News – Page 145

Use Technology to Search with Friends

Depending on your desired area of residence, budget and personal preferences, searching for a new place to call home can be tedious. Whether it be an apartment, condo, townhouse or single-residence you’re in the market for, including close family and friends in your search can alleviate some of the stress associated with the process. But, if you live in a different city, you can still include your friends via technology.

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Small Remodeling Jobs Deliver Better ROI

Your home may need some work, but that doesn’t mean you want to lose money on it when you sell. That’s why you might be interested in the 2015 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report from Remodeling Magazine and the National Association of REALTORS®.

It may surprise you to learn that large remodeling jobs won’t return their full cost in home price gains, while other could return 100 percent or more of their cost.

Any improvements should help your home sell faster and for more money in the aggregate, but if you’re choosing remodeling projects, you may need to decide which ones are more important for resale, and which ones will bring you and your family the most enjoyment.

Keep in mind that buyers may not get excited about your choices unless the improvement is attractive and makes sense for them, too. It also has to look organic to the home, not like an add-on or afterthought.

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Six Patio Ideas

Around mid-winter, most of us begin pining for that casual, outdoor lifestyle that comes back with the sunshine and warm temperatures. While that’s not a reality many of us can enjoy quite yet, this is a great time to start planning those patio upgrades that will make lounging in the sunshine as cool and comfortable as we imagine.

Start by doing everything you can to bring the outdoors in with upgrades like larger windows, French doors, and window coverings such as Roman shades or plantation shutters that allow you to maximize light and sight lines. Then start planning how to bring the indoors out with patio furniture that’s sturdy and stylish enough to entice you out to the patio.

One of the most effective ways to add the perception of square footage to your home is to form an outdoor living space. To create that illusion, a patio cover is key. It adds months of access to your new outdoor space, and really helps to protect that new furniture.

There are many patio-cover options these days, and the right choice for you is dependent on what your outdoor lifestyle is really like.

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Housing Expectations for 2015

The information in this infographic comes from a video of NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun talking about his 2015 housing market expectations. He expects existing-home sales to rise about 7 percent in 2015 behind a strengthening economy, solid job gains and a healthy increase in home prices.

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Ingenious Storage Options

Most conversations about storage, and about moving up, for that matter, make us think about George Carlin. If you haven’t seen his “stuff” rant, you should definitely check it out (there may be a bad word or two). He has a point, and yet…we still need more room to put our stuff. And since we don’t see ourselves chucking it all and going full nomad, we’re always super excited to learn new ways and find new places to put it all.

Here are the ingenious storage solutions that will help us all make room for all our stuff.

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How to Make Perfect Pie

Learn how to make the perfect homemade double crust pie from the Williams Sonoma test kitchen experts.

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Don’t Fall In Love with the Wrong House

Finding a home is a lot like finding the your true love. Love makes your heart skip a beat. Your feet immediately start to spin around the empty living room and imagine yourself entertaining grandly as you waltz through the dining room. And by the time you get to the master bedroom, well….it’s love.

But if you’ve ever been in a bad relationship, you know it can start with that head over heels feeling. You remember that feeling. It’s the one that makes you do stupid things that you regret later, like blithely overlooking flaws you wouldn’t have put up with if you were in your right mind.

When you go shopping for homes, remember that you’re vulnerable. Cupid may strike with his bow when you least expect it, causing you to fall in love – with the wrong house.

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How To Paint Cabinets

Painting cabinets can give a quick update to a kitchen or bathroom in no time. Before you paint, you will need to prime your cabinet. You can find a video for this at https://www.Lowes.com/Videos and watch “How to Prep for Painting Cabinets “. For this project you will need paint, a paint brush, 5-in-1 tool, stir sticks, tray, painters tray, painters tape, ladder, saw horses and lumber for easy painting and a roller frame. When looking for paint look for a semi gloss or high gloss finish or use a latex, durable and easy cleanup.

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Fifteen Things You Need To Do In 2015

1. Get rid of the beige. It’s been replaced by gray. Really. Do it. Gray isn’t going anywhere

2. Make a big change. Knock down a wall. Change your countertops. Convert the upstairs loft to a full-blown entertainment room. If not now, when?

3. Make a bunch of small changes. Walk through your house and make a list, room by room, of little things that could be updated. Then, start tackling them one at a time. Paint the guest room and change the bedding. Swap out the old art over your fireplace with something new. Take down the unorganized family photos in the hallway and turn the space into a revitalized gallery (here are some ideas to get you started). You’ll feel good about yourself for finishing projects that are probably long overdue, and you’ll also feel better about your refreshed home.

4. Splurge on something you need. The giant old TV that you have to smack on the side to get the channels to turn? Dump it. It’ll only cost you a couple hundred bucks to get a good size flat-screen in there instead.

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Understanding Life Estates

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Question: My wife and I have owned our house for many years. I am several years older and suspect that she will outlive me. I want to make sure that she will be able to stay in the house for the rest of her life, and have heard about a legal concept called “a life estate”. Can you explain how this works?

Answer: This is a complex — obtuse — area of the law, but here’s a general outline.

Use Technology to Search with Friends

Click Here to Learn How

Small Remodeling Jobs Deliver Better ROI

Click Here to Learn More

Six Patio Ideas

Click Here for the Six Ideas

Housing Expectations for 2015

Click Here to See More

Ingenious Storage Options

Click Here to Learn More

How to Make Perfect Pie

Click Here to Learn How

Don’t Fall In Love with the Wrong House

Click Here and Follow These Tips

How To Paint Cabinets

Click Here to Learn How

Fifteen Things You Need To Do In 2015

Click Here for 11 More

Understanding Life Estates

Click Here to Learn More

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