3 Questions to Consider Before You Ask a Home Seller to Complete Repairs

For homebuyers, a home inspection is paramount. This inspection enables you to look closely at a house and identify any problem areas. It also may force you to rethink your decision to buy a house, particularly if you discover a wide range of problems during the inspection.

Ultimately, it pays to consider your options following a home inspection. In fact, if you take an in-depth approach to potential home repairs, you can determine whether to ask a seller to complete these repairs before you finalize a purchase agreement.

Before you ask a seller to perform home repairs, there are several questions that you should consider, and these are:

1. How much will it cost to complete assorted home repairs?

A damaged roof is much more expensive to repair than a defective light fixture. Fortunately, if you assess the costs of potential home repairs, you can differentiate major home repairs from minor ones and plan accordingly.

If a home requires thousands of dollars in repairs, it may be worthwhile to ask a seller to complete these repairs. Otherwise, you’ll be responsible for allocating the necessary time and resources to perform costly home repairs after you finalize your house purchase.

On the other hand, minor home repairs may be easy to handle on your own. If you feel comfortable completing minor home repairs, you may want to avoid submitting a request to a seller to perform these repairs. Because if you ask a seller to complete myriad minor home repairs, he or she may walk away from a potential home sale.

2. Are there any required repairs that must be completed right away?

Required repairs, i.e. repairs that will address hazardous conditions in a house, sometimes will need to be completed following a home inspection. These repairs include water penetration issues and local code safety violations.

If required repairs go unaddressed, your lender is unlikely to provide you with the financing that you need to acquire a house. Thus, you should request a seller complete these repairs as soon as possible.

3. Is it worth my time to ask a seller to complete home repairs?

There is no right or wrong answer to the aforementioned question, as every homebuyer and home seller is different. If you are uncomfortable with a house following an inspection, you should examine the inspection report and determine the best course of action. And if you feel that asking a seller to perform home repairs is essential, it is important to do just that.

Lastly, if you need assistance throughout the homebuying journey, it helps to work with an expert real estate agent. This housing market professional usually will attend a home inspection and help you assess a house. Plus, an expert real estate agent is happy to provide recommendations and suggestions to ensure you can make an informed home purchase.

Take the guesswork out of evaluating a house following an inspection – consider the aforementioned questions, and you can determine whether to ask a seller to complete home repairs after an inspection.

How To Stay Organized During A Move In California

It’s never easy to keep a home organized, but it’s even more challenging to stay organized when you’re moving. If you’re moving into a new neighborhood here in California, read on for some tips to help you stay organized during your move. 

Purge Before You Move

The first tip is an important one but also tough. Bring only what you want and need. Are there boxes that have been stacked in the closet for years but you have no idea what’s in them? Clean your stuff out as you’re packing It will make for a much less stressful move if you get rid of unwanted and unneeded items before getting to your new place. 

Don’t Unpack Mindlessly

Unpacking in your new place is the time to organize your things because you have a clean slate to work with. Don’t be so eager to unpack that you just put things wherever they fall. Really think about where you’re emptying things. You also should use this time to get rid of any items that you’re not using. Set a spot for everything and be well on your way to an organized California home.  

Keep Up With Your Home

After you’re settled in, don’t forget to clean out things that you’re not using continually. Make staying organized a part of your regular cleaning routine. Don’t wait to accumulate a whole bunch of new clutter before you do this. Make cleaning a priority and a habit.

Avoid Creating New Clutter


It can be tempting to buy things when you’re out and about. Before you buy anything, think of how useful it will actually be in your home. You don’t want new items to be barely used and end up in the discard pile. 

Remember That Staying Organized Is A Never-Ending Process

It can be easy to get overwhelmed by trying to keep organized. Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, neither will your California home be organized in a short amount of time. Slow and steady indeed wins the race when it comes to organization. Just make sure that decluttering is a constant part of your routine. 

When you look at moving into a new California home as a clean slate for your belongings and your organizational systems, you will surely be able to live with less stress and less unneeded stuff. Don’t start off your life in a new home in chaos. Take the steps that will keep you organized, even if you don’t get your whole house unpacked during the first week you’re living there.      

How to Make Your Front Yard Low-Maintenance

Not everyone has extra time to spend taking care of their front yard. While outdoor spaces are important, it’s easy to let yard upkeep fall by the wayside. Luckily there are lots of things you can do to make your yard attractive and inviting without spending hours working on it every week. Here are some of the best tips for creating and maintaining a low-maintenance front yard:

Always Research Your Plant Choices Beforehand

Grass lawns are notorious for requiring time and effort to maintain, but other plants can be just as bad. It’s easy to plant a lot of beautiful flowers and shrubs only to find that it’s a full-time job to keep them alive and looking good. The best way to avoid this is to research and plan your plant choices before you buy.

Some things to consider when looking for plants include:

  • Climate Zones – Most plants are labeled according to their respective USDA Hardiness Zones. You can use this information to make sure your choices of plants have a chance of surviving in your climate. While it’s possible to grow plants outside of your zone, it’s definitely not an effortless task. Choosing plants for your zone will keep your workload smaller.

  • Compatible Needs – It’s important to stick with plants that need similar amounts of sunlight and water. This will save you time and potential frustration over patches of your yard perishing in the heat while others thrive. For example, if you have lots of shade in your yard, group shade-loving plants together rather than mix in those requiring lots of sun.

  • Upkeep Requirements – Some plants simply require more attention than others. Many flowers need pruning and dead-heading every week during the growing season in order to stay beautiful and fresh. It might not sound like much, but that time can add up especially if you have a lot of plants to take care of.

Plant Perennials Wherever Possible

Perennials are plants that go dormant in the winter and spring back to life every year when the weather gets warmer. All perennials have slightly different growing seasons, so you can plan strategically to stagger them and always have some color in the yard. Perennials will save you a lot of time and money—you only need to buy and plant them once for years worth of foliage or blooms. Hardy perennial flowers like coneflower, geranium and chrysanthemums are excellent choices for low-maintenance color in your front yard.

Don’t Forget Mulch

Mulching your yard will keep your plants healthy and keep your work to a minimum. Mulch has several different benefits, primarily helping the soil maintain the right moisture and temperature levels. It also deters pests from preying on your plants and also keeps weeds from growing. Weed-prevention alone is a huge time-saver, but you’ll find that with proper mulch application you won’t need to water as frequently or worry about many common pests.

These are some basic guidelines to help you create and keep a low-maintenance front yard that still looks healthy and beautiful. As long as you stick to these tips and do your research you’ll be able to save time and money while having the best looking yard in the neighborhood.

Save Money on Heat This Winter with These Inexpensive Techqniques

The cold weather is upon us once again. And while it does brings the joys of the holidays and serene, snowy landscapes, it also brings expensive heating and utility bills.

People who have electric heat watch their bills double or more during the winter months. And for those who burn oil, wood or pellets, fuel costs are rising year after year.

To help offset the increased costs of heating their home in the winter, many people have turned to cost-efficient solutions that can help mitigate the effects of rising prices.

In this article, we’ll discuss some of the most simple and effective ways to conserve heat in your home so that you can get the most out of your heating source each month.

Apply window insulating film

One of the cheapest and easiest ways to mitigate the amount of heat list from your windows is to use window insulating film. During the winter months, this quick fix can save you $15 per window during each season. If you have large, draft windows, these thin sheets of clear plastic can be quite effective.

Proper installation of these insulators makes them practically invisible unless you inspect the windows closely. To make them less obvious, use a hair dryer to shrink the film, making it airtight and removing any wrinkles in the plastic.

Work with sunlight

We get so few hours of daylight during the winter that the Sun doesn’t get much of a chance to heat up our homes.

Take advantage of natural light throughout by opening the curtains for rooms that receive direct sunlight at varying times of the day. Of course, this is hard to do if you are away from home for most of the day. In that case, it’s often better to keep northern- and eastern-facing curtains closed throughout the day.

Lower the thermostat at night

According to a study by the U.S. Department of Energy, you can save up to 10% a year on heating by lowering your thermostat by 10°F for 8 hours overnight. This is potentially a huge amount of savings for those who don’t mind bundling up in bed during the night, or for those who can control the heat in different parts of their home, heating only their bedroom overnight.

Seal up cracks and holes in your home

Before the cold weather hits, take a walk around the interior and exterior of your home and search for cracks and holes to seal up. Sometimes outdoor lines and pipes are sealed with caulk that has since cracked and fallen away. Using an expanding foam will ensure the cracks stay closed and keep the cold air out.

Similarly, check the doors of your home for sealed weatherstripping. On a cold day, you can often feel a draft by putting your hand near the bottom of your doors. To reduce this draft, you can buy one of many types of weatherstripping.

Felt strips can be bought in large rolls, but typically only last for a year or two. V-strips tend to be the most durable.

Using these four inexpensive methods, you can start saving today on your home heating bill and be prepared for the coming months.

Reasons to Negotiate with a Home Seller

If your initial offer to purchase a home is countered, there is no need to stress. In fact, there are lots of reasons why you should negotiate with a house seller, and these include:

1. You can speed up the homebuying journey.

The homebuying journey may prove to be long and complicated. If you find a house you want to buy, however, there is no need to wait to submit an offer to purchase this home. And if a seller wants to negotiate with you, it may be worthwhile to work with this individual so you can acquire your ideal house.

A homebuying negotiation enables you to try to reach a house purchase agreement with a seller. Plus, if you and a seller cannot come to terms, you can always reenter the housing market and continue to search for another home that matches your expectations.

2. You can find common ground with a home seller.

When it comes to buying a home, it is important to avoid submitting a “lowball” offer to purchase. If a buyer submits a lowball property buying proposal, he or she risks alienating a seller. Worst of all, a seller may be more likely than ever before to reject the buyer’s proposal and move forward with other offers to purchase.

Thanks to a homebuying negotiation, you can come to terms on a home purchase agreement that works well for both you and a seller. As a result, both you and a seller will be satisfied with the final terms of a home purchase agreement.

3. You can pay the lowest price for your dream home.

If you feel a seller’s initial asking price is too high, negotiating with this individual offers an excellent opportunity to get the best price for your ideal house. And if you open up negotiations with a seller, you could acquire a terrific house at a budget-friendly price.

Of course, it is crucial to consider the seller’s perspective during a homebuying negotiation. If you maintain constant communication with a seller, both you and this individual can work together to finalize a home purchase contract.

Negotiating with a home seller may be stressful, regardless of whether you are buying a house for the first time or have purchased residences in the past. Fortunately, if you hire a real estate agent, you can receive expert support as you negotiate a home purchase.

A real estate agent is happy to negotiate with a house seller on your behalf. He or she will keep you up to date throughout a home purchase negotiation. Best of all, a real estate agent will do everything possible to help you purchase your dream house at the lowest price.

For those who want to achieve the optimal results during the homebuying journey, it generally is a good idea to negotiate with a seller. If you are willing to negotiate with a seller, you could acquire your dream home faster than ever before.

Southern Homes: What to Look For

Photo by Pattie Steib via Shutterstock

All home buyers create a list of features they desire in a property and come armed with the list when their agent shows them a new listing. When you’re shopping for a home in the South, there are a few key features you should include on the list along with the whirlpool tub and big kitchen with an island. If you want to live comfortably and affordably in warm and humid climates add these property and design must-haves to your list.

Trees, Trees & More Trees

When at all possible, find yourself a property that has plenty of trees and shade. Sure, you’ll spend a little more time on yard upkeep in the Fall, and your gutters will need more managing, but you’ll be glad to have a shaded home during the warmest months of the year. Plus, the yard itself will be more usable and enjoyable through the Summer.

Single-Story & Lofty Ceilings

Look for a single-story home with high ceilings instead of a two-story home. The high ceilings give the heat somewhere to go while keeping the space below cooler without the need for blasting more AC. In a two-story home, the upstairs can be difficult and expensive to cool so you may find yourself avoiding an entire half of your home while blowing through your summer funds. Tip: Make sure the temperature gauge for the AC unit is well-placed in a central location and not directly facing a window.

Strategic Windows

Windows can be tough in warm climates. You want to let as much natural light into the house as possible, but you also want to keep the heat out. Ideally, look for a home that has more windows, or the largest windows facing North or South instead of East and West. This way you can enjoy indirect, natural light that brightens your home without heating it up. You can also try looking for a home with skylights on the North slope of the roof. These will allow indirect light in as well.

Cool Flooring

A home with all hard flooring, either tile, wood or a combination is a must. Since you can always add rugs to your living spaces, save yourself from additional cooling requirements by avoiding carpet in the home. Tile flooring will keep the home the coolest through the hot months, but wood or laminate flooring is still much cooler than carpet.

Armed with your preferred features list, your agent will be sure to find you the best home for your needs and comfort.

Buying A Home With A Yard

One of the perks of moving out of an apartment into a home is having your very own outdoor space. Depending on how close to the city you live, you may not get much of a yard with your home. If you’re looking for that perfect outdoor space to dwell in, read on for some tips on buying a house with a yard. If you check the yard out, you could save yourself from facing problems further down the road. 

Are The Trees In Good Condition?

While mature trees in a yard are a sure fire way to have privacy and shade, the trees must be safe. You want any trees in your yard to be healthy. Otherwise, during a storm, you may have an issue with falling trees. If you have a lot of trees in your yard, it may be a good idea to hire an arborist who can tell you if the trees are safe. Tree removal can be costly, so you’ll need to plan for this expense if your yard has many trees.

How Safe The Outdoor Living Areas?

You should check out any outdoor living areas the yard has. If the home comes with a patio, or gazebo the soundness of the structures should be checked. Any cement should be free of cracks or crumble.

The Layout Of The Lot

There is more to a yard than the size of a property. You should keep in mind where the home is situated on the lot. Is the front yard more prominent than the backyard? Is the home on a slope? Is there a chance water will pool near the foundation of the house? All of these questions are important for the long-term health of the property. 

How Much Yard Are You Willing To Care For?

You need to know how large of a yard you’re actually willing to care for. For many buyers, a small yard is just enough. Other buyers aim to care for a large lawn the many flowerbeds. The larger the yard, the more possibilities you have. If you are willing to take the extra time and incur the additional expense that a large yard will cost, it could be a good feature to look for. Yard size may also narrow down your home search considerably. 

Buying a home with a yard can be a great decision, all you need is to understand your own preferences and ability to care for properties of different sizes.        

The best small home renovation ideas to upgrade your space

Small home renovation ideas are helpful when you need a change without a complete overhaul. There are many projects you can choose from to improve your living space, whether it be building a walk-in closet, adding a kitchen island or changing light fixtures.

If you’re in need of some ideas for a small house renovation, here are some ways to get started:

Open the floor plan

Interior walls divide small rooms and can eliminate many useful storage and circulation features. The same applies to kitchens in older houses, where the rooms were once thought to be isolated from the living room.

In case the kitchen and dining rooms adjoin each other but are separated by a wall, try removing the wall to open the space. In living areas close to the kitchen, the wall can be removed, so there are greater connections within each room of the home. 

Removing walls can also help exterior window lighting in a wider area and improve the house’s overall appearance.

Repurpose unused or underused space

If the rooms in a small house don’t have any particular function, think about repurposing them. The next step is reviewing the building process for the potential to increase the size, which will help you create additional space.

Some places with great opportunity for improving usable space are the garage, attic or basement.

Revamp a closet

Closets are incredibly important in daily life, so why not make them the best they can be? Simple DIY wardrobe revamps can improve your efficiency and allow for better storage.

Start with removing everything in the closet and replacing the interior walls with colorful patterns and colors. Choose functional items which offer multiple storage options, such as hanging shelves, storage boxes or drawers.

Incorporate banquette seating

For a practical and economical kitchen renovation, increase the size of the room by adding padded banquette chairs. Banquettes are a good way to save space, since most include built-in cupboards and storage cabinets. Add banquette seating to your island and transform it into a comfortable room for you to enjoy a quiet meal with friends.

Use built-ins where furniture would be too bulky

Functional storage spaces are essential for the small house. Built-in systems are designed to maximize spaces where furniture is inaccessible and can be customized according to room requirements. 

Shelving under the wall is the best solution to create optimum storage. Cabinetry is an excellent way of containing items, and it also keeps the home clean and tidy.

Add a sliding barn door

Using sliding barn doors for a hidden storage space in a dining and kitchen area makes for a beautiful and functional solution for your home interior. These sliding doors can be easily installed and even made DIY. 

Choose a design that will add to existing accents of the house. Or, paint your sliding door in a contrasting color to add drama to the room.

These are only a few ways you can upgrade your interior space without going overboard on remodeling. Whether you want to create more space or add better functionality to your home, these project ideas are the perfect way to begin.

Should You Buy a House? Key Factors to Consider

Purchasing a home is a life-changing decision. As such, it is important to consider a variety of factors as you decide whether to pursue a residence, and these factors include:

1. Your Finances

Although you may want to buy a house as soon as possible, it is paramount to have your finances in order before you launch a home search. That way, you can avoid the risk of trying to spend beyond your means to purchase a residence.

Oftentimes, it helps to meet with banks and credit unions before you embark on a home search. These financial institutions can teach you about home financing and explain how mortgages work. Plus, they can help you get pre-approved for a mortgage so you can enter the housing market with a budget in hand.

2. Your Short- and Long-Term Goals

Consider your short- and long-term aspirations before you launch a home search – you will be happy you did. If you analyze your goals, you can see how buying a home helps or hinders your ability to accomplish these aspirations.

For example, if you want to work in a particular city, you may want to pursue homes in or near this city. This will eventually allow you to enjoy convenient access to a job in the city of your choice.

On the other hand, if you want to start a family soon, you may want to consider buying a house that offers immediate access to top schools and parks. You also may want to search for a home that offers a spacious backyard and other family-friendly amenities.

3. Your Family and Friends

If you want to reside close to family and friends, you can map out your house search accordingly. Houses are available in cities and towns nationwide. As a result, you should have no trouble finding a great residence near family and friends any time you decide to launch a home search.

For those who are ready to start a home search, you may want to hire a real estate agent. Because if you have a real estate agent at your side, you can quickly and effortlessly conduct an in-depth house search.

A real estate agent understands what it takes to search for houses in any city or town. First, he or she learns about a buyer’s expectations and establishes a personalized homebuying strategy. A real estate agent next helps a buyer search for houses in his or her preferred cities and towns. This housing market professional then sets up home showings and keeps a buyer up to date about open house events. And if a buyer wants to submit an offer to purchase a house, a real estate agent will help him or her do just that.

The homebuying journey sometimes is complicated, but people who consider the aforementioned factors may be better equipped than ever before to determine if now is a good time to purchase a house. And if an individual decides to launch a home search, he or she can work with a real estate agent to achieve the best-possible results.

Entertaining at home: Simple ways to improve your gaming room setup

game controller blue and pink background image text designing the perfect game room five tips for your ideal setup

Home entertainment used to refer to large sound systems and robust flat screen televisions. But today, it involves a
little more, especially when it comes to video games and game rooms. In fact, there’s a good chance you already have
a room designated for gaming and hanging out, even if you don’t know it.

Regardless of your game room setup, there are ways to make improvements – and they may not be as difficult as you
think.

Here are five (5) simple ways to improve your gaming room setup:

Designated gaming room

When it comes to gaming, making sure you have enough room can be a bit of a hassle. Don’t worry. Even if you have
limited space or every room in your house has a purpose, you can still create a designated gaming room.

For example, if you have an open floor plan or are using another multipurpose room, try adding some vertical storage
before setting up your gaming area. Damage-free strips, shelves, shallow bookcases and other minimal wall utilities
are great for clearing out space for your new gaming area.

Once you’ve created your space, choose your primary device. If you’re a virtual reality (VR) gamer, be sure you have
enough room to move around.

Gaming chair and accessories

VR gaming isn’t the only way to upgrade your gaming space. Adding accessories, such as small projectors against a
blank wall, wall-mounted surround sound systems and even controller holders and racks, is a great way to optimize
your gaming room setup. However, one of the most important facets is the gaming chair.

This type of video game room furniture is crucial, especially for those who plan to spend a lot of time diving into
their game worlds. Find a chair that supports your back and doesn’t put strain on pressure points. For those with
only a little room to game, try a chair that has its speakers built in. Some may even come with rumble packs that
can be wirelessly connected to your system.

Ambient lighting

Lighting is crucial for any game room, especially a small video game room. You’ll want to choose light that doesn’t
reflect off the screen or game surface. In fact, ambient lighting can set the arcade or game room mood without
heavily impacting the game itself or the gamer.

Try using soft light bulbs or small wall lights with frosted shades to keep the light from directly impacting your
gaming area. Remember, you want to keep the light bright enough to maneuver what you’re doing, but not so bright
that it could cause a distraction or hinder gameplay.

Gaming space

Whether you have an entire game room or a corner of a multipurpose room, how your space is arranged is crucial. Be
sure to keep enough room to get animated, especially where VR is concerned.

Keep small, easily movable items out of your gaming space to ensure they don’t get broken, damaged or misplaced. To
avoid injury, be sure to move any excess furniture or make sure your current furniture setup won’t interfere with
your gaming experience.

Gaming setup

Gaming rooms often have their required specs: game consoles, tabletop gaming setup, audio where needed, video where
applicable, etc. However, making sure your gaming setup is at its optimal levels is the difference between a good
gaming experience and an exceptional one.

If you have an auxiliary system, be sure the projecting components – like speakers – are pointed toward you or in the
direction of the primary player. 

If you’re using a screen, be sure the speaker is large enough to accommodate the details and graphics of your chosen
platform. You’ll also want to ensure you have enough room behind your electronic pieces to keep them from
overheating.

Infographic article summary designing the perfect game room five tips for your ideal setup

Creating a game room to accommodate your gaming style doesn’t have to be elaborate. If you currently game, there’s a
chance you already have many of these items. If you’re just starting out in the gaming world but want to create your
perfect gaming sanctuary in your home, try applying these game room ideas when you first set up your gaming area.