source: http://thehockeywriters.com/bostonchicago-the-last-time-they-met-in-the-playoffs/
Archives for June 2013
American Dream of Homeownership: Still Strong According to Gallup
June 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Gallup just released its poll, American Dream of Owning Home Lives On. Their conclusion?
“Gallup data on homeownership provide strong support for the idea that the American Dream of owning a home continues to be alive and well.
The majority of Americans who own a home plan on continuing to do so in the future, and most of those who don’t own a home plan on buying one.”
How Your Father’s Music Indicates What You Listen To Today
June 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Do dads really have an influence on the musical tastes of their offspring? This amusing flowchart, created for Father’s Day in honor of dads who rock, predicts the kind of music you prefer by the tunes your father listened to when you were growing up.
However, as a parent, I realize that many times my influence on my teenager has an opposite effect. So the music Dad listened to probably influenced your musical tastes, but if you’re a rebellious contrarian, that exposure might have convinced you to seek out music that’s exactly opposite.
If you’re lucky, your dad exposed you to a variety of music during your formative years, giving you instant familiarity with lots of the music you hear in today’s media-saturated environment. That musical prowess would be yet another blessing to thank your dear old dad for on Father’s Day.
source: Mashable
Killer Kitchen: Pattern and Color Splashes in Seattle
June 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Despite its modern patterned floor and bright orange backsplash, this kitchen has some surprisingly traditional roots. Built in 1917, this Seattle home previously had only one owner, who had done minimal updates over the years. Although the clients didn’t want to keep the rusted metal cabinetry or barely functioning stove, they still wanted to honor the home’s history. Designer Laura Zecke used salvaged materials, dressed up the original floors and framed found art to combine the past with the present in this warm and beautiful design.
Location: Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, Washington
Size: 200 square feet
The original kitchen had a massive 1950s-style stove, with the burners in a drawer. The clients weren’t able to salvage it, but they still wanted to honor the original kitchen in some way. During demolition, they found a bunch of old newspapers in the cabinets, and framed a few select clippings as wall art. The colors in the framed advertisement next to the stove inspired the bright orange of the new $3,000 Blue Star range and glass-painted backsplash.
The original fir floors have a beautiful honey color, but there were some very damaged sections. The homeowners liked the floor’s patina but wanted to distract from the ruined parts. After the first coat of finish, Zeck painted large stenciled sections onto the floor in the same light gray as the walls, then put on two more coats of finish.
See the entire kitchen on Houzz
Decoding the Comparative Market Analysis
June 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Moving is hard, and not a move anyone takes lightly. Your house is more than just an investment, it is your home. As you begin the process of distancing yourself from the place where you made so many lasting memories you will begin to think about what your home will be worth to someone else. When you are ready to meet with a real estate broker, you may already have an idea of what your home is worth. You may have seen what other homes in your neighborhood have sold for or kept an eye on local listings. Your broker will prepare a comparative market analysis (CMA) that is an in-depth version of any research you may have done on your own. The CMA is used to help evaluate how your home will fare against the competition. It takes a look at homes that are currently listed, pending (properties under contract) as well as those sold within the past 6 months. The purpose is to find the market value and help position your home on the open market.
A Picture Of Your Home And Its Surroundings
The CMA includes a fact-based portrait of the home including information such as number of bedrooms and baths, approximate square footage, size of major rooms, age of the home, property taxes, and desirable amenities such as fireplaces and pools. In most expert’s opinion, the floor plan or the architectural design of the home I crucial in comparing , since price per square foot is often consider and we need to compare apples to apples. A rambler should be compared to other rambler and a two-story to other two stories etc. an appraiser will do this in the financing process and we want to make sure that we have properly priced the home to appraise and make sure we can take the contract to completion. The range can also vary. Some will just cover a few streets around your home, CMAs can cover areas as narrow as one or two streets surrounding your home, or as broad as an entire subdivision.
Value Is In The Eye Of The Beholder (Or Potential Buyer)
Selling a home isn’t only about the facts. There are many pieces to the puzzle and it’s often the indefinable that impact a potential buyer’s perception of the home. A home purchase remains fundamentally personal. Most transactions are influenced by the buyer’s emotions versus rationalization. Perception can alter reality and so this is an important consideration when looking at a CMA. People make decisions based on curb appeal, light, design choices and many other factors. At the end of each home’s information on the CMA report there will be a brief statement provided by the listing agent that will address some of these subjective factors such as recent remodels, historic features, or things that might be of interest to the buyers. The agent will be marketing the home and is already thinking about how it will be presented as a product to tempt the public.
The CMA Evolution
The CMA is evolving since the Internet era, partly because the potential seller does some homework ahead of time and access to information is no longer just the purview of the real estate professional. It has increased the amount of avenues now available to display more accurate and precise information ranging from short sales, foreclosures and arm-length sales data. While sellers have access to data, an objective professional that is both objective and up to date on contractual nuances, is an asset to a seller in achieving their goal to sell at the highest possible price.
Stunning Manhattan Loft Makes Genius Use of Tiny Space
June 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment
When it comes to apartments in Manhattan, you’ve often got to be creative with the space you’ve got. Specht Harpman transformed a claustrophobic, dark micro-loft in Manhattan into a four-level living space that looks far larger than it actually is.
The first level features a small bathroom and a space-saving kitchen with wrap-around counters that extend around into the living space.
The living room occupies the home’s second level and makes clever use of the staircase by incorporating multiple storage cubbies and drawers. This solution keeps the space uncluttered and open, while the open staircase with cables running from the stairs to the very top of the apartment provide a sense of continuity.
The third level of the home is occupied by a serene sleeping area. The lofted bed nook looks out over the living room below. Another staircase offers even more under-stair storage compartments and leads up to the fourth level: a grassy rooftop terrace.
The micro-loft makes exceptionally smart use of the very little space it occupies, balancing wide open spaces – like a couple of tall, blank walls – with compact details. The light walls and dark floors give the apartment a timeless, classic look while the unique layout is thoroughly modern.
Read more: http://dornob.com/stunning-manhattan-loft-makes-genius-use-of-tiny-space/#ixzz2W7TWDIDj
Building a New Music Room Part 6
June 14, 2013 By Leave a Comment
6 Ways a Home May Turn Off Buyers
June 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Bankrate.com recently featured a list of the top ways buyers back away from a home listed for sale. Its list includes these items, among others:
1. Dirt: “The No. 1 biggest mistake is not getting the home in the best possible condition. That’s huge,” says Chad Goldwasser of Goldwasser Real Estate in Austin, Texas. “I won’t even represent sellers at this point unless they are fully aware of how important it is to get their home in the absolute best condition that they’ve ever had it in.” Goldwasser suggests also steam-cleaning tile and grout and carpets and replacing carpets if necessary.
2. Odors: “Odors are a big one, especially kitchen odors,” says Julie Dana, co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Staging Your Home to Sell. “I advise my clients not to cook fried food, fish, or greasy food while the house is on the market. … Interestingly, next to the kitchen, the smelliest room in the house is actually the living room. That’s typically the room that has the most fabric, so that is where odors get absorbed.” She recommends having curtains and upholstery cleaned, particularly if someone in the home is a smoker, and taking steps to eliminate any pet odors.
3. Old fixtures: “You need to change out old fixtures in your house,” Goldwasser says, adding outdated ceiling fans and light fixtures should be replaced prior to listing a home. “New cabinet hardware and doorknobs will probably cost all of $400 or $500, but it makes a huge difference.”
4. Wallpaper: When buyers see wallpaper, they think of another thing to add to their to-do list, says Dana. “Wallpaper is extremely personalized. You’ve spent hours looking over books to pick out the wallpaper you want,” she says. “What are the odds that the person walking in the door will also like that wallpaper that you picked out?”
5. Popcorn acoustic ceilings: These ceiling were popular in the 1960s and 1970s but now can date a home. Still, it can be a mess and costly to remove, so real estate professionals say sellers may need to be prepared to credit a buyer in certain markets if they decide to keep the popcorn ceiling when selling a home.
6. Too many personal items: Cluttered homes make it difficult for buyers to see past the home owner’s belongings and start envisioning themselves there. “Anything that makes your house scream ‘you’ is what you don’t want,” Dana says. “I tell all my clients that how we decorate to live and how we decorate to sell are different, and right now, we’re decorating to sell.”
Source: “10 Ways to Turn Off a Would-Be Homebuyer,” Bankrate.com
Top Reasons Renters Say They Want to Own
June 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment
A recent study by mortgage giant Fannie Mae showed that 90 percent of renters aspire to be home owners one day, and the top reason behind that desire is for the sense of gaining greater control over their living arrangements.
The survey revealed the following top reasons why renters want to own:
- “Control over what you do with your living space”: 84% of renters said this was their main desire for owning;
- “Having a sense of privacy and security”: 80%
- “Having the best investment plan”: 78%
- “Having a good place for family or to raise your children”: 78%
- “Living in a nicer home”: 71%
- “Building wealth”: 70%
- “Saving for retirement”: 69%
In the survey, renters identified the following reasons for why they are renting:
- “Living within your budget”: 57%
- “Having less stress”: 52%
- “Making the best decision given the current economic climate”: 50%
Source: “Why It’s True: You Should Own, Not Rent,” TheStreet.com