Blog - Sandra Meranda

October 18, 2019 by changescapeweb

Home Sweet Home: How to Help Your Senior Loved One Downsize

Photo courtesy of Pexels

Moving is hard for anyone. Downsizing during one’s golden years, however, can be the most difficult move of all. We grow to love our homes. They make us feel safe, comforted, and loved. However, as we age, it can become too difficult or too expensive to stay in the same place we’ve called home for the past several years.

If you’re reading this article, chances are that you or someone you love is considering a downsize. Downsizing can be a daunting process, especially for seniors who have decades of nostalgic memories tied to their current homes and belongings. Luckily, with some careful planning, you can successfully downsize and reclaim the best years of your life.

Here are some tips on ensuring a smooth process.

Do Your Homework

Before touring any homes, research local properties online. Search homes by price in your area to get a feel for which home sizes, prices, and locations work best for your senior loved one.

As you search for the ideal property, take note of the average cost of homes for sale in your desired location. For instance, Redfin reports that the average sale price of a home in St. Charles this past month was $232,000. Knowing these numbers helps you not only budget for your new home, but also estimate how much you can expect to get for your current home.

Have Compassion

Deciding where to move and what to keep or discard can bring up many emotions. Many people even experience grief when it’s time to say goodbye to their beloved home. By showing your loved one some empathy and compassion, you can help them cope with this difficult process.

Start by capturing plenty of photos of each room and making a photo book, which your loved one can reflect on at their new home. Tell them to take time saying goodbye and allow them to express their feelings.

According to Harvard Health Publishing, the best way to cope with the emotions of downsizing is to have social support. Make it a family affair, and invite others to help sort and pack belongings. When settling into a new home, it’s important to also plug into the neighborhood. By engaging with local resources and making new friends as quickly as possible, your loved one can transition into a new chapter of life and avoid feeling estranged in the new community.

What should you do with the items you can’t take with you? You might consider selling those belongings rather than tossing them in the trash. Or you could donate items to a local humane society, Salvation Army, or sell them to a vintage store. As a fringe benefit, for the items you donate it’s possible to receive a tax deduction.

Plan the Move

When it comes to planning a smooth move, start by creating a moving budget. Your budget should include tasks like transportation of all belongings to your new home, the cost of hiring movers, and potential costs to repair anything unexpectedly damaged during the move. Although it cost a little extra to hire professional movers, you might find that it’s worth it in the long run.

By leaving your moving day to the professionals, you’ll reduce your stress level, as well as your risks of injury or damaged items. Before hiring a moving crew, search for reputable local movers who have excellent customer reviews and fit your budget.

There’s a lot of thought that goes into downsizing and moving, especially as we age. Before relocating, seniors must consider where to move, what to keep or get rid of, and how to plan a smooth move. It’s no small feat, but with the right planning, you can ensure a successful downsize. With a smaller, lower-maintenance space, you’ll be happy you settled into a new home where you can make lasting memories for years to come.

April 22, 2019 by changescapeweb

Top Tips First-Time Homebuyers Need to Successfully Invest in a Fixer-Upper

Buying a home for the first time is one of the biggest financial decisions you will ever make. And while this isn’t a decision to be made lightly, it’s hard to not let emotions get involved too. Many first-time home buyers choose to buy a fixer-upper, whether as a way to afford their dream home or to turn a profit. Either way, if you’re considering a fixer-upper, you need to know what to expect and how to keep the emotional and practical considerations in balance.

Finding and Buying Your Fixer-Upper

When you start searching for fixer-upper properties in your area, you need to determine what the true cost will be. Of course, the cost of buying a home is only one of several factors to consider. The cost of repairs needs to be included in your overall budget too. Money Crashers recommends making a list of exactly which repairs are needed, paying close attention to anything structural. A professional home inspector can help address structural issues and uncover any hidden concerns.

When writing your list of repairs, be careful not to take on more than you can handle. Buying a fixer-upper is only a good investment when you can keep costs low, which means you should expect to do much of the work yourself. With that in mind, it’s easy to get carried away with dreams and plans, but you don’t want to get in over your head with more DIY repairs than you can manage.

Once you have found the right home that fits your budget, start exploring options to finance it. Don’t overlook loans designed for a fixer-upper purchase, which have built-in reserves for funding your renovation projects. If you’re a veteran who has served on active duty for six months or more, you’re likely eligible for a VA loan. With this type of loan, you can get reduced interest rates, and you can purchase your home without having to make a down payment (as long as you don’t buy your home for more than its appraised value).

Think About Resale Before Buying

Even before you buy, start thinking about whether you plan on staying in or selling the home once it’s all fixed up. Flipping a home for a profit can be a great investment, but going into it with that plan will likely affect some remodeling decisions. The location of your home makes a difference in resale value too. If you’re planning on remodeling your dream home and staying put for a while, this is less of a concern. But if you plan on selling the house soon afterwards, make sure you don’t overimprove for the neighborhood. If you plan on adding upscale features, you’re better off buying in a nice or up-and-coming neighborhood so you can get the price you’re hoping for.

Remodeling Right

Once you close on your new home, where do you start with repairs? Before you jump in, determine which projects you can do yourself and what you should hire out. Don’t try to take on anything that would be unsafe to do yourself, such as electrical work, but be prepared to put in some sweat equity as much as possible. Make sure you have all the right power tools for DIY repairs, including a few necessities such as the best drills, sanders, and jigsaws.

Structural repairs or any work that needs to be done on the exterior of the home should come first. These projects are essential for your safety if you’re living in the home. You should also prioritize updating old HVAC systems, and take care of any wiring or plumbing problems.

After completing essential structural repairs, be strategic about which remodeling projects you choose next. According to HGTV, kitchen and bathroom projects are always safe bets for resale, so they’re a good place to focus some time and money. Whether you plan on staying or selling, you always want to keep resale value of projects in mind. It’s always smart to keep design in line with the home’s style and avoid anything that’s too trendy.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the process of buying a fixer-upper, but the end result is often worth the work. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you don’t want to rush into anything. Do your homework before buying and remodeling for a smart purchase that pays off.

Photo credit: Pixabay

February 7, 2019 by changescapeweb

Property Payoff: Tips To Increase Resale Value

Tips To Increase Resale Value created by Synergy Builders

December 13, 2018 by changescapeweb

5 Reasons Why Timber Frame Housing Is A Great Idea

Timber frame housing has been around for a long, long time as far as in the 1800’s. There are a lot of advantages of using timber framing for your dream home. Apart from practicality, it also adds to the aesthetic value of the property.

Concrete and steel construction is what a lot of people prefer, but timber compares favorably in several areas today.

Wood construction is soothing to the eyes and mind while maintaining a pleasant temperature inside.

Timber frame homes are also electrostatically inert which means even more tangible health benefits when using wood to make a home.

Let’s go ahead and take a closer look at why you should invest in a timber frame home.

Timber Frame Housing – Superior And Aesthetically Pleasing

While earlier other construction methods were clearly superior to timber framing, advancing tech and knowledge about timber have led to it closing the gap. Timber framing has seen enough improvement to be considered commercially viable instead of just residential buildings. Top timber framing companies have also allayed fears about structural integrity with modern building techniques.

Believe it or not, the tallest timber frame building is the Tall Wood Residence in Canada which is a whopping 18 stories in height. While this is no comparison to heights using other methods, for the average homeowner, this dispels any myths about lack of structural integrity when using timber for construction. Here’s why a timber frame house should be something you should aspire to.

5 Reasons why you should opt for timber frame housing

Higher structural integrity

Contrary to popular belief, timber does have a higher structural efficiency than concrete and steel construction. Timber used in construction also has a higher load per unit weight when compared to other forms of construction. A stud made of timber used in construction has equivalent compressive strength to concrete. Moreover, there are treated varieties of timber available that further enhance the natural strength of the material.

Quality Aesthetics and Design

A timber frame house offers more flexibility to the designers than concrete without any compromise on structural integrity. Tall and strong timber pillars take the whole load of the floor, so there is no requirement for load-bearing walls. This opens the door (no pun intended!) to several design possibilities like cathedral ceilings and other unique ideas. Also, wood offers a much more pleasing living environment than concrete – a well-done timber frame house is a sight to behold and wonderful to live in.

Lower costs

Opting for timber as material for construction can save you up to 20% when compared to traditional construction methods depending on the type of building. Timber frame construction offers you the same properties and better aesthetic value for a much lower price.

Better for the environment

Because of the inherent ability of a wooden structure to better regulate temperature, you spend much less on heating/cooling costs. This is especially true when you consider timber frame homes paired with structural insulated panels or SIPs. People living in timber frame homes see marked improvements in their energy and utility bills over time. Most building materials are manufactured with significant duress to the environment, but wood is grown naturally and is a perfect zero carbon footprint product which is renewable.

Other practical reasons

There are several practical reasons to opt for timber frame housing as well. For starters, it maintains the relative humidity a lot better than concrete structures. It offers much better insulation against hot and cold weather. Timber frame homes are also acoustically sound which means that you can eliminate irksome echoes without adding much at all to the décor. It has minimal drying out period when compared to concrete which means less turnaround time. The building process is much more predictable and not affected as badly by inclement weather.

Summing it up

With improved techniques and technology in this area, timber frame homes currently offer a lot more to the homeowner than several years ago. There are several practical reasons to opt for timber home whereas earlier it was only aesthetics. If you want a dependable and aesthetic timber home customized to your liking, getting in touch with professional timber frame brands is the way to go. They have several plans to choose from and you can customize them to your liking as well.

November 5, 2018 by changescapeweb

Going Green: Benefits of Powering Your Home with Renewable Energy

Energy gathered from naturally-replenished sources like waves, tides, rain, wind and sunlight has become an important factor in the modern world. While many companies are looking for new ways of implementing green energy to power their businesses, renewable technology has found its way into our homes as well. While for most homeowners the main reason remains the economic benefit of reduced monthly energy bills, other, not less important benefits are slowly but surely becoming recognized as well.

The cost of energy today and tomorrow

Although electricity prices in the U.S. have held steady for more than two decades, mainly due to industrial deregulation and the abundance of natural gas, financial and economic forecasters today agree that higher electricity price for consumers is the only viable solution. On the other side of the world, The Grattan Institute says that the latest high wholesale electricity prices are the “new normal” that Australian politicians need to be honest about with voters. Adding to that the federal and state governments’ decision to keep aging legacy assets – old coal-fired plants – in working condition is far from a long-term solution for a problem that only a strong bipartisan energy and climate change policy can solve.

Before you go green

Before you decide to commit to solar panels, you need to make sure your home’s electrical installations are in order. Keep in mind that many countries enforce stringent regulations concerning DIY electrical work. In order to avoid legal problems, and potential insurance revocations, you should hire an expert electrician to inspect, update or remodel your electrical system for higher energy efficiency, recommend LED lighting options, as well as suggest home automation solutions that save power on their own.

Solar panels and shingles

Solar photovoltaic panels can be placed either on your roof or on a specially designed array in the backyard. Another solution for going solar is to use solar shingles, which are becoming more and more popular among homeowners who want to preserve the traditional home design or period roof features such as gables, mansards, and towers. These photovoltaic roof tiles are installed in the same way as regular ones. The main disadvantage of solar systems is that they are active only when the sun’s up, so it pays off to invest in a solar battery, as well.

Wind turbines

Although much less common in residential areas than solar panels, wind-generated energy is actually a much more stable source than solar energy. With an appropriately sized turbine, an average home can cover all the household’s energy needs. The disadvantages of wind turbines are their high-profile and the noise they make which often limit their use to remote farmsteads and off-grid residential areas. One way or another, before committing to this energy source, make sure you check local regulations on the matter.

Geothermal systems

The most ‘earthbound’ source of clean, renewable energy, geothermal heating systems can reduce your home’s carbon footprint by eliminating the need for electricity used for heating or cooling your home. The typical home system uses a geothermal heat pump (GHP) that needs 25 to 50% less energy than regular HVAC systems. The equipment included produces virtually no noise and takes much less space, making it suitable for almost any home design. Make sure you check your property’s geological and hydrological characteristics before committing to this source.

Once reserved only for wealthy, tech-savvy innovators and visionaries, renewable energy has always been all around us, now becoming more commons in the suburbs as well. By using renewable energy to power your home you can reduce or even eliminate your utility bills, while government incentives for renewable technology can make the investment even more cost effective.

About the author: Mike Johnston is a home improvement blogger and DIY enthusiast from Sydney. He is a regular writer at Smooth Decorator and contributor on several interior design, lifestyle, real estate and eco blogs. Mike’s goal is to create and share meaningful content that helps and inspires people.