Keeping a home warm during the colder months of the year can prove to be expensive. With energy costs on the rise, many households are facing higher energy bills each year.Fixr.com, which provides "Cost Guides" of estimates to common household remodeling projects, highlights five projects to help increase a home’s energy efficiency and keep utility bills lower. (Fixr.com also provides cost estimates below of the projects listed.)1. Find unor
More victims are coming to light from Sunday’s deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Robert McIntosh, a real estate professional with Century 21 Gold Rush in North Pole, Alaska, was reportedly shot three times in the chest and one time in the arm by the gunman who fired from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino into an open crowd below of concert goers in Las Vegas Sunday night.McIntosh was rushed to surgery and is r
As home prices heat up across the country, buyers looking to lower their monthly mortgage payment are being lured to adjustable rate mortgages.ARM originations surged over 40 percent in the second quarter compared to the first, according to Inside Mortgage Finance data.ARMs are currently offering lower interest rates than fixed-rate mortgages. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.11 percent last week; a five-year ARM averaged 3.38 per
Lot sizes on new single-family homes have reached a new record low. New homes sold in 2016 had a median lot size of 8,562 square feet, or slightly under one-fifth of an acre.The median lot size fell to under 8,600 square feet in 2015, according to the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction data. Lot sizes have continued to shrink since then.Location plays a big role. For example, the median lot size in the New England region is nearly twice as
Squash these issues before they derail the saleAfter months of hard work, a home sale comes down to one make-or-break moment: the final walkthrough. That nail-biting buyer pop-by before closing can either delight or disappoint.Perhaps the last time the buyers visited the house was during the inspection, when they were likely distracted. For others, it may be the first time they’ve seen the house in the flesh, thanks to the incredibly well-conn
Amazon’s announcement that it plans to build a second headquarters in the U.S. has sent cities frantically submitting applications to try to be the chosen second home to the online retailer. Amazon plans to announce the new location next year.The reason cities are in a rush to submit proposals is that Amazon’s new headquarters promises to bring up to 50,000 new workers with an average salary topping $100,000 all over the next 10 to 15 years.
REALTORS® who give back are earning kudos by the industry for their charitable efforts within their communities and beyond. REALTOR® Magazine announced Wednesday the five winners to its 2017 Good Neighbors program.“It’s amazing how the passion of this year’s Good Neighbor Award winners spurs a ripple effect of generosity among others,” says William E. Brown, National Association of REALTORS® president. “In addition to devoting thousa
Buyers have become wiser, researching important facts not only about the houses they’re interested in but also about the communities where the homes are located. Desare Kohn-Laski, broker-owner of Skye Louis Realty in Coconut Creek, Fla., says it’s essential that real estate professionals show their value by keenly understanding the factors influencing home values in order to help and influence those research-savvy clients.Study these four
VHT debuts Virtual Twilight digital editing service for $39 per photoVHT Studios, the nation’s largest real estate photography studio, has added Virtual Twilight to its suite of virtual staging and editing services. With this debut, agents are able to showcase their listings in the very best light possible — literally.As a convenient alternative to traditional twilight photo shoots, the image specialists at VHT take exterior photos shot dur
The Small Business Administration is looking for damage verifiers in the parts of Texas and Florida that were hit by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Damage verifiers are people who use their knowledge of real estate to give the agency their assessment of how much damage a structure sustained in the storm. According to one estimate, almost 150,000 structures were damaged by Harvey. In the Florida Keys alone, at least a quarter of all structures were d
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