Lone Star Housing Tips

Bringing you home tips, news, and information throughout the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) Metroplex

10 Home Improvements That Will Be Great Investments

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Here are 10 of the very best home improvements you can make right now, ranging from small jobs to big ones.

Remodel the Kitchen

Updating the kitchen is one of the best ways to give your home some additional value. Adding some modern appliances and touching up the cabinets to make them look more modern too is always a worthwhile investment. Add a fresh coat of paint to change up how the kitchen looks too.

Get a Garage

Homes that have a two car garage are much more appealing to homeowners. A small garage could is basically as good as no garage at all. New homes tend to have garages that have a little extra room to give people a place to work or use as storage.

Remodel the Bathroom

The bathroom is one room that really shows off how old a home is. Painting the walls, adding a jacuzzi, and having appropriate flooring in the bathroom contributes a great deal to the value of your home. A bathroom with outdated fixtures makes a home feel old and dated.

New Flooring

The modern homebuyer is looking to invest in a home with wood, ceramic, and other natural materials. Another good option is laminate flooring, which creates the natural look without any of the problems and hassles of natural flooring. There are products out there designed to give the look and durability of laminate, known as PVC wood flooring.

Install Quartz or Granite Countertops

Quartz and granite countertops are a solid choice in either the kitchen or the bathroom. They don’t take a lot of maintenance, they look good, and they can give your remodel some extra value. Many people consider granite to be the better choice between the two. Quartz certainly looks and feels like granite, but it has a cheaper price tag.

Improve Curb Appeal

Everyone enjoys the feeling of driving down the road to their home. Improving the landscaping of your property and adding some color makes this experience that extra bit enjoyable. Adding some flowers and shrubbery makes your home look brighter and gives it some cheer.

Increase Natural Light

Getting more natural light to the property leads to energy savings and can improve your health. Find more places to add some windows and patio doors to house to welcome more natural light. Consider getting sun tubes or sky lights as well.

Open Up Some Extra Space

A home that has an open floor plan is a home that feels bigger than it is, especially compared to closed-up houses. It’s not difficult to open up extra space either. You might need to just adjust your furniture to avoid sectioning off rooms. It can also be more difficult; including knocking walls out. One of the most obvious walls to remove is the wall between your dining room and kitchen.

A Fresh Coat of Paint

Something as simple as a fresh coat of paint can make a home look brand new and change how a space feels.

De-Clutter

Cluttered homes feel dirty and small. Ensure that you clean up all the clutter inside and outside the home. Rearrange – or even remove – furniture to open up the house and make it less cramped.

Rents Continue Rapid Rise

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If you rent your property then there’s likely a good chance you’re already aware of the rising cost of renting, and have felt the effects of it on your bank account. It seems that landlords around the nation are increasing their rents alongside the increase in property prices. As one goes up, so too must the other. The situation is summed up quite nicely by the saying that no matter whether you rent your home or own it, you’re paying someone’s mortgage. Either you’ll be paying your own, or your rent will be paying off your landlord’s. Seeing how you’re going to be stuck paying a mortgage either way, doesn’t it make sense to be paying a mortgage of your own and enjoying the benefits that come with it?

The National Association of Realtors forecasted recently that the landlord’s market is going to continue into 2017. Not only is rent increasing, but it’s growing at a rate that is higher than overall inflation. The result is that the market is prime for buying. If you’ve already purchased your first home, then now is the time to consider getting an investment property and seeing where it can take you.

Let’s say you’re paying $1,600 a month for your rent. This equals $19,200 a year. All of that money is going to the assets of another person; essentially money of your own that you’re just throwing at someone else. There are many cases where the price of rent is higher than the cost of the mortgage, taxes, and insurance. With such cheap mortgage rates, you should at least consider having a look at how much money you could qualify for. You’d probably be surprised at the amount the bank is willing to lend you.

Let’s look at things another way. You want to own your car, right? Who would lease their car forever? The same principle can be applied to housing. Why should you lease your house forever and be a renter, when you could own your own home? Some people are put off of buying a property because of the cost of the mortgage. Mortgage rates right now are very affordable and, as we discovered earlier, the cost of the mortgage could end up being less than the current cost of your rent. You also have the freedom and security that comes with owning your own home, so what are you waiting for?

Garage Sales

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Garage sales are a great way to get rid of the items you no longer need or want. They present an excellent chance to get rid of the clutter in your home before you move out, or just to get a few hundred dollars to put towards your next vacation or renovation project.

We’ve got a lot of experience with garage sales, so read through our best advice on garage sales.

Planning

Planning is an important part of the process. Take at least a month to prepare. Choose an appropriate date – one that doesn’t conflict with events that can draw your potential customers away, such as holidays. People are more likely to show up for a garage sale held over the weekend rather than during the week. The sale is also likely to attract customers if you team up with your neighbors to bring in more merchandise. Neighborhood sales sponsored by homeowner groups are becoming more popular.

What to Sell

The most popular goods include practical household items, clothes and toys for children, bicycles, garden tools, and sports equipment. There is less appeal for adult clothing so make sure you price things accordingly. Every item you sell should be clean, polished, and in good condition.

Display

Properly display and merchandise your items by arranging them in clean and neat surroundings. Glass and ornaments can be placed on paper tablecloths. Keep things clustered in categories. Put the most desirable items near the back so that your potential customers will notice the other merchandise as they move towards these popular items. Put together a small table of 25-cent items for young shoppers with just a few bucks. Size any clothes accurately and use a temporary rack to hang and display them.

Logistics

It’s a good idea to put the appliance table near an outlet cord or an extension to allow customers to try the appliances before buying them. Put aside plenty of room for parking and find a place to keep large items. Also stockpile bags and boxes for packing things up, and get plenty of paper for wrapping and securing glass items.

Promotion

Post about the garage sale to local garage sale groups on Facebook, and don’t forget to include pictures of the biggest and best items, directions to the sale, and other important information. Post about the sale to other social media groups, along with websites such as Next Door and Craigslist. Use permanent marker to create signs leading to your property.

Pricing

Look through other garage sales to give yourself an idea of how you should be pricing things. Remember that the people going to garage sales are looking for good deals; be prepared to haggle and offer items at a lower price. More valuable items – including antiques – should not be sold through garage sales because they aren’t going to sell at the price you want to bargain hunters. There’s no such thing as an object that won’t be valuable for someone, so put together a giveaway box of old magazines and other “junk” someone else might value more than you.

Staging

Post notices explaining that all sales are final and any payments must be made with cash. Have a cash box with plenty of change and keep it in a safe place. Record all sales, especially if you have several people selling things. A simple but efficient method of tracking sales is to price items using stickers. Have a piece of paper with every seller’s name on it, and then put the sticker under the name of the seller who moves the item.

Donations

You can expect to have some leftover items that didn’t sell when the garage sale is finished. There are a number of organizations that will accept them as donations. Some of these organizations may come and collect them for you. Non-profits will also provide you with a receipt for filling in tax deductions at the end of the year.

What’s Your Style?

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The style of houses can vary across the country. There’s an almost endless amount of choice between the Victorians of San Francisco and the New England Cape Cod, to everything in-between. We’ve put together this quick guide to show you the different professional terms used to describe the most popular house styles in the country.

Cape Cod

Cape Cod is the compact story-and-a-half house that comes with a central entrance and a steep gable roof. They are most likely to feature brick, wood, or aluminium sliding.

Craftsman

The bungalow and craftsman homes were born during the Arts and Crafts Movement. They emphasise natural materials such as wood, stone, or brick. They typically feature wide front porches and low-pitched roofs. The interior of the property features an open-floor plan with big fireplaces, exposed beams, and built-in furniture.

Contemporary

For some people there isn’t much of a difference, if any, between contemporary and modern architecture. However, contemporary refers to the building styles of today, which can vary in their design and appearance. Both styles are similar in the sense that they try to connect the indoors with the outdoors, but a contemporary home is more likely to place an emphasis on energy efficiency, sustainable materials, letting in lots of natural light, and using recycled non-toxic materials.

Dutch Colonial

A Dutch Colonial home has two or two-and-one-half storeys covered with a gambrel roof (with two slopes on each side – the lower slope is steeper than the upper, flatter slop) and eaves flaring outward. This style of home is traditionally made from brick or shingles.

Georgian

Georgian homes are popular in New England. They have a formal appearance featuring two or three storeys and classic lines. They are typically built from red brick. This rectangular house has thin columns alongside the entry, and multi-panelled windows throughout the house and above the door. Each end of the roof has two large chimneys rising high above it.

Mid-Century Modern (MCM)

The Mid-Century-Modern architecture flourished between 1945 and 1980. The style is constructed from new mindsets, ideas, and forward-thinking styles. MCM is characterized by large glass windows, flat planes, and open space. It focused on the seamless integration of nature with a simplistic design. With World War II came new materials, including steel and plywood, coming to the forefront of design and architecture. It also helped foster new ways to think about residential housing.

New England Colonial

This two-and-a-half storey early American style is made from a box-like house and a gable roof. Traditionally the houses are made from narrow clapboard sliding, constructed with a shingle roof. It also features small-pane, double-hung windows that come fitted with wood shutters.

Pueblo/Santa Fe Style

This style is popular down in the southwest. Homes in this style are typically made from adobe or frame brick with a stucco exterior. It has a flat roof with protruding, rounded beams known as vigas. With one or two storeys, these homes are covered in tile and have a covered or enclosed patio.

Queen Anne/Victorian

This style was developed from styles originating in Great Britain. They typically have a two-storey frame with large rooms, high ceilings, and a porch to the front – and occasionally sides – of the home. The elaborate Victorian home is decorated with peaked roofs and ornamental wood trim, commonly referred to as “gingerbread”.

Ranch

These long and low houses are some of the most popular in the country. Ranch houses developed from the early homes of the west and southwest. They are one-storey homes with low-ptiched roofs. A variation called the Raised Ranch, which is another popular style in the country, comes with two levels that can be reached from the entry foyer of the home. The foyer contains staircases to upper and lower levels.

Southern Colonial

Southern colonial homes have a two-to-three storey frame and is known around the world for featuring large front columns and wide porches.

Split-Levels

Split-level houses feature a living level and another living level about half a floor above it. This style can also be built on three levels, which is known as a tri-level.

Tudor

Tudor homes are modelled after the classic English country cottage. Tudor style homes feature trademark dark-wood timbering set against light-colored stucco designed to highlight the top half of the home and frame the many windows of the house. The bottom half of the property is typically made from brick.

These are only some of the styles found in the country. There are some styles that are more prominent than others in certain areas.