NBC's Top 5 Real Estate Myths

I saw this link today on Twitter.  @realtorjohn posted it this morning.  Check it out and h/t to @realtorjohn for the info! 

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

If your are having trouble viewing this here...check out this link to the MSNBC site

Overwhelmed by kitchen floor options?

Overwhelmed by kitchen floor options?

Resale value, cleanability among key selling points

By Paul Bianchina, Inman News

The floor in your kitchen has to wear a lot of hats. It has to be able to withstand the rigors of lots of foot traffic. It needs to be water-resistant and be able to stand up to repeated cleanings. It has to be able to withstand grease, spills, drips and other indignities -- and it has to look good doing it!

When you're ready to shop for a kitchen floor that can handle all those demands, you'll find that you have several choices. There's probably no single "perfect" flooring material, but by doing a little homework, you're sure to find one that will work beautifully in your kitchen.

Here are some great choices to consider, along with some of the pros and cons of each:

Sheet Vinyl: Sheet vinyl flooring is one of the most common choices for a kitchen floor. Sheet vinyl is very resistant to spills, grease and dirt, is very water resistant, and is also very easy to clean. There are hundreds if not thousands of patterns, styles and colors to choose from, as well as different weights and thicknesses. Vinyl sheets are available in 6-foot and 12-foot-wide rolls, so it's possible to complete most kitchens with few or no seams. It's also one of the less expensive flooring options, so it's easier on your wallet and also makes it a little easier to change if you redecorate.

On the down side, vinyl flooring is prone to wear and scratching over time, especially with the lower-end materials. And from a resale value, it may lack the appeal of some of the more expensive floors.

Vinyl Tiles: Vinyl tiles have some of the virtues of sheet vinyl, such as water resistance, ease of cleaning and low cost. Because these are individual tiles, they are the easiest of all the flooring products for the do-it-yourselfer to install. Another advantage is that if damage occurs, you can easily take up and replace the individual damaged tiles, without having to incur the cost of replacing the entire floor.

There is a very definite downside with vinyl tiles, however, and that is the dozens of dirt-catching seams you end up with. Vinyl tiles also have probably the lowest overall appeal from a resale standpoint.

Ceramic Tiles: Ceramic tile is one of the best overall choices for a kitchen floor. These hard, durable tiles will stand up to all sorts of abuse, from spills to heavy appliances, and the tile is completely waterproof as well. Ceramic tile is hard to beat from a decorating standpoint, as there are thousands of size, color and pattern choices available. You can also mix different types or colors of tile to form patterns, borders or even pictures. A quality ceramic tile floor, especially some of the new travertines in large squares, are currently very popular and will add to a home's resale value.

The downsides of ceramic tile seem to be a matter of personal preference. For one thing, tile is the hardest and coldest of the floors underfoot, with none of the resiliency of vinyl or wood. This can be offset to some degree through the addition of small, non-skid area rugs, and if you want to really warm up the floor, you can have radiant heat cables installed underneath the tiles during installation. The other issue that some people have with tile are the grout lines, which are a little harder to clean than the tiles themselves. Again, this problem can be minimized by using larger tiles with small grout spaces between them, and be making sure that the grout is sealed after installation.

Laminate Floors: Laminate flooring has become increasingly popular in the kitchen. There are dozens of patterns and colors now available, some of which mimic the look of real wood quite well. The laminate can be chosen to blend or contrast with the wood in the cabinets, and you can mix in some darker strips to create accents and borders if desired. Laminate floors have some "spring" to them, making them one of the softer and more comfortable floors to stand on. They can also be a very good do-it-yourself project, and a well-selected and well-installed laminate floor will also add resale value.

If you have a kitchen that sees a lot of use, especially if chairs or bar stools are present, the laminate can be prone to scratching. Laminate also requires specific cleaning products for best results and longest life, and may not stand up to a lot of water over time.

Hardwood Floors: Hardwood floors have long been a classic and desirable feature in living rooms and other areas of the house, but it was only through relatively recent advances in the quality of polyurethane finishes that wood has found its way into the kitchen as well. Hardwood is beautiful, durable, compliments virtually any style of kitchen, and typically adds to the resale value, although some people are still a little leery of it in the kitchen.

Hardwood flooring is not a very good do-it-yourself project, and requires proper sanding and finishing to look good and to hold up in the kitchen. It also has some of the same drawbacks as laminate, requiring special cleaners as opposed to simple damp mopping, and is prone to scratching and damage from excessive water.

Market Correction Opportunity

This press release posted on the MSNBC site today says something that I have been telling clients and friends for a while now.  That a market correction, especially one as large as we are seeing now, is an opportunity not a problem.  

Here is the salient point from the release: 

"However, a market correction is not something to fear; in the great depression and crash of 89, while the average person experienced troubled times, there were a small number of people who became millionaires during the same time. They went against the tide. While everyone was running away from the market, these people were buying properties at a significant discount."

That is one of the most true statements ever made about investing.  The real opportunities arise when fear and panic are at there highest levels.  People are selling at irrationally low prices and the level-headed opportunistic investors are buying up under-valued commodities (be they real estate or stocks or any investment) only to hold them and sell them when they return to favor for large profits.  

Warren Buffet sums up this philosophy very succinctly: "We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful"

If you think this is a lot of spin and Pollyanna outlook I will make one last observation:  Have you heard of the Kennedy or Rockefeller families?  How about Howard Hughes?  Of course you have...you've heard of at least one of them.  They all made (or drastically increased) their fortunes during the Great Depression. 

iPhone/Blackberry Users...Easy Property Search

As someone in the market to purchase a home, or an investor, ever drive by a house with a sign out front and wish you could get more information about it without having to call the number on the sign?



How about this one: You are sitting is Starbucks drinking coffee waiting for a friend or a business appointment and feel like your time could be better spent if you were still in front of your computer looking for a home.



Well, Coldwell Banker (and I do work for a Coldwell Banker franchisee for full disclosure) has announced that they have optimized their real estate search function of their web site for iPhone users and Blackberry users alike!



So, now when you are killing time at the local coffee shop...or you pass that perfect home, all you have to do now is grab your iPhone or your Blackberry and start searching on a screen optimized for your device...it couldn't be easier.



Here is a link to the Coldwell Banker Site for more information

Choosing the right weatherstripping

Another new Inman Article from my monthly newsletter... 

Choosing the right weatherstripping

How to eliminate heat loss at exterior doors

By Paul Bianchina, Inman News
Air infiltration -- the movement of outside air into and out of your home -- can account for a significant amount of heat loss, and the resulting air currents can make a home feel uncomfortably drafty. When it comes to air infiltration some of the most common culprits are exterior doors, so a few weekend hours devoted to some new weatherstripping can have some pretty dramatic results.

Selecting the right weatherstripping

The type of weatherstripping to use depends somewhat on the type of door and frame you have, and also on how much time and effort you want to devote to the task.

The easiest and least expensive is foam, but, while it's better than nothing, foam doesn't form a tight, uniform seal and is also easily damaged. Foam weatherstripping comes in rolls of different widths and thicknesses, and is self-adhesive. It is applied to the inside edge of the door stop -- the wood strips mounted on the door frame that the door closes against -- and is designed to form a seal when the door closes against it. Select a foam that is the same width as the thickness of the door stop -- typically 1/2 inch -- and that is thick enough to close the gap between the door and the stop. Simply cut the foam to length with a pair of scissors, peel off the backing paper, and press it firmly against the door stop.

A better choice is a compression weatherstripping, which also fits between the door and the door stop to seal off air leaks, but has the advantage of being easier to adjust and considerably more durable. One type of compression weatherstripping is a semi-rigid, high-density foam strip that mounts into a slot in the door stop. Most new doors now come with this type of weatherstripping, and if you need to replace an existing piece on one of your doors, installation is simply a matter of cutting the replacement material to length and tucking the flange on the weatherstripping into the slot on the door stop. If your door does not currently have this type of weatherstripping, adding it would necessitate removing the door stops, cutting a slot along one edge, then reinstalling them.

Almost as effective -- and easier to install -- is vinyl bulb weatherstripping. Vinyl bulb weatherstripping has a tough, hollow strip of vinyl set in a rigid piece of aluminum, and a complete weatherstripping kit contains two long pieces for sides of the door, one short piece for the top, and all the necessary screws or nails for installation. To install, cut the short piece to fit between the door stops. Close the door, place the weatherstripping on the face of the door stop so that the vinyl bulb is slightly compressed against the face of the door, and nail it in place. Then simply repeat the process with the two side pieces.

To complete any door weatherstripping operation, don't forget the gap between the bottom of the door and the wood or metal door sill. The simplest way to close this off is to use a door sweep, which is a flat aluminum strip with a piece of vinyl weatherstripping in one edge -- simply screw the strip to the outer face of the door so that the vinyl makes contact with the sill and covers the gap.

More effective, however, is the door bottom, which is an L- or U-shaped aluminum strip with a curved vinyl insert on the bottom. The metal fits over the very bottom of the door, and is adjusted up or down so that the vinyl forms a complete seal against the sill. Installation may require removing the door and cutting a little bit off the bottom to accommodate the thickness of the metal and vinyl.

All of these types of weatherstripping are available at home centers, lumber yards, hardware stores and discount stores, and typically come with complete installation instructions and all of the necessary hardware for fast and easy installation