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Blending rustic charm with modern style is one of those design trends that continues to impress. Whether you have a historic home in need of an updated aesthetic or, conversely, youre looking to introduce some countryside appeal to your contemporary abode, its a versatile look that lends itself to a variety of settings.

Here are a few of the key characteristics to design the modern-rustic home of your dreams.

Organic Textures

Organic textures are at the center of homes that fuse these two styles, especially raw wood. You can get creative juxtaposing different materials, like concrete walls and reclaimed wooden ceilings, that are effortlessly stylish when paired together. Stone is also commonly incorporated.

Open it Up

As is the case in most modern homes, large windows and an open floorplan are essential components that allow sunlight to fill the living space. It creates a sense of flow throughout the home while also bringing the earthy textures to life. Going a step further, the rustic look is all about keeping things exposed, so dont cover up those beautiful brick walls or wood beams”keep it open!

Natural Tones

Stick to a color palette thats simple with warm and natural tones when picking out dcor. Shades of tan or brown serve well to complement the materials. That doesnt mean it has to be boring, as a few carefully chosen pops of color, like orange or turquoise, can make the perfect accent and tie it all together.

Modern Furniture

As the name of the style suggests, youre going to want to go modern with the furniture. Chic leather chairs and metallic pendant lights maintain the ideal balance without compromising style or comfort.

By combining timeless materials with cutting-edge design, its to understand all the hype surrounding the modern-rustic movement.

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When selling a home, there are rules you must follow. If your house has mold, termites or there’s some old heating tank buried in the basement, and you know about it, you can’t pretend those problems don’t exist. Disclosure laws are in place, and require someone to disclose this important information before a sales contract can be signed.

While the disclosure laws differ from state to state, it’s pretty universal that fraudulently concealing any major problems is a no-no. That means if your foundation is crumbling or your basement floods every time it rains, you’ll most likely have to say something.

Some states don’t have a standard disclosure document but instead employ the“Caveat Emptor or “Buyer Beware rule, stating it’s the responsibility of the buyer to ascertain if there are any issues with the home.

Property disclosure plays a vital role in a real estate deal. Today, it is almost standard for written disclosures to be included in the contract, so when you sign one, be truthful. If not, you’re looking at costly fees and possibly a major lawsuit.

The first step is to confer with your real estate agent and/or attorney about what’s required to disclose. You can also check with your town’s city planning department about local ordinances and disclosures that can come into play.

Generally, you are only responsible for disclosing information that you personally know about. So, if there’s a condition you didn’t know about, and weren’t told about when you previously bought the house, it’s not necessary to hire an inspector to come look for things.

However, some states do require more investigation on your part. There are laws that require a homeowner to search for some of these major problems (especially mold and lead paint) whether you see problems or not.

If you’re in the market for a new home, you should always demand that a disclosure statement be included a part of the contract. This will protect you in the event something does pop up once you move in. While you can’t force someone to sign this, a simple threat that you’ll walk away will, more often than not, force a buyer’s hand.

If people do refuse, and you still want the house, it should send up a red flag that something might be wrong, and you should invest a little more in inspections and do your due diligence about the neighborhood. Better to be safe than sorry and make sure the home of your dreams doesn’t turn into a nightmare.

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If you dont pay your property tax bill, expect your lender to reach out.

Property taxes can be one of those homeownership costs that you dont think about when shopping for a home. But theyll hit you sometime during the buying process”there’s no hiding from them.

Property taxes vary by state, county and even city, and are generally based on a homes value. These taxes can be the main source of local government funding and can include other assessments, such as from a school or water district. They can also change annually if an assessment district raises its rates or if the value of your home changes.

Your local tax assessor can tell you the tax rate for your home. If your home is valued at $300,000 and your local tax rate is 1 percent, then your property taxes would be $3,000 annually. Other fees and assessments could be added to it.

New Jersey has the highest effective tax rate on residential property at 2.38 percent, while Hawaii has the lowest at .28 percent, according to the Tax Foundation.

How to Pay Your Property Taxes
However much your property taxes are, there are two ways to pay them.

An impound or escrow account is one way. This is set up by your mortgage lender when your loan is set up. The annual tax payment will be broken up into monthly payments that youll pay to your lender with your mortgage bill each month. The money for your property taxes is put into an escrow and the lender will pay your property taxes when theyre due. Some lenders also collect homeowner’s insurance payments this way. When your mortgage is paid off, youll be responsible for paying property taxes on your own.

You can also pay your taxes directly to your county tax collector or the appropriate government office that collects them.

Why Your Lender Cares
As part of your loan provisions, your lender will require you to pay property taxes when due. If you dont, it could consider that a default and foreclose on your property. Making all of your mortgage payments on time wont make up for missing a property tax payment, at least in theory.

Why does a lender care so much that you pay your property taxes on time? Because if theyre unpaid and the tax assessor (the county) puts a lien on the property, then the property cant be sold until the taxes are paid. Those unpaid property taxes hold more power over a lien than any other rights the lender has.

If the lender gets the property back through foreclosure, it will have to pay the unpaid property taxes” and thats a cost lenders dont want to bear.

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Homebuyers who have a better credit history over a longer stretch of time than a shorter one may benefit by a change to the credit-scoring model used by Experian.

Up until about 2016, mortgage lenders didnt use trended credit data and didnt differentiate between types of credit usage.

What is trended credit data?” It’s the information that credit bureaus gather on how consumers manage their credit card balances, and it goes beyond paying your credit card bills on time each month.

The updated model”Trended 3D”uses trended credit data to provide information on borrowers balances and credit lines over the past 24 months. Thats a longer view of consumers’ behavior than traditional credit reports provide.

Lenders prefer transactors who pay off their credit card balances every month over revolvers who carry balances from month to month. The change is that Trended 3D makes a distinction between those types of borrowers, giving transactors a credit-scoring advantage.

Mortgage lenders prefer borrowers who pay off their credit cards each month. If not, they like to at least see borrowers carry shrinking balances because theyre paying more than the minimum payment each month. What they dont want to see is someone making the minimum payment on their credit cards and to have credit balances growing.

The number of borrowers who are eligible for the lowest mortgage rates could increase through the use of trended credit data if theyve paid off their credit card balances each month for most of the past two years.

Fannie Mae started using Trended 3D in 2016 with its automated underwriting software. The government-backed home loans are used by more than 1,800 lenders. The extra data is supposed to give some borrowers more access to credit than they would have under the old scoring models.

Fannie Mae only uses trended credit data for conventional loans. It doesnt use that information when making approval recommendations for FHA-insured or VA-backed mortgages.

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If you’re looking to lower the interest rate on your existing loan, you may be thinking of refinancing your mortgage. And if you currently have an adjustable-rate mortgage, you may be considering switching gears entirely and taking advantage of a fixed-rate mortgage.

While an adjustable-rate mortgage typically has a low interest rate for the first several years, the interest rate will periodically adjust based on market conditions after that time period has elapsed. This can cause mortgage payments to change dramatically, sometimes with little or no warning.

Further, the rate at the beginning of an adjustable-rate mortgage repayment period is often lower than the rate on a fixed-rate mortgage. This makes them a viable option for homebuyers who plan to move in a few years”or for people who have limited funds for a mortgage now, but expect to have more income or lower expenses in the future.

Pros and Cons of Switching to a Fixed-Rate Mortgage
Some homeowners choose an adjustable-rate mortgage because of the initial low interest rate, but they’re often worried that their payments could skyrocket down the road. If you currently have an adjustable-rate mortgage and your interest rate is scheduled to adjust in the near future, it might make sense to refinance to a fixed-rate loan.

Refinancing your mortgage means that you would be replacing your old loan with a new one subject to different terms. In order to refinance your mortgage and switch to a fixed rate, you would need to meet your lenders equity and credit score requirements. The interest rate on a fixed-rate mortgage could be lower, but the repayment period might also be different, which could affect your monthly payments.

If you refinanced your mortgage, you would also have to pay closing costs. And it could take years for your lower monthly payments to offset the amount of the closing costs paid to obtain the new mortgage. Furthermore, some mortgage lenders charge prepayment penalties if borrowers refinance before the mortgage expires.

Depending on your lenders terms, the terms of a new fixed-rate mortgage and how much longer you stay in your house, you might save a lot of money, or little or none, in the long run.

Is Changing Mortgages the Right Move for You?
Switching from an adjustable- to a fixed-rate mortgage could help you avoid the uncertainty and stress of not knowing whether your mortgage payments will fluctuate and by how much, but there are additional costs to consider. Talk to your current lender, research fixed-rate mortgages and get specific figures so that you can decide if changing to a fixed-rate loan or sticking with an adjustable rate makes sense for you.

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

Published with permission from RISMedia.