Title Insurance Blog

By Paul Bianchina

For savings and safety, don’t neglect ducts

Your clothes dryer is one of the hardest-working appliances in your home. It’s also a fairly basic appliance in how it operates, and if it’s properly vented and maintained, it should give you years, even decades, of reliable service.

But “properly vented and maintained” is the catch. Because a dryer is such a simple appliance to install and operate, many people don’t give it much thought. They set it in place, plug it in, vent it through that pipe coming up out of the floor — typically with the wrong type of vent hose — then forget about it. And there it sits, slowly degrading in performance, using up increasingly greater and greater amounts of energy, and becoming a bigger fire hazard with each passing day!

Dryer operation 101

When you put in wet clothes and activate a drying cycle, here’s what happens: A fan is activated to draw air into the dryer through the front. The air is heated by a heating element, then passed through the drum, which is rotating to circulate both the clothes and the air. The hot air draws moisture from the clothes, and is then directed through the dryer’s door and through a lint screen. A fan pushes the now moisture-laden air into a duct that exits through the back of the dryer.

The two important things for you to know in all that is that the air in your dryer is both extremely moist and also — despite the lint trap — still full of fine lint. If you don’t handle that air and that lint properly, it’s inevitably going to lead to problems.

Lint that builds up in the dryer and in the vent pipes will retain moisture. Now every time your dryer operates, it has to work harder and harder to dry the clothes, and to push the wet air past the wet lint in the lines. That lengthens the time your clothes takes to dry, which, plain and simple, is throwing away your hard-earned money. It also shortens the life of your dryer. Besides that, the moisture in the lines is a breeding ground for mold, and it prevents your clothes from being and smelling completely clean. Finally, lint further along the lines that dries out is extremely flammable, and is one of the leading causes of house fires.

Proper dryer venting

At the rear of your dryer is a 4-inch diameter vent, which is where the internal fan is going to push all that wet air. It’s up to you to make sure that vent pipe gets properly connected to the outside, and there are three basic components in the dryer venting system that you’ll want to set up in order to do that correctly:

1. The duct between inside and outside: From the inside of the house, you’ll need a duct that leads to the exterior. In homes with a crawl space or a basement, this is usually run under the floor, elbowing up through the floor to terminate right behind the dryer. If the dryer is located on an exterior wall, you can simplify the installation and shorten the duct run by simply going right through the wall. For dryers located on a second floor, or on a concrete slab, duct pipes are often run vertically into the attic, then out through a side wall.

Use 4-inch smooth-wall galvanized or aluminum duct pipe that’s made for this purpose, not flex duct. Flex duct traps both lint and moisture, and is very hard to clean. Smooth-wall pipe is typically sold in 5-foot lengths, with one end crimped so that it slides easily into the uncrimped end of the next pipe. Seal the joints using a good-quality metallic seam tape — not regular cloth duct tape. For changes in direction, use adjustable elbows.

Remember that the dryer fan has only a limited ability push the wet air, so keep the length of the duct run as short as possible, with as few elbows as you can. Support the ducts with strapping to avoid sags, and try to angle the run down from the dryer to the exterior to prevent any moisture from accumulating in the pipe. Refer to the dryer manufacturer’s specific instructions for their suggestions on maximum ducting lengths and other information.

2. Exterior cap: At the outside of the house, whether you pass through a wall or a foundation, you’ll need to terminate the duct pipe in a cap. The best type of cap to use is one with a set of three or four overlapping damper flaps, as opposed to one large one. These smaller flaps will open easily when the dryer is in operation to allow air to exit, then close to keep cold air and pests from entering the house.

3. Interior flex connection: Behind the dryer, you’ll need a connection between the dryer’s vent pipe and the duct pipe that’s coming through the floor or the wall. In order to make it easier to pull the dryer out for periodic cleaning, this connection needs to be flexible — it’s the only flex line in the entire setup. To avoid potential fire hazards, this flex line needs to be aluminum, not the inexpensive white vinyl.

Keep it clean

Now that you have everything properly set up, it’s crucial that you keep everything clean. Remove and clear the lint trap with every load of laundry. Every couple of weeks, rinse the lint trap in the sink and clean it with a fine brush, like an old toothbrush, so that fine lint particles don’t build up on the screen.

Even with the screen, lint still accumulates in the duct system. To keep your dryer working correctly and to avoid wasting money, you should clean the duct system itself every couple of years — more if you have a large family and use the dryer a lot. You can probably clean a short run yourself, such as those that pass straight through an exterior wall. Longer runs should be professionally cleaned by a company that has the proper vacuums and brushes; check online under “lint cleaning” or “dryer cleaning,” or call a local appliance repair shop to check for recommendations in your area.

By Barry Stone

Buyers shocked after learning property’s true age

DEAR BARRY: When we bought our home, the seller and agent said that it was only 2 years old. They did not disclose that it was built on the slab of an old house that had burned to the ground. The septic system, which is also old, has had problems requiring repair, and we’re worried about old pipes that may be installed under the slab. Is anyone responsible for this lack of disclosure? –Vickie

DEAR VICKIE: Problems of this kind could be avoided if homebuyers would consult the local building department for a permit history, prior to closing escrow. Unfortunately, most buyers are not given this advice.

If the seller of your home knew the history of the house (that it was built on an old foundation and that there was an old septic system), that information should have been disclosed. The same obligation applies to the agent, if the history of the property was known.

It is unlikely that the house fire had an adverse effect on the slab or foundation. If the local building department was doing its job, the old foundation should have been inspected and approved when the house was rebuilt. The age of the underground sewer pipes could be an issue if the original home was very old. These can be evaluated by a plumber who does video inspections of waste piping.

The septic system should have been pumped and inspected by a qualified septic contractor before you bought the property. If this was not done, you were not properly advised by your agent. If the age of the system was the reason for recent repairs, the sellers should take responsibility for costs because they did not disclose the true history of the property.

You should write a letter to the sellers and the agent, making your request for payment, as well as an explanation for the lack of disclosure.

DEAR BARRY: Our home was built in the 1960s. Recently, a wind damage report caused our homeowners insurance company to raise the premiums. Our insurance agent says it’s because the house doesn’t meet code. When the house was built, standards for bracing a home to resist wind forces were not the same as today’s codes. Is there any way for my home to be grandfathered, rather than having to comply with new codes? –Cora

DEAR CORA: Your home is already grandfathered as far as compliance with the building department. No one can compel you to make your home comply with newer codes — not even your insurer. However, insurance companies provide a service for a fee, and the fee is based upon their assessment of the risk for claims. They can’t compel you to modify your home or to buy their insurance. But they can raise your premiums if they believe there is a greater risk of damage because of older construction standards.

Your options are to find another insurance company that will not charge as much or to get a report from a structural engineer certifying that your home is stable and secure. Hopefully, you can find a less demanding insurer.

By Dian Hymer

Several factors can delay approval process

Some home-sale transactions close quickly, while others can take months. Two significant factors that affect most home sales are inspections of the property and financing the purchase.

Inspections should be done within the first couple of weeks after the offer is ratified, i.e., accepted by both buyer and seller. Usually, the day after ratification is day one of the contingency and closing time periods. This may vary from one location to the next.

When transactions fall apart soon after ratification, the cause is usually something discovered during the buyer’s inspections. It’s a good idea for sellers to get presale inspection reports so that the buyers have as much information about the property as possible before they make an offer.

Most home inspection reports make recommendations to consult other specialists such as a roofer, furnace contractor, drainage specialist or engineer. Few sellers have these additional inspections done. Even if they do, the buyers might want a second opinion.

Inspections are also somewhat subjective. One inspector might say a roof needs to be replaced; another might say it has a few years of life left as long as it is properly maintained. Transactions fall apart because the buyer and seller can’t come to an agreement on inspections, which means the sale doesn’t close, the house goes back on the market and the buyers renew their home search.

If the inspection issues are worked out satisfactorily, the next major hurdle that could delay your sale, or crater it, is the loan contingency. Cash buyers bypass this rigorous process; however, they do need to provide the sellers with evidence that they have sufficient liquid funds to close the sale.

All-cash deals can close whenever the buyers and sellers agree, after all inspection issues are resolved. Closing can occur in a week or two. Some all-cash buyers include an appraisal contingency in their contract to confirm that they’re not paying over market value.

In this case, it would take longer to close because an appraiser would need to visit the property and work up an appraisal report. If the property didn’t appraise for the purchase price, the buyer might be able to back out and have the deposit returned.

Both buyer and seller would start all over again. However, if they negotiated a resolution, the sale could close quickly and would take far less time than it does to close a sale involving a mortgage.

HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Purchase contracts include contingencies and time periods for them to be met. To avoid having to ask for extensions, make sure that the time periods you request are reasonable. An extension might not be granted if the seller has a backup offer for a higher price.

Buyers should get preapproved for the financing they need to close a home sale before their offer is accepted. This way, they are assured of what they can afford to pay. Preapproval can cut a few days off the loan approval process.

Loan approval can go relatively quickly if you present all required documentation promptly and your financial situation is not complicated. It can be more time consuming for buyers who are self-employed or are using other than W-2 income to qualify.

Part of loan approval involves an appraisal on the property by a licensed appraiser. This can slow the process down depending on the lender, how backlogged they are and the loan amount. A large loan amount can prompt the need for two appraisals, which adds more time to the approval process.

THE CLOSING: If you’re buying in an area where homes are selling quickly, it may take 35 to 45 days from contract acceptance for final loan approval and closing.

By Barry Stone

Are inspector, seller at fault for not revealing issue in attic?

DEAR BARRY: When we bought our home, the inspection report said nothing about damage in the attic. This week, I was in the attic, and one entire wall is scorched wood. What can I do to hold the sellers and the home inspector responsible for not disclosing this damage? –Eric

DEAR ERIC: The sellers may have a plausible excuse for nondisclosure because the fire may have occurred before they owned the property. The home inspector, on the other hand, appears to have been negligent. Inspection of the attic is standard procedure for a home inspector, if the attic space is accessible. Since you are able to enter the attic, accessibility does not appear to have been a problem unless you had a portly home inspector. You should contact the inspector to get an explanation for this undisclosed condition.

Blackened wood from a past fire does not always mean that the wood members are significantly damaged. Therefore, further evaluation of the fire damage is recommended. You should also contact the local authorities to see if a fire report on the property was ever filed.

DEAR BARRY: I live in a split-level house, and the upper area will not stay cool no matter how long I run the air conditioner. On hot days, the unit runs almost all day long. What can I do to fix this problem? –Paul

DEAR PAUL: There are a few possibilities. The first is that the air conditioner is in need of service or repair. To check this, place your hand over one of the air registers to see if the system is producing cold air or simply recirculating the room temperature air. Another possibility is that the unit is undersized for your home. Either of these conditions warrant attention by a licensed heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) contractor. A third possibility is that your attic is poorly vented, insufficiently insulated, or both.

In either case, the house could be gaining heat from the exterior faster than the air conditioning can produce cold air. This could cause the system to run continuously. Again, it is recommended that all of these issues be reviewed by a qualified contractor.

DEAR BARRY: Before we bought our house, our home inspector recommended service and maintenance of the furnace prior to close of escrow. The sellers had someone come out to look at it. According to the real estate agent, the system worked, but no maintenance work was done. After moving in, we tried to turn it on, but it was inoperative. Are the sellers, the real estate agent or the service man responsible now that we have a nonworking furnace? –Mary

DEAR MARY: When the home inspector recommended “service and maintenance,” I assume he meant that this should be done by a licensed HVAC contractor. The question is: Who did the service? If it wasn’t a qualified professional, then the agent and sellers are responsible. If it was an HVAC contractor, you should contact that person and find out why the system was working then but is not working now.

By Dian Hymer

Without proper exposure, sellers may be leaving money on the table

Wouldn’t it be nice to sell your home without the hassle of exposing it to the public? Selling off-market works occasionally, but most sellers who try it eventually end up having to put their home on the market. This wastes time and could delay the sale.

There are other drawbacks to trying to sell without full market exposure. One is that it’s difficult to prepare your home for sale if prospective buyers are coming through. You have to stop work, and buyers see a work in progress.

It doesn’t make a good impression if your home is shown before it’s ready. Buyers remember what they see, not what you tell them it will look like when you finish painting a room or replacing outdated light fixtures.

Sellers in a desirable Oakland, Calif., neighborhood were asked by neighbors who needed a larger home if they could see the house before it went on the market. The buyers were so turned off by the poor appearance that they not only didn’t buy the house, but they didn’t even want to see it when it came on the market. So you can lose buyers by letting them see the house before it’s ready.

A potentially more serious downside of selling without exposing your home to the market is that you’ll never know what it could have sold for with the benefit of promotion. You might be leaving money on the table.

HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Effective marketing is one of the essential components of realizing the best price possible for your home. The other two are properly preparing your home for sale and pricing it right for the market.

You’ll get the best results by listing with a real estate agent who has a marketing plan that includes broad exposure. Find out exactly what an agent will do to encourage buyers to look at your home.

More than 85 percent of homebuyers today use the Internet as a part of their home search. Make sure that when your home goes on the market there are plenty of good photos that show your home off to advantage. Studies have shown that buyers ignore online listings that don’t have photos.

In order for buyers to connect with your home, the photos should be laid out in such a way that the buyers feel they are walking through your home. You don’t want to convey that the home has an odd floor plan by placing photos in a haphazard order.

It can’t be emphasized too much how important it is that the photos of your home are good-quality photos that represent the property accurately. Yard and view photos will help sell your home, or photos of any special feature your home has that can be displayed photographically, like a built-in outdoor barbecue.

Video is becoming a popular way to introduce buyers to a home. However, just as with still photos, poor videos can do more harm than good. Make sure that whoever takes the video is skilled. Some photos and videos look like they were taken by someone who was on the run, with no attention to whether the subject was in focus or properly lit.

Photos and videos capture what’s in view, so make sure your home is uncluttered and staged for sale before photos are taken.

The latest marketing tool that appeals to buyers who want information now is the QR code. Your agent should create a website for your home with its own URL and QR code. A rider with the website address and QR code can be attached to the real estate sign in front of your home.

THE CLOSING: Buyers with smartphones will scan a QR code to receive pertinent information about your home quickly.

Discover another way to fund your retirement without having to make payments on a loan.

By Mark P. Cussen, Investopedia

Reverse mortgages have existed in one form or another since the 1960s, but the modern version is just now beginning to enter public awareness as a viable debt instrument for homeowners. Although this type of loan has sometimes been viewed with distrust by both the financial planning community and the media, demand has been increasing because it can provide a quick solution for cash-strapped retirees. However, despite their usefulness, reverse mortgages are not suitable for everyone and there are situations where this type of product can be very detrimental. This article will examine the proper use of reverse mortgages and whom they are suited for.

What is a Reverse Mortgage?

A reverse mortgage allows homeowners to access the equity in their homes without having to make a monthly payment. The proceeds can be paid in either a single lump sum or as a monthly payment. This can obviously be a windfall for clients who need cash to pay medical or other bills.

When is a Reverse Mortgage Appropriate?

Reverse mortgages offer the following advantages for those who qualify.

• Tax-free funds with no restrictions
• Flexible repayment alternatives
• No income qualifications
• No downside risk for the homeowner

Generally, homeowners who can afford to reduce the proceeds from the sale of their homes by the amount of the mortgage are potential candidates, which in many cases will be clients who intend to live in their homes until they die. Clients seeking to reduce their taxable estates may also be interested in this type of loan.

Reverse mortgages may have certain requirements. For example, most reverse mortgages mandate that homeowners must keep their homes in relatively good condition for the duration of their tenure. This may be impossible for those with health or other physical problems, and those who cannot meet this condition will most likely face foreclosure. Paying for upkeep may also be unaffordable for many homeowners, particularly retirees living on fixed incomes. Reverse mortgagees must therefore consider this implication carefully and find out exactly what the lender will require of them in the way of maintenance and upkeep.

Homeowners who intend to pass their homes on to their heirs also need to carefully consider the fine print found in many reverse mortgages. Although homeowners themselves cannot owe more than the value of the home, most reverse loan documents stipulate that upon the homeowner’s death or cessation of the homeowner’s residence in the house, homes with mortgage balances greater than the home’s value will be repossessed. The only alternative is for the heirs to produce the balance in cash.

Using the proceeds from a reverse mortgage as a funding source for investments, especially investments that are not guaranteed, is not a good idea. Even investments that pan out must do extremely well over time before they will beat the high fees and adjustable interest rates charged by most reverse mortgages. Finally, low-income borrowers must be aware of the impact that the proceeds of a reverse mortgage may have on their eligibility for public assistance, such as Medicaid. This cannot affect Social Security and Medicare assistance.

Using Reverse Mortgages to Pay for Insurance Coverage

Using the funds from a reverse mortgage to pay for long-term care (LTC) or life insurance can be a much more sensible alternative for borrowers seeking to reduce their liabilities. Granted, this course of action can require careful analysis and forethought, but there are times when a person is relatively certain that they will need LTC and can use a reverse mortgage to pay the cost of premiums that would most likely be unaffordable otherwise. Admittedly, this type of tradeoff can result in the repossession of the home if the homeowner does eventually require care, but this may still be a preferable alternative to forced liquidation of all of the insured’s assets (including the home) if a level of care is needed for which there is no coverage.

Homeowners may fund a life policy, even if the mortgage balance exceeds the value of the home at death. A homeowner who purchases a high enough cash value policy with reverse mortgage proceeds that exceed the home’s value will still leave his or her heirs in a better position after they have paid the difference than before.

Conclusion

Reverse mortgages can provide substantial benefits for the appropriate individual, but prospective borrowers should carefully consider the possible ramifications of this type of loan. Those who wish to learn more about reverse mortgages should consult both their mortgage brokers and their financial advisors for a complete picture of how it can impact their financial well- being.

By Dian Hymer

Buying at a low price does have a downside

Most buyers have a wish list of features they’d like to have in a home. Often missing from that list is how salable the home will be when they later decide to sell.

Generally, buyers deal indirectly with resale value. They want a home they can buy at market value or less. They want to buy a home that will retain its value. They want to buy a home that will suit their needs. They want to buy a home they can make their own.

A listing that’s priced low to sell fast may be one that will have good resale value only if you use this marketing strategy. The low price may offset an incurable defect, such as a location on a busy street.

There’s nothing wrong with buying a home on a busy street as long as (1) you buy it at a price that reflects the location issue; (2) it suits your long-term needs; and (3) you understand that you will probably have to discount the price accordingly when you sell, depending on the market at the time.

In a hot seller’s market, buyers are desperate to buy. They often overpay, and they are more likely to overlook defects that they would shun in a sour market.

Resale value has become a bigger issue since the housing recession began five years ago. Buyers are more cautious in their homebuying decisions. They don’t want to buy just any home; they don’t want to make a mistake and end up wanting to move in a slow market in which they might lose money.

The homes that hold their resale value well are the ones that appeal to a broad cross section of buyers; offer a good floor plan that works for different lifestyles; have a good amount of space but are not enormous and expensive to maintain; and exhibit a pride of ownership. They should also be in good condition.

Location is also a critical element of resale value. There are market niches that are always in demand, in both hot and soft markets. For example, there are always buyers for homes in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland, Calif., and the adjacent Elmwood neighborhood in Berkeley. Both are conveniently located to shops, cafés and a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) stop for easy commuting to work.

That’s not to say that every listing in these areas sells quickly. To sell, it needs to be priced right for the market.

It’s easier to recognize a home with good resale value in the current market than it was in the bubble market of 2005 and 2006 when virtually all homes sold in many areas. In a soft market, the homes that sell within 30 to 60 days are either good homes or good deals.

Ideally, you want to buy a home that has good resale value. Not one that’s just a good deal. There’s no urgency to buy now in many areas, although it would be nice to take advantage of record-low interest rates. But you shouldn’t buy a home that won’t work for you long term just to lock in a great interest rate.

Even though there are a lot of homes for sale on the market, in many areas there is a not a surplus of quality inventory on the market. One reason for the lack of quality homes on the market is that many sellers are waiting for a better time to sell. Another reason is that homes with good resale value don’t tend to change hands that often.

THE CLOSING: There may be good news ahead. Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the California Association of Realtors, predicts that sellers who have been waiting for a better time to sell may decide they’ve waited long enough and list their homes for sale in 2012.

By Paul Bianchina

When planing a door, time of year matters

If you have some doors around your house that aren’t working quite right, don’t despair. There are a number of quick and easy fixes that will take care of whatever’s sticking, squeaking, swinging or otherwise ailing your doors.

The door binds in the upper corner of the jamb: This is a common complaint, since the weight of the door wants to pull it down at an angle from the top corner, opposite the upper hinge. This causes the door to bind against the jamb in that corner. To fix it, remove one or two of the screws that hold the hinge to the jamb.

Replace these screws with new ones that are long enough to reach all the way through the jamb and into the stud behind the jamb; predrill new pilot holes through the existing holes in the jamb to make it easier to drive the screws.

These new, longer screws will pull the jamb back up against the stud and take the angle out of the door frame, relieving that pinch point in the corner.

The door binds against other parts of the jamb: First of all, ask yourself when this started happening. Is it only in the winter? If so, it’s probably due to seasonal swelling, which happens when the wood absorbs moisture from the air.

Check to see if the door is being directly exposed to moisture, such as a drip from a leaky gutter, or perhaps it’s constantly shaded by overhanging trees and rarely dries. If you can identify the cause of the seasonal moisture, correct it.

Be careful about planing a door during the winter: When it dries out again, it’ll be undersized for the opening.

If the binding isn’t seasonal, look for stress cracks in the drywall or moldings around the door. This can indicate settling issues, which may be caused by shifts in the home’s foundation, or simple drying of the wood framing, especially in newer homes.

If the settling doesn’t continue and the binding doesn’t worsen, you can relieve the bound area by tapping against the frame with a hammer and a block of wood, or by removing the door from its hinges and planing it a little. If the settling is worsening, consult with a contractor or structural engineer.

Door won’t stay latched: If the door won’t stay latched, or if it needs to be pushed hard to get it to latch into the strike plate, first look at the way the door is fitting in the jamb. If you see that it appears to be leaning down at the upper corner, try installing longer screws as described above.

Otherwise, it’s a matter of readjusting the strike plate. Site the latch to see where it’s hitting the strike plate, to try to determine if the plate needs to move up or down. If necessary, try coating the latch with lipstick or crayon and then closing the door — the resulting marks on the strike plate will help indicate where it’s hitting.

If only a small adjustment is needed, try grinding the opening in the strike plate to make it larger as needed. Use a small file or a rotary tool with a metal grinding bit. If a larger adjustment is needed, unscrew and remove the strike plate, then reposition it on the jamb and reinstall it. You may need to chisel the jamb slightly to accept the plate in its new position.

Screws are coming out: If the screws that hold the hinges are coming out of the jamb, or you’ve had to reposition the strike plate and the screws want to go back into the old holes, you need to create new wood for the screws to grab into. This is easily done by drilling out the old screw holes to the size of a standard hardwood dowel, typically 3/8 inch. Apply glue to the dowel, insert it into the hole, allow it to dry, then cut it off flush with the surrounding surface. Drill a new pilot hole into the dowel, and reinsert the screws.

Door swings and won’t stay open: This is caused by a door that’s out of plumb in its opening. To correct it, you need to insert a small amount of shim between the back of the hinge and the door jamb — usually the bottom hinge. To do that, loosen the hinge screws almost all the way, so that you have some play between the hinge and the jamb.

Insert a piece of wooden shim or other material, such as small pieces of plastic laminate, behind the hinge, then retighten the screws. You may need to adjust the amount of shim to get the door to swing correctly, and you may also need to add a small amount of shim to the center hinge as well.

The door latch hits the strike plate: This is caused by a strike cylinder that’s worked loose, or by a loose doorknob. If the strike cylinder that goes into the edge of the door is held in place with a small rectangular plate and two screws, first try tightening the screws.

If they’ll tighten and hold OK, that will pull the cylinder back into the door and hold it. If the screws won’t hold, then you’ll need to install dowels as described above.

Many newer doors have strike cylinders that are drive-in, meaning they’re held in place by a friction fit in the hole that’s drilled in the edge of the door, rather than by screws. They’re also held by tension on the doorknob, which is what the strike cylinder is connected to. First, loosen the screws holding the doorknob, so that you have a little play in the knob.

Set a block of wood against the strike cylinder, and tap it with a hammer to drive it back into the door until it’s flush with the door’s edge. Finally, securely tighten the doorknob’s screws to hold the knob and cylinder in place.

The door hits the wall: You need a door stop. There are three types of door stops available, depending on the situation. The simplest is a solid or flexible stop with a screw on one end and a rubber cap on the other, which is screwed into a pilot hole that’s drilled into the door or into the baseboard.

Another style is a hinge stop, which is used when you want to stop the door before it can open far enough to contact a stop on a wall. To install this type of stop, remove the top or center hinge pin, slip it through the hinge stop, then reinstall the pin in the hinge.

The hinge stop has an adjustable rod that screws in and out to contact the door at different points, allowing you to stop the door’s swing exactly where you want it.

The third type is called a floor stop. Floor stops are attached directly to the floor, and are the strongest of all the stops, making them especially well suited for commercial applications. On the downside, because they sit directly on the floor, they can sometimes be in the way.

Floor stops typically have a long pin that fits into a predrilled hole in the floor for strength, along with a screw that secures it to the floor.

By Dian Hymer

Do you know your sellers’ true motivation?

Buyers who find a home they’d like to buy soon after they start their home search often pass on it because they feel they haven’t seen enough listings. Months later, when they haven’t found anything to compare to the first home they really liked, they can regret that they didn’t seize a great opportunity when they had a chance.

It takes a leap of faith and complete trust in your real estate agent to make a quick move in a market that’s new to you. You’ll feel more confident when you’ve done your homework and know the reasons why some listings sell for more than others. This is a process that takes time and is time well spent.

A characteristic of the current home-sale market, particularly in or near areas where job growth has improved significantly, is that there are not a lot of good homes for sale. In these niche markets, there tend to be more buyers looking than there are homes to satisfy the demand.

The housing market is bifurcated. Unlike the high-demand enclaves inspired by a pickup in employment, there are many more areas where there are far too many unsold homes and with too few buyers. This tends to have a dampening effect on home prices.

How long it takes you to find a home will depend in part on whether what you’re looking for is readily available. It will also depend on how many buyers are looking for the same kind of home you’d like to buy. If there’s competition for a scarce commodity, you might make offers on several homes before you are able to convince a seller to accept your offer.

HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Investors snap up foreclosure listings quickly, but they aren’t going to call these places home. It’s rare for buyers to find a home they want to occupy as their primary residence quickly, either due to specialized housing needs or lack of inventory. Put the time you spend waiting to good use by learning more about the community in which you want to live. Patience should be your motto.

Patience is also needed to carry you through the contract negotiation and closing. Although each home-sale transaction is unique, it’s not uncommon for a glitch to come up at some point. Some homes don’t appraise for the price you’ve agreed to pay. If you don’t have any additional cash to add to the deal, and the seller won’t renegotiate the price, you’ll be back at square one, looking for a home to buy.

The glitch could occur before your offer is accepted if the sellers are stubbornly unrealistic about the price they’re asking. Recently, buyers were encouraged to make an offer on an overpriced listing that had been on the market for months. The buyers reluctantly made an offer for the top price they could pay for the house. The sellers flatly turned the buyers down and said they would never sell for that price.

Three months and one price reduction later, the house still hadn’t sold. The buyers were again encouraged to make an offer. They made an offer for the same price they did the first time, but the terms were more agreeable to the sellers. It was accepted.

Many unrealistic sellers never come around. Don’t waste your time on sellers who don’t have a strong motivation for selling. There’s a big difference between sellers who want to sell only if they can get an unrealistic price, and sellers who have purchased another home and have no need for the current one.

THE CLOSING: Until you have an accepted offer, keep your eye on the market; don’t miss a listing that will work for you and is reasonably priced.

By Richard Taylor

A) Everyone wants a unique home that fits the way they live.

B) Everyone wants their house to sell easily and quickly — someday.

Are those two statements contradictory? You might think so, if you listen to some of the conventional wisdom from the real estate and homebuilding industries.

If you’re selling houses, you’re obviously interested in ones that will appeal to the widest audience possible. Houses similar in size and style, and with similar floor plans.

Theoretically, that should lead to greater exposure and a greater chance of a quick sale.

If you’re buying a house, however, you want something much more personal — a home that has all of the things you need to support your unique daily life.

If you have lots of kids, you need bathrooms and casual space. And a vacation.

If you’re an empty nester, you probably want more living and entertaining space, and less maintenance. You don’t want it to look like the house next door, either. That doesn’t sound too difficult, does it?

And yet I’m routinely asked by my clients to include things that they haven’t been able to find in any “spec” home or any online house plan.

Things like decent-sized laundry rooms and mudrooms. Things that families need, like a walk-in pantry.

They also ask me to leave out the stuff they don’t need – the formal living rooms, dining rooms, the powder rooms with the little balls of soap in the seashell bowl.

So how do you get a house that fits you, without being stuck with it forever?

What You Really Want

The whole point of this article is that a unique and interesting home, designed to closely fit the needs of your particular family, will very likely appeal to other families someday, too.

And maybe in a big way.

About fifteen years ago, I was hired to create a custom home for a client on a difficult property (the last lot available, the one that no one wanted) in a very nice subdivision.

This client had some specific needs, including accommodating a handicapped family member. We designed an unusual home with a screened porch facing the street, no formal entry foyer, a first-floor home office that converted to a handicapped-accessible bedroom, and a garage you could park sideways in.

They also wanted the home to have a character on the outside that was unlike anything else in the neighborhood.

Not exactly mainstream.

Six years ago, they sold the home. Here’s what they had to say:

“(We received) far better-than-average appreciation of the property when we downsized some nine years later. We sold the home by ourselves with no Realtor involved and we heard from many that the unique design and curb appeal attracted them to contact us. We had no problem selling our fine home…”

And since they’re too modest to mention it, I’ll add that they nearly doubled their money on the sale.

That’s What I Want – How Do I Get It?

That’s the easy part. Figure out what you want, and put aside notions about what you think the next family living in your home might want. Tune out the people telling you what you should have.

Focus on what works for you, not what works for the real estate market.

Make a quality home that works – whatever “works” means to your family and your life. Make it interesting and attractive, but above all make it fit your unique needs and wants.

Get a whole new attitude about what a unique and interesting home could be.

Sources of (Better) Inspiration

The key is to change how and where you’re looking for new home and remodeling ideas.
Stop looking at house plan websites and home-improvement-store plan books. Most of those are recycling the same basic plans over and over again, so you’re not going to find much that’s unique.
And forget the idea that you’re going to find one complete design that does all you need it to do.

Instead, look for the parts and pieces you want – find a cool kitchen, a knockout exterior, a screen porch you simply must have. A mudroom with a built-in cubby for each child.

You’ll find that kind of inspiration online at sites like Houzz.com (read my take on Houzz here); Remodelista.com, and Freshome.com. You’ll also find it in some of the better home design magazines, like Traditional Home, Residential Architect, Fine Homebuilding, Dwell (if you like contemporary design), and many others.

Don’t worry about finding exactly what you want, or whether you can afford what you see. Keep a very open mind; we’re tapping the power of imagination and brainstorming here.

And don’t worry about how those pieces fit together. Sorting through what’s feasible and what’s not, and working with you to assemble your ideas into a unique, cohesive whole is my job, right?

Best of Both Worlds

You’ll discover something else when you change your sources of inspiration. You’ll see that there are lots of unique homes out there and that those homes are often more valuable than most – maybe because they’re unique.

If you prefer a “middle of the market” home design, this probably doesn’t make much sense to you.
But if you get excited by living in a house that stands out from the crowd, a home that does things that most homes don’t, a home that you can fall in love with, then when the time comes to sell, you might find that “sold” sign out front a lot sooner than you’d thought.