Category Archives: Homes
Making Your Home More Environmentally Friendly
One: Use Fluorescent Bulbs. Replace conventional incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). They cost a little more, but last up to 10 times longer, use two-thirds less energy and give off 70 percent less heat.
Two: Look for the Energy Star Label. Energy Star-qualified refrigerators use about half as much energy as refrigerators made before 1993.
Three: Get Unplugged. Many home electronics still consume energy even when they are turned off. Many devices with a “standby mode” will continue to use power. Also, chargers and power adapters continue to draw power from the wall socket even if the device is not attached. Unplug these devices or use a power strip to turn off multiple units, when they aren’t being used to make sure that you aren’t wasting energy.
Four: Double-Up on Windows. Replacing old single-pane windows with double pane-windows helps reduce heat loss in winter and heat gain in the summer.
Five: Turn Down the Thermostat. Lowering you thermostat by just one degree can reduce costs by about four percent.
Six: Sustainable Floors. Cork flooring not only looks great, but it’s also natural insulator. So when you look into purchasing flooring, consider using bamboo, cork or another sustainable material.
Seven: Earth-Friendly Decks. A lot of deck material comes from tropical hardwoods. These woods look great and stand up to the elements for a very long time.
Eight: Low-Flow Faucets. Low-flow water fixtures such as showerheads, faucets and toilets reduce water consumption and water heating costs by as much as 50 percent.
Nine: Buy Renewable Energy. Check with your local utility company and see if you can purchase renewable energy.
Ten: Recycle! After you replace all those inefficient, windows and fixtures, make sure you recycle all that metal and glass. By recycling half of your household waste, you can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide annually. Find more information about programs in your area at www.recycle.com.
Folsom Luxury Homes and Land Specialist
Our motto is to always “Do the Right Thing”, starting with providing premier executive real estate service to buyers and sellers of Folsom, Granite Bay, and El Dorado Hills luxury homes and land.
For more information from California Home Network visit Patrick Warholic, The Internet Home Marketing Specialist for free, no registration required, MLS home and property searches with amazing results at your fingertips, along with its ease of use, no registration required advanced home search features that will simply astound you. You can even search for energy saving features. California Home Network provides free real estate reports, information for sellers, information for buyers, and find out exactly what your home is worth with a free home valuation, with current up-to-date market information provided for you.
Learn how how you can be mortgage free in 8 to 11 years without re-financing. Ask for your free House Payment Free analysis.
Contact Patrick Warholic, Realtor, CCRA, SRES, ASP, and e-PRO certified.
The ABCs of Home Storage
The ABCs of Home Storage
In many American homes, the change of seasons is a signal for storing away some stuff and pulling out other supplies. Whether it’s yard tools or summer clothes, we all have items we put into storage for awhile, and pull out those things we need for another season, like holiday decorations. If you’re selling your home, you should try to store away extra items to make your home appear more spacious.
“A” is for Assessment
What do you have and where can you put it? Take a look at all your stuff and then take a look at where you can tuck it away in your home. Walk through the home with a pad and pen and dedicate an hour of your time to finish this first step.
“B” is for Banish and Box
While this may sound easy, it’s where the hard decisions get made. Box up what you’re going to keep and banish what needs to be thrown out, held for a yard sale or given to charity.
“C” is for Control
These two steps keep your storage areas neat and organized. They should also become a routine part of your storage plan. Maintaining your storage areas with smaller containers (such as see-through boxes, file folders or portable hanging racks) will keep items orderly and easily identifiable. Cardboard or plastic boxes with removable lids are your best bet for corralling stuff. The boxes are easy to handle and uniform in size.
When selling your home and if in doubt of what things should be stored away, ask your Realtor, he/she can give you some fantastic ideas.
Folsom Luxury Homes and Land Specialist
Our motto is to always “Do the Right Thing”, starting with providing premier executive real estate service to buyers and sellers of Folsom, Granite Bay, and El Dorado Hills luxury homes and land.
For more information from California Home Network visit Patrick Warholic, The Internet Home Marketing Specialist for free, no registration required, MLS home and property searches with amazing home search results at your fingertips, along with its ease of use, no registration required advanced home search features that will simply astound you. You can even search by using the new Google Map search, and even do a home search for energy saving features. Are you looking for extra storage space or RV access? Well, you can search for that too.
California Home Network also provides free real estate reports, information for sellers, information for buyers, and find out exactly what your home is worth with a free home valuation, with current up-to-date market information provided for you.
Learn how how you can be mortgage free in 8 to 11 years without re-financing. Ask for your free House Payment Free analysis.
Contact Patrick Warholic, Realtor, CCRA, SRES, ASP, and e-PRO certified.
Avoiding Gapital Gains Tax on the Sale of Your Home
Worried about taxes eating away too much of the profit on your home? Under a law enacted about ten years ago, a married couple filing jointly usually can exclude as much as $500,000 of their gain. For someone who is single or married and filing separately, the limit is $250,000.
To qualify for the full exclusion, you typically must have owned the home and lived in it as your primary residence for at least two of the five years prior to sale.
This exclusion applies only to your primary residence. Even someone who couldn’t pass those tests might qualify to exclude most or all of the gain under certain circumstances. The seller may be eligible for a reduced exclusion if that person had to sell because of a “change in place of employment”, health reasons or “unforeseen circumstances.” What are unforeseen circumstances? Examples cited by the Internal Revenue Service include divorce, death, or “multiple births resulting from the same pregnancy.”
Some think they’re required to buy a new home to qualify for this home-sale gain exclusion. That’s wrong. They’re probably thinking about a law that was repealed about a decade ago, under which you could defer tax on the gain on the sale of your home by rolling over the proceeds into a new home that cost as much as, or more than, the old one. Congress eliminated that law, in part because it was viewed as unfair to people who wanted to downsize and buy a less expensive home or to sell and move into a rental. Contact Patrick Warholic, your Folsom, El Dorado Hills, and Granite Bay Realtor for details.
Folsom Luxury Homes and Land Specialist
Our motto is to always “Do the Right Thing”, starting with providing premier executive real estate service to buyers and sellers of Folsom, Granite Bay, and El Dorado Hills luxury homes and land.
For more information from California Home Network visit Patrick Warholic, The Internet Home Marketing Specialist for free, no registration required, MLS home and property searches with amazing home search results at your fingertips, along with its ease of use, no registration required advanced home search features that will simply astound you. You can even search by using the new Google Map search, with community search parameters, and even do a home search for energy saving features too. Are you looking for great real estate deals, short sales, or bank owned properties? With this powerful home search engine that information is right at your fingertips now.
California Home Network also provides free real estate reports, information for sellers, information for buyers, and find out exactly what your home is worth with a free home valuation, with current up-to-date market information provided for you.
Learn how how you can be mortgage free in 8 to 11 years without re-financing. Ask for your free House Payment Free analysis.
Contact Patrick Warholic, Realtor, CCRA, SRES, ASP, and e-PRO certified.
Excited about the New Home, Adjusting to a New School
You are excited about your new home but just as important is your children settling into their new environment. A new school is important both academically and socially. The best way to help children start well is to register before school starts, if possible, to be sure any curriculum problems can be ironed out ahead of time
- Before school starts. Communication with the school administration should start as early as possible by mail or while visiting the destination area on a house-hunting trip. Take the child by the school and walk around, check in the classrooms and where the restrooms are located. Those coming from gifted or other special programs or magnet schools, check with the school secretary on extracurricular activities.
- During the school year. If the move is during the school year, parents should check back with the school and monitor their children’s work to be sure they are adjusting well and are in the correct levels or classes. But don’t expect disaster. Often “new kids” are a popular novelty during the year, and nothing beats the bus for making new friends.
- Making friends is important. A good social adjustment at the start is just as important as academic adjustment – especially for junior high or middle school students. While a teacher may assign a buddy for the new child for the first few days in elementary school, junior high students are often left to fend for themselves. Parents can help by making a point of finding at least one schoolmate for their child and arranging a meeting before starting school.
Check with your Realtor for your local schools and also neighborhood after school programs to meet other children.
Folsom Luxury Homes and Land Specialist
Our motto is to always “Do the Right Thing”, starting with providing premier executive real estate service to buyers and sellers of Folsom, Granite Bay, and El Dorado Hills luxury homes and land.
For more information from California Home Network visit Patrick Warholic, The Internet Home Marketing Specialist for free, no registration required, MLS home and property searches with amazing home search results at your fingertips, along with its ease of use, no registration required advanced home search features that will simply astound you. You can even search by using the new Google Map search, with community search parameters, and even do a home search for energy saving features too. Maybe you are looking for a new home investment property. Well, now you can find great real estate deals with REO bank owned properties and short sale homes listed in the MLS directory. This information is right at your fingertips, and no registration is required.
California Home Network also provides free real estate reports, information for sellers, information for buyers, and find out exactly what your home is worth with a free home valuation, with current up-to-date market information provided for you.
Learn how how you can be mortgage free in 8 to 11 years without re-financing. Ask for your free House Payment Free analysis.
Contact Patrick Warholic, Realtor, CCRA, SRES, ASP, and e-PRO certified.
