Where will you get the best return on investment when renovating your house? Watch this short video to see six upgrades that will increase the value of your home.
...From CNBC: Billionaire Andrew Carnegie famously said that 90% of millionaires got their wealth by investing in real estate. We wanted to know: Is this still true? Is investing in real estate still a good idea? According to these nine Advisors in The Oracles, who made millions by investing in real estate, the answer is a resounding yes. Read more.
...From Forbes.com: Since ancient times, humans have lived in communities, and humanity has thrived by grouping. What New York is today for the world — arguably its capital — Rome was for the Roman Empire and Constantinople was for the Ottoman Empire. Cities have been hubs for creativity, economic activity and the evolution of humanity. They symbolize freedom, culture and civilization. Today, cities are evolving faster and faster. Read more.
...From lendedu: Have bad memories from the 2008 financial crisis or even a lack of knowledge when it comes to mortgages prevented millennials from becoming homeowners? How long do millennials anticipate it will take to finally own a home, and will they put off other life goals to buy one? Read more.
...From Architectural Digest: When philanthropist and art collector Steve Wilson and his wife, Laura Lee Brown, first dreamt up the 21c Museum Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, it was conceived as a one-off. Located in the city's historic district, the hotel also serves as a means to share the couple’s love of art, as well as their impressive and ever-growing collection (which is as challenging and progressive as anything New York has to offer), with a wider, underserved audience. Read more.
...From Realtor.com: As we closed the books on May, even the hottest real estate markets in America were just coasting along, with the typical property selling no faster than at the same time last year. And with buyers on the lookout for affordability, smaller metros in the Midwest and Northeast outshone the more glamorous but high-priced California markets—topped by an unexpected name, an analysis of realtor.com data for the month shows. Read more.
...Welcome to this magnificent River Glen Estate with breathtaking views of the Ohio River on almost five acres of land. Designed by renowned Louisville architect Timothy R. Winters, this property is modeled after New England style-architecture as can be seen from its gorgeous display of white cedar shingles. Distinct features include two master suites, a chef’s kitchen, a four-car garage, two laundry rooms, a central vacuum system, a pool and a screened in rear patio to take in the Ohio River views. Read more.
From Marketwatch.com: Home prices are on the rise, climbing another 3% year over year, according to S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index from February released this month. Still, that growth is slowing and some experts are predicting that we’re increasingly entering a buyer’s market. And that means sellers who want to get a premium for their home may have to work for it. Read more.
...Homebuyers Ben and Sara Doninger could write their own chapter of a book outlining the pitfalls of Louisville’s fast-paced residential market. The recently married couple spent roughly three months vigorously searching for their first home, only to be hit with one false start after another. “We didn’t know what to expect. We heard our friends say it was pretty brutal. As soon as you see a house, you need to jump on it,” said Sara, an assistant treasury management officer with Republic Bank. The couple, both of whom are young professionals, mapped out a plan to find a home in some desired locations, including Jeffersontown and Hikes Point. Read more.
...
From RealtorMag: From the layout of the kitchen to the colors of the paint, a home’s interior space can affect people in a variety of ways, both positive and negative. Distaste for the way something in a home looks can even raise your levels of cortisol, the stress hormone associated with a wide range of health problems. Read more.
...From HouseLogic: The first thing you need to know about home inspection: You’ll feel all the feels. There’s the excitement — the inspection could be the longest time you’re in the house, after the showing. Right behind that comes … anxiety. What if the inspector finds something wrong? So wrong you can’t buy the house? Then there’s impatience. Seriously, is this whole home-buying process over yet? Not yet. But you’re close. So take a deep breath. Because the most important thing to know about home inspection: It’s just too good for you, as a buyer, to skip. Here’s why.
...The first half of the 2018 Louisville real estate market was marked by home prices continuing to rise faster than a porch thermometer on a sweltering July afternoon. From January 1 through June 30, the average sale price across the Louisville market was up 5.8% to $217,101 (from $205,194 for the same period in 2017). The median price was $177,500 vs. $169,900 a year ago. For the month of June, that average sale price was a staggering $237,458 (five years ago in June 2013 the average sale price was $195,411).
Rising home prices continue to be driven by a shortage of inventory. For the entire Louisville MLS (multiple listing service), the inventory of available properties was 7% lower than for the first half of 2017. The total number of homes sold from January 1 through June 30, 2018 was 8,516 vs. 8,706 or 2.2% less than the same period in 2017. The inventory situation may be improving slightly according to the industry association the Greater Louisville Association of Realtors (GLAR).
Interest rates have risen modestly and mortgage rates have followed suit with a recent 30-year fixed rate at approximately 4.5% according to Bankrate.com (this compares to about 4% for this time in 2017). Most analysts expect rates to continue to rise gradually through at least the end of 2019.
In its mid-year market analysis, GLAR reported more than 4,000 properties for sale at present compared to 3,000 just a few months ago. As has been the case for the last few years, move-in ready homes under $250,000 continue to set the pace and are selling quickly, often in multiple offer situations.
The high-end market also continues to be robust with 347 sales of properties between $500,000 and $999,999 in 2018 vs. 320 for the same period in 2017. Sales of properties priced at $1 million plus also showed limited growth with 41 sales in 2018 vs. 37 in 2017.
The question on most consumers’ minds seems to be: How long can this bull real estate market...
It’s a good time to be selling high-end real estate: The luxury market is posting a record number of sales, and 19 major areas also saw double-digit gains in July, according to realtor.com®’s 2018 Luxury Home Index. The index measures the entry-level luxury price tier, which is the top 5 percent of residential sales among 91 U.S. counties. Read more.
If you’re transferring to a new home or office with the help of a moving company, then the following tips on how to cut costs when moving should come in handy.
Don’t bring everything with you
Surely, some of your belongings are things you don’t really want, much less need. Instead of taking them with you to your new home or office, getting rid of them in one way or another is a much better option. Just leave them behind or give them away. If you want to make some money off them, then hold a garage sale.
Schedule the move during the off-peak season
Moving during peak season can cost you more than if you do it during off-peak months when movers charge lower rates and conditions are more convenient. If you do your move sometime between September to early April, you are going to reduce your costs.
Recycle packing materials
It’s always good to have brand new materials on hand when packing, but if you want to save money, recycling should be an option. You can use boxes you already have at home, but if you need more, you can always ask friends and family for old boxes of their own. You can also go to your neighborhood store and buy old boxes for cheap, or even get them for free.
Pack your own stuff
Some people are just too busy to do their own packing, so they hire someone else to do it for them. Hiring professional packers are a good option if you have the budget for it, but if you’re short on funds, making time to pack your belongings is pretty much the only choice you have left.
Do your research on moving companies...
According to the United States Census Bureau, more than 35.5 million Americans relocate annually and more than 11 times during a lifetime. Based on these statistics, there is a good chance that you or someone you know will soon need a reasonable, reliable long-distance moving company. Here is the new buyer’s guide to long-distance moves.
If you have ever experienced a move, you know it is a significant event that disrupts your lifestyle. The essential part of relocation is to begin planning three months before the move to handle the smaller chores that often have financial consequences when forgotten. Keep in mind that if you are moving during the peak summer season, you should make contact sooner.
Before contacting moving companies, you should declutter and downsize so that you know the weight or width of your moving requirements. Decluttering will significantly reduce your moving costs as well as the energy to pack it. If you wait to do this chore, it will complicate the estimate, which companies will not reimburse when based on “not to exceed” contractual weight.
Before beginning your research, you should make a detailed list of your property as well as their value and descriptions to ensure estimate accuracy. Take an image of each item for insurance purposes....
Sharing a home is an exciting and monumental step for couples, especially when purchasing a house together. The appeal of buying an older home and altering it to meet your style can be very tempting, especially when pricing is considered.
However, undergoing home renovations is one of the most stressful experiences couples go through. Renovations require time and financial commitments, and often lead to stress from messy surroundings and ugly surprises about your home that come to light during the process.
So how can you ensure that your relationship will survive? Here are some of the essential Do’s and Don’ts of home renovation when you’re moving in together:
Set a budget before diving into your home renovation project. To establish a budget, you will need to determine what needs to be done, research the process, and request quotes to determine what a reasonable budget will be. Once that is done, you can agree on a total number and break it down by room. You may decide to use gifts to contribute to your home renovation project-- you can find more details here.
To prevent arguments, you will want to not only determine the budget but determine who is paying for what. Frustration can arise when one person feels as though they have spent a greater portion of the budget than the other person unless this divide is determined beforehand. For example, if one half of the partnership makes more money than the other, they may take on a...
Who isn’t looking for a new way to save money and go green these days? In my personal experience, I started looking for ways to reduce the amount of energy I consumed after noticing how my utility bills had been continuously growing for months. Turns out there are a lot of ways to save energy. Hence, I decided to share the knowledge and turn my research into a post on practical tips to save energy and money. Let's get to it! Read more from Alex Harris at ElectroSawHQ.com.
...Certain cities are on everyone’s wish lists: New York, Austin, Nashville. And they belong on those lists. But it’s a big country, and there are so many more places to see—including, increasingly, cities that we never would have given a second glance. Thanks to grassroots and civic revitalization projects, creative types taking advantage of cheap real estate, and the realization that small can be beautiful, a new list of must-see cities is forming. Read more.
...Via Forbes.com: For many Americans, the city of Louisville is synonymous with three things: bourbon, Hot Browns (a local dish of thick toast topped with turkey, bacon, and Mornay sauce), and the Kentucky Derby. While all of these things still deserve our attention, there’s another good reason to visit this vibrant Southern city: outstanding restaurants and bars. Read more.
...