Real Estate News & Tips

How to Update Your Kitchen on a Budget {part 2}

Beth Hunter — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:10:52 +0000

Earlier this month, we discussed how to easily update the look of your kitchen with paint or removable contact paper. Today, we’re taking things a step further by showing how to update the look of your kitchen with lighting, architectural elements, hardware, paint, accessories, and furniture. If your budget doesn’t allow for all of these changes, pick one or two ideas that interest you and make gradual improvements. Remember that decorating should be viewed as a process and not a race!

1. Kitchen Lighting Lighting can indeed be pricey; however, with a bit of creativity you can update your lighting on-the-cheap! Below are examples of second hand lights given new life with just a can of spray paint and some ingenious tweaking. Places to search for affordable lighting are thrift stores, Habitat Re-stores, and on Craigslist.

1. My Blessed Life 2. Beneath My Heart 3. 320 Sycamore

2. Open Shelving & Architectural Elements Updating your builder grade cabinets with architectural elements is a fantastic way to achieve a new look for less. In the first two pictures below, you can see that the homeowner replaced her top cabinets with open shelving and installed a beadboard ceiling. If ripping out your existing cabinets isn’t an option, consider removing some cabinet doors to create an “open shelf” appearance.

In the bottom two pictures, the homeowner upgraded her island by installing beadboard paneling and some newel half posts. Before completely gutting your kitchen, consider adding on to your existing cabinetry with beadboard paneling, molding, and corbels. Tip: If you are a DIY beginner, paintable beadboard wallpaper can be used on the ends of cabinets to create a more custom and finished look.

1. Beneath My Heart 2. Sand & Sisal

3. Backsplash Installing a kitchen backsplash is probably easier than you think and can make a huge difference in the overall appearance of your kitchen. I recently updated my kitchen backsplash using garden stones! The entire project cost me less than $100, and I am thrilled with the end results.

Home Stories A to Z

4. Hardware Your faucet, knobs, and pulls are the jewelry of your kitchen. Changing them out for something fresher will change the look and feel of your space. Tip: Spray paint can be used to change the color of your knobs and pulls, but faucets don’t fair as well when spray painted.

5. Paint A fresh coat of paint on the walls will give your kitchen a complete facelift. Choose a color that compliments your cabinetry and blends with the surrounding rooms. If you like to play it safe with color, consider choosing a neutral color for the walls and a fun bold accent color for your pantry door!

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6. Accessorize Never underestimate what a bowl of pears, a vase of flowers, or beautifully displayed plates can do for your kitchen! Consider displaying your prettier dishes. Place seasonal fruit in bowls as an accessory and healthy snack, or grow garden herbs in your kitchen windowsill. Every space feels fresher when you include something alive and something personal!

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7. Furniture Changing the look of your kitchen stools might be the easiest solution to a quick and affordable update. Spray painting your existing furniture is always an option! However, if you’re looking to purchase new stools, a contemporary update to consider would be metal stools. They are typically affordable and offer a modern contrast to a traditional kitchen.

Tatertots & Jello

Whether your budget is large or small, there is an affordable kitchen update waiting for you! We’d love to hear if you are planning on using some of these ideas to update your own kitchen. Please let us know in the comments which updates look doable to you!

Glenn Close Voted Most Likely to Invite the Pool Man in for a Drink

Gillian Luce — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:54:38 +0000

Which celebrity is the biggest partier? Who has the most to-die-for closet? With awards season in full swing, nominees Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close and Rooney Mara are the talk of Hollywood, but a recent survey reveals that it’s not just their acting chops that fans are chatting about. More than 40 percent of respondents voted Nick Nolte the most likely celebrity to set the kitchen on fire and be the biggest hoarder, beating out the seemingly responsible Rooney Mara, George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Jonah Hill.

Homes.com conducted the survey to gauge what sparks Americans’ curiosity when it comes to their neighbors – especially if that neighbor is a celebrity. There is a certain mystery about neighbors and a natural curiosity about what happens behind closed doors. That, coupled with the celebrity factor, was the perfect recipe for a quirky survey to find out what people think about today’s hottest actors.

Other findings included more than half voting fan favorite George Clooney as most likely to get caught picking up the newspaper in his bathrobe. Not surprisingly, comedic genius Jonah Hill came in as top pick for throwing a crazy pool party, while respondents dubbed Brad Pitt the “divo” most likely to have Starbucks delivered to his home.

Inquisitive celebrity stalkers can check out what it would really be like to live next to the stars by searching Homes.com for the hottest, priciest homes on the market from Beverly Hills to New York City.

Photo Source: Glenn Close, Fortune Live Media

Creating Beautiful Collages and Gallery Walls to Fill Empty Spaces

Shelley Smith — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:20:40 +0000

Rounding out our ‘renter friendly’ series this month, I wanted to leave you with some fantastic ideas, as well as tips and tricks for filling up those big, blank wall spaces in any home. Ideal for renters, when they want to add lots of personality and color, but can’t paint.

About a year ago my husband and I decided that we wanted to create a family photo gallery wall of our own. So with a bit of planning, we came up with a risk-free way to punch up the interest in our living room with pops of color… through photos alone!

The House of Smiths

As you can see, there is a LOT of color in our gallery wall, but the great thing, is that it’s really only done with the photos inside the frames. Which means that if we ever want to change the color scheme in our room later on, it will be really easy and painless!

Although personal photo gallery walls are one of the most popular ways that homeowners like to decorate and express themselves, it’s definitely not the only kind of collage that can make a big impact in an empty space.

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You can try decorating with letters too. From a play room to a nursery, the good old ABC’s are art all on their own!

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Plates in different colors and styles are also the perfect way to uniquely fill a wall.

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If you’re looking for an innovative type of collage, simply try light canopy’s straight from the hardware store! Paint them all one color and hang them in an interesting arrangement.

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To create the feel of a larger space, try using mirrors in lots of different styles together. Even with the smallest amount of natural light in a room, the reflection from the mirrors that gets sent off, can make an area appear larger.

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If you know you love the look of a gallery wall, but have no idea what type of items to actually hang… try using some thrifted, empty, painted frames in a unique, layered arrangement.

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And if you’re at a complete loss as to exactly what type of gallery style you want to go with, then just combine lots of different gallery wall elements into one. From empty frames to clocks, mirrors, letters and even vintage family photos… you can really customize your next gallery wall to your specific liking.

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3 Tips for Planning out your Next Wall Collage:

1. Gather Inspiration - Find photos that inspire you and have elements you like. That way you can decide if you want to go with frames/decor that are all one style, or more of an eclectic look, where you can use lots of different pieces to fill your wall space.

2. Measure your space and start collecting – Decide how big you want your wall collage to span, and then start collecting items. Make sure that your frames or decor will fit into your space well. Decide if you want major focal pieces or more of a streamline look of photos/decor equally spaced apart, that are the same sizes.

3. Make paper templates - This is the best way to save your walls from too many nail holes. Buy some kraft paper, or just tape printer paper together, and make a template for each wall collage item. It’s MUCH easier to move paper templates around on a wall, then the real thing.

The House of Smiths

5 Major Components of a Mortgage Approval

Leslie Ortega — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:59:36 +0000

Brought to you by our friend Shashank Shekhar:

Mortgage lenders approve borrowers for a loan, which is secured by real estate, based on a standard set of guidelines that are generally determined by the type of loan program.

Following are the main parts of a mortgage approval:

Debt-To-Income (DTI) Ratio -

A borrower’s DTI Ratio is a measurement of their income to monthly credit and housing liabilities.

The lower the DTI ratio for a borrower (more income in relation to monthly credit payments), the more confident the lender is about getting paid on time in the future based on the loan terms.

Loan-to-Value (LTV) -

Loan-to-Value, or LTV, is used by lenders when comparing the difference between the loan amount and a property’s value.

Certain loan programs require a borrower to invest a larger down payment, while some government loan programs were created to help buyers secure financing on a home with 96.5% to 100% LTV Ratios.

Credit -

Credit scores and history are used by lenders as a tool to determine the estimated risk associated with a borrower. The higher the credit score the better your chances of getting approved for a mortgage.

While lenders like to see multiple open lines of credit with a minimum of 24 months reporting history, some loan programs allow borrowers to use alternative forms of credit to qualify for a loan.

Property Types -

The type of property, and how you plan on occupying the residence, plays a major role in getting mortgage financing.

Due to some HOA restrictions, government lending mortgage insurance requirements and appraisal policies, it is important that your real estate agent understands the exact details and restrictions of your pre-approval letter before placing any offers on properties.

Mortgage Programs -

Whether you’re looking for 100% financing, low down payment options or want to roll the costs of upgrades into a rehab loan, each mortgage program has its own qualifying guidelines.

There are government insured loan programs, such as FHA, USDA and VA home loans, as well as conventional and jumbo financing.

A mortgage professional will consider your individual LTV, DTI, Credit and Property Type scenario to determine which loan program best fits your needs and goals.

Written by: Shashank Shekhar (NMLS ID 8176) is widely regarded as “San Francisco Bay Area’s #1 Mortgage Expert.” Shashank is the author of widely acclaimed books – “First Time Home Buying 101” and “Real Estate Unleashed” and highly rated mortgage blog http://www.LendingExpertBlog.com. He has been featured on Yahoo! News, Pen TV, KCBS Radio, SF Examiner and San Francisco Chronicle. He was recently ranked among top 25 most connected and “Top 40 Under 40″ most influential mortgage professionals in the country by National Mortgage Professional Magazine. He is currently the CEO of Arcus Lending – a mortgage lender based in San Jose, CA serving the entire state of California.

Shashank can be contacted via phone at 408.615.0655 or via email at Shashank@ArcusLending.com.

Photo Source: Mortgage - 401K

What Celebrity Would You Vote For?

Leslie Ortega — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:18:16 +0000

With Hollywood’s biggest awards night taking place this Sunday, we wanted to create this quick and fun little survey involving a few of the nominees. We’d love to get your votes on the celebrities with this easy 8 question survey!

Complete this survey and tell us which celebrity YOU would vote for!