News – Page 144

Bistro Breakfast Burger

Use a gentle hand when forming the patty; you want it to be tender and juicy, not dense. After stacking the burger patty on the bun with the cheese, return to the oven for 1 to 2 minutes to get a gooey melt, and then resume building your burger.

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Is Zillow’s Zestimate Accurate?

A couple of weeks ago real estate columnist Kenneth Harney reignited a heated real estate conversation about the use and value of “Zestimates” — the automated property value estimates that appear alongside otherwise objective property information provided by Zillow, the dominant real estate information site on the Web.

Throughout the real estate community agents complain about these Zestimates, which — despite Zillow’s disclaimers — are often taken as gospel by both buyers and sellers. (Typically, of course, the Zestimate is accorded such status when it happens to support the position of the concerned principal. Buyers quote Zillow when the Zestimate is low, Sellers when it is high.)

Agents around the country have weighed in on comment posts and the blogosphere. Some say Zestimates are consistently too high, some say too low, and some say they are just too often erroneous — giving both low and high valuations.

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Happy President’s Day

Learn the History of Presidents Day

Happy Valentine’s Day

Learn the History of Valentines Day

What Buyers Should Know About Home Inspections

For many first-time buyers, buying a home can be a scary experience. They know they’ll be maintaining or improving a home with little to no maintenance experience, so the solution is to buy a home in perfect condition. So they hire a home inspector to point out all the flaws.

The problem is — no perfect home exists. Air conditioners break, plumbing pipes leak, and roof tiles blow off in the wind.

If you’re buying a home, start with a reasonable expectation of what home inspectors can do. Their job is to inform you about the integrity and condition of what you’re buying, good and bad.

A home inspection should take several hours, long enough to cover all built-in appliances, all mechanical, electrical, gas and plumbing systems, the roof, foundation, gutters, exterior skins, windows and doors.

An inspector doesn’t test for pests or sample the septic tank. For those, you need industry-specific inspectors.

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14 Ways To Make Your Home – And Your Life – Easier

Life is busy. Everyday, so many things to do. Finding a few shortcuts is key to keeping on track—and keeping your sanity. Employ a few of these tricks to make your life easier (and better!)

1. Put it on the list

It stinks to be driving home from Lowe’s only to remember the one thing you didn’t pick up. Or be reminded of four other things you wanted your handyman to fix—after he’s already left. Keep two running lists on your phone: one for the home improvement store and one for your fix-it person. That way you’ll always have the lists accessible and can add to them as necessary.

2. Stock up on vinegar

It can be used to unclog a drain, take ink off a wall, freshen up your washing machine, clean your coffeemaker, get rid of bugs, and about 90 other things.

3. Throw that newspaper in the trash the right way.

Wadding it up at the bottom of your trash gives you a place to soak up food juices and keep your trash can fresher.

4. Personalize your luggage.

Run a line of colorfully patterned tape across the top of your suitcase. When everyone else is trying to figure out which black bag is theirs, you can easily swoop in, gather your stuff, and be on your way.

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Home Renovations To Invest In And Avoid In 2015

Conventional wisdom tells us that any home renovation is a positive thing: money in is money out. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Some remodeling projects are a better investment than others, and the projects that yield the best return on investment can change from year to year. According to Remodeling Magazine’s 2015 Cost vs. Value Report, these five replacement projects will make the greatest percentage impact on the value of your home this year — accounting for cost-to-value ratio, the key to making smart home improvements with resale in mind:

Click Here to see what they are

Case Shiller January 27th 2015

The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index seeks to measures the value of residential real estate in 20 major U.S. metropolitan areas: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa and Washington, D.C.

Click Here to see the Full Report

Getting the Best Mortgage Interest Rate

When you go online to look at mortgage rates, it can be confusing. The only way to get the best rate is to talk to real lenders.

First, decide on which loan program you’re going to compare. You need to decide between a fixed, an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) and a hybrid. A fixed rate is fixed throughout the life of the loan, an ARM has an interest rate that can vary throughout the life of the loan and a hybrid is an ARM that is fixed for a predetermined period then adjusts into an ARM.

In the current rate environment, with interest rates near historical lows, most people select a fixed rate, but that depends on how long you want to stay in the home. If you think you’ll sell within five years, go for an adjustable rate. If you believe you’ll occupy your home for longer, you’ll be better off with a fixed rate loan.

You also need to select a loan term, or its amortization period. The most common fixed rate term is the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. You can also select a 15, 20, and 25-year term. The shorter the term, the lower the interest rate, but the higher your monthly payments will be

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Super Bowl XLIX – Seattle or New England?

Who are you pickiing for Super Bowl XLIX? http://www.nfl.com/

Bistro Breakfast Burger

Click Here to get the Recipe

Is Zillow’s Zestimate Accurate?

Click Here to Learn More

Happy President’s Day

Learn the History of Presidents Day

Happy Valentine’s Day

Learn the History of Valentines Day

What Buyers Should Know About Home Inspections

Click Here to Learn More

14 Ways To Make Your Home – And Your Life – Easier

Click Here for 10 More…

Home Renovations To Invest In And Avoid In 2015

Click Here to see what they are

Case Shiller January 27th 2015

Click Here to see the Full Report

Getting the Best Mortgage Interest Rate

Click Here to Learn More

Super Bowl XLIX – Seattle or New England?

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