Summertime Home Projects

The warm weather and longer days allow for opportunities to work on home maintenance projects and beautify your home! By keeping up with home maintenance while your home is still new, you can prevent larger and more expensive problems down the line.

Here are some tips and ideas to get you started:

• Change your air filters. During times of heavy use like the summer, change every month.
• Clean all ceiling fans from dust build up
• Check your grill for cracked lines or broken pieces. Clean and get it ready to use!
• Clean the dust from smoke detectors/carbon monoxide detectors
• Clean out your dryer lines, filter
• Replace flashlight batteries and test smoke detectors
• Put up curtains/blinds to help regulate the internal temperature
• Pull up dead bushes/plants from your yard
• Put down much to help prevent weeds and retain moisture

What are some of your standard summertime chores? Tips for making them go faster?

Memorial Day Weekend

Remembering those who sacrificed all for our country this Memorial Day Weekend. 

Thank you for your service.

Preferring New Homes

According to a new survey from Trulia, Americans prefer to buy new when shopping for a new home.

41% of Americans would prefer a new home
21% prefer an existing home
38% have no preference should features and pricing be equal

The top reasons for preferring a new home include:

• Modern Features
• The ability to customize
• Requiring less maintenance and repairs

Modern features in new homes includes bigger closets, a kitchen island, open floor plan and pre-wiring for flat screen TV's

US markets that have the largest ratio of new home construction relative to market size are Texas and the Carolinas - great news for home buyers in South Carolina!

New home prices continue to rise as the market improves and demand increases. Take advantage of your buying power and shop for your new home this weekend!

Full survey results available here:
http://info.trulia.com/new-vs-existing-homes-survey-may-2014

Mother's Day Trivia

This year Mother's Day turns 100! The first Mother's Day was celebrated in 1914 after being designated a national holiday by President Woodrow Wilson.

Take some time this Sunday to honor the Mother in your life.  And if you need some conversation starters for Brunch - we've got you covered.

Check out this fun facts about Mother's on their special day.

• Mother's Day is always the second Sunday in May
• Mother's Day is the third most popular holiday in the world next to Christmas and Easter
• There are more phone calls made on Mother's Day than any other day of the year
• Americans are anticipated to spend about $15 billion this year to celebrate their Mothers.
• The most popular flower for Mother's to receive on Mother's Day is the carnation.
• July is the most popular birth month. Tuesday is the most popular birth day.

Share with us how you will celebrate your Mother this weekend.

Preparing for Severe Storms

As we saw this week in some areas of the country hit hard by Spring Storms, it's the time of year when volatile weather can lead to tornadoes or severe storms.

While we may feel helpless in the face of nature's power, there are things that you can do to make sure your home and family are prepared to the best of your ability.

• Keep trees and bushes trimmed - this will help prevent branches from breaking off during high winds
• Check gutters and keep them clean. Make sure they are pointed away from the house.
• If a bad storm is approaching, move patio furniture in or secure in place.
• Avoid using the telephone or taking a shower during thunderstorms as lightning can be of concern.
• Have a battery operated weather radio on hand for frequent updates.
• Know how to turn off your home's water, gas and electricity in case of emergency.
• Have a first aid kit, flashlight and list of emergency numbers available.
• Make a plan with your family to all go to the safest place in your home during severe weather - preferably an interior room away from windows, skylights and doors.
  

Taking these precautions now may help when spring and summer storms pop up this year. Plan ahead for the safety of your home and family.

Renting vs Owning

In the past, renting an apartment or home was seen as an affordable option for people hesitant to enter the housing market.  According to a recent report from Zillow, this is far from true across most of the country.

Renters across the U.S. are now spending more of their income on rent costs than at any time in the past 30 years.  In addition to rising rent prices and decreased vacancies, flat incomes have compounded the problem.

Based on Zillow's Rent Index which tracks the monthly median rent in certain areas of the country, renters are spending almost 19% more of their incomes on rent than renters from 1985-2000.

To more dramatically illustrate the chasm between wage growth and rent growth, Zillow reports that from 2000-2014 median household income increased by 25.4% while rent increased over 52.8%.

Read the full article HERE.

Time To Buy is Now!

As the economy improves we see changes in the housing market. The housing market forecast is closely linked to employment growth which has remained steady over the last year. As employment growth continues to increase, the demand for housing increases and house prices as well as appreciation rise.

The current housing environment is moving away from a buyers market. A buyers market occurs when housing supply is greater than demand and prices remain low.    House prices have begun appreciating at a faster rate and the median house price is increasing as the demand for new homes increases. This means that consumers have more buying power now then they will a year from now. Don't delay your home purchase!

Mortgage rates are also increasing steadily. While they remain at historic lows, they will continue to rise as economic conditions improve.

The overall message is that NOW is the time to buy. Don't wait and let your buying power erode.