Additions to the Kitchen That Are Eco-Friendly

 If you are in the market to update your kitchen, why not update and go green? When updating your kitchen try to choose materials and appliances that help make your life healthier and more efficient. Choosing Energy Star-certified appliances will conserve water and energy. Here are several ways you can turn your dream kitchen into a green kitchen.

1. Clean up with an energy-efficient dishwasher

Beko, a home appliance manufacturer, is known for its energy-efficient, sleek styles. They have several dishwashers that use 50% less water and 25% less energy but still clean as thoroughly as the U.S. standards for dishwashers. They do this by using their own CornerIntense sprayer which is a three-arm design that sprays water in a rectangular motion instead of the traditional circular spray. Beko also offers a feature that rinses the Beko EverClean filter which prolongs the life up to four times longer than manual cleaning. Not only do Beko’s energy-efficient models help with the environment, but they also look good and have a whisper-soft operating sound.

2. Grow Your Garden…..

Going green means you are shrinking your carbon footprint. A good way to start is by adding a countertop composter which will help reduce your food waste by around 80%! You will not only help the environment but will also deal with less trash that will end up in a landfill. If you are a gardener, this is a perfect way to get your nutrient-rich soil.

3. Find A Fresher Fridge

A fridge can become a smelly place pretty quickly. Beko’s French three-door Stainless Steel Refrigerator will help get rid of any old veggies or fruits that are smelly. This fridge comes with EverFresh + technology that copies natural lighting conditions which will extend the photosynthesis process inside your refrigerator. Your fruits and veggies can stay fresh and retain their nutrients for up to 30 days. The dual-cooling system also helps maintain the humidity levels which helps keep a freezer frost-free.

4. Stop With The Single-Use Soda Bottles

Add a SodaStream PET carbonating bottle to your list. This is a great way to create bubbles at home. This bottle can be reused for up to three years and it will save you from using thousands of single-plastic bottles which pollute and end up in our oceans.

5. Reclaim The Recycling Process

Unfortunately, even if you separate your recyclables, they are not guaranteed to end up being recycled. In fact, it has been said that up to one-third of what we put in recycling bins end up in landfills. Beko’s Lass at-home recycler is a great way to make sure this does not happen by finding a way for every scrap to be repurposed. When you toss a bottle, can, or other items into the Lass at-home recycler, it does the guesswork for you by using sensors to determine if the waste can be recycled. It also goes as far as to wash items that can be recycled, grind it down, and store the remaining materials. Although this product will not be for sale to the public until 2024, it can be reserved as part of Beko’s pre-sale phase.

6. Flex Your Green Thumb

A garden can be grown inside your home, using the AeroGarden by Beko. The machine uses little local flora for an indoor hydroponic herb garden. There is no experience necessary when it comes to gardening. You simply drop in seed pods and then just add plant food and water. The LED light and quiet water pump will do the rest until you have greens to eat such as basil, oregano, romaine lettuce and more.

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The Housing Market Today

 At the end of 2022, the housing market was still weakening due to buyers not being able to afford home prices due to the spike in home prices coupled with the rising mortgage interest rates. NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz reported that at the beginning of 2023, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate was down from November 2022 to 6.5% from 7.1%.

NAHB believes that around 18 million households have been priced out of the current market. The decline in affordability is clearly reflected in current housing sales statistics: The volume of existing home sales in November 2022 was 35% lower than in November 2021. The Census data shows that new home sales were down 15% on a year-to-date basis.

Along with the pricing and interest rate comes low inventory. More construction is needed over a long-term period. According to the National Association of Home Builders, their new study reports that the current housing market is underbuilt by 1.5 million homes. Single-family builder sentiment, which is measured by the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), has been falling every month since December 2021. Unfortunately, this has been the lowest reading they have seen since 2012 and close to 62% of builders are offering some form of sales incentives to entice home buyers.

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Homeownership For Retirees

 Homeownership is a big life change and comes with many unique challenges. Keeping up with a home can be daunting and if you are in your retirement years, this might not be how you want to spend them. Owning a home after you retire can affect your health, finances, and your well-being.

“It’s a complicated question because it involves emotions and decades of memory. Living in the right place can add to your longevity and promote healthy retirement lifestyles. And likewise, the wrong place can shorten your longevity and shorten the aging process. I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” explains Nancy Schwartz, founder and transformational strategist for Envision Healthy Retirement.

Since this can look different for different people, retirement planning should be done on an individual basis. If you are unsure of what do, hire a professional. In the meantime, here are three questions to ask yourself when you are retired and considering homeownership.

1. Can You Afford to Stay in Your Home In Retirement?

Your current financial situation will be the biggest determining factor when asking yourself this question. “If you still have a mortgage on your house, are you going to be able to afford that? If a spouse passes away, can you still afford that once you lose Social Security or if the pension gets reduced?” asks Kimberly Strosnider, president and founder of Estate and Wealth Management Services LLC.

How much money is tied up in your home is another determining factor. It might be in your best interest to sell your home to help finance your retirement. “If you don’t have a nest egg put aside, does it make more sense to sell the home, get a smaller place, and then use the equity to help finance your retirement?,” asks Strosnider.

As an example say you are a homeowner of a million dollar home that you do not want to sell. You cannot bank on that $1 million as discretionary spending but it is holding cost. Think of it as renting to yourself. Remember owning a home has many expenses, so you cannot think of this home as a liquid asset you can leave your children.

2. Is Your Home Set Up for Aging?

If you live in a three story home on a hill, this might not be the best suited home for you to live in as you age. When decided if your home is suited for aging, you need to look at everything from the layout to the size. Look at the accessibility of bedrooms and where you can add safety features to bedrooms and bathrooms. If you have stairs in your home, you might want to factor in getting a chair lift.

Sad to think about, but you need to think about if you have to live in your current home alone, could you keep it up. As you get older, maintenance gets harder. When you are alone, you also would like to live close to friends and family.

3. What Lifestyle Do You Envision in Retirement?

The kind of lifestyle you choose once you retire, will greatly affect the type of home you want to live in. If you want to travel, then a smaller home with less upkeep would be a smart choice. “Many clients who come see me, their number one goal is to travel. How much of a house do you need if you’re going to be traveling a lot?” comments Schwartz.

When making a decision like this, look at all the elements of your personal situation. Not only do you need to look at the practical side, but also how you feel about this decision. Important factors to include are financial, health, family and lifestyle.

“This is a huge decision that can affect your health and longevity. I come back to: Take time, learn all you can, asses it, and make the best decision possible. And then find that love, safety, and belonging in your new or your same home again,” advises Schwartz.

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Several Reasons To Purchase a Home This Winter

 It has been said that springtime is the perfect time to buy or sell a home, but is this always the case? Not necessarily, while springtime is the most popular time, winter months can work in a home buyer’s or seller’s favor. This can include having more time on your side to decide, not as much competition, and real estate agents have more time to focus on just you. Here are several reasons that this winter might be the right time to purchase a home.

1. Winter-Tested Houses

The winter brings harsh cold weather to most every area in the US. During the harsher cold weather, a home inspector can see the home’s flaws a little better. If you close on a home in the summer, you might have some surprises in store next winter. Professionals in the industry will tell you that the best time for a property inspection is during the rain and snow.

2. Motivate Sellers

Inventory is fairly low and slow in the winter. If someone puts their home on the market in the winter it usually means they are a motivated seller. If you are in the market for a new home, sellers will be more prone to accept offers and negotiate more on the price and closing costs during the slow winter months.

3. Fewer Buyers

The winter months are a great time to hibernate indoors so to speak. This means that there are fewer buyers out there during the colder months that are looking for a home to buy. You definitely will have less competition in the housing market during the winter. This means you can take your time and make sure you are not rushed into making an offer.

4. Available Realtors

Since winter is considered an “off-season” for realtors, this means that realtors have more time on their hands to devote to you and your search. A realtor will not only be able to devote more time but also support your specific home search.

5. Discounting Movers

Colder winter months are also slow for professional movers. This means that many movers might give company discounts for their services during this time. Since they will also have a lighter schedule, they will have more free time so they should be able to accommodate when you would like to move.

If you are ready to move before the spring, contact a local real estate agent who can help you with the home-buying process. A realtor can not only find you the home of your dreams but can get it at the right price and right terms.

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Myths About Custom Homes

 A custom home is a home that is built to the specifications of the buyer. Basically, the buyer of the home will get to choose every detail when it comes to their new home. Many home buyers shy away from building a custom home due to several myths.

The biggest myth is that a custom home is too expensive. Although this can be true, there are tons of ways to save when building a custom home. You do not need to have a massive budget for a custom build. Another big issue is that many home buyers feel it takes too long to build a new home. Many custom homes are actually built faster than mass-produced homes.

When it comes to custom builders, there are plenty out there and they are easy to find. The best way is through recommendations and searching online. You will want to be sure to ask the builder you have chosen about their experience, process and pricing.

Remember, working with a builder who understands what you want and knows your budget is the key. A good builder will help you find ways to save money through the homebuilding process.

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Will the Madisonville Bridge Be Changed?

 Madisonville is a quite small town outside of a big city so why would the town need to expand its two-lane bridge? If you are a resident or are familiar with Madisonville, then you know about the two-lane swing bridge crossing the Tchefuncte River along Louisiana 22. Traffic is a nightmare so many commuters come through that way. Will changing the bridge to accommodate the traffic hurt the quaint town?

Mandeville Mayor Clay Madden discusses the bridge and says it is the topic of discussion for two years in a row at a traffic summit that he organized. He goes on to explain that the small bridge plays a big part in Western St. Tammany Parish’s traffic problem. Rep. Mark Wright of Covington has put forth a resolution to the state Department of Transportation and Development to conduct a study on how traffic can be alleviated over the Tchefuncte River. He backs it up by saying that St. Tammany has been rapidly growing and the Madisonville bridge is a detournement to economic development. No matter what the study shows, the bridge is part of the town’s landscape.

“What can be done to a two-lane bridge in a small town? I don’t know,” says Madisonville Mayor Jean Pelloat.

The town does not want a huge high bridge, which is what would happen if they turned the bridge into a fixed bridge with more lanes. Boats have to pass beneath the bridge if it does not swing to give clearance. “No one wants to make a high rise over Madisonville,” replies Sharp. St. Tammany Parish Council member Michael Lorino says this just might have to happen to accommodate the traffic pile-up. He feels that raising the bridge height to allow most boats to go through without having an open bridge can be done by keeping the quaint town atmosphere.

Some relief has already come in the form of a new bridge opening schedule which will begin in April. Instead of opening on-call every half-hour, it will open every hour on-call. This will help with the morning and afternoon rush. There are also several projects that will improve traffic flow that will be done in the surrounding areas. This will include a roundabout at Louisiana 1085 and Louisiana 22, rerouting Main Street traffic to Cedar Street along with a roundabout at the intersection with Louisiana 22, the state also plans to add a turning lane on Louisiana 22 from Tangipahoa Parish line east to Perrilloux Road.

“You can’t make the traffic disappear, because you can’t make the houses disappear. But you can make it move a little better, says Lorino.

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Exciting New Trends for the Current Homebuyers

 The current housing market is starting to cool along with the buyer frenzy. Professionals in the industry have three trends that can benefit a buyer when they go to buy a home.

1. More Homes To Choose from

For the past several years, the housing market has hit a record low in housing inventory. This coupled with high buyer demand made it hard to even find a home to purchase. The Calculated Risk reported that homes for sale increased by 39.5% in the last week of October 2022 from the same time in 2021. It is still a seller’s market, but the good news for buyers is that there is more inventory to choose from when finding your new home.

2. Bidding Wars Have Eased

With the demand for buyers over the past several years came huge bidding wars. Luckily, for buyers today, things are different. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) the offers on sold homes have declined recently. This fall, September showed the average was 2.5 offers per sale, which was down from the 3.7 offers per sale from last September 2021. Since this has started to slow down, the bidding wars are as well, making it a great time to get back into the market and search for a home without the huge influx of competition.

3. More Negotiation Power

When there is less competition for buyers, then there is more negotiation power on your side. The last couple of years has seen buyers willing to skip things like appraisals and inspections in order to win a bidding war. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows that buyers in today’s market are not waiving all contingencies. Appraisal and inspection are two very important factors when it comes to purchasing a home. A survey from Realtor.com shows that 95% of current sellers are accepting a house inspection from a buyer. Sixty-seven percent of sellers negotiated with buyers on repairs found during an inspection.

There are still challenges buyers must face in today’s market, but they are becoming more scarce. Now is a great time to purchase a new home, first find a local realtor who can help you on your journey to getting your dream home.

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