How to Keep Your Home Cool Without Cranking Up the A/C
How to Keep Your Home Cool Without Cranking Up the A/C Want to keep your home cool this summer without having to pay an arm and a leg in utility costs? Here are three alternative ways to cool your home. Selling in the greater Houston area? Get a market analysis report Purchasing in the greater Houston area? Get full MLS access Temperatures are rising and so are your utility bills, courtesy of that big power hog: your air conditioner. If you want to cut down your cooling costs without having to crank up the A/C, here are three tricks you can try instead: 1. Fans and ice. You can easily make a DIY air conditioner, with nothing more than a box fan and some ice. Simply put the ice into a bowl and place it in front of the running fan. As the ice melts, it cools the air around it. The fan will then disperse that wonderfully cool air all around your home. Fans can do more than that, though. Another cooling trick is to run your ceiling fans counterclockwise—this will pull up the hot air, leaving you sitting in a cooler space. And installing a whole-house fan can literally pull out all the hot air from your home and siphon it up and out at minimal cost. 2. Green cooling. Plants do a wonderful job absorbing sunshine and reducing the summer heat. If you’re planning to stay in your home for a while, it might make sense to plant several deciduous trees on the south side of your home. Another option is several potted sunflowers, which grow quickly but have large leaves. Climbing vines or foliage on a trellis can keep the front of your home cool, while a green roof will both increase your comfort and reduce your energy bills year-round. Some of these will actually boost your home’s value. 3. A summertime schedule. For this natural trick, simply open up the windows in the early morning and shut them before you go to work. This will allow you to suck in some cool air and to keep out the hot air later in the day. For even better results, draw the shades during the day and consider getting a heat-blocking blackout curtain These kinds of simple heat-busting tricks can be effective at reducing the heat during the summer months and lowering your energy bills by 30% to 50%. Plus, small investments like planting a tree or installing a whole-house fan can also boost the value of your home. I bring this up because the summer is also when the real estate market gets hot. If you’re thinking about buying or selling a home any time in the near future, don’t hesitate to reach out and give me a call or send me an email today. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Written by Ruby Miranda on September 24, 2018. Posted in Buyer Tips, Home Maintenance, Seller TipsTags: Home Maintenance, Ruby Miranda Trackback from your site. Leave a Reply
Which Renovations Will Give You the Most Bang for Your Buck?
Which Renovations Will Give You the Most Bang for Your Buck? Today I want to share with you some home renovations you should consider and some you should avoid if you want a high return on your investment. Looking to buy in the Greater Houston Area? Get a full MLS accessLooking to Sell in the Greater Houston Area? Get a free home market analysis If you’re thinking of making some renovations to your home, how do you know which ones will be a solid investment and which won’t? It’s key to consider mass appeal for the sake of resale value. Throughout any renovation process, it’s key to consider mass appeal for the sake of resale value. Whether you’re planning to remain in your home for a while or looking to freshen up the place to put it on the market, here are some renovations experts say will bring the greatest return on your investment: Entry door replacement, 96.6% Deck additions, 87.4% Attic bedroom, 84.3% Garage door replacement, 83.7% Minor kitchen remodeling, 82.7% On the flip side, here are the renovations that yield the smallest return: Home office remodel, 48.9% Sunroom additions, 51.7% Bathroom additions, 60.1% Backup generators and master suite additions, 67.5% These are definitely things to consider when thinking about making renovations to your home. If you have any questions about which renovations to make to your home or you’re thinking about buying or selling a home in our market, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help. Contact Us Written by Ruby Miranda on September 23, 2018. Posted in Buyer Tips, First Time Home Sellers, Home Maintenance, Sell Your Home, Seller TipsTags: Buyer Tips, First Time Seller, Ruby Miranda, Sell Your Home, Seller Tips Trackback from your site. Leave a Reply
Why Consider Buying in a Seller’s Market?
Even though we are in a seller’s market, it’s a great time to buy. Here’s why. Looking to buy in the Greater Houston Area? Get a full MLS accessLooking to Sell in the Greater Houston Area? Get a free home market analysis If we’re in a seller’s market, why would you consider buying a home in 2017? Well, according to Forbes, home prices appreciated beyond expectations in 2016 and mortgage rates were flirting with record lows before inevitably passing 4% for the first time in two years. Home prices rose in every month of 2016, with the largest increase being in the last half of the year. According to experts, prices will continue their climb in 2017, but at a lower rate. This means you can take advantage of the slowdown in appreciation right now. Mortgage rates are going up, too. Economists predict that they will increase by at least 1% by the end of 2017. If you wait to buy a house, you might not be able to afford the same home you could now. Why would you wait to save up and have less buying power? Economists predict interest rates will go up by 1% this year. More and more millennials are transitioning from renting to buying, but the inventory of homes is limited and probably won’t grow significantly in the next few years. Home builders aren’t building enough homes to make up for the shortage, either. With mortgage rates and home prices increasing, affordability will become a problem in the near future. If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Contact Us Written by Ruby Miranda on September 23, 2018. Posted in Buy A Home, Buyer Tips, Financing A Home, First Time Home Buyers, Home Loan Process, Market SnapshotTags: Buy Your Home, Buyer Tips, Financing A Home, First Time Buyer, Market Snapshot Trackback from your site. Leave a Reply
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