February Newsletter
We hope this month's newsletter finds you well! With Valentine's Day right around the corner, we thought you could use some tips on caring for freshly cut flowers. And do you have a special four-legged someone in your life? Then definitely check out our list of ways to keep pet fur from taking over your home. You'll also find some tips for buying a home in today's market, as well as a national housing market update.
Thank you, and enjoy!
-Katie, Olga, Darcie and Teresa
The benefits of keeping fresh flowers in your home are numerous. Flowers can boost your mood, reduce anxiety, add color and fragrance to the room, and even increase energy and creativity! So whether you’re given a bouquet on Valentine’s Day or you treat yourself to some blooms during your next grocery run, here are 7 tips for keeping those flowers fresh longer!
1) Start with a clean vase and clean clippers.
Wash with warm, soapy water to ensure bacteria and debris won’t affect the health of your flowers.
2) Remove any leaves that would be underwater in the vase.
This will help reduce bacteria growth.
3) Cut the bottom of the stems at a 45-degree angle.
This creates more surface area for water absorption and prevents the stem from sitting flush against the bottom of the vase (which could block the water from absorbing into the stem). After cutting, put the stems in water immediately before they can begin to form a seal.
4) Re-cut stems every few days, and replace the water every day.
Cutting the stems again boosts absorption, and replacing the water helps prevent bacteria.
5) Place your vase in an area of your home that receives indirect sunlight.
While some tropical plants prefer heat and humidity, most flowers will benefit from a cool and shaded spot that isn’t too close to your AC or heating vents.
6) Remove dying flowers and foliage.
Clip dead blooms to prevent them from growing mold and contaminating your healthy flowers.
7) Pop them in the fridge overnight.
If the flower arrangement fits, putting the vase in the refrigerator at night will lengthen the lifespan of many flowers.
To learn more, check out these helpful articles from Real Simple and Green Fresh Florals.
It's no secret that mortgage rates and home prices are sky-high right now. But with the right strategies - and a lot of patience - you can buy the house of your dreams this year!
1) Set a realistic budget.
The first step is to set realistic expectations about what you can afford. Interest rates are expected to remain at around 6% or 7% and home prices are still slowly increasing, so you’ll need to plan for a larger down payment and higher monthly mortgage payments than you would have paid two years ago. Talk to a mortgage lender now (or use an online mortgage calculator) to determine a realistic budget.
Anna Sergunina, CFP at Main Street Financial Planning, recommends planning to spend no more than 30% of your monthly gross income on your mortgage payment. Other financial advisors set the maximum at 28%.
In addition to your monthly mortgage payments, you also need to account for your down payment, closing costs, home inspection, moving costs, and maybe even repairs to your current home if you’re also selling.
2) Make a large down payment.
“Since the rates are so much higher now, one way to help buy ‘more’ home is to save more for down payment,” says Sergunina.
A higher down payment will lower your monthly mortgage payments, thereby decreasing the amount of interest you’ll pay over time. Here are some ideas from Investopedia for bulking up your down payment:
If you’re a first-time home buyer, you can withdraw up to $10,000 from your traditional IRA or Roth IRA without having to pay the 10% early withdrawal penalty.
Make lifestyle changes to cut costs and save up cash. Some ideas could be moving into a smaller apartment, sharing one car between you and your partner/spouse, or dining out less.
Ask for a gift from a family member. A cash gift can be a tax write-off for the donor (for amounts up to $17,000 in 2023).
3) Shop around for a mortgage.
Experts recommend getting quotes from three to five different lenders on the same day (as interest rates can fluctuate from day to day).
You should also explore the different mortgage programs available to you. If you’re a first-time homebuyer, your city or state might offer special assistance programs. Other considerations are the FHA loan program or the VA loan (if you’re a U.S. service member or veteran), which allow you to make a low down payment without paying PMI fees. Ask us for our lender recommendations if you're interested in speaking to a professional!
To learn more about buying a home in 2023, check out these helpful articles by Fortune and MarketWatch.
To learn more about buying a home in 2023, check out these helpful articles by Fortune and MarketWatch.
Even if your pet is the love of your life, you're probably not too crazy about finding their shed fur all over your house. Whether it's embedded into your carpet or has found it's way into your kitchen, here are some tips from Chewy for keeping your home fur-free.
1) Stay on top of grooming.
The first step toward a fur-free home is to reduce the amount of fur that is actually shed! While cats are pretty good about grooming themselves, there are some dog breeds that need regular brushing and bathing. Rover.com has a great list of grooming tools and dog brushes for pets that shed a lot.
2) Keep your pet healthy with plenty of exercise, a healthy diet, and regularly scheduled vet visits.
Factors such as stress, nutritional deficiencies, allergies, and other health issues can lead to excessive shedding.
3) Vacuum. Every. Day.
I highly recommend using a robot vacuum and programming it to run at the same time every day while you’re at work.
4) Dust every other day.
Use a microfiber cloth or duster (or these hilarious dog mop slippers) to wipe down your coffee table, TV stand, bookcases, and other fur-collecting surfaces. Use a slightly dampened floor mop to dust your hard floors every few days.
5) Use an air purifier.
That’s right, those pet hairs are going airborne, and you definitely don’t want them floating into your cup of coffee. An air purifier will pull in fur and dander, making your home more comfortable for your friends who have dog or cat allergies.
6) Wash your bedding weekly.
To make things easier, use a duvet cover so you don’t have to wash an enormous comforter every week, and buy a second set of sheets to swap in between washes.
7) Use washable covers on your upholstered furniture.
Or, if your pet has a favorite spot on the couch, keep that area covered with a blanket that’s easy to throw in with the laundry.
8) Invest in some excellent pet hair removal tools.
Doglab.com calls the Gonzo Pet Hair Lifter the best all-around pet hair remover for any surface. Check out Doglab.com’s full list for recommendations on tools for removing pet hair from clothing, laundry, floors, and even the interior of your car!
It can feel like a lot of work to keep pet fur from taking over your home, but the right routine and tools can make it a lot easier!
(And your furry friend sure is worth it.)
National Housing Market Update
It's chilly out there folks - and we’re not just talking about the weather.
Mortgage rates increased sharply at the end of 2022, with a 30-year-fixed jumping to 7.37% in October. Rates have since crept back down, reaching 6.48% in early January.
Meanwhile, we've finally begun to see home prices decline. After 124 consecutive months of price growth, home prices fell 2.4% between June and October 2022. According to Fortune, the majority of the nation's top housing researchers believe prices will continue to fall in 2023. Out of 27 researchers, only 4 expect prices to rise.
Low inventory is one factor that could keep prices high. According to the NAR, the already-low inventory of unsold existing homes declined for four consecutive months starting in August 2022, and dropped 6.6% from October to November.
Many real estate experts are describing the current market as 'frozen.' Data from November shows that existing home sales have been declining steadily for at least 10 months. The combination of high mortgage rates, low inventory, and high prices has many hopeful buyers and sellers at a standstill.
Click the links above to dig deeper into the data, or give our team a call if you would like to discuss over the phone!