Real Estate Information

 

Whether your home is a condo or a larger home, decorating tips are always usuable. Below is an article from yahoo.com and by Sunset Magazine that will give you some eye candy on small home interiors.

Get great tips on small-space living in style and comfort from a 900-square-foot cottage, eco-friendly loft, vintage trailer, houseboat, bungalow, and more.

1. Santa Monica cottage
The owner, an architectural designer, kept most of the walls in the cottage white and added splashes of color with accent pillows, throws, and pottery.
> See more of this home

2. Remodeled Airstream home
A landscape architect lives in a remodeled 1959 Airstream trailer, which he parks behind a Berkeley, CA, co-op. The space is only 15 ft. long and 7 ft. wide, but Stavropoulos makes it work by avoiding unnecessary possessions and utilizing built-in furniture.
> See more of this home

3. Creative loft
By using spaces for multiple purposes, the owner is able to maximize the square footage of her small loft. The dining space (shown here, below the master bedroom) is also used as a home office.
> See more of this home

4. Modern houseboat
This modern prefab houseboat is only 1,000 square-feet. When the owners moved in with their children, they made the most of the space by getting rid of unnecessary belongings.
> See more of this home

5. Sunny bungalow
The owners wanted a way to unite their 1,000-square-foot bungalow to the backyard, so they built a sunny, greenhouse-like addition.
> See more of this home

SEE ALL INSPIRING SMALL HOMES

Brought to you by John Queeney of the Dare to Compare Team with Century 21, New Millennium

Helping you Find your Way Home

NEWSWEEK has compiled a list of the 10 American cities best situated for the recovery.

These are places where the jobs are plentiful, and the pay, given the lower cost of living,

buys more than in bigger cities.

There are the New Silicon Valleys—Raleigh-Durham,

N.C.; Salt Lake City; and urban northern Virginia—which offer high-paying high-tech jobs

and housing prices well below those in coastal California.

THE NEW SILICON VALLEYS

Although Massachusetts and California are lauded as the places “where the brains are,”

neither ranked high in the growth of tech jobs over the past decade. More important is where

the brains are headed.

A lot of them are going to North Carolina, Virginia, and Utah.

To the north

in Virginia, lies another Silicon Valley wannabe, stretching across Alexandria, Arlington, and

Fairfax counties.

 

The link is:   http://www.newsweek.com/2010/11/08/the-top-10-places-in-america-poised-for-recovery.html

Here are some of the Headliners for October 2010 RealtyTrac Newsletter

Foreclosure Activity Increases 4 Percent in Third Quarter.

 

How The Mortgage System Works — And How It's Been Rattled

Vacation Home Investors Flourishing in Frugal Economy

Click here to see the Full Foreclosure Market Trend Newsletter from RealyTrac.

 

Brought to you by John Queeney of the Dare to Compare Team with Century 21, New Millennium

Helping you Find your Way Home

 

 

Now that fall is in the air, some of you might be finally getting around to completing those home repair; others may be relaxing and watching some Sunday Football.  If you are in the group who is procrastinating on the home repairs, let the $1500 Tax credit be your motivation.  With simple items such as replacing your Windows and Doors with energy-efficient product or renewable energy systems you may be eligible for the $1500 tax credit

Below you will find an overview of the federal tax credits for energy efficiency.

Please note, not all ENERGY STAR qualified products qualify for a tax credit. ENERGY STAR distinguishes energy efficient products which, although they may cost more to purchase than standard models, will pay you back in lower energy bills within a reasonable amount of time, without a tax credit. 

Tax Credit:30% of cost up to $1,500

Expires:December 31, 2010

Details:Must be an existing home & your principal residence. New construction and rentals do not qualify.

Biomass Stoves

Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning(HVAC)

Insulation

Roof(Metal and Asphalt)

Water Heaters (Non-Solar)

Windows & Doors

For a full breakdown of the tax credit and eligibility click here

Information from Energystar.com

Brought to you by Dare to Compare Team of Century 21, New Millennium

www.DareToCompareTeam.com

Helping you Find your Way Home

DC to Dulles Metrorail Construction Moving Forward

The metrorail construction continues with a target date of 2013.  Go to http://www.dullesmetro.com/ for more information on construction and each new station.

 

 

I'm often asked if this is a good time to buy a home. Some clients are concerned that home prices may fall further than they have already. They are assuming that the best course of action is to wait for the bottom in the market and then buy. The problem with this approach is that you don't know where the bottom is until you see it in the rear view mirror, meaning until you've missed it!

Home prices are one factor in determining your cost of ownership, but so are interest rates and financing availability. Even though interest rates have gone up in the last six months, they are still near historic lows. Since your monthly mortgage payment is a combination of paying down your principal and paying the interest owed, if home prices come down a little further but interest rates up, it could cost you even more to service a mortgage on an identical home!

While a home is a major investment, it is also the center of your personal life. It's important to live in a home that reflects your taste and values, yet is within your financial "comfort zone." To that end, it may be more important to lock in today's relatively low interest rates and low home prices, rather than to hope for a further break in prices in the future.

Please give me a call if I can be of any assistance in determining how much home you can afford in today's market.