Real Estate Information Archive

Fact: A cluttered home means a messy home. Even worse, clutter can significantly contribute to our overall stress levels. As Peter Walsh, a professional organizer and writer, once said, “Clutter is not just the stuff on your floor – it’s anything that stands between you and the life you want to be living.”

But what exactly creates clutter in the first place, and what can we do to prevent it?

Here are five common causes of clutter, paired with easy solutions for change:

1. Recreational Shopping

We’ve all been guilty of buying a thing or two we don’t need – so much so, that this habit is the number one culprit of clutter in the home!

Solution: Stay out of stores and shopping malls unless you absolutely need to buy something. Before you go, look through your closet to remind yourself of what you already own. Do you really need another gray cardigan or pair of black flats? 

2. “Clutter Creep” Throughout the Week

You start Monday morning with a clean house, only to be left with a messy disaster on Friday afternoon.

Solution: Don’t go to sleep during the week with a cluttered home. Before bed each night, pick up at least five things and put them in their place. By the end of the week, your home will be a lot more organized. 

3. Emotional Attachment

Some items – like priceless family photos – should be cherished and held onto forever. Other items – like that surfboard keychain from Mexico – could be causing clutter in your home.

Solution: We’re not saying you should toss everything from your beach vacation in Mexico ten years ago, but there are likely a few things in your home you may be unnecessarily holding onto for sentimental reasons.

How can you decide what to keep? Ask yourself this question: “If I lost it by mistake, would I really care, or could I even possibly be glad?”

4. Letting Junk Mail Linger

It’s all too easy to bring in the mail only to open it, set it aside, and leave it in a messy pile for the next week.

Solution: Take care of mail as soon as you bring it in. Recycle anything that needs to be recycled, and file any bills immediately. Use PaperKarma to stop junk mail for good. Then, create a fun mail holder with a basket or upcycled coffee can so it always has a place to go.

5. Keeping What You Never Use

Whether it’s that kitchen gadget you ordered from a late night infomercial or that label maker from 1995, it’s easy to collect useless items year after year. It’s time to start letting them go!

Solution: Do a monthly purge of 15 unwanted or unused items. Go throughout your entire house and choose 15 things that you no longer use or want. If you haven’t used the belonging in the past year or if it is no longer functional, toss or donate it.

Information provided by BrightNest.com.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

What happens in Washington D.C. frequently confounds more than clarifies. New rules and regulations tend to raise the level of frustration more than ally it.

Let's be honest, many people have been frustrated by mortgage underwriting standards. They're viewed as overly stringent. It's difficult to argue with the perception, but the fact is that many private lenders have at least marginally eased underwriting standards this year. Then again, standards can be eased only so far, because they must still adhere to guidelines mandated by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These to government-sponsored organizations guarantee two-thirds of mortgages originated.

The good news is that Fannie and Freddie are loosening rules that have forced banks to buy back billions of dollars worth of home loans. These rules have kept lenders cautious about making home loans to borrowers with imperfect credit, because lenders could wind up absorbing losses if the loans default. At the same time, these regulations have raised the cost of originating mortgages.

These rules have been particularly tough on the entry-level market – homes priced under $300,000. In other words, the important first-time buyer has been under-served. We need the first-time buyer to grow the market.

The good news is that new Fannie and Freddie guidelines will enable us to better serve and grant more credit to all potential borrowers going forward. This can be only a positive for housing.

Courtesy of Jessica Regan.

Courtesy of Jessica Regan.

Mint is a free personal finance tool that brings all your financial accounts together online or on your mobile device, automatically categorizes your transactions, and helps you set budgets so you can achieve your financial goals. 

When money is tight or the economy is iffy, it can be tempting to postpone or even completely skip over home maintenance repairs. Skipping repairs can be risky, because the $200 you save with an inspection or small repair could cost you thousands more if little problems become big ones.

Money spent now could protect you from financial headaches later. Check out these five expensive home repairs that can arise if you ignore regular maintenance:

1. Roof

If your roof shows signs of deterioration, like loose shingles, water damage, separated flashing, or moldy spots, you're better off repairing those areas now, before you're faced with replacing the entire roof.

Potential Savings: Simple fixes such as replacing shingles and re-caulking flashing will cost you time and a few hundred dollars, but neglect them and you may be handed a bill for up to $18,000, according to Remodeling Magazine's Cost vs. Value report. Even worse, if water is seeping through your roof and into your attic, you could be paying up to $50,000.

2. Foundation

Home maintenance experts recommend that you inspect your foundation at least once a year. Look for hairline cracks, widening gaps between your home and the foundation and sinking floors. Also look for cracks around windows and doors, because they can be a signal that your foundation is shifting. Finally, make sure water pools aren't forming around your foundation, because water damage can deteriorate concrete walls and cause serious issues inside your home as well.

Potential Savings: These relatively straightforward fixes can save you up to $10,000 if your entire foundation needs to be replaced. This cost can soar to $30,000 if your basement is affected and if mold remediation due to water damage is required.

3. Termite Removal

Most homeowners' insurance policies don't cover repairs related to termite damage, so it pays to have regular inspections by a termite company. Termites cause damage from the inside out, eating through flooring, insulation and wood, so if you have an active termite infestation, the repair costs could be hefty.

Potential Savings: Most inspections fall into the range of $100-$200, but skip them and you could look at losses of up to several thousands of dollars if you do indeed have termites.

4. Plumbing

Left unresolved, water leaks can lead to problems like mold and a complete plumbing system replacement. Look for water leaks around toilets, under sinks, and from faucets. Replace old washers when you need to, and insulate exposed pipes, which can corrode due to temperature changes. Also, inspect your hot water heater to ensure optimum operation and the absence of mineral deposits in the tank.

Potential Savings: These relatively easy maintenance checks and repairs can save homeowners up to $10,000, or more if the hot water heater needs to be replaced.

5. HVAC System Replacement

Regular heating, ventilation and air conditioning system inspections are key to avoiding major repair costs later. Recommended maintenance includes cleaning filters every few months to avoid inefficient and clogged filters, and inspecting the ducts for good air flow. Watch for signs of wear and tear and address those areas promptly. Also, replace old filters, thermostats and other components that could impact your HVAC system performance.

Potential Savings: Hiring a pro to maintain your HVAC components can cost between $200 to $300, while letting maintenance go can mean you might spend up to $4,000 replacing a furnace blower, compressor, or other high-ticket items.

The Bottom Line

Taking simple maintenance steps now will prevent bigger homeowner expenditures when small jobs morph into more expensive undertakings.  A good rule of thumb is that homeowners should expect to spend 3% to 5% of their home's value each year on maintenance and repairs. Considering that the price to replace costly items like roofs, foundations and plumbing can rise way beyond that number, it pays to do the little stuff while the problem is still little.

Information provided by BrightNest.com.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

If you’ve procrastinated a little too long on the Mother’s Day gift front, don’t freak out quite yet. You can make her a gift with items in your home. No, seriously, it can be done! As long as you’re willing to get a little crafty and creative, it’s easy to repurpose common items into beautiful, thoughtful gifts for mom.

Here are six last-minute Mother’s Day gift ideas:

1. Homemade Candle

Not just any candle – a teacup candle! We love the idea of reusing beautiful teacups as a warm, sentimental gift. This project looks like it jumped right out of the pages of a Pottery Barn catalogue and it only takes a few minutes to complete. Check out the full step-by-step for detailed instructions.

2. Serving Tray for Breakfast in Bed

Your mom may say she doesn’t need breakfast in bed, but she deserves to be waited on hand and foot on Mother’s Day! This gift is more about the thoughtful act of serving breakfast in bed than the serving tray itself, but making your own tray will definitely earn you some brownie points. All you need is a cookie sheet, adhesive spray and a yard of fabric she’ll love.

3. Wine Charm

There’s no need to scour the department store for a new set of wine glasses. Upgrade the ones your mother already owns by giving her a set of wine charms! Use spare game pieces (we love the look of Scrabble letters) or leftover wine corks for your charms. Simply drill a small hole into each piece and screw an eye-hook into the hole. Tie a little ribbon or string in a loop around the eye-hook, and that’s it!

4. Bath Bombs

This close to Mother’s Day, it’s safe to assume most day spas are probably fully booked. Not to worry! You can still treat your mom to a little luxury of her own with this DIY bath essential. Once tossed into the bathtub, it will set off a fizzy reaction that releases super-relaxing essential oils. Tip: Personalize the gift even more by including her favorite essential oil (we’re partial to floral scents like lavender).

5. Painted Kitchenware 

For the mom that loves to cook, this gift is a cinch.  Add a burst of color to some wooden utensils with a few strokes of a paintbrush! You don’t have to stop there – with a little painters tape you can also personalize wooden bowls, trivets and placemats! Your mom will enjoy cooking in the kitchen just as much as you enjoy eating her delicious home-cooked meals! 

6. Free Coupon Book

If you're not feeling extra crafty this year, you can just hit the printer button! Give your mom the gift of choices with this free, printable Mother's Day gift guide. It contains eight coupons for different household chores that she can pick from (redeemable any time). 

Information provided by BrightNest.com.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

 Homeownership has hit a 19-year low, according to the Census Bureau. The share of Americans owning a home is down to 64.9%. Meanwhile, the median monthly asking rent has soared to a record high, hitting $766 as of the first quarter of 2014.

Because our bread is buttered by homeownership, it would seem that ownership hitting a 19-year low is reason to lament, especially if we consider that many pundits believe the trend will be sustained. One prominent pundit, Sam Zell, chairman of apartment REIT Equity Residential, believes the homeownership rate will eventually fall to as low as 55%.

We don't quite see it that way.

For one, continually rising rents is good news for housing, especially if the rate of home-price appreciation continues to ease. This would mean that owning a home will make more sense economically to more people.

The simple fact people prefer to own than to rent is also reason to be encouraged. People prefer to live in a neighborhood of owners, because these neighborhoods are usually more stable and better kept. The good news is that if you can satisfy your preference at a comparatively better price, you're more likely to act. We expect to see more people act as the advantages of ownership become more apparent.

The U.S. homeownership rate peaked at 69.2% in June 2004. We don't see a return to that level in the near future, but something in the 65%-to-66% range is entirely reasonable and plausible.

 Courtesy of Jessica Regan.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

Who to Believe on This One?

For the past year, if not more, we've been wishing, hoping, and even cheerleading for an upturn in economic growth. To this day, we have little to show for our emotional investment.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an imperceptible 0.1% rate on an annualized basis for the first-quarter of 2014. The advance fell far short of an already low-bar consensus estimate for 1.0% growth. Acceptable annual growth for a big country like ours is 3% or higher. Unless the economy picks up steam soon, we're unlikely to see 3% in 2014.

Interestingly, the Federal Reserve's take on the economy doesn't quite jibe with the Bureau of Economic Analysis. (The BEA calculates GDP.) Fed officials see economic activity picking up, with employment improving and consumer spending gaining pace. The Fed is sufficiently convinced the economy is on the right track that it sees no reason to back off tapering. It will continue to reduce its monthly purchases of Treasury notes and bonds and mortgage-backed securities (MBS).

Timing might account for the difference in opinion: The Fed is focused more on the latest economic data, while the BEA parses data all the way back to January. That said, the more contemporary data aren't terribly encouraging, particularly on housing investment.

Many economists focus on consumer spending when estimating economic growth, but investment is just as important. Investment sets the stage for future consumption. Residential investment matters, because it has a rippling effect on the economy. It doesn't take much imagination to see the different materials and services required to build, sell, maintain, and furnish a home.

Unfortunately, residential investment contracted during the first quarter, which marked a second-consecutive quarter of investment contraction. Because housing is such a large economic contributor, residential investment will need to turn positive for the economy to meaningfully grow.

Mortgage activity, sluggish in recent months, also needs to pick up pace. We're not surprised that the surge of refinances that occurred in the past four years has been reduced to a trickle. Now that mortgage rates have stabilized within a tight range, there is less incentive to refinance. At this point, we'd like to see more purchase activity , which would obviously be of reflective higher sales volumes. On this front, activity continues to ebb and flow. Over the past two weeks, it has mostly ebbed.

Nevertheless, we remain optimistic. The first signs of spring momentum have finally arrived. Pending home sales ended nine-straight months of declines with an encouraging 3.4% uptick in March. In another positive, February sales were revised upward by three-tenths to minus 0.5%.

Home-price growth also appears to be moderating, which should help bring inventory and buyers into the market. Therefore, we expect pending home sales to rise over the next few months. If this occurs, we should expect to see a pick up in mortgage-purchase activity.

 Courtesy of Jessica Regan.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

Maybe you have some friends visiting from out of town. Or, maybe you’re trying to earn some extra cash by AirBNBing your spare bedroom.

Either way, the ability to really “wow” your houseguests is important.

But how can you achieve this mythical “wow” factor? It’s actually not that hard! Impressing houseguests is all about small doses of thoughtfulness. Here are five ideas:

1. WiFi Password

Just because someone is on vacation at your house doesn’t mean they’re cutting all ties with email and Facebook!

Save them the trouble of asking for your WiFi password by writing it on a piece of paper or on a chalkboard that’s visible in the guestroom. Your guest will appreciate the gesture, and you’ll avoid the awkward “I’m not sure I remember my password?” conversation.  

2. Mini Toiletries

Compare these experiences:

1. Using a half-empty bottle of Head and Shoulders from 1999

2. Enjoying a cute, mini-bottle of spa shampoo from a nice hotel

Number two is way better! Don’t force your guests to use bottom-of-barrel toiletries. It only takes a few hotel stays to collect everything your guests need (shampoo, conditioner, face soap, toothpaste, etc.). Store them under the sink until you have company! When they’re in town, place them on the counter or in a basket for easy access.

3. Pitcher of Water at Night

Think back to all of the times you’ve been a guest in someone else’s home. Two-thirty in the morning rolls around, and you wake up thirsty. Nothing would be better than a cool glass of water, but in a strange home, you probably aren’t exactly comfortable wandering around the hallways looking for a beverage in your pajamas.

Save your guests from this plight! Set a pitcher of water and a clean glass or two in their bedroom before they arrive.

4. Provide a (Clean) Robe

Fact: everything feels more luxurious when there are robes involved. Grab a spare from your collection, give it a wash if necessary and set it up in the guest bathroom. Then, add a little note saying it’s for them so they don’t have an internal debate about it when they get out of the shower. No robes? Neatly stack several hand towels and wash clothes instead.

5. The Toilet Paper Triangle

Take a page from the book of every-hotel-you’ve-stayed-at-ever: Fold the first ply of the toilet paper in your guest bathroom into a triangle! This takes 10 seconds (tops), and there’s a good chance it results in a smile and a comment from your houseguest. 

Information provided by BrightNest.com.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.