Blog - Jeff Cost

Give Your Home An Instant Facelift, Wallpaper Is Back!

April 4, 2014 by Jeff Cost

Give Your Home an Instant Facelift: Wallpaper Is Back in a Big Way, Baby! Though it can be an entirely different story for a trend shift in the opposite direction, which then requires you to get out the soaking bucket and scraping tool, wallpaper coming back into style is a home décor blessing for many.

Wallpaper is back in – in a big way! – and it’s making your dreams of accomplishing a fashionable living space come true much faster and easier than you could have imagined.

Quite frankly, wallpaper can do the “fashionable home” trick to virtually any room in your house, adding that touch of warmth and personality you’ve so far only seen in show homes. It’s time to get with the trends, and give your home a quick and easy facelift!

A World Of Design With Wallpaper

Let’s face it: wallpaper can achieve a world of options that paint simply never could! Now that wallpaper has come back in to style, we are seeing plenty of homes being “glammed” and “dolled” up accordingly.

With many patterns and styles available, suddenly your home’s imperfections can easily be hidden. You can give the small room in your home a facelift with a wallpaper pattern with vertical stripes, instantly making the room feel larger.

Or you can suddenly have the accent wall you’ve always dreamed of but have been to afraid to commit to, creating a focal point behind the bed in your master bedroom, or behind the sofa in the living room. Or if you’re an artsy person, you can add more art to your walls without lifting a nail – instead just install some patterned, decorative wallpaper.

Modern Innovations: Digitally Printed Wallpaper

Wallpaper is certainly back in style, but not without new and creative innovations since its last time around. Now, homeowners can get ultra creative and get personalized wallpapers for their homes with the technical innovation that allows for digitally printed wallpaper designs.

Do you have a specific wall or room in your house that you want to transform for a particular theme? Do you have a photograph that you’d like to use as the inspiration for a one-wall mural in your living room? Well, with customized digital printed wallpaper, you’re in luck.

Vinyl Wallpaper: Easy Installation And Removal

Now that wallpaper is back in style, more innovations have been made in terms of how it is installed and removed. Luckily, for us wallpaper fans, we will no longer have to struggle when we choose to put it up or when we decide to take it down! Now there are many vinyl wallpapers that are self-adhesive and very simple to install.

They are also available in a range of textures and finishes, and make use of eco-solvent inks. Easy to install, easy to remove, and cleanable with simply a damp cloth, a vinyl wallpaper print might be just the key to your home’s quick and easy facelift.

Whether you opt for the vinyl or digitally printed innovation of wallpaper or choose to stick with the good old paper version, you’ll have your home beautified in no time. There’s no need to worry about changing trends either; regardless of what you choose, advancements in the modern return of wallpaper mean that less rigorous activity will be required should the wallpaper trend go back “out.”

So take advantage of this practical design trend, and give your home the facelift it deserves! And of course you can always contact your trusted real estate advisor for design tips or places where you can get your show home inspiration.

Millenials Have Great Homebuying Tools Available To Them

April 3, 2014 by Jeff Cost

Millenials Have Great Homebuying Tools Available To Them The economy seems to be finally turning, and home loan interest rates are still historically low. Real estate values are starting to climb as well, all of which makes for a growing opportunity for new homeowners to get into the market before it gets too expensive again.

Millennials Don’t Seem To Be On Board

They represent the next generation of homebuyers, but a number of barriers can seem to be smack in the way, discouraging many. Yet there are ways around these issues.

According to the Boston Globe, only 32 percent of Millennials are homeowners in 2014, either with a house or a condominium. A number of factors contribute to this situation, and the big issue is finding a viable career. The general unemployment rate for young people is at 16 percent nationwide, almost double the regular average for all ages combined.

Add in the fact that many have large student loans eating up what income is earned in loan payments, and that doesn’t leave much for saving into a down payment or a mortgage payment. In fact, one out of three college graduates right now has moved back in with the parents.

The career-chase situation is not a new one. The previous bunch, Generation X, experienced the same thing in the early 1990s with just as high an unemployment rate. The big takeaway from their experience is that the dip and labor famine is temporary. Most Generation X folks now are well-employed and living in regular, affordable homes across the country.

Further, Some Very Helpful Tools Are Still Available For New Buyers:

Any homebuyer with military status can take advantage of Veterans Administration loans with far better rates than the normal market, making mortgage payments cheaper.
Those buying in rural areas can take advantage of rural homebuyer’s assistance programs provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help people move to small towns and similar communities.
The Housing and Urban Development Agency provides HUD loans that make it very affordable for those with limited income to purchase HUD-owned homes as first-time buyers and get into real estate.
And the current market still has plenty of quality used homes from prior foreclosures that are marked well below their real value to move these units in sales.

Of course, the big response from Millenials is how do I earn more to even get started. Like Generation X folks before them, Millenials can’t wait for a job to be made available on a platter. While looking, many smart folks have started their own businesses on the Internet. If a current job is enough to cover current bills, a second income can be entirely dedicated to saving, which can generate thousands of dollars quickly. Even a part-time second job that creates $1,000 a month produces $12,000 a year and in two years enough for a sizable down payment.

Don’t give up, but definitely try smarter.

Are Interest Rates On The Rise – What’s The Next Move?

April 2, 2014 by Jeff Cost

Interest Rates on the Rise What's the Next Move As the federal reserve continues to taper quantitative easing measures, financial experts project mortgage interest rates will climb in the next two years. Could this be the much awaited ray of light at the end of the proverbial tunnel for builders and investors or will it drive hesitant home buyers to dig in and shelter in place?

Homeowners who are vacillating between refinancing for a lower interest rate and staying the course may find the time has come to make a decision.

Shrinking unemployment numbers and rising retail sales figures signal that the economy is improving. Even if no one is ready to label the US economy as recovered, Fed Chairman Janet Yellen’s decision to follow through on tapering plans reinforces other market indicators that the economy is gaining strength.

What’s The Next Move

Bob Moulton, president of Americana Mortgage, told BankRate that people thinking of buying in the next year should move quickly if they find a property they like. Inventory is still fairly tight. Although there is no guarantee that rates will suddenly escalate, Moulton recommends locking in a property as soon as possible.

Harris Interactive reported that 39% of homeowners who planned to invest in renovations to increase property values in 2013 did not follow through with their plans. If upgrades and renovations are on the agenda, homeowners should evaluate how a 1% or 2% increase in interest rates will affect their budget.

Mortgage rates are still historically low based on the average over the past couple of decades. As the economy strengthens and mortgage lenders lose a steady stream of customers seeking home equity loans, less-stringent lending requirements emerge.

Forbes reported that as much as 80% of mortgage activity in late 2012 was refinancing applications. Consumers with lower credit scores and budgetary constraints have a better chance of securing a loan with a higher rate.

Refinance Or Pay Down The Mortgage

Deciding whether to refinance or pay down the mortgage quicker is tricky for some homeowners. Cost of financing isn’t the only consideration. It is essential to consider long-term goals and risks. If doubling up on the mortgage compromises retirement planning, it defeats the purpose.

Likewise, refinancing to gain a lower interest rate within one or two years of plans to sell the home would probably produce insignificant financial gains.

Give Your Home An Instant Facelift, Wallpaper Is Back!

Millenials Have Great Homebuying Tools Available To Them

Are Interest Rates On The Rise – What’s The Next Move?

The Latest Articles

Our Location