Honest Realestate Agent

Archive for December, 2009

One thing is for certain, if you have owed a house a long time then you will surely need to replace your roof.If your roof gets to be over 20 years old then it definitely needs to get a closer look at it so that you will be able to determine if it needs to be replaced.  It is when you find out that you do need to replace it, you have to choose a material.  So in this article we are going to go over the different roofing materials you could choose from.

First of all if money is a valid concern then a good choice of roofing materials are basically asphalt shingles.  This is the first type of roof I recommend to clients of my roofing San Diego service who are on a budget.The advantages are that it is a very cheap and affordable material that has many colors to choose from.The disadvantages are that it does not last for so long.Also it does not stand up so well to relatively high winds. 

The next roof of choice I recommend to my customers in my Vista roofing service is concrete tile.This particular material has a very large selection of color and fine styles so definitely it is good for those wanting a nice look.  Some of it’s drawbacks are that it is heavy and doesn’t stand up to hail.Also it is very expensive and not very good especially in earthquake prone areas.

The last roof I would recommend to my clients of my Encinitas roofing company are slate roofs.These are definitely beautiful materials that you can really use on your roof.  It’s many benefits include it’s beauty when installed. Also it has a long life span and offers good fire protection.Its drawback is that it can definitely get too expensive so it is only good for those that aren’t concerned with price.

So those are the top 3 roofing materials you can choose from. As you can actually see, what you choose exactly depends on what you are really looking for.

2009 First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit

Most people are now well aware of the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit issued in 2009. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) statistics indicated a consistent rise in pending home sales during the period in which first time home buyers could reap tax credits. NAR’s statistics showed pending home sales were, in fact, up.8% during October, 2009 when compared with October, 2008.

Representative Jim McDermott (D) from Washington State said, “The homebuyer’s credit has helped pave the way for stabilization in the housing market…. Its extension will continue to make homeownership more affordable and bring confidence to a housing market and economy that remain fragile.” There weren’t any tax credits for people who already own a home, or had owned a home within the last 5 years in the legislation. There was much grumbling on the part of homeowners who failed to qualify for tax credits under this program.

2010 Extended Home Buyers Tax Credit

On November 8, 2009, President Obama signed into law an extended version of the tax credit legislation as part of a larger economic stimulus package. The tax credit for qualified buyers who upgrade to newer or more expensive residences between November 7th, 2009, and April 30th, 2010, could qualify for up to $ 6,500 in tax credits. The benefits of the first time home buyer credit remained capped at $ 8,000.

Charles McMillan, President of the National Association of Realtors, states, “The substantial rise in home sales we’ve seen over the past few months proves that the tax credit is working and is being used by buyers who were waiting for the right opportunity to get into the market. This important incentive is helping to stabilize the housing market, stimulate the economy and create new jobs in communities all across our great nation. Extending and expanding the home buyer tax credit will enable even more families to take advantage of current low interest rates and affordable prices to invest in their future through homeownership.”

Buyer Qualification for the Tax Credit Extension

Each qualifying home buyer who has not owned their own residence, nor has their spouse owned a residence, during the three years prior to buying a qualifying home during the period beginning November 7, 2009 and ending April 30, 2010 will receive a tax credit of $ 8,000. Qualifying homebuyers that purchase homes during the same period AND have owned the home being sold or left as their primary residence for five years consecutively of the past 8 will qualify for up to $ 6,500 credited off. The qualifying home must be in the binding contract phase of purchase no later than April 30, 2010 in order to qualify for the tax benefit. A copy of the HUD-1 Settlement Statement must be provided after closure of the sale; closing must occur no later than June 30, 2010. Obviously, you won’t be qualifying if you’re under 18.

Income Qualifications

Homebuyers who are not married must have income of less than $ 125,000 to qualify for the full tax credit. Married homebuyers must have combined incomes less than $ 225,000 to qualify fully. Single homebuyers earning between $ 125,000 and $ 145,000, or married couples filing joint income tax returns indicating income of between $ 225,000 and $ 245,000, will qualify for a portion of the tax credit. The amount of the tax credit is on a sliding scale, so the more you earn over the maximum, the less tax credit is available to you.

Tax Credits Versus Tax Deductions

The greatest part of this tax credit program is that it offers a CREDIT as opposed to a DEDUCTION. A tax deduction means that your taxable income is reduced by a specific amount. That said, a tax credit means the credit is the tax is assessed at the end, and subtracted from what’s owed, or added to refunds due. This maximizes benefits for people who take advantage of the 2010 Extended Home Buyers Tax Credit Program.

The thing that a lot of people would love to have is a nice looking home.  Now of course most people are grateful to have a home to live in, but they do want it to look good as well.  Well there are many ways to make your home look very nice. A few of these methods will cost more then others.  Well with this article what we are going to do is look at just a few of the methods to make your home look great.

Now the first thing you need to do is to create a plan or have an idea on what theme you want for your home.  One of the best ways to make your home look nice is to make it look uniform.  In other words if you have a common theme throughout the home it really makes it look good.  So once you begin in making your home have the same theme, it will begin to look good all together. 

Now once you have an idea on what theme you are going with, now you want to start considering the flooring. The theme makes a big difference in how you are going to make the home look. Because some of the themes you choose will be good in hardwood floors.  While other styles might look better with some type of tile flooring. That is why the customers of my San Diego tile company know what theme they are going for.  Because when you know what theme, the choice of flooring is real easy.

Once you have your flooring chosen you want to decide on the painting of your home.  You want to choose colors that will match great with your floors and the overall theme of your home.  If you are able to choose the perfect colors for your home it makes the rest of the job that much easier. Said another way, the task of making a great looking home now is easy because it is all about decorating.

So there you have the quick and easy first steps to a beautiful home.  Now if you do take these steps you will be well on your way to a great looking home.

According to the FBI, a home invasion occurs in the US every 15 seconds.  If you don’t want to become another statistic, there are several things you can do to discourage burglars and to keep your home and belongings safe.

1.  Lock and secure your doors and windows
Part of your daily home security routine should be to always make sure that all doors and windows are locked and that there are no entrances that could offer an intruder the opportunity to get into your home.  Insure that each door has a deadbolt lock with a one inch throw and a reinforced strike plate. Windows should be constructed of laminated glass, and ground level windows need strong locks. 

2.  Secure sliding glass doors
Each sliding glass door in your house should have a wooden dowel or stick in the door’s track to prevent an unauthorized entry.  Installing vertical bolts will also prevent a burglar from forcing the door open.

3.  Secure your garage
Your garage is just like an external door. Install a dead bolt on your door and keep your car locked and alarmed. If you have a newly constructed home, consider changing your factory-set door opener code.  Burglars have access to these codes and will use common brands of remote openers, looking for a garage door that will open.  

4.  Use outdoor and indoor lighting to your advantage
Timed lighting inside and outside the home is an important security measure.  To create an appearance of constant activity, use light-timers inside the home. Motion sensor lighting installed near pathways, doorways and the driveway is also an effective way to scare off an intruder. Always keep the perimeter of your house well lighted with security lights that allow you to see at least 100 feet in front of you.

5.  Avoid telltale pileups
If you are going to be away for an extended period of time, arrange to have your newspapers and mail put on hold.  If you are expecting one or more packages, have a neighbor hold those packages for you until you return. Nothing shouts “This house is empty” more than having a pile of newspapers and mail stacked in front of your door. 

6.  Keep house keys in a safe place
Never hide your house key on the ledge of a door in a flowerpot or under the doormat. These are one of the first places a burglar will look.  Instead give your house key to a trusted neighbor for an emergency or to check on your house regularly when you are away.

7.  Keep shades and blinds in their normal position
Close enough blinds so a burglar can’t see what is inside, while keeping a few blinds open to make it appear as if someone is home. If all the blinds are closed, this is an obvious indication to a burglar of an empty house. 

8.  Don’t announce you are going to be gone
Social networking sites give a false sense of security, in which people feel free to let the world know their travel plans.  This is just an open invitation for a burglar to rob your home. To keep your home secure, don’t tell people on websites such as Facebook or even on voicemail when you will be on vacation.

9.  Evaluate your landscaping
Prune back shrubbery and keep it away from entrances and walkways so that a burglar does not have a place to hide. Place a thorny plant, such as a rose bush or cacti under a window to slow down a thief. Also, examine tall trees near second-story windows and make sure intruders can’t use them as ladders.

10.  Have a home alarm system installed and monitored
One of the biggest deterrents to a home invasion is having a home alarm system.  Whether it’s wired or wireless, a monitored home security system reduces home burglaries by up to 66 percent.

The weakness of the U.S. economy has given rise to the largest epidemic of foreclosures in American history. Yet as always, this challenge has given rise to a huge new opportunity for alert real estate investors.

The real estate investing strategy du jour is called ‘Bulk REO Investing‘ and is a real monster.

Foreclosures are at the heart of the Bulk REO business, so let’s consider the foreclosure process.

You can’t understand Bulk REO Investments without understanding the process of foreclosure.

As a borrower becomes increasingly behind in his mortgage, the lender regularly calls and writes the borrower with default warnings and threats. The official foreclosure proceedings begin subsequently, as directed by the lender. ‘Pre foreclosure’ is the name given to the time between implementation of the foreclosure proceedings and the public auction.

Foreclosure is completed when the property is put up for auction. If there are no buyers at the foreclosure auction, the lender regains title to the property. The designation of ‘REO’ (Real Estate Owned) is then attached to the foreclosed property.

Lenders have no interest in owning property, and thus usually opt to list their REO properties with a local real estate broker in hopes of a retail sale. Yet with increasing frequency, REO properties are being sold for pennies or dimes on the dollar. The trade-off is that the buyer must purchase multiple REO properties in each transaction.

Qualified real estate investors are increasingly finding once-in-a-lifetime opportunities in these REO packages. One of the best ways to take advantage of Bulk REO Investing opportunities is to partner with a well-regarded source of funding. There are many sources of funding for these transasactions including: hard money and commercial financing, as well as non conventional sources such as hedge funds and private investors. Additionally, one man is becoming very well known in the field of bulk REO investing, and his name is Sal Bushemi of Dandrew Capital Partners, a hedge fund in New York.

In this hard hit economy, a lot of businesses are struggling.A lot of business owners are looking for other options to increase the volume of their sales. One part of the economy, the retail industry, took the hardest hit. It is in this industry that business owners have to be creative in order to increase their sales. One method to do that is to use some advertising equipment which are not commonly used. In this article we are going to know and discuss these tools that can assist your business.

These equipments are equipments that are mostly utilized in trade shows.But if they are used correctly they can help increase the volume of sales in a retail shop. The first tool is the trade show display booth.This is a booth that you can establish that will assist you in promoting any product or sale.  They are real good because it will help get attention to your promotion.  When people are busy going through your store you need to catch their attention.This will definitely do the trick.

The next tool you will use in association. That equipment is the roll up banners. These are banners that will assist in calling attention to your booth. Because if you have a large store you need to think of a way to have people get to know your booth. This banner will help you accomplish that and get people to come to your booth.

Well as soon as people are gathering at your tradeshow displayswhat you have to apply is the final touch. That final touch is to be sure that the product is lucrative and that you have a lot of good people at your booth. If you do that you will have a successful promotion using these tools.  Because getting people to your booth is one thing. But being able to turn those people into your very own customers will most likely depend on your product and your people as well.

So there you have it, some unique methods which you can utilize some promotional equipments within your retail store. Used properly and you can increase your sales which will help the bad economy in a big way.

One of the neverending job that we actually take part of when we own a home is that of cleaning. It seems as if we spent the whole day cleaning it, and then the next day it is already dirty. But that is just something natural if you own a home. So in this article we are going to go ahead and see some of the best methods to maintain the cleanliness of your whole house.

The first thing you have to make certain that you remember is to keep your upholstery clean. Your furniture is a major component of your home that is used regularly. Because of this fact that you would want to make absolutely sure that your furniture is maintained regularly. And of course, your upholstery will start to degrade and look old and disheveled.  So what I suggest in my upholstery cleaning Carlsbad company is to clean it at least every 6 months.

The next part of your home that needs to be kept clean is your tile. Your flooring is another major part of your home that is used most of the time and gets dirty real fast. Without a regular cleaning schedule your floors can look ugly real fast. The last thing you want is to have your home look dirty and that is what dirty floors will do.  So I suggest to all my clients of my grout cleaning San Diego company to have a schedule of cleaning at least every three months.

Finally the last major component of your home you should absolutely make certain that is kept clean are your stones. Some people would opt to have stone flooring or even stone exteriors on their homes. Well those stones will look very nice when brand new. But as soon as they get old and if you don’t have a regular cleaning schedule they would look bad very quickly.  So I always have my clients of my stone cleaning La Jolla company to always clean their natural stone regularly.

So as you have observed maintaining the cleanliness of your home is hard work.  But it is something that must be done if you wnat your home to keep looking nice.

There are many things we have to maintain when we own a home.One thing people tend to not remember is dealing with pests.  This is something that gets overlooked often but it is a reality that has to be taken care of.  So what we are going to do in this article is go over the common ways to get rid of pests in our home.

First of all when you have any pest problems in your home you have to decide if you are going to do it yourself or hire someone. The main factor you have to consider is how extreme the problem is. Because if it is a small pest problem then accomplishing it by your lonesome may be a viable option.  But if it is a severe problem you will need to hire someone like my pest control San Diego company.

Now when you’ve already decided that you are either going to do it by yourself or you’d employ someone, you have to know how to eradicate them. In cases wherein you find yourself having ant infestation, there is one option to really be rid of the pests.  That way is the method we use primarily in our ant control San Diegoservice. And that option is to eradicate the ant hill. Because when you accomplish that you are free from it because you kill it from the source.

Now with regards to exterminating rodents like rats or mice you have to accomplish two things. You have to exterminate them using traps and poison. The traps help in killing the problem immediately. While the poison we used will allow you to get rid of them where they are nesting because they bring back the poison there. This will assist in getting rid of all of them.  This is a method that works successfully in my San Diego mouse control service.

So as you have observed these options are very effective in exterminating the pests. There are many ways to do it, but if you choose this method you will be pleased.

When you own a car then absolutely there are a lot of good things and awesome benefits you surely get from owning a car.But along with all the benefits and good things are the car problems that will surely come with it.The very sad part about a lot of these common car problems is the mere fact that they could have been avoided.  In this article we are going to look at some steps you can take to avoid these problems.

First of all a car owner has to make sure not to neglect their car.  It is easy to just get in you car and go everyday. But doing that very thing can surely lead to common problems that will pop up when you actually don’t take care of it.  And when you have unexpected car problems this is when they are most expensive. So I suggest all my customers of my auto repair San Diego shop to always keep their car on a regular maintenance schedule.

Well the basic part of that regular maintenance schedule is surely to make sure that you are able to take your car in for regular tune ups.Tune ups are great for your car simply because it definitely takes care of a lot of the most important car problems. One of those real problems that can possibly happen as your car gets older are simply failing a smog test. I try to remind people in my smog test San Diego shop that this is a common problem they can avoid.

Finally an area of the car that gets used heavily are the brakes.  This is  a source of another common car problem, brake problems.But by simply using your brakes correctly and the fluids right then you can surely make your brakes last long.  That is one of the main pieces of advice I give to my customers of my San Diego brake service. 

So these were actually some of the common problems that surely happen to most cars. The nice thing about it is if you pay attention to maintaining it you can avoid these common problems.

As moving out of state can be rather expensive, it is no wonder why most people look for different ways to save money on their move. Although the whole process is time and money intensive, there are things you can do to reduce the cost of your relocation.

The initial step you should take is to discover which moving companies service your location. Get written moving estimates from several companies so that you can compare “apples to apples”. When looking for a better price, don’t forget about the quality of service to the damage caused to your possessions that may cost you more in the end.

It is important to avoid unnecessary packing of items that are not needed. Having got rid of unnecessary things at a garage sale, you will not only reduce your moving costs but also partly cover them.

Most nationwide moving companies offer packing service. Still, you will be able to conserve some of your resources, just plan to do a little or a lot of the packing yourself. You may ask in your local grocery store if they can give you some empty boxes.

Such boxes can be used for packing books and other small and heavy things. Special packing tape to close the boxes securely can be purchased at your local hardware store. To wrap breakable items, use linen, clothing or towels. Mark the boxes with fragile items so that the movers handle them more carefully.

It’s a good idea to label all of your boxes for you to know what is in each box. Use clear garbage bags as an alternative to packing your garments and bed sheets. When it is time to start unpacking, it will be very easy for you to tell exactly which items are packed in them.

Keep those things that are relevant – things like your billfold, key chain, cell phone, and the like. You may have difficulty finding some of your items if they are packed in boxes that are not labeled. Prepare an envelope for your long distance movers with the new address and ways to reach you. Keep them in a visible place as to not to get them lost in the mess.

When moving nationally, it is best to find out what type of trailer the moving company will be employing to relocate your property. Remember large trucks require large parking spots.

So that you don’t waste time or money on trying to find an empty spot of the correct size once the trailer has arrived on the scene, it’s a benefit to make arrangements in advance prior to the movers get to your residence.

One other item you must remember to ask about is elevator policies. When you get to your new home, it would be dreadful if you had to wait around because other people are using it as it is their time to come home from work.

Finally, when preparing for the relocation, make a list of things you should do and carry it with you. This will ensure that you don’t forget to do something important.

Just try to keep in mind, planning and preparation are the essence for a good flawless relocation. It can help you avoid a huge hassle and help you save loads of headaches.