts.
Because these kinds of loans are risky for the lender, be prepared to pay a higher interest rate and higher closing costs. Shopping around is especially important with these loans because the costs and rates vary greatly from one lender to another.
I have a list of great mortgage brokers and lenders that my past clients have had great experiences with. If you need help finding a good lender, I’m happy to help. Message me today and I’ll send you my list!
The information and materials in this column are provided for general informational purposes only and are not intended to be legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed. Nothing in this column is intended to substitute for the advice of an attorney, especially an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.
Copyright © 2013 Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). Distributed by MCT Information Services.
When a homeowner puts their house up for sale, they have the best of intentions to help sell the home. But sometimes the “help” they provide ends up turning buyers off. Here are a few common mistakes and what sellers really should do.
1. Shabby, Dirty, Crowded or Smelly
This seems obvious and yet time and again, buyers walk through homes that make them cringe. The buyers who come to see your home are making the decision whether to choose your home for the biggest purchase they’ve ever made during the worst economic conditions most of them have ever experienced. Your job is to get your home noticed – favorably – above the sea of other homes on the market, many of which are priced very, very low.
What’s a Seller to do? Other than listing your home at a competitive price, the only tool within your control for differentiating your home is to show it in tip-top shape. Pre-pack your place up, getting rid of as many of your personal effects as possible. Do not show it without it being completely cleaned up. This means no laundry or dishes piled up, countertops freshly washed, and smelly dogs or litter boxes cleaned and/or out of the house. Dress your home to impress- it will make a difference to most home buyers.
You may think you’re being helpful walking the buyer through your home and pointing out the wagon-wheel light fixture you made with your own two hands, the custom mural of a stingray you paid top dollar to have painted across your living room wall, or the delightful sounds of happy school children running across the front yard. Unfortunately, the buyers might be trying really hard to ignore, minimize or figure out how to undo the very features of your home you hold dear. They also may want or need to have personal space and conversations with their spouse or their agent while they’re viewing your home. You being there, especially walking right alongside them while they’re in your home, prevents them from being comfortable about doing this, or discussing all the things they would change if the home were theirs. You want the potential buyer to get down to dirty details – the more nit-picky a buyer gets about a house and the more detailed their list of things they would change, the more serious they are about considering making an offer on this place.
What’s A Seller to do? Back off! Let your home be shown vacant, or leave the house when people come to see it. If you need to be there, at least walk outside or go sit at the coffee shop down the way while prospective buyers view your home. If the buyers have questions, their people will contact your people.
3. Irrational Seller Expectations
Buying a house in today’s market is hard work! On top of all the research and analysis about the market and situating their own lives to be sure they’ll be able to afford the place, buyers have to work overtime to separate the real estate wheat from the chaff, get educated about short sales and foreclosures and often put in many, many offers before they get even a single one accepted.
The last thing they want to add to their task lists is trying to argue a seller out of unreasonable expectations or pricing. When buyers see a home whose seller is clearly clueless about their home’s value and has priced it sky-high, most often they won’t bother even looking at it. There are plenty of other homes to choose from in this market. If they love it, they’ll wait for it to sit on the market for a while, hoping the market will “educate you” into desperation, priming the pump for a later, lowball offer.
What’s a Seller to do? Get real. Get out there and look at the other properties that are for sale in your area and price range. Get multiple agents’ take on what your home should be listed at, and don’t take it personally if their recommendation is low. If your home has much less curb appeal or space or doesn’t have the quality of upgrades as the house across the way, don’t list it at the same price and expect it to sell. If you owe more than your home is realistically worth, you may need to reexamine whether you really want or need to sell, or consider a short sale, if you simply have to sell. Don’t be tempted into testing your market with an obviously too-high price, unless you’re prepared to have your home lag on the market and get lowball offers.
4. Feeling Misled
Here’s the deal – you will never trick someone into buying your home. If the listing pictures are photo-edited within an inch of their lives, or your home is described as an “approved” short sale when its not, buyers will learn this information at some point.
If the detailed information about your home, neighborhood or even transactional position (e.g., short sale status, seller financing, etc.) is misrepresented, the sheer misrepresentation will turn otherwise interested buyers off. In cases where the buyer feels misled, whether or not that was your intention, running through the buyer’s mind is this question: If they can’t trust you to be honest about this, how can they trust you to be honest about everything else?
What’s a Seller to do? Buyers rely on sellers to be upfront and honest – so be both. If your home has features or aspects that are often perceived negatively, your home’s listing probably shouldn’t lead with them (like the ad we recently saw with the intro line: “this place is a mess!”), but neither should you go out of your way to slant or spin the facts which will be obvious to anyone who visits your home. Make sure you know what the description of your home reads like, before it’s published to the web, and that a prospective buyer will not feel misled by it.
5. Ugly Or Impractical Improvements
Many a buyer has walked into a house that has clearly been remodeled and upgraded in anticipation of the sale, only to have their heart sink with the realization that the brand new kitchen features a countertop made, not of Carerra marble, but brand-new, pink tiles with a kitty cat in the middle of each one. Or the pristine, just-installed floors feature carpet in a creamy shade of blue – the buyer’s least favorite color. New home improvements that run totally counter to a buyer’s aesthetics are a big turn-off, because in today’s era of conspicuous frugality, buyers just can’t rip out expensive, brand new, perfectly functioning things just on the basis of style –especially since they’ll feel like they paid for these things in the price of the home.
What’s a Seller to do? Check in with a local broker or agent before you make a big investment in a pre-sale remodel. They can give you a reality check about the likely return on your investment and help you prioritize about which projects to do (or not). Instead of spending $40,000 on a new, less-than-attractive kitchen, they might encourage you to update appliances, have the cabinets painted and spend a few grand on your curb appeal. Many times, they will also help you do the work of selecting neutral finishes that will work for the largest possible range of buyer tastes.
6. Crazy Listing Photos (or worse, none at all)
I’ve seen listing photos that have garbage cans out in front of the house, piles of laundry all over the“hardwood” floors touted in the listing description, and once, even the family dog doing his or her business in the lovely green front yard. Listing pictures that have put your home in anything but its best, accurate light are a very quick way to ensure that you turn off a huge number of buyers from even coming to see your house! The only bigger buyer turn-off than these bizarre listing pics are listings that have no photos at all. Most buyers see a listing with no pictures and click right on past it, without giving the place a second glance.
What’s a Seller to do? Make sure you know how your home is being presented. Check your home’s listing on online and make sure the pictures represent your home well. If not, ask your agent to grab some new shots and get them online.
Do you have your own selling issues? I’ll give you my free advice. Simply contact me.
Great holiday news! The median home price in Orlando has risen 21% since last Christmas!
As we get close to the beginning of a new year people begin to think about what’s next. In many cases that brings up the question of do I sell or do I stay in my current home? Truth is, whether any given person should sell their home or stay put at any given time is a highly personal decision. Market dynamics should come into play, but that should be considered in the context of your personal life, career, family and financial plans.
Trying to figure out whether to sell or stay put? Here are four ways to know which decision is right for you.
1. Sign You Should Sell: You frequently crave a neighborhood upgrade. I have known people who have lived in “up and coming neighborhoods” for 20 years, and are still waiting for it to up-and-come. Others own homes on streets or in subdivisions they used to love that have changed dramatically because the city has been built up in a different direction, the area was rezoned, or because a school, freeway, commercial development, airport or train station was brought in. And still other home owners fall out of love with their neighborhoods because their job has moved, making their commute a pain.
In any event, if your home’s location is seriously misaligned with your life or your tastes, that fact is one you face all day, every day, for the duration of the time you live in the property. It can become a serious source of life dissatisfaction and resentment that rears its ugly head every time you make your monthly mortgage payment. As I see it, dissatisfaction with your neighborhood or a serious neighborhood-life disconnect can be a strong reason to sell and move, assuming you can make a move to a neighborhood that would better serve your life in a financially responsible way.
2. Sign You Should Stay: You can totally afford a new house – if you sell a kidney. If you are considering selling your home and moving up, do your own financial homework. Run your own budgets, income and expense reports and other financials to understand what level of increased financial obligation, if any, your household finances can afford to take. Consider whether you might want to set up some savings, investing or debt elimination targets before making a move. Work with your financial planner, tax professional and your real estate and mortgage pros to fully understand all the financial implications, short- and long-term, of selling and moving before you put the sign up in the yard.
3. Sign You Should Sell: Space-wise, your family is too close for comfort. (And things will get worse before they get better.) I marvel at how much stuff the smallest infant seems to need. If you have very young children and you’re already tripping over each other, chances are good that their space needs will grow as they do, even after all the baby gear is gone. School-aged kids and teenagers develop their own hobbies and need space for studies and sports – and on top of that, many parents of young children can realistically anticipate moving their own parents in at some point in time.
If you’re struggling to find a space for everything (and everyone), project your space needs out five years into the future. If you think you’ll need less space in five years (e.g., because your kids will likely move out in that time frame), it might not make sense to buy a bigger home now. But if it looks like you’ll need more space before you need less, that can be a sound rationale for making a financially rational move.
4. Sign You Should Stay: You could fix what ails your home with relatively modest remodeling projects. If your home is bothersome primarily because things don’t function very well or its aesthetics are out of whack with your style, you might be tempted to sell and move. Here’s a tip-off: your “dream home” is the Open House one block over that is nearly identical to your home in location, size, architecture, bedrooms and baths, but is impeccably decorated and updated. If you find yourself in this situation, you might very well be able to resolve your issues by investing less than you would spend on the transactional costs of selling and buying another home into some small-to-medium-scale remodeling projects on your current home.
On a budget, painting, landscaping, replacing exterior trims and interior hardware and updating your kitchen appliances will likely give you the biggest boost in home love for your buck. Similarly, you can get a major enjoyment boost out of your home for very little money by bringing a handyperson in to fix all those niggling little items that make a home seem worn out, including:
If you have a little more dough to spend, consider a kitchen or bath remodel, having some custom organizers built in, or putting in the wood floors or deck you’ve always wished for. You might be surprised how fast home hate can turn to love when you start pampering your property.
What were some of the things that prompted your last move? I’d love to know. Message me or comment on the post.