FSBO Jane

MSN Real Estate recently pinpointed 10 of the nation’s most livable areas, based on findings regarding low unemployment, convenient commute times and culture.

Here are the 10 listed markets:

1. Des Moines, IA
2. Buffalo-Niagra Falls, NY
3. Oklahoma City, OK
4. Scranton-Wilkes-Barr, PA
5. Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN and Bloomington, WI
6. Little Rock/North Little Rock, AK
7. Ogden/Clearfield, UT
8. Columbia, SC
9. Houston/Sugar Land/Baytown, TX
10. Columbus, OH

To see the whole slideshow about these cities and to learn more about what qualified them for this list, go here.

A property’s walkability refers to its proximity to destinations within walking distance, from shops and restaurants to parks and entertainment. According to Wikipedia, it’s a measure that’s hard to quantify because it’s based on so many factors like presence of sidewalks, traffic conditions, building accessibility and safety.

Today, it is also a significant consideration in urban development, largely because of the benefits it offers. A city that is walkable provides strong health benefits to its residents, as well as increased social interaction and, even, less crime—because more people are out and about watching over things. More walking and less driving also means less carbon emissions in the air, better use of land and financial savings.

Curious to know how walkable your home or a home you are considering purchasing is? Check out this walkability calculator at walkscore.com.

Ever wish your bedroom felt more romantic? After all, it is where you fall asleep for a few restful hours of dreams, and it’s also where you wake up for a brand-new day. It needs to be warm, inviting, cozy, peaceful and every other word that sounds calming and comfortable. But for a large sum of us, it’s also where we bond with our significant other. In our busy lives, it’s hard to find a time and place to bond other than when we fall asleep together.

So how can you spark a romantic ambiance in the space that you two share? According to ideas from home-decorating-made-easy.com, there are numerous ways:

• Paint the room with warm, neutral colors (a man might not enjoy hot pink walls, and a woman might not be as enthusiastic about displaying college football colors). However, to add excitement to a neutral room, decorate with textures. This could include faux paint, stencils or rubber stamping.

• Make your bed the focal point of your room, since, you know, it is the purpose of the bedroom. Create a limitless retreat full of marshmallow pillows, satin sheets, a plush comforter, dramatic bed posts or a textured bed board. Aim for solid colors in high quality.

• Declutter. There’s nothing romantic, inviting or remotely enjoyable about a cluttered space. Not only will decluttering help with romance, but it also might help you calm down anxiety and allow you to fall asleep quicker.

• Make sure the lighting is of low wattage or on dimmers. Soft lighting is key for romance and rest. When one of you wants to stay up longer than the other, turn the lights down. As you enjoy a movie together, turn the lights down. While you enjoy alone time together, turn the lights down. It separates the feel of this area from the feel of every other room.

• Add an area rug to the room, especially if your room is carpet-free. No one wants to wake up to a freezing cold hardwood floor. Area rugs offer extra décor and extra comfort for climbing in and out of bed.

Besides these permanent add-ons, you could also use the usual romantic tips, like adding candles, scented potpourri, soft tunes and photographs of fond memories.

For more tips, and more information on how to achieve these tips, read the article here.

Based on the principle that small changes make a big difference, Wire & Twine created this list of 50 simple ways to help the planet. Each is doable and when they are all combined, we are on our way to making a dramatic difference in the world around us.

Here are a few ideas I especially liked:

14. RETHINK BOTTLED WATER
Nearly 90% of plastic water bottles are not recycled, instead taking thousands of years to decompose. Buy a reusable container and fill it with tap water, a great choice for the environment, your wallet, and possibly your health. The EPA’s standards for tap water are more stringent than the FDA’s standards for bottled water.

23. ADJUST YOUR THERMOSTAT
Adjust your thermostat one degree higher in the summer and one degree cooler in the winter. Each degree celsius less will save about 10% on your energy use! In addition, invest in a programmable thermostat which allows you to regulate temperature based on the times you are at home or away.

47. PAY BILLS ONLINE
By some estimates, if all households in the U.S. paid their bills online and received electronic statements instead of paper, we’d save 18.5 million trees every year, 2.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and 1.7 billion pounds of solid waste.

See the rest of the article here.

The amount of homeowners filing for bankruptcy is still high right now due to the economy, and I found a few articles to be especially helpful for anyone dealing with this issue.

One article, Selling Your Home Under Chapter 13, explains that you, the homeowner, can still sell your home under Chapter 13. It provides the steps you must take to make this possible, and the first step is to talk to your lawyer about this choice to sell. Your lawyer can help lead you down the path of accomplishing the next steps. The process of approval will take some time, so you also need patience.

Another article, Buying A Home While Under Chapter 13, then discusses the buying options for people who filed for Chapter 13. One smart option that is offered is to use the money from the sale of your house to pay off your debt, so that your case is dismissed. Another smart option is to rent an apartment or condo for awhile, until your credit improves. In a few years, you can obtain a loan to buy a home again.

The process of filing for bankruptcy is complicated, but it’s important to realize that you’re not alone and that you have options.

When you’re selling your home, you’ve probably considered the things you should do, but what about the ones you shouldn’t? Sometimes what you don’t do is just as important!

Here are four habits to avoid in order to help your home sell!

1. Stop smoking in the house. Although you might be used to the smoke smell, it’s there, and potential buyers will notice. Whether it’s something that will disappear in time or not, it will turn them off from your house. Also, cigarette smoke coats windows, mirrors and walls. Start smoking outside.
2. Stop throwing parties while your home is on the market. You can throw casual get-togethers and holiday dinner parties, but steer away from loud ragers. This will disturb your neighbors, whom potential homebuyers might talk to. Also, you never know what might break. If something drastic occurs, you don’t want your address in the newspaper. Finally, parties create a mess, and more cleaning is the last thing you need right now.
3. Stop doing half-loads of laundry. When your potential homebuyers ask to see your most recent water bills, why not keep them as low as possible? Not only will this decrease the water bill cost, but it is also more eco-friendly and energy-efficient. Wait until you have a whole load worth of clothes to wash.
5. Stop putting off doing your chores (unless it’s waiting for a full load of laundry!). While you want to always look presentable, you want your house to always look presentable, too. You never know what will turn a homebuyer off. Take out the garbage often, to rid of dirty smells. Do the dishes immediately, to rid of dirty sights. You catch the drift.

Do you have to stop these habits? No. Do you have to make your house and yourself ready at all times for anyone who stops by without notice? No. But in the current buyers’ market, should you do everything you can to put yourself ahead of other sellers and to lend yourself to potential home buyers’ needs, wants and requests? If you want to be noticed, to impress, and to sell your house quickly, then yes. There’s always more you can do to improve the process.

I found this article from blisstree.com that talks about how to incorporate the home décor found in the homes on the TV show, Mad Men, into your own home. Basically, it advises how to create a 60s atmosphere, since that is the time period that the show takes place. To do this, you could:

• Paint your walls or one wall a bright color, because brightness was popular in the 60s. Or add bright or patterned pillows to your couch.
• Display 60s artwork on the walls, or display popular 60s clothing fashions. For example, you could purchase a coat tree and hang 60s hats, purses or whatever you wish on the tree.
• Find old pictures from the 60s to hang on the wall. If not yours, look for famous photographs or random photos that you like. Or find actual photos of Mad Men.

After I read the article, I decided why not add attributes from any of your favorite TV shows? I mean, we spend enough time keeping up with the shows and falling in love with the characters, so why not decorate with accessories that remind us of that “happy place”? Here are some quick ideas from some of my personal favorite shows:

• As a fan of Friends, you could display large, round coffee cups in your kitchen, two matching brown recliner chairs or an orange couch in your living room, or a frame around your door’s peephole.
• As a fan of LOST, you could paint a mural of a beach paradise, or you could display the Dharma symbol, the numbers, an Oceanic Airlines advertisement, or something as simple as a bowl of seashells.
• As a fan of I Love Lucy, you could display 1950s décor, such as retro bar stools, a coat rack of 50s hats or purses, or separate twin beds in the master bedroom. For pure Lucy décor, display a photograph of a polka dot dress, or create a replica bottle of Vitameatavegamin.

What are some of your favorite shows? Have any of you decorated with attributes to a TV show or a movie? Do you have a clever idea that you want to share? Tell me all about your creative endeavors!

I often come across articles or blogs that inform readers of where the best places to buy a house are. After reading them, I think to myself, how can an article tell me where I should live? Sure, it can tell me where crime levels are low and job availability is high, but it can’t possibly know where I’ll be happy and comfortable.

Investment purchases are a different story. With an investment, you won’t be living in the house. You don’t even need to be near the house. You also don’t know what type of person will move into the house, so you can’t possibly try to find a place that fits that person’s needs. What you do need to know is what cities are currently drawing potential renters to them.

That is what a recent article informs you, from MSN Money. Now is the time to invest, and these are the top 10 places to do it:

• Asheville, North Carolina: a mountain town with an artsy atmosphere; home prices are up 35 percent in the past five years!
• Park City, Utah: winter retreat for skiers and sports enthusiasts, with home prices up between 5 and 7 percent this year.
• Ashland, Oregon: a town with beautiful weather and scenery, between two great cities, and with home prices up 40 to 70 percent in the past 10 years!
• Port Townsend, Washington: quaint, historic seaport with mild weather, which has boomed with popularity since the 1990s.
• Beaufort, South Carolina: famous as the setting in numerous movies, this ocean-lined town is famous for its fishing and its shrimp.
• South Lake Tahoe, California: the sister town of the famed Lake Tahoe, Nev., this town shares the largest alpine lake and shows off a huge recent renovation. Home sales are up 21 percent from last year.
• Daytona Beach, Florida: notorious for the annual Daytona 500 race that takes place at its international raceway; home prices are up 44 percent in the last five years and 9 percent in the last year alone.
• Sunriver, Oregon: centrally located to numerous nearby attractions, this town is known for its whitewater rafting, hiking and skiing; some home prices have nearly doubled in the past eight years!
• Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: this tourist-rich location draws 14 million visitors to its highly rated beaches and its 120 golf courses; home prices annually raise around 8 percent.
• Charlevoix, Michigan: this city brings over 27,000 summer residents to its lake shores and golf courses; only 8,500 out of 30,000 summer residents are full-time. Hello, investments!

The article also provides 10 up-and-coming investment cities to keep an eye on, and if you’re not interested in these cities, it tells you what you should look for when searching for your own investment-rich city. Read the whole article here.

When a home buyer applies for a mortgage loan, he or she usually will find the lender obtains a consumer report. This is the same report that companies use to do background checks on potential employees, and what insurance companies and personal loan companies use to find out a person’s background. These reports provide information on where you live, where you work, your credit score, how you pay your bills and whether you’ve committed a crime, been arrested, filed for bankruptcy, been sued, etc.

This is very personal information. In order to regulate who can obtain this information, to protect the person’s privacy and to keep the person informed, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) created the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

The FCRA contains rules that must be followed, concerning your consumer report. If you ask to see your report, the credit bureau must give you all of the information in the report and each source that provided the information. They also must give you the names of everyone who requested a copy of your report within the past year.

If you find information that you can prove is inaccurate, the credit bureau and information provider must change this information so that it is correct. You can provide the information to the credit bureau through writing, or you can send the information in writing to the involved lender or creditor, and that person would have to inform the credit bureau.

No one can receive your information without your approval. When you request a mortgage loan, for example, the company must first get your permission before they request a copy of your consumer report. This makes sure that random people aren’t getting a hold of your information for no reason and without you knowing.

In conjunction with this act, if your credit application is denied, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act allows you to ask the creditor why, and the creditor must tell you.

For a copy of the complete FCRA text, visit http://www.creditinfocenter.com/legal/FCRA.shtml.

A brand of Urban Outfitters, which also owns Anthropologie and Free People clothing stores, Terrain is a home-and-garden line with so many inspiring ideas for your decorating needs!

From holiday ideas to themed gifts to vintage pieces and furniture, this store is a new favorite. If you’re already a fan of Urban or Anthropologie, you won’t want to miss this offshoot. Trust me!