Every house needs house numbers. But not every house has to have boring house numbers. They’re easy to change and can make a place feel fresh and new when you find just the right ones.
http://www.contemporist.com/2016/07/19/10-modern-house-number-ideas-to-dress-up-your-home/
We got the lowdown on the HERO program; here is more on solar leases:
http://journal.firsttuesday.us/solar-woes-loom-for-homeowners-as-tax-credits-sizzle-away/51248/
An excerpt:
Net metering is an agreement between the utility company and the residential or commercial customer. The property owner who generates excess solar energy can sell it back to the utility company for credit to be used later. Solar panels often produce more energy than the home needs during the sunny months. In the winter when cloud cover obscures more of the panels, owners’ net metering credits can be used to pay down their winter utility bills.
When net metering is not an option, property owners are less likely to be interested in buying or leasing a solar system, as this instinctual savings incentive is lost.
The good news for solar in California: net metering continues, and SolarCity is optimistic about potential for even more tax credit growth in the state.
Going solar requires long-term planning. On average, it takes a homeowner 20 years to pay off the full cost of a solar system. Leasing solar panels eliminates the investment, but it still requires a similar, lengthy commitment.
What happens if the homeowner sells before the 20 years are up? There are three options:
Since the solar lease is a contract, interested homeowners may be concerned that signing a solar lease will place a lien on the property. However, the lien is on the solar fixture — not the property. Therefore, if the homeowner stops paying for solar service, the leasing company’s sole recourse is to reclaim the solar system, not foreclose on the property.
On the other hand, taking out a mortgage to pay for the purchase of a solar system does create an additional lien on the property.
Another reason long-term planning is necessary before signing a solar agreement is the possibility of roof maintenance. That is, if the homeowner’s roof needs repairing, they will need to pay to have the panels moved before work can begin on the roof. Therefore, installing panels on a roof that will need maintenance in a few years is not wise.
However, the long-term investment does pay off, though it can take several years. The energy savings can be significant, especially for Southern California homeowners who receive the most sun. The average solar lease savings after the cost of renting the solar panels is a 15% reduction on monthly utility costs. Purchasing solar panels may provide bigger savings, but they won’t be realized until the system is paid off.
Read more about the details of solar leases here.
Read about prepaid solar leases here.
For a critical list of issues homeowners are to consider before signing a solar lease, click here.
Anyone who has looked at homes lately can attest to the surprising conditions in which people live. The lack of maintenance transcends all price points too.
But it’s nothing money won’t fix.
Buyers should surrender early on……and expect to spend at least $25,000 to $50,000 on any house they buy. It’s easier than trying to find the perfect house that doesn’t need anything.
But looking at houses then turns into a job of making lists of the repairs required. Is there a way to short-cut that process, and just use one simple gauge to know if the house could be a money pit?
When I enter a house, I still walk straight to the backyard first. It is there that you will find the items that are hard or impossible to fix; yard too small, road noise, neighbors looking in, over-sized pools, etc.
Once we’re past that test, and everyone is getting comfortable with the interior layout, I make my way to the place where you can find the most clues about the seller’s pride of ownership.
The Master Bath – a place where the sellers spend time every day. The most extreme conditions exist too – high use of hot and cold water, steam and mold conditions, multiple plumbing functions, venting, several appliances in use, laundry processing, etc. There’s a lot of action going on in the master bath!
With all the action, is somebody keeping up with repairs?
If any room is going to be well-maintained, it is the master bath. It’s not that big, and the moving parts are simple – a towel rack, a toilet-paper roller, lighting, fan, grout, window, sinks – easy stuff.
Plus, every guy wants to keep his wife happy – so if he is going to fix anything, it will be here.
No need to get into any personal items – just checking the hardware:
If you are in a hurry or tend to get caught up in the excitement of looking at houses, then just concentrate on what you see in the master bath.
If you check off every item above, then the rest of the house should be in good shape too. But if the sellers aren’t maintaining this room that has complex features but simple fixes – especially when on the market – then they probably haven’t done much to keep up the rest of the house either.
The Pacific Beach hillside remodel is complete. Here are a few photos of the journey, and a recent video tour:
Mr. Buyer delivered what might be the best quote of the year: “I finally buy my wife a million-dollar house, and the first thing she does is tear it down!”
Some buyers get moving too fast and blow out, and others make offers willy-nilly and cancel for little or no reason. Those happen – but the deals that cancel because of repairs can almost always be saved in the moment if the buyer’s agent says the right things, the right way, at the right time:
Besides, we live in a desert!
Our second installment in the staging series:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3056-Via-Mariposa-Carlsbad-CA-92009/16677360_zpid/
Here are 20 more:
http://lightersideofrealestate.com/real-estate-humor/fail/21-baffling-home-design-fails
The market isn’t high-flying enough to call it a frenzy – and buyers are passing on anything that looks like a project. Doing improvements before going on the market is the best way to go:
Have you wondered what to do with those hand-scraped distressed hardwood floors once they get old and weathered? Here’s an initial consultation and assessment by Andrew Appleby of http://allamericanhardwoods.com/ – we’ll come back for a look at the end! Hat tip B.C.
Read the full article here:
http://www.amazingoasis.org/2014/03/here-are-30-relatively-simple-things.html
Are you looking for an experienced agent to help you buy or sell a home?
Contact Jim the Realtor!
CA DRE #01527365, CA DRE #00873197
