When planning a residential move, it’s important to have an accurate idea of the final moving costs so you can set a realistic moving budget. Estimating your moving costs, however, is not as simple as it seems at first. The movers will provide you with an estimate based on the total weight of your shipment and the actual distance to your new home. But plenty of other factors can also affect the final price and make your relocation significantly more expensive than anticipated.…
Chinese buyers are an undeniable growing force in American real estate, racking up over $300 billion in sales between 2010 and 2015. Some are just looking to invest their money, but many are families drawn to the United States for a variety of reasons, including excellent schools and universities, lower cost of living (compared to Beijing and Hong Kong), and business opportunities in booming tech cities like San Francisco and Seattle. But buying property in the U.S. as a foreign national…
Zillow Digs announced the top home design trends for 2017, along with the three soon-to-be forgotten fads from 2016. Results were based on a survey of leading interior design experts and trending photos on Zillow Digs. So what will be 2017’s hottest trends? Check out the full list below! Trend: Velvet Courtesy of Isola Homes. A hot fashion trend right now, velvet is expected to make a big splash in interior design next year. Look for velvet fabrics and textures…
Don’t let a silly houseplant add even more stress to your holiday routine. From now through January, poinsettia, amaryllis, and holiday cacti only ask for three things: the right drainage, sunlight, and moisture. After the holidays you can either throw them out with the tree and buy new plants next year, or you can follow these tips to get even bigger blooms next time around. What holiday houseplants want – for the holidays Drainage: First, take the containers out of their cellophane wrappers,…
Getting started now on organizing for 2017 will help you to ease the holiday crunch and paint an attainable path into the new year. Here are five steps you can take to get started. Donate now The holidays are upon us, and the accumulation of new decorations and gifts are sure to put a squeeze on our living space. Now is the time to donate older items that you haven’t used in a while. A tidy, streamlined home is a…
On December 14, 2016, the Fed raised a key overnight bank-to-bank lending rate by .25 percent. Even though this is a short-term rate, it also impacts longer-term home loan rates. Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages rose about .5 percent between the election and this Fed meeting – causing monthly payments on a $300,000 loan to rise $85 per month and payments on a $600,000 loan to rise $172 per month. The Fed cited inflationary concerns, and rising inflation causes rising mortgage…
If only the walls at Skelly Lodge could talk. Built in the 1930s by a group of oil barons as a duck hunting lodge, the grand old home is rumored to have hosted the likes of Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, and Churchill. It’s now for sale for $2.5 million with listing agents Mark and Janet Youngblood of Chinowth & Cohen Realtors. Harvey Sweet and his wife purchased the property – which is on the National Register of Historic Places – seven years…
Getting a clog in a bathroom sink drain can be a pain, but it’s definitely something you can attempt to clear on your own. You might be surprised to know that there are a number of options for taking care of the problem yourself. And you can save lots of money in doing so. Troubleshooting the clog How you should proceed in treating a clogged drain depends upon the severity of the clog, and how far it is down the…
The holidays tend to arrive much faster than we expect. From gift-giving and parties to decorations and other celebratory indulgences, we often forget that holiday costs add up quickly. And while the winter season is often considered the most wonderful time of the year, it’s not uncommon to feel the financial pressures associated with holiday spending. To keep your festive cheer at an all-time high, follow these tips from financial bloggers about best practices for budgeting during the holidays. Create a…