Eye-Catching Islands: 8 That Bring the Zing With Orange
November 3, 2016 By Leave a Comment
Whether soft and warm or bold and hot, orange sizzles in the kitchen
Halloween may have come and gone, but for fans of orange, or of fall-inspired hues, it’s a dynamic color choice for a kitchen island. Orange is no wallflower shade. In its purest form, it’s an energetic color that tends to clamor for immediate attention. I say, harness this power by using it to clad a centerpiece island in your kitchen.
30 Furniture-to-Vanity Conversions You’ve Got to See
November 1, 2016 By Leave a Comment
Readers share costs and how-to details on their cherished one-of-a-kind bathroom vanities
Readers recently went gaga over a Houzz article showing 13 unconventional vanities. In response, more than 150 users shared comments about their own forays into converting a piece of furniture into a unique bathroom vanity. Here we share 30 of them, many of which contain details about cost and other info that could inspire your next remodel project.
Buying a Home Can Be Scary Unless You Know the Facts
October 31, 2016 By Leave a Comment
- 36% of Americans think they need a 20% down payment to buy a home.
- 44% of Millennials who purchased a home this year have put down less than 10%.
- 71.8% of loan applications were approved last month.
- The average credit score of approved loans was 731 in September.
Facebook Cheat Sheet
October 30, 2016 By Leave a Comment
Using the correct image dimensions can make or break your Facebook posts or ads. Facebook can distort or cut off highly-engaging images you’ve worked diligently to create.
While Facebook provides information on dimensions for each of it’s images, designers or marketers working in social media require an exhaustive “cheat sheet” which outlines all dimensions for Facebook’s images.
TechWyse created this Facebook image sizes cheatsheet to help marketers, designers and social media experts quickly access all the information they need regarding Facebook image sizes. This downloadable and printable infographic covers everything from posts, mobile ads, sponsored posts and more. Simply print and pin this infographic at your desk or office for quick reference to all of Facebook’s image dimensions.
The infographic also includes tips to ensure your posts perform well and engage users. For example, it’s important to know that if an image size is smaller than 470x246px, Facebook will automatically render it as a thumbnail. As well, Facebook will choose the center of your image if you neglect to upload the exact recommended dimensions. This can especially impact the success of an ad across desktop or mobile. Lastly, the infographic notes that Facebook will not approve promoted posts with more than 20% text.
As well, this infographic not only covers images that appear on the newsfeed but also along the right column, while also highlighting the space you’ll have for text above and below posts. For example, a sponsored post thumbnail in the right hand column is 254x133px.
Facebook is continuously updating it’s recommended dimensions, so it’s important to ensure you’re staying on top of the correct image sizes so that your posts and ad campaigns are engaging users or attracting customers.
Download, print or simply bookmark the below infographic to quickly and easily get the dimension information you need.
7 Graphs That Show the Real Estate Market Is Back
October 26, 2016 By Leave a Comment
- Distressed property sales fell to its lowest number since NAR began tracking it in 2008.
- With fewer distressed properties, sales are up in all price ranges except the $0 – $100K price range.
- Interest rates are still at historic lows, for many, now is the time to buy.
Remodeling Your Kitchen in Stages: Planning and Design
October 23, 2016 By Leave a Comment
When breaking up a remodel into phases, being overprepared is key
If you’ve got several cookie jars stuffed full of $100 bills, then executing a full-scale kitchen remodel all at once makes sense. But what about those homeowners whose cookie jars are filled with, well, mostly cookies?
You can still get that beautiful kitchen of your dreams, you just need patience and a well-thought-out game plan that breaks up
your remodel into several stages spread out over time. That way you can save up (fill that cookie jar!) and spend only what you can when you can. Maybe this month it’s painting the cabinets. Maybe later in the year you buy new appliances.
There are plenty of benefits of a phased project, but there are also several pitfalls you want to avoid. This five-part series will help you navigate those stages to a successful remodeled kitchen.
WEALTH ON THE RISE
October 21, 2016 By Leave a Comment
This is part of a report from an International study done by Luxury Portfolio, a subsidiary of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World.
Personal wealth has grown substantially all over the world since the offi cial end of the recession in 2010. The latest statistics from the wealth monitoring at Credit Suisse suggest a rapid growth not only of the wealthy, but also the ultra-wealthy. Consider the statistics, below:
The ranks of the ultra-wealthy, at $50 million or more in net worth, have also soared to new heights. Worldwide there are an estimated 123,838 individuals at this prestigious level, an increase of 53% in just fi ve years. What’s more, half of the world’s ultra-wealthy live in North America, which is adding to the count more than twice as fast as Asia-Pacifi c (58% versus 22% growth 2010–2015) and still faster than Europe (39% growth between 2010–2015). The concentration of wealth continues to remain in the West, despite the strong inroads made by Eastern economies. As more individuals enter into the world of wealth, we decided to take a closer look at the Global Top 1%, or in this case, those with a minimum of USD 3 million in assets (excluding primary residence).
Here’s a link to the entire study.
Average Time to Foreclose Is Getting Shorter
October 19, 2016 By Leave a Comment
Properties in the third quarter took an average of 625 days to complete a foreclosure, down from 630 days a year ago. It was the first year-over-year decrease since ATTOM Solutions began tracking average foreclosure timelines in the first quarter of 2007.
Nineteen states saw their foreclosure timetables shorten from a year ago, led by Nevada (down 22 percent); Massachusetts (down 22 percent); Michigan (down 21 percent); Oregon (down 20 percent); and Texas (down 20 percent).
Meanwhile, the following states had the shortest foreclosure timelines, as of the third quarter: Virginia (196 days), New Hampshire (230 days), Texas (246 days), Minnesota (250 days), and Mississippi (253 days). All five of these states have non-judicial foreclosure processes.
View this chart of the U.S. to see your state’s average foreclosure timeline as of the third quarter: