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Just Keep Swimming…Your May Newsletter is Here!

May 1, 2020 by cdiez Leave a Comment

As we continue to self-quarantine at home, many of us might be feeling disconnected, lonely, and stir-crazy—all of which are perfectly normal feelings to have at this time. However, it’s important to remember that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Coronavirus numbers are beginning to stabilize as a result of social distancing, and California is just weeks away from modifying its stay-at-home orders.

So while it may be difficult, just know that we are all in this together. In the words of Dory from Finding Nemo, when life gets us down we must, “Just Keep Swimming…” until we cross the finish line together.

I also want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our real “lifebuoys” out there. Thank you to our healthcare workers, first responders, police officers, firefighters, grocery store workers, and all of the brave heroes on the frontline for serving and loving your communities during this critical time.

This month’s newsletter is dedicated to answering some common questions and concerns that sellers and buyers might have during this time. I am also sharing a fun DIY home project to keep you and your loved ones busy and entertained!

The coronavirus pandemic has brought much of the country to a screeching halt. But just because people are stuck at home, it doesn’t mean your home sale has to come to a screeching halt too. You can sell your home in the midst of this challenging time—as long as you’re safe.

Here are some precautions homeowners should take in order to sell their home safely during the COVID-19 crisis:

Embrace virtual showings: You don’t need a swarm of potential buyers walking in and out of your house; it’s not safe for you or them. Instead, have your real estate agent vet buyers and give them virtual tours of your home.

A recent survey from realtor.com found that, if given access to the right information and technology features, nearly ¼ of respondents (24 percent) would be willing to buy a home without seeing it in person. The number is even higher for younger homebuyers, at 29 percent.

But what information and tech features do buyers need to make a purchase? According to the survey, the features most important to would-be buyers when making a decision about buying a property remotely include:

A virtual tour of the home (61 percent)
Accurate, detailed listing information (58 percent)
Accurate, detailed neighborhood information (53 percent)
High-quality listing photos (51 percent)
A video walk-through with their real estate agent (39 percent)

Give me a call today to learn more about our virtual tours, professional photography, and 3D Matterport technology.

Practice safety measures for in-person showings: If you have a buyer who has already been vetted and is extremely interested in the property, they may want to see your home in person before writing an offer. Prior to allowing anyone into your home, make sure to thoroughly clean and disinfect all surfaces to protect potential buyers—and then make sure to do the same after the in-person tour to protect yourself and your family.
The coronavirus pandemic is changing the way people buy and sell homes. But with the right safety measures, there’s no reason it has to derail your home sale.

With social distancing in full swing, searching for a home in the traditional sense—including going to tour homes in person—is getting put on the back burner. But just because you can’t see as many homes in person, it doesn’t mean your home search has to suffer!

A recent article from realtor.com outlined tips for conducting a virtual house hunt that’s just as good as the real thing:

Learn how to read an online listing and what’s hiding: You don’t want to waste your time virtually touring homes that aren’t going to be the right fit. When going through a listing, look for red flags that might indicate that a listing isn’t what it seems—and isn’t worth your time (for example, a complete lack of photos of the home’s interior or photos that appear to be stretched out to make a room appear bigger). It’s also important to stick to your original home search criteria whether that applies to living in a particular neighborhood and location or requiring a certain bed/bath count—it can be easy to venture off course to other neighborhoods and homes with just a click of a button, but sticking to your criteria is key.

Ask your real estate agent to go into detail during virtual tours: Thanks to technology like Zoom or FaceTime, your agent can take you on a virtual tour of potential properties. But video doesn’t catch all the small details you would catch if you were physically in the space (like the finishes on cabinets, or crown molding on the ceiling)—so make sure to ask your agent to talk you through those details.

Check out the neighborhood: There are a ton of interactive map tools and neighborhood guides on the internet that will give you insight into a potential home’s neighborhood. Ask your agent to send detailed neighborhood reports and information.

Bottom line? With a little creativity, technology, and patience, there’s no reason your virtual home search can’t be just as effective as a traditional search!

The kitchen has (not surprisingly) become one of the most popular areas in our homes these days…So much so that our fridge may see us more times a day than the outside world…All jokes aside, you might consider using this extra time at home as an opportunity to add that extra “wow” factor to your kitchen. The best part? These DIY home renovation ideas don’t require a lot of time or money:

Build a custom copper rack for your pots and pans: Easy and inexpensive, a custom copper rack for your pots and pans is a great way to add a stylish edge to your kitchen. Just hang a copper pipe from your wall or ceiling, hang your pots and pans with inexpensive hooks, and you have a unique focal feature that instantly elevates your kitchen design. Click here for DIY inspiration. If you’d rather leave it to the pros, there are lots of affordable, ready to assemble options like this elegant Copper Rack from Home Depot.

Add a new light fixture above your kitchen table: If you have a kitchen table, switching out the light fixture above the table can instantly breathe new life into the space, making your kitchen feel more modern and on-trend. Pinterest has light fixture ideas for just about any style of kitchen. Click here to find one that matches the design and look of your kitchen.

Add crown molding to cabinets: Adding crown molding to the tops of your cabinets accomplishes a few different goals. It adds visual interest, makes the cabinets look more expensive, and also draws the eye upward, making cabinets look taller. Check out this DIY tutorial here.

Small changes to your kitchen can make a big impact on your home—and with a little time and effort, you can easily make those changes in a single weekend.

Are you a Renter? It May be Time to Own Your Home.

August 15, 2019 by cdiez Leave a Comment

In the Sacramento Bee, Vincent Moleski covers in detail rental costs across Sacramento and surrounding areas. I know for myself when I rented, I would check to see what my rent could buy me as far as getting a home and having a mortgage. If you have not checked lately, it may be that time. Read on as rent prices escalate depending on area.

Rents in Sacramento grew moderately in the past year, outpacing national trends with a year-over-year growth rate of 4.1 percent and a month-over-month growth rate of two-tenths of a percent, bringing the city’s average rent to $1,401, according to RentCafe’s most recent monthly report.

RentCafe, an online real estate service and apartment listing marketplace, analyzed nationwide housing data from the month of July using the Yardi Matrix and found that average rents in Sacramento grew faster in the last year than the U.S. average, although rent in the California capital is still cheaper.

Nationwide, the average monthly cost of rent was $1,469 as of July, an increase of 3.4 percent in the last year — a bit under Sacramento’s growth rate — and 0.2 percent in the last month, which matched Sacramento’s month-over-month growth rate, according to the report.

Some pricey Sacramento suburbs saw sharp rent increases in the last month, such as Folsom — which saw the sharpest monthly price spike in the area — where the average monthly rent of $1,873 increased by 1.5 percent, Rocklin, where the average monthly rent of $1,718 increased by 1.2 percent and Roseville, where the average monthly rent of $1,790 increased by 0.9 percent, according to RentCafe.

Elk Grove’s rent costs averaged $1,753 and grew a full percentage point in the past month, while Rancho Cordova’s rent costs averaged $1,396 and grew 0.6 percent in the past month, according to the report.

Other suburbs remained relatively affordable. Rents in Carmichael average $1,205 and grew by 0.5 percent in the last month, while rents in Citrus Heights average $1,342 and grew by 0.2 percent in the last month and rents in Fair Oaks average $1,440 and grew 0.3 percent in the last month, according to RentCafe.

Davis is the most expensive place in the state to rent in, according to RentCafe, and although housing costs increased by just $2 in the past month, the average monthly rent in the Yolo County city is $2,169 — though that still beats out Bay Area prices.

San Francisco, one of the most expensive cities in the country, has an average monthly rent of $3,706, an increase of fourth-tenths of a percent from last month, while in San Jose renters can expect to pay $2,792 per month, according to the report. The only place more expensive than San Francisco is Manhattan, where renters pay $4,222 monthly on average.

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How to Make your Home Smarter with these Smart Home Appliances

July 23, 2019 by cdiez Leave a Comment

In 2019, there are a lot of technology advances that make the home work just a little bit smarter. We have come along ways since the clapper came to turn our lights on and off.

James Stevenson gives us some highlights on making our home just a little bit smarter.

With technology developing, we now have so many gadgets and appliances which we can call ‘smart.’ The next step is to modernize our homes in the same style and make our lives that much easier.

A smart home is a place where appliances, lights, gadgets, security, – and pretty much whatever else you want – are all connected to one another. You can also control them remotely using a simple app. This kind of home gives owners comfort, security, and convenience. It may sound confusing. That is why you should read on to get the image of your ideal Smart Home.

Getting a smart system for your home can save time, money, and energy. Most homes aren’t built with these appliances, though. The easiest thing to do is to introduce these appliances into an already made home. Let’s see which devices today have their ‘smart’ counterparts.

Hubs

If you want your doors to unlock, your lights to turn on, and your kettle to start working the moment you approach your house, this is the device for you.

A smart home hub is the first step towards a smart home and the heart of the network. It is a hardware or software that connects devices in a house and controls communication among them. Plus, it enables the user to control the entire place by a single app.

Another useful feature is that you can control your devices while you are away from home via this device so, you can go out anytime you want.

Speakers

Imagine the world where you don’t have to get up to play music, find the remote, and turn on the lights. Now you can say a command, and have it done in an instant.

Smart speakers are wireless speakers with voice-control. They tend to have artificial intelligence built into them. They are usually found in voice-controlled personal assistants.

This gadget has many applications, playing music being just the tip of the iceberg. You may set alarms, and have your questions answered, for example. It is able to interact with other devices in the house, making the possibilities truly endless. So amazing!

Lighting

Convenience, comfort, and looking cool are all connected by this device. Smart lighting consists of light bulbs, all connected to adjacent ones by a network, and controlled by a hub.

You manage smart lighting with a simple app. It allows you to change the brightness of the bulbs, and even the color if your light bulbs have LED lights. Now you can have the perfect lighting for every situation and switching between them is a tap of your finger away.

Some of these systems may also have useful features, such as dimming and motion detection.

Plugs

This is the perfect device to ‘smartify’ your non-smart appliances. It is an excellent investment, and a significant first step towards a smart home.

A smart plug’s function is to allow remote control over whichever appliance you have plugged into it. For instance, you may check on your oven from across town if you get anxious about leaving it on.

Besides letting you manage your devices, you get the option of creating a schedule. Wave the worrying away and get one today!

Doorbells

Now you don’t have to peer through the spy hole to see who is ringing your doorbell. This device’s first concern is safety, and convenience comes as a strong second.

You will get a notification to your smartphone when somebody is at your door. It has a camera and sends a live video recording of your visitor. Also, you can have a two-way conversation via a smart doorbell.

Sensors

Getting a smart sensor for your home means not getting up on every sound you hear at night. It also means not having to hire a house-sitter for your vacation. Safety meets convenience with this handy new device.

Smart sensors have systems which perform specific actions as a response to environmental input. They can notify you about an uninvited intruder, about a window or a door that is accidentally open, and to turn on the lights when you enter the room.

The main point of all these devices is to make your life easier. You can definitely live without them, but you don’t have to anymore. There are more and more affordable options. You don’t need to buy every single one, either – but it will be hard to choose with so many fantastic options!

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Mistakes Buyers Make When Searching for Their First Home, and How to Avoid Them

July 15, 2019 by cdiez Leave a Comment

Buying your first home can be a very exciting time. There is something about not having to pay rent anymore. Sometimes, with all of the different things going through a home buyers mind, we can make a mistake. Jaymi Naciri covers some of the mistakes that can be made and offers tips to avoid them.

Many starter-home purchases are driven primarily by price, which is understandable. But, there are so many other considerations involved in finding the right place, like square footage and location, to name just a few of the most consequential.

When looking for your first home, it’s critical to keep the most important considerations in mind so you don’t find yourself going down a real estate rabbit hole. Remember these common buyer mistakes to keep you on track.

Buyer mistake No. 1: Being seduced by the pretty stuff

Fresh paint, pretty throw pillows, nice bedding. They’re all decoration, and decoration can be dangerous for homebuyers. Don’t let it distract you from the house itself. How’s the floorplan? Does it work for your family? Is there enough square footage? Does the location make sense? These are among the factors that should be driving your purchase.

Buyer mistake No. 2: Searching for a home that fits your furniture

How many times have you heard a buyer on House Hunters say, “Our furniture won’t fit in here.” When you’re buying a property that costs a couple hundred thousand dollars, it’s silly to hold back over a five-year-old, $1,000 couch.

Buyer mistake No. 3: Getting too hung up on price

It’s easy to get a number stuck in your head and refuse to give up, but that figure might not be doable depending on your local real estate market. Raising your price range by $10,000 may vastly increase the available homes and may only mean another $50 per month. That’s one lunch out you can forgo to get what you really want.

Buyer mistake No. 4: Not trusting your gut

The price is right, the location is right, and the home has the right number of bedrooms and baths. But it just doesn’t feel right. You may not be able to put your finger on what it is that’s bothering you about a house, but if something’s nagging at you now, imagine what it will be like to live there. It could be your gut is trying to tell you something.

Buyer mistake No. 5: Ignoring the neighborhood

The hope is that any major problems with the home you’re looking at will show up on an inspection report, but other issues could pop up to derail your purchase or kill your enjoyment of the home once it belongs to you. A lot of the time, that has to do with the neighborhood.

That could mean a commercial area too close to home, a rundown house across the street, or some zoning changes that are bringing a ton of new multi-family units to the area and increasing traffic. Whatever it is that’s bothering you, think it through. You can always fix your home, but you can’t change the neighborhood.

Buyer mistake No. 6: Not thinking long term

Maybe you think you’ll only be in this “starter home” for two years, and, therefore, the neighborhood isn’t all that important. As long as the house meets your approval, you’re good, right? According to a study by ValuePenguin, “the median duration of homeownership in the U.S. is 13.3 years.” That varies depending on the location, however, of the 20 largest U.S. cities studied, the lowest median was 9.7 years in Denver.

Does that mean you’ll stay in this home for 10 years or more? Who knows. But if you’re a young couple planning to have kids in the next three-to-five years, let’s say, it wouldn’t hurt to make sure the home you buy now can accommodate that lifestyle change.

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See How 1 Kitchen Style Works With 5 Types of Wood

June 5, 2019 by cdiez Leave a Comment

Barbara Milner, a Houzz contributor, shows us just how good a kitchen can look.

If you’re considering the contemporary style for your kitchen, one challenge you may face is how to make it cozy. Choosing wood cabinets is one wonderful way to add warmth.

These five kitchens are contemporary, a design style characterized by clean lines, a lack of adornment and, often, a neutral color scheme. It’s the second most popular style for remodeled kitchens, according to Houzz research. Each kitchen shows a different type of wood cabinetry. Which material would you choose for your kitchen?

1. Flat-Cut Red Oak on Island and Upper Wall Cabinets

Red oak is a popular hardwood in North America and a dominant species in U.S. forests. It has a distinctive grain and gets its name from the tree’s leaf color in the fall (which explains why, despite the name, this wood is not always red in color). It’s considered a timeless classic and used in furniture, flooring, cabinetry and architectural millwork.

“Flat cut” refers to the way the wood in this kitchen was cut. This method creates a cathedral pattern, sometimes called peaks, on the face of the board.

How it’s used. Designer Lisa Lev used flat-cut red oak on the kitchen island, upper wall cabinets and tall pantry cabinet. The gables — or sides of the cabinets — are also red oak and nicely frame the white cabinets. The island’s matching red oak toe kick creates a floating effect and a soft transition to the engineered hickory flooring. Lev’s clients did not want island stools, so she created built-in shelving for kids’ books instead.

Supporting elements. Lev used white to balance the striking red oak with engineered quartz countertops (Organic White by Caesarstone). They have a clean, modern aesthetic that doesn’t compete with the wood.

Flat-front white cabinets and a classic white hexagon tile backsplash keep the spotlight on the wood’s grain pattern. A slim three-quarter-inch countertop profile helps keep costs down, while simple stainless steel cabinet pulls quietly support the design. Vintage teak chairs (see the previous photo) add more wood warmth, while yellow pendant lights introduce a cheery note.

Why it works. The red oak’s beautiful flat-cut grain brings an abundance of natural texture to this contemporary space, creating an atmosphere that’s at once modern and organic.

Durability. Red oak is strong and resilient. Its rating on the Janka scale — a measure of wood’s hardness — is 1,290, which is considered medium. Red oak is a readily available species and the benchmark against which all other wood species are compared.

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Designing a Kitchen That Will Sell Your House For You

May 29, 2019 by cdiez Leave a Comment

Vincent Stokes, while writing for Realty Times, gives us that extra spark to design an even better looking kitchen area.

The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in a house when it comes to home value and appealing to buyers while trying to sell. For this reason, it’s important to pay special attention to your kitchen when preparing a house to sell or building a house for the first time. The following is a guide for how to build a modern, desirable kitchen that will work to sell your house for you.

Keep It Clean

Because the kitchen is a room that sees significant use, it can get grimy and worn down easily. Upkeep your kitchen in order to upkeep its value. When it does come time to sell, make it a point to deep clean it. Polish all surfaces and metal, including countertops and faucets. Go at tile to clean out grout. Keep a kitchen clean and well-maintained and it will be a major asset when you do go to sell the house.

Appliances

All appliances should be energy-efficient because energy efficiency is desired in modern homes. This is not only because it is good for the environment but also because it saves money over time. Look for appliances with Energy Star labels when shopping and consider estimated average yearly operating costs. Many modern kitchen designs also hide appliances, so a design incorporating that may be worth considering as well. Consider brand too, because at least in certain areas, brands that are considered too thrifty can bring down the perceived value of the property.

Cabinets

Cabinets are another major item in the kitchen that buyers pay attention to. Their color and how well they blend into the rest of the kitchen are important, as is their size. It is amazing what a difference painting your cabinets can make. You can undertake this project yourself or hire a professional to do it. Another thing you can do is replace cabinet handles, which is a smaller upgrade but will still make them look better.

Colors

There are a number of color schemes you can choose for your kitchen. You can also change those colors anytime you want with paint, for the most part. White and gray is in right now, as is wood and more natural-looking colors and surfaces. You can also get more creative and use brighter colors such as teal or yellow. Most colors can work in the right combination, but at the end of the day, more neutral colors are easier to sell down the road.

Lighting

Lighting is also important to consider. Get modern light fixtures that will look good with the rest of the kitchen and provide strong lighting throughout the room. Ensure fixtures use energy-efficient bulbs. Remove broken or dim bulbs and replace them with new ones. Under cabinet lighting can be a good investment as it is relatively inexpensive and provides more light to workspaces.

Consider Utility

The kitchen is going to be a major place to entertain and work in most homes. For this reason, it needs to be designed with utility in mind. Most people nowadays prefer kitchens with plenty of space, both in general and on the counters. Islands are usually a good idea to put in because they give great places for preparation or entertaining as well as provide additional countertop space. Whether you are preparing a large dinner for the holidays or even if you skip lunch, you want a kitchen that will work with you.

Worth It To Remodel?

If you are considering remodeling your house, whether to sell or just to update, remodeling your kitchen is always an option. As with any addition to a property, look at it from the perspective of a cost-benefit analysis. Don’t pour more money into a remodel than you expect it will increase the value of the home by, typically around 6% of the home’s value. When remodeling your kitchen, you always want to find the right people for the job. Get referrals and quotes before making a final decision.

You are presented with a lot of options when designing a kitchen. Break it down to each individual aspect so you don’t get overwhelmed and go in with a grand plan. You will end up with a gorgeous kitchen that will be the envy of buyers.

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