Why it's so popular to refresh your spaces during this season every year.

By Nashia Baker 

When you think about springtime, fresh blooms, seasonal fruit, and pastel colors likely come to mind. Another (arguably less fun) seasonal association? Spring cleaning. But why do we deep clean our spaces at this time? According to the experts, it's simple: The warm weather makes a maximum refresh possible. "With the ability to open windows and shake the rugs, spring is the perfect time for decluttering and deep cleaning," says Andy Telatnik, the director of marketing for retail at Bona. If you feel the same way, you're not alone. According to a Bona and Harris Poll survey last year, half of the adults in the United States say that the start of spring is all about cleaning; decluttering and polishing floors will be the top two tasks for homeowners this particular season.

Don't forget about the pros of disinfecting during this time of year, either. "Spring is a season when everyone starts spending a little more time outdoors—and more dirt and germs are invited in," explains Julie Mckinney, PhD, R&D director of equity, claims and compliance, hygiene, and home at Reckitt Benckiser. "Even though spring signals the end of the cold and flu seasons, people should still be vigilant about the germs and bacteria living on surfaces and collecting in the spaces in their homes—especially as the COVID-19 virus continues to circulate." Ahead, our experts share more about the logic behind spring cleaning and how to make the most of this time.

The benefits are both physical and emotional.

With spring comes longer days, which physically shine a light on the grime that has accumulated during winter. You start "noticing all the dust and smudges that have collected over the past year and feel inspired to get it all cleaned out to bring fresh energy," Kadi Dulude, the owner of  Wizard of Homes, a top-rated home cleaner on Yelp, says. And certain parts of your home really do need that refresh. Take your hardwood floors, "Deep cleaning your floors will extend their life," Telatnik shares. "By  removing dust, debris, and other elements of winter, deep cleaning will prevent scratches and damage to the wood finish, which likely means refinishing the floors less often."

Inevitably,  when your space looks good, you feel good, too. A recent Harris Poll survey, in partnership with Bona, found that people feel safer, productive, relieved, happy, and in control after cleaning and disinfecting their homes. Plus, eight out of 10 Americans felt more relaxed and enjoyed spending time in their spaces that much more.

Take a targeted approach.

"When considering what to prioritize in your spring cleaning and disinfecting routine, remember that any frequently touched surface should be considered high priority," Mckinney says. "Think light switches, doorknobs, handles, and sink faucets—all places where germs can linger for hours, or even days, and then travel from person to person." Once you've got your head wrapped around the most important areas to clean, Dulude says to carve out time and listen to your favorite music to make the process a fun one. Another tip? Round up go-to supplies. "Pick scents and materials that make you want to try them out on different surfaces," she explains. "Get a new mop, microfiber cloths, or organizing bins." She always recommends having other cleaners on hand to give your floors, countertops, and other most-touched surfaces the deepest clean possible.

From here, Dulude says to start on the top floor of your home with hard-to-reach items. "Things that are often overlooked during weekly cleans: tops of picture frames, ceiling fans, tops of high dressers and cabinets, and the insides of lighting fixtures," she explains. "But don't forget to clean under things, too. Take everything out from under the bed, give it all a clean, and put things back neatly (after mopping the floor, of course)." Take this approach in every space, like under your big kitchen appliances. If you'd rather enlist help to master this type of cleaning, you can also turn to an app or use a cleaning business tailored for the task.

Maximize your cleaning efforts.

Next, Dulude recommends these essential steps: deep clean your rugs, donate, toss or recycle any things you don't need, wipe down your knick-knacks, wash your throw pillows, blankets, and toys, and remove scuffs from your walls. Make sure to scrub your floors too. After this step, Telatnik says to let them dry, and then apply a coat of polish to refresh your finish. "A coat of polish can even out a floor's look, filling in any small scratches and adding a new protective layer on top of your floor," he said. "If the surface has larger areas of damage (worn patches, scratches, water spots, etc.), consider contacting a certified flooring contractor to determine the best approach."

"Additional steps that people often neglect, but should definitely tackle as part of their comprehensive spring cleaning and disinfecting routine, include vacuuming the mattress to reduce allergens and dust mites, emptying and disinfecting the shelves and drawers around the house, vacuuming the blower compartments of the A/C to prevent mold and mildew from venturing into your home, and cleaning the inside of the washing machine to help prevent bacteria buildup and laundry contamination adds Mckinney.

 

Homeowners across the country have transformed their kitchens and living rooms into temporary workstations. But have they created an optimal setup for remote work? Kelsey Stuart, CEO of Bloomin’ Blinds, offers the following tips to make a home office more inviting and motivational.

Give the walls a fresh coat of paint. Whether you have a designated home office or plan to repurpose a spare bedroom or basement, try a quick and fresh paint job to transform the room. Lighter tones reflect more light, helping to make a home office feel roomier. Try a light, simple color scheme in order to promote high energy and creativity. This will also provide a professional background for video conference calls. Need inspiration? Try these 2021 paint colors of the year from Benjamin-Moore, Behr, Pantone, or Sherwin-Williams.

Good lighting is key. Lighting is critical to productivity and professionalism in the age of Zoom calls. There are two ways to control the lighting in a room: through natural light via windows and artificial light, using lamps and bulbs.

• If you haven’t already, swap out existing lightbulbs for LED bulbs. Relatively inexpensive, LEDs are energy-efficient and help light up a room better than traditional bulbs. Eliminate shadows by adding lamps where needed.

• Whether you’re trying to focus for an extended period of time or are about to log into a videoconference call, controlling the amount of natural light in the room impacts your productivity. You might find it helpful to rearrange your office based on natural light sources so that your eyes don’t get fatigued. Also, control the amount of light in the space by adding blinds, which give you the ability to direct the light in your office. You could also use shades with motorized units to make easier adjustments. Blinds also can have sun sensors that will lower shades if the window gets too hot, helping you to stay focused on your work.

Bring in the outdoors. A functional and beautiful add-on to your office space, plants have been shown to boost creativity while also creating a calm environment to work—all while filtering the air you breathe. Here are ideas for what plants to add.

Personalize your space. We’re all spending more time in our home office, so don’t forget to add the personal touches that remind you of why you go to work every day. For instance, photos of loved ones or a fun pattern on a floor rug can help you create a space that you’re happy to spend time in.

 

 

Courtesy Realtor Magazine

Source: By Kelsey Stuart, CEO of Bloomin’ Blinds  

Many workers want to continue to work from home, even when the pandemic is over. A new survey from JLL of 2,000 employees globally found that 72% want to be able to work from home more during the workweek, up considerably from 34% before the pandemic. Sixty-six percent are in favor of a hybrid model that mixes in office, home, and a co-working facility.

The idea of a 3-2-2 model is gaining popularity with workers. LinkedIn’s year-end roundup of 2020’s workplace trends called it a one to watch in the new year. The model would allow employees to work three days in the office, two days remotely, and two days off.

While many workers don’t want to return full-time to the office, they are missing the workplace. Fifty-two percent of professionals say they do not feel as productive at home, and 58% miss working at an office, according to a separate JLL survey. The 3-2-2 model could allow workers to balance remote and in-office work.

“The emergence of this new framework for the workweek confirms that people don’t just want to go back to the office—for many, they need to,” writes Kenny Kane, chief operating officer at Firmspace, for Forbes.com. “And commercial real estate agents will see this reflected in their quarterly reports as soon as the pandemic turns around.”

Still, a CBRE analysis cautions that the growth in remote work could cut the overall need for office space by 15% after the pandemic ends. As workplaces consider new leases, they’re demanding more flexible space options, shared meeting spaces, better indoor air quality, connected building apps, and touchless technology, CBRE notes. Also, about 50% of the workers surveyed by JLL consider socialization spaces crucial to their experiences in the office in the future. These spaces could include coffee and tea areas, lounges, terraces that offer more connection with nature, and more.

Peter Miscovich, managing director of strategy and innovation at JLL, told the Commercial Observer that some clients are wanting to decrease their office portfolios, open up satellite spaces in the suburbs, or retool their existing spaces to fit a new hybid workplace model.

Co-working spaces are increasingly being viewed as an alluring option to more workers. The JLL survey finds that 40% of workers would like to be able to work at a co-working space in the future.

Regardless, the office will remain a key role for companies as a collaboration space, Miscovich says. Only 10% of survey respondents said they would want to work from home exclusively. Seventy-four percent said they would be willing to return to the office at least part time; 24% would be willing to return on a full-time basis.

 

Courtesy Realtor Magazine

Source: "72% of Workers Don't Want to Return to Office Full Time. Report Finds," Commercial Observer (March 5, 2021); "Shaping Human Experience," JLL (Feb 22, 2021); and "What the New 3-2-2 Work Week Will Mean for Commercial Real Estate," Forbes.com (March 2, 2021)

Co-working and flexible workspace providers saw business quickly dwindle as the COVID-19 pandemic struck last spring and the shift to remote work began. These businesses sublet space on short-term contracts, which allowed tenants to leave quickly as employees moved to working from home.

However, investors and analysts are turning bullish that co-working and flexible office providers such as WeWork and IWG could soon see a boom in business as workers return to offices.

Still, there’s a lot of catching up to do. WeWork’s occupancy rate globally plunged to 47% at the end of 2020. It lost $3.2 billion last year, The Wall Street Journal reports. Before the pandemic, co-working spaces were the fastest-growing type of office space in commercial real estate, according to JLL. But the pandemic struck the sector particularly hard.

On the other hand, traditional property service providers have been more protected in the pandemic since their tenants sign long-term leases. Even as offices have remained mostly empty, building owners could still collect rent.

But moving forward, property providers may be more drawn to shorter-term leases. As such, investors are seeing signs that co-working spaces could hold a special attraction to offices moving forward.

Flexible leases could grow from less than 5% of the market today to as much as 30% by 2030, the real estate firm JLL forecasts.

Co-working spaces could grow as an option as companies may be reluctant to sign a 10-year lease until they better understand what the future of work will look like and how employees will divide their time between home and office. “Some may turn to looser office arrangements longer term, accelerating a trend already building before the pandemic,” says reporter Carol Ryan for The Wall Street Journal.

Companies that press forward with a remote office likely will still find they need a space to meet in-person at times. Also, some offices may decide on a hybrid workweek approach—splitting time between the office and home—which could also cause companies to look at flexible office space as an option.

“Co-working spaces have the potential to provide vital business services to support the remote workforce closer to where they are, especially as residual anxieties linger over taking public transit,” Brent Capron, design director of interiors at architecture firm Perkins and Will’s New York studio, told CNBC in an article on co-working spaces.

 

Courtesy Realtor Magazine

Source: "Flexible Offices Will Be Crowded After COVID-19," The Wall Street Journal (March 23, 2021) and "How Co-Working Spaces Could Succeed in the Post-Pandemic World," CNBC (Jan 12, 2021)

Choosing bulbs has gotten much more complicated as energy-saving technology becomes more common. Here’s how to make the smartest and most flattering choices for a home.

By Al DeGenova

Selecting a beautiful new light fixture for a home is a great way to visually update a home and add sparkle to a space. But putting the wrong lightbulb in that fixture can have disastrous effects. The wrong lighting makes a room feel too dark or too bright. Light also affects the appearance of upholstery, paint, or artwork.

Comparing lighting options available today can be like comparing a Model T with a Prius because of the vast options—both old-school and new—on the market. With energy consciousness steadily rising, the expansion of federal legislation mandating lightbulb efficiency is now being reconsidered by the Department of Energy, and some states, including California, Nevada, and Washington, already have strict laws in place. The 60-watt tungsten bulb is, indeed, becoming a Model T.

Just as you can still find gas-guzzling cars, however, you can still purchase incandescent bulbs. However, you need to understand the terminology surrounding new light sources.

Lightbulb Types

LED, CFL, and halogen and tungsten incandescent: LED is the most energy-efficient and long-lasting; it’s also the most expensive. Tungsten incandescent bulbs are the least efficient and cheapest; 90% of the energy consumed by an incandescent bulb is lost as heat. CFLs contain mercury and must be disposed of properly.

Bulbs come in any number of shapes and sizes. When shopping, the most common lightbulb shape and size is described as an “A19 Medium Base.”

Brightness: Light output is measured in lumens, not watts as we previously used for brightness. In context, a 60-watt incandescent bulb provides roughly 800 lumens: 40W, 450 lumens; 75W, 1100 lumens; 100W, 1600 lumens; 150W, 2600 lumens.

Energy Used: The amount of electricity that a lightbulb consumes is measured in watts. A 60W tungsten bulb consumes 60W. An 800-lumen LED bulb (equivalent to the 60-watt tungsten) uses approximately 14W of electricity, a 75% reduction in energy consumption. Efficiency is often expressed as lumens per watt; the higher the LPM ratio, the more energy-efficient the bulb.

Light Appearance: We understand lightbulbs described as “warm white” or “bright white,” but these are subjective terms, meaning different things to different manufacturers. Light appearance refers to the “color” of the white light. Light color is represented in Kelvin, a temperature measurement. 2700K is roughly the equivalent of a tungsten bulb; 3000K roughly the equivalent of a halogen bulb; 4500K considered equivalent to daylight, and appears blueish.

2700K lighting is warm and cozy, great for living rooms and bedrooms. 3000K lighting is crisper and best used where functional light is important, as in a kitchen or bathroom. 4000K is great for the garage or laundry room. Make sure that the lamps and ceiling lights in a room have matching Kelvin ratings. Nothing’s worse for a room’s appearance than mismatched light color. A bedroom with 2700K lighting at the ceiling and 4000K in the nightstand lamp looks awkward and will create an imbalance in paint and fabric colors.

Dimming: Ever say, “let’s dim the lights” to create a little romance or watch a movie? When incandescent bulbs are dimmed, their color warms, meaning that it changes to look more like candlelight.

Look for the word “dimmable” as a feature on the lightbulb package or integrated LED fixture. Unlike incandescent lighting, not all LED or CFL lights can be dimmed. This is not a huge consideration for bulbs used in table or floor lamps, but ceiling lights, especially chandeliers, are often controlled by wall dimmer switches. Nondimmable LEDs may not react and CFLs may turn a greenish-blue color. So much for atmosphere.

Further, LEDs and CFLs rated as dimmable will not warm to look like candlelight. They will simply get less bright while giving off the same color. LEDs offer a technology called “warm dim” that mimics the dimming of incandescent bulbs. Search for warm dim LEDs that offer a color range of 3000K to 2200K or wider.

Color Rendering: You probably won’t see the color rendering index of a lightbulb on its package. But this measurement is important when illuminating artwork or when highlighting decor, such as fabrics or paint colors. Low CRI ratings make the colors in a room seem flat, while high CRI makes color snap.

Sunlight, with a CRI of 100, has the most accurate color rendering; halogen matches sunlight with 100 CRI, which is why galleries often use halogen lighting. Most LED bulbs are rated above 85 CRI, which is considered acceptable; CFLs are somewhat lower. However, LEDs are available at higher CRI levels when color rendering is critical.

 

Al DeGenova is a freelance writer and former marketing executive in the lighting industry based in the Chicago area.

 

Many Americans admit to being superstitious when it comes to choosing what home to buy—in fact, they say if a home feels unlucky, they aren’t buying it. More than a third—or 38%—of Americans have decided against buying a home because of superstition, according to a newly released survey from LendingTree of about 1,500 Americans. And consumers who find their self-described lucky house are willing to pay even more for it.

 

Reasons some consumers reconsidered a home purchase due to luck or superstition

                                                                                                                                                               

Source: LendingTree survey of 1,550 consumers conducted Feb. 19-22, 2021. Only those who chose not to buy a certain home due to luck or superstition answered this question. 

Homes a buyer perceives as lucky can nab more at resale. Nearly 47% of survey respondents say they would blow their budget for a lucky house—and are willing to go an average of $38,000 above their range for the home, the LendingTree survey shows. What qualifies as a lucky home? More than a third of buyers say they’d pay extra for a home whose street number was their lucky number.

The younger generations appear to be the most superstitious in real estate—55% of Gen Z and 50% of millennials said they’ve bypassed a home because of something related to luck or superstition. Overall, men are more likely than women to decide against buying a particular home because of superstition, at 51% of men and 37% of women.

Here are some additional findings from the LendingTree survey:

• 39% of homeowners refuse to live next to a cemetery.

• 32% would not buy a home with an unlucky street number. (On the other hand, the majority of respondents did say they’d buy a house with an unlucky street number like 13 or 666, but 20% would prefer to pay less because of it.)

• 30% say they would not buy a home where the previous owners experienced a tragedy inside the home, like death.

• 43% say they have at least one deal breaker related to the home’s feng shui, with the most cited reasons being a staircase that faces the front door, back and front doors in the same path, or a bathroom door that faces the front door.

• 43% of survey respondents who reported being previous home sellers said they’ve had difficulties selling their home due to superstitious buyers.

 

Source: "Nearly Half of Americans Would Burst Their Budget for a "Lucky" Home," LendingTree (March 16, 2021)

Energy efficiency is on many buyers’ minds when they shop for new-home construction, according to a consumer survey from the National Association of Home Buyers. The NAHB surveyed more than 3,000 home buyers—both recent and prospective—on the features they most desire in their new home.

Many buyers said they’d go with the more sustainable option, such as the use of more durable materials in their home, when presented the option.

When the cost savings of these features are pointed out, they may be even more tempted—and they say they are willing to pay up front to help lower their utility bills. On average, buyers would pay up to $9,292 more for a home in order to save $1,000 annually on utility costs, according to the NAHB’s study.

“We’re doing a lot more in our homes now,” Brandon Bryant, founder of Red Tree Builders, a green home building company in Asheville, N.C., said during February’s virtual 2021 International Builders’ Show. But he added education is key. “We’ve got to teach people how to live in green homes, how these homes operate, and even before we build to let them know what we could do because a lot of times we could do so much more for their life.”

The top eco-friendly components and designs consumers said they desired:

• Energy Star–rated windows and appliances

• Efficient lighting that uses less energy than traditional bulbs

• Energy Star rating for the whole house

Other trending features center around health and wellness, such as zone heating, purified air appliances (like UVC fans), indoor air quality sensors, and connections to the outdoors, the NAHB said.

"There are a wide range of green features that buyers feel are desirable," said Paul Emrath, vice president of surveys and housing policy research at the NAHB. "Energy efficiency, though, tops the list of what they most want."

 

Source: National Association of Home Builders

More inventory and better access to vaccines are welcome news.

Courtesy of Lawrence Yun

The 2020 pandemic-induced recession was unique in terms of the sudden and massive slashing of jobs. It was also the first recession during which overall income grew. No doubt there are families struggling paycheck to paycheck, but due to the massive stimulus packages—including the initial deposit of $1,200 and enhanced unemployment benefits—the financial condition of many families was better in a recession than before the pandemic.

Total income for the country in late 2020 was 4% higher than a year earlier. This was the figure reported just before the second stimulus checks of $600 per person went out in late December. It also does not include wealth accumulation from the record-high stock market or rising home prices. Also not reflected in the totals are the proceeds from mortgage refinances last year or the relief expected from a new stimulus. Still consumers remain cautious, as spending opportunities have been restricted by COVID-19. For the year, consumer spending fell by 2%. And the savings rate consequently rose to twice the pre-pandemic levels.

The situation translates into the potential for a great unleashing of spending in 2021. The positive impact will be increasingly felt as jobs come around. The full effect will be evident once herd immunity is established with the vaccine, likely in autumn. That is to say, 2021 is a growth year that will take us out of the recession.

The housing market continues to shine brightly. The main frustration is for buyers who find themselves outbid during multiple offer situations. More inventory is needed to give buyers more options and lessen the heat.

It's encouraging to see that builders are ramping up production of homes with backyards, which are now at their highest level in 13 years. Activity has been particularly robust in Southern states where land is more plentiful and building regulations are less onerous.

Moreover, with the wider availability of COVID-19 vaccines, homeowners, especially older Americans, who have been more hesitant about strangers visiting their homes, now may be more ready to list. Many seniors own their homes outright and have sizable housing equity for their next home purchase. They may even need to buy a larger place to accommodate more family visitors. After all, in the new economy, remote-work flexibility may mean more days working from grandma’s house.

 

Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Research at the National Association of REALTORS®

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With federal tax breaks for solar panels ending in 2021, this could be time for your home energy independence. When it comes to deciding if an investment in solar will pay off, you have to do research and make smart decisions for your home and financial situation. 

By Brandon Doyle

3 Takeaways

• You should make your home as energy efficient as possible before investing in a solar system so you don't pay for a bigger system than you need.

• A solar system is an investment with a typical payback period of eight years. 

• You should know the warranty terms of a solar system and who will maintain the system when there are inevitable issues.

Here are some steps to take along the way:

Step 1: Figure out the home’s solar potential.

To get an initial idea about a roof’s solar potential, you can enter the address at Google Project Sunroof or check out solar resource maps from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. One common misconception is that solar panels only pay off in hot, sunny parts of the country. To test this idea, you should look around your yard. Are there trees and other green plants? Plants use the sun’s energy to grow their leaves, so they are a good indicator of solar energy in your yard. Solar panels actually perform more efficiently in cooler temperatures.

Step 2: See what the home’s utility bills tell you.

Are the annual utility bills high enough that a solar investment will pay off in a reasonable period of time? For most homeowners, a utility bill tells you one basic fact: monthly usage. But a high monthly electricity bill can be caused by many factors ranging from old appliances to inefficient HVAC systems to poor insulation. Make the home as energy efficient as possible before buying a solar system so you’re not paying for a bigger system than you need.

Step 3: Plan ahead.

Will you be living in the same house in the next decade? A solar system is a big investment with a typical payback period of eight years. If you plan to move in the next couple years, buying or leasing solar panels could be a money-losing decision. If you decide to move after leasing, you’ll need to buy the system, assume the lease, or pay the provider to terminate the lease altogether.

Step 4: Establish an accurate baseline.

A home energy monitor like Sense will track energy consumption both before and after solar is installed. Get a couple months of data and use that information to calculate how much of the current bill can be offset with solar and how big an installation is needed.

Step 5: Consider financing and payoffs.

Solar panels are an investment that needs to pay off financially. You should take your time analyzing whether buying or leasing will be most advantageous. If you decide to buy, most solar providers and websites like EnergySage will factor the 26% federal incentive into their estimates as well as any state incentives. Together, those incentives have a big impact on the final cost. If you need financing, you should talk with your bank, mortgage provider, or a lender, which offers solar-specific loans and resources. You should do the math to figure out how much you’ll need to invest and when that investment will pay off.

Loan and lease options are attractive because they can be cash-flow positive as soon as the solar panels are installed without a cash outlay in advance, but with a lease, customers don’t benefit from the federal tax credit. But you shouldn’t view leasing as a short-term decision since most loans and lease agreements are for longer than 10 years. The monthly lease prices of a solar system in the U.S. vary depending on how much energy a house requires and can produce. The higher the electricity bill, the higher the lease cost will be since it will demand higher solar productivity. To get an idea, Tesla calculates solar panel rentals based on the home’s address and electricity bill.

Step 6: Decide on storage or no storage.

Energy storage is still a premium option, but prices are dropping significantly every year. To help you decide if you need storage, consider two factors: when you use electricity and how frequently it’s interrupted. In areas with rolling brownouts or downed power lines from storms, solar storage can get you through without an interruption and batteries can store solar energy to use at night or on cloudy days. Do the math to figure out the payoff for storage.

Step 7: Make a short list of providers.

Once you've decided to install solar panels, you should research providers online and check their reviews. Identify three or four companies that look promising and ask for online quotes based on remote solar audits, then, narrow the candidates down to two or three installers. Their construction experts will visit the house to measure and assess the roof, conduct a shade analysis, and check to see if the electrical panel will need to be upgraded. Their final quote will reflect all those factors. When evaluating proposals, be sure it includes any costs to update the roof or remove trees that create shade.

Step 8: Ask more questions before deciding on a provider.

Once you have two or three final estimates based on in-person home assessments, you should ask the providers about how they’ll handle the installation. For instance, does the provider design and install the systems themselves, or do they subcontract to local companies? If the provider uses subcontractors, are the subcontractors licensed? Make sure the contractor can explain the components of the solar system they’re installing.

You should ask if they’ll file the necessary permits, including the electrical permit, building permit, and the dedicated solar photovoltaic permit. A reputable provider will help you file for rebates and tax incentives or do it for you. Make sure you know the warranty term and who will maintain the system when there are inevitable issues. And, finally, if you are leasing, you should ask the provider to disclose what the system is worth so you’ll have that information if you decide to sell your home.

Step 9: Patience required.

You should evaluate all the proposals to make sure they correctly address the home’s energy needs, then choose a provider you can trust. Once a contract is signed with a provider, the installation and permitting process can be surprisingly long as contractors file all the paperwork on your behalf with the utility and municipality. It can take a few weeks to get permits sorted out before the installer can get the solar panels on the roof.

When the system is installed and connected to the utility, it will start producing energy whenever the sun shines. You will save money on your utility bill while relying on clean energy that’s good for the planet.

 

Brandon Doyle, ABR, e-PRO, is a second-generation real estate pro with RE/MAX Results in the Twin Cities. He is also coauthor of the book M3—Mindset, Methods & Metrics: Winning as a Modern Real Estate Agent. 

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage came off its recent all-time lows to average near 3% last week. The 10-year Treasury yield, which mortgage rates closely follow, hit its highest level in the past year, prompting the increase in rates.

“As the economic recovery progresses, mortgage rates are expected to rise further in the upcoming months,” writes Nadia Evangelou, senior economist and director of forecasting at the National Association of REALTORS®, for the association’s Economists’ Outlook blog. “Nevertheless, the upcoming rise in mortgage rates should not be alarming to would-be home buyers. The Federal Reserve recently assured that it would keep interest rates unchanged for a long time.”

Rates continue to remain near historic lows, said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. The all-time low for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was set in January, averaging 2.65%.

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Feb. 25:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.97%, with an average 0.6 point, up from last week’s 2.81% average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.45%.

• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.34%, with an average 0.6 point, rising from last week’s 2.21% average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 2.95%.

• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.99%, with an average 0.1 point, rising from last week’s 2.77% average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.20%.

Freddie Mac reports average points along with average commitment rates to better reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage.

Source: Freddie Mac and "Instant Reaction: Mortgage Rates, February 25, 2021," National Association of REALTORS® Economists’ Outlook blog (Feb. 25, 2021)

 

Join in the fun and enter your chance to win the Ice-Out Contest Lake Winnipesaukee to benefit the Wolfeboro Area Chamber of Commerce!  All entries must be submitted by 3:00 PM, Saturday, March 20, 2021.

See below for more details...

Building a brand-new home may sound like a dream come true. You get to choose the ideal layout for your family’s needs, and have a say in each and every design element. However, the process may also be daunting if you’ve never done it before.

To help you through it, we’ve created this Guide To Building Your Own Home. It will provide all the detailed information you need at each stage of the home-building process so that everything goes as smoothly as possible.

By Erica Sweeney, realtor.com 

In this first article, we’ll offer a glimpse into the pros and cons of building a house, including how much it costs, how long it takes, how it's financed, and much more that will help you decide if this option is right for you.

Pro: You can get exactly what you want

Building a home is a popular option these days. Construction on single-family homes was up 10% in November 2020 compared with the previous year, according to the National Association of Home Builders. And, it makes sense: When you build your own home, you get exactly what you want: an in-law suite for when the grandparents visit, a decked-out office for working from home, midcentury modern style, and more. Anything is possible.

“You get a blank slate,” says Marc Rousso, CEO of JayMarc Homes in Seattle. “The fun part about building a custom home is that it can be whatever you want.”

That might sound overwhelming, so Rousso suggests starting with a vision board. Check out websites like Houzz or Pinterest, and drive around snapping photos of homes you like. Then think through how big you want the home to be, how many bedrooms and bathrooms you need, and the bonus spaces you want to live as comfortably as possible.

The best way to make sure you get what you want (and that it fits within your budget): Hire a great builder from the start. This crucial step sets the best possible foundation (in every sense of the word) for your new home. Builders help you select others on your team (such as an architect, interior designer, and landscaper) and serve as your point person throughout the process.

Not sure how find a homebuilder? NAHB offers an online directory, and its members are committed to ongoing education and ethical standards. Hiring builders who have been in business for several years is also a plus, as they’ve proven they can weather both the highs and lows of economic cycles.

Pro: You can build just about anywhere you want

Have you always dreamed of living by the water or having a mountain view? Or maybe you want no neighbors in sight? Building a home lets you set up your residence just about anywhere you want.

Talk to your builder before making a land purchase, though, Rousso urges. The builder will need to do a feasibility study on the land to make sure it’s a suitable place for the home you want to build.

“We've talked more people out of buying land than into buying land, because there are so many pitfalls,” he explains.

Builders help make sure the land is zoned for residential development and identify any issues with building on the site, such as connecting to utilities or developing the land before building can start.

Another thing to note: Land development can be costly. HomeAdvisor estimates it to be $1.30 to $2 per square foot of land, including surveying, drainage plans, utility and septic mapping, permits, soil testing, land clearing, excavation, and demolishing any existing structures.

Pro: New homes typically come with less maintenance

An obvious advantage of building a home is that everything is brand-new. That means maintenance and repairs will be minimal or even nonexistent for a while, saving you plenty of headaches and thousands of dollars a year. According to HomeAdvisor, in 2020, homeowners spent an average of about $3,200 on home maintenance.

Nonetheless, a new house isn't entirely maintenance-free. You’ll probably still need to do yardwork to keep up your newly installed landscaping. And you may want to pay for some preventive upkeep, such as a maintenance contract on your HVAC system, costing $150 to $500 a year. But that could save you money in the long run.

Con: Building usually costs more than buying an existing home

Building a house is an expensive enterprise, and typically costs more than buying a preexisting home. As such, you'll need to have some in-depth discussions with your builder on what you want, and whether it's affordable for you.

“A builder can help guide the design process starting with schematic design to give the prospective client an idea of the budget,” says Tim Benkowski, senior project manager at Balsitis Contracting in Lake Geneva, WI. “That way, design revisions can be made early without the owner falling in love with a home design only to find out they need to cut out their favorite parts or reduce the project scope.”

Several factors determine how much your newly constructed home will cost: location, size, complexity, and design elements.

The NAHB estimates that the median price of constructing a single-family home is $289,415, or $103 per square foot. Labor typically constitutes about 40% of the cost, followed by permits, design fees, and materials.

Con: Getting a construction loan can be complicated

To finance building a home, you’ll need a construction loan, which is a little more involved than getting a traditional mortgage to buy a preexisting house, says Steve Kaminski, head of residential lending at TD Bank.

For starters, you’ll likely need a 20% down payment since construction loans are considered higher-risk. Along with the usual financial documents needed for your loan application, you need to provide project plans, costs, and land value. You also need a signed contract or purchase contract with the project’s plans, specs, and budget details, and a timeline for the construction.

“The lender is not only evaluating the borrower, but also the project plans and oftentimes the builder to ensure they will be financially solvent throughout construction,” Kaminski explains.

Construction loans are usually shorter-term, covering just the duration of the build, and may have higher interest rates, usually about 1% higher than conventional mortgages, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Once the home is completed, you can pay off the balance or convert the loan to a conventional mortgage. The interest rate and the type and terms of the mortgage will depend on your credit history and lender.

When shopping around for a mortgage for a new home build, Kaminski urges borrowers to go with a lender experienced in working with construction loans.

Con: Building a home takes a while

Generally, it takes a bare minimum of three months to build a simple house, and it can take much longer. But it’s a “sliding scale,” says Benkowski. “A 2,500-square-foot and under [home] can typically be completed in seven to nine months with proper planning. A 7,500-square-foot home and up would likely take 12 to 30 months.”

Planning as much as you can will keep the project on track. Still, delays do happen. Weather is the biggest one, with temperature shifts and rain or snow postponing work. Your own choices could also be to blame. If you’re taking too long to choose your favorite flooring or windows, it could make it all take a little longer.

Erica Sweeney is a writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Parade, HuffPost, and other publications.

 

Whether your style is traditional or modern, relaxed or formal, bold or subdued, your living room should be a place where you can feel comfortable, let down your guard and spend quality time with friends, family or just yourself. There’s an art to decorating a room that looks great and works well for you. 

Yanic Simard, designer for Toronto Interior Design Group offers tips and tricks for creating a comfortable space that reflects your style. Here are some of his favorites.

1. Mix Light and Dark

When a living room is all white and bright, it can feel too “clean” and unapproachable. When it’s all dark, it can feel like a cave. But mixing dark and light colors creates a dynamic look that has depth and balance. The design of any space benefits from the inclusion of at least a little white and a little black.

2. Contrast Your Neutrals

Beyond including some white and some black, decorating a living room with a variety of contrasting neutrals goes a long way toward making it feel rich and welcoming. In this example, the white walls, caramel leather, brass hardware, gray sofa and blue-gray cabinets all contrast with one another, which highlights their different finishes and undertones. This makes the palette feel rich even before other key elements, such as color, pattern and texture, are added.

3. Play With Texture

Texture is easy to overlook when decorating a living room, especially since we don’t see it so much as touch it. But it’s important for making a living room feel cozy, and that goes for plush textures that appeal to the touch and harder textures that add contrast. Include leather, cotton, wool, metal, stone, glass, plant life and as many other textures as you can.

Pillows are a great place to start, especially if you’re decorating a living room on a budget. Look to other accessories and furnishings to add new materials to the palette, even in small doses.

 

4. Work in Some Wood

We can’t talk about texture without talking about wood, one of the top materials for bringing a sense of warmth to a living room.

There are so many ways to add wood, any of which will make a space feel a bit more inviting. Consider wall paneling, side tables, movable stools, picture frames, sofa legs and carved pieces of art as just a few of the many options.

5. Mix Up Your Upholstery

Sure, most furniture stores give you the option of purchasing an entire living room set in matching upholstery, but that doesn’t mean you should do it. In a formal seating area, matching upholstery can give a sense of maturity and order, but if you want a living room to feel cozy and welcoming, mix and match your upholstered pieces to give the design a bit more personality.

One of the safest ways to do this is to mix leather chairs with a fabric sofa or vice versa, so the materials contrast in an obviously intentional way. It gives the living room design some diversity, which can also give members of the family different options to suit their seating preferences.

6. Choose Practical Fabrics

Speaking of upholstery, it’s especially important for living room seating to be not only comfortable but durable. What this means will depend on your family. You may have babies or small children, pets or not, and they may be messy or tidy. In general, mid-tone fabrics are the safest bet, as very light or dark shades will readily show soil and wear.

Leather is a great material for avoiding stains because it can be easily wiped clean when a spill occurs. However, it’s usually more easily scratched than most fabrics, so it may not endure animals as well. A leather that already has a broken-in look or a pattern can age especially well.

See how to clean leather furniture

Denim and corduroy are two other materials that can be inviting yet durable. Plus, they add an unexpected twist compared with the typical plain cotton or wool upholstery you often see in stores. When choosing fabric for your living room furniture, look for a material with a blend of natural and synthetic fabrics to get the practical features of both, and if possible do a bend test of a fabric swatch to make sure the weave appears tight and doesn’t reveal the backing material. A tight weave will be more durable than a loose one (which leaves lots of space for dirt to hide), no matter the material.

7. Add a Dash of Color

While you can create a beautiful space without any vivid hues, adding even a little bit of color to a living room can go a long way toward creating a relaxed and inviting atmosphere.

When in doubt, look to a cheerful blue — it’s a hue that usually everyone can agree on. It perfectly contrasts warm elements such as leather and wood, and it feels just neutral enough to work with basically any other future accent colors.

8. Add a Patterned Rug

Pattern is a powerful design tool, infusing a living room with energy and minimizing the appearance of stains or wear. A patterned rug brings these benefits to the “fifth wall” — the floor — simultaneously anchoring a seating area and giving the whole room a sense of life. Even if you already have carpeting, consider adding a rug to your seating area. The first time you roll it up to go to the cleaners after a big spill, you’ll be glad you had it there.

9. Choose Movable Tables and Stools

Lightweight tables, stools, ottomans and even side chairs that can be moved around easily make a living room much more comfortable, giving you and your family lots of options on a daily basis for putting your feet up, setting a drink down or seating an extra guest. 

Use a few smaller pieces, such as the upholstered footstools seen here, to allow for movement of pieces closer to and farther from the main seating as needed.

10. Consider Conversational Distances

No matter how big your living room, there’s a limit to how large a seating group can be and still make sense for intimate conversation and cozy gatherings. A good distance between seats to facilitate conversation is about 8 feet, meaning if you have several sofas or a sofa and side chairs, the seating area should have a diameter of 8 feet, or 4 feet out from the center. 

A huge, 12-seat sectional sofa may look great and be perfect for a party, but if you’re looking to create a cozy living room, it’s usually best to use fewer, smaller seating pieces and push them a little closer together.

11. Don’t Take It Too Seriously

A living room is a great space to embrace thoughtful disorder, such as through an artistic gallery wall, mix-and-match throw pillows, open storage baskets and fun furniture like this tepee-inspired tent.

Trying for perfect order will mean that anything out of place will stick out like a sore thumb, whereas accepting a bit of controlled chaos will mean the occasional dropped toy or draped blanket will look right at home.

Subzero and Arctic temperatures across a dozen states last week were putting homes' pipes at risk of bursting. As water freezes, it expands. That can put pressure on metal or plastic pipes, prompting them to burst and leading to costly repairs and home destruction.

Homes in the northern parts of the U.S. may be at less risk for frozen pipes since many homes are built with water pipes within a home’s building insulation to help protect them from freezing temperatures, USA Today reports. However, homes in the east, mid-Atlantic, and South may be more prone to freezing pipes.

Pipes most at risk of freezing likely would be found in the attic, garages, crawlspaces, basements, and pipes that run against exterior walls with little or no insulation.

"Your older houses are going to be probably more susceptible to this because the insulation wasn’t as good back then and they might have routed some pipes in places where maybe they shouldn’t have," John Galeotafiore, who oversees testing of power gear and home products with Consumer Reports, told USA Today. "Having said that, there could be some new construction that people just didn’t do it the right way."

Preventing Pipes From Freezing

The Red Cross has several tips on its website to help prevent frozen pipes, including:

• Keep garage doors closed if there are any water supply lines in the garage.

• Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate.

• Let a small stream of water drip from faucets that are served by exposed pipes. When the outside temperatures are particularly cold, and you fear frozen pipes, even a trickle of water from the faucets could help prevent pipes from freezing.

• Keep the thermostat set to the same temperature during the day and night. Maintaining a warmer temperature inside the home can help.

If the Pipe Bursts or Is About To …

Turn off the water at the main shutoff valve immediately. Homeowners can usually find that at the water meter or where the mainline enters the house.

If the pipe hasn’t burst yet, you may see an indication that it is about to: Water flow from a faucet may be slower than normal. To try to thaw it, leave the faucet on. Running the water will help melt any ice within the pipe.

 

Also, some homeowners may use a heating pad, heat lamp, space heater or a hair dryer to warm the pipe. Start from the faucet and work your way along to heat up the pipe, Remington Brown, senior engineer director with the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, told USA Today. If you don't apply heat on the side closest to the faucet, you can build up some pressure in the pipe and possibly cause it to burst. Lastly, towels soaked in water that are wrapped around the pipe may help too. These type of applications of heat may help full water pressure to return.

Do not use a blowtorch, kerosene or propane heater, or any other device with an open flame to attempt to thaw the pipe. "You don’t want to use anything that is going to ignite," Brown said. 

If the pipe is already fully frozen, if you can't find the frozen pipe section or it is not reachable, call a licensed plumber.

 

Source: 

“If Pipes Are Frozen, Should You Leave the Faucet On? Here’s How to Thaw Pipes During Winter Storms,” USA Today (Feb. 16, 2021) and “Frozen Pipes,” American Red Cross

The design trends that will dominate in 2021 reflect the ways the COVID-19 pandemic has upended people’s lives, driving them to create a home that’s a safe place to relax, work, study, and socialize. 

By Barbara Ballinger

While the following three enhancements address practical needs, there are plenty of high aesthetics—and a healthy dose of joy—in these new visions for the lives people are living indoors and outdoors. These are the kinds of upgrades that may just have people choosing to stay put, even when it’s safe to venture out more freely.

1. Two-for-one “Layered” Kitchens

Even before the pandemic, some homeowners with an open floorplan found that increased exposure and family togetherness posed a downside in the kitchen work area: piles of dirty dishes, cluttered countertops, and other unsightly messes. Leave it to trendsetters to develop a solution for those with ample space and funds: two kitchens in one. Mick De Giulio of de Giulio Kitchen Design in Chicago calls it a “layered kitchen” with separate “work” and “living” zones. Cheryl Kees Clendenon of In Detail Interiors in Pensacola, Fla., refers to it as having a “prep and show kitchen.” In the work area, typically at the back and concealed by a door, wall, or hall, serious cooking and cleanup take place. The area may be part of a large laundry or utility room and might also be used by caterers (when entertaining returns with gusto), Clendenon says.

In contrast, the living or show kitchen at the front remains open, designed to display culinary creations in a clean, uncluttered way. It’s where a golden-brown turkey would come out of the oven before being carried to the back for carving. Some homeowners may also designate one kitchen for special-requirements cooking such as gluten-free prep, which a client of Clendenon’s requested. Or some may want to make space for a dedicated beverage center with a coffee station, refrigerated drawers, and a wine cooler to meet needs from morning to night, De Giulio says.

2. Flexible, Prefabricated Sheds

Sheds, once used primarily to store sports equipment and garden paraphernalia, have evolved into a common home addition. Some homeowners use them as overflow storage instead of paying for an expensive off-site facility. Others seek larger and better outfitted models as accessory dwelling units for people because more municipalities are approving ADUs. They’ve become dwellings for returning adult children and short- and long-term renters, quiet work-from-home quarters, and escapes for recouping sanity—hence the new moniker “the sanity shed.”

Rather than have an architect or contractor design and build a shed from scratch—which can be pricey and time-consuming and which often requires a building permit—homeowners can find more affordable, off-the-shelf options on the market, some of which can be customized. Boulder, Colo.–based Studio Shed has experienced explosive growth during the pandemic. The company offers prefabricated, sustainable designs that vary by size (from 64 to 256 square feet), color, door and window placement, finishes, and price ($11,000 and up). Because of the increase in gardening during the pandemic, the company offers its “Studio Sprout” greenhouse ($14,250), while customers’ most popular choice is a functional home office (about $25,000). Some municipalities looking to spur affordable housing in a shorter time frame offer preapproved plans for expanded sheds that can serve as modest dwellings, says architect Brian O’Looney of Torti Gallas + Partners in Washington, D.C., in his new book, Increments of Neighborhood.

3. Outdoor Warming Features

As temperatures fell, homeowners wanted to extend safe, outdoor socializing with family and friends in the time of COVID-19. “Everybody wanted to turn their backyard into an oasis to be able to eat safely and talk,” says landscape architect Clara Batchelor of CBA Landscape Architects in Cambridge, Mass. Many, including residents of multifamily buildings with shared outdoor space, want to keep doing so throughout winter. Two features that make fresh-air living in chilly evening weather pleasant are fire pits and patio heaters. They offer warmth from infrared electric heat, propane, or real wood-burning fires.

Local authorities are revising codes and ordinances to ease requirements pertaining to fire features, says architect Gary Kane with The Architectural Team in Chelsea, Mass. While fire pits have been popular for years, they’ve become more stylish, now available in different shapes, sizes, materials, weights, and prices. One design that grabbed attention early in the pandemic was Solo Stove’s portable “Bonfire” pit that uses logs but is smokeless. Hybrid models use gas and burning logs, says landscape architect Marc Nissim of Harmony Design in Westfield, N.J. Patio heaters are a newer home addition, inspired by restaurants using them to coax diners to eat outdoors. Using a variety of heating fuels, some are designed to stand alone and others mount on a wall or ceiling, says landscape designer Michael Glassman of Michael Glassman & Associates in Sacramento, Calif.

Barbara Ballinger is a freelance writer and the author of several books on real estate, architecture, and remodeling

 

Food for Thought, Restaurateurs Take Notice!

A Colorado woman is revamping used gondolas to help restaurants stay afloat with outdoor dining.

By Sarah Kuta, FOOD & WINE Magazine

With cold winter weather on the horizon and ever-changing local COVID-19 rules limiting indoor dining, Wendy and Rich Tucciarone began worrying about the fate of their Steamboat Springs, Colorado, craft brewery and restaurant last fall.

In the summer, it was easy to spread out the tables on Mountain Tap Brewery's large patio and prop open the building's garage doors. But even with heaters and firepits, the patio would be a tough sell during the icy evening temperatures and frequent snowstorms in this Colorado ski town famous for its "champagne powder."

During one creative brainstorming session, their accountant suggested converting out-of-service ski gondolas—small, enclosed, cube-like spaces that transport skiers and snowboarders uphill—into private outdoor dining spaces. The Tucciarones are avid skiers and mountain bikers, so they liked the idea immediately.

But even in a mountain town, used ski gondolas are hard to come by. 

Lucky for the Tucciarones and other struggling restaurant owners across the country, one woman had been buying up entire fleets of used ski gondolas over the last few years, mostly on a whim, in the hopes of someday upcycling them into something else. 

The pandemic became that someday. Dominique Bastien owns The Gondola Shop, a small gondola refurbishment and repair shop with seven employees in Fruita, Colorado—and an unlikely star during the coronavirus pandemic. As summer turned to fall, with no end to indoor dining restrictions in sight in many parts of the country, Bastien and her team began converting old ski gondolas into novel, pandemic-safe, private dining spaces for panicked restaurant owners wondering how they were going to stay in business over the winter.

Mountain Tap Brewery installed three of Bastien's gondolas, which can each comfortably seat six adults and are available by reservation, on the patio in November. They've been booked ever since.

"The gondolas have saved us this winter for sure," said Wendy Tucciarone.

Like yurts, greenhouses, tents, igloos, and other pandemic pivots, ski gondolas are allowing restaurants to expand their seating and offer comfortable outdoor dining accommodations during the winter while adhering to local regulations intended to help prevent the spread of the virus. Each gondola can typically hold between four and six adults who, in theory, are all members of the same household or pandemic pod. Many restaurants are blocking off 20 to 30 minutes between seatings to sanitize, clean, and air out the gondolas, which are often equipped with lights, heaters, and Bluetooth speakers.

The Gondola Shop is a spinoff of Bastien's regular trade, which is polishing and repainting ski gondolas that are still in use at ski resorts around the globe. (Gondola windows and doors are typically plexiglass, which gets scratched, graffitied, dirty, and cloudy over time—Bastien says she runs the only company in the world, Sunshine Polishing Technology, that contracts with ski resorts to polish their in-service gondolas.)

Bastien's gondola maintenance work typically slows down in January and February, when ski resorts are operating at full blast. So three years ago, when she heard that Vermont's Killington Resort was replacing 55 older gondola cars, she took a huge risk and offered to buy them all.

A year later, she bought 95 gondola cars from nearby Steamboat Resort. 

"I don't know what came to my mind," said Bastien. "I had nothing in mind really."

Over the course of her 20-plus years in the gondola polishing business, Bastien occasionally heard from one-off homeowners who wanted a refurbished gondola for their backyard or event planners who wanted a gondola to help set an après-ski scene. She figured there might be broader demand for repurposed gondolas, which she and her staff could work on during their down months. They experimented with converting them into saunas and dog houses, but mostly, the 150 or so gondola cars sat in a field near her shop.

Then, the pandemic hit. In the blink of an eye, Bastien lost all of her gondola polishing contracts as ski resorts closed early for the season in March.

"I was slowly planning to go bankrupt—no joke," she said.

In September, Bastien's phone rang. The Town of Mountain Village near Telluride, Colorado, wanted Bastien to repurpose five gondola cars into private dining spaces that could be shared among the 12 restaurants at the base of Telluride Ski Resort. Within two weeks, they upped their order to 25.

Bastien and her team got to work, frantically tackling a year's worth of work in four months. They learned as they went, sometimes calling their vast network of ski area lift maintenance technicians for questions and troubleshooting.

The Gondola Shop delivered on its promise, and the Town of Mountain Village opened 25 private dining cars ahead of the Christmas rush. The picturesque gondolas quickly garnered attention on social media and in the press—and then Bastien's phone and email really began to blow up.

Suddenly, she was fielding inquiries from restaurants in Cleveland, Washington, D.C., St. Louis, San Francisco, Park City, Utah, and Sun Valley, Idaho. Her team, which includes a painter, welder, woodworker, and several other artisans, began churning out customized dining gondolas as quickly as possible.

Bastien offers gondolas in various conditions. Some restaurants buy them as-is for around $4,800 and just stick a table inside. (Bastien doesn't recommend this practice but is happy to accommodate. "It smells like 30 years of use when you open the door," she said.)

For others, Bastien's team will fully disassemble, clean, sandblast, fix, repaint, reupholster, and generally spiff up the gondolas to the restaurant's specifications, a process that takes five or six weeks and costs between $15,000 to $20,000. She also rents fully refurbished gondola dining cars for around $500 a month.

Though the last six months have been chaotic, Bastien says she's just happy to be busy doing something that matters—and may ultimately help some restaurants stay in business—during the pandemic. 

"It just got crazy," she said. "Things turned out really weirdly but really well." 

Just outside of Cleveland, five après-ski-themed gondola cars are helping restaurateur John Owen keep the lights on at Rocky River Wine Bar and Market, two of the seven restaurants he owns in the region. 

Owen invested heavily in the outdoor dining spaces at both restaurants to keep his staff working and safe (servers pass food and beverages through the gondolas' open windows), but also because he believes many people will be uncomfortable dining indoors for the foreseeable future. He also views the gondolas as an investment in public relations and marketing—they're popular on TikTok and Instagram.

"It's allowed us to stay relevant and busy, enough to allow all of our employees to stay employed and not lose shifts—because when you lose seats inside (the restaurant), you have to lose staff," he said.

Restaurant owner George Eder is counting on a surge of pent-up demand this spring and summer, and he believes the two gondolas he rented from Bastien will help his restaurant Pizza Republica get by until then. But more than anything, they offer a tiny glimmer of what dining out used to feel like, before the pandemic.

"It's fun to see people's faces," he said. "If somebody cancels, it's, 'Oh, I can get a gondola.' They get excited. And that's what's missing right now from restaurants is that little bit of joy."

 

 

A professional organizer offers a manageable plan for tackling those paper piles now to make April a little easier.

As the new year rolls in, so do tax documents and year-end financial statements. What do you do with these documents? If you stack them along with other papers you’ve collected over the year — and vow to be more organized next tax season — you’re not alone. 

That said, now is a great time to start chipping away at your paper piles so it will be easier to find what you need when you’re ready to file. And then you can set up a system to make next year’s tax season less daunting.

By Patricia Lee, Houzz Contributor

Which Types of Papers to Recycle, Shred or Throw Away

I recommend that you keep three bins close by as you sort through your papers: trash, shred and recycle. You may want to check the guidelines of your city’s waste management company as they can vary, but as a general rule photo paper and thermal receipts cannot be recycled and should be considered trash. Similarly, any papers that have glitter, foil accents or plastic or wax coating cannot be recycled. 

Of course, papers with personal information such as your name, address, Social Security number and bank account or credit card numbers should be shredded to prevent fraud and identity theft. 

Most other papers can be safely recycled.

Easy Paper Categories to Tackle First

For most organizing projects, it’s usually easiest to start by decluttering the least important and least sentimental items before moving on to the most significant ones. Taking a first pass to eliminate papers that won’t require too much mental effort is a good warmup before you launch into harder decisions.

1. Junk Mail

In this age of digital advertising, you’d think you would receive less junk mail. However, that doesn’t appear to be the case. 

The good news is that you can usually get rid of these papers without thinking too hard about them. I suggest you recycle unnecessary catalogs, coupons and ads. Shred any credit card offers or other junk mail that may contain personal information. 

If you wish to unsubscribe from unwanted snail mailings, you can contact most company customer service departments to opt out. Alternatively, there are various online services that help you remove your name and address from distribution lists.

2. Irrelevant Papers

Once relevant papers have become irrelevant, it’s time to get rid of them. Some examples would be old magazines and newspapers, unnecessary receipts, old school notes, outdated business cards, utility bills, bank statements and more. 

You may have good intentions to work your way through a backlog of magazines because you feel wasteful discarding them without reading them. But be realistic about what you can finish reading before the next delivery. 

Also, if you don’t need to save your utility bills and bank statements for tax or other purposes, you may be able to discard them after you’ve checked them for accuracy and reconciled them with your payments and bank accounts. 

And most receipts that don’t need to be kept for tax, insurance or resale purposes can be tossed after the return window has closed, the warranty has expired or you know you’ll be keeping the items (like groceries).

What to Do With Harder-to-Tackle Paper Categories

Once you’ve shaved off the first layer of nonessential papers and are ready to dive a little deeper, think about the main categories that cover what you may need to keep. These vary for each person, but some common categories include:

• Taxes

• Action items (bills to pay, cards to reply to)

• School documents

• Medical records

• Property records

You may have additional categories that apply to you. Once you’ve determined your categories, sort remaining papers into them. The idea is to divide your paper organizing into smaller and more focused bites so it’s less overwhelming. Then you can further sort each category to determine what you need to keep and what you can let go. 

For this article, let’s focus on the category of taxes.

The Papers You Need to Keep for Taxes

The first step in organizing your tax-related papers is knowing what you need to keep. You don’t want to keep too few records and not be prepared for a potential audit. Nor do you want to keep excess, space-consuming documents. 

In the broadest of terms, calculating your income taxes requires determining all the income you’ve received during the year minus eligible deductions and credits. So do your due diligence to find out your specific, personal requirements for each part of this work. 

If you have a tax preparer, he or she should be able to provide you with a list of requirements. If not, you may be able to find some guidance on the IRS website, through online tax-preparation resources and in your previous year’s tax return. Here are some examples of information you may need regarding your income, deductions and credits (not an exhaustive list):

Income

• Wages, salaries, bonuses and tips

• Interest earned

• Stock sales and dividend income

• Rental income

• Retirement account distributions

• Unemployment benefits and disability payments

• Advance commissions

• Lottery payments

Deductions

• Contributions to retirement accounts

• Student loan interest

• Capital losses

• Mortgage interest

• State or local taxes

• Medical expenses

• Charitable contributions

Credits

• Recovery Rebate Credit

• Child and dependent care credit

• Adoption credit

• Residential energy-efficient property credit

• Health care credits

I recommend you create a checklist of the specific income, deductions and credits that pertain to your situation. 

My own list includes the forms (W-2s, 1099s, 1098s and so forth) and information (charitable contributions, medical expenses and so on) that I need to have for my tax filing. This checklist helps me stay organized each year. I would otherwise not be able to remember the detailed requirements of this once-a-year task, and I’d risk submitting an incomplete tax return. 

Keep in mind that tax requirements do occasionally change, either due to the IRS or personal situations, so it’s wise to update your checklist when that occurs.

6 Common Causes of Clutter and Their Cures

Storing Your Tax Documents

1. Current Tax Year Documents

There’s plenty to sort through at tax time, so the more you can eliminate searching for documents in April the better. To simplify, I recommend you keep all your current-year tax documents corralled in one place. 

I keep two sets of tax documents: personal and business. Neither is exceptionally complicated or document-heavy, so for me two hanging folders (one for personal, one for business) works perfectly. 

Throughout the year, I put anything tax-related (charitable contribution receipts, business receipts) in its correct folder as soon as I receive it. For business expenses, I write the category and purpose (marketing, office supplies, meals and entertainment) on the back of the receipt right away to avoid the chance of forgetting it.

The method that works best for me is to collect all my tax documents in each folder all year and then sort more specifically when it’s time to prepare. But if your taxes are complicated and you must retain many papers, you may want to create smaller subfolders to keep categories sorted throughout the year. 

Whatever method you choose for collecting your tax documents, it will be successful only if you actually use it. Therefore, make sure your document storage is in a spot you can easily access. Otherwise, there will be a strong tendency for documents to pile up on a counter instead of being filed away appropriately.

2. Previous Years’ Tax Returns and Documents

Tax returns and documents that have already been filed with the IRS and state agencies need to be retained in case of an audit. Depending on your situation, the number of years you need to keep your tax documents can vary. 

At the time of this story’s publication, the IRS website stated that the period in which you can amend your tax return or the IRS can assess additional taxes ranges from three to seven years. The period of limitations in my state is four years. Therefore, out of a great abundance of caution, I keep my physical tax returns and documents for seven years.

Personally, I keep my past tax returns in a portable file box. I store the box in my office, but it doesn’t get a prime spot, since I take it out only once a year to add the newest set of documents and remove the oldest set. (I then relabel the empty folder from the oldest set for the following year’s tax documents.)

I also save digital copies of my tax returns, which I can keep indefinitely. Some recommend keeping tax returns and W-2s forever, in case the IRS ever claims you either didn’t file a return or filed a fraudulent one. I recommend you consult with a tax professional to confirm the safest route for you.

 

Patricia Lee, Houzz Contributor is a professional home organizer in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

From all of us at Melanson Real Estate

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Looking for something fun to do outside this weekend?  Well, search no more, there's plenty of outdoor activities in the area for the whole family to enjoy!

Alton Bay Winter Carnival 2021

Although things will look a bit different this year, the fundraising cause remains the same. Due to the pandemic, the Alton Business Association (ABA) will not be able to host a large-scale winter carnival event in the way the group normally would. With that said, the ABA is committed to bringing some winter fun to the community. There will be smaller (in the interest of safety) sponsored events featuring an Ice Sculpture Walking Tour, Bob House Decorating Contest and the Virtual Fundraising RAFFLE. The Raffle includes amazing products, services and gift certificates donated from members of the surrounding businesses.

Ice Sculpture Walking Tour:

The generous businesses sponsors have enabled the ABA to hire Ice Designs by Jeff Day to carve three unique ice sculptures for the community to enjoy. The sculptures will be on display in Alton Bay at the land bandstand, gazebo and in front of the community center. Be sure to bundle up and go for a walk in the bay to check them out! If you take pictures with the ice sculptures, be sure to tag ABA @altonbusinessassociation and use #altonwintercarnival. The sculptures will be on display starting late afternoon February 12 thru February 14 or until they melt!

Bob House Decorating Contest:

Sponsored by Dockside Restaurant - email ABA at info@altonbusinessassociation.com to enter by February 12. They will post pictures of the bob houses on their Facebook page.

Winter Carnival Raffle:

The Virtual Fundraising Raffle is already underway and closes February 13th at 11:59 pm. They have amazing prizes donated from ABA members and local businesses. The list of sponsors is growing and the ABA lists thus far, Alton Circle Grocery, Alton Excavation, Alton Home & Lumber, Catchpenny, Gunstock Mountain Resort, Hannaford, Inspiration for Organization, Irwin Marine, K-9 Kreations, Katie's Kitchen, Northeast Security Agency, Lake Life Brand, Seacoast Spine & Sports Clinic, Shibley's at the Pier, Simple Beautiful Nails and the Little Christmas Cottage. Don't miss this opportunity to win prizes.  Head over to ABA's website, www.altonbusinessassociation.com where you can purchase tickets. Winners will be announced on the ICE, February 14 at 11 am!

Virtual events may be added, so stay tuned to the ABA Facebook Event Page @altonbusinessassociation and website.

Although Winter Carnival events may look different this year, it's a chance to embrace all the outdoor fun that winter season brings!

 

Wolfeboro Cross Country Ski Association 

Since 1972, The Nordic Skier and Wolfeboro XC have joined as partners in the pursuit of a top notch nordic ski center. Click here for more information.

   

 

February 13-14, 2021

Online ticket sales have ended. You can still purchase tickets at local retailers for the remainder of this week and at Derby Headquarters beginning tomorrow, Friday, February 12.

Vendors Selling Tickets

 Every ticket purchased (online or otherwise) is entered into each cash drawing throughout the weekend.
You can win over $5,000 without even baiting a hook!

Alton Circle Grocery 10 Main Street Alton, NH 03809 603-875-2861 Bryant & Lawrence Hardware 270 Main Street Tilton, NH 03276 603-286-4322 Case 'N Keg 5 Mill Street Meredith, NH 03253 603-279-7443 Coyote Creek Outfitters 22 Farmington Road Rochester, NH 03867 603-332-3270 Dive Winnipesaukee 4 N. Main Street Wolfeboro, NH 03894 603-569-8080 E.M. Heath Hardware 318 Whittier Highway Center Harbor, NH 03226 603-253-4381 Green's Corner Store (Formerly Murphy's Mobil) 246 Whittier Highway Moultonborough, NH 03254 603-253-9300

Newfound Sales & Trading Post 381 Lake Street Bristol NH 03222 603-744-8658 Skelley's Market 374 Gov. Wentworth Highway (Route 109 Moultonborough, NH 03254 603-476-8887 The Tackle Shack (formerly AJ's Bait and Tackle) NOTE NEW LOCATION 54 NH Route 25, Unit C     Meredith, NH 03253 (603) 279-3152 The Tackle Shack (Newbury)  894 Route 103 Newbury, NH 03255 603-763-5508 Wildlife Taxidermy & Sports 2188 Candia Road Manchester, NH 03109 603-625-9958 Winnisquam Country Store & Deli 1021 Laconia Road Tilton, NH 03276 603-527-8110

For more information:

The Meredith Rotary Club
PO Box 1210, Meredith, NH 03253
603-279-7600 / info@meredithrotary.com