Whether you are decorating your home for pleasure to pass the time, to beautify it since you just moved in (congratulations!) or getting ready to sell it, decorating can be overwhelming! You do have the option of hiring a staging company if you are getting ready to sell your home. If you do not want to do that in an effort to save some money, we will give you some decorating ideas.

You probably already have done it, but if you have not, be sure to look on the world wide web for ideas! There are a multitude of websites full of decorating ideas! There are also many people you can follow on social media who shares decorating tips often. Also, grab a decorating magazine if you have not already. Seeing decorations in action will help greatly.

Making areas cozy tends to bring comfort and peace to others. Having blankets on couches and coffee tables can help make things feel cozy. The blankets can be stylish and add a pop of color to the room.

Adding additional lighting is always a good idea and an easy way to decorate. When things are bright, it makes it seem like there is more space to enjoy! You can do this easily by adding stylish lamps and string lights around. Adding this additional lighting is especially important during the winter when it gets dark outside so early.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure you have some fun too! While we know it can be stressful and tedious, it can also be fun and give you a feeling of accomplishment! If there is a certain holiday coming up or a birthday, you can even decorate to celebrate. Let your creativity flow. There is no wrong way to decorate.

We have talked about credit scores many times in the past. Credit scores are important in today’s society – for more reasons than just your mortgage rate. It also plays a role in what you get approved for and how much money you need to put down. While it is true that the higher your credit score is, the easier it is for you to qualify. It does, however, not necessarily mean that if you have a low score, you will not get qualified. It may be a little more difficult and your mortgage rate might be higher in comparison.

We would recommend you find out what your credit score is in the months leading up to applying for a mortgage. This is helpful in case you need to work on improving your score – you will have time to do so before you apply.

A quick rundown of how credit scores are usually evaluated:

720 and above: excellent

690-719: good

630-689: fair

629 and below: poor

If you are looking to improve your credit score, we would recommend you make all payments on time. This includes your rent payment, credit card payments, and any other loan payments you might have.

Be sure to thoroughly go over your credit report! This is important. Mistakes can be made. If there is a mistake on your report, figure out how to fix it.

If you are in the poor or fair range, you might want to think about working with a credit counselor or loan officer. They will give you one on one support in order to improve your score.

Keep in mind that if you are unable to improve your credit score before applying for a mortgage, there is still hope for you. There are some specific loans that will work for you – do not lose hope.

With Generation Z (those born from the middle or later part of the 1990s and the early 2010s) coming of age and ready to buy a home for the first time, we want to help you feel safe, secure, and stress-free when it comes to being a first time homeowner! The whole process may seem overwhelming but it does not need to be! It also does not have to be a huge financial burden, either. We will help break it down for you so it seems simpler.

To start with, most people get very worried about their down payment. From multiple studies, the majority of people are not well informed with that amount of money they need for a down payment. The majority of people have grossly exaggerated the amount. The actual down payment median for a first time homeowner is approximately 7% of the total loan. So for a $150,000 mortgage, that would be $10,500. While that might seem like a “scary” amount, if you start saving now, you will see it is not an absurd amount of money. Take the saving process in baby steps. This stems from a 20% down myth that most people think is the solid truth. Because of this, most people (especially those in Generation Z) put off buying their first home until they have 20% down. While this will help them in the long run, it is not something that needs to be done. First time homeowners are usually blessed with low down payment options. This is something they should take advantage of.

Buying a home for the first time is a rather achievable and realistic goal for those in Generation Z. Those in this generation also have a strong economy and job market on their side. (The current unknown situation at hand is exactly that – unknown. We are unsure of how long it will last and want to show you being a first time homeowner at a young age is possible!)

Technology is a crazy thing! It is constantly evolving and changing. If you are wanting to “get with the time” and make your current or new home into a smart home, we have many ideas for you! From personal experience and speaking with others who have a smart home (or even half of a smart home), it can greatly improve your quality of life. With spending so much time at home – and nowadays, even more time – a safe home can help save time, energy, and even money!

The first step would be adding an Amazon Echo or Google Home to your home. There are many functions you can control through these devices! These functions include, but are not limited to: controlling the temperature in your home, changing music being played, turning lights on and off, and even adding notes or reminders to a list. Talk about convenience! In order to have the lights turn on and off, you do have to add certain smart light bulbs to your home. You can even get different color light bulbs as well – or get an option where the bulbs can change colors.

Adding a smart thermostat to your home is another feature that can add value to your home. This is also something that would be helpful if you have a rental home or are leaving for an extended period of time. You can even figure out how to have different temperatures in different areas of your home. Before you arrive home, you can adjust the temperature to your preference.

A smart doorbell can add safety and security to your home as well. If someone is at your front door, your doorbell will alert you that someone is there. Most smart doorbells have a camera associated with it so you will have that added safety measure as well.

Another added safety feature is adding a smart smoke and carbon monoxide detector. If any smoke or carbon monoxide is detected, you will be made aware and you will be able to keep safe.

As you can see, having a smart home can not only be considered to be fun but also add a shield of safety!

Whether you are new to owning your home or not, adding pet(s) to your home can be a trying time when they are furry. This is compounded if it is your first furry friend! Baby animals can be very curious and unexpectedly get into some trouble and accidentally cause damage.

Sometimes it is best to pretend your new furry friend is a child. Seriously, it makes things easier and sometimes much safer! If there is a certain area you do not want your furbaby to go, make sure it is restricted by a gate  or latches. Also be sure all important wires and cords are hidden and protected. That is something that can be not only dangerous but also an expensive fix! Some people also do not think of which plants are safe for furbabies and which are not. There are some plants that are highly toxic to pets. If you have any of those, be sure they are in a safe place.

If your new furbaby is hyper and has outbursts of running and jumping on furniture or appliances, be sure these items are secure! We would hate for something to be damaged simply from a crazy and fun playtime!

Some people do not think about checking every single are where there is an outdoor fence. Just because a fence is up, does not mean it is fully secure. It is your job to check and make sure that it is! It is also imperative that the yard is properly maintained so you can easily see if any snakes or other creatures happen to find their way in your yard. They can obviously cause danger to your pets.

Some of these tips are common sense but with the excitement of bringing a furbaby into your household, these things might not be thought about. If you fall into this category, though, congratulations! What a fun time you have ahead.

With many people wanting to make sure their income is coming from different sources, some people are looking into vacation homes as an investment and future income. While some people are using these vacation homes as a form of investment, others are simply using it for pure vacation or for something to look forward to after retirement. No matter what you are looking into it for, this is an important decision and large purchase! There are a few things to keep in mind when making this decision.

To being with, while this might be incredibly obvious, can you afford a vacation home? If you purchase this home, are you still saving enough money for retirement and other unforeseen emergencies or costs that may occur? (After all, life in 2020 has gone very different than most people could have even imagined.) Have you also looked at your other long-term financial goals and outstanding debts as a whole, as well? If your debt-to-income ratio is high, you may want to rethink purchasing a vacation home.

While you might like vacationing in a certain area, have you really looked into what it’s like to live there full time? And if you decided to ever rent this home out for financial reasons at a later point in time, have you looked into the rental scene? You might not be planning on renting it out now, but you never know what the future holds! Also, if you have not looked into local taxes and other local ordinances, we suggest you do that as well. If you do not like either of those two things, we suggest you think of a different area to purchase a vacation home in.

If it is the height of tourist season where this home is, we suggest you wait to purchase the home at a different time. This is for a few different reasons. First off, not as many homes will likely be available at this time due to the current owners wanting to make as much money as they can during busy season. If any repairs need to be done on the home, you will have plenty of time to do it in the slow season.

Whatever you plan to do, we want you to make sure you look into every avenue of it. Especially – what is the real reason you are wanting to purchase a vacation home?

There are some people who are not comfortable traveling at this time or simply cannot. If you are one of those people, you can still have a vacation at home. Or like the cool kids like to call it, a “staycation.” If you have kids and want to make it special and fun for them, we have some ideas for you! And if you have any other ideas, we would love to hear them!

As a kid, I remember loving to camp in the backyard! I know it might sound a silly, but it can be so much fun! Build a tent and campfire in your backyard yard. Be sure to get graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows…s’mores! If you do not want to sleep outside, that’s okay. I bet that kids would love to! You could also camp out in your living room. This might be a little more messy but the kids would have a lot of fun. You could turn some furniture and blankets into a tent! Eat your meals on a picnic blanket on the ground. It can be fun!

Another thing you could do, which may be fun either way, is to rearrange your furniture in the living room or your kids rooms. It would make you both feel like you are somewhere else!

You could also have a “theme” night with your kids. There are so many options! Each family member could pick the theme they want and plan that day/night to what would make them the most happy.

Another idea is to go somewhere new outside in nature! Simply type in “nature place” in your google maps to figure out somewhere that might be new and fun for you all.

As you can see, there are many options to make a staycation exciting and fun!

This is such a strange time to do anything in, we understand that and agree with you completely. But we are unable to put our life on hold and not have contact with anyone during this time. With that being said, a lot of people are moving during this strange time. While we are all trying to limit the amount of contact we have with other people, we cannot cut that off completely either. We have some ideas for you in order for you to feel safe and secure from other people’s germs.

When it comes to deciding how to make your move happen, you have a few options. The first is to do it all yourself. This is somewhat unlikely unless you have a minimal amount of items to move or have time on your side. It is, however, the safest option. While most people will not be able to opt for this, you then have the option of having some family and friends help you move or hire a moving company. If you decide to hire a moving company, you can ask what their new procedures are when it comes to safety precautions and spreading germs.

This might sound a little counterintuitive in a way, but we would recommend you deep clean your home before moving day. If you deep clean, you will then be preventing the amount of germs that will be moved into your new home. If you decide to hire a cleaning company for this, ask them what their procedures are when it pertains to limiting the spread. Deep cleaning and disinfecting also holds true when it comes to unpacking. It might actually be a good idea to disinfect again after your moving company or helping hands leave as well.

As long as you play things smart and are conscientious about who is helping you, all will be okay!

Rental properties can be excellent investments – especially at a time when having different sources of income is a good idea.

If you are new to rental properties, whether it is long term or short term, we will give you some ideas how to get the house ready!

To start, it might be common sense, but we want to remind you of the importance of a deep cleaning! This is above and beyond regular cleaning. Some ideas are: cleaning carpets, changing air filters, scrubbing doors and baseboards, cleaning behind and under furniture, cleaning air vents, etc. There are a lot of areas you might not think of to clean. A professional cleaning company will be very helpful in making sure everything is cleaning and sanitized.

Another tip is to inspect everything and anything! If you do not feel comfortable doing this, you can hire a professional who would be happy to do it. Everything in the home needs to be inspected and made sure it all works properly and in good shape. For example, does both the heating and cooling on the HVAC unit work? Does the hot water get hot? Does the refrigerator make ice and keep food cool and frozen? Is there mold anywhere that needs to be taken care of? Are all of the windows sealed properly? These are just a handful of items that need to be looked at.

It would be nice to spruce things up a bit! This can include: a fresh coat of paint, plant some flowers outside, update fixtures, etc. You do not have to spend a lot of money on this but any little bit would help.

One final tip is to make sure things in the home are safe! A fire extinguisher should be available somewhere, for example. Check to make sure the smoke detectors all work properly. Another thought is so change the locks.

Can you think of any other tips to make a home ready for renters?

With where the world is at right now, things in all areas of life are different, as we are sure you experience on a daily basis. Real estate is an area that has been affected big time! The demand for homes continues to skyrocket – especially with mortgages being at one of the lowest we have seen in quite some time.

If you are on the market to sell your home during this interesting time, we have some tips for you.

To start with, take tours virtual! Just like virtual learning and virtual meetings, tours can be made virtual very easily. You can have your walkthrough be a live 3-d recorded tour and the potential buyer does not even have to step inside! Have you seen one of these types of tours before? They are very neat!

Whether you are doing the tour in personal or virtual, staging your home is a very important part of the process. If you are opting for virtual tours, you can actually hire a company to virtual stage your home as well. Yes, you heard that right! There are professionals who can add decorations, pillows, art pieces, plants, etc. right into your virtual tour video.

With the extra time at home, you can also transform unused spaces or upgrade used areas. This might give potential buyers more ideas and ways they can utilize your beautiful home.

If you do decide to have potential buyers in your home, you can encourage people entering to take their shoes off and put on a pair of booties you provide for them. You can also offer sanitizer around the home. You can also mention to please try not to touch surfaces in the home. Before and after someone enters your home, you can be sure to clean and sanitize everything appropriately.

Although this is an uncertain time, it is also an exciting time for potential buyers and sellers!