Archives for April 2016

Landscaping on a Budget

April 28, 2016 by Kyle

Money-saving tips to stretch your dollar

The beauty of your landscaping largely determines the curb appeal of your home. In other words, it determines how welcoming your home looks from the outside. Moreover, curb appeal also affects the resale value of your home. This is exactly why it’s so important to invest time, money, and effort in your home’s landscaping. However, just because your landscaping looks like a million bucks doesn’t mean that it should cost that much. In fact, there are plenty of ways to maintain and improve your home’s landscaping without spending too much money in the process. If you’re interested, read on to discover quite a few dollar-stretching landscaping tips.

Do your homework. Mistakes can be costly. In fact, many of these mistakes won’t just cost you money, but also time and effort as well. To save you from committing any high-priced mistakes, you’ll need to do your research. Fortunately for you, we’re in the information age and all the knowledge you’ll ever need is right at your fingertips. Gardening websites, eBooks, and maybe even helpful experts on a forum or blog can be great sources of useful landscaping knowledge.

Compare shops. One landscaping shop may offer the exact same product as another, but at a wildly different cost. That’s why it’s always a good idea to compare the varying offers of different shops before settling on just one.

Split the costs. Have a friend or neighbor that also has a landscaping project? If so, you might want to split the cost of bulk orders and equipment rentals with them. You could even take things one step further by splitting shipping costs for mail-order purchases.

Consider used products. A new product isn’t necessarily a better product. There are plenty of used plants, tools, and equipment available on today’s market. More often than not, these used products will perform at more or less the same level, but may be bought at a much cheaper price.

Know your soil. Have your soil tested to learn more about it’s pH level and nutrient content. By doing so, you’ll be able to know which types of plants grow best on your property and which do not. Preferring the former and avoiding the latter will help you significantly lower your maintenance costs.

Grass clippings and fallen leaves. Don’t throw away grass clippings and fallen leaves. Instead, use them as compost or mulch to add healthy nutrients for your plants. Over time, this tip will help you save a significant amount on fertilization expenses.

Living Green

April 25, 2016 by Kyle

Tips for a greener home

There are quite a few ways to improve the eco-friendliness of your home. You can invest in big ways like using solar panels or small ways like growing food for your personal consumption. What matters is that living green does not necessarily entail an expensive or difficult lifestyle. All you need is a little know-how and the willingness to help Mother Nature. What’s even better is that, sometimes, living green can even help you lower your bills.

If you want to take the first step to a greener home, here are a few proven tips that you might want to consider:

Upgrade the insulation. Believe it or not, adding insulation can reduce your heating and cooling bills by around 25 percent. Unfortunately, upgrading your insulation can also be a costly proposition, so if you don’t have enough extra cash for it, you might want to consider investing in thermal shades or draft guards for the exterior doors instead. By taking these very simple and relatively inexpensive steps, you’ll be able to help your home retain heat during the winter and block heat during the summer.

Donate your old stuff. Instead of throwing out your old stuff, donate it to a charity instead. According to some studies, for every piece of clothing, pair of shoes or other similar item donated, you can help reduce carbon emissions by approximately 27 pounds. This is because donations can help reduce landfill waste and excess production of the same item.

Steer clear of pesticides. As the old saying goes, prevention is better than cure. If you want to enjoy the benefits of effective pest control, your best option is to prevent a pest issue from developing in the first place. As a general rule, keep your home, especially your kitchen and dining room, clean and crumb-free. You’ll also want to seal any cracks, holes, and crevices that you may find on your walls or floor. However, if you do end up with a pest problem, try to avoid harmful pesticides and bug sprays. Instead, try using proven home remedies and other greener solutions first.

Turn off your appliances. While this may seem obvious, it’s still a mistake that’s still pretty common among the general populace. Always turn off your appliances when not in use. You’ll also want to keep an eye out for appliances that still suck up power simply by being plugged in. For example, your computer may be on sleep mode, but it’s still using electricity. To be more eco-friendly, you’ll need to completely turn off both your computer and your monitor.

How to Pick Paint Colors for Your Home

April 21, 2016 by Kyle

Studies have suggested that color accounts for roughly 60 percent of an average person’s response to a particular place or object. Despite its significant psychological and physical effects, color actually works in a very subtle way. Unfortunately, this often results in the importance of color being underestimated. But if you’ve ever tried picking a color for your home, you know firsthand just how confusing the endless options can be. So, to help you out, we’ve compiled a few tips on how to find the perfect color for your plain white walls.

Start small. If you aren’t completely sure where to start, you can always try a small project before repainting your entire home. Some good places to experiment include the bathroom, powder room, accent walls or even a hallway between rooms.

Consider the mood. Before start painting, think about the mood you want the room to encourage. For example, if you want your bedroom to be soothing and restful, then you might want to consider using neutrals, as well as soft and cool colors.

For some rooms, you can even choose between two or more moods. Dining rooms, for instance, can either be casual or formal, depending on the colors you choose. Bright, warm, and contrasting colors encourage a casually social atmosphere, while neutrals and deep blue-greens convey more formality.

Test your choice. Don’t think twice about testing the colors you’re interested in. Consider painting a large area of your wall or wide poster board to get a solid idea of how the color will ultimately look once applied to the entire room. If you’re interested in trying something new, consider chocolate brown, olive green or other deep neutrals.

Think about the big picture. Consider each room as a plane of color. Approach the entire thing as a composition and think about how each plane of color will interact with the others. So, as you leave one room, pay particular attention on how well the colors flow or transition into the next room.

Keep in mind the effects of lighting. Have you ever wondered why the best paint stores provide customers with light boxes? Well, that’s because different types of lighting can have different effects on different colors. If you want to see the color in its truest form, you should view it in natural daylight. On the other hand, incandescent lights enhance warm tones and fluorescent lights enhance blue tones. Consequently, if you use strong colors on walls next to large windows, they may have overpowering results. But if you use the same colors on walls with artificial light, they may look much better.

Top House Hunting Tips

April 18, 2016 by Kyle

If you’ve ever tried house hunting, then you know firsthand just how difficult the process can be. This is especially true for first time homeowners who are more susceptible to being overwhelmed by the property’s best characteristics, while unintentionally downplaying several factors that may prove important later on. To avoid this, you should streamline your inspection process to make it more effective for future prospects. If you need additional assistance, here’s a list of effective tips that should help you out.

Get your priorities straight. Before you even start house hunting, take some time to reflect on what qualities you truly want in your future home. Make a list of these qualities and don’t forget to ask other members of your household for input as well. Afterwards, narrow down your list. Choose the top five qualities your future home really must have. Keep the other things on your list in mind, but make sure you always prioritize the top five qualities.

Make a comparative chart. After you’ve examined several potential houses, it becomes progressively more difficult to accurately remember the features of each one. So, do yourself a favor by bringing a comparative chart with you during every visit. While you’re touring the house, list down any noteworthy features or problems you may find along the way. In particular, you’ll want to note the prominent bedroom and bathroom features, landscaping, condition of its exterior and roof, amount of storage space, square footage, and estimated cost of repairs.

Ask if you can take photos or videos. You’d be surprised at how quick memory can fade. Fortunately, by taking photos and videos, you can make sure you have an accurate and detailed idea of how a particular house looks. It might even be a good idea to sketch a rough floor plan to accompany your photos and videos, so you can get a more complete picture. Before doing so however, make sure you get the realtor’s permission and use the photos and videos for personal use only.

Be thorough. For an average person, purchasing a home is one of the biggest, if not the biggest investment of their life. This is exactly why it’s important to thoroughly inspect a particular property before committing to it. Aside from all the usual places, you’ll also want to check the places that are not normally within your field of vision, such as the ceiling, roof, beneath the sink, inside the cabinets, and under the carpet. Any one of these places could be concealing serious damage, which could significantly increase your initial repair and move in costs.

DFW Next Boomtown?

April 13, 2016 by Kyle

The American Dream is alive and kicking in Texas. In a recent study, popular business magazine Forbes, analyzed over 50 large metropolitan areas across the United States in the hopes of finding out which cities will likely be the most prosperous within the next ten years. Overall, the results basically showed two very different types of cities: opportunity cities and technology hubs.

The term “opportunity cities” was coined by Forbes. They use it to refer to areas that enjoy more industry choices, lower living costs, and more numerous families. On the other hand, technology hubs are mainly characterized by a large inflow of educated young professionals, as well as a higher average income.

Although this was a national study, most Texans will be pleasantly surprised to discover that four out of these ten cities are part of the Lone Star State. These Texas cities were Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. To quote Forbes, “the most vital parts of urban America can be encapsulated largely in one five-letter word: Texas.”

Although Austin took the top spot on the list, the other cities weren’t far behind either. San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth were ranked fourth, fifth, and seventh, respectively. These three Lone Star cities boast the most significant increase of new jobs over recent years, amounting to approximately 80,000. What’s even better is that this steady growth has been accompanied by relatively low real estate prices and very strong local economies.

Dallas-Fort Worth, in particular, was praised for its strategically placed airport, which was considered instrumental in encouraging corporate relocations. Moreover, the metropolitan area was also dubbed a “major immigrant hub” which attracts plenty of new residents, specifically those who seek opportunities to grow as an entrepreneur and upward mobility in general. In particular, there was a 15 percent increase in job growth from the year 2010 to 2015, as well as an 8 percent increase in population from the year 2010 to 2014. Moreover, many of these new residents are young and educated. To be specific more than 30 percent are 25 to 44-year old college graduates.

With all that said, one crystal clear pattern emerges: the improvement of vital demographics and increased job creation will definitely fuel growth in the region not only for the immediate future, but also for the following decade. It’s people that create economies. When it comes down to it, they will prefer actions over words, showing others which cities they believe hold the nation’s future by moving there themselves.

Sources:

http://www.ebby.com/blog/2016/01/d-fw-americas-next-boomtown/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/joelkotkin/2011/07/06/the-next-big-boom-towns-in-the-u-s/#755789246e63

http://austin.culturemap.com/news/innovation/01-24-16-austin-forbes-next-boom-town-dell-future-ready-economies-ranking/