How to Invest in Your Own Home

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Investing in real estate doesn’t require buying new property. If you already own a home, improving it is one of the best long-term investments you can make. You can increase your home’s value and make life more comfortable for yourself at the same time.

Here are some of the best ways to invest in your own home:

Replace Old Flooring

Real or engineered hardwood flooring might seem costly up front, but it’s an excellent way to add value to your house. This counts especially if you are also removing carpet in the same step. Hardwood floors are durable, versatile and timeless and there are a variety of stains and finishes available to increase their longevity and keep them looking their best. Both real wood and engineered wood floors can go decades without maintenance, which saves you money in the long-term and adds a highly sought-after feature for potential homebuyers in the future.

Refresh Your Bathrooms

For bathroom remodels, a little can go a long way. Even just a fresh coat of paint or new light fixtures can make an enormous difference in the aesthetic and overall feel of a bathroom. For a bigger investment, replace dated fixtures and flooring. You can save money on utilities and help the environment by adding efficient features like low-flow toilets. If you’re handy, you can DIY most bathroom projects. You can invest your time and effort into making the upgrades yourself rather than paying a contractor.

Finish Your Unfinished Spaces

If you have an unfinished attic or basement, now might be the time to finish it. The great news is that you don’t have to decorate these spaces fully for the project to be an excellent investment. Adding insulation, flooring and finished drywall can be enough to make the space useful and therefore valuable. One thing to keep in mind with finishing basements and attic spaces is local building code requirements. There may be certain steps to take in order to count the square footage of the space as “livable” in a home appraisal or sale, so it’s a good idea to consult an expert to make sure you’re investing the right way.

Update Your Plumbing

New plumbing is always a good investment. Like electricity, the quality of your plumbing affects quality of life in almost every part of the house. Old pipes are prone to corrosion, which over time can affect drainage or even cause more serious issues like leaks. You can increase energy efficiency and home value if you opt to replace old pipes with new ones that are better insulated. While some plumbing projects are doable from a DIY standpoint, if you’re doing a full-home upgrade of the entire system, hire a professional to help. You want to make sure that everything is installed perfectly to make the most out of a potentially pricey upgrade.

These are just a few ways to invest in your home, but don’t forget that any minor changes add up. Start small if you don’t feel ready to take on an extensive project. You’ll be investing both time and money and see the benefits both in quality of life and in eventual home resale value.

Benefits of Using Virtual Interior Design

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Interior design changes allow you to give your entire home or certain parts of your home a makeover. However, knowing which kinds of changes to make or which styles to use can seem overwhelming. You might also have a hard time picturing how distinct design elements would look in your home. Virtual interior design tools can make it much easier for you to figure out what changes you want to make to your home. Consider the following advantages to using virtual interior design for your home.

Save Time and Trouble

When you’re browsing through furniture options and other items, it’s not always easy to tell how they’ll actually look in your home. You might order a sofa or love seat that doesn’t match the rest of your decor or just doesn’t look right in your home, for example. With virtual interior design tools, you can see how certain items look in your house before purchasing them. This can help you avoid having to take the time to return items that don’t fit your interior design style.

Try Different Styles

If you don’t have style preferences, you might not know what you should go with. Using virtual design tools allows you play around with a variety of different interior design styles. This can help you discover which style or styles you prefer. If you’re having trouble choosing between a couple of different styles you like, virtual interior design tools can let you experiment with them to determine which one suits your home better. Once you know which style you prefer, you can get started on choosing paint colors, furniture and other items to make your interior design changes.

Work with What You Have

Some virtual interior design tools let you see how unique design elements might look in your home alongside your current furniture or other items. You might be able to upload photos and add design elements to them to see how they would look together. This can make it a lot easier to accurately visualize the interior design changes you’re thinking about doing. Without these virtual tools, you might have to take a chance on bringing new items into your home or painting rooms certain colors without knowing exactly how these design elements will end up looking.

Design Your Home Conveniently

Meeting with interior designers for consultations can take up valuable time. When you use virtual interior design tools, you can figure out the changes you want to make to your home at your own convenience. These tools allow you to work on interior design when it’s convenient for you and from the comfort of your own home. This means you won’t feel pressured to decide on interior design elements due to time constraints or have to arrange consultations that fit your schedule.

Save Money

Using virtual interior design tools could help you save on the cost of redesigning or redecorating your home. Professional designers might charge by the hour, which can add up if you’re unsure about the changes you want or if you’re changing your entire home. Virtual interior design tools let you experiment with different changes on your own, so you can redecorate without these added costs.

Research a Home Before You Visit it to Save Time

House hunting can be time-consuming. With so many houses currently on the market and so little time to spend visiting homes, it’s important to narrow down your search as much as possible before attending a showing.

Fortunately, in today’s digital world, it’s possible to learn a great deal of important information right from your phone or computer.

In today’s post, I’m going to give you some advice on researching the homes you’re thinking about making an offer on. We’ll talk about researching the neighborhood, and–of course–the house itself.

Putting together all the stats on the home

Let’s start with, arguably, the most important thing to research: the house itself. When you want to learn about a home, the best place to look is usually the real estate listing. Since most of us discover homes through listings, odds are you’re already on this page. However, there’s a lot of information in a listing, so take the time to go through it and gleam whatever you can from the home’s description.

Next, Google the house address and click on listings from other real estate sites. Oftentimes, a house that has been sold before will have multiple listings across the internet with different data.

Once you’ve scoured the listings, head over to the county assessor’s website to look at records of the home’s ownership. This will tell you who bought and sold the home and when. There’s much you can learn from this data, especially if a home is being sold frequently. You can also use this information to contact previous owners to ask them questions about the home that the current owner might not know the answer to.

Snooping around the neighborhood

If the house is nearby, simply driving through the neighborhood can tell you a lot. You can visit the neighborhood during rush hour to see what the traffic is like, for example.

However, it isn’t always practical to take the time to visit a house that you aren’t sure you’re interested in. So, what’s the next best thing? Google Maps.

Visit the neighborhood on Google Maps to see what’s in the area. Are there a lot of closed businesses? That could be a sign of a neighborhood in decline. Check for nearby things like parks, grocery stores, and other amenities that could influence your buying decision.

Next, use Google’s “street view” feature and explore the neighborhood. You can see what kind of shape the other homes are in, and find out the condition of infrastructure like roads and sidewalks.

Note addresses of comparable homes in the neighborhood and look up their purchase prices. This will give you an idea of whether the home is being priced appropriately.

If you’re having trouble finding information on a home, such as sale records, try contacting the local assessor. They should be able to point you to a database that will help you in your search.

The Eco-Budget: How Living Exterior Features Reduce Homeowner Bills

Many of us have heard of a living or green wall. They’re excellent choices for reducing bills, counterbalancing emissions from basic home living and adding a beautiful touch of nature to your home’s exterior. But what are some of their other perks? Are there other external living features that can be applied to a home to further reduce your monthly utility bills?

Here are three external living features that will do just that, starting with the living wall.

Living Wall

Living walls are walls that have some sort of greenery attached to them. A common variety includes vines or ivy being gently guided along the siding of the home with a green facade or vertical trellis. Others include having the plant directly embedded into the structure of the siding or exterior panel.

Living walls are excellent at reducing noise from neighboring homes, other residents within the community or general life sounds. Other facets of living walls include temperature equalizing, which reduces the strain on your heating and cooling system. Since it isn’t working as often or as hard, living walls can also help you reduce your utility bills.

They’re also marvels at reducing fade damage from the sun or eventual erosion from rain, since the plants living on them require both to stay nourished.

Living Roof

Like living walls, living roofs are great for maintaining your roof. The plants keep the sun and harsh rain from damaging the exterior shingles or layering. However, living roofs offer another benefit: insulation. Living roofs help insulate the uppermost area of the home, the area that holds most of the heat during the warmer months. If you have central air, your system may work twice as hard with a conventional roof, even with proper attic insulation, than with a living one.

When working with proper upcycled or eco-friendly, insulating material, living roofs offer an outer layer or barrier of insulation. The outer insulation helps the inner insulation in the home keep up with the demands of the surrounding environment and further reduces the strain on in-home systems.

Living Floors (Grass Alternatives)

Living floors are typically alternatives to grass. Some grass species are invasive, while others can do tremendous amounts of harm to the soil, especially if not cared for. Living floors, like clovers or moss, may not provide the same type of savings, but they will do wonders for your lawn maintenance needs. For example, clovers and moss do not need excessive mowing and can be grown relatively easily with few resources, which will lower your water bill and the bill for new equipment like mowers or extensive weed whackers.

Living exterior features can improve your home’s value if your target demographic is among the emerging, eco-friendly group. With more homeowners looking for ways to save money while staying green, there’s no wonder why so many of these living exterior features are showing up on the market for a wide-range of homeowners with a wide range of budgets.

1031 Exchange Basics

“1031 exchange” or “like-kind exchange” are terms you may have encountered in the real estate world. While the name might make it sound like a tax form, it actually refers to an entire type of business transaction. If you are interested in buying or selling investment property, it’s important to understand what this type of transaction entails. Once you learn the basics of 1031 exchanges, you’ll know what to expect and if you may benefit.

A 1031 exchange is a specific type of transaction involving the sale of an asset specifically as to avoid losing profits to taxes. In real estate, this would mean selling an investment property and using the money earned toward acquiring a different investment property. This way, the seller can avoid paying certain taxes they would normally be liable for in the property’s sale.

What Type of Taxes Can Be Deferred?

According to Investopedia, the most common reason to use a 1031 exchange is to defer capital gains tax. Capital gains tax is based on the difference between the price you paid for an asset and the price you sold it for. Therefore, a bigger profit equals higher tax. When you complete a 1031 exchange, you may defer that tax as long as you don’t gain any additional monetary benefit from that original sale. You can technically defer this tax indefinitely, saving money to use in future investments.

Another tax incurred by selling a property is known as depreciation recapture. This tax is in place to balance out the deductions property owners can claim for depreciation in their tax returns. Depending on the seller’s tax bracket, this can add up to a big number on the tax bill for a property sale. 1031 exchanges can also allow you to defer this depreciation recapture tax to save money.

What Does Like-Kind Mean?

One of the key requirements for an 1031 exchange is that the property you buy must be “the same nature or character” as the property you sell, according to Millionacres. Though it might sound like it, this rule does not limit you to purchasing the same type of property in terms of style, function or size. You may “exchange” a retail property for a duplex, for example. You may even sell a plot of undeveloped land for a fully furnished office building. The “like-kind” requirement refers to the purpose of the acquisition rather than the literal purpose of the property. The required purpose is to hold on to the property as an investment.

I Want to Flip a House. Can I Use a 1031 Exchange?

There is an important difference between intending to hold a property as an investment versus the intent to sell that property quickly for a profit. Technically, there are no specific guidelines about how long you need to hold on to a property for it to be eligible for a 1031 exchange. However, most properties bought to “fix and flip” are not likely to be approved for this type of transaction. Always consult a qualified tax professional if you’re unclear about what does and doesn’t qualify as an investment property.

A 1031 exchange can be a great strategy for real estate investors. Though it’s a long and complex process, knowing the basics of the term will help you navigate the financial side of the real estate world with more confidence.

Pets at home: Creating a comfortable space for the whole household

For many pet owners, giving your pets everything they need and want is among the top desires at home. However, pets can come with several items and nuances that may seem a little encroaching from time to time. Don’t worry, they don’t have to be.

Here is a quick guide to creating a perfect sanctuary for your pets at home without compromising your comfort space.

Give them a space

Pets love having areas they can call their own. These places are often considered safe spaces, or places they can go where they’re guaranteed not to be bothered until they’re ready. However, some items, such as large pet crates, may seem like too much to deal with regularly.

Make a pet nook for their crates, pet supplies, pet food and other items they enjoy by leveraging the top surface of their crates to make tables or other surface tops. Simply add an opaque, flat surface to the top and secure the corners. Be sure your pet isn’t in the space while this is happening, as safety concerns may arise.

For those simply looking to increase their storage space with their pets, try a small cabinet or cubbies with removable cubes to keep their pet supplies in a manageable area without cluttering your normal living space.

Choose pet-friendly materials

One of the biggest complaints many pet owners have is the amount of cleanup they have to do with their furry companions around. Some may even deny their pets use of the furniture to help reduce the amount of hair that accumulates on it. However, there is an easier way.

While cleaning up after pets is a reality of pet ownership, you can make it a little easier on yourself by implementing fibers and materials that don’t allow the pet hair to weave through them.

Try faux leather, high thread count cotton, microsuede or any other material that boasts high and tight thread counts. These materials leave such small space, if any, between weaves that most animal hair won’t bind to them.

Create calm

Creating a calming environment with rich colors found in nature, soft sounds and excellent, but pet-safe, aromatics is a great way to create a sanctuary for both you and your pets. Just like humans, having a quiet and calm setting is a great way to reduce pet stress, which reduces their hyperactivity.

For those with cats, try keeping more cat-friendly houseplants that may also purify the air and add a beautiful splash of color to your home’s living space. For those with dogs, try keeping cooling mats, cots or other types of temperature-controlled bedding available for them to relax in.

Having pets at home often means making compromises to your space. However, your pets can have a sanctuary that doesn’t require you to make too many adjustments to your everyday environment. Try these simple tips first and discover how you and your furry friends can have exactly what you both want.

Tips on Choosing a Walkable Neighborhood

Not every neighborhood is pedestrian-friendly, especially if you live on a busy highway or have no access to sidewalks. However, if you’re fortunate enough to live in a walkable area (or have a chance to move to one), why not take advantage of it?

Walking in your neighborhood is a free way to stay healthier, happier, and more relaxed. As long as you don’t have any health conditions that would stand in the way of taking regular walks, a daily constitutional can provide you and your family with an array of benefits.

Healthy Lifestyle: Staying physically and mentally healthy is not the result of one or two positive habits, but rather a variety of lifestyle decisions you make throughout the day. Walking on a regular basis can help you achieve weight loss goals, maintain muscle tone, and increase your energy level. A moderate exercise program can also help relieve stress, enhance your mood, and slow down the aging process.

Family Bonding: Walking in the neighborhood or at a nearby public park can be a great way for your family to spend quality time together. It’s also an opportunity to take a refreshing break from television watching, social media use, the Internet, and video games. Going for family walks is a simple activity, but the benefits can be far reaching.

Neighborhood Connections: The very act of walking around in your neighborhood, every day, makes you feel more connected to your environment. It also gives you a chance to chat with neighbors, meet new ones, and observe any changes that may affect the character of the neighborhood.

Critique Your Property: When you walk past your house and yard, you can often see features and flaws that may have escaped your notice when you last drove by in your car. Looking at your property from different angles and directions can help give you landscaping ideas and point out ways you can improve the outward appearance of your home. You can also pick up landscaping and property ideas by seeing what your neighbors are doing. Curb appeal is especially important if you’re planning to sell your property.

Bargain Hunting: If you happen to be taking a walk in the neighborhood when yard sales are underway, it’s easy to stop and scope out the treasures being offered. One caveat: If you do find something you want to buy, especially if it’s a large piece of furniture, you may have to return later with your vehicle to pick it up.

Find a New Neighborhood: If you’re in the market for a new home, the walkability of neighborhoods is an important feature worth keeping in mind.

Save Gas: Sometimes it’s nice to take a break from driving and walk over to your neighborhood grocery store, pharmacy, or post office. On those occasions when you only need to pick up a few small items, hoofing it over to your local retailer is an alternative worth considering!

4 Plants that repel bugs from your garden

There are few greater pest control solutions than a garden full of plants that repel bugs – naturally. Many plants like mosquito-warding citronella grass have scents or other features that bugs can’t stand, encouraging them to give your garden a wide berth. Not only can these plants keep you more comfortable, they can help protect your other plants from hungry pests.

If you’re interested in natural insect repellents, try these insect-repelling plants:

Lavender

The scent of lavender has been shown to have a calming effect on humans, but it can also deter mosquitos. The potent essential oils found in lavender can repel most mosquito species for six to eight hours. Filling your garden with lavender or planting it around your home will encourage the biting, buzzing bugs to stay away while helping attract butterflies and honeybees.

Marigolds

Though they don’t have a strong scent, marigolds are another flower that keeps mosquitoes away. Marigolds contain insecticidal properties called phytotoxins that repel other insects like whiteflies, grain beetles and aphids.

From a gardening perspective, marigolds are low maintenance plants with vibrant blooms you can enjoy all summer.

Rosemary

Rosemary is a versatile herb beloved by home gardeners because of its ability to thrive in a variety of climates and situations. When grown in the garden, window boxes, containers or as part of your landscaping, you can count on the essential oils in rosemary leaves to repel mosquitoes.

When in bloom, rosemary also attracts bees and other pollinators to help your garden at the same time.

Nasturtiums

Nasturtiums are a popular flowering vine you can use to protect your vegetable garden or outdoor living space through diversion. Nasturtiums actually attract mosquitoes and other pests like aphids, carrot flies and squash bugs to keep them off your veggies.

For this reason, it’s recommended to use nasturtiums for companion planting in organic vegetable gardens for natural pest control.

These are only a few insect-repelling plants to consider for your organic garden. Whether you’re growing vegetables, flowering plants or just want to keep annoying insects out of your space, these plants are the perfect place to start.

Finding the Right Neighborhood: 3 Things to Look For

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When buying a new home, the house itself is only part of the purchase. The surrounding area is just as important and there are many factors to consider when choosing not only the property but the neighborhood. However, it can be very difficult to evaluate a neighborhood you don’t already live in. How can you learn whether a neighborhood is right for you? There are many things to look for, but here are 3 of the most important things:

Safety

Looking at an area’s crime statistics won’t tell you everything. It’s still a good idea to check on, but there are other ways to get a sense of how safe you’ll feel in a specific neighborhood. Some things you can look for:

  • Are there “neighborhood watch” signs or similar evidence of organized security?

  • Is there proper street lighting at night?

  • Are the home exteriors generally well-kept?

  • Are there lots of other properties for sale or rent?

These are all good questions to guide you when scouting out possible new homes. It’s ideal to visit at different times of day and weekends to get a sense of the activity level, noise and other things that could affect your comfort level. When in doubt: go with your gut. If you have a bad feeling about a place for any reason, you shouldn’t ignore it.

Schools

If you have children or are planning to have children in the future, the quality and choice of schools in the area is something important to look for. Research the nearby school districts to see where your choice of home would fall among the options. Many online sources allow you to access and compare statistics like dropout rates and test scores for chosen districts, as well as “score” schools based on other factors like parental (and even student) reviews. Regardless of whether you have children, knowing how local schools compare can help get a bigger picture of the neighborhood.

Lifestyle

Don’t forget your life outside of your house. The type of lifestyle you want to live or want to avoid should be top of mind when evaluating a potential neighborhood. Are there community organizations or specific activities you want to live nearby? Are you specifically trying to find a place that’s quieter or a place where there is always something going on? Do you need a place to walk your dog? All of this should factor in to your choice. Look for the proximity of local businesses and activities and calendars or advertisements for local events. It helps to make a “wish list” of things you would prefer in a neighborhood as well as to identify any potential deal-breakers. Being clear about what you do and don’t want will help guide your research.

These are just a few of the things to look for when learning about a potential new neighborhood. Make use of all the resources available and don’t underestimate the effectiveness of simply visiting yourself. Your life and comfort level in your new home doesn’t end at your property line.

Government assistance for homeowners: Natural disaster relief

natural disaster relief person repairing residential roof

The United States Government offers natural disaster relief options for homeowners affected by natural disasters.
Disaster assistance comes in a few different forms, including loans for home repairs, utility bills and property tax
relief.

To help you learn more about the kind of financial assistance available after a major disaster, here is a short guide
with the basics:

Disaster mortgage insurance

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) offers a program for homeowners who need financial help buying a new home or
repairing their existing home. As long as the home is your primary residence, you might be eligible for an insured
mortgage through the FHA. 

These mortgages have zero down payments, but come with all the usual closing costs and prepaid costs of other
mortgages.

Emergency help with utility bills & expenses

Even if your home does not sustain significant damage in a natural disaster, such scenarios can make it difficult to
afford utility repairs and expenses. Disaster relief funding available through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance
Program (LIHEAP) and can be used to pay your utility bills, reconnect utilities and repair or replace components
like furnaces or air conditioners.

Disaster-related tax relief

Disaster situations may also come with tax relief. Both homeowners and businesses are eligible to file an amended tax
return if they reside in a federally designated disaster area. The Internal Revenue Service also offers the option
to file for an extension after a disaster. 

These are a few of the disaster assistance programs offered by the U.S. federal government. Other forms of disaster
relief might be available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and can help you recover
financially from a wide variety of hazards.