We help people buy houses so they can create a home. Here we share more than mortgage finance tips (although we do that too). We aim to help you make your house a home through DIY projects, pet care, hosting tips, yard maintenance, and much more!
Tax Deductions When Selling
It’s that time of year when CPAs (certified public accountants) trade in week night family dinners for quick take out options… that’s right! Tax Time! Some people love it because they get a nice chunk of change back from Uncle Sam via a refund, whereas others who owe taxes, are less enthused. No matter the category you find yourself in, the goal tends to be the same; keep as much money in your pocket as possible! So, when I came across an article on Realtor.com that touted, “5 Sweet Tax Deductions When Selling Your Home”, I knew I had to share!
Dreams of Backyard Entertaining
I have the itch. I dream of the sweet taste of lemonade, the hearty smell of charcoal, and have visions of fireflies dancing in my head! I’m ready for summer but specifically for entertaining in my backyard—having friends over to enjoy good food and build memories—ahh I can’t wait! Who’s with me!? I thought today we could add to the itch by checking out some of the internet’s favorite backyard entertaining ideas.
Simple to Stunning: 100-Year-Old House
Many of the rooms and projects I share on our Simple to Stunning are smaller ones that can be done with little demo and often can be taken on by savvy DIY’ers, however, today I thought I would showcase a total overhaul done on a home by one of my home reno bloggers, John and Sherry from Young House Love. They have lots of great ideas and their blog is written in such an entertaining way that you will likely spend at least an hour looking through their many pages of projects!
Piggy Bank: 4 Things to Discuss Stephanie at Six Figures Under shared what I think is the greatest illustration about our thinking behind financial training; “If you were totally new to knitting, but wanted to learn how to make the cute washcloths your friend was always making, would you want her to give you a general overview and not bother you with specifics or would you want her to sit down with you and show you her secrets step-by-step?”. Genius, am I right? For so many of us, we use general terms and overviews without getting into the nitty gritty of finances. But the more knowledge and experience we can give our kids the more successful they are likely to be, this is especially true when it comes to their financial future.
Flooded Basement? Our corporate office, located in Frankfort, KY, has seen one of the wettest February’s on record. According to US Climate Data, the average precipitation is 3.07 inches for February but we have seen almost 10.5 inches of rain this past month, beating out the record of 9.84 inches established in 1884. Many near the Ohio River and other waterways are dealing with major flooding but for residents across the area, many are dealing with water in their basement.
How to Keep Your Home from Selling
When it comes to selling your house, one of the keys to making it happen is hiring the right listing agent. The agent that will work hard for you, keep you in the loop and advise you in the correct steps to take. But did you know that you can be working against your agent? Here are some things that, according to an article on Realtor.com, you could be doing that would keep your home from selling.
Home Maintenance Checklist: March
Man! We are busy, as a society! I often feel like I don’t have time to take a breath and then I look at friends of mine and think, “seriously, where do they find the time to____?”. More often than not, the blank in that question is filled in with some sort of deep cleaning or home maintenance activity. But let’s be honest with one another, to be a good homeowner and to save us money and headaches in the future we should be performing preventative maintenance on our homes. When I used to work in hotels, we made sure that all of the guestrooms received preventative maintenance on a consistent basis to catch maintenance issues before they happened. If hotels do that for the complete strangers that stay with them, shouldn’t we for our families?
Simple to Stunning: Bonus Room
Not too long ago we highlighted a pajama lounge in our simple to stunning section of the blog and as cozy as it sounds, dedicating a whole room in a family home for feeling cozy outside your bedroom or other living area can feel unpractical for many. John and Sherry on the Young House Love blog show off their use of their bonus room. Their bonus room, “crammed in a decent amount of fun, function, and a big ol’ spot to sit down and never get back up again. The couch in here is truly a vortex that’s impossible to resist.”
Manufactured Homes
Can’t seem to find a house to buy? You aren’t alone in this, the inventory is at a 20-year low, according to USA Today. Plus, in our area, homes priced between $120k and $200k seem to be flying off the market. For many families this creates a bit of a pickle because of the inventory they can’t find an existing home to buy but don’t have the amount of money required to build a traditional home. The solution may be found in manufactured and modular homes.
Buying with Student Loan Debt
We have spent the last few weeks talking about the consequences of student debt on our children’s futures. But if you are in a situation like mine where the decision was already made and you have accumulated a considerable amount of student debt, you are left wondering how that might limit your future. One might wonder, “could I buy a house someday despite my debt?” In fact, an article on Bankrate quotes the managing director of survey research and communications for NAR (National Association of Realtors), Jessica Lautz, “of those who don’t own a home, 83 percent of those say that student loan debt is holding them back from purchasing a home.”
