Should you choose a home or an apartment?

Thinking of buying or leasing a new property?  Wondering whether to proceed with an apartment or a house? In the past, people used to dream of having a house on a large-acred block.  However the dream of a manicured property is fading fast. Even though a home is still considered a house to many people, the proportion of house dwellers has dropped enormously and apartment living is on the rise.

Pros and cons

There are pros and cons to both flat and home lifestyle; most men and women reside in both at some point or another. The question finally comes down to which one suits you best, based on three unique factors: your financial conditions, lifestyle and strategies for the future.

Houses and homes are designed for different stages of life, apartments are more suited to couples, singles and most prominently university students, and homes suit family lifestyle.

Consider your finances

When you reside in an apartment/unit, it’s more cost-effective when it comes to bills and rent. Considering that heating and cooling a smaller area would save you on your energy bills.

The more recent the construction, the more energy efficient it is very likely to be. Rent is typically more affordable for flats, compared to homes; however bear in mind that owning an apartment in a block includes expenses in addition to your mortgage.

Should you rent in a block those charges will be included in your lease.

If purchasing a property, it’s important to think ahead and consider prices going forward, such as maintenance.

Love mowing the lawn?

Gardens, lawns and pools are all preserved by an employed professional; thus the only maintenance you want to be worried about is on the inside of the apartment.

Houses have greater maintenance thus higher prices, epecially if you own the property.  If you’re renting a home, however, maintenance is usually covered by the landlord.

Apartment life suggests ease of maintenance, letting you live close to transportation, work, and the inner city lifestyle.

Do you have pets?

Apartment living nonetheless also implies accepting and adhering to the principles of your owners’ corporation. This implies certain things like getting pets or hanging out washing over the balcony might be prohibited.  This is important to consider if you have pets.

Approval for installation of new features like flooring or air conditioning is also required before changes are made.

Another thing to think of is your ability to keep your home clean if you have pets living in a small space.

Do you need that gym?

More often than not, apartments are constructed with additional amenities like small gyms (or neighborhood gym membership), pools, public entertaining areas, storage and laundry rooms.

Communal BBQ and fun areas again would mean money saved on pricy outside furniture and cook wear gear.

Are you afraid to be home alone?

Most apartments comprise of several entrances, including the major block entrance system, then typically a gated access to your separate door or an elevator into your apartment with a personal code.

Given the following, it’s reasonable to say that apartment dwelling means additional security over homes, making break-ins less probable. It’s important to consider your current lifestyle needs before deciding on the manner of property best suited to you.

How to choose a pool cleaner for your home

Most people think it’s pretty cool to live in a home with a swimming pool. But until you’ve lived in one you probably won’t realise that there’s a lot of pool cleaning that goes on if you have a home with a pool. So, here’s a quick guide to picking the best pool cleaner for your home.

Renting a home with a pool

If you’re renting a house with a pool, make sure your landlord provides pool cleaning services or an automatic pool cleaner. A human pool cleaner who comes in once a month will do the job! Otherwise, if the cleaning of the swimming pool becomes your responsibility, it can be quite a chore!

If your lease doesn’t come with manual pool cleaning, make sure the pool has an automatic pool cleaner or a pool skimmer that is easy to operate.

Check that the pool vacuum is for the right kind of pool as there are in ground and above ground pools.

Owning a home with a pool

If you’re buying a house with an in-ground pool, it’s worth investing in a good quality automatic pool cleaner. Do your research and make sure to choose one that will clean your pool well without breaking down. There are heaps of different brands to choose from and pool cleaners come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Here’s another list of pool cleaners to choose from.

Some pool cleaners can get jammed easily, especially if your home is surrounded by trees that drop their leaves.

Depending on what kind of pool you have, there are plenty of good quality cleaners on the market.

Pool cleaners come in a range of prices, from under $100 to thousands of dollars. You don’t need to spend thousands to find one that will do a good job, especially if you do your research. The things to consider are brand, size of motor, accessories and availability of parts.

3 Reasons Not To Buy A House

With interest rates likely heading upward, many prospective homebuyers are rushing to lock in mortgages before borrowing becoming even more expensive.  While snagging a lower interest rate is likely to make your monthly payments cheaper and help you save money in the long term, buying a house right now might not be the best move.

Here are a few situations where you would be better off waiting:

1.  You are new to your job

First, if you do not have an established payment history, you might have trouble getting approved for a mortgage in the first location. Even if you’re approved, you might want to wait a couple of months and ensure that your new role works out before choosing the fiscal responsibility of owning land.

If you’re going to be stuck in a job you do not like there’s nothing worse than havin to pay your mortgage payments. You are far better off doing things slower and making certain your job situation is actually secure before committing yourself to a mortgage.

2.  You can not afford the deposit

While you do not necessarily need to make a 20% down payment to buy a house, if you do not save that amount, you are going to face what might be a somewhat long-term consequence: private mortgage insurance (PMI).

PMI is paid as a monthly premium in addition to your regular mortgage payment, and it is typically calculated as 0.5 percent to 1 percent of the worth of your mortgage.

Should you take out a $250,000 mortgage at 1 percent PMI, you will spend an additional $208 per month to reside in your dwelling.  If you can not afford to place 20% back on your house, you might want to wait a couple of years, save aggressively, and purchase at a stage where PMI won’t come into play.

3.  Purchasing a house will wipe out your savings

Though everyone requires an emergency fund, having additional reserves is particularly crucial for homeowners.  That’s because once you buy a house, you never know what hidden cost is lurking where you would least expect it.

If you do not have enough in the bank to pay a deposit on your house whilst also retaining sufficient to cover three to six months of living expenses, you would be prudent to think about holding off until you have more in savings.

Imagine you use all of your savings to purchase your house and encounter a $10,000 repair a few months afterwards.

Without an emergency fund, you will most likely don’t have any option but to take on debt to pay that cost. Even if nothing really goes wrong with your house, you never know when you may fall ill, get hurt, or experience another scenario where you are out of work for weeks at a time.

If you do not have emergency savings in place, you will risk not only racking up debt but rather possibly losing your dwelling.  And that is not a risk you wish to take. If you move forward with purchasing a house, do not make the mistake of rushing through the process.

Ultimately, while no one wants to pay more attention than necessary, bear in mind that today’s prices are still fairly competitive, particularly in contrast to what prices looked like in years past.

Whether you choose to obtain a mortgage this month, the next month, or six months after that, provided that your credit is good, you are very likely to snag a rate that is still pretty darn appealing.

5 Most Affordable Cities To Live In USA

Deciding where to live, whether it is a suburb or even town, can be tough. Even if you can not envision yourself out of a metropolitan centre, the high price of a lease can get in the way of your cosmopolitan fantasies.

Some towns in the USA are so pricey only people with well-paying jobs can afford to live there, so it is essential that you do your homework before making a transfer to a different town.

It is no secret that cities such as San Diego, as an instance, are pricey.  However, many markets shifted recently and there are some areas where the price of leasing a home is more affordable.

Each of the cities are rated according to four variables that reveal or influence affordability.

They are:
– average monthly rent in the previous quarter of 2016 (weighted 20 percent)
– change from lease at the end of 2015 to 2016 (weighted 20 percent), average apartment vacancy rate (weighted 20 percent) and also the – total amount of monthly revenue share committed toward lease (weighted 40 percent).

Having a nationwide average monthly lease of $1,284 – upwards 3.3 percent from last year – along with the typical tenant shelling out 27 percent of (median home) income, you could wonder how your city compares to other major metropolitan centres across the U.S.

Moving home can be traumatic and a lot of work. So choose wisely! Here are the five cheapest cities to live in the USA. The list may surprise you.

California dominates the least-affordable record – although no town in California made the number-one “cheapest” moniker.

1-Indianapolis, Indiana
2-St Louis, Missouri
3-Kansas City, Missouri
4-San Antonio, Texas
5-Columbus, Ohio

Looking for more? Check out this list of cities to live in the USA.

How to find and furnish your first home

Renting your first flat or purchasing your very first home is a thrilling event. Furnishing a whole flat can be exceedingly costly. It may take years to pay off it, and cost you a great deal more than you think. This may be much harder if you didn’t budget properly, or if you’re making a cross-country move.

There are some simple ways to save on your furniture expenses. Start out by purchasing the things you need first then add online gradually.

You can a create a list of the most crucial things and work through it slowly. The most crucial piece of furniture for the majority of people is a mattress.

This doesn’t mean that you have to buy a bedroom suite or even a headboard.

But you might require a table or a desk to be able to finish your work.

Even though you might be tempted to a loan to receive your furniture, it’s ideal to save up cash to get it done and not to borrow.

Beg instead of borrow

Ask family and friends for furniture they’re no longer using. But before you bring any furniture with you, make certain it’s clean and bug-free. It is possible to infest your new home with bugs by using a filthy couch or a different piece of furniture.

Vacuum and shampoo the sofa before you take it all home. In case the thing was in storage, it can have spiders on it, which you ought to get rid off before you transfer it to your new residence.

Hide an ugly sofa with a cheap sofa cover, which is less costly than purchasing a new sofa.

Another choice is to borrow a product till you can afford to buy your own. As an example, you might borrow an old tv or microwave until you have money to buy your own.

Some things can’t be painted because you’re likely to return them to whoever lent them to you. You can use a sofa cover, however. This is a fantastic temporary fix if you know that you may purchase something new soon. Smaller things are simpler to borrow because they’re easier to maneuver and you want to move the product around.

Buy Used Furniture

Purchasing used furniture is a fantastic way to save cash when you’re decorating. You could even shop for furniture in thrift shops for great prices.

A few of the bits might have to be refinished and require a little work, but it might wind up being your favourite pieces for years to come. The real key to finding the perfect piece at the ideal cost is to be patient.

Shop and Bargain

You might save yourself money by purchasing furniture at bargain sales. Sometimes it’s possible to negotiate reductions on floor models or defective products which are simple to fix or conceal.

Discount clubs might have a fantastic deal on the furniture you love.

Sometimes you can save yourself heaps of cash by purchasing a whole set instead of individual bits, and then sell everything you don’t want on Craigslist or EBay. Other times you might do better purchasing only 1 piece at a time.

Accumulate Gradually

When you’ve bought your temporary furniture, collect the rest gradually. Make a monthly budget and stick to id.

Since you put money aside it is possible to save up to get the very nice pieces of furniture that you truly want.

When you get furniture, pick pieces that are timeless and that you think you will be able to use even if you redecorate. This is a great way to save money in the long term.

Save on Redecorating

If you choose quality pieces , you can alter the feel of your home by repainting and picking new decorations. One example: throw out the old lamps, pillows and paintings in your home. Repaint the walls and pick up some new soft furnishings for a fresher look.

How To Choose The Best Vacuum For Pet Hair

Although our pets are our best companions, caring for dogs and cats involves an extra commitment. It often means taking extra care to keep our home clean and our pets and family happy. Things to consider are pets often shed a great deal of pet hair that the human occupants need to clean up.  So here are some tips on how to choose the best vacuum for pet hair and why you need one.

Pet hair – the bad news

Accumulated pet hair may be more than just an aggravation for those of us who suffer from allergies. And for all those pet owners without any allergies, you know how aggravating it is to get matted hair around your carpet and furniture, and also to observe clouds of Snoopy’s or even Garfield’s additional hair drifting around the area to a gentle breeze.

Choosing the right vacuum cleaner can make all the difference for those of us who have carpet. And as a backup for pet owners who have tiled or hardwood floors.

Suction is the key

Most ordinary vacuums simply are not designed to efficiently suction pet hair, whether they are hand-held versions, heavy-duty uprights or perhaps high-powered principal systems.

It’s worth taking the time to evaluate all the attributes to ascertain the very best vacuum for pet hair available and make sure they fit your requirements.

The trick is to pick out a machine that has the suction, filters, and tools to deal with high volumes of pet hair. There are lots of choices you might like, including upright vacuums, canister vacuums, and all-purpose vacuums.

Canister vacuums are a great choice

Canister vacuums generally offer higher maneuverability over close borders when compared with the upright vacuums.  Additionally, there are some excellent cordless pole vacuums like the Bissell Bolt XRT Pet 2-in-1 Cordless Vacuum that do a fantastic job on pet hair.

HEPA Vacuums are important for allergy sufferers, with or without a furry friend!  These types of vacuums may significantly lower the amount of pollutants in the atmosphere.

Hard floors or carpet?

One of the best choices is the Dyson pet hair cleaner, which is great for hard floors and has a tangle-free turbine tool, which utilizes heads that rotate in opposite directions to be confident that the vacuum captures each of the matted hair which collects on sofas, chairs, beds as well as clothes.

There is also an optional dressing tool that lets you remove loose hair.  There’s a filtration system to catch pollen and allergens, and this is one vacuum cleaner that is great for allergies and asthma friendly.

Go for the shark

Another good vacuum cleaner brand is the Shark pet vacuum which is great for tiled flooring and upholstery.  There’s an air-powered hand turbo tool and a pet upholstery brush contained using the vacuum cleaner.