Real Estate Information Archive

We have just been made aware of an erroneous Facebook posting that if people opt out of buying health insurance and don't pay the penalty for not having it, the Internal Revenue Service will be able to put a lien on their home.  THIS RUMOR IS FALSE. 

Here is a third-party independent article that fully explains what the IRS can and cannot do to taxpayers who opt out of buying health insurance and don't pay the penalty.

Well Folks… it seems that spring may have finally sprung! That being the case, one of the things that always comes to my mind along with spring conditions is the need to get the yard and home back into ship shape. That means spring cleaning and de-cluttering! Some of us love it, some dread it! Personally I love this time of year! It’s difficult to single out a particular reason but I’m sure it has to do with the weather and all of the spring flowers! It’s a glorious time of year, alive with new life and rebirth! There is also the byproduct of all of this cleaning and de-cluttering, Unwanted stuff and the trips to the dump along with the Yard Sales that become as common as the daffodils sprouting in the yards that host them.  It’s to those who pour over the penny saver and news papers eagerly looking for the end product of seasonal cleaning compulsion that this BLOG is directed.

     While on an wandering web trek, I came across  a free site that I think will make the avid yard sale hunter giggle like a child. It’s called www.gsalr.com and it touts itself as the world’s largest Garage Sale, Yard Sale and Estate Sale Marketplace. Whether it is or isn’t I don’t propose to know but I can tell you it’s very easy to use and really slick. People post their sale information and it add it to the data base and plots the sale on a map. You as a shopper put in your desired geographical area, Date range or day of the week and it will bring up every sale on the map as push pins. When you mouse over the push pin it gives whatever details the seller included! Contents of the sale, rules, times etc. it’s very simple and very cool! Now the best part! You can save your selected sales and then print them on a map with driving instructions for a carefully planned day of sifting through other peoples trash and treasures! Give it a Shot I’m sure you will find it as entertaining as I did! Happy Yard Sailing!

You've probably heard the old axiom that your home will be the number one monetary expense of your life. When you think about this statement, you most likely think about the purchase price of the home, which is obviously going to be a relatively large number, but there are many more costs associated with home ownership than just the price. Sometimes these additional expenses – energy bills for example – can be shockingly high over time, but like the slow leak of a faucet, they may go unnoticed for a long time. This is where KB Home's ZeroHouse 2.0 swoops in, like the Red Cross does for catastrophe victims, to put a “green” tourniquet on your house's energy-related hemorrhaging.

KB Home is a Fortune 500 home-building company based in Los Angeles. Its ZeroHouse 2.0 (also referred to as a “net-zero” green home), from all outward appearances, looks like an ordinary suburban home. Engineered to actually produce the same or similar amount of energy as it uses, KB Home's ZeroHouse 2.0 is chock full of environmentally friendly, energy-efficient appliances, electrical fixtures and lighting power sources. These renewable energy innovations and money-saving features have earned KB Home's ZeroHouse 2.0 certification from Energy Star and WaterSense.

When you take a closer look at KB Home's ZeroHouse 2.0's interior and exterior aspects, details and attributes, you will likely notice some of the home's cost efficient components, such as solar panels and low-flush toilets. And every one of the home's windows boast with dual-pane construction, an incredibly efficient feature that contributes to your energy and financial savings.

Some of the other built-in amenities common to KB Home's ZeroHouse 2.0 include, but are not limited to, a solar-powered hot water system with an 80-gallon storage tank that is filled via rooftop water collectors, which KB says can save you close to 50,000 gallons of water annually; in addition to low-flush toilets, the ZeroHouse 2.0 offers faucets and shower heads engineered to utilize approximately 2 percent less H2O than their traditional and modern brothers and sisters.

Taken altogether, KB’s ZeroHouse 2.0 signals a new generation of efficiency that can help stem outflow of money that accompanies the outflow of energy!

Lead-based paint is most commonly found in homes built before 1978, when lead-based house paint was banned. Lead-based paint is dangerous when it deteriorates, such as when the paint chips or peels. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take much for lead-based paint to pose a problem. Simple renovations, normal wear and tear, even the opening and closing of windows and doors can release harmful lead dust into the air. Prolonged exposure to lead can result in harmful side effects and even death. Lead primarily attacks the nervous system. In children, the effects can be learning problems, slowed growth, hearing problems, anemia, headaches, seizures, coma, and in some cases, death. In adults, reproductive problems, memory lapses, nerve disorders, hearing and vision impairment, muscle and joint problems and high blood pressure, have all been associated with prolonged exposure to lead. Lead is exceptionally dangerous for pregnant women, who can suffer miscarriages and premature births, and their children may suffer fetal brain damage.

Lead exposure is a serious matter, especially for children who are most susceptible to lead poisoning. If your home was built before 1978, there is a strong chance it was painted with lead-based paint. Even if the current coat of paint is lead-free, the layers of paint below may be lead-based, and therefore can be dangerous if uncovered.

If you do suspect your home has lead-based paint, the first crucial step is to have your home properly inspected to determine whether lead paint is present and whether it poses an immediate threat. If you find your paint is lead-based and want to remove it, beware that removing lead-based paint improperly can be just as dangerous as doing nothing at all. Note: the EPA does not recommend removing lead-based paint yourself. Instead, you should consult professionals for the removal of lead-based paint. Click here to find lead dust sampling technicians and lead-certified renovation specialists near you.

When it comes to the safety of you and our family, don’t take chances. If your house was built before 1978, have your house inspected.

As the summer heats up you may be looking for smart ways to cool down. The following are five simple ways to beat the heat, so your summertime fun doesn’t have to take a beating.

1. Become a fan of the fan! If you don’t have an air conditioner, simply fill a large bowl with ice and place it in front of a regular room fan. And even if you have an air conditioner, use a room fan to help circulate the cool air even better.
2. Add a little spice to your life! Have you ever wondered why food from hot places—such as India and Mexico—tends to be on the spicy side? It has everything to do with sweat. Hot peppers contain a natural chemical called capsaicin, which signals your body to perspire. And perspiration, as we all know, works to cool your body down as it evaporates on your skin. So, try adding red chili flakes to your favorite dishes. Spaghetti sauce, fried chicken, even salads can benefit from a little kick.
3. Don’t get low on H2O! As you sweat, your body loses the water essential to keeping you hydrated. Dehydration, in turn, causes your temperature to rise. So, it’s crucial to replenish your body’s water supply. Make sure to keep a bottle of water on you at all times. And if you find water too boring, try adding fresh ingredients—such as citrus fruits, berries, or mint—to a pitcher of water for a burst of flavor. But make sure to limit your consumption of beverages that contain alcohol, added sugar and caffeine, which are actually dehydrating.
4. Go barefoot! One of the fastest ways to feel cooler throughout your body is to cool your feet off first. So, go ahead, flick off those shoes and feel the grass between your toes! 
5. Draw those blinds! The sunlight coming in through your windows is a major contributor to the increased temperature of your home. West-facing and south-facing rooms are especially susceptible to this type of heat exchange. Keeping your shades drawn during the sunniest hours can reduce temperatures significantly. Roller shades, which are easy to install, are a relatively inexpensive option, while insulated curtains are a bit more of an investment. However, insulated curtains are also effective at keeping your house warm in the winter, so consider it an investment that pays for itself all year long.

Let’s start by observing that the phrase “pays off” can have various meanings. To some people, the issue is purely financial: will my remodeling expenditures be recouped? For others, recognizing that measuring financial return can be difficult, the issue is whether remodeling efforts cause a house to sell more quickly (or in some cases, at all). In other words, the financial benefit of remodeling may be real, but indirect.

Some remodeling efforts may be entirely visible like new kitchen cabinets, flooring and countertops, while others like renovated plumbing may be less visible yet still important to potential buyers. Depending on the individual home and the market in which it resides, different sellers may opt for different remodeling strategies. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but a skilled, experienced real estate agent can help you determine which remodeling investments are likely to work out best in your specific area.

It’s important to understand and remember at the outset is that in most situations, you may not recover all of the money that you’re likely to spend on a renovation project when it comes time to sell your home, even those efforts that raise the overall value of your home.

The No. 1 way to realize a significant payoff for your remodeling project is to repair any or all of the known problems with your house, such as a leaky roof or archaic plumbing. Depending on the specific repair or repairs, you could actually improve the value of your home and recover most if not all or more of the money spent on the repair(s).

In its annual Cost vs. Value Report for 2011-2012, Remodeling Magazine listed attic bedroom renovation projects as the one with the best chance of paying off. The site shows that in 2012, the average project cost for these jobs in the Washington, D.C., area was $44,843; and the average resale value was $36,148, giving you an 80.6 percent cost recuperation.

Kitchen remodeling projects also tend to pay off on a more regular basis than most others do, even though new appliances, cabinets, countertops, and flooring are unquestionably expensive. Once again, we turn to the good people at Remodeling magazine to take care of the number crunching for us. And they say that the cost recouped on major kitchen remodeling projects over the past year averaged more than 70 percent. Like in the attic bedroom project described above, they recorded the average job cost as $54,426, with an average resale value coming in at $38,709.

The good news is that, while you may not recover all of your remodeling expenditures in strictly financial terms, it’s important to consider the impact that remodeling may have when it comes time to sell your home. If you imagine two comparable homes – one boasting significant remodeling and one which is begging to updated – the renovated home will nearly always sell first. Unless you can afford to have your home sitting on the market for a long time, it pays to remodel and to see your home move more quickly.