Looking for home renovation financing?

As the COVID pandemic drags on, more people are staying put in their home and choosing to renovate rather than upgrade to a bigger or updated home. Paying for renovations to your existing home, especially for homeowners without substantial equity in their home, is a challenge. The traditional method to finance renovations is to use a home equity line of credit. However, this requires a substantial amount of equity in your home to qualify for a loan. For example, if you owe $300,000 on a $400,000 home, traditional lenders will typically loan up to 80% of the equity of the home, meaning the … Continue reading...

When do I need to replace my roof?

Oklahoma weather is hard on roofs. The extreme temperature shifts from summer to winter, along with strong winds, can cause shingles to crack and split. If these cracks are not repaired, ice and snow during the winter can cause the crack to expand and eventually cause the roof to leak. Strong winds in particular are challenging on Oklahoma roofs. Wind can lift the edges of poorly installed or worn shingles and peel the layers of shingles, causing leaks and damage. In most cases, you can expect a well-installed asphalt shingle roof to last anywhere from 15-30 years, depending on the quality … Continue reading...

What a Home Inspection CAN’T tell you

You hire a home inspector to look over the house you want to buy with a fine-tooth comb and tell you what issues they uncover. A good home inspector WILL thoroughly examine your home and will always find something - but there are limits. Home inspectors are bound by a set of rules that limit what they can and cannot tell you. I highly recommend every buyer get a home inspection, but there are certain things a home inspector CAN'T tell you. Here is what a home inspector CAN'T tell you: Whether to by this house You would think this would be an easy question, and I often hear buyers … Continue reading...

The downside of listing your home “as-is”

You are ready to move. You have already picked out your new house, the movers are scheduled, and you don't want to spend any time - or money - on fixing up the house you are selling. You just want to be done with it. So just list it "as-is", right? Let the new buyers choose the carpet they want, paint the walls whatever color they choose, and remodel the kitchen to their liking. All of those items may cost you $30,000 and you can just reduce the price by $30K and let the new buyer pick what they want. And you don't have to mess with it, right? Sure, you can do that, but you are going to … Continue reading...

Your Second Home Showing – What to Look For

Roof You have looked at several homes and have narrowed it down to one or two favorites. Things are getting serious now. You have scheduled your second showing and want to spend more time looking at your potential new home. You have seen the home once. What do you look for on your second visit? Now is the time to pay close attention to, among other things, the roof. It can be quite expensive to replace or repair a leaky roof. It is best to consider the condition of the roof before making an offer so you can calculate that into your offer. Fortunately, even if you aren’t skilled in … Continue reading...

Building a fence at your new home

Now that you have moved into your home, you are ready to build a fence. Who do you call? How do you find your property lines? How much do I need to allow for an easement? Building a fence is more digging holes and stringing up wire or installing a few fence panels. The size of your property, you location, and the local building codes and regulations, and the reason you are building a fence all affects how you start and what kind of questions you have to ask. A wrought iron fence can be expensive to build and install, but last a lifetime. The easy way - call a fence company The … Continue reading...

Do Smart Thermostats really save you money?

Many new homes are being installed with smart thermostats - ones that connect to your in-home WIFI network, work with your smartphone, and learn your habits to better adjust your thermostat settings and supposedly save you money. And they CAN save you money in many - but not all - instances. Smart internet-connected thermostats are certainly cool and convenient, but will the energy savings at your home pay for the cost of these new thermostats? Like many tech questions, the answer is "it depends." If you are retrofitting your existing home with a smart thermostat, you will want to look … Continue reading...

Moving into your home checklist

Congratulations on moving into your new home and this beginning of a new and exciting stage in your life. It’s not every day that you get to move into a new home. You have every right to be proud of this move.  Unfortunately it is way too early to celebrate with that bottle of champagne you saved just for such occasion. There is still plenty of work to do around your new house. The good news is that now you have the opportunity to organize your home exactly how you want it. You can celebrate later, but now is the time to roll up your sleeves and get to work. Inspect moving boxes … Continue reading...

When do I need to move out of my house?

I often get asked "When do I need to pack my belongings and move out of my house once it is under contract?" While it would be nice to just hire a moving company to come and pack your belongings a few days before closing while you are off on a vacation in the Bahamas, that is not a realistic for most people. When do you need to start packing and when do you need to be out of your soon-to-be-sold house? Declutter prior to listing your home Actually, you should have started packing prior to putting your house on the market. Most houses should be "decluttered" prior to listing. That is a good … Continue reading...

Installing a Smart Lock for your home

The Schlage Sense deadbolt door lock offers an external digital keypad that allows remote access for anyone with a key combination. You can easily create discrete key codes for different family members, allowing you to know who unlocked the door.

I came home from a weekend away and discovered the lock on our back patio door no longer worked. Kay and I decided it was time to upgrade to a "smart lock" that allows us to lock and unlock the door remotely, provide security access codes to family members, and lets us leave home without a key. Part of what prompted this upgrade is a recent tornado warning. Kay and I were out of town and our son and daughter-in-law came to use our storm cellar and couldn't get into the house. I had hidden a key a year before but forgot where I hid it, so they were forced to go to a neighbor's house instead. By … Continue reading...