Create Cool Summer Spaces With Awnings

If you have any kind of outdoor space, the chances are good that it’s the perfect place to hang out in only limited windows throughout the year. Although you probably imagined something like a backyard oasis when you chose your home, the reality is a little different when the sun gets a bit too bright and bears down a little extra enthusiastically.

That’s ok! There’s a solution for this very problem, and it’s a simple fix that can help transform that hot, bright patio or deck into a truly flexible outdoor haven. That’s right, it’s time to consider adding an awning to your home.

What Is an Awning?

Awnings were very popular features of homes prior to widespread air conditioning systems, and even persisted after central air was common to help shade windows and porches. You still see them as standard features on recreational vehicles, but they’re also coming back as important parts of a home’s exterior.

These large shades, made of materials like durable cloth or aluminum, are simple to install, relatively inexpensive, and create pools of shade immediately. Unlike trying to grow trees for shade, which can take years and years, or installing temporary shades like sail shades, awnings are fast and permanent solutions to your heat puddle woes.

In the past, they only came as fixed units, so once installed, they were where they were, even if you needed there to be more sunlight in the shaded space at certain times of the year. Today, however, you can choose between fixed awnings and retractable awnings, and even awnings that have remote controls to help you open and close them whenever you feel like it.

Retractable Awnings Versus Fixed Awnings

Because there are so many awning types available today, it can be hard to decide which one is ideal for your situation. Perhaps the most important question you need to ask yourself is if you’d be better off with a retractable awning or a fixed awning. Both have their pros and cons.

Fixed awnings are generally very sturdy, and can be less expensive because of the lack of additional mechanisms required to make them open and close. They don’t need a lot of maintenance because they have no moving parts, so besides the occasional wash, they mostly just hang around. Fixed awnings are great for patios that you’d like to shade year-round, or for places like above windows or doors that let far too much sun into your home.

Retractable awnings, on the other hand, can be an important part of your home’s climate management, even if they also double as shades for entertainment spaces. Because they can retract, you can close these awnings when the weather starts to cool off to allow the sun to help warm your home through passive solar heating. Even if you don’t need the thermal help, they can be closed before bad storms or heavy snows, leaving you with one less thing to worry about.

Freestanding Awnings Offer Flexible Solutions

If you’re not quite sure where you want your awning installed, or that you want it installed on your home at all, a freestanding awning might be the right solution for you. They’re great for backyards and pool areas, creating a lot of shade exactly where you need it, without being dependent on the location of a nearby wall.

Like building-mounted awnings, freestanding awnings come in a variety of materials, designs, and with retractable or fixed options. The only difference is that instead of being mounted on a building, they’re mounted on top of legs, much like a pop-up canopy. There is some risk with this design of wind damage, so if you’re in a windy area, make sure to choose one rated for high wind speeds and mount it securely to the ground.

Need Help Finding Your Perfect Awning?

It can be hard to choose the right awning for your home, but you don’t have to do it alone. Just reach out to your HomeKeepr community for the very best awning installers in your area. Joining HomeKeepr is absolutely free, so why not give it a try and see what kind of awning solutions are available in your area?

 

How Does a HELOC Work?

With home values having risen dramatically in the last few years, many homeowners are looking for ways to tap their equity without selling their home or refinancing their primary mortgage. If your home has gained significant value since you purchased it, or you’ve just paid so much of the mortgage down that you’ve got ample equity to work with, a second mortgage on your home might make sense.

Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOCs) are popular options for homeowners in this very situation. They’re flexible loans that give you a lot of options and time to decide what you want to do with your equity, but they can also be a bit confusing because they don’t work like a more traditional home loan.

HELOCs Are Lines of Credit

The most important thing to keep in mind when it comes to a HELOC is that, unlike a traditional home equity loan, HELOCs are lines of credit. That means that they work much more like a credit card than a mortgage. You’re approved for a line of credit that represents the maximum amount of money you can charge to your HELOC (just like with a credit card), and your payments are based on how much of that line of credit you’ve used.

If you max out your HELOC, you can pay it down and charge again, just like with a credit card. Unlike a credit card, however, your home is being used as the security for this loan, so if you get in over your head, your home is at risk of foreclosure. So you must be very careful with this particular kind of credit line.

HELOCs Have Two Separate Loan Periods

HELOCs start out their lives as open lines of credit, allowing you to charge or pay off as much as you wish at any given time. You’re usually expected to make at least an interest payment each month, but beyond that, you can charge a lot or a little and only pay based on the percentage of the credit line you’ve utilized. This is known as the “draw” period.

This period of the HELOC, where it functions as a line of credit, is usually about 10 years, but can be more or less, depending on the loan you take out. Immediately following this period, your HELOC becomes a set loan, and you can no longer charge anything else to the line of credit.

In the repayment period, your HELOC becomes much more like a traditional second mortgage, with a payment that’s based on the amount of credit you ultimately used during the draw period. From here on, your payment is more or less fixed, but can vary if you have an adjustable rate loan. The repayment period is usually about 20 years, but, again, can be different based on your agreement with your bank.

There is often a balloon payment due at the end of the repayment period, so if this is a concern for you, make sure that your loan either will fully amortize or that you’re paying extra each month to ensure your last payment takes your note to a zero balance.

HELOC Requirements

Like other home equity loans, you’ll need to be able to qualify for a HELOC with a reasonable credit score (ask your lender for specifics), a debt-to-income ratio of about 40% or below, and a high amount of home equity. Most lenders won’t lend more than about 85% of your home’s equity back to you, in case of default.

Of course, there are exceptions to all of these rules of thumb, so it’s very important to consult with multiple lenders before you make your final decision on who will be servicing your HELOC. You’ll also need an appraisal to assess the current value of your home, as well as minimal closing paperwork to finalize and record the loan.

Ready to Find Your HELOC Lender?

There’s no better place to look than HomeKeepr. Not only are all the best mortgage lenders here, they’re also coming to you with recommendations from the people you trust most. Just ask your community for their favorite lenders and you’ll be ready to start your HELOC adventure!

 

Is Your Smart Home Spying on You?

Once upon a time, smart home devices required dedicated hubs and a unique kind of wireless network to operate their various lights, sensors, and switches. With the popularity of digital assistants such as Alexa, Siri, and the Google Assistant, though, it was only a matter of time before they became a dominant force in smart home technology. While dedicated device hubs still exist, a significant portion of smart home devices are now designed and marketed to work with popular digital assistants and devices such as the Google Home and Amazon Echo.

This brings a considerable amount of convenience to smart homes, since instead of having to use control apps or other means to interact with hubs you can simply ask Google or Alexa to do what you want to do. Some people consider this problematic, however; after all, just how much are Google and Alexa listening to you? Is your smart home spying on you without your knowledge? Let’s find out.

Your Home Has Ears

Devices such as the Google Home and Echo can do a lot of things, but their general design is kind of simple; they are essentially internet-connected speakers with microphones. This means that they could theoretically listen to anything that you say, and given the way that they function, they are actually listening all of the time. The devices passively listen for their “wake words”, the “Hey Google” or “Alexa!” that activate their features and get them ready to receive instructions.

This leads some people to wonder whether these devices are spying on them, listening to conversations for words or phrases that could then be used for marketing or more sinister purposes. This ranges from people who think that the devices are building targeted ads off of the things that they say, to those who believe that the devices record what you say and turn incriminating speech over to the police or government. None of this is true, but that doesn’t mean that some of it couldn’t come to pass in the future. It also doesn’t mean that there aren’t some other potentially problematic activities going on.

Is Your Smart Home Spying?

Having a computer process the things that you say and convert them into marketing (or flag them as “problematic” and turn them over to some sinister government agency) is programmatically intensive. That’s why digital assistants primarily use wake words to activate their language processing; it’s much easier to listen for a few specific words before diving deep into language processing. The problem is that if the assistant hears something close enough to its wake word, then it will start recording for processing even if you didn’t actually try to engage the device, and that recording can pick up background conversations as well.

There is some concern that certain patents and algorithm updates could result in more targeted use of recorded data, allowing companies to pick out keywords from discussions for marketing purposes. It’s worth noting that not all patents actually make it into commercial products, especially given the spotlight that’s being shined on data leaks and consumer privacy in recent years. While these patents definitely show that Amazon and other companies have considered how this sort of data harvesting would work, the sort of large-scale harvesting for marketing purposes that some people fear is (at least currently) not actively out in the wild on these devices.

Smart Home Security

If you’re concerned about the security of your smart home and how safe you are from being spied on by the devices you use, HomeKeepr can help. Home electronics pros, contractors with smart home experience, and other professionals can help you find just the right devices and sensors to put your fears at ease. Creating a HomeKeepr account is free, so sign up today and get connected with the pros that will keep you and your smart home safe.

 

Preserving the Charm of Historical Homes

When you’re looking for a house, or even making decisions about the one you already own, there’s a lot to be said for leaving things be. Sure, there are some horrific things that history gave us that should be forgotten forever, but there are also historical features that are not only charming and quirky, but sought-after by buyers. These days, getting a house ready for sale doesn’t mean having to get rid of everything that makes that house interesting.

Preserving a Home’s Character and History

It’s not unusual to need to do some kind of updates to a home. No matter how cool the mid-century modern bathroom is in your MCM ranch, or how original the kitchen in your Victorian, sometimes change is inevitable. For example, you might need to make these spaces more accessible, or update the plumbing or electrical, requiring extensive changes.

But you can still update and preserve a home at the same time by making careful choices that make sense with the home’s history. Choosing replacement materials that are close to what would be accurate for that bathroom that needs a walk-in shower, or refitting a new kitchen with extensive nods to its period, are common ways to handle these situations. It can help complete the illusion by repurposing as many of the original elements as possible, which also keeps more trash out of the landfill. One notable exception to the rule is if your materials are considered hazardous, like flooring made with asbestos (consult with a remediator on how to legally and safely remove it in your state).

Do Buyers Want Pink Bathrooms?

Yes! Although HGTV would have you believe that the entire world wants homes that are black, white, and gray, the truth is a lot different than that. After touring homes that have been completely “grayed out,” having that cool retro bathroom or deeply detailed wooden trim is actually a point in your favor with many buyers. Your house can stand apart from the crowd, simply by being itself. There’s no amount of sterilization that can make an old house a new one, but you can sterilize the heart and history out of a home very quickly and easily by trying to turn your home into something that it isn’t.

Buyers do pick up on that in homes that have been way overdone. They never quite feel right. When people walk into a house expecting to see wooden floors or chrome plating because it reminds them so much of their grandmother’s house, and what they get is a generic house that looks like 10 others that are currently under construction, it’s a big letdown.

Preservation Also Saves Money

Not only does preserving as many of the cool features of your home as possible keep more construction waste out of landfills and help your home stand out from the crowd, it also keeps more money in your pocket. Things like Formica counters and tile floors never really go out of style, nor do good quality lighting, brick, hardwood flooring, wooden doors, or hundreds of other sturdy materials that you find in older homes.

Everyone who tours your home will have something to say about every material in it, no matter what you choose, so you might as well do yourself a favor and keep all the things that make your house your home. It’ll save you money and draw in new buyers who are looking for something beyond the boring gray of today’s real estate market.

Who Can You Call for Help?

When it comes to a historical rehabilitation, there are plenty of people who can be called in to help get the ball rolling. From general contractors who help preserve historic homes, to electricians who specifically focus on older structures, and even window installers who can upgrade the efficiency of your home without changing the look of it, there’s an army of people to consult.

And, lucky for you, you can find them all in the HomeKeepr community! When you ask for recommendations, make sure you specify that you’d like an older home specialist who can help bring back your home’s period shine without sacrificing too much of it to the aesthetic of the hour.

 

What Is a SEER Rating?

With the cost of heating and cooling a home throughout the year, homeowners want to have the most efficient HVAC units in their home that they can afford. Asking for recommendations for a specific unit can bring about a wide range of different answers, though. Those who are in the market for a new HVAC unit need a way to tell just how efficient different units are beyond all of the hype. That’s where SEER ratings come in.

An HVAC unit’s SEER rating should be one of the most important factors you consider when trying to decide on a model. Unfortunately, if you don’t really know what a SEER rating is or how it’s used, the rating can be kind of confusing. To help, here’s a basic rundown of what SEER ratings are, how they’re used, and where you can turn to get more information.

SEER Ratings Explained

First things first: SEER stands for “Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio” and is one of the details provided on those big yellow “EnergyGuide” stickers that you’ll see on things like air conditioners, heaters, and HVAC units. It’s a ratio that compares the output of the unit over the course of an average season divided by the average energy used during that same season. This provides you with an idea of how cost-effective using the unit will be since the ratio sums up how much energy it will take to keep your home comfortable for an entire season.

It’s important to keep in mind that the rating represents the unit’s maximum potential efficiency; your actual experience may be (and likely will be) at least somewhat less than that potential based on weather conditions and other factors such as routine maintenance. Even with that in mind, the SEER rating provides a starting point for comparing different options and finding the best solution for your home.

Using a SEER Rating

When it comes to SEER ratings, you want to find HVAC units that have high numbers. This means that a relatively small amount of energy was used to create the output that the unit achieved, which translates to a significant reduction in cost for you. If you’re upgrading from a unit that is maybe 10 to 15 years old, there’s a good chance that you could save as much as 20 to 40 percent on your energy bill due to the higher efficiency of modern units. Using the SEER rating as a guide and comparing new units to the SEER rating of your current one will help you to maximize that savings.

Similarly, SEER ratings can be used to compare models from different manufacturers to find the one that provides the best bang for your buck. A unit that’s more expensive up front may still save you money in the long run if it has a notably higher SEER rating than cheaper models. While there’s obviously limits to how much your budget can spare, using the SEER rating as a comparison point can help you to find the most efficient option from among multiple models that otherwise seem very similar.

Choosing the Right HVAC Unit

If you still aren’t sure exactly which HVAC unit you need, don’t be afraid to talk to a professional. Get in touch with pros that specialize in HVAC sales and installation, as they’ll not only know how to find the most efficient unit within your budget, but will also help you take factors such as your region, the local climate, and the size of your home into consideration. Best of all, they’ll be able to deliver and install the unit for you to make sure that everything is done correctly.

HomeKeepr can help you find the HVAC pros you need for the job. Our app can match you with these and other pros in your area, and best of all creating an account is free. If you’re ready to take control of your home’s temperatures throughout the year without breaking the bank, sign up for your free HomeKeepr account today.

 

Considering Building a Wine Cellar?

Whether you enjoy an occasional glass of wine or consider yourself a connoisseur, you know the importance of storing your wine properly. Wine is perishable after all, so unless you buy wine only when you plan on drinking it, you need a good place to keep your bottles until you’re ready for them. Some people use small wine fridges or similar devices, but if you fancy a nice collection of wine then you might be thinking of installing a wine cellar instead.

Wine cellars were once considered something of a status symbol, but they’ve become much more common over the years as quality wines have become more accessible. Some people even install them because they’ve gotten into winemaking as a hobby and want somewhere safe to store their creations. Whatever the reason is that you’re considering a wine cellar, here are a few things that you should add in with your considerations.

Wine Cellar Benefits

There are definite benefits to having a wine cellar, whether it’s a small rack or a large storage area. A well-built wine cellar controls the temperature and humidity around your wine bottles, keeping the bottles’ corks from breaking down and preventing the wine from spoiling in the bottle. Wine cellars also reduce the effect of vibrations on the bottles, keeping them secure and helping to prevent sediment from being disturbed and ruining the wine’s quality.

Wine cellars can also help with organizing a wine collection, especially if your collection is still growing. The racks in the cellar allow for organization and labeling, and many are designed so that you can easily view the labels of your best bottles if you want to show off your collection as well. Even if you don’t have any high-value wines to show off, just having that secure storage space will allow you to buy multiple bottles of your favorites at once so that you can keep them on hand while enjoying discounts for buying in bulk.

Home Value Considerations

Adding a wine cellar to your home can also improve the home’s overall value, even if you’re not installing a large cellar. This is most evident if you list the home for sale and a wine enthusiast is a potential buyer; they’ll obviously know the value of having good wine storage built in, and it might be a major selling point for them. That value only goes up if your wine cellar is designed as a display piece as well as storage.

Even for those potential buyers who don’t drink a lot of wine, a wine cellar can be a positive in the home. Built-in storage that’s designed for temperature and humidity control can serve a lot of uses, and potential buyers could easily convert wine racks to shelving to make the wine cellar into something of a cool storage solution. And who knows? Maybe buying a home with a built-in wine cellar could kick off someone else’s desire to create a wine collection.

Building a Wine Cellar

Depending on the type of wine cellar you want, the budget you’re working with, and the amount of space you have available, there are a few different ways you can approach wine cellar installation. Building a wine cellar in your home could be as simple as installing a few racks in an empty nook or as complex as overhauling part of your basement as a home for your wine collection. Regardless of what you want in your wine cellar, though, HomeKeepr is here to help.

Through HomeKeepr, you can find the contractor or other professional you need to make your dreams of having a built-in wine cellar come true. From construction to lighting to environmental and HVAC considerations, we can help you find them all. Best of all, creating a HomeKeepr account is free. Sign up today and find yourself that much closer to the wine cellar you’ve always wanted.

 

Help Buyers Feel at Home (In Your Home)

Of course your house is awesome – it’s your house! But the things that you really love about your home’s decor can sometimes slow down progress when you’re trying to sell your place. Just because you’re all in on the “Halloween all year long” aesthetic doesn’t mean that potential buyers will be able to see past that when viewing your home.

What a Home Buyer Sees

Although we all like to imagine that we only look at the house itself and never, ever let ourselves be influenced by anything that’s easy to change about a home (or things that don’t even go with the home), the truth is often very different. Many homebuyers, especially those who are in the market for the first time, need to be able to picture themselves living in your house.

For some homes, that’s easy enough, but others that are owned by people who live an abundant or exuberant life can be a real challenge to homebuyers. They can forget they’re shopping for a home and get overwhelmed by the decor or intense level of personalization going on inside. Of course, you bought your house in part so you could make it your own, but now it’s time to let someone else take her for a test drive.

Obviously a lot of things can’t be turned into blank slates, especially if you have children or pets who have items that are specifically theirs and used often. Short of sending them to stay with the grandparents until you’ve got a contract secured, just keeping their areas tidy and focusing on the things you can soften will have to be enough.

Decluttering Is Important, but So Is Depersonalizing

There’s a difference between stripping a house of all its charm and simply depersonalizing it a bit. If you’ve got an original pink bathroom in a 1950s ranch-style home, by all means, let that brilliant bit of historical architecture shine. But, if your home is covered in photos of your family, your dog, and your intensely personal artwork, you may want to tone those selections down a notch.

When a homebuyer walks into a home that’s so deeply personalized, it can make them feel a little bit like they’re violating your privacy, even though you invited them in by listing your house. When someone feels like they’ve trespassed, they’re going to try to get out as quickly as possible, which does not help a buyer see themselves living in that house.

Consider Color Choices

Many buyers realize that they can and will almost certainly repaint your home to their liking, so for most sellers, repainting isn’t really a high priority, nor should it be. However, for some sellers, it definitely merits consideration. The homes that may need to consider a paint job are those that offer significant challenges to the potential buyer, or that have paint that works against the space. For example, if your house is full of dark colors that make the space seem a lot smaller than it is, it’s going to turn buyers away. Not only will they have trouble seeing themselves in the space that they perceive erroneously to be very dark and tight, those who realize it’s a visual trick may still be put off by the large amount of work that’s ahead of them.

As a rule of thumb, if you’ve chosen a color that will need several coats of primer before lighter paint will cover it, you’ll probably need to repaint. You can even go with a similar color that’s much, much lighter, if you really feel like the color works well for your house. Most buyers won’t care, as long as it’s something that they can easily imagine themselves repainting in a weekend to meet their own needs.

Need Help Making Your Home More Welcoming?

Look no further than your HomeKeepr community! Not only will you get the best recommendations for home professionals in your area who can help you repaint, reorganize, and even re-envision your home, it’s always free for homeowners to join!