The start of the new year means it’s time to focus on the latest interior design trends for luxury homes. Being familiar with these trends can help you determine what changes to make to your home if you’re planning to spruce it up. The following are some of the interior design trends that will be in demand in 2020.
Warm Colors and Jewel Tones
Neutral colors, especially beige and white, have been the standard in homes for awhile, but bolder colors are replacing them. Warm colors and jewel tones are in this year for luxury homes. These rich, saturated hues add visual appeal to any room. You can redo entire rooms in these colors or just add touches of these tones to different rooms with accent pieces.
High Contrast Design
Monochromatic designs have been in due to their clean, streamlined appearance, which goes well with contemporary and modern homes. However, high contrast design is expected to make a comeback in interior design this year. These designs, such as black and white, can be incorporated in rooms through decor items. You can also introduce a high contrast design on a larger scale with the ceiling trim and molding in each room of your home.
Natural Materials
As more luxury homeowners become eco-conscious, a shift to natural materials is in increasing demand. These materials range from marble and raw woods to linen, rattan and wicker. You can add these materials to your home in several ways, such as with marble tiles and counters in your kitchen or bathroom or rustic wood finishes and furniture. Wicker and rattan furniture can add a natural touch to breakfast nooks or patios.
Antiques
Antiques are expected to be a growing trend this year thanks to an increased focus on individuality in interior design. Rather than filling your home with manufactured decor items produced on a large-scale basis, consider adding some antique pieces. These kinds of decor items give your home an elegant, luxurious look that can reflect your own design preferences. Look for antique pieces that add charm and personality to your home.
Dark Interior Doors
White or lighter interior doors are on the way out in 2020 as dark, painted doors take over. This interior design trend can give rooms in your home a warmer feel, especially when you pair them with furniture and decor items in rich tones. You can also use dark interior doors as part of a high contrast design with lighter walls surrounding them.
Image by StockSnap from Pixabay
In many communities, homeowner’s associations, or HOAs, provide services to residents of the neighborhood. In fact, as many as 26 million homes are under the guidance of an HOA across the country. These community organizations can help ensure the neighborhood’s homes stay in good repair, residents treat each other respectfully, and agreed-upon rules are followed by all community members. But HOAs are not free. To be a member of a community with an HOA, you will need to pay a monthly or annual fee. So is the HOA worth having? Here are the benefits and drawbacks to consider if you’re shopping for a home in a community with one.
Benefits of an HOA
An HOA will provide amenities for you as a resident of the community. Sometimes, those amenities may include things like community swimming pools or a fitness center. They may be something as simple as enforcing rules about the upkeep of homes so the neighborhood looks nice. This, in turn, can help preserve the value of your property.
HOAs can reduce some of your responsibilities. Depending on the terms, they may cover lawn mowing and snow removal, or they may give you someone to call if your neighbor is letting his dog bark at odd hours of the night.
Finally, an HOA gives you a voice. These associations are run by boards, which are typically community residents, and those board members are supposed to listen to the needs and desires of community members.
Drawbacks of an HOA
On the other hand, an HOA does have some drawbacks. Sometimes, the rules, like rules about fencing in your yard or the color you can paint your home, may be detrimental to your goals. The cost is another factor to consider, as it will increase your overall cost of homeownership.
Depending on the terms of your HOA contract, it may be possible for the association to foreclose on your home if you fail to pay your dues and follow the rules. They can also spring assessments on the homeowners within the association if they lack the money to cover an expense, such as if the community pool needs to be renovated.
Finally, an HOA will often limit the rental of homes within its governance. If you need to move and don’t want to sell, you may not have the freedom to turn your home into a rental. If rentals are allowed, the HOA will have regulations about the rental agreements that you have to follow.
So is an HOA right for your needs? The answer truly depends on your goals for your home and your overall budget. Weigh the pros and cons, and then make a decision that fits you.
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The term “bi-weekly” means every other week. If you get paid bi-weekly, you usually get your check every other Friday. When it comes to a mortgage, typical amortization plans (payments of principal and interest) use a 30-year/360-month calculation. But many lenders offer a bi-weekly plan too.
In this case, you would make 26 payments a year. When your paycheck is also bi-weekly, this option works fantastically. When you do this, you effectively make 13 monthly payments in a year. While some lenders won’t accept two half payments mailed to them each month, they will set up automatic deductions bi-weekly for you.
Can you do it faster?
A bi-weekly plan will pay down your loan more quickly than twelve monthly payments, but can you do more to get your house paid off?
Here are some options to add to your plan and get your mortgage paid off sooner:
- Round up: If your bi-weekly payment is $762 a month, round it up to $800. That extra $38 against your principle lowers the overall interest you’ll pay. If you can round it up higher, do so.
- Use your bonus: Annual bonuses from work often go toward holiday gifts and other expenses, but if you really want to pay your house down, add it to your last payment of the year.
- Use your tax refund: If you get a refund from the government every year for overpaying your taxes, apply it to your house. A few hundred or thousand dollars extra every year makes an enormous difference in the interest you pay and how soon that property belongs to you in full.
Online calculators can help you determine what adding just a small amount to your payment can do to reduce the time it takes to fully amortize your mortgage. Plugin different numbers to see what works for you.
If you haven’t yet purchased your house, your real estate agent can get you started, so give them a call today. Then set your budget, buy your house, and put your plan into action.
There is no need to struggle as you pursue your dream home. In fact, there are many things you can do to ensure the homebuying journey is quick and easy.
Now, let's take a look at three tips to help you enjoy a seamless property buying experience.
1. Know Where You Want to Reside
It often helps to narrow a home search to a small group of cities and towns. That way, you can focus exclusively on residences in a set area and speed up your house search.
As you consider where you want to live, it generally is a good idea to review your short- and long-term plans. For example, if you intend to return to school soon, you may want to search for houses near some of the nation's top colleges and universities. On the other hand, if you want to start a family, you may want to focus on homes close to parks and other family-friendly attractions.
2. Establish a Homebuying Budget
Most homebuyers will need to get a mortgage so they can acquire their dream residence. Fortunately, banks and credit unions are happy to teach you about home financing and help you make an informed mortgage selection.
Typically, banks and credit unions employ courteous, knowledgeable mortgage specialists who can educate you about all aspects of home financing. These specialists are ready to respond to your home financing concerns and questions and help you find a mortgage that suits you perfectly.
There is no such thing as a "bad" question to ask mortgage specialists, either. If you work with mortgage specialists to assess all of your home financing options, you can select a mortgage that will serve you well for the foreseeable future.
3. Hire a Real Estate Agent
When it comes to searching for a home, you don't have to work alone. Thankfully, real estate agents are available throughout the country, and these housing market professionals can make it simple for you to acquire a great home at a budget-friendly price.
A real estate agent goes above and beyond the call of duty to make the property buying journey fast and easy. First, he or she will learn about you and your homebuying goals. This housing market professional next will craft a personalized homebuying strategy for you and put this plan into action. Then, after you discover your ideal residence, a real estate agent will do everything possible to help you acquire this home.
In addition, a real estate agent will work with you to finalize a home purchase. As a home closing date approaches, a real estate agent will help you plan accordingly. By doing so, he or she can help you purchase your dream residence without delay.
For those who want to enjoy a quick, easy homebuying journey, it helps to plan ahead. With the aforementioned tips, you can prepare for the homebuying journey and limit the risk of encountering various problems as you search for your ideal house.
Photo by timokefoto via Pixabay
Buying property can be fun, but it can also be exhausting. You want to find a place that fits your personal lifestyle and invest in a home that'll bring you years of happiness. As you're looking at shorefront real estate:
1. Understand Your Access Rights to the Water
On the surface, it may look like a no-brainer that you have access to the water, but many people learn the hard way that their beautiful waterfront views don't have easements that allow access to the lake, pond, or ocean. Most people don't want a beautiful view of the water without being able to use it.
2. Know Your Waterfront Buffer Zones
State and local regulations may prohibit your landscaping plans from making forward progress if you're too close to tidal waters. Know the buffer zones before you buy so you're not stuck with a landscape you don't love.
3. Learn Your Littoral Rights
If you purchase waterfront real estate, you may very well be granted littoral rights—that is, you'd have unrestricted rights to use that water as though it was land. The government may also own the water up to a certain point, so it's best to gain this knowledge up front.
4. Know if You have Riparian Rights
If you purchase a non-riparian waterfront property, you likely won't be able to have a private dock or pier on the water. Since this is one of the major reasons people want to own waterfront property, it's important to understand these rights before you buy.
5. Understand Your Obligations Regarding Water Depth
You don't have any control over Mother Nature, but you do often have certain obligations in terms of what you're permitted to do in certain water depths. You may need to build a deck farther out into the water than you'd first anticipated in order adhere to depth regulations.
6. Look at the Fixtures Surrounding the Property
Certain watercraft, such as sailboats, need far more clearance than others. If your potential property is directly next to fixed-height bridges that wouldn't enable you to enjoy leisure time on your sailboat, that may not be the best home for you. Alternatively, people who enjoy kayaking wouldn't need to be concerned with fixed-height structures. In fact, those areas might be best for this type of buyer.
7. Research Regulations Impacting Docks and Piers
It's not atypical to have to purchase pier permits. Depending on your location, these regulations may be governed by federal, state, or local institutions. It's best to have an idea of the cost before you get your heart set on a single property.
8. Include Flood Insurance in Your Monthly Costs
Natural disasters can bolster the cost of flood insurance. Even if you think you'll never need it, a waterfront property is always best protected when flood insurance is calculated into the cost.
9. Know How Secluded You Really Want to Be
Waterfront real estate is appealing because it's quiet and serene, but if this will be your year-round residence, make sure you've taken winter into consideration if you're looking for lakefront property where snowfall can change the landscape quickly. Super-secluded spots can make it difficult to get to the store when blizzards hit, so you may want to look for a place that has easy access to shopping. However, if you're willing to rough it, or if you'll only be using the property in the summer, seclusion is a great way to go! Of course, if you're looking for beachfront property in Florida, parts of California or the Carolinas, winters won't really be a concern you'll have to worry about.
10. Explore the Pros and Cons of Private Beaches Versus Public Shores
There are pros and cons to each. Make sure you have an idea what you're looking for before you and your real estate agent start house-hunting, but be open to possibilities if your real estate agent has a property they insist you must see.
As you're shopping for waterfront real estate, be sure to keep these tips in mind. The more you know, the more likely you'll be to find a home that makes you happy for many years to come. Contact me if you have questions about buying waterfront property!
