Welcome to Tigard

A Place to call home!

The New, Improved Doorbell!

by

the-new-improved-doorbell

You’re probably familiar with devices like Nest, which use smart technology to automate your thermostat and save you money.

Think of Ring as the Nest of doorbells. It’s a product that replaces your standard doorbell with a device that connects to your home WiFi connection and sends video and audio of your doorstep to your mobile device.

In other words, you can use your smartphone to see who’s at the door, and you can do it from anywhere in the world.

It brings a whole new level of convenience. You’ll never have to worry about missing a delivery or having a package left in the wrong place—you can be at work when FedEx arrives, and use the intercom feature to tell the delivery man to leave the package where you please.

It’s also a great security tool. You can use the intercom to give the appearance that you’re home, turning away everyone from annoying salesmen to potential burglars. It activates with motion detection, so you don’t have to wait for the doorbell to ring before you’re alerted that someone is at your home.

There are various ways to install Ring, and it starts at $199. Go to ring.com to learn more.

 

Five Tips for First-Time Buyers

by

Five-tips-for-first-time-buyers

No matter how much time you spend on researching and educating yourself about your home purchase, it’s hard to cover every detail. Here are a few tips for avoiding rookie mistakes with your first home purchase.

  1. Save as early as you can: Even if you think you’re years away from buying your first home, try to start saving for your down payment. It makes a huge difference in your monthly payments, and helps avoid paying Private Mortgage Insurance.
  2. Be thorough with mortgage shopping: There are countless resources out there that can help you get the best terms for your mortgage. It may seem like a lot of work to shave less than a point off your mortgage rate, but it’ll save you thousands in the long run.
  3. Consult a skeptic: You’re likely to fall in love with a home, and that can make it difficult to take problems seriously. Bring along a skeptical friend or family member who can give you an honest opinion.
  4. Be patient with getting settled: You’ll be anxious to make your new home your own, but take some time to see how your budget truly shakes out. In other words, hold off on big furniture purchases and remodeling projects.
  5. Make sure you’re happy with the neighborhood: The house may be perfect, but don’t discount the surroundings. You don’t want to end up in the suburbs if you’re going to miss walking to your favorite coffee shop, and you don’t want to settle for the city if you’re looking forward to some peace and quiet.

 

No Time Like the Present

by

no-time-like-the-present

Thinking about buying your first home, or perhaps upgrading from your current place? Thanks to the current economic climate and game-changing technology in the housing market, now is the perfect time to take the plunge.

Low interest rates
Lenders are giving buyers mortgage rates that are extremely enticing—you can get a mortgage below 4.0%. There’s a good chance these are the lowest mortgage rates we’ll see in a long time, which means affordability is at a high.

Prices are on their way up
Mortgage rates may be low, but housing prices are getting higher and higher because of demand—prices increased 5.1% year-over-year in November 2015. If you’re thinking about buying, delaying a few years could lead to a higher purchase price, or getting less home for your money.

A great job market
The United States added 2.65 million jobs in the last year. There’s increasing job security and available work, leading to high consumer confidence.

Technology makes buying simpler and less expensive
Along with listing websites like Zillow and Trulia, there are an increasing number of websites and apps that simplify the process, make it easier to shop around for homes and mortgages, and save you money.

Cheap fuel
Lower gas and energy prices mean more money in your pocket and more purchasing power. The money you’re not putting into your gas tank or toward your utilities can instead go toward saving for a down payment or affording a bigger monthly mortgage payment.

 

Choose the Right Paint Finish

by

choose-the-right-paint-finish

It can be intimidating to stand in front of the paint swatches at the paint or hardware store and try to make a decision. Picking a color can be difficult enough—and then you have to choose the finish. Choosing the color is up to you, but here’s a simple guide to choosing the correct finish for your project.

High Gloss
High gloss paint has the most sheen, and will be the most durable. That durability is best suited for the kitchen, on surfaces like cabinets, door frames, and window trim. It’s best to avoid using high gloss on walls, because it will be too reflective.

Semi-Gloss
It’s not as shiny as high gloss, but it’s still great for kitchens and bathrooms, because the sheen protects from drips, splatters, and other moisture.

Satin
Satin has a velvet-like look, but is still a durable finish, and works best in high-traffic areas. Be careful when applying, because satin paint will reveal sloppy brush strokes.

Eggshell and flat
These finishes have the least amount of sheen, and are the least durable. They’re great for hiding imperfections in your walls, but the low durability means they should be avoided if the room is subject to wear and tear from kids or pets. Use these paints in dining rooms, bedrooms, and other low-traffic rooms.

 

Five Tips for Reducing Clutter

by

five-tips-for-reducing-clutter

It doesn’t take much time to go from a perfectly organized room to a cluttered, chaotic mess. Papers pile up on surfaces, coats and bags end up on furniture, shoe boxes and shopping bags get stuffed in the first place you can find. But if you’re proactive, you can avoid the common clutter traps. Here are five ideas for reducing clutter:

  1. Have a place for the things you bring into the house each day: Do what you can do create an easy place to put your outerwear, mail, keys, phone, and the other things you bring home each day. Coat racks, mail holders, and a catch-all basket give you an easy, consistent place to put your everyday items.
  2. Get a basket for once-worn clothes: There are some clothing items that may not need to be washed or put away immediately after one use, like sweaters or denim. These items often end up on the bedroom floor. Instead, put them in a specific basket for items that aren’t yet ready for the laundry room.
  3. Keep kitchen tools off the counter: It’s really easy to let items pile up on the kitchen counters, and all that clutter can be frustrating when it’s ready to make a meal. To reduce clutter, use wall racks to keep cooking utensils off the counter.
  4. Designate a no-clutter zone: This one’s simple. Simply choose an important surface or space (like a coffee table), clear it of clutter, and focus on keeping that one area totally organized.
  5. Keep the dining room table set: Not only is a set table pleasant to the eye, but it also makes it nearly impossible for the table to gather clutter. Thanks to the plates and silverware, there’s no room for your junk mail.

 

Does Staging a Home Make a Difference?

by

does-staging-a-home-make-a-difference

It seems to be universally accepted that home staging will help your home sell faster or for the best price—it’s been the common practice in the real estate business for a long time, and on the surface it seems like a no-brainer. Of course potential buyers will be more interested if a home is properly decorated, right?

That’s not necessarily true, according to a recent academic study. The study surveyed 820 homebuyers by showing them one of six virtual tours of the same property. In some instances the home was decorated with traditional furniture and color schemes, while in others more eccentric furniture and colors were used. In other tours there was no furniture at all, just empty rooms.

The overall results of the study were that staging is unlikely to increase a home’s sale price, and that staging isn’t quite as important as everyone believes.

Of course, real estate trends vary greatly from market to market. If you have questions about staging, talk to your trusted real estate professional.

 

Make Your Bathroom Easier to Clean

by

make-your-bathroom-easier-to-clean

Bathrooms can be the most difficult places in our homes to keep clean. However, with a few clever changes and upgrades, it can be much easier to clean and maintain your bathroom.

No-Touch Faucets: They’re not just for public restrooms, you know. A sensor on your bathroom faucet will eliminate one of the main touchable surfaces.

Install or upgrade the exhaust fan: The fan isn’t just for reducing odors or keeping the mirrors from fogging. The better your ventilation system in the bathroom, the easier it will be to prevent mildew and mold. It’ll also prevent paint from bubbling and peeling.

Easy-Clean Toilets: Whoever designed older toilets certainly didn’t design them with cleaning in mind! Newer toilets are often designed with smoother services that make cleaning a much simpler task—no more standing on your head to reach every toilet surface.

Remove grout: Germs and grime love to build up in the spaces between tile. Instead of tile, you can cover larger surfaces with glass or stone veneer, or simply use larger tiles. That’ll reduce the overall amount of grout in your bathroom.

 

The Best Smart Home Features

by

the-best-smart-home-features

Home technology has greatly improved over the last few years, improving functionality and energy efficiency. But some smart home features carry more value than others. Here are the features that will not only help you enjoy your home more, but will also make the home more appealing when it’s time to sell.

Nest Thermostat
The Nest Thermostat is controlled with your smart phone, and it learns the schedule of the home’s occupants. It adjusts the temperature according to your schedule, which saves on energy costs, since heating and cooling will be reduced when appropriate. The Nest Thermostat has earned glowing reviews and almost universal praise, so it’s one of the surest bets for your home.

Automatic Lighting
Lighting is an overlooked part of home security—leaving the lights on in the evening can deter burglars, because the lights suggest someone is home. With automatic and smart lighting systems, you can program your lights to come on in the evening, or use your smart phone to turn on the lights before you arrive at home.

Smart Alarms
Gone are the days of controlling your security system from a panel inside the home. Now there are security systems that you can control from anywhere in the world using your phone. You can monitor your home from anywhere, without having to pay a monthly fee to a security company.

 

Happier Hardwood Floors

by

happier-hardwood-floors

Hardwood floors make for a beautiful, stunning addition to your home. However, they can bring new cleaning and maintenance challenges that aren’t present with carpet. Here are some tips for simple, efficient, and thorough hardwood floor cleaning.

Make the job easier
Place mats on either side of your exterior doors and always remove your shoes before entering your home—and make sure your guests do the same. Protect the floors by placing felt (or similar) protectors on the feet of your furniture, and use area rugs to designate play areas for the kids. This will reduce extra dirt, dust, and floor scratches.

Weekly cleaning
Sweeping with a standard broom will remove some dirt and dust, but not as much as a mop, wipe, or broom that’s been treated with a dusting agent such as a Swiffer. You could also invest in a vacuum that is designed for hardwood floors. Just be sure that the vacuum won’t leave scratches!

Deeper cleaning
Regular sweeping will remove most dirt and dust, but occasionally you’ll need to give the floors a deeper cleaning to remove the dirt and grime that builds up in your floors’ seams. Use a wood-cleaning soap to thoroughly mop your floors, but make sure the mop isn’t sopping wet—you don’t want to leave standing water.

Spots and scuffs
Most of the marks that occasionally show up on your floors, such as scuffs from rubber soles on boots and shoes—can be wiped away with a rag or very fine steel wool.

 

Five Tips For Selling Your Home in a Hurry

by

five-tips-for-selling-your-home-in-a-hurry

There are a lot of factors that will determine how quickly your house is sold, and it’s important to tackle the factors you can control. If you’re still living in your home while trying to sell it, these are a few simple ideas that can help speed up the home sale process.

  1. De-clutter: Buyers want to step into a prospective home and imagine the possibilities. That’s a lot easier to do when a space is airy and clutter-free. Get rid of the clutter that’s just taking up space in your home, and it can totally transform how a buyer sees the property.
  2. Offer an incentive: Don’t break the bank for add-ons that don’t make financial sense in the long run, but there are some reasonable expenses you can use to entice buyers, such as offering a home warranty.
  3. Focus on flow: Now that you’re working toward a new home, it’s important to position your furniture for easy movement through the space, rather than how you personally like it arranged. Position your furniture so that it’s natural to flow from one room to the next.
  4. Take care of your to-do list: There’s probably a list of small repairs that you’ve been putting off for a while, like fixing a dripping faucet or touching up paint on some walls. Make those repairs so that the home is more move-in ready for buyers.
  5. Commit to cleanliness: Just like removing clutter, keeping your place clean can go a long way toward appealing to buyers. It’s especially true in the kitchen—no dishes in the sink or coffee rings on the countertops!