Installing a Freestanding Stove? Safety First!

A woodburning stove can be a great addition to your home. Not only do they provide non-electric sources of heat during the winter, but many people enjoy the dry heat provided by woodburning stoves and similar heaters and they aren’t limited to the old-school cast iron stoves. Modern woodburning stoves come in a number of styles and forms, including pellet stoves that use small wooden pellets for a more controlled burn and more manageable heat options.

While there are certainly advantages to freestanding wood stoves, it’s important that they’re installed and used safely. It should go without saying that an improperly installed or operated wood stove can be very dangerous. To keep you, your family, and your home safe, here are some things that you should keep in mind when considering installing a freestanding wood stove or pellet stove.

Finding the Right Spot

Location is important when it comes to installing a wood stove. Obviously you’re going to want to put your stove in a location where you want heat, but there’s more to picking the right place than that. You’re going to need to find a place where your stove can provide that heat safely without creating a fire hazard or potentially creating a dangerous situation for people or pets moving through the room.

A big part of this involves finding an area with enough clearance for the stove. This is the amount of room around the stove that needs to be kept clear of flammable items and surfaces that might catch fire if they get too hot. This will differ from stove to stove, but it will be listed among the stove’s specs and other important information. The clearance indicates how far the stove needs to be placed from bare walls, and should also be considered with respect to furniture, walkways, and other areas where household items and inhabitants might be. If there isn’t enough room to give the stove the clearance it needs, you’ll have to find another location for it.

Installation Considerations

Exhaust and venting are two other safety considerations that you need to keep in mind when planning on installing a woodburning stove or pellet stove. Though you might think that these are essentially the same thing, they’re actually two different systems. The exhaust system is your chimney, while the vent is the pipe that connects your stove to the chimney.

While some older homes feature double-thick unlined brick chimneys that can be used if they’re carefully inspected for cracks and other damage, newer homes will likely need to have a new chimney installed. Ideally these should be factory built or professionally installed and lined, as you need to be sure that the chimney won’t leak or otherwise release noxious gases into the house. As for the stovepipe that’s used for the vent, it needs to be at least 24-gauge steel or similar metal and should be insulated. To avoid gas buildup, it needs to be as short as possible, and shouldn’t have more than two elbows.

Installing Your Stove

There are several other safety considerations that you need to keep in mind when installing a stove as well. If you have children or pets, gates or similar boundaries should be installed to help childproof the stove and prevent burns. A fire extinguisher should be mounted nearby for easy access. When positioning the stove, it’s important to make sure that you can access the ash drawer and other components for cleaning and maintenance so you can prevent the buildup of potentially flammable materials. There may be additional considerations that depend on the layout of your home and the type of stove you install as well.

 

What’s a Plant Ledge?

Sometimes, the purpose of features in your home isn’t quite apparent. This can lead to you having an “a-ha!” moment later when the purpose of a seemingly quirky home feature becomes apparent. With some features, though, that moment can take a while to arrive. One feature that might not seem to have a real purpose, if you aren’t already aware of what it’s for, is a plant ledge.

Plant ledges were pretty popular in the mid 90s and early 2000s, so homes built or remodeled around this time are likely to have these random high ledges in rooms that may not seem that practical at first glance. You can probably guess to at least some of the purpose from their names, but plant ledges can be used for a number of things. Given that plant shelves and similar storage options are coming back into style, here’s a bit more information on plant ledges and how they can beautify your home.

Plant Ledges

As the name implies, plant ledges were ledges built into the wall that were typically intended to hold potted plants of some variety. These ledges were placed high on the wall, usually within a foot or so of the ceiling in that space that isn’t often used for shelving and other storage. Some plant ledges had built-in lighting to better illuminate their contents, though this wasn’t the case with all of them. Many homeowners would put silk plants on their plant ledges to reduce the amount of maintenance required to keep them in good shape, but live plants were also used, especially those that don’t require a ton of water or direct sunlight.

Depending on where the ledges were installed, they might appear only on a single wall, or could surround a room. In some cases, they even worked their way around fixtures in the room, such as ledges that connected with the tops of cabinets and made their way around the kitchen area. While the plant ledges in a home were placed in areas where they would be seen, most of the ledges themselves were fairly simple in design so as not to take away from the beauty of their contents.

Not Just for Plants

Though they are known as plant ledges, these high ledges can be used for a wide range of decorative items. Some feature grooves cut into the top ledge surface, allowing decorative plates or similar items to be displayed without a fear of them shifting and falling off the ledge. Vases, awards, and other decorative items can also be placed on the ledges to accent various rooms. Often, people use these ledges to hold a mix of items, including both plants and other pieces, to create a more diverse space.

The size, width, and location of the ledges can differ depending on what they’re intended to hold as well. In addition to grooves, spacers and other cutouts can be placed in the ledge to help them hold specific items more safely. Wider ledges also come in handy when it comes to holding bigger items, while thinner ledges are ideal for smaller or thinner pieces that you intend to display.

Considering Plant Ledges?

With shelves and storage pieces becoming popular as ways to hold plants and other display items, a plant ledge might sound great for some of the rooms in your home. They tend to take a bit more work to install than just a simple shelf, but the look that they create is typically worth the extra effort. You can talk with a contractor or remodeling expert to see how best to incorporate plant ledges into your home.

What Do Past Years Tell Us About Todays Real Estate Market?

As you follow the news, you're likely seeing headlines discussing what's going on in todays housing market. Chances are high that some of the more recent storylines you've come across mention terms like cooling or slowing when talking about where the market is headed.

But what do these terms mean? The housing market today is anything but normal, and its still an incredibly strong sellers market, especially when compared to the few years leading up to the pandemic. With that in mind, what can previous years tell us about todays real estate market and if its truly slowing?

Were Still Seeing an Above Average Number of Sales

You may see headlines about a drop in home sales. But are those headlines telling the full story? The most recent Existing Home Sales Report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) does show a drop of about 2% from July to August. But the month-over-month decline doesn't provide the full picture (see graph below):As the graph shows, historical context is key. Todays home sales are well ahead of some of the more normal years that led up to the health crisis. That means buyers are still in the market, which is great news if you're planning to list your home.

Houses Are Selling Faster Than Usual

When headlines mention the market is slowing, sellers may naturally wonder if their house will sell as quickly as they'd like. According to the most recent Realtors Confidence Index from NAR, homes are still selling at record speed (see graph below):Again, if we look back at data from previous years, we can see the average time on market 17 days means homes are selling faster than a normal pace.

Bidding Wars Are Still the Norm

The Realtors Confidence Index from NAR also shows a drop in the average number of offers homes are receiving in August, and many headlines may simply focus there without providing the important context (see graph below):Again, its important to compare todays market to trends from recent years. Currently, the average number of offers per listing is higher than 39 of the previous 45 months. That means the likelihood of a bidding war on your home is still high. And the number of offers your house receives can have a major influence on the final sale price.

So, Is the Market Slowing Down?

While there are slight declines in various month-to-month data, its important to keep historical context in mind when determining what's happening in todays market. Odeta Kushi, Deputy Chief Economist at First American, put it best recently, saying:

It’s not the white-hot market from earlier in the year & it’s not the 2020 market benefiting from a wave of pent-up demand but make no mistake this is still a hot housing market.

Bottom Line

Don't let headlines make you rethink listing your home this fall. Selling today means you can still take advantage of high buyer demand, multiple offers, and a quick sale. If you're thinking of selling your house, lets connect and discuss why this fall is the perfect time to do so.

 

House Hacks to Keep Cold Air at Bay

As summer slowly shifts to autumn, cooler days and chilly nights are just around the corner. While this can be a relief after the summer heat, it won’t be as much of a relief when your heating costs start stacking up. Fortunately, it’s possible to prepare in advance to avoid some of the extra costs of winter while still keeping your home comfortable throughout the season. Though there are countless ways to do so and the right options for you will largely depend on your specific home, here are some little things you can do now that will have a big impact on how well your home keeps out the cold air this winter.

Prep for the Cold

The first thing that you should do when trying to get ready for the coming cold is to make sure you’ve blocked off many of the ways that cold air enters the house. There are a lot of potential fixes and preparations you can make, so here are a few suggestions to give you an idea of the sort of things you should do:

• Check the caulking and weatherstripping on your doors and windows, making repairs as needed
• Check the insulation in your attic, replacing any that’s tattered or upgrading all of it to insulation with a higher R value
• Inspect your roof for signs of damage and repair any leaks or damaged shingles
• Look for cracks or other damage in both your windowpanes and the frames of the windows
• Store any window air conditioners or close their vents and cover them with an insulated air conditioner cover
• Cover windows with a layer of thermal plastic on the inside, using a heat gun or hair dryer to shrink the plastic once it’s in place to create the strongest barrier to heat transfer
• Place covers or sheets of wall insulation over crawl space doors and other areas where cold air might get under your house

These preparations should be done alongside any other winter prep that you do, such as applying insulating pipe covers and covering outdoor faucets to prevent possible pipe freezes.

Make Sure Everything Works

Alongside your checks to prevent drafts and leaks during the winter, it’s important to spend a little time to make sure that your home’s heat source will run safely once temperatures drop. Here are a few considerations when it comes to testing your home heating:

• Clean your chimney and have it inspected if you have a fireplace that you plan to use for primary or secondary heating
• Test your heating system to make sure that it functions properly
• Replace the batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and ensure that fire extinguishers are charged and within their effective dates
• Make sure that external vents for fuel-burning furnaces or heaters function properly so that they won’t stick or stay closed while in use

This is also a good time to make sure that all of your emergency supplies are in date, all your flashlights work, and that you have at least two ways to receive weather alerts in case there’s a harsh winter.

Get Ready for Winter

There are a few inspections that you should really get done around this time of year as well, before temperatures start to drop significantly. The big ones are your roof and your heating system, though having someone look at limbs that hang over your home or that could present a falling hazard during the winter is a good idea as well.

 

Landscaping for Curb Appeal

First impressions go a long way. This is applicable to not only when you meet someone new, but also when somebody sees your house for the first time. Regardless of whether it’s a friend or colleague coming over to visit or a prospective buyer looking at a property you’re trying to sell, the importance of curb appeal shouldn’t be underestimated.

You might think that it takes a lot of work and money to update the curb appeal of your home, but that doesn’t have to be the case. It’s possible to significantly increase the curb appeal of your home and your property just by changing your landscaping. Here are a few ways that your landscaping can change up the look of your property and give your overall curb appeal a significant boost.

Adjusting Existing Landscaping

It doesn’t take a lot to turn around your existing landscaping and dramatically increase your curb appeal. Depending on the state that your trees, shrubs, and other plants are in, it may just be a matter of trimming everything back and taking the time to shape some of the more unruly growth you’ve got going on. Trim down bushes and create a more uniform texture, cut back overgrown limbs, get vining plants under control, and otherwise reign in your existing growth so that it looks much more manicured.

Once you’ve got your current growth under control, consider adding some accents to your landscaping. This can come in the form of colored mulch or gravel beds to add more definition to some of your flowers or plants, fountains or other features to provide a bit of contrast, and possibly even removing a few plants or moving potted plants to a new area to ease up on crowding and create a bit more symmetry in your yard. Even if you don’t make major changes, these little accents and changes can still make a big difference.

New Landscaping Additions

If you want to make bigger changes, consider adding more plants to your yard that will accentuate what you’ve already got there. Put in additional bushes or shrubs of similar types to what you’ve already got on your property to help fill out areas that seem a bit thin in coverage. Add sod to create more uniform ground coverage so that the various clovers, creepers, and other plants don’t distract from the look of your home. Put in some flowering annuals if most of your landscaping contains plants that don’t really flower to add splashes of color to break up all the green. Just look at what you’ve already got and think about how you might improve it.

Of course, it’s important to remember that sometimes a bit of contrast can really help your landscaping as well. Don’t be afraid to add flowers or other plants that don’t seem to go with everything else if you find something that you really want to stand out. If you take the time to come up with a landscaping plan that will be visually striking, it will really get people’s attention the first time they see your home.

Give Your Landscaping a Boost

Depending on what you have in mind, there are a number of ways that you can change up your landscaping through DIY projects. In some cases, though, you may need to bring in a landscaping pro to make more significant changes to your home’s landscaping. Not only will a professional be able to tackle larger projects more quickly, but they may also be able to offer suggestions on the specific shrubs, plants, and other landscaping choices that you add to your property.

What Do Supply and Demand Tell Us About Todays Housing Market?

 

What Do Supply and Demand Tell Us About Todays Housing Market?

There's a well-known economic theory the law of supply and demand that explains what's happening with prices in the current real estate market. Put simply, when demand for an item is high, prices rise. When the supply of the item increases, prices fall. Of course, when demand is very high and supply is very low, prices can rise significantly.

Understanding the impact both supply and demand have can provide the answers to a few popular questions about todays housing market:

• Why are prices rising?
• Where are prices headed?
• What does this mean for homebuyers?

Why Are Prices Rising?

According to the latest Home Price Insights report from CoreLogic, home prices have risen 18.1% since this time last year. But what's driving the increase?

Recent buyer and seller activity data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) helps answer that question. When we take NARs buyer activity data and compare it to the seller traffic during the same timeframe, we can see buyer demand continues to outpace seller activity by a wide margin. In other words, the demand for homes is significantly greater than the current supply that's available to buy (see maps below):This combination of low supply and high demand is what's driving home prices up. Bill McBride, author of the Calculated Risk blog, puts it best, saying:

By some measures, house prices seem high, but the recent price increases make sense from a supply and demand perspective.

Where Are Prices Headed?

The supply of homes for sale will greatly affect where prices head over the coming months. Many experts forecast prices will continue to increase, but they'll likely appreciate at a slower rate.

Buyers hoping to purchase the home of their dreams may see this as welcome news. In this case, perspective is important: a slight moderation of home prices does not mean prices will depreciate or fall. Price increases may occur at a slower pace, but experts still expect them to rise.

Five major entities that closely follow the real estate market forecast home prices will continue appreciating through 2022 (see graph below):

What Does This Mean for Homebuyers?

If you're waiting to enter the market because you're expecting prices to drop, you may end up paying more in the long run. Even if price increases occur at a slower rate next year, prices are still projected to rise. That means the home of your dreams will likely cost even more in 2022.

Bottom Line

The truth is, high demand and low supply are what's driving up home prices in todays housing market. And while prices may increase at a slower pace in the coming months, experts still expect them to rise. If you're a potential homebuyer, lets connect today to discuss what that could mean for you if you wait even longer to buy.

 If You're a Buyer, Is Offering Asking Price Enough?

In todays real estate market, buyers shouldn't shop for a home with the expectation they'll be able to negotiate a lower sales price. In a typical housing market, buyers try to determine how much less than the asking price they can offer and still get the home. From there, the buyer and seller typically negotiate and agree on a revised price somewhere in the middle.

Things Are Different Today

Todays housing market is anything but normal. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), homes today are:

• Receiving an average of 3.8 offers
• Selling in just 17 days

Homes selling quickly and receiving multiple offers highlights how competitive the housing market is right now. This is due, in large part, to the low supply of homes for sale. Low supply and high demand mean homes often sell for more than the asking price. In some cases, they sell for a lot more. Selma Hepp, Deputy Chief Economist at CoreLogic, explains how these stats can impact buyers:

The imbalance between robust demand and dismal availability of for-sale homes has led to a continual bidding over asking prices, which reached record levels in recent months. Now, almost 6 in 10 homes listed are selling over the asking price.

You May Need To Rethink How You Look at a Homes Asking Price

What does that mean for you? If you've found your dream home, you need to be realistic about todays housing market and how that impacts the offer you'll make. Offering below or even at a homes asking price may not cut it. In todays market, the highest bidder often wins the home, much like at an auction.

Currently, the asking price is often the floor of the negotiation rather than the ceiling. If you really love a home, it may ultimately sell for more than the sellers are asking. That's important to keep in mind as you work with your agent to craft an offer.

Understand An Appraisal Gap Can Happen

Because of todays home price appreciation and the auction-like atmosphere in the selling process, appraisal gaps the gap between the price of your contract and the appraisal for the house are more frequent.

According to data from CoreLogic:

Beginning in January 2020, nationally, 7% of purchase transactions had a contract price above the appraisal, but by May 2021, the frequency had increased to 19% of purchase transactions.

When this happens, your lender wont loan you more than the homes appraised value, and the seller may ask you to make up the difference out of pocket. Buyers in todays market need to be prepared for this possibility. Know your budget, know what you can afford, and work with a trusted advisor who can offer expert advice along the way.

Bottom Line

Bidding wars and todays auction-like atmosphere mean buyers need to rethink how they look at the asking price of a home. Lets connect so you have a trusted real estate professional who can advise you on the current market and help determine what the market value is on your dream home.