Coldwell Banker American Homes Blog
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30
4 Reasons to Buy During the Off-Season
Instead of decorating your home for the holidays, why not buy a new one? While winter is part of the off-season in real estate, many buyers find that it's the perfect time of year to buy the home of their dreams. After all, you'll have a lot more fun decorating a new home than your current one. Here are some reasons to consider buying real estate in the off-season:
Fewer Buyers
More people choose to move during the spring and summer months than at other times of the year; therefore, when you choose to buy in the winter, you have fewer people looking at properties. This ultimately means you'll be up against less competition as you search for your new home.
Low Figures Accepted
When you buy during the off-season, you may be surprised that people accept your low bid amount. People don't want to wai...
12
Refresh Your Space: 5 Steps to Simplify Your Next Paint Project
A fresh coat of paint is one of the easiest ways to upgrade your home. Whether you're revamping a main living area or freshening up your home's curb appeal, some planning and preparation, plus the right painting tools, go a long way toward helping you achieve a professional-looking finished project.
Execute your paint project flawlessly with these tips and tricks from Jennie Kitchen, product manager, Valspar Applicators at The Sherwin-Williams Company, Consumer Brands Group:
Step 1: Choose Your Color
Selecting a color can often be the most difficult part of a paint project. While browsing through all the colors can be overwhelming, a resource like AskVal.com offers a variety of tools to help you select the perfect shade. You can also have paint chips delivered to your home for free, allowing you to see how they...
1
6 Costs Homeowners Overlook and How to Pay for Them
For many people, a house is the biggest investment they'll ever make. And whether you're a first-time homeowner or you're buying your third property, you're bound to end up covering some unexpected expenses. Here are six costs homeowners tend to overlook and how to pay for them:
1. Property taxes
Be prepared to pay property taxes and keep in mind that they rarely decrease. Homeowners often pay them every month along with their mortgage payments. If your loan is backed by the Federal Housing Administration, you're required to have an escrow or impound account.
If you don't have to make property tax payments through an escrow account, they may be due at the end of the year. In some counties, you might pay them in installments.
2. Homeowners association fees
Whenever you move into a new ho...
4
What to Check Before Your Home Inspection
If you're listing your home, you may be getting ready to schedule a home inspection. However, there are a few things you should do before the inspector arrives.
"A bad home inspection can be devastating to your home's value," says Jerry Hall, owner of Assured Comfort Heating, Air & Plumbing, "so it's imperative to take the necessary steps to prepare."
Assured Comfort Heating, Air & Plumbing offers the following tips to prepare for a home inspection:
Check for and repair any leaks. According to the EPA, the average household wastes more than 10,000 gallons of water a year due to leaks. An easy way to test for a leak is to plan a two-hour period when no water will be used and then examine the water meter at the beginning and end of the period. If it changed, the presence of a leak is likely. All faucets, indoor a...
21
DIY deck re-do: Resurface in a weekend
(BPT) - Outdoor living season means backyard BBQs, yard games and relaxing with a good book or good friends. If you own a wood deck, however, it also means considerable time and money spent on seasonal maintenance and deck repairs.
While wood decks are aesthetically pleasing, properly maintaining them requires regular stripping, sanding and staining. The process is labor-intensive, time-consuming, messy and costly - averaging between $540 and $1,050 each time, according to HomeAdvisor.com.
Consider this: For the same time and energy you would spend maintaining and repairing those old wood boards, you could replace them with a deck made of structurally superior composite material - and never again have to worry about upk...