Make Your Home More Pet Friendly

Having pets can enrich your life in a number of ways and can even improve your overall mental health and wellbeing. Unfortunately, not every home is really set up for pets. By making some improvements to your home and its layout, you can make it much more pet friendly, and help keep your furry (or scaly or feathery) friends safe and happy as you spend your time together.

Exactly how do you go about making your home more pet friendly, though? There are a few things you’ll need to consider, including the type of pet you have, its indoor/outdoor habits, and its size. While many of these things are specific to your individual pet, there are some more general changes that you can make to help make your home more pet friendly as well.

Update Your Interiors

If you’ve got an older house, you might want to do a few interior updates to help ensure that your pets are safe from harm. Redoing the walls to remove old paint that could have lead or other unwanted compounds goes a long way toward this goal, while also giving you a way to significantly change the look of the inside of your home. Your floors may need an update as well, such as replacing old frayed carpet with new carpeting or installing new vinyl. This could also be a good idea if you’ve got old wood floors and are concerned about scratching or splinters as your pets go back and forth with heavy paws and claws.

There are other changes that you can make as well. Replace frayed curtains or broken blinds with something a bit more modern to not only keep your pets safe but also keep your home looking nice as well. Depending on your home, you might have additional projects in mind that will not only improve the look but also help to keep your pets much safer from day to day.

It’s All About Access

A big part of making a home pet friendly comes down to controlling access. The parts of the house (or outdoors) that your pet is allowed into should be easy for them to access. Areas where they aren’t allowed should be difficult for them to access, but ideally easy for you to get into. Home updates to accommodate this can include things like adding pet doors, installing new doors that latch easily, or hanging interior gates that you can use to block and unblock access to specific rooms or other areas with ease.

If you have pets that are allowed outside, these sorts of considerations apply out there as well. Installing a fence, adding a watering station, or making other exterior accommodations for your pets will help keep them safe while outside, even as they’re allowed more freedom than they would have gotten as an indoor-only pet. Just make sure that any exterior changes that you make don’t run afoul of local ordinances or HOA agreements before you start work, so you can avoid problems down the road.

It’s Their House Too

In some cases, you may find yourself wanting to make some bigger changes to your home in order to better accommodate pets. Perhaps you want to change out some of your windows with larger ones so that your pets can more easily look outside. Maybe you need to update your HVAC system to better remove pet dander from the air. You might even decide to add on a small room or other area that’s designed specifically for your pets’ use.

 

Filing a Homeowner’s Insurance Claim

Nobody wants to have to file a homeowner’s insurance claim. After all, filing a claim means that something has gone horribly wrong at home. Maybe it’s damage from a storm, or a frozen pipe that burst, or some other unexpected problem. Whatever the cause, the damage was severe enough that you need to make a claim on the policy that up until now you’d hoped would never actually have to be used.

Exactly what’s involved with filing a homeowner’s insurance claim, though? While the filing process is similar to that with other forms of insurance, there are a few things about homeowner’s insurance that might seem confusing if you’ve never really dealt with it before. To make sure that everything goes smoothly, here’s some advice on what to expect when filing a homeowner’s insurance claim.

Contacting the Insurance Company

The first thing that you need to do to file a homeowner’s insurance claim is to contact your insurance company. This doesn’t mean that you should drop everything and call your insurance, though. Depending on the situation, there may be a few other things that your insurance company tells you to do before they can actually start working on a claim, so you may want to at least get them started first.

If your claim involves burglary, criminal damage to your property, or any other legal matter, you’re likely going to want to go ahead and call the police, because your insurance company will require a police report. You’ll also want to shut off the water or gas if necessary and take any other actions that are required to make your home safe. Take pictures (ideally with timestamps on) before you take any action, so that you can show the insurance company what the situation looked like before your intervention, then take additional pictures once you’ve shut things down. This documentation will be important to your claim once it gets started.

The Claims Process

Once you contact your insurance company, you’ll need to go through the specifics of what happened in as much detail as you can provide. If you had to shut off the water or take any other action, be sure to describe exactly what you did and let them know that you have before and after pictures as well. Point out any safety concerns such as broken windows that need to be boarded up, or any other safety-related repairs that might need to be made, so that your insurance agent can make note of them before you take any additional action. Be sure to take before and after photos of those repairs as well.

After your initial call, and any temporary repairs or changes that your agent approved have been made, you’re going to have to fill out some paperwork and take additional pictures and videos to document everything you can about the claim. The insurance company will likely send someone out to inspect your home in person as well, and you may have to go over all of these details again with them. Make copies of all your pictures and videos, and save every receipt related to the incident, including both any materials that were needed for temporary repairs, and things like hotel receipts if the house isn’t safe to stay in until repairs are complete. It may seem like a lot of hoops to jump through, but once the company approves your claim, you’ll be glad that you documented everything.

Making Repairs

When your claim is finally approved, you’re going to need someone to make the repairs that your home needs. While your insurance company may have some suggestions, in many cases you’ll be free to choose your own contractors and other pros that will work with your insurance company throughout the repair process. 

 

Dos and Don’ts of Home Trends

There are a number of trends in home decoration that you’ve likely seen come and go over the years. Some of them look pretty nice and create something of a timeless look, while others… well, it’s pretty easy to understand why they’re only temporary trends. Like them or hate them, though, following home trends can sometimes have a positive impact on the value of your home if you’re looking to sell. That is, of course, if you strike while the iron is hot.

But what if you’re not actually looking to sell at the moment and just like the way that a trend looks? Will going all-in on some big trend hurt your home’s value down the line if you do decide to sell later? This could be a legitimate concern depending on the trend. After all, even if you’re on the market and don’t manage to sell right away, you could find that going too far with certain trends will bite you before you find a buyer.

Home Trend Dos

There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with following home trends, either to bump up the value of your home in the current market or just because you like the look of them. If you’re thinking of making some changes around the house because of a current trend, here are a few things to think about:

• Evaluate the cost of a trend before jumping all in; some are surprisingly cost effective, while others will give you a bit of sticker shock
• Keep an eye on trending paint colors and the “hot colors” that paint manufacturers announce every year to stay ahead of color trends, so that your home can stay trendy without you having to pay a premium for trendy colors
• Pick and choose the trends you want to follow, and take only the parts that you like if you’re not committed to the entirety of a trend

Don’t be afraid to make some changes and upgrades in trendy styles, but don’t go overboard with it. This is especially true if you’re just looking to make some trendy home improvements before you sell your home.

Home Trend Don’ts

Some trends can really bring up the value of your home if you catch them at the peak of their popularity, but if you aren’t that lucky, then they can cost you money in the end. These are the trends that you should avoid unless you really like them. Here are a few things to look out for when considering home trends:

• Avoid trends that require major structural changes or construction merely for aesthetic purposes
• The overuse of bright, bold colors occasionally comes into fashion but will almost certainly go out just as quickly
• Unless it’s just a minor expense, stay away from trends that you just don’t “get” because there’s a decent chance that you’ll implement it incorrectly or miss the height of its popularity and not even realize it
• Even if it’s popular, watch out for trends that will be difficult for future homeowners to undo; potential buyers might see your trendy changes and start wondering how much it will cost to change them, and that could potentially spoil the sale

Basically, trends can be fun. Think twice about them though if they’re going to be too expensive, create too many headaches for future homeowners, or are likely to come across as garish or ugly.

Cashing In on Home Trends

If you do want to make some home improvements or other changes to follow certain trends, it’s important that you find the right pro for the job. Whether you need an interior designer, a painter, or even a plumber to help you follow a new fountain trend, you don’t want to pay more than you have to. 

 

Why Choose an All-Electric Home?

There are a number of choices available to you when it comes to how you heat and cool your home. While many people choose electric means of cooling, heating is often a different story. The heating options for your home include things like gas heat, wood-burning heating, and even ambient heating solutions that use steam or hot water to pump heat through pipes in concrete flooring. Some homes even use a combination of these methods to heat different rooms in the house.

If you’re considering how you want to heat and cool your own home, however, there is something to be said for using an all-electric solution. While electric heat and air might not be right for every home or every homeowner, it’s at least worth considering if you’re in the market for a new home or are planning out a new construction project. If you’ve never really given an all-electric home much consideration, here are a few things that you should think about.

Rising Home Heating Costs

It seems like every year, the cost of heating your home is going up. There are many reasons for this, not the least of which is fluctuations in the cost of heating fuels such as propane and natural gas. Depending on where you live, using these fuels as a heat source can be pretty expensive over the course of increasingly harsh winters when you’re going to have to run the heat a lot. Supply issues can also make it difficult to get refills of fuels like propane when you need them, and if you are able to secure a refill for your tank, then the increased demand could drive prices even higher.

While the cost of electricity also sees periodic increases, electric power isn’t as prone to wild fluctuations as some other fuels are. This can create more price stability over the course of a season, even in the event of severe winter weather that might drive up demand and pricing for some other fuels. Given that your home is already wired for electricity, it also offers the convenience of giving you a single bill for your heating and cooling needs without the requirement of scheduling refills or making other provisions to secure fuel.

Harnessing Solar Energy

Another big potential advantage of going all-electric is that you can use solar energy as a means to offset or even eliminate your heating and cooling costs. By installing solar panels on your roof or near your home, you can offset your use of grid power, or even charge batteries that your home will draw some or all its power from. Depending on the size of your solar setup, this can result in a significant decrease in the amount that you pay to heat and cool your home (and run everything else, too) throughout the year.

The savings from going solar can extend beyond just your heating and cooling costs, too. Installing solar panels at your house may qualify you for certain tax breaks or other benefits, saving you money when it comes time to pay your taxes as well. If you have a large enough solar setup, you may even be able to produce more power than your home uses. Depending on where you live, this could give you an opportunity to sell some power back to the grid, actually making money off of your home’s power setup.

Choosing an All-Electric Home

There are several ways that you can go all-electric, from buying a house that already has an all-electric setup to having a new electric unit installed to replace previous heating and cooling equipment. If you’ve already got an all-electric setup, you can also look at options such as solar to reduce your costs even more. 

 

Improve Your Home’s Efficiency With a Garage Door

When it comes to improving the energy efficiency of your home, your garage might not be the first place that you think of. If you have an attached garage, though, you may be leaking warm (or cool) air from your home without even realizing it. While there are a few different ways that you can combat this, one of the most effective is by installing new garage doors.

Of course, not all garage doors are created equal when it comes to improving the energy efficiency of your home. To help ensure that you get the most for your garage door dollars, let’s take a look at exactly how new garage doors will help you save money on your heating and cooling costs.

Energy Efficiency and Your Garage

A lot of emphasis is usually put on the windows and doors facing the outside when trying to optimize the energy efficiency of your home. Garage-connecting doors (and even occasional windows, if you have an attached garage that was added onto your home after construction) are often overlooked, however, which can be problematic. Not nearly as much effort goes into protecting these connections from drafts and leaks, even though a garage without garage doors still has the same outdoor air as what you’ll find at any other door or window. This can be even more problematic if your home has a garage access near the intake for your home’s heating and cooling system; instead of circulating air from within the home, your intake might be pulling in outdoor air from that door and losing just a bit of that internal temperature every time it kicks on.

This is where a garage door becomes useful. Even though it’s unlikely that your garage will be connected to your home’s heating and cooling system, having it as a mostly closed environment will still help to stabilize the temperature and prevent at least some of the problems that can cause drafts and temperature leaks. Once you install garage doors, you might see a small but noticeable difference in your overall heating and cooling costs, especially if your garage access is near your HVAC intake.

Choosing the Right Garage Door

You may notice that some garage door manufacturers advertise the R values of their doors much like insulation. While this can be useful information when choosing a garage door, the segmented nature of the doors and the fact that such a large area opens and closes when the garage door is used means that this isn’t going to be as useful as you might think. A good R value is nice to have, but don’t base your garage door choice simply on this one factor.

Instead, find a sturdy garage door that goes well with the look of your home. Windowless garage doors or doors that feature windows with low-emissivity coatings will perform better with regard to energy efficiency. Wood doors are great for insulating your garage, though vinyl doors and even steel also do decent jobs while offering additional benefits as well. You’ll likely have several options to choose from, so take the time to choose a door that not only insulates well but also fits the overall feel of your house.

Garage Door Installation

While it’s possible to DIY your garage door installation, it can be a pretty big task to get your doors installed properly. Even being as little as an inch or two off with some of your measurements can cause big problems, including gaps that will affect the energy savings that the doors provide and tension points that will cause undue wear and tear on your garage door system. This is why it’s often recommended to bring in a pro to install the garage doors for you, since they can help ensure that everything is installed just right to get the maximum life and savings out of your entire garage door setup.

 

Home Loan Programs: 2022 Updates

Buying a home is a dream that’s shared by many people. Making that dream come true isn’t always as simple as just going out and applying for a mortgage loan, though. Some potential homeowners need a little bit of assistance in keeping loan requirements manageable, even though they are fully able to afford the loan itself. Fortunately, there are a number of home loan programs that can help make home ownership attainable even for first-time buyers and those who worry that they might not meet all of the requirements for a traditional mortgage loan.

It’s important to keep in mind that the rules and requirements for these loan programs are updated from time to time. Before starting out looking for the home of your dreams, you should make sure that you are up to date on the exact terms of the loan program you’re considering using. Here is some information on some of these updates to help you along your way.

FHA Loan Updates

Loans that are insured through the Federal Housing Administration are usually known as “FHA Loans,” and the programs offered by the FHA are some of the most commonly used by potential homeowners. The FHA doesn’t offer these loans directly, but instead creates an environment where loans can be more easily attained from FHA-approved lenders. Because this is a federal program, the terms of the loan programs are often tweaked to better match data from other federal agencies based on economic trends.

For 2022, there were a few updates made to FHA loan programs. There were some changes to things like the maximum amount that can be borrowed using an FHA loan, though this amount varies based on local factors, so it was not an across-the-board increase. For the most part, though, the changes mostly affected details on the lender side of things. FHA-approved lenders now have new requirements regarding things like loan reporting and how they handle verification of applicants, but this doesn’t affect the borrower’s experience very much. Requirements such as having a minimum credit score of 580 to qualify for maximum financing (and 500 to qualify for the program at all) and supplying income documentation such as bank statements, pay stubs, and tax returns remain the same from previous years.

Exploring Loan Programs

If you’re looking at loan programs that aren’t offered through the FHA but are instead offered by private companies, there may be changes from previous years that you’ll need to consider as well. Many of these programs fall largely in line with the requirements of FHA-backed loans, though there may be some differences. While there weren’t many major updates to non-FHA programs announced last year, it’s possible that there were some changes that you weren’t expecting to the specific program you’re considering. Fortunately, finding updates about the requirements and functions of these programs isn’t difficult so long as you know what you’re looking for.

Most updates for loan programs are released in the fall, so check for any announcements regarding program changes that were made around October or November of last year. If you’re downloading information about the loan program, you should also be sure to download directly from the program’s homepage and select the latest available information if there are multiple documents listed. By taking the time to find out the latest information about the program you’re considering, you can avoid surprises when it comes time to apply.

 

Buyers: How to Put Your Best Foot Forward

Housing prices continue to climb, inventories continue to remain low, demand for housing is intense, and there’s absolutely no relief in sight. It’s a hard time to be a homebuyer right now! Despite that, you can still find a house that you’ll love; it may just take a little extra polish and shine as you head into your home buying adventure. Cash is still king, but you can be more competitive by putting your best foot forward with your offers.

Here are our best tips for buyers trying to secure a home in this busy and tight market.

Bring a Pre-Approval Letter From Your Lender

It’s one thing to think you’ll be approved for a loan, and yet another to know it. In today’s competitive market, your seller doesn’t want to wonder; they want to be certain that the contract they sign is one that will be able to close. This is doubly a concern for sellers who are faced with multiple offers in a short period, since sometimes they all look pretty good on the surface.

Going to your bank and making it as far as your loan approval process can go without a house gives a seller confidence that they won’t be back in the same place in a month, trying to sell a house that already had a contract fall through on it. For them, that might mean delaying their own purchase, or even having to sell their home at a discount, since buyers are sometimes nervous when previous contracts didn’t close.

Go Conventional!

Although many buyers can get into a home faster with an FHA loan, especially with the sometimes lower down payment requirements, sellers know that FHA and other loan programs carry additional requirements for the house itself, too. Although these are usually items most houses will already have if someone is living in them (for example, heat in every room), sellers have often heard horror stories and simply don’t want to deal with the unknown.

Rather than using an FHA program, work on your credit and choose a conventional loan. Conventional loans have far fewer requirements on the property itself, making them an easy transaction for your home seller. There’s nothing wrong with using an FHA loan if you have the time and patience to house hunt using one, but nothing says “easy peasy” to a seller like a conventional loan.

Bring Your Best Offer

Your best offer is the highest amount you’re willing to pay for the property in question, not an ideal price that you’d like to pay. In a different market, where buyers get their picks of the litter, you can feel out a seller to see where the bottom is, but in a market like what we’re still facing in most of the country, you’re far more likely to be competing with several offers at once, so the seller will probably either accept or reject yours rather than try to negotiate.

In addition to bringing your best offer, keep your list of requests short. You can (and should) absolutely ask for repairs to major items you noted when you viewed the home, but now is not the time to sweat the little things. The longer that list is now, before you’ve even had your inspection, the less likely it is that the seller will want to work with you.

Go Forth Boldly Into Your Offer

Putting in an offer on a home in this breakneck speed real estate market can be extremely intimidating, but you never have to face the unknown alone. When it comes time to move into your new home, you’ve got an entire network of friends and partners to help you patch up, paint up, clean up, and even move in!