Smart buyer in 5 easy steps

Owning a home is a big responsibility. So as you can imagine, there are a lot of factors to consider when it comes to making the decision to buy. Here are some of the questions you will need to answer along the way.
 

Unique northwest Visalia home listed at $435,000

Rent vs. buy
If you are coming from a rental it makes sense to do a rent versus buy analysis. Taking a look at the cost of upkeep compared to the tax savings is one thing. You also have to consider some of the intangible benefits, such as having a space of your own.

Real Estate professional
Selecting your real estate professional is an important decision. This is the person who will be guiding you through a complex process. You need to know that their experience and expertise will serve your best interests.

Need versus want
Your real estate agent can help you complete a needs analysis that will help narrow down the kind of home would be best for you. By writing down your wants and needs,  along with your goals and a timeline will help you focus on the right types of properties for you..

Get pre-approved
Take the guesswork out of what you can and can't afford to buy. By getting pre-approved for a home loan, you will be able to focus on the best home in your price range.

What's on the market
There are hidden gems in every community. Keep an open mind about your house hunt. There's potential around every corner, and your agent will help you find it because he or she is talking with other agents all the time.

For more information and pictures of the home shown above, click here. Call Ruben Olguin (559) 280-9384, or Vincent Ingrao (559) 799-9165.

Home Decorating Ideas - Cottage Style Decor Defined

When you envision the perfect home interior ambiance does it include the adjectives simple, light filled, vintage and comfortable? If so, you might be a candidate for Cottage Style decor! You don't have to reside in a literal cottage to incorporate this design theme into your lifestyle. The fundamentals of cottage style decor are not difficult to implement and can be easy on the budget, too.

Color scheme
The color scheme you select should be light overall for most types of cottage style decorating. A healthy dose of white along with soft shades of green, pink, blue, yellow, aqua and rose will set the cottage tone.  If your taste lends more toward a rustic cottage look, you may incorporate more golds and medium shades of green into your decor.  Use these colors on your walls, and don't hesitate to vary the colors from room to room. Keep the shades soft and light, and you can transition beautifully from room to room, keeping the cottage theme prevalent.

To add a little bit of drama to the room, use one of your chosen colors in a deep tone for a few accents. For example, if your color scheme includes soft blue, use a bit of navy blue in an area rug, an accent piece, in artwork, etc. Remember to use a light touch and it can make your room even more memorable while maintaining the soft, simple overall look.

Southeast Visalia home on the market

Take a look at this hard-to-find four bedroom, three bath southeast Visalia home.

This immaculate 1,889-square-foot home is two stories and features a three-car garage and a crystal clear swimming pool off of a covered patio.

Listed at $170,000

There is a fireplace in the living room to warm up those cold days. The living room has beautiful wood laminate flooring.

The kitchen has light oak cabinetry, tile counter tops, a center breakfast bar and a large window.

Pride of ownership is evident throughout this home. You will enjoy the mature landscaping in both the front and back yards.

For more information and pictures, click here.

Call the Vintage Home Guys today for an appointment.  
Ruben Olguin (559) 280-9384 or Vince Ingrao (559) 799-9165

Vintage styles: Arts and Crafts homes

Arts and Crafts style home

Arts and Crafts homes by definition are meant to be unique and distinctive. Their design was not meant to be cookie cutter. In fact, they were in part a reaction to the industrial revolution and the mass  production of goods.

As their name implies, the homes were meant to showcase the craftsmanship of the builder.

Some features common to Arts & Crafts homes are their asymmetrical design and complex floor plan. Some have cantilevered second floors, meaning the second story overhangs the first.

They have steep gabled roofs with large porches. They can have gabled dormers (front facing windows that extend out perpendicular to the roof).

Siding includes wood shingles, but they can also feature brick and stucco.

Arts and Crafts home were particularly popular in California, Texas, and Florida.

A guide to getting rid of clutter in your home

(ARA) - You're feeling like the walls are closing in. You're not a hoarder, but you just have too much stuff. It's not that difficult to change your ways. If you want to take control of clutter, get a few boxes, one for each room in your home. Start by organizing one room at a time.

Begin this initiative by removing everything on top of your cabinets, tables and in bookcases and place it all in a box, says Keith McCleary, academic director of Interior Design at The Art Institute of York - Pennsylvania. If there are other random accessories in the room, remove them as well. Keep just the basic furnishings. Now sit with the room in its simplest form for awhile.

"In room design, make good decisions about what you choose to put in the room and, often more importantly, in what you choose to leave out," McCleary says. "Simplicity and clean lines make a room feel livable and that's what it's really all about: comfortable living." Think about the kind of focal point you're trying to create. How should you orchestrate this space and show off your special pieces in terms of size, scale, color and texture?

After a day or two has passed, go back to the box and look for items that define your personality, or will be noticed by guests visiting your home. "Ask yourself: when is enough, enough?" says McCleary. "Each piece of furniture in the room can function to complement. Accessories and works of art should contrast."

Homebuyers happy despite housing ups and downs

With the rollercoaster ride homeowners have taken in recent years - gaining great equity, then losing it, now slowly gaining it back - you might think they are a little sour on home ownership.

But a new poll by Bankrate, Inc., found that 90 percent of homeowners say they don't regret buying their current home.

In fact, the pollsters found that homeowners are much more informed about the mortgage process. Today, only 8 percent said they didn't know what kind of loan they had. That's far better than two years ago when as many as 28 percent said they didn't know.

The poll - conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International for Bankrate - also found that:

Vintage home converted to office in Porterville

• Fixed-rate mortgages are on the upswing. Seventy-nine percent of those polled said they had a fixed-rate loan. 
• Americans making more than $75,000 overwhelmingly preferred fixed-rate mortgages. Almost 90 percent of those who were asked, said they used a fixed-rate mortgage.

You can find happiness to with one of the great deals on the market. Call Ruben Olguin (559) 280-9384, or Vincent Ingrao (559) 799-9165 of the Vintage Home Guys today for an appoinment.