Uncategorized

It can be easy for the exterior of your home to look a bit worn after just a few years. Maintenance tasks that need to be taken care of could get put off due to time constraints or the fact that you don’t necessarily notice potential trouble areas every day. If you find yourself in this situation, consider these five outdoor fixes that’ll have your home in tip-top shape in no time:

Clean Your Gutters. Depending on where you live, your gutters may need a lot of help. Take a few minutes to do a quick overview of the condition of your gutters”cleaning them out is a great first step to making them more efficient in getting excess water away from your home. You should also make sure that all the connections are in good condition and that downspouts are secure. Finish up by spraying the gutters down with a quick power wash to restore them to their original color.

Dress Up Your Door. Your front door should look just like that”a front door. Make sure guests don’t have to guess where it is or fight their way through overgrown plants. Instead, dress up your front door and turn it into a welcoming entryway. Consider repainting it with a fresh coat of paint or hanging a seasonal wreath. You could also add some touches like a welcome mat or potted flowers underneath the doorbell. Dressing up your front door is an easy way to add appeal to your home.

Add Some Mulch. Is your yard looking tired? One of the best ways to instantly provide a fresh, polished look to your homes exterior is to add new mulch to flower beds and around trees. Mulch also offers plants moist insulation to keep them hydrated and helps deter weeds from popping up.

Spruce Up Your Mailbox. You may not think that people notice your mailbox, but it can be one of the first things guests see when they drive up to your home. Make sure your mailbox is secured in the ground and isn’t leaning to one side. Spruce it up by giving it a fresh coat of paint, personalizing it with your last name or adding some flowers around the bottom of the stand.

Install Window Boxes. Adding a few window boxes underneath your front windows is a great way to instantly add interest and natural beauty to your homes exterior. Choose from a wide variety of window box styles and colors that’ll complement your home. Plant flowers that’ll add pop like daisies, marigolds, or even wave petunias that’ll cascade over the side of the box.

Fixing up your homes exterior doesn’t have to become a week-long project. These and several other quick fixes could instantly add beauty to the outside of your home.

Source: Rachael Baihn/RISMedias Housecall

Published with permission from RISMedia.

In a typical real estate transaction, a warranty deed is used to transfer ownership. That means that the person selling the property owns it and has a right to sell it and that no third party has a lien against the property. A title search is conducted, and title insurance is purchased to protect the buyer.

A quitclaim deed transfers ownership of a property, but only what a person actually owns, if anything at all. If two people jointly own a property, one individual can transfer his or her ownership stake without affecting the co-owners stake. A quitclaim deed does not affect a mortgage on the property or the previous owners responsibility to pay it.

The document must include the location and description of the property, the names of the grantor and grantee, and the date of transfer. It needs to be signed by the appropriate parties and may need to be filed with the county clerk, depending on state law.

When Is a Quitclaim Deed Appropriate?
A quitclaim deed is an easy way to transfer property thats not being sold. For example, parents may want to transfer ownership of a house to a child or put the property in a living trust. A quitclaim deed can be used if someone owns a house, gets married, and wants to add the new spouses name to the deed, or if a couple who jointly own a home get divorced and one person will keep the house.

A quitclaim deed can also be used to correct a defect in the title. For example, a misspelled name, a missing signature, or a document that doesnt have information worded in a way required by state law can be amended using a quitclaim deed.

Why a Quitclaim Deed Should Not Be Used for a Sale
When property ownership is transferred with a quitclaim deed, no title search is performed and no title insurance is purchased. This is fine when property is being transferred between family members who know and trust each other and when no money is changing hands. A quitclaim deed is not appropriate for a sale because the buyer wouldnt know for sure that the seller even owned the property because no title search would be conducted. Someone could claim to own a house and sell it with a quitclaim deed, and the buyer could find out after handing over money that the seller didnt own the house in the first place.

Ask Questions Before You Sign Documents
A quitclaim deed is generally used to transfer property between family members without an exchange of funds or to correct a defect in the title. It should not be used in a real estate sale because of the risk to the buyer. Before you sign a quitclaim deed or any other document related to a real estate transaction, make sure you understand how it could affect your rights and interests. Consult a real estate attorney if you have any questions or concerns.

This article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as professional or legal advice.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

When you first moved into your home, the walls mightve been white and the floors covered in beige carpeting. Although this dcor choice is classic for some rentals and brand-new homes, you don’t have to live with the neutral colors. In fact, there are simple ways to transform your homes ambiance and add some flair with just a few creative changes.

Try Vintage Furniture
Your home’s ambiance is dependent on not only paint color and flooring choices, but also your dcor selections. The furniture is a focal point of any living room. Think outside the box, and shop around some vintage stores in your area. You can find upholstered chairs, loveseats and other items for incredibly low prices. The fabrics you’ll encounter will be distinct, too. Vintage items tend to have decades-old patterns that can improve a home’s ambiance with one quick glance.

Decorate Your Glass
Choose a window in a high-traffic area and make it a decorative focal point by adding a stained-glass film to it. You can use the film as a partial accent for the window or fully cover the glass. Installation is simple, and many kits come with everything you need, including a tool to help smooth out any bubbles. When you carefully apply it, the film should last for years. The sun shines through the colors and creates a dramatic effect across a room.

Go Green With Indoor Plants
Although you could try artificial plants indoors, they still won’t have the same effect as real plants. Add real plants to your home in nearly every room. There are so many varieties that work well in any shaded area that the choices are endless. Along with adding a distinct look, plants can provide better air quality in a home. If you water them regularly, they should flourish.

Light Your Rooms With Flair
It’s possible to make any room look fresh and inviting with the right lighting concept. Free up valuable floor space by installing wall sconces along a hallway, or add sconces on a living room wall as accent points.

In your kitchen, consider adding drop-down lamps that hang from your ceiling and culminate with a subtle lampshade and bulb. Add two or three of these lamps just above your kitchen island, for example. You’ll always have enough light to cook by while adding a creative look to your home. In fact, you might want to connect the kitchen and dining room on a decorative scale with matching hanging lamps. All these fixtures will draw attention and spark conversations among friends.

Shelve It
Increase storage space and make a decorative statement by installing floating shelves under staircases or along living room walls. Use them to store books, and add quirky collectibles. The shelves should appear both functional and intriguing.

Source: Mikkie Mills/RISMedias Housecall

Published with permission from RISMedia.

The suns ultraviolet rays can do more than cause sunburn and contribute to skin cancer. They can also damage your home, both outside and inside. Sunlight can cause siding, roofing, furniture, fabrics, and flooring to change and deteriorate over time.

How to Prevent Damage to Your Homes Exterior
A window can act like a magnifying glass and reflect sunlight, focusing it on a relatively small portion of a nearby houses siding. This can cause older vinyl siding to melt. If youve noticed that your siding has started to melt because of sunlight reflected off your neighbors windows, or if youre concerned about the possibility, planting trees or bushes around your house can protect the siding and increase your homes value. You can also replace your current siding with a newer model thats designed to resist damage from high temperatures.

The suns rays can cause roofing shingles to deteriorate, which can eventually lead to leaks. You can shield your roof from sun damage by applying a coating with high emissivity and reflectivity rates. It will create a waterproof barrier to draw heat away from the roof and keep the surface cooler.

How to Protect Belongings Inside Your Home
Sunlight streaming through windows can cause furniture, carpeting and artwork to gradually fade. You can protect your homes furnishings with curtains or shades, window film or UV-repelling sprays.

If you have leather furniture, a leather conditioner can help prevent fading and cracking. You can use a sealant to protect your wood furniture from discoloration. Choose a sealant thats appropriate for the type of wood used in your furniture.

Exposure to sunlight can also cause artwork to fade. Paintings on canvas can be treated with archival protection sprays, while framed art can be covered with museum-grade glass or UV-blocking acrylic.

Sunlight can damage hardwood floors and cause the color to change dramatically over time. If some areas are covered with furniture and rugs and others arent, the result can be a floor with a patchwork of different colors. You can protect your hardwood floors with pigment-based stains and finishes that contain UV inhibitors. Periodically rearranging rugs and furniture can also help prevent certain areas from becoming significantly discolored.

Protect Your Property From the Suns Effects
Many people dont realize how much damage sunlight can cause to their home until they notice serious problems and need to pay for repairs or replace furniture and other possessions. Fortunately, there are many simple but effective ways to protect your homes exterior and interior from the sun. Take action now to avoid expensive bills later.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Many people struggle to come up with tens of thousands of dollars for a down payment on a house. Permanent life insurance covers a policyholder for life, as long as premiums are paid on time. The more paid in premiums, the more cash value accumulates.

If you have a whole life, variable life or universal life insurance policy with a substantial cash value, you can access money through a loan, partial surrender (withdrawal), or full surrender and use it for a down payment to buy a house. Youll have to choose how to access funds based on whether you want to repay the money and whether you need to provide death benefits to your beneficiaries.

Loan
Life insurance companies often limit the percentage of a policys cash value that can be taken as a loan. If you borrow money from your insurance policy, itll still have some cash value and remain in effect.

The loan will have interest, but you can take as much or as little time as you want to pay it back. The amount of your death benefit will be reduced by the value of the loan. If you want to leave money to your loved ones after you are gone, you should repay the loan as quickly as possible to make sure your beneficiaries still receive death benefits.

You wont have to pay taxes on a loan from an insurance policy if the policy remains in force. If you surrender the policy or cant afford the premiums and interest, and the amount of the loan is greater than the amount of the premiums you paid, you may be taxed.

Withdrawal
If you take a withdrawal, youll partially surrender your life insurance policy. The amount of your death benefit will be reduced by the amount of the withdrawal. The insurance company will probably require you to keep at least a small percentage of cash value in the policy. You may have to pay surrender fees in the early years of the policy. If you withdraw more than you have paid in premiums, youll have to pay taxes.

Full Surrender
If you want to withdraw all your life insurance policys cash value and you dont need to leave insurance for your family after your death, you can choose a full surrender. You may have to pay surrender charges, plus taxes if the cash value of the policy is higher than the amount you paid in premiums.

Should You Use Life Insurance to Buy a House?
If you have a permanent life insurance policy, you may be able to use the cash value youve built up to achieve your dream of homeownership. Talk to your insurance agent or financial planner to make sure you understand the potential benefits, costs and risks.

This article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as professional or legal advice.

Published with permission from RISMedia.