FSBO Jane

Who said you have to spend a fortune in order to decorate your room with color and glam? Now, it’s as affordable and easy as decorating with paper. You read right. Head to a craft shop, purchase some paper, and fill your room with a unique décor that everyone will admire and perhaps even envy! Check out all these examples:

• Purchase craft paper in oriental patterns that are contemporary and classy. Use them to cover a lampshade by attaching with glue, and for an extra-finished look, add a solid color of trim on the top and bottom of the shade.
• Purchase some cheap, empty art canvases and cover with visually appealing paper patterns. Wrap the canvas like you’re wrapping a present, and then hang the canvas on the wall. You could use craft paper, wrapping paper or tissue paper.
• Cover a table with one large piece of colorful paper, tape the paper to the table in order to keep it in place, and then cover this paper with a panel of glass that will become the new top to your table.
• Hang your favorite paper pattern inside an empty frame, and hang it on the wall. Who decided that frames need to display photos or famous artwork? Colorful paper will brighten up the walls of any room!
• Once you find a paper pattern of your liking, head to a copy center to have it transferred onto transfer paper for a low cost. Once you have it on transfer paper, you can iron the pattern onto fabric for pillows, blankets, throw rugs, anything!

For more ideas on how to decorate with paper, visit this site. This year, keep the decorating affordable and as attractive as ever!

As summer winds down over the next month, and we pay our higher electricity bills for air-conditioning, it’s more tempting than ever to examine ways to cut cooling costs.

I came across a helpful article at Lyved.com recently, which provides eight ideas for dealing with summer heat without breaking your budget.

My favorite tip:

“Go green with more green
Don’t forget the area surrounding your house! Trees and other plants are nature’s own way of keeping us cool. Planting shade-providing plants around windows and air-conditioning units (without blocking airflow) can reduce utility bills by over $100 per year. ”

Read the rest of the article, and all seven additional tips, here.

It’s a basic law of finance: save now, and you’ll have later. Indeed, putting off pleasure has become so ingrained in the minds of many people, it extends to home ownership.

By definition, luxury is something we can live without, something we can save for later. It’s not a need, so it falls into the category of want or don’t-have-to-have or, in an economy like ours, avoid-at-all-costs.

Yet, since I like to do away with preconceptions, not just in real estate but in every area, I’m here to break tradition with a new message: Some so-called luxury items are too important to overlook. In fact, when it comes to homes, some luxury items will actually pay their own way in returns, saving you money. Those are investments worth considering, whether you’re a saver or a spender or both.

1. Going green with lighting: Simply swapping out your current lights with fluorescent ones will use 66% less energy and last six to ten times longer. They’re also actually less expensive, and over time will add up to significant savings.

2. Replacing outdated appliances: conserving energy & costs, huge impact on overall appearance of a kitchen; old appliances can detract from value

3. Adding storm windows: Though pricey, storm windows are a money-saving luxury because they reduce air leaks and energy loss. Over time, they pay for themselves and then some.

4. Choosing an energy-efficient dehumidifier: According to Consumer Reports, a dehumidifier can account for $150 in energy every year. That’s why an efficient model (look for Energy Star) makes more sense, as it will be 10 to 40 percent more efficient.

Those are just a few I’ve seen to be valuable over the last few years. What about you? What luxuries would you recommend for saving money?

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign just recently created a very helpful website for people going through tough financial times right now. It is so needed! They offer advice on how to cut everyday costs, how to relieve stress after a job loss, and lots of helpful ways to reduce costs in your home or how to deal with foreclosure. If you feel like you aren’t too knowledgeable in that area (most people are unfamiliar with their homeowner or rental rights and how a foreclosure process works) then you should definitely check out this website.

Here are some samples of their advice that I found to be the most helpful advice for homeowners:

*Definitely talk to the people you pay your bills to. Whether it is a landlord, a lender or a utility company, it’s always a better idea to discuss your current situation than to just fail to pay a bill.

*When talking with these people, have a financial plan ready. Show them how you plan on cutting costs and that it will be possible for you to pay this money at a later date. Believe it or not, this way is easier for them too than putting together a foreclosure!

*If you can’t pay your mortgage for months to come, plan ahead. Move in with family or friends in order to save on energy bills and food. Move to a cheaper home and rent your current home out for extra income. This site offers tons of ideas!

*You can save on insurance costs by making little changes like installing security systems. The same goes for utility costs.

*Check out all the advice this website offers by clicking here.

Still not convinced that selling your home by owner is the way to go? You’ll want to check out this study from Consumer Reports. 

According to this study, which evaluated the relative effectiveness of selling FSBO listings vs. those listed with an agent, “[Most of the] respondents who sold with the help of an agent received $5,000 less, on average, than their original asking price.”

The same study concluded that “Almost all of the 17 percent who sold their homes without an agent said they received about what they originally asked.”

What does this mean? Once again, it’s a reminder that now more than ever, it’s smart to be thinking about going the fsbo route for a home sale. In a down market, you can’t afford to throw 6% of your home’s value to an agent.

Selling your home yourself allows you to price your home more competitively, because you don’t have to compensate for agent commissions. That makes it better for you and the buyer.

Source: ConsumerReports.org

Water is one of the most precious resources, yet its continual waste is wreaking havoc on wallets across the country. The average American uses 400 gallons of water per day, most of which is wasted. Saving water is more than an environmental decision; it is an economic necessity.

Here are a few tips to help minimize water consumption.

• Use your dishwasher and clothes washer only when you have a full load.
• Refrain from buying multihead shower systems. These systems can spray an estimated 80 gallons per minute. Stick with a single-head shower that uses only 2.5 gallons per minute.
• Consider a tankless, on-demand water heater. Tankless systems heat water when you need it, cutting wait times down to about 30 seconds.
• Purchase toilets that feature the Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense label.
• Fix toilet and faucet leaks immediately. An inefficient fixture can cost more money in wasted water than the price to have it fixed.
• Fill a plastic, quart-sized milk container with water and put it in your toilet tank, safely away from the operating mechanism. The jug can displace 10 gallons or more of water a day.
• Shorten your showers. Reducing showering time by just one minute can save 1,000 gallons of water a year.
• Attach a pistol-type sprayer to the end of your garden hose.
• Insulate your pipes with pre-slit foam pipe insulation. You’ll get hot water faster plus avoid wasting water while it heats up.
• Check your water meter and bill to track your water usage.
• Soak your pots and pans instead of letting the water run while you scrape them clean.
• Make sure your swimming pools, fountains, and ponds are equipped with recirculating pumps.
• Install water softening systems only when necessary. Save water and salt by running the minimum number of regenerations necessary to maintain water softness.

Image: Green Planet

Over at the Real Estate Investing site, this interesting post explains the value of a FSBO, as it’s most simply understood:

“However, many homeowners still find it expensive to sell their property through an agent. And for good reason. Take a $200,000 property. If it is sold through an agent, 6% is $12,000. Thus, many hesitate to part with that amount of money. Nowadays, FSBO (For Sale By Owner) is becoming many of the homeowner’s preferred method of selling their home. This is largely because of the Internet, which continues to grow rapidly.”