A Victorian home's mansard roof, gables, and ornate pillars poised under moonlight may give some people the chills. After all, the dilapidated Victorian home has become the hallmark of all things spooky, often used in tales to set an eerie mood. From movies like "The Addams Family" to "Psycho," the Victorian has played a prominent role in creeping us out. But why has this architecture earned a haunted reputation?Victorians draw some of their dr
Painting can be one of the most cost-effective ways to spruce up a listing. But homeowners can also make a lot of mistakes with this common DIY job. Realtor.com® recently spoke with staging and color experts to find out some of the most obvious mistakes that they see most often.1. Choosing the wrong finish.Homeowners need to select a paint finish that correlates with the room’s purpose. "Many homeowners are nervous about using shiny semigloss
Looking to get your listing noticed on the higher end of the market? Condo developers in this segment say they lure affluent buyers with models that feature brand-name goods and high-end finishes."You want customers to daydream a little bit. Everyone always buys what they see," Alexander Hovnanian, developer of Nine on the Hudson, a 13-story luxury condo under construction in New Jersey, told The Wall Street Journal. The building’s units will
Boulder, Colo., is the happiest city in the U.S., according to the National Geographic Gallup Special/Blue Zones Index. The city’s sense of community, access to nature, sustainable urban development, preservation policies, and its clean mountain air help make its residents feel upbeat, according to the index. More people walk to work in Boulder than any other U.S. city per capita—the city has high rates of exercise and low rates of smokin
Smaller farmers are being driven out of business as the deepest slump hits since the 1980s. Low prices for corn, wheat, and other commodities are causing a greater number of smaller American farmers to go out of business. This has left a larger share of the nation’s farms within supersized family farms, which could transform America’s rural economy, The Wall Street Journal reports.Farms with $1 million or more in annual sales now produ
Homeowners affected by the California wildfires may be eligible to defer their mortgage payments for up to 12 months. Mortgage financing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have issued guidelines for wildfire victims with single-family mortgages.Victims may be eligible to stop making mortgage payments in three-month intervals, up to 12 months. They also may be eligible to avoid late fees during this temporary payment break, and to not have delinq
The infrastructure around a listing is becoming increasingly important to house hunters. It’s more than just public transportation options; it also includes the condition of highways and sewers, as well as the state of the drinking water.“Cities that keep up with infrastructure needs are a big step ahead in attracting home buyers,” says Scott Muldavin, chair of the Counselors of Real Estate, an industry group based in Chicago. Buyers
As homeowners gain more equity, they are expected to continue heavily investing in home improvement projects and repairs through the third quarter of 2018, according to the latest Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity report released by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. The LIRA index projects annual gains in home renovation and repair spending of 6.3 percent for the fourth quarter of 2017 and up to 7.7 percent by
Your clients may one day live in a battery-powered home, and that’s getting closer to reality for homeowners in New York, California, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Vermont, and Arizona. Many municipalities in those states are revamping their electrical grids and turning to batteries to make them more efficient. But the average homeowner likely won’t notice the change. Most plans call for batteries to be tucked into a sort of neighborhood junction bo
One of the biggest segments of new renters is empty nesters ages 55 and up, as multifamily developers reconsider their original focus on millennials. Between 2009 and 2015, the number of renters older than 55 increased 28 percent, or 2.5 million—the largest uptick of any age group, according to data from rental listing site RENTCafé. Meanwhile, the number of renters ages 34 and younger rose just 3 percent during the same time period.“Loweri
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