•  Blueprint to Bricks: Widow Walks ,Kristin Harris

    Blueprint to Bricks: Widow Walks

    Today, we’re exploring an iconic architectural detail known as the "Widow's Walk"—also called a widow’s watch, roofwalk, captain’s watch, or captain’s walk. Since the 19th century, it’s been romantically linked to the idea of sailors' wives watching the horizon for their loved ones’ return from sea. But did you know its original purpose was likely more practical? 🧐 Many historians believe these flat, railed platforms atop homes were used to manage chimney fires, a common hazard in homes heated by large, wood-burning fireplaces. Today, this beautiful feature endures in coastal architecture, often added for its stunning views and charm. Beyond aesthetics, widow's walks can help enhance ventilation, reduce heat buildup in upper levels, and improve light exposure in top-floor rooms. What are your thoughts on this timeless architectural feature? Drop your insights below! #ResidentialArchitecture #HomeDesign #DreamHome #ArchitectureLovers #CoastalDesign #WidowsWalk #HistoricHomes #SustainableLiving #InteriorDesign #HouseGoals

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  • Selling A House with Tenants,Kristin Harris

    Selling A House with Tenants

    It's stressful being a landlord at the best of times, but when the time comes for you to sell your investment property and move on, the stress can feel palpable. You've probably spent time getting to know your tenants and have built a relationship with them, and most humans don't deal with change all that well.  Springing the "guess what, I'm selling your residence out from under you" conversation can feel like a big deal, even if everyone involved knows that isn't really what's happening. If you own a home with tenants in it that you want to sell, what do you need to know and address? You can still sell your house even if there are tenants living in it ... The good news is this: You have the legal right to sell your property, even if there are tenants living there. It's your house and your decision to make, and if you want to sell it, that is well within your purview. That said, there's a good way to go about selling your home with tenants, and there are a lot of ways that generate resentment and a lack of cooperation and that generally are not pleasant or fun for anyone involved. You do have the right to sell your house; your tenants have rights, too. To make this a tolerable process for them -- and, frankly, to get the place sold faster and for more money -- you'll need to solicit your tenants' cooperation. ... But in most states, they can stay through the end of their lease One of the rights that your tenants have is to stay in the property until the end of their lease. This applies to both month-to-month leases and fixed-term leases for longer periods of time, such as six months or one year. Selling a rental house with a month-to-month lease is relatively easy; refresh your memory as to the terms of your lease agreement and give your tenants the appropriate notice that you will not be renewing the lease when it ends. This could be anywhere from 30 to 60 days, depending on how your lease is written. Selling a rental with a fixed-term lease can be a bit more complicated. It's possible that your tenants' lease might not be up for several months, and if you really can't wait for them to vacate before buying, then you'll need to work with them throughout the sales process, and they will stay on in their residence after it's sold.   Can you wait until the lease is up? Depending on how long is left on the lease, you might be able to just wait until it's up, gives your tenant the appropriate amount of notice that you won't be renewing the lease and need them to vacate, and then put the home up for sale. Simple! Unfortunately, in some circumstances, the tenant may have more than six months left on the lease, and you may truly need the house to sell as quickly as possible. If you can't wait until the lease is up, you'll need to have a conversation with your tenants about the sale. This should probably be an in-person conversation, followed by a formal letter -- but the in-person conversation will give you an idea of what you'll need to do to incentivize your tenants to be cooperative, which could mean the difference between an immediate sale or a listing that lingers and lingers. Decide how you're going to market the property Most sellers who are trying to offload a rental property have a couple of different options for how to market the home. They can sell it as an investment property -- in which case, an established tenant is a distinct plus -- or they could sell it as an owner-occupied home. Investors won't mind at all that the property has a tenant; in fact, they might consider it a reason to buy in and of itself. You can market the home as both; that's also an option. There are some traditional buyers who won't be moving immediately and won't mind waiting out a lease, so limiting yourself exclusively to investors isn't necessarily your only possible path forward, especially when the lease is less than 60 days from expiring. Work with your tenant on appropriate showing times It's important to remember that you are the person in this relationship who desires the sale. Your tenants probably have a lot of feelings about it, few of them positive; they are likely anxious about the future, unsure of where they will move or whether they will have to, sad about the loss of their residence, and more. So if you want them to cooperate to the best of their abilities, you will need to make this process as easy as possible for them. The first thing to do -- and possibly the most important -- is to ask your tenant about their schedule. When would it be convenient for them to open their residence for showings, and when are the incredibly inconvenient times? Do what you can to limit showings only to the times that tenants have indicated are convenient for them. Buyers who are motivated will be willing to clear their schedules to see a house that might be a fit, so you can feel free to give your tenants some control over the scheduling. Offer to pay for cleaning, lawn maintenance, or both Another big pain point for your tenants is going to be keeping their residence looking showing-worthy just in case a buyer wants to stop by. This is difficult enough for sellers who are motivated to offload their own residence, but when you're a tenant who doesn't have a choice in the matter and you're not going to see any financial benefit from your behavior, why would you be inspired to spend almost all your time outside of work keeping up with your house? One way you can show your tenants that you care about their experience in this process is to help them out by hiring cleaning or lawn maintenance help -- or both -- to help them keep up with the showings and alleviate some stress. Yes, it's going to cost you some money, as will a few of these suggestions. But is it better to spend some money upfront and sell the place more quickly, or to pinch your pennies and allow the home to languish on the market for months? At that point, you may as well wait for your tenants to vacate if you're not willing to do anything to hasten the process. Provide 24 hours' notice for showings Different states have different requirements for how much notice you need to give tenants about showings, but a good rule of thumb that's acceptable in all states is to provide them at least 24 hours' notice. Make sure that all buyer's agents know this is the case, and don't acquiesce to pleas to squeeze someone in at the last minute. It could be illegal, it will very likely leave a bad taste in your tenant's mouth, and you could wind up with an uncooperative tenant on your hands as a result. Arrange for the tenant to leave during showings Tenants might not be intrusive when possible buyers are walking through the house, but it's still pretty awkward to try to look at a place with the current occupant present. Talk to your tenants about options for things they can do while buyers come by to look, and do what you can to make those options easy for them. Maybe spending some gift cards to a local coffee shop or brewpub would be welcome ways for them to spend the hour or so they have to vacate the premises? Send them on a mini-holiday for the open house Planning on having an open house over the weekend? What will your tenants do during that time? Maybe you can offer them a night or a weekend away in a nice hotel while you host the open house. This is an opportunity for you to get a bunch of buyers in the house at once, especially if the open house is a significant part of the marketing campaign you've established with your agent. Do whatever you can to make it as good as you can make it -- and as comfortable as possible for your tenants. Help the tenant find a new place to live As a landlord, it's possible that you have more than one property in the area, and it's also possible that you may have an opening in a residence that would suit your tenant perfectly. If that's the case, you can absolutely present that offer to your tenant. Ask if they'd like to see the new residence, make time to show them around, and if they agree that it would be a good fit, maybe offer to help them move, too. If there's a price difference between their current place and the new one, you might be able to do some negotiating or use it as a bargaining chip. Even if you don't have any other homes that might be suitable for your tenant, you might know other landlords or property managers in town through your own business. Reach out to them and mine your network to see how you can best situate your tenants. They'll thank you for it later! What if the tenant is behind in rent? In an ideal world, you could ask your tenant for the rent owed, collect it, then sell your property with no further issues. But the world we live in is not ideal, and a tenant who owes rent already isn't exactly a selling point when you're trying to offload a rental property. In fact, it's a liability! There are a few ways you can tackle this problem. You could tell the tenant you will forgive their outstanding rent if they agree to move out immediately. You could try to put them on a payment plan that will help them get current by the time the sale happens. Or, depending on how far behind they are, you could start the eviction process -- which isn't fast or easy, but if there are no other options, it may be your best one. Consider 'cash for keys' This term refers to a practice of giving tenants money to move out early. Sometimes landlords do this when the tenant is a problem -- for example, not paying rent, or antagonizing other neighbors. It's essentially exactly what it sounds like: You approach the tenant and offer to pay them to leave.   Your tenant doesn't have to be a problem tenant to use this strategy when you know you want to sell. If you're pretty sure that your tenants would cause problems in the sale, and you can't wait for their lease to end, ask if you could pay them one month's rent and their security deposit, or whatever seems reasonable to you, if they would break their lease and vacate early. You can also offer additional incentives, like paying for a moving company to help them make the move. This might seem counter-intuitive, but if you really need the place sold and you're out of other options, it can be the best solution to your problem. 

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  • Become A Solo Mortgage Mogul,Kristin Harris

    Become A Solo Mortgage Mogul

    When you were growing up, there were probably certain milestones that you imagined you would reach in your adult life that would be momentous and important. Falling in love and getting married are on that list of milestones for most people, as is the dream of one day owning your own home. As the age at which Americans are getting married slowly creeps up, the question has begun to emerge: Is it better to buy a house after you get married, or should you try to get your foot on the property ladder earlier, in your single life? Like so many questions surrounding real estate decisions, there truly is no single correct answer. The best decision for you will depend on your life circumstances, your career, your plans and dreams — and, yes, your love life, too. Before you decide to buy a home (or decide not to buy a home) as a single person, think about these things and ask yourself how they apply to your life and situation. How stable is your career? Like it or not, your financial picture is going to be absolutely critical in your decision — or ability — to purchase a home. This is true for anybody who’s trying to buy a house, but it’s doubly true for single people seeking to buy because you only have one source of income: yourself. You don’t have a spouse with better credit or a higher-paying job to help you out — or even a spouse with a lower-paying job that’s still contributing to the household. This means that your finances, credit, savings, assets and liabilities, and everything else that you have to put together to apply for a mortgage loan should be in a squeaky-clean condition so you can get the best deal possible on a loan. This isn’t news to most people who are considering buying a house, but what they often fail to consider is the long-term stability and viability of their career. Or they might not even plan on staying in that career for much longer. If your master plan in life is to buy a house and then become an Instagram influencer while renovating it … well, that’s a lovely dream, but it also means that this most likely is not the best time in your life to be considering a major purchase with a loan that you’ll be paying off for well over ten years. Objectively assessing your own income and earnings — and the probability that your skills will still be in demand in the years to come — is never easy, but think about the alternative. The worst-case scenario is not that you won’t qualify for a mortgage loan; it’s that you will and will use it to buy a house, then lose your job. If you’re working in an industry where the hiring process is long and convoluted, or if there aren’t a lot of alternative employment opportunities near you, then you’ll want to face this worst-case scenario head-on. What would you do if you were to lose your job while you were paying off a mortgage loan? Do you have other skills you could fall back on if that happened? It may feel morbid to make a plan for how to handle a career tanking that never actually happens, but it’s so much better to be prepared and not need those plans than for life to catch you flat-footed and annihilate your ability to own a home in the near future. How happy are you in the area? Let’s say that your finances are in solid order and you know that you have job stability in your area for many, many years to come. Great! Maybe you’re ready to buy a place to live somewhere — the next question is, do you already live in the market where you’ll eventually want to buy? You won’t be locked into homeownership forever, of course; you can always sell. But if you want to sell your house before you’ve been living there for two years, you will likely have to pay hefty taxes on any profit you make from the sale. So if you don’t think that you’ll be in the same area in two years, it’s probably best to keep saving up your money and wait to buy a house somewhere else. That two-year window is far from a guarantee, however. Home prices generally rise over time, but that rise consists of pockets of peaks and valleys. If you happen to buy during a peak, two years later could be the midst of a valley, when you’re more likely to lose money — or at least not make as much as you could have on your home sale. Ideally, you’ll want to stay as long as it makes sense for you and your lifestyle, so if you’ve toyed with the idea of moving to a different metro area or an entirely different state, it might be wise to hold off on your home purchase. Do you have roots here? How strong are they? It’s not at all uncommon in the modern world for children to move across the country from their parents, siblings, and hometowns, and it’s also not uncommon for life circumstances to emerge that bring people back together. Think about the support network that you have in place nearby — and the support network available to your loved ones who live away from you. And think about what you would do and which options would be available to you if something were to happen to a parent, sibling, or someone else whose safety and health you’d want to prioritize. Alternatively, you might want to consider how you’d manage if something were to happen that left you incapacitated for a period of time. This could be as simple and impermanent but inconvenient as breaking a leg, or as serious as a newly diagnosed chronic condition. Of course, you don’t want to make major life decisions on a series of what-ifs, but if you already know that you have a family member in poor health and may need to move nearer to them (or move them nearer to you) sooner or later, then you should definitely take that into consideration as you’re determining whether or not to buy a home today. What does your ideal living situation look like? Some people enjoy having roommates while others prefer to live all by themselves. And some only want to cohabit with romantic partners or family members. Think about what you want out of an ideal living situation; it might not be possible to achieve immediately, but if you’re going to buy a house, then you should try to get as close to that ideal situation as you possibly can. The easiest scenario to navigate in many situations is living alone; you just have to determine how much room you need, where and what you can afford to buy, and move forward from there. If you want roommates, things get a bit more complicated. Do you already have those roommates identified, and if so, how long-term are they? If there’s a chance that you may have to look for new roommates while you’re living in your residence, then you should think about the areas that are most attractive to the types of people you’d most like to have as a roommate and target them for your purchase. How about your love life? Even if you’re not married or partnered up yet, that doesn’t mean you won’t be at some point in the future. Do you already have a significant other? How serious are things? If it’s possible that you might be moving in together in the next couple of years, then you might want to consider looping them into the decision-making process in your home purchase so that you’re choosing a place that appeals to both of you. On the flip side, don’t let your partner fully dictate your choice; if you’re the person who’s securing and paying the mortgage, then this house needs to work for you first and foremost. Buying a house when you’re single can be a smart investment if you think through the decision and make sure you’re choosing a home that will work for you for at least a few years. Once you are ready to partner up, you’ll have equity built in your home and can use your first purchase as a foundation for a family home where you’ll live for years to come. 

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